The question I get asked the most about my children’s book Where Is Sheep 100?: A Skip-Counting Story About the Good Shepherd’s Love, is

Where did you get the idea for this story?

I’ll share a few of my inspirations here:

Every Person Matters

One is the Parable of the Lost Sheep in Luke 15:4-7 and Matthew 18:12-13. Jesus makes it so clear that each and every person matters to him when he tells this story. The songs Reckless Love by Cory Asbury and Me On Your Mind by Matthew West further illustrate this truth that he would come after me or you even if we were the only one who had wandered away.

Teaching Kindergarten

My experiences teaching Kindergarten also played a huge part in creating the character of Cobie. I noticed over and over how kids just wanted to be seen and heard. They wanted to feel important—especially the child named Darlington who would sometimes literally collapse onto the floor in tears if he didn’t get to be first in line. (Line order is a REALLY BIG DEAL when you are five years old.)

A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23

The third influence was a book titled A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23 by W. Phillip Keller. Keller was a pastor who had many years of experience as a shepherd. The way he explains in detail about the needs of sheep and all that the shepherd does to care for them truly deepened my relationship with Jesus. Knowing that each part of David’s 23rd Psalm was also written by an experienced shepherd helps me understand just a little bit more about how Jesus truly provides for everything we need. And the words of both of these shepherds make it clear that our Good Shepherd takes such tender care of us because he loves each one of us powerfully, eternally, and unconditionally.

I hope you will feel Jesus’ personal and tenacious love for you as we head into a busy fall season. Let’s follow his lead and trust him along the way. He knows just what we need.