Used with permission from Signs Publishing
Used with permission from Signs Publishing

Book Review of Listening in the Morning: Devotional Readings for Teachers

Inter-American March 6, 2023

Trevor Lloyd, Listening in the Morning: Devotional Readings for Teachers (Warburton, Victoria, Australia: Signs Publishing Co., 2022). ISBN 9781922373670 (Print) and 9781922373687 (E-book). 200 pages. US$9.99. To order this book, visit https://www.amazon.com/Listening-Morning-Devotional-Readings-Teachers-ebook/dp/B0B4V8WN67

*This book review is a condensed version

In this collection of 80 devotional readings, Trevor Lloyd has skillfully interwoven the stories of biblical heroes with the stories of Seventh-day Adventist education pioneers. Educators can gain fresh insights from the lives of familiar Bible characters to inspire change both in their personal and professional lives. The experiences of well-known Adventist education pioneers that Lloyd shares can similarly inspire change and can also provide a timely reminder of the humble beginnings of Adventist schooling 150 years ago, and its ongoing rich heritage.  

The book’s stated purpose is to help staff at Adventist schools, colleges, and universities rise to the challenge, in this time of crisis, of faithfully maintaining the heritage of 150 years of Bible-based Adventist teaching and learning. 

Used with permission from Signs Publishing

In addition to addressing larger philosophical issues, the book also includes topics of a more practical nature, such as dealing with resentment and bitterness among staff. Other topics specific to teaching and learning are also presented, including ideas regarding building rapport with students, developing alternate approaches to schooling, and recognizing the importance of manual labor in the curriculum. 

The book also includes stories that contain more overtly, deeply spiritual themes such as God’s answers to prayer, Christ’s sacrifice in our stead, Christian service, and waiting quietly on God. Lloyd draws on his own rich personal experience as an educator to inspire readers through his use of personal anecdotes. Throughout the book, he seamlessly integrates fictional stories and allegories to encourage reflection and underscore universal values. 

Published during the 150th anniversary year of the founding of the first official Adventist school, this book is highly relevant to the challenges faced by modern Adventist educators. It is the first devotional book written specifically for Adventist educators that uses this combination of personal biography, Bible stories, fictional tales, and Ellen White writings to discuss larger issues in Adventist education. 

Listening in the Morning has met its mark for the intended audience. I highly recommend this as a devotional book for teachers. A few well-placed illustrations would have perhaps made the book more visually appealing. However, this does not detract from the overall message of the book, that God has been speaking to Adventist educators over the last 150 years. The essential question is: Are we still listening?

Reviewed by Dr. Thula Norton Lambert, Education Director, Martinique Conference of Seventh-day Adventists.

Author

Thula Norton Lambert

Thula Norton Lambert is Education Director for the Martinique Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. She holds a PhD in Curriculum and Instruction and an MAT in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages from Andrews University (Michigan, U.S.A.), and a BA in English from the University of the Southern Caribbean (Trinidad). Dr. Lambert began her career as a secondary English teacher, and most recently returned from mission service in Senegal, West Africa. She holds membership in several professional organizations, such as ASCD, AERA, and the Adventist Human-Subject Researchers Association (AHSRA).

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