Ep 175 A Legacy of Bringing Jesus Inside Prison Walls with Rea Berg, Founder of Beautiful Feet Books

Rea Berg, author and founder of Beautiful Feet Books talks today about another passion of her—besides children's literature—her love of the incarcerated and how she and her husband of 41 years have recently switched their "church home" to the California Men's Colony here in San Luis Obispo. 

It all started with books and story—teaching her own children, creating Beautiful Feet Books to bring classics back to life, creating curriculum and then seeing the transformative power of storytelling and the Word changing the lives of those maybe most forgotten in our society. 

REA WILL HOST A TWO-BOOK GIVEAWAY THIS WEEK--TWO OF HER FAVORITE CHILDREN'S BOOK FOR TWO DIFFERENT WINNERS. COMMENT TO BE ENTERED!

For the book giveaway, she will present the 75th Anniversary Edition of Abraham Lincoln by Ingri and Edgar Parin D'Aulaire,

and the beautiful exclusive edition of Anno's China by Mitsumasa Anno. 

 

Rea teaches a weekly course to help men earn a four-year seminary degree through The Urban Ministry Institute, and her husband, Russ mentors groups of 12 for discipleship and accountability through Yolkfellow Prison Ministry. 

Some gems from today's podcast:

• Men behind bars are exactly like you and me, deep down in their heart and personhood.
• When you're put away, you have to draw upon a depth they most of us don't ever have to do, simply to live with contentment, joy and hope.
• My faith has been strengthened by the faith of these men who've experienced salvation to the uttermost, past all regret and remorse, experiencing full repentance.
• Seeing Jesus in these believers in prison convinced me anew of the transformative power of redemption and how good our God is.

Rea Berg loves seeing abandoned and broken things brought back to life, like antique houses, classic children's books, and especially lives—like those of the menshe is privileged to work with at her local prison. Rea has had the honor of bringing many classic children's books back into print, such as the D’Aulaire biographies, the Journey books of Mitsumasa Anno, the works of James Daugherty, the Obadiah books, and many more.

Through her company Beautiful Feet Books, she has crafted numerous guides for teaching history and geography through literature. Rea has a graduate degree in children's literature from Simmons College, Boston. Follow Rea on Instagram at reaberg, or email her at rea@bfbooks.com. Rea blogs on children's literature at reaberg.com.