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Author Shirley Porter hopes to help families understand the power of wisdom and the importance of parents connecting with their children through faith.

Her book, “Life With Sophie: Learning the Pathway of Wisdom,” serves as a parent’s guide featuring short stories, scriptures and activities for families to work on and connect with each other. 

Published and released March 17 by Trilogy Christian Publishing, Porter explained her book’s main purpose.

“If I could say it quickly in an easy way, it would be about a book devoted to what Moses says about talking with your children along the road, when you sit at home, before you go to bed at night,” Porter said.

Each chapter presents short stories focused on Sophie’s story of learning about the issues children and their families deal with. Following each chapter is an activity for families to work on with spiritual devotionals for children to learn afterwards. Issues from each chapter range from fear of the Lord and the importance of one’s name, to trusting in God and the power of good friendships.

“This is real life, but it’s done on a child’s level so that they can understand, and they can forgive,” Porter said.

Originally born in Texas, the current Suffolk resident studied music at an early age and gave her life to Christ at 15-years-old. After getting her bachelor’s degree in music history, her work includes serving as a director of worship and as a published composer of choral music. 

Despite her achievements, writing was not in the cards for Porter. After her studies of the book of Proverbs and being taken back by God’s message of wisdom and love, it sparked her desire to help teach parents this message of wisdom to their kids. 

“The thing that was so amazing to me, because I am not a writer. I write music,” Porter said. “When I did get into it, when I woke up that morning about ‘what if there was a little girl named Sophie?’ After I [got] through with a chapter, I knew exactly what the next one was going to be, and then I knew what the next one would be until [I] got [to] the end of the 10th chapter. When that was done, I was done. It was over.” 

In her book writing process, she said she listened to God in prayer and asked for wisdom to know how to present the book to others in need.

“I didn’t have a relationship with my parents where I could go to my mom in tears and say ‘What does this mean?’ But Sophie does,” Porter said. “I just know that we are desperately in need of parents who can help their children through the avenues – they love sports, they love piano lessons, all that kind of stuff – but somehow you have to make a place where you deal with children with where they live and their own hurts, and when you do that when they’re young, you may get through the teenage years without much trouble.” 

The book features a 10-week format that she hopes works well for families.

“It gives them a format that they can just continue on with, but it gives them a format of how they can talk to their children, because their children trust them,” Porter said. “They love them and because of that they are willing to make the effort, and so many parents just don’t know how. You want to teach them enough that choices will be good, that they will make good choices and learn that they can do it and it fulfills them. It makes them happy”

“Life With Sophie: Learning the Pathway of Wisdom” is available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble through Trilogy Christian Publishing.