Connecting the Dots: Seeing God's Hand in Your Story with Lisa Pritchard - Part 1Connecting the Dots: Seeing God's Hand in Your Story with Lisa Pritchard - Part 1
Crossroads with Jenny Bushkell
Jenny Bushkell talks with children’s author and former teacher Lisa Pritchard about how God has connected the dots in her life through education, literacy and storytelling. Their conversation touches on childhood moves, reading struggles, and the way Dirt Dog and Friends helps children see their value through faith and kindness.
25:03•25 Sept 2026
Connecting the Dots: How God Shaped Lisa Pritchard’s Calling Through Literacy and Children’s Stories
Episode Overview
- Life events that seem random at the time may later reveal a clear pattern of God’s guidance and preparation.
- Books can provide stability and comfort for children facing frequent moves, loneliness or emotional upheaval.
- Strong literacy skills are crucial, with low reading proficiency linked to school drop‑out and wider life difficulties.
- Children’s stories can subtly teach self‑worth, kindness and compassion, helping counter harmful messages of comparison.
- Taking a leap of faith into a new calling can open unexpected doors that align closely with God’s long‑term plan.
““Sometimes doing the next right thing is the best right thing to do… and it might cost you something.””
What drives someone to seek a life without alcohol or to root their recovery in faith? This instalment of *Crossroads with Jenny Bushkell* shines a light on how God quietly connects the dots in a person’s story, using award‑winning children’s author and former Teacher of the Year, Lisa Pritchard, as a vivid example. You’ll hear how Lisa’s childhood of constant school changes left her feeling uprooted, with books becoming her safest companions.
From Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys to summer library programmes, reading shaped her identity long before she ever imagined writing her own stories. Years later, an HR manager’s casual suggestion about tuition reimbursement, a company closure three months after her degree, and a single job that required that exact qualification all start to look, in her words, like “a plan God had made” just for her.
Lisa chats with Jenny about leaving a secure corporate role to step into teaching, discovering a deep passion for literacy, and eventually promising God she’d write “a book for Him”. Instead of the devotional she expected, a muddy dog, a hunting trip, and a joking husband inspired *Dirt Dog Invites Prissy Poodle to the Prom*—a children’s book centred on self‑worth, kindness and doing the next right thing, even when it costs you something.
The episode has a warm, conversational feel, perfect for those who enjoy faith‑based encouragement in recovery, parenting, or everyday life. Lisa talks frankly about the low reading proficiency rates among young children and why stories that stress kindness, compassion and God‑given value matter so much in a culture obsessed with appearance and comparison.
If you’re looking for a gentle reminder that God is still at work behind the scenes—shaping careers, callings and even messy living rooms—this chat might spark fresh hope for your own story. Where might God be connecting the dots in your past to prepare you for what’s next?
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