I have always been a news and puzzle nerd. As an elementary school student in the 1970s, I got up early each morning to watch a newscast that included a morning brain teaser (bless my mother’s heart!). My great aunt Faye and I did word search puzzles together. And at school, the arrival of The Weekly Reader was one of my favorite parts of the week.

In high school in the 1980s, we got various newspapers and magazines through the years to supplement our textbooks (the internet was still a few years away from its public debut).

Reading and writing

I consumed the articles, not just for the news itself, but also for the writing. In-depth articles in Sports Illustrated were some of my favorites, as were the alternating-week opinion pieces in Newsweek, written then by Anna Quindlen and George F. Will.

As a graduate student in journalism in the 1990s, my master’s project developed out of this love of news and history.

My mother taught 4th grade Alabama history back then, and it seemed to me that a newspaper just for young students in Alabama — The Alabama Reader — was a needed resource.

The Alabama Reader turned into a 5-year passion project for me.

I wrote stories, found photos, laid out pages using desktop publishing software, made a monthly trip to the printer and then packed and mailed hundreds of copies to schools across the state, while also managing subscriptions and communicating with teachers.

I didn’t make any money, but I learned so very much about journalism, business and how much my family loved me during those years.

Around that same time, I began working with The Alabama Baptist and saw how God had planted these interests in my heart to fulfill a call to serve Him vocationally that I felt as a teen at summer camp.

The internet changed the publishing world, but many of us still love print newspapers, books and magazines — to hold or carry with us as we go, maybe to complete the latest crossword, word search or number puzzle as we enjoy our morning coffee.

So when the idea for a faith-based children’s paper was floated, TAB Media saw a tremendous opportunity to provide a resource that would help children and their parents share this experience.

The Baptist Paper Kids Edition premieres this week, and we hope you and your family enjoy it.

Scripture, science, jokes, art, baking, crafting, puzzling — there’s something to engage mind, body and spirit on each page.

Our prayer is that kids will love this edition created just for them and that parents, grandparents, older siblings and church leaders will share in the fun.

So grab Section B, a pencil and crayons, and enjoy! The best part? No phones or tablets needed!