Happy March, dear readers! Have you felt false spring yet? I have many times to only get my hopes up and then have them dashed on a frosty cold morning.
Before we get on to regular content, I wanted to let you know that I’m doing a Giveaway for my book and a $10 Starbucks gift card with my friend
! Simply make sure you’re subscribed to both of our newsletters to be entered.Now, here’s your Table of Contents:
Let the Little Children Come
As a child in the church, I was annoyed at the presence of a loud kid during the service. I was likely twelve or thirteen at the time, believing myself to be as mature spiritually and emotionally as at least a twenty-year-old. As I sat in the cold, painted pew alone near the front, I gritted my teeth at the small child running up and down the aisles. Where’s the mother? Won’t someone control this child? Won’t someone remind her that we sit still and tall in church—not treat it like a gymnasium? I prided myself that likely the rest of the people in my congregation shared my thoughts.
Midway through the service, a man went to the platform to read Scripture. He picked up the microphone and then smiled at the congregation. “Can I just say what joy it brings me to see her running up and down these aisles?” He went to remark how she had spent so long sick and unable to play, and now here she ran and laughed like a true child should.
I deflated like a startled soufflé.
I’m a mom myself now. I have three little boys with uncontainable energy—they climb out of bed in the morning and immediately begin running laps throughout the house. No amount of, “Get your wiggles out now!” actually gets the wiggles out. This means that I’m the mom who’s always muttering, “Shush!” during the service, chasing her child down the aisle, glaring with blazing eyes at my wildlings on the floor at my feet, and at times even sneaking across the stage to stop my child from whacking the drums while someone prays.
“Just so you know,” an empty-nester mom said to me one Sunday, “We love seeing your kids here being kids. We aren’t bothered one bit. And—” she pulled me in closer—“you’re doing a great job.”
I blinked away tears as I led my children down to Sunday school that day.
Even as my boys break clothespins in the seat next to me, my oldest will look up at me and ask what the pastor meant by this word or make a comment about how this incident from the other week is an example of what the pastor is preaching on. He’s listening, just not the same way I might be.
These Sundays, I’m not like that younger version of myself. As I strive to keep my children content with paper, crayons, and squishy animals, I watch the little girl dancing in the aisle to the worship music, the older one blowing bubbles to keep some of the other children busy, the little child next to me with her hands raised like her mother with her eyes closed and words belting out of her. I watch them, and I think of Jesus with his arms open wide, saying, “Let the little children come to me.”
Let us strive to say the same.
A Mother Held is Out in the Wild
I can’t believe I’m finally holding my story in my hands. This book is a testament to the faithfulness, love, and goodness of our Father through the greatest joys and deepest of grief in motherhood. It has meant so much to me to see pictures of your copies and hear your stories in response to reading mine. Thank you for making this dream a reality, friends.
A Bit of Truth, Beauty, and Goodness
You know I’ve loved Amy Grimes’ work for years, and I’ve been on the edge of my seat waiting for her next project. Now its a dream come true!
is publishing a middle-grade fairytale written by the talented and illustrated by Amy Grimes! I cannot wait for this project to come to fruition! Here’s the synopsis:The girl and her parents believe she is special because she has a unique birthmark on her left foot. Because of this special mark, they give her everything she wants to make her happy. But, this makes her selfish and demanding. If she doesn’t get her way, the girl frowns such a frown that it shakes the ground and destroys everything around her.
In an attempt to minimize destruction (and embarrassment) in their village, the parents take her out to the country. But, her selfish demands bring more destruction as the family visits three locations (a barn, a mill, and a castle), each further from the village than the next. The final event, however, awakens a fairy who lives in a hollow tree near the castle.
Upon meeting the fairy, the girl shrinks in size and cannot regain her stature until she undergoes lessons in selflessness, compassion, and empathy. The fairy teaches the girl that she won’t truly be happy until she learns how to put others before herself.
When Suffering Causes You to Doubt by Ashley Anthony. “We allow our inability and doubt to draw us to the One who provides the healing we need. We go to the throne of mercy, to the One who draws near to us when we bring our weakened faith to him (James 4:8). And because Christ has promised to come close, we can believe—whether with whispered dependence or strengthened cries—that he will never pass us by.”
Ice, Wind, Unanswered Prayers by Stephanie O’Donnell. “As I write, I see the signs of winter’s grip release and warmth fills me as I anticipate spring’s arrival. The river stirs from its winter’s rest. Almost imperceptibly, the sun gains strength and the snow melts. The vast whitescape is dappled with a light clear gray—a sign water is breaking through. It occurs to me that answered prayer resembles winter’s transition to spring. Sometimes answers to prayer come quickly and suddenly. Other times they come much slower like the glade that breaks through gradually. Much of the work being done by God in answer to these prayers is unseen—the transition subtle, slow. Just because it’s unnoticed, doesn’t mean nothing is happening.”
From My Reading Stack
Out of the Shadow World by Colleen Chao. If you’re looking for a great read-aloud option for your entire family or a good middle-grade fantasy novel rich with biblical parallels, this is one you want to pick up. The story follows Pax and his friend Jayni; their lives have both drastically changed since Pax’s cancer diagnosis, and all they both long for is for Pax to be healed. Yet when a strange bird reveals a magical world within their favourite climbing tree, they begin to learn that healing is much more than physical.
God of All Things by Andrew Wilson. Consider this a short, easy-to-read biblical theology of… things. Physical things in our world such as stones, tools, pigs, and salt. Wilson takes us through a variety of seemingly insignificant items of our world and how they reflect our Creator and can preach to our souls.
Surprised by Joy by C.S. Lewis. Have you ever wondered about how C.S. Lewis came to be the man we know him as today? This book recounts his story from childhood to adulthood and the many steps and turns God put in his path to lead Lewis straight into his embrace.
A Children’s Book on Repeat in our House
Harriot Hare by Jeff & Angela Knox. This gentle tale is about a rabbit who shows everyone she loves generosity in simple ways that are meaningful to them. This picture book is based on the authors’ Nana. My little ones love the illustrations, especially since they remind us of our beloved Beatrix Potter books.
My Latest Work
WRITING
How to Love our Friends in Truth—Even When it Stings. Our love should be based on knowledge—our knowledge of how we were first loved by the Savior (1 John 4:19). It’s according to this love by which God covered us that we love others—with grace, selflessness, and truth. We love one another with knowledge of the truth, always seeking to encourage them in further holiness. Is your love founded in this kind of knowledge and discernment? What does it look like to live this way?
What It Means to ‘Take Every Thought Captive’ When You’re Living with OCD. When it comes to the all-too common Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, mainstream and faith-based counselors are in general agreement. That doesn’t make their prescriptions easy.
Captive Thoughts Tame the Tongue. To overcome my fumbling words and rash exclamations, I sometimes try to clamp my lips tighter, keep silent, and remind myself of every Bible verse related to the tongue. I bring remedies to my mouth while completely misdiagnosing my sin. My problem isn’t my words as much as the thoughts that motivate them.
INTERVIEWS
The Abiding Well Podcast: Dealing With Anxiety & Depression As A Believer
Seven Years in the Making: A Story of Re-Connection with
That’s all, friends! Enjoy all the false spring you can get! ✨
That board book looks so lovely. Would love to see your book gets into as many hands as it can. (And I love that photo of you!)
Sister, we are cut from the same cloth. I echo your sentiments here. And thank you for your support and encouragement with my fairytale book!