Wild Things & Castles in the Sky ~ A Book Review at Story Warren

I snuck downstairs early before dawn, lighted my Wax & Wool candle, Pacific Coast scent, and wrapped myself in a knitted baby blanket I keep upstairs with my toddler baskets for when Mamas and Littles come to visit. Its quiet in the house right now. I hear a few cars driving by, people heading to work in town or in the plethora of orchards and fruit warehouses in the valley. My earl grey tea from an eastern European country is steeping while I type. I love to know where things come from. I read the back of the tea box and it tells me all about the beginning of tea cultivation in the far away country of Georgia, where a dear friend lives with her family:

“It was back in 1809 when the first tea plant was cultivated in Georgia under Mamia V Gurieli, Prince of Guria. That marked the beginning of two hundred years of Georgian tea history.”

I’m thankful for the gift of friendship and tea. When you know someone carried a box of tea in her suitcase to share with you all the way from the other side of the world, that cup of tea warms the heart in a meaningful way. It tells a story.

Tea and friendship and stories are all included in the gift I want to place in your hands. A few months ago, a dear friend from Bellingham, Théa, asked me if I would be interested in writing a book review for her first published book. I was elated, of course!

Upon visiting her lovely home in springtime, she gave me a copy of her book. I began to explore this tome of essays that she had both the opportunity to be editor of, as well as contributor. When I heard her name mentioned on The Habit podcast, I was overjoyed as I listened to Jonathan Rogers and Leslie Bustard discuss this brand new work of literature.

When beginning to write my review for the Story Warren website, I found that I had inadvertently written a half page about our friendship and how much she meant to me! Alas, I had to start from scratch, and remember to review the book, not the author!

Before I introduce you to this book, I want you to get to know Théa, and you can do so in and amongst the pages of her corner of the internet, Little Book Big Story, where she winsomely writes children’s book reviews and shares glimpses into her life with her husband and four daughters. We have been friends ever since our eldest girls were crawling and learning to walk. Fourteen years later, we no longer discuss birth stories and the latest in diapering accessories. That was necessary back then, but our roots have grown deeper and usually our conversations take a deep dive into our life journeys, joys, struggles, adventures in motherhood, reading, writing, music, things we are learning about our gentle Savior, and the way He continues to transform us.

I’m holding out to you a gift today.

It is a gift because when received, it has the possibility of forming hearts and minds, developing imagination, and creating a greater capacity for one’s mind to be expanded like a hot air balloon which can carry one away to behold new glorious life-enriching vistas.

There is a movement happening among our generation. It is a reading movement with a catchphrase… a leitmotif. The clarion call is for “truth, beauty, and goodness”. I hear this catchphrase so much in the books I read, the communities I’m a part of, and the podcasts I listen to, that when I hear it, it is a sign to stop and pay attention. It is a symbol that wakes one up to the reality that there are others among us who also hold to these values - values that come from the heart of God, the Creator of truth, beauty, and goodness. I call Him: my “gentle Jesus”.

Truth: Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. John 14:6

Beauty: How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, “Your God reigns.” Isaiah 52:7

Goodness: Good and upright is the Lord; therefore he instructs sinners in the way. Psalm 25:8

What is your reading journey like? Have you looked into your past to see which books have shaped you and are forming you into the person you are today? The reading life is a powerful life of formation.

“A woman who reads is a woman who knows she must act: in courage, in creativity, in kindness, and often in defiance of the darkness around her. She understands that life itself is a story and that she has the power to shape her corner of the drama.” -Sarah Clarkson, Book Girl

Please join me on Story Warren, as I introduce to my readers Wild Things and Castles in the Sky: A Guide to Choosing the Best Books for Children by Leslie Bustard, Théa Rosenburg, and Carey Bustard, where truth, beauty, and goodness are whispered on every page, and every page prepares our hearts and minds for the inspiring journey of reading with children.

The sun is rising, and I have so much more to say, but I’m closing my computer now to go outside and quietly watch the dawning of a new day over the eastern sky… because The Story is still unfolding each and every day.

Featured on Story Warren: A Book Review: Wild Things & Castles in the Sky

Searching the Word

In like a lion, and out like a lamb. This spring time proverb does not ring true this year. The lion has decided to stay. The snow is falling sideways today as winter makes one last triumphant crescendo across the Cascade mountain range. Winter is tired, yet makes its last moments of fortitude known as a conquered foe who rages with one last cry before its reign ends in certain finality and succumbs to its victor, Spring.

I am preparing for our spring bible study at church.

Where do we start when we are teaching others how to study the Bible? One of the first questions might be: what is the Bible? What does the word “bible” mean? What did the Bible look like during the time period of the early Church when Jews, Greeks, Romans, north Africans, were first hearing the wonderful news that Jesus was truly the long-awaited Savior, and churches were being formed as new converts believed and were baptized?

Getting serious about the Bible, God’s Word, is life-changing, and at times, creates more questions in our hearts than we would prefer. It has caused me, personally, to go through seasons of deep questioning, challenging preconceived ideas about the Bible and about God, and wrestling with my own faith.

More than a decade ago, a friend was visiting my home. This was a regularly scheduled coffee visit, talking about faith, theology, church history and missions. We usually met in a coffee shop near my home, where I would drink coffee and she would drink water! Something I said caused her to question something she had always assumed in her understanding of theology. She didn’t talk much about it. Years later, she shared with me that for the next two years after that conversation, she went through one of the most difficult seasons of her life as she wrestled with theology and doctrine, searching the Scriptures to work out her understanding, studying, and asking questions of her pastor. God carried her through that time. After pursuing a Masters in Theology at Regent College in Vancouver, Canada, she is now creating the Bible curriculum for a Christian school and teaching hundreds of young people about the Bible.

The writer to the Hebrews, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, wrote these ancient words:

"For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” Hebrews 4:12 


As I prepare for our women’s Bible study, Search the Word, there are so many things I want to share here: my own story of a season of doubt and recovery (its complicated and beautiful), beautiful songs about Scripture, and links to resources to help whomever is reading and needs to hear this, see this, and grow on their journey of following Jesus of Nazareth.

I don’t know who will read these posts. But its out there for the Holy Spirit to use as He pleases. God created fantastic galaxies full of the brightest and most majestic stars and planets that will never be seen by a human eye, and yet, it still brings Him glory. May these words bring Him glory and delight His heart.

Incarnation, Mount Doom, and Dusting Off the Front Porch of my Writing Home

Hello!

It has been quite a long while since I have written in this space. I have dearly missed it, but it was for a purpose. I was intentionally absent from writing here for an undetermined amount of time, while like a ship on the open ocean, I turned my attention full steam ahead to helping lay the foundations of a church plant alongside my husband. I have still been writing, but my writing has been focused on sending church plant updates to our prayer and support team, sending news of what God is doing through their prayers, encouragement, and support. So many people are involved in this work in various ways. For us, our role is on the front lines, and as such, we are reporting the answers to prayer, the changes in people’s lives, the work Jesus is doing, and the way the gospel is forming a people for God’s glory and kingdom here. It is a specific type of church ministry, and one that we would not recommend people get into unless they absolutely feel called by our loving Lord Jesus. In fact, recruiting for the adventure of church planting can be summarized in a quote by J.R.R. Tolkien:

“I am looking for someone to share in an adventure that I am arranging, and it's very difficult to find anyone.' I should think so — in these parts! We are plain quiet folk and have no use for adventures. Nasty disturbing uncomfortable things! Make you late for dinner!” -JRR Tolkien, The Hobbit

I jest!

A winter storm is looming over the western horizon this week. surging over the mountain range, sending fierce gusts down through the hills of sagebrush and wildflowers. I sit with my favorite Mexican blanket wrapped snug around me in our “bear den”, slowly sipping a third cup of coffee, listening to the wind shaking the glass doors of our fireplace, and the faithful hum of the dryer machine tumbling clothes. Like the unfurling of a thousand magnolia petals in spring, this writing home peeks into the open and considers whether it is time to awake.

I am reading The Lord of the Rings trilogy aloud to my children. We are in the third volume, The Return of the King (my second time reading through the entire trilogy). We are nearing the end. I was reading the chapter called  Mount Doom. The kids prepared their mugs of hot tea. One was working on homework, one snuggled under a blanket, and two drawing and painting with watercolors. I had lit two candles. My heart was full. 

It was the climax of the entire 1008 page story. Perhaps I had too much coffee to drink that morning, or perhaps its middle age, but for some reason… I was moved to tears. Sam and Frodo were nearing the moment that would affect the entire course of history in Middle Earth and determine its fate forever. Frodo couldn’t go on, and his will was bending to the desires of the power of Mordor. Sam was determined. He would not let his friend give up. Sam realized this was the very purpose for which he had come. He finally knew his calling, and his mind was set to help Frodo finish his quest. In fact… “He felt no longer either desire or need of sleep, but rather of watchfulness.”

Watchfulness. 

As Frodo struggled on against all probability of a successful mission, an epiphany was happening within Sam. He knew Frodo was destined to the task of destroying the one ring and that he couldn’t fulfill Frodo’s destiny in his place. And yet, Frodo couldn’t do this alone. It is here we see Sam embrace his own calling, which was to practice the discipline of incarnation. 

“Come, Mr. Frodo!' he cried. 'I can't carry it for you, but I can carry you.”

Last week, our Bible study group was discussing the incarnating work that Christ performed in various places in the gospel narratives. His display of compassion in these accounts transformed specific people’s lives, and through being included in the canon of Scripture, has transformed even the world. He taught his disciples how to incarnate into people’s lives.

What is incarnation? In his book, Compassion - Person of Jesus: A Study of Love, Paul E. Miller says,

“Incarnation seeks to go inside of others to find out what their needs are, as opposed to standing on the outside and helping them. When I incarnate with you, I slow down and think about your world. No one can help me think more clearly about your world than you.” (pg 114)

In many ways, we see Frodo as a picture of Christ. But we can also see Christ in the role of Sam as he takes on the example of the Good Samaritan who carried the beaten man back into life by providing for his physical and financial needs which then restored his very life. In the same way, Good “Sam”aritan carried Frodo into life by incarnating with him and literally taking on Frodo’s burden to save the world. This is as much a story about Sam as it is of Frodo.

“…Sam staggered to his feet; and then to his amazement he felt the burden light.”

Perhaps I was stirred because in this moment, I see two parallels. First, as a church planting wife, I see myself in the role of Sam at times. I am not called to the task of being a church planting pastor, but I am called to being a church planter’s wife. I am not called to carry all the responsibilities that come with being a Shepherd of a congregation, but I am called to be his helper. I am not called to know everyone’s journey in our congregation, but for those who share with me their stories, I hold those stories very carefully. As a pastor’s wife, I can’t carry my husband’s specific tasks for him, but I can carry him by loving him in a myriad of ways. Perhaps at times, I have been fearful of how to step into this role, but once embraced, the burden feels at times light, as if maybe Jesus really meant it when he said, 

“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30

Here we come to the second parallel. The task that I am called to feels surprisingly light, once embraced, because the Lord is the one who strengthens me with his power, equips me through the Holy Spirit and his Word, and fully and totally completes the work that He has started (Philippians 1:6). Like John the Baptist, I can say, “I am not the Christ.” I don’t have to have all the answers, because Jesus does. He is the one who swept in and stepped in between us and our Enemy, and rescued us.

Jesus carries us across the finish line, because we are too weak to do this work in our own strength. He is strong. Each of God’s children is called to a task, or a quest, if you will. But it is God’s strength that carries us and enables us to finish the course he has prepared for us… and when embraced, to our amazement, we, too, feel the burden light because He is holding us.

What caused a few tears to fall while I read to my children? Perhaps I was stirred in that moment because of the simple human need to carry and to be carried, to incarnate and be incarnated with, to rescue and be rescued.

On the First Day of Autumn

On the first day of Autumn, I sit here at my computer, surrounded by our homeschool curriculum, my second cup of coffee, one sweet 6 year old boy sharpening his pencil and trying to make it as small as possible, while listening to piano music by Franz Liszt in the background and the remaining fragrance of a green tea and bamboo candle puffed out hours ago.

On the first day of Autumn, my 12 year old runs upstairs gleeful to make a batch of espresso cupcakes, the same ones she made this past weekend for a bake and craft sale with a friend. My 3rd born is now sharpening pencils too and my 2nd born is most likely running in and out of the house enjoying this sunny day.

On the first day of Autumn, we celebrated Bilbo and Frodo Baggins’ birthdays and read chapter four of The Fellowship of the Ring this morning! My daughter finished her online writing course, Writing with Hobbits, and her violin lesson. In a few minutes, we will drive out into the country for our son’s guitar lesson. Its been a long time since I’ve written on my blog and I have so many things to update. I hope you find this update a refreshing glimpse of light in an otherwise very dark world.

The first thing I want to share is that this past winter, before our monumental move across the state, before the wildfires that swept through the west coast, before the pandemic and Covid-19, Wildflowers Girls Magazine published my interview with a dear friend, Rebecca Giles. She serves as a missionary in St Andrews, Scotland. I would be honored for you to check out this interview in the winter issue of Wildflowers Girls Magazine!

Secondly, Deeply Rooted Magazine published an article I wrote on evangelism. In their Summer 2020 magazine issue, you can find this piece where I share my passion for evangelism and what God has taught me through the years. This magazine print issue was very timely in its publishing as my husband and I are church planting in the Pacific Northwest. While at seminary several years ago, I audited a few courses by Professor Jerram Barrs. I learned so much from him, including his heart for evangelism. I was thrilled to be able to share some quotes from his book, The Heart of Evangelism.

Thirdly, our family made a huge transition in moving across our state this summer. My husband finished a two year church planting residency, and we moved several hours away, over the mountains, across the desert to a town where we lived years ago. It was a joy to come back to this city, to put down roots, and begin our church plant. The Lord has gently led us, faithfully calling and preparing the way for us to follow Him in what He is doing. “He Leadeth Me” was a hymn I framed and placed on the wall beside our door in the house we lived before our move. Our daily prayer was that Jesus would lead us. Walking this road has been an act of faith. It has been an act of obedience and dependence on our Good Shepherd. He has been faithful in every step as He leads us in His will. We kept asking the Lord to show us His will and make the path clear. One step at a time, he has done this very thing. Jesus never promised that it would be an easy road, but his very name is a promise of his presence with us forever. The name, Yahweh, reflects his covenant promises of his eternal presence with his people. There is no valley he will not go with us.

Our world is still suffering from the coronavirus illness as it continues to spread. Our community is no longer a hot spot for infection like it was in summer, and for us, life is mostly back to normal in our day to day routines. The wildfires that plagued the Pacific Northwest have mostly dissipated in our area and the smoke has cleared, revealing the beautiful blue sky and green orchards on the hills. I am homeschooling and was deeply encouraged by Sally Clarkson’s recent Awaking Wonder online conferences. I listened to her podcasts a lot this summer as I painted many walls at our house. She was my companion as I sweated under the heat and work of renovation, and sipped my sweet iced tea! In all the suffering that our world has endured this past year, I am reminded of God’s goodness and faithfulness to accomplish all his holy will. He knows the number of our days, and the work that He has prepared for us to do. Our hope is in him. So, we carry on in the simplicity of joy, the quietness of confidence in His strength, knowing that when we suffer, we do so with a divine gift of joy entrusted to us who are His people.

He walks with me.

On the First Day of Spring

On the first day of Spring, I opened the blinds to welcome the rays of sunlight that eagerly wanted to be allowed in. I showed you, my little one, a sweet video from your school teacher as she sang a song of hope and peace, strumming on her guitar from her treehouse. I ground freshly roasted coffee beans and prepared a pot. We gathered around to read God’s Word and be reminded of the greatest Story ever told, the real Story. It strengthened our souls for the day.

On the first day of Spring, our days looked very different than we ever expected. Your days were spent at school from Monday to Thursday, with a home study day on Fridays. I had just started working a part time job at a flower farm. With two and a half months left, we were almost through the school year, anticipating a major move across the state.

On the first day of Spring, our world had succumbed to a global pandemic as an invisible enemy, a deadly virus, swept swiftly across the world, infecting hundreds of thousands of people and killing over 10,000. All major league sports shut down first, then came the schools. Restaurants, cafes, and large retailers closed their stores. Daily, we were waiting and watching expectantly for the next set of recommendations from the government to slow the spread of the virus, to self-isolate in our homes, and stock up on food and supplies.

On the first day of Spring, we went outside to bask in the sunshine, to climb a tree, to talk to a neighbor, while making sure we stayed six feet away. The weather was warmer, and our windows were wide open. We needed to expand our living space. Looking out into the woods behind our house, I longed for you kids to run, climb, and explore in nature. I grabbed my garden clippers and called to you children to follow. I pulled up one of the many tree stumps from the trees our landlords had cut down last Fall. I picked up a smaller tree stump and precariously heaved it over the chain fence, intending to upend it as a stepping stool when I wanted to climb back over. As I stepped up onto the stump, I wondered how I’d get my 42 year old self over this chain fence and land safely on the other side.

On the first day of Spring, I was determined. I went for it and got myself up onto that fence and over with almost as much class and agility as I had when I was a teenager. I was determined. You kids followed, one with excitement, one with curiosity, one with much uncertainty, and one of you stayed in the hammock, safe and sound. I started clipping away at thorn branches, and overgrown wilderness, clearing a neat and tidy pathway into our new wilderness. If we were to self-isolate, we needed a magical place to escape to, to feel normal in, to imagine, wonder, and create.

On the first day of Spring, I prepared a clearing, surrounded by ferns, fallen trees to climb, coniferous trees, a moss-covered stone and a scattered assortment of large white feathers by an unknown bird. I named our paradise, The Castle of Timberwood! It is a magical place of pure delight and natural beauty. And when the sun sets in the west, it weaves its rays of light through the trees and the ferns to wave farewell to the close of the day, clinging to the hope that there will be a tomorrow.

It was the first day of Spring.

Maple Ridge, British Columbia, Canada, March 2020

“When despair for the world grows in me

and I wake in the night at the least sound

in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be,

I go and lie down where the wood drake

rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.

I come into the peace of wild things…”

(Wendell Berry, The Peace of Wild Things, New Collected Poems, 79)

Cliff Falls, Maple Ridge, British Columbia, Canada, March 2020

Swings, Slides, and Following Jesus

My parents taught me about God and His love any time of the day and night: while we hiked high up into the back woods behind our home to overlook the lower Fraser Valley to the heights of Mt Baker south of the Canadian border; while we drove to school each weekday morning; when we drove friends back to their homes after a youth group event; sitting around the table asking questions at dinnertime; and as they tucked us in for bed at night, when even more questions arose! Discipleship moments happen all throughout the day. We ask God to open our eyes and make us aware of the moments when the Holy Spirit is leading us to speak about Him to others. We want to always be ready to give an answer to anyone who asks us about the hope we have in Jesus.

This week, Deeply Rooted Magazine featured a short article I wrote about discipleship at the playground! I hope you can head over to their website to read more!

One day, my kids and I were at our local playground. Three other neighborhood kids were there. I asked one of our little friends about her family and church. A young eight-year-old boy named Abraham overheard us and wanted to know what we were discussing. He sat on the bench beside us and listened to our conversation. He asked questions like, “What is a cross?” and “What is Heaven?” which followed with many more questions.

Read the rest at Deeply Rooted Magazine!

How the Gospel Affects Our Mothering Ways + Our Friendships

The first time I noticed it, we were pregnant with our first born. People innocently asked, “What do you hope it is, a boy or a girl?” We had suffered from a miscarriage a few months before and I would answer simply, “We’re happy with either!” People would say, “Come on, what are you actually wanting?” I remember feeling slightly frustrated with this comment. I just wanted a baby! It didn’t matter whether it was a boy or a girl. I wanted a baby, a baby that would be born and live and whom we could cherish in our arms. I wanted the child God had given us - the very one who was growing inside me!

Then the question would come, “Are you going to find out or are you going to wait?” Well, eventually you find out whether at 20 weeks or 40 weeks. And suddenly, people’s opinions started flying out from the woodwork, aiming straight for my heart. I was grieved that others couldn’t just rejoice with us in our decisions for our family. Some did - usually the ones whose decisions were the same as ours. But if they were different, it was like I couldn’t run for cover fast enough.

That’s when I realized there was a war going on, and it wasn’t just the “Mommy Wars” between people’s preferences, but it was a deeper, spiritual war under the guise of Motherhood. There were giants to conquer and idols to overthrow but I couldn’t overthrow them for my friends and their hearts. I could only ask God to overthrow my own and trust that in His timing, He would work on their hearts too. I prayed and processed a lot during those years as God worked on me, as I learned to find my rest and security in Him as a mom with young children. This was a new learning curve in so many ways. I had to learn what it truly meant to bear with others, check the motivations, fears and insecurities that rose up in my own heart and to learn what it meant to rejoice with those who rejoice and mourn with those who mourn, but in a whole new way.

There were times friends would share about their mothering ways, and I would feel insecurity creep into my heart because it was very different than my own. With God’s help, I learned to choose to rejoice with her in her mothering ways while learning to be confident in my own mothering ways, whether or not my friends rejoiced with me in my own personal preferences.

We read in Philippians 2:3-8…

Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

God was teaching me humility and what it looked like to honor someone above myself. The Lord was teaching me to be others-centered and to humble myself to ask, “How can I serve this person in what I say? How can I rejoice with them right now?”

The gospel reminds us of the humility of Christ and His obedience to the point of death. It takes a daily dying to our “selves” to put others above us and rejoice with them. It doesn’t take anything away from our confidence in our own ways of doing life to honor someone else, listen, empathize, rejoice, mourn. I think we are sometimes afraid of that though. I think we are afraid that by rejoicing with someone else, that somehow it diminishes the value in what we are doing or our personal preferences. The gospel, however, produces fruit in our lives and others’ lives as we live it out.

When we can listen to one another and honor one another over and above ourselves and really pay attention, we are in essence emptying ourselves out to make space for another. Rejoicing with another believer in their rejoicing, or mourning with another in their mourning, is exactly what Christ would do if he was here in the flesh, and which he does do in Heaven as he intercedes for us before the Father. When I grieve, I know that Christ is grieving with me. When I rejoice, He is rejoicing with me. As His body of believers, we can be that physical manifestation of rejoicing and mourning with each other, sharing the gift of empathy and encouragement as we journey through this life together on Earth.

As my husband and I figured out what was best for our family in so many practical ways, God challenged the idols of my own heart with the gospel. Fighting against those feelings of insecurity, if my mothering ways were different than someone else's, was hard work! Keeping Christ at the center of our home took intentionality. Rejoicing in others' mothering ways while remaining confident about my own ways, was something that required grace, the Lord's help and power, and submitting my heart to the obedience of God's Word. The Gospel needed to be at the center of my mothering ways.

A wonderful book has been written this year by the ladies of the popular podcast "Risen Motherhood". The book, by the same name, is a beautiful keepsake for mothers starting in their motherhood journey. It is a call to keep the Gospel at the center of our mothering ways. I recently bought this for one of my dear friends in Canada. As I looked through it and read bits and pieces, I realized I still need these truths preached to me as my kids are now in the "middle years" of childhood and pre-teen stage! I'm planning on getting a copy for myself, as well for all the new moms at our church plant!

If we can keep the Gospel at the center of so many practical motherhood issues, we will not only be blessed ourselves, but we will be a blessing to our friends and acquaintances who may do things a little different than us, and the gospel will continue to be adorned in our lives.

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Romans 12:14-18 ESV