It was the 20th of December, and for an entire month the smells of gingerbread and homemade fudge had filled the farmhouse kitchen, secrets had been exchanged in whispers behind hands, and Randy Travis’ Christmas album had been played more than a dozen times through the boombox. The month had borne all the earmarks of a Werner family Christmas…except for the one that was most important in Grace Werner’s eyes.
There was no snow. At least out of doors.
Last year I wrote a short Christmas story about a (fictional) little girl I’d gotten to know quite well after spending a few years writing a story about a baker, a deputy, and a farmer who happened to be Grace’s older brother. Grace was never a main character in that book, but anyone who’s met her on the page knows that she’s most definitely main character material. (Major levels of sweetness and sass will do that for a seven-year-old.)
All Grace wants is to make Christmas 2001 absolutely perfect for her family. Is that too much for a seven-year-old to ask? But she can’t wrap gifts as well as her mother, or decorate cookies that look as nice as Grandma’s, and to top it all off the sky won’t yield even a single snowflake! Her dreams for a perfect Christmas seem to be crumbling as fast as her sugar cookies, but could it be that there’s more to a perfect Christmas than perfection?
This Christmas, join Grace and her family in their blustery corner of the Midwest for a chuckle-inducing adventure that will warm your heart and possibly leave you craving a plate of sugar cookies.
I reread this story last week, and it was such a treat to revisit all of Grace’s mishaps and adventures. (I honestly had forgotten how I’d resolved the story, so it was sweet to read that part like it was the first time, hehe!)
If you love all of the close-knit family vibes, humorous little kids, and the chance to visit a rural Midwest community via the written word, this story might be for you. 😉
I wrote this piece a couple of years ago and wanted to share it now. I hope it can be a blessing!
Practice guitar for the Christmas program.
Continue with gift preparations.
Finalize edits on my aunt’s obituary.
It’s a cruel and confusing thing to be grieving while the world swirls in such happiness and anticipation to the tune of “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” blaring over the radio.
But isn’t that why we have a Christmas in the first place?
God saw, God grieved, and so He came. Christmas isn’t a fragile veneer that’s been plastered over reality. It’s the reality of God made flesh so death could die, and deep grief gives us the opportunity to celebrate that in a way that goes much deeper than trite choruses and wooden nativity scenes.
We stand beside caskets that hold the shells of the ones who have burst into eternity before us, and we lower them into a hole in the earth’s frozen heart and our weeping hollows us out because we are broken, dying humans living in a broken, dying world.
But we sow these shells in a sure and tearful expectation, because, just as the souls we have loved have shed their shells, these shells will one day shed these caskets and meet their Savior in the air because we are healing, blood-bought humans living for a healed and blood-bought world.
And so we carry our grief, sometimes over our shoulders, sometimes in deep, hidden pockets, but always with a deep-seated expectation that weeping only endures for a night, and joy will come with the morning.
Whether that morning is earthside or not matters not to us, because we are trusting a flimsy future to the hands of a sturdy God. He has worked all for the good of those who love Him, and He is unchanging. Why should He think He will break that habit now?
Indeed, in the triune God is the love behind all love, the life behind all life, the music behind all music, the beauty behind all beauty and the joy behind all joy.
My favorite non-fiction read of 2025, hands down. Read it!!
“We are not called to be successful in accordance with ordinary standards, but in accordance with a corn of wheat falling into the ground and dying, becoming in that way what it never could be if it were to abide alone.”
I found this book deeply impactful in high school and have been enjoying a reread.
And I will wait on the LORD, Who hides His face from the house of Jacob; And I will hope in Him.
Isaiah 8:17
From the journal…
May every fiber of my being magnify and rejoice in You!
Lord, let me be obedient to the point of the death of my dreams.
I am satisfied because of Who God is. Please be the first thing I seek, the One I long for in the driest of seasons. Help me to see Your lovingkindness as truly better than life.
To pray, “Thy will be done,” I must be willing, if the answer requires it, that my will be undone.
This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you purchase something through one of the links I share in this post, I receive a small commission…at no extra cost to you.:)
Look at me, jumping on a trend for once. But I felt like waxing poetic, and this prompt was just the thing. I would be so glad if you’d use it as a springboard/inspiration to make your own list! ❤
I am rich…
because the November sun makes the edge of gray skies glow pink and lavender as it comes and goes // because I drink root beer and read poetry with my grandma // because mochas are a thing // because all the music I could dream of is at my fingertips // because my parents and siblings are so close, to my home and to my heart // because I have room for an ever-swelling book collection // because I can sing myself hoarse in corporate worship without fear // because my tomorrows are held firmly in the hands of a loving, sovereign God // because long-distance friendships work // because hours fly by with the dearest of friends // because candles and twinkle lights and fireplaces exist // because my aging car has stellar speakers // because there are “good morning” and “drive safe” texts // because brokenness is not the end of the story // because God said “no” and “not yet” more times than I can count // because He is writing a story much longer and deeper and more glorious than what I can see // because I have so many memories behind and an eternity with Christ before me //
And that is the God revealed by Jesus Christ. Before He ever created, before He ever ruled the world, before anything else, this God was a Father loving His Son.
AHHHHH!!! Read this book!!! I’ve known the Lord since childhood, but this book digs so deeply into the triune nature of God and what it says about Him (and consequently about our relationship with Him), I feel like I’m meeting and falling in love with Him for the first time all over again.✨
Gardening is one part labor of our hands and one part God’s sovereign care through creation. It’s a reminder to us that God often chooses to provide at the intersection of our just get started and His watch me do this.
Hands down one of the very best books I’ve read this year. I came to it expecting a recipe for surviving unwanted circumstances and came away challenged to thrive in the pieces and seasons of life I wouldn’t have chosen. It was also an encouragement to me to stop moping at the doors God’s closed to me and instead start asking Him to show me the doors He’s opening and give me the courage to walk through them. If you’re struggling with discontentment or restlessness, read this book if you can.
“The way to shape a child’s heart is through love. And the way to shape a child’s mind is through literature. When you read to a child, you accomplish both.”
Romance still isn’t my genre, hehe, but I so enjoy Nicole Deese’s writing style and endearing characters. I listened to the audiobook after my sister read the book, and it was so much fun to discuss it with her. I’d recommend this book if you enjoy the clean contemporary romance genre, fun-loving male MCs (think a hilarious dinosaur obsession), parts of the story told through text threads, and some adorable kids.
Character is shaped by the level of God’s control in our lives.
This one popped up as a recommended audiobook on Spotify, and, to be honest, I was skeptical but in possession of lots of audiobook hours to use before the end of the month, so…I started it. I haven’t listened to much of it, but I’ve been so pleasantly surprised. Thus far it’s been a convicting and encouraging listen.
“‘Snickers has ear mites, I hope Barnabas is doin’ fine in all those sandspurs, I hope to th’ Lord you’ll check his paws on a regular basis.’ Emma was running her straw around the bottom of the cup and sucking with great expectation, but not finding much. He turned the volume down on the answering machine.”
Continuing the Mitford series…as always, it’s a lighthearted yet touching read.
Turn away my eyes from looking at worthless things, And revive me in Your way.
Psalm 119:37
From the journal…
Help me to treasure and see as weighty the gaze of Your eyes alone.
I laugh in wonderstruck delight
at the order You have settled in the heavens:
the way You set Earth in its orbit
just close enough to smile at the rays of the sun.
and yet I worry that I – a trillionth of a speck
on the face of North America –
missed something that You wanted me to find,
and now it can never be recovered.
Your sovereignty, O Lord,
has taken into consideration my clumsiness…
Ever heighten my sensitivity to sin in my own life and root it out, but ever deepen my comprehension of the depth of Your grace. Don’t let Satan wield my awareness of sin (confessed and repented-of sin) to drive me deep into despair and a sense of worthlessness…show me Your glory and Your mercy!
For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.
This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you purchase something through one of the links I share in this post, I receive a small commission…at no extra cost to you.:)
They’ll tell you that arts and humanities aren’t practical and then read poetry at funerals and weddings, cry over films and search for meaning in ancient philosophy. Surviving is one type of practicality, knowing why we bother is another.
– on the importance of the arts and humanities
Things worth remembering…
playing music with my youngest sisters
fixing a dresser drawer (#powerful)
a cute pumpkin and flower farm
enjoying chai again
catching up with an old friend
getting my braces off (!!!)
biting into an apple for the first time in YEARS
gorgeous sunrises and sunsets
chats about surrender
the gospel preached many times over at Charlie Kirk’s memorial service
the sobering reminder to not be ashamed of the gospel of Christ✨
riding with siblings in farm equipment
the Great Eggy Microwave Explosion
surviving way too many stairs
the overwhelming gentleness of God
Apart from sin, we have nothing of which to be ashamed. Only an evil desire to shine makes us want to appear other than we are.
“You’ve put your foot in it now, old boy!…” And Dolly laughed so heartily that a spoonful of ice flew upon the head of a lady sitting below him, and got him into a scrape also.
Ahh, I’m so enjoying this one. I don’t know that I’ll like it quite as much as Little Men, but getting to see the children from that book grow up and find their way in the world has been so much fun.
It’s the boring, everyday fruitfulness that makes a life.
This book has been on my TBR ever since it came out, and I’m finally getting to it. God’s timing is impeccable…this is a very applicable (and convicting) read right now, and it will definitely make my list of favorites. I highly recommend it.
Choose prayer. Choose courage. Choose beauty. Choose adventure. Choose family. Choose a life of faith. Most importantly, choose Christ.
Erika kirk
From the journal…
Lord Jesus, You are my portion…may I ever see the richness of that!
Be most beautiful to me, Jesus.
This is enough…to be seen and chosen and cherished by the One Who handcrafted me for His glory and pleasure, for such a time as this. Help me to trust Your heart when I cannot see the significance of these days and circumstances. Keep me so very close to You. Don’t let me poke artificial fruit onto my branches, but abide, deeply delighting in You, day after day after day. Give me the discipline and desire to abide in You when the siren calls are loud. Glorify Your name in me.
Father, thank You for the gift of Your Spirit. Constant companionship, comfort, intercession when I don’t have the strength or the words…what a gift it is.
Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.
This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you purchase something through one of the links I share in this post, I receive a small commission…at no extra cost to you.:)
I wrote a poem earlier this month that I thought I’d share here. It’s a reminder I need often! What a gift it is to walk with a sovereign God through “ordinary” days.
This isn’t going to be a poetic post…it’s just me trying to kill two birds with one stone. The first bird is my hope to post more frequently here, and the second bird is to make a fall bucket list.
And speaking of birds, I saw a bald eagle flying almost at eye level the other day!! (My eyes were higher up than they usually are because I was in a tractor, but still. I love bald eagles, and it was an audible gasp-worthy moment.)
Anyway.
The list.
Glorify God and enjoy Him forever.
My friend Danielle always puts this on her monthly goals posts, and I’m stealing it because it’s such a good reminder of how to order my hopes and dreams.
Make apple fritters!!
I’ve been doing this for a few years now, and it’s always one of the first things I look forward to when the temperatures start dropping. I only let myself make them in autumn, so the process (and the product) are a delicious seasonal treat!
Not allow my phone or an open laptop in the kitchen and instead keep a current read close at hand.
If I’m eating alone, it’s all too easy for me to default to looking at a screen, and I’m sick of it. For several weeks now I’ve often been keeping books on the kitchen table to grab instead of my phone, but I’m signing the practice into law now.
Take discipleship more seriously, both on the giving and receiving end.
Seeking the friendship and counsel of older women and sharing friendship and counsel with younger women is something I want to pursue more intentionally this autumn…and the rest of my life.
Do a hike + picnic when the fall colors are the most vibrant.
Ahh!!!
Host a bonfire (or two or more).
Iam so grateful I don’t live in an area that is frequently under burn bans! I would be so miserable. I love fire.
Faithfully show up to write and let it be as messy as it needs to be.
I’m no longer one of those people who has a thousand book ideas floating around in her head, so the weeks after a book release can leave me feeling rudderless as far as writing goes. I don’t know exactly where writing will take me next, so it’s difficult to set goals for that apart from aiming to be faithful to sit down and at least turn the faucet on to see what comes out! My official goal for myself is to spend 30 minutes writing something each day…but it’s been a struggle, so that may just end up being a habit I hope to have implemented by the end of autumn.
Put a pot of mums in front of the house.
I actually just did this yesterday!! They look so happy.
I’d love to hear in the comments…what are some of your hopes and goals for this autumn?
Well…it’s not the first day of autumn, but now that it’s September, I’m letting myself pretend it’s autumn. It has taken discipline, but now my inner Winnie-the-Pooh is going to fully enjoy the chilly, hot chocolate-y mornings.
But August was a lovely month…
And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.
2 Corinthians 9:8
Things worth remembering…
weather cool enough to open windows
FaceTiming with my brothers
overcooking a sweet potato in the microwave
playing “Blessed Be Your Name” with my little sisters
flowers and a thoughtful note on my front steps after a long week
sunrise walks
a celebratory anniversary dinner
young adult Bible studies
spending a couple of weeks with a dear friend
seeing Beauty Even Here in print for the first time
building a castle (a small one, uninhabitable) with a cousin
walking to the post office
meeting my brother’s new puppy (a.k.a. falling in love)
watching The Fellowship of the Ring for the very first time
“That’s why we made them for you,” cried Tommy, standing on his head as the most appropriate way of expressing his emotions.
I’m so glad one of my sisters recommended this book to me…it is such a joy!! Louisa May Alcott’s writing style is one of my favorites, and this is just such a jovial yet heartfelt story. It’s also really sweet to see the characters from Little Women as more mature adults. I’m savoring every minute of it.
This entire time I’ve been closing myself off from love, but it’s been the solution all along. I’ve built walls at every turn. No more.
Oof. YA isn’t my genre, but I was fascinated by the concept of this story (a slight Beauty and the Beast retelling) and had some audiobook hours to use. I didn’t go into it knowing it was a TRILOGY, and now the epilogue might twist my arm into braving the rest of the teenage angst and listening to the rest of the audiobooks. (Love triangles exasperate me, though, so we’ll see what happens, hehe.)
The mill owner’s wife persists. “A dollar, my foot! Fifty cents. That’s my last offer. Goodness, woman, you can get another one.” In answer, my friend gently reflects: “I doubt it. There’s never two of anything.”
My grandma lent me an illustrated version of this short story, and goodness sakes…don’t read it if you don’t want an emotional ending! It’s beautiful, though…a skillfully written recollection (I realized halfway through that it’s autobiographical!) of a bittersweet childhood Christmas with all of the feels.
Don’t you know that your Father in heaven knows just what you’re needing? seek Him first and everything else that you need will be given don’t you see, He loves you much more than the lilies and sparrows come and rest don’t waste a day being scared of tomorrow.
My times are in Your hand, and it is a strong, wise, loving one. ❤
Lord, thank You that these trials do not need to define me the way Satan wants them to. He wants to use them to harden my heart, sharpen my tongue, weaken my mind and resolve. When I walk through them with You, You will use them to soften my hard edges, tune my ear to Your voice, sharpen my eye for Your heart and Your goodness. What a gift, Father…may I be faithful to steward it well.
God formed us for His pleasure, and so formed us that we, as well as He, can, in divine communion, enjoy the sweet and mysterious mingling of kindred personalities. He meant us to see Him and live with Him and draw our life from His smile.
This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you purchase something through one of the links I share in this post, I receive a small commission…at no extra cost to you.:)
O LORD God of hosts, Who is mighty like You, O LORD? Your faithfulness also surrounds You. You rule the raging of the sea; When its waves rise, You still them.
psalm 89:8-9
Things worth remembering…
coffee and crocheting with my mom
dabbling in songwriting again
watching fireworks from my brother’s pickup
not completely missing my cousin’s bridal shower due to traffic…🫠
completing my twenty-third trip around the sun
enjoying the malt wagon and the county fair with siblings
TRAILER RACES
book club with sisters and friends
lotsss of music practice
playing country music over a football game (SO much more fun than listening to the announcer, hehe!)
I’m not a fan of the romance genre, but I did so enjoy reading through this book with a book club!! Nicole Deese’s characters and prose were absolutely delightful…and the conversations and elephant pits that sprang up around it were certainly a highlight of the summer.
And honestly, that’s about all…there was so much life this July, I didn’t read too much. XD
Oh, fear the LORD, you His saints! There is no want to those who fear Him. The young lions lack and suffer hunger; But those who seek the LORD shall not lack any good thing.
Psalm 34:9-10
From the journal…
May we be utterly surrendered to You and Your leading. Let our brokenness gentle us to hear Your voice and to joyfully heed.
I know that in making a way, You must clear out a good deal of brush…make our hearts and lives surrendered to Your purpose-filled demolition so You may build beauty here.
Lead, kindly Light, amid th’encircling gloom Lead Thou me on; The night is dark, and I am far from home; Lead Thou me on; Keep Thou my feet; I do not ask to see the distant scene, One step enough for me.
This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you purchase something through one of the links I share in this post, I receive a small commission…at no extra cost to you.:)
Laurel Luehmann 