Hello, friends! Let’s skip the intros I can never write well anyway and cut to the chase:
The giveaway
I’ve been wanting to do a giveaway for awhile and am finally doing it!
BUT.
It’s a trap.
It’s a newsletter-exclusive giveaway, so if you aren’t subscribed to my newsletter, you’ll want to now if you know what’s good for you and if you like free bookish goodies.
If you were around when This Will Not Last released, you may remember the Etsy shop I started so I could process preorders. After about a year of being sorely neglected, I’ve relaunched it as The Barefoot Poetry Co., and if you’ve been wanting a signed copy of either one of my poetry collections, now is the time to snag one (or two or three!) at a 15% discount!
I’m running a sale in the shop through Friday because it’s my birthday week and I’m feeling like bribing people into supporting an ink-stained wretch in her wild writing habits generous. XD Use the code HOBBIT15 at checkout to get the discount! (Another plug for the newsletter…you’ll find out why I chose that code if you subscribe to the newsletter before Tuesday evening.:))
Do you see a man hasty in his words? There is more hope for a fool than for him.
Proverbs 29:20
What I’ve been reading…
Prince Caspian – C.S. Lewis
“Oh, I’m a dangerous criminal, I am,” said the Dwarf cheerfully. “But that’s a long story. Meantime, I was wondering if perhaps you were going to ask me to breakfast? You’ve no idea what an appetite it gives one, being executed.”
And so the journey through Narnia continues! I’m thoroughly enjoying it.
Wildflower Pages – Brittany Litster
there is so much more to God than what He can do for me.
This is the first book I’ve annotated, and I’m hooked. This collection of poetry is just so delightful and thought-provoking…I got together with a friend the other day to talk over some of the poems, as we’re reading through the book at the same time! 10/10 recommend doing that with a favorite poetry book.✨
Thank God I have learned how to deal with loneliness, then. I have written about it so many times. I have felt an ache that this world cannot satisfy for all my life. At times, I have thought it was a longing for certain places or people. Today it manifests itself as a longing for love and marriage. But I see it for what it is: a longing for fulfillment. And I know wherein lies my fulfillment.
I appreciated this take on the root of longing so very much. This blog post is well worth the read.
The only reason that we are ever scared of the will of God is because we cannot see the grace that will be there.
Elisabeth Elliot
From the journal…
Help me to go deeper in a world of short captions and fast-paced living. Show me how to live this season with grace.
God is still good when I feel left behind.
Well, June was a full month, and that means a not-so-full journal.😂
What memories/lessons are you taking away from this month?
Stay the course!
❤ Laurel
P.S. My quarterly newsletter goes out this week or next! Expect some secret info on my current writing project, Project Redemption! (and possibly a little writing snippet??) If you’re not signed up for my newsletter already, you can do so here!
This week I wanted to bring back a post from last fall that really embodies what I’ve been considering lately…I hope it challenges you like it’s challenging me.
It’s another month, so it’s time for another memories post!
Things worth remembering
sister walks
piano recitals
sand volleyball in the dark
wandering the greenhouse
learning how to soil finish
running for tires and parts
getting roller skating lessons from my little sister (progress was made, but I’m still horrible)
ice cream and car watching on the hill with my sisters
making slow motion match-striking videos that were anti-climactic
late night sibling movie night
ice cream and poetry
chatting on the phone with my brother
more volleyball (much more successful than the volleyball in the dark😂)
getting the first cutting of hay chopped and packed before the rain
Love is something more stern and splendid than mere kindness.
C.S. Lewis
What I’ve been reading
you’re not enough (and that’s okay) – Allie Beth Stuckey
When our reason behind our rest is to ensure better service to the Lord and to others, we don’t have to worry whether or not taking needed breaks is self-centered. It’s not.
I’ve been wanting to read this book ever since it came out, and I finally got my hands on a copy. Man, oh man. I’m really appreciating this deeper look at the subtle ways the self-love culture really works some lies into our mentalities.
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe – C.S. Lewis
“Safe?” said Mr. Beaver; “don’t you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you? Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.”
Just finished reading this book for the first time…so very good. I love how the storytelling is light and easy to read, but the meanings are so deep if you look for them. For a while I was sad because I hadn’t grown up reading the Chronicles of Narnia and couldn’t understand the inside conversations of Narnia enthusiasts (ha!), but I think that approaching them as an adult has made me appreciate the books so much more than I ever could have as a child.
The Horse and His Boy – C.S. Lewis
I’m enjoying this next book in the series, as well!
For this is the will of God, your sanctification.
1 Thessalonians 4:3
From the journal…
There is no day I’ll ever live that You have not seen, no trial ahead that has not crossed Your desk. You know what You’re doing, God…teach me to see the way You see. Carry this pain for me, Lord.
May I lose my sinful flesh as I draw nearer to Your heart…may the passion of Your love torch away the dross, leaving a life that is more conformed to Your will.
Did May seem to fly by for everyone else, too? What were some of your favorite parts of May?
Is it my prayer to be made comfortable, or to be made complete?
The topic of joy and trials linked together has been on my mind lately, and since I haven’t shared one of these “on my heart” kind of posts in a while (it’s been mostly poetry, life updates, and trying to convince you to buy my books! XD), I thought I’d try to gather my ramblings into a blog post.
Can trials seriously be an opportunity to rejoice?
In spite of having James 1:2-4 memorized for years, I’ve been reading/recalling it wrong this whole time. In case you aren’t familiar with it, here it is…
My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.
James 1:2-4
Honestly, whenever I read or recited this verse, most of the last part was drowned out by the first part: My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials… And to be honest, I pictured this joy as a “grin and bear it” sort of thing. A grimacing endurance of hard times because we know that good things are ahead for us as Christians (see Hebrews 12:1-2).
But in listening to this message and recent sermons and small group discussions, it finally hit me that joy isn’t just something that we’re supposed to cling to as we weather the storms of life. It’s something that can be found because of the storm.
“…count it all joy…knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.”
Sure, the trial itself isn’t any fun. At all. (Unless you love pain.) But we can rejoice in the fact that the trial will refine us, revealing to us our weaknesses and showing God’s strength through us, and ultimately conforming us more purely to His image.
“But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.”
I mean, if that’s not encouraging…
And this we also pray, that you may be made complete.
2 Corinthians 13:9b
Then this verse popped up in my Bible time the other morning, and it made me ask myself how often I pray to be made more mature, more complete, and then come crying to God when the very trials that will give me maturity slip (and sometimes pour!) into my life.
Quite honestly, it’s often.
Very often.
But I want to stop living that way.
I want to get in the habit of embracing the struggles. Of choosing to see the end result instead of simply wailing about the current mess, while somehow managing to delight in the lovely moments of now instead of being lost in an eternal chasing of the future.
So there it is…a sort of brain dump of what I’ve been processing lately. It’s by no means an exhaustive essay, but I hope it gets some wheels turning in your head and pushes you deeper into Scripture and prayer like its doing for me.
This weekend I got to answer some questions from a writing friend, Laurel Burgess! I ran into Laurel in online writing communities about two years ago, and have continued to enjoy her writing, her bubbly personality, and her hilarious sense of humor! I had such a fun time answering her questions about writing, farming, and my hopes for my writing future. If you’re interested…
Laurel (the other Laurel! XD) is just so much fun, and I really enjoy her short story, Attack of the Gummy Worms.
ATTACK of the GUMMY WORMS
Tim Rodrey is a specialist in fighting creatures and saving the world.
What does he do specifically? Sorry, he works for the SCA. The “S” stands for secret. Next question? Uh no. The small girl with the tutu is not his sidekick. That would be his niece. He was sort of babysitting her before the gummy worms attacked the subdivision.
That really messed things up. Good thing he’s a professional and has absolutely no fear in leading people.
It had me laughing so much! If you need a good laugh and a quick read, you should definitely check it out. The best part is that it’s available for FREE when you subscribe to Laurel’s newsletter here!
So tell me…what’s your go-to when you need a book that will make you laugh?
participating in a local road race with siblings + friends
feeding cattle (punctuated by hysterical laughter) with a sister
seeing the northern lights for the very first time
contagious laughter
FaceTiming the brother
getting sunburned
acquiring badly needed new windshield wipers and proceeding to keep them in my back seat for weeks
shopping adventures with a sister
Ultimate Frisbee
I don’t worry about my small salary, ’cause I am getting a happiness and a joy in service that money couldn’t buy…
Peter Marshall
What I’ve been reading
A Man Called Peter – Catherine Marshall
“I’d like this clearly understood,” he went on, grinning like a small boy, “I’m not going to get mar-r-ied till I’m good and ready. I’m good enough now, but I’m not ready.” This remark soon went the rounds.
I don’t even feel like I’m reading a biography when I’m reading this…Catherine Marshall has such a gift for storytelling and description, and Peter Marshall was such a character!
Three Blind Mice – Agatha Christie
The fact that her breakfast had been excellently cooked and served, with good coffee and homemade marmalade, in a curious way annoyed her still more. It had deprived her of a legitimate cause of complaint. Her bed, too, had been comfortable, with embroidered sheets and a soft pillow. Mrs. Boyle liked comfort, but she also liked to find fault. The latter was, perhaps, the stronger passion of the two.
I listened to an audiobook of this short mystery. I so enjoyed this one. The characters were so intriguing, and the ending completely blindsided me! If you want a good snowbound mystery that won’t take too long to read, here’s your book!
Crooked House – Agatha Christie
Curious thing, rooms. Tell you quite a lot about the people who live in them.
I still don’t know what to say about this one. The ending was so dark, but it was clever. Most of the characters just didn’t come alive for me, either. I don’t know that I would recommend it.
Dead Man’s Mirror – Agatha Christie
Godfrey Burrows came in with a pleasant eagerness to be of use. His smile was discreetly tempered with gloom and showed only a fraction too much teeth. It seemed more mechanical than spontaneous.
This was an enjoyable short mystery!
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe – C.S. Lewis
“Why not now?” said Edmund. His face had become very red and his mouth and fingers were sticky. He did not look either clever or handsome, whatever the Queen might say.
I’m reading through this classic for the first time, and am once again enjoying C.S. Lewis’s style of storytelling.
This Will Not Last – Laurel Luehmann
when the world knocks the breath from my lungs, You fill them once more with Your own
Yes, I’m rereading my own book. XD
Where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there.
James 3:16
From the journal
I want to know You for who You are, not for who I think You are.
How is Christ changing the way I live my life? How is He altering my heart, my desires, my priorities? The way I spend my seconds?
I know You will provide, and I know Your timing is best. I lay down any thoughts of “I know better” and give this mess to You.
What were some of the most memorable parts of your April?
Today I’ve got a bit of a story that I might turn into a serial on this blog…or a novella…or a MG book…give it a read and share what you think it should become in the comments!
Once upon a time, Matilda Wiggins had been a child.
You wouldn’t believe it to look at her, but years ago, the faded eyes had been a striking blue and the gray bits of hair that straggled out of her cap had once been gold. Her now aching legs had once carried her swiftly over the moors, gathering heather and bracken to arrange in odd little jam jars that had been chipped and discarded from use in her mother’s kitchen.
Even if her legs could still have carried her out of her cottage for a walk about the moors, it would have been little use to her except for the fresh air. Matilda Wiggins had gone stone blind, and could no longer see even the blazing fire her granddaughter kept blazing in the hearth.
On this particular November evening, Matilda sat now before the fire, her old bones enjoying the warmth of the blaze. She rocked quietly in the rocker her late husband had fashioned, her still sharp ears soothed by the comforting creak of the ancient rockers rolling back and forth, back and forth on the well-swept floor.
“It’s certainly a blustery night!” her granddaughter (Beatrice, they called her) said loudly from across the room. Beatrice never could seem to understand that her grandmother’s hearing was as fine as it had been when she was Beatrice’s age, even though Matilda told her time and time again. (Young people have always had a great knack for misunderstanding their elders.)
This time Matilda merely sighed and turned her face to where she once had seen the doorway. She could feel the fingers of wind swirling in from outside and reaching all the way across the room to wrap themselves about her ankles, and she didn’t like it.
“Do put a rug up against the door, Beatrice; I feel a draft.”
Beatrice did as she was told, for she really was a good-hearted girl. I’ve told you what Matilda looks like (although I don’t believe I told you she was toothpick-thin), and so I ought to tell you about Beatrice. Beatrice looked a good deal like her grandmother used to look. She was about as tall as most girls of sixteen, and rosy cheeked, due to standing so close to the fire for so long. Her work-worn hands were chapped by winter, but she never complained.
“Still it blows!” Beatrice exclaimed, quietly now, as it was more to herself than to her grandmother. She had dammed up the wind’s entrance with an old rug, and now she peered out of the little glass window beside the door, breathing at the frost to melt it, and scrubbing it away with her apron so she could see the snow swirling across the moorland. Even the long-forsaken castle in the distance was hard to see now, what with the dying light and the wind-tossed snow.
Beatrice loved the castle. She’d only ever seen it from a distance, for she rarely stirred from the cottage she shared with her grandmother, but its grandeur captured her imagination. Secretly she dreamed of what it would be like to live in it, and wear beautiful dresses, and eat chocolate every day, and never chap her hands with dishwater and the wind again.
“Will the stew be ready soon?”
Her grandmother’s quavering voice burst the bubble of her reverie, and Beatrice turned from the window with a sigh.
“Yes, Grandmother. I believe it shall.”
If you got to live in a castle, what would you do in it?
Laurel Luehmann 