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.
I haven’t shared a poem on the blog in…a very long time. Let’s change that today, shall we?I’ve come to find that I love referencing seasons and months in my poetry, and this poem reflects that. I hope it can be an encouragement to you.🫶🏼
Beauty Even Here records a weariness familiar to many: one of aching restlessness on a stretch of unwanted road. But often it is that road, running through the depths of our grief and near despair, that can lead us to catch clearer glimpses of God’s goodness in our waiting, His steadfast love in the midst of our suffering, and the glimmers of hope He tucks in the cracks of our shattered dreams and expectations.
Laced with nature imagery and alternating between cadenced pieces and freestyle poetry, this cathartic collection is for the weary Christian, and seeks to offer a fresh yet deeply honest way of seeing our seasons of prolonged pain for what they are: an opportunity to long deeper still for another world, and to see more clearly the heart and love of Christ.
✨Coming August 26th, 2025✨
I can’t wait to share this collection with you!! Preorders will be opening soon, so stay tuned.🫶🏼
Release day for my upcoming poetry collection is less than two and a half months away,and I’m looking for a group of people who…
love finding beauty in the tiniest corners of life
want to see my poetry make its way a little farther in the world
can commit to helping me spread the word online about my upcoming poetry release
could go for a good bookish freebie or two (but hey, isn’t that all of us??)
If that describes you, you may be interested in joining my street team! I’ve linked the application below, and there you can find some more details about what being a street team member would entail.
That’s it for today, friends! Regardless of whether or not you’re able to commit to joining the street team, I am so grateful for your readership and your support. Thank you for being here!🫶🏼
This June was sunshine and thunderstorms and wildflowers and good books.✨
And mosquitoes. Lots of mosquitoes.
When he bares his teeth, Winter meets its death, And when he shakes his mane, We shall have spring again.
C.S. Lewis
Things worth remembering
the start of the local farmers market
flower shopping with a brother
kayaking with the same brother in the rain
wandering through a newly-discovered cemetery
savoring slow mornings on vacation
reading on the dock
sand volleyball and Crossnet
Facetiming a dear friend
hayrides with cousins
wild costumes and Uno in the rain
late night cousin chats
scrounging wildflowers from the ditches
“Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works…”
“What don’t you love?” he asked, looking at her intently.
She gazed back at him. “Oh, soggy mittens, chocolate without nuts, a man who can’t find it in himself to hold your hand when it’s sticking right out there in plain view.”
He took her hand that was resting on the table. “What else?” he said.
I finished this one on our family vacation, and it was a delight. I’m so glad there are so many more books set in Mitford!
Her life was pretty normal, but normal through rose-colored glasses. Normal with abstract colors thrown in. Normal in an intentionally romanticized way.
This book is a masterpiece. Both the pacing and narration are absolutely brilliant, and Rain is one of those characters who deserves to go down in literary history with the likes of Anne Shirley and Jo March.
When you’re brave enough to show your scars to others, you declare that both your celebrations and your sufferings belong to the Lord. In doing so, you steward them both well.
Yes, I’m STILL reading this book! XD It’s still good.
(I’ve also been beta reading a short story that will be published in this anthology!)
LORD, my heart is not haughty, nor my eyes lofty. Neither do I concern myself with great matters, Nor with things too profound for me. Surely I have calmed and quieted my soul like a weaned child with his mother; like a weaned child is my soul within me.
psalm 131:1-2
From the journal
It is His strength within me. His love. His heart. His mind.
It was glorious this evening, and beauty is pulsing stronger on the horizon. God, You are so good to carry Your weak ones and give them hope’s whispers in unexpected places.
Let me not long for the cup You have not given.
What stood out to you from this June?
Oh! Just a note…I’ll be sending out a newsletter with some writing updates in a week or so here that you might not want to miss. You can click here to join my mailing list if you haven’t yet.
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.:)
It’s spring in my corner of the world…on the ridges and in my soul. Here’s a new poem to commemorate these days.
the world is coming alive again,
and so
am
I…
spring is yawning green,
pushing its delicate fingers through the loam
that knew death with such intimacy…
but it breathes again,
racing to meet a cloud-studded sky
at the horizon to dance a jig
where death has died.
words flow, inky black
yet so alive
from my pen.
funny how, in the months where
the world stretched barren,
my pen was barren, too…
and now,
as the fields are wooing my heart,
my fingertips spring to life with the words
I fought to snare all winter.
a gift, a gift,
it’s all a gift…
the chorus echoes through my mind
and thunders through my ribcage.
all these God-formed hands can do is
plant,
water,
weed,
gather the increase that comes
from the heart of God and never
from my own sweating brow.
fear melts with the last of the snowdrifts, and
I poke warming fingers into the grasp
of an Almighty hand…
grateful,
eager,
in love.
P.S. I had to revamp my newsletter because I was running into some issues with my hosting site…so if you were subscribed to receive my newsletters, you’ll have to re-subscribe here if you’d like to continue receiving them!
(And, hey…if you weren’t subscribed in the first place, now’s your chance. ;))
I just wanted to pop on the blog and let you know that I have some poetry prompts for you all.
Lent and especially Holy Week is one of my favorite times of the year as we look back on what Christ has done for us and look forward to an eternity with Him. It’s a reflective time of year for me, and that usually means poetry!
I put together some poetry prompts for each day of Holy Week, and if poetry is your thing (or if you want it to be your thing…) please feel free to join me in using them to inspire some new poems!
I’ll be sharing some poetry each day of Holy Week (hopefully!) over on my Instagram account and will post a roundup of my favorites on the blog after Easter.
Laurel Luehmann 