A new writing home

When the world entered the era of the 1980’s, I was two years old, with minimal hair. I didn’t even have a chance to experience the hairstyles of the ‘70’s. Then the 80’s came and my first decade of life was filled with the “poof” which was bangs curled into a literal poof! The half top of my bangs were curled up, the bottom half, curled under, and the sides curled to the right and left. Lots of hairspray even in elementary school years to keep my poof in place! Hairstyles evolved into the wave, the perma-perm, the teased hair, the banana clip, and the bows… big poofy bows! I think we can safely say that the ‘80’s were a season of the poof!

Just like hairstyles are bound to change, so is technology and the online digital home for writers. It started with a blog on my mac, then blogger, then wordpress, and squarespace… and now, substack! I started trying out substack last year, and I’ve actually come to find it is a good place for a writing home. So I’m moving in!

I will still keep this space going for a while, until I figure out what to do with it… keep it for the remaining 30-40 years of my life (Lord willing, of course) for family and close friends? Or print off the blog posts to save as a sort of memoire, similar to the 25 copies my Grandma Kay had printed and bound for her children and grandchildren about her life, poetry, and memories? So until I figure out what to do, I’ll keep this up on the internet for now!

For new writing, and probably some recycling of posts from this blog, you can now read Every Morning New Mercies on Substack! I’d love to see you there!

everymorningnewmercies.substack.com

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A Special Announcement

This Spring, a very special book is being released called Strong Allies: Creating, Cultivating, and Restoring by Leslie Anne Bustard and Théa Roseburg. My dear friend, Théa, invited me to share an essay about the missionary artist, Lilias Trotter, a “strong ally” in my own life, and from whom I have learned so much. It was a true honor to be able to contribute to this beautiful volume of work, truly Leslie’s Magnum Opus.

Learn more about Strong Allies here!

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

A New Writing Home & A Special Announcement