Hosanna Emily's Blog, page 6
August 31, 2021
Book Birthday || The Torch Keepers is Two!
HAPPY WEDNESDAY, FRIENDS!
*all the hugs*
It's been a long time. I've missed the blogging world, I've missed scribbling down new posts with pretty pictures, and I've really missed you.
*releases breath*
But I'm back, here on The Torch Keepers' second birthday (!), and I'm ready to celebrate with you!
For anyone who hasn't read The Torch Keepers, my allegorical fantasy novel, here's a synopsis, and I hope you get to join the fun below and ongoing this week!
The King's blue flame quivers as a new fire arises, and Kadira must hold fast to his torch. It's destiny; she's a torch keeper.
A fiery revolution sweeps across the kingdom of Érkeos, and each person must choose a side. Kadira, a girl set apart to serve the King, finds her city engulfed in the Liberation's emerald flames. Her blue eyes mark her as the enemy, and she flees from death. It stalks her anyway. When she meets Rekém, the Liberation warrior sent to kill her, she rebels against the King's ways. Two armies collide; indecision isn't an option. As hearts and lives hang in the balance, Kadira and Rekém could bring destruction or liberation to the entire kingdom.
// Amazon
// Goodreads
how to enter
// comment below (1 entry)
// leave a book review on Amazon, B&N, Goodreads, or elsewhere (bonus entry for each)
// share about the book (bonus entry)
Let me know you did it below, and winners will be announced next week!
Yes - this is actually in the works!!
Starting in June, God put this book back on my heart, and The Torch Keepers sequel has been underway since! The rough draft is around 50% completed, and I hope to slip it to the first Alpha Readers in a few weeks!
What to expect?
This story picks up three months after TTK ends and continues following your favorite characters! You'll find Kadira and her new family wandering the unknown, western mountains as they flee from the Liberation. Rekém rules Palatiel as his brother plans the Kingdom's downfall. And one minor character reenters the story as he creates a network of hidden cave tunnels and unknowingly is one of the key players in the future of Érkeos.
And the King is at work, even as Érkeos gets darker and darker and evil rules the age.
Ahh, I wish you could hear the entire story right now! But I hope to have this story in your hands as soon as possible, with a possible publication date of Autumn 2022. (eep!)
What's the title? It's one of my absolute favorites. But you'll have to wait a bit longer for that release. Sorry. ;)
And there might be a fantastical website for both books one day too. *shrugs* Who knows?
In the meantime, I'd love your prayers for this project! And if you have dreams or hopes for the characters, share below. I'd be glad to hear where you think this story is going! Which character do you want to see more of?
What's left after the giveaway and excitement for a sequel?
Those will be in later posts. =)
You can expect several fun posts coming up this week, including some of my favorite book snippets, random facts about the book, and the heart behind the story!
If you're on Instagram, you can join me there (@Hosanna.Emily) for a Q&A later this week + more!
God used TTK to change me. Even as I write the sequel and move on past this story, when I go back, I'm reminded so much of His faithfulness. He did things in this process that I can't explain in any way except: Jesus did it.
There's a lot of questions in life. Even in this rough draft I'm writing. =) But we have a faithful Father who holds our hand and calls us His own.
If you've messed up like Kadira or seem stuck in the same routine of life and unable to escape like Rekém or if your story is totally different, it doesn't change Him.
Like a favorite song says,
Not a height, or a depth
Not a lie inside my head
Not a fear or offense
Nothing can take me away
Here I am
In the palm of Your hand
Nothing can take me away
Nothing can take me away
The Father is seeking you. Right now. And He is making an incredibly beautiful Kingdom for us to live with Him forever, and you can't even use words to describe its wholeness!
That's a reason to celebrate today. =)
“Come now, and let us reason together,”
Says the Lord,
“Though your sins are like scarlet,
They shall be as white as snow;
Though they are red like crimson,
They shall be as wool.
~♥~
May 29, 2021
Dear Creator || Creating for the Future Kingdom
This post is for the creator:
For the writer with words tingling in her fingers, waiting to be let free. For the musician as songs leap into his head, and he can't wait to release them. For the filmmaker, artist, actor, designer.
But it's for every. single. person. creating beauty:
For the moms cooking one more meal, changing one more diaper. For the gardener sinking his hands into fertile soil. For the one who cleans, who does computer work, who finishes the semester's last assignment, who talks with a stranger.
You're a creator too.
I unroll a new book project.
It's daunting. (Slightly) terrifying. I don't know where to start, where to end, what comes in the middle. There's twisting caverns, mountain peeks told to contain never-before-seen creatures, children who play under the shadows of danger. And I ready my fingers to write it all.
So I sit. Inhale deep. And prepare to write that "once upon a time", trusting Jesus for the rest.
But creating doesn't only start there. It happened yesterday as I tuned a guitar, prepared it for music. And it happened today as I spoke a prayer on the road, rain-soaked green on all sides around me. Even now, scribbling these words and praying God blesses them with purpose.
And I believe every person is a creator.
You were made to create beauty. To take something in this world and make it better, make something new, make something of purpose. You're longing for Eden, that beauty again.
Because there is beauty, reminders of the time man walked and talked with God, there's that beauty still in this world. Like the moment your story comes together and you want to hug anyone in sight. Or when your toddler throws her arms around you with that huge smile. Or when a plant peeks through soil for the first time.
Beauty like Eden, but there's another word too:
Hope.
Hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm to the end.
If you were called to create something, do it. Be confident in what God has called you to do. He doesn't need you, your talent, your abilities, but He delights to use you and know you and call you His own!
Rejoice through your pen sweeping on paper. Through the way trees shiver in rainstorms. Through cooking another meal, folding laundry, laying in the darkness as you try to sleep.
Hope.
Let everything you do point to that hope, the hope of a forever with Jesus. Of a future Kingdom where all will be made new. Of wholeness, where sickness is gone, anxiety destroyed, and Jesus is King.
God will return to earth to make all things new: that's our Hope!
We create to make something extravagant - like what we lost in Eden. But hope isn't looking back at the beauty lost but looking forward to the beauty coming in the New Earth; that's why we create.
This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast...
And the God of that hope is a Creator God. He designed that hope: the way the oceans tinge with foamy waves. He directs birds to sing in melodic order as the world awakens. And you're made in His image! How could you help but copy Him, grow restless with that urge to awaken emotion and beauty and order in this world around you?
Lift your head, friend. Pause and see the color in the clouds. Worship as the birds sing and trees sway. Smell the air and let it be part of a praise that reflects in your everyday life.
And create.
Let Him come back to make this earth new and find you faithfully waiting, faithfully creating. Your words have purpose! Everything you do for Him can change the world!
Create for the Kingdom Hope.
And let's share below! What's your current WIP? What's a beauty you love to create?
I'll slip away to create right here in my home, rainstorm ready to hit yet with a tinge of pale peach on the horizon, and I smell popcorn and dream of our forever hope with Jesus.
And may we join one of my favorite characters from The Torch Keepers as we create something lovely and let every part of life be transformed into worship!
Keys stained different shades of gold and brown all lined up at the front of the instrument. Behind them, I could see through the glass frame and into the deeper part of the instrument where dark strings stretched out in all different sizes. When the keys were pushed, the strings in the back wiggled like worms! Am-Othniel leaned his ear near the last string, played it several times, and then stepped back with a grin. I giggled.
He rubbed his hand across the keys. "This is my favorite instrument, the laude-chorda. It's small, but when I play it the music will sing louder than every other sound. It's like standing by a door when the wind blows up a fierce sandstorm. It's all you can hear--music."
//excerpt from The Torch Keepers
For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise:
"For yet a little while,
And He who is coming will come."
~♥~
May 4, 2021
Don't Forget || Worship in Every Moment
Don't forget ____.
It's your turn; I wonder what you'd fill in the blank. What would you write, one key element that keeps you going every day and gives you a reason to get out of bed every morning?
The Lord gives us different stories, and that's beautiful! It's one reason I write, I dream, but it also makes me wonder. If we sat for coffee and we shared one God-thing, what would it be?
Don't forget ____.
Write it down. Tuck it away somewhere (put it in the comments, and I'd be glad to read it!). And then I'll share mine too.
Maybe you can grab your coffee (extra cream in mine, please) and join me. Here's the God-thing He keeps telling me to remember. It's changing the way I see life, and it can change you too.
Every moment in life is worship.
... but it's your decision to make.
If you're like me, a day consists of a million things on your mind and to-do list, and few of them get done. *giggles* Sometimes I categorize days, wake up with my agenda, later write in my nightly journal about all I got done.
(horray - you get a peek into my personal schedule!)
Mondays: dusting, cooking, pickleball with the family.Wednesdays: working, checking out customers, chats with strangers.Fridays: mowing, gardening, resting in the sunshine.
But life isn't about those. *points up* Maybe it's not about what I do at all but how, why I live it.
Last week, I was walking in a creek. Numb toes, rocks pebbly and scattered under the edges of wild honeysuckles of pink and white that I'd never seen before. I walked, tried to jump across the water, got soaked, stubbled bare toes against hard rocks.
But I stopped, paused, and let my mind take a picture.
A picture of spring-green trees and water forking three ways. Of a place away from city noises and traffic and schedules.
I saw a place God is.
He's there, God of the quiet moss and sandy shores. He's a God of peace and rest, of solitude and nature.
There, the world worshipped. And I joined it.
Logs bowed their heads before their Creator. Salamanders hid in crags and lived the life He set before them. Birds sang His praises. Water danced at His bidding.
And there were us. A few adults, a lot of kids, and we walked in a line back up the hill, exhausted and hot. Yet we weren't just people. We were beings created in His holy image. We were souls righteous in His sight that would live forever in His Kingdom. We laughed and ate and played, and it was worship somehow. It reminds me of the New Earth.
And the ransomed of the Lord shall return,
And come to Zion with singing,
With everlasting joy on their heads.
They shall obtain joy and gladness,
And sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
Today, here I sit, wind whipping my ponytail and flustering the deep-violet petunias on our front porch to make their perfume fly around me. A cow calls, I remember that I need to start dinner, and I forget again because I watch a trail of ants that somehow keep finding our hummingbird feeder. But I sit, embrace this moment because this too is worship.
That worship drew my eyes more to Jesus and less to me. It breaks self to make room for joy to bubble through. And I sing in the melody another author wrote so well,
Over the gateway of Self is a sign that says, "Abandon hope, all ye who enter." It is a hellish, helpless place. Die to self. Live to God. Let your words and music be more beautiful by their death int he soil of worship, that the husk of your own imperfection might fall away and germinate into some bright, eternal song only God could have written.
- Adorning the Dark by Andrew Peterson
Worship: Every single moment. The God of shalom at the creekside is the same God as you finish finals and prepare for graduation and summer. The God beside you as you lay in bed at night is the same God who is with you at work, when you're stressed, when you praise Him with songs on Sunday mornings.
God is. He is. And that doesn't change.
Joy doesn't come from fulfilling your to-do list. It comes from a different perspective (Romans 12:2). A different goal in life. It starts with worship, and it's a gift from God. That's what changes the world:
Like David. And Ruth. Jesus.
Their lives were humble worship to the Father.
So Friend, don't forget:
Life is a continual worship.
I challenge you to stop, take a moment, and let your mind remember. Where you are at this single moment, this can be worship. Where you are in three hours can be worship too. Even if it's hard.
Creation is continually singing praise. Every star shining, every windy breeze, it's declaring that He is God and there is none like Him!
Yet He desires you. Me. He wants our hearts, to love and be loved, to be intimate with us. He wants us, created in His image, to be transformed to look, live, touch, speak like Him. Can you imagine God Himself longing for you?! Loving you?!
So there you go. If your coffee is gone, we might hug and part ways. (or get a second cup *wink*) But this is what I'm not going to forget: every moment in life is worship.
That's where my joy comes from! It's where I am most fulfilled, most satisfied - when I let Him be the focus, not me. When I turn my eyes upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face.
It draws me to prayer, to reading His Word, to rejoicing in Him. And I'm still learning, still praying, Lord, please create a heart of worship in me.
It's your turn!
What's your biggest go-do, that one thing God reminds you of over and over to not forget?
And what does life look like at this moment, as you sit on a phone, a computer, a tablet, and how can you pause and turn it to worship like the psalmists?
Let's chat in the comments!
Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. For me to write the same things to you is not tedious, but for you is it safe... rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!
~♥~
March 31, 2021
My Jesus Story and How He Changed my Life
Hello, dear reader!
Happy Spring. =) This season makes me giddy. I think I squeal most in spring. (I'm not even a squealing type of girl. But first flowers, first butterflies, first bees?!? I even ate redbud blossoms!) IT'S ALL SO BEAUTIFUL!!
But instead of spring, today I'm sharing my Jesus story.
It used to be hard to pinpoint my story. I grew up as a Christian. I always knew about Jesus. I don't have a uniquely mystical before and after testimony, so maybe I didn't have an important Jesus story.
This spring, I've been praying for Him to open my eyes to the story He wrote so I could pen the work He's done so gracefully for me.
He did! So here's my Jesus story. (and some lingering wintery photos)
And I challenge you: do you have a Jesus story?
If I told you my story
you would hear Hope, that wouldn't let go
and if I told you my story
you would hear Love that never gave up
and if I told you my story
you would hear Life, but it wasn't mine
Once upon a time…
Jesus chose to let me know Him since I could remember. When I was four, I promised myself to Him, and later I confirmed it by being baptized. Little Hosanna loved Him in a child way, savored His creation and good gifts to me.
Yet I grew older, doubted that those first promises were true. I was scared that I wasn’t really saved, and I tried to remember my sin and apologize for every one. And one night, I broke down and gave myself again to Jesus because I was scared I was pretending and would be punished. I didn’t want our relationship to be based on fear, but my frightened heart gave in, and I begged Him to save me.
And Mama prayed with me, encouraged me that it was okay - Jesus would draw me to a place of relationship, love.
He did! That sweet relationship began to deepen. It started as me trying to do what I thought I should. We grew together, and I got to know a little of His heart. Everything that happened was Him! He was with me in hard times. He loved me. He taught me through the Bible, through worship, through His people, through His sweet presence. He lived every-day life with me. I met the God of the universe, and He called me His own!
And one day, I stopped and looked back.
Things had changed. I didn’t belong to Jesus because of fear anymore. I belonged to Him because I loved Him; I desired Him for who He was.
If I should speak, then let it be of the grace that is greater than all my sin of when justice was served, and where mercy wins! of the kindness of Jesus, that draws me in oh to tell you my story, is to tell of Him.
Since then, He’s grown me!
We’ve written books together, and He’s guided me through every step. He’s answered prayers in ways I can’t explain any other way. He’s held my hand through fears. He’s brought me to places I could never go on my own. He shows me my weaknesses (which are still many) and helps me become more like Him. Not because I deserve it, but because it’s a relationship He chooses to have with me!
Without Him, I’m broken. I’m selfish, judgmental. Without Him, this girl would have no purpose to live today or the ones following. I would be grumpy, irritable, angry. I’d struggle with anxiety, no way to escape. Truthfully, I’d be so, so empty inside and just try to fill it with faulty solutions. I'm not a good person.
But with Jesus, I have hope of glory forever, and it starts now! I have purpose for today. I have a reason to be glad, a reason to love, a reason to sing!
With Jesus, I’m whole. I’m joyful. I can sing and praise and love life! He showers grace on us, and I'm thankful and overwhelmed at Him!
Life is beautiful just because of Jesus.
He chooses to love me—and He finds pleasure in me! He blesses me and cherishes me, and because of what He has done, I’m righteous before God!
Righteous. Holy. Pure.
It’s all Him. All His amazing grace and goodness and love.
If I told you my story, you would hear victoryover the enemyand if I told you my story, you would hear freedomthat was won for meand if I told you my story, you would hear Lifeovercome the grave
And that’s His story in me. I’m undeserving, and He chose to give Himself for me. From now until forever, I’m praying to grow toward Him like a flower turns toward the sun, and I just long to be in His presence and know Him completely as He fully knows and loves me.
I'm still imperfect on my own. I forget this testimony a lot. But Jesus has and is changing me, and He will finish what He started! I have so far to go, so many weaknesses still, but I trust Him.
I don't have much of a before and after testimony. But I do know without Jesus, I wouldn't be here. Without Him, I'd be so lost. And that's the perfect story for me, because it's ours! ♥
Jesus changed my life, and I love Him.
And He can change yours too, dear reader. Do you have a Jesus story? Or if you do, have you forgotten it, like I so easily do?
Eternity has already started, and He is faithful from today to forever.
And He's longing for you.
This is my story, this is my song praising my Savior all the day long.
But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.
lyrics by Big Daddy Weave (My Story)
~♥~
March 10, 2021
Julie's Flowers Book Release
...(love) isn't self-seeking...
I sit here, sun shining through a fingerprint-smudged window, and that verse repeats in my head. Love isn't self-seeking. It doesn't seek its own.
Honestly, I haven't read a book from start to finish in a while. So when author Jordy Leigh invited me to read a brand new novel she helped edit and publish for a set of authors, I quickly said yes! And looking back, that verse was a ringing theme in the pages.
But first, the cover! (isn't it pretty?!)
Even rich families have their issues—perhaps especially rich families. When billionaire Eric Ryan learns that his daughter will be born with partial forearms, he can’t bear the thought of having an imperfect child. He devises a scheme to have the baby aborted without his wife knowing, which drives Julie Ryan to despair.
But no; injustice is not unique to the wealthy. Hundreds of miles away, Mara Brenner grows up in the care of her mother and stepfather—if it can be called “care.” Her mother alternates between abuse and negligence, and her stepfather is plain cruel.
What hope is there for the pain-ridden Ryan family? And what grace could ever allow Mara to heal from a lifetime of hurt? There is a common thread that spans time, space, and dastardly deeds to restore.
The novel centers, especially in the beginning, on the life of Julie Ryan.
She struggles. She's weak. She hurts.
But Julie stands out in the story as a woman focused on simple truths. She humbly loves and serves the people in her life - despite their responses - and God uses her to draw the entire family towards the Lord and His eternal, far greater love and purpose.
And that's why the verse repeats in my mind:
Love isn't self-seeking.
In 2 Peter, God promises that through His divine power we have everything we need for a godly life. So I look at my own life, my heart, and ponder.
When Jesus asked His disciples to follow Him, it didn't mean they had to memorize more Scripture or go to a church building or give their money to the poor. It was an invitation into His very near presence. Those actions might have followed in some shape or form, but the heart was to be in His presence, love Him, learn from Him, be near Him.
Not a list of do's or don't's but transformed lives!
Not doing more to erase our faults but embracing His rightness and letting that change us!
And He did it all from love. He was (and is!) glad to choose, deliver us! How could we keep from praising?!
The disciples gave up their lives for a greater purpose and future. They saw Jesus' immense humility and lack of self-seeking, and they obeyed His call to give up all and follow! Because He was worthy and still is today. ♥
That's what Julie's Flowers reminds me of. It shows how God can use someone's life of humility to make a difference for the Kingdom. How there's something more important than what we quickly deem as success in this life. The book is a reminder that we can forgive. We can be healed. All because of Jesus.
I'm excited as this new novel enters the world! I hope it reminds its readers that God writes the best stories, and to surrender to Him is the best victory.
I enjoyed the writing style (you can read the epilogue for a peek here!) and the dream behind the story; after Tang passed away, her husband picked up the project and continued it in her honor! It made the story sweeter to read knowing this was Tang's vision that was able to be completed.
(And just saying, Michael was my favorite character.) *happy sigh*
There were some aspects of the book I didn't enjoy as much, and I wouldn't recommend it to young readers (if interested, contact me for specifics). Still, it was a fun story I enjoyed! Tang and Streeter did a great job, and I appreciated the focus on the Gospel and support for the unborn! As I ended the book, I was reminded of the beauty of storytelling, characters, and truth in fictitious tales. *happy sigh*
So enjoy one of my favorite quotes from the book, and let's chat below!
It's your turn, my friend!
Have you read this brand new novel?! What's been on your heart lately? Do you enjoy book spotlights or more traditional posts?
(psst) Also I always enjoy hearing from you through my "Connect" page! Let me know if I can ever pray for you or support you in any way! *hugs*
(the Holy Spirit) who is a down payment toward the inheritance all us will receive at the final deliverance of those whom God has purchased to be His own, so that we would sing in praise of His greatness.
- Ephesians 1:14
~♥~
January 21, 2021
Hope for the "Middle" Times in Life
Dear January,
I first met you, wee hours of night, as fireworks celebrated the new year, and I sat beside friends and family I love, outdoor air. As another month, a year, closed, and you arrived. A bonfire danced, and I couldn’t keep from smiling.
But not because of last year. I hear voices muttering “good riddance” to 2020, and I understand. It was hard, different, and we hurt and struggled in it. Yet I grasp onto the thousands of memories written in my journal and heart and remember: God was faithful in 2020.
I smile, not because of 2020, but because of His hope.
And January, you haven’t started easy. Already, I’ve cried and hurt and feared and messed up. I’ve also laughed and hugged and sang and skipped. It’s been hard and beautiful, like frigid waves on shell-soaked sand. But I can't help but smile in this middle time.
Middles:
Like my WIP, novel only half-done. I know the beginning, all the loose strings dangling with color, and I know the end, where those words will sweep in black ink, “the end”. But this middle eludes me. I lay in bed and dream, imagine, try to weave the strings together to look like the ending I already see.
I write, from the shores of distant isles to inland townships and then into the depths of the deserts. I watch characters unfold, lives change, laughter and tears. But now the middle of the story hesitates, looks toward me, an author working through her messy first draft and loving it.
And another middle:
Shells on the Gulf. My sister and I sit by the waves gathering them one by one. We trace an outline in the sand and fill it with shells.
We know the beginning, we already drew out the end, but in the middle we work, dream, anticipate.
Life is like that.
I know where I started, what God has already done. And I know the ending too.
This middle, this season of today, is beyond me; I just trust.
// Beginning: I know God is faithful. I know He is in me. I know I am saved through His work, and I have peace with God, complete, beautiful peace.
// And endings: I rejoice in hope of the glory of God. I know what the purpose of my life is. I know what comes after. I know nothing can separate me from the love of Christ. I am made for a New Heaven and a New Earth, where all this world will pass away, and we will become whole.
Whole – like as I place shells, one by one, beside each other, colors. When it’s complete, I see the perfect picture in the sand, and I can’t help but grin because it’s more beautiful than I imagined.
So no matter what you bring, January, and what comes after, I know what my purpose is. I don’t know the middle – not in life, not in the fantastical WIP I scribble down adventures, not in shells I line side by side, but I know I am redeemed and bought with a price. And I know the ending God has for me. ♥
Nothing that happens can take that away.
*grin* It’s what I choose to hold on to. It’s what brings me through life, hope.
And that hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
I’m rejoicing!
I want to challenge you, Friend, whatever your January looks like, however 2020 scarred you, dig deep. What is your beginning, your foundation in life? And what is your end, that final goal you live for?
They can define the middle – today and tomorrow – because He. is. faithful. But He lets you make the decision.
What's your hope today?
Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place.
~♥~
December 24, 2020
Merry Christmas (+ Why You Should Celebrate!)
Dear Friend,
Merry beautiful Christmas! *all the hugs*
I always enjoy asking people how they celebrate. I'm the girl that wants to hear all the unique family traditions and memories and differences and try to invent my own to make the day that much more special!
Because that's the word I keep thinking of: celebration
Christmas is a celebration. That means my job - no, my joy - is to celebrate.
I love the stories of celebrations in the Bible! I read of Esther, the victory God gave, and how they set aside that day to exchange gifts and rejoice and remember! Stories of battles won, enemies defeated, and God had His people set up monuments to remember.
When I see trees and lights sparkling in the early nights, I remember. When family gathers together in air scented with apples and cinnamon and Christmas dinners, I remember. When we open gifts and laugh and tell the nativity story one more time, I remember.
I remember as I turn on Bing Crosby and sing about snow and how it's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas (I can't even write that without my heart singing).
There's this cheer in the air like at no other holiday, and it's most beautiful when it all flows from Him, from this God who came down to change the world and grant us a Kingdom because He loves us.
Even if 2020 was hard. Even if you don't deserve it. Even if you messed up today and are so distracted and feel so far away. Even if celebrating feels just too difficult for you.
Friend, your joy is to celebrate. To remember what God has done and praise!
Like it says so often in the Psalms, let's praise Him! With instruments, with song, with silent prayers in our hearts, by giving gifts, when you see your breath in the cold air where lights twinkle.
And to praise, it takes us switching our perspective off ourselves and this world and to a Kingdom and a King more eternal, fathomless.
Praise Him, my friend! Let every moment remind you of His praise!
Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD!
And two little things I'm excited about this season:
A Lyric Video!!
My brother created this song, and it's one of my favorites. He just released it around the Christmas season; what better way to celebrate Jesus' birth than by rejoicing in His ultimate purpose and sacrifice and how that changes life forever?
Click the cover to listen!
And one more:
A Giveaway!!
My friend Victoria is hosting a beautiful Christmas giveaway that I get to be a part of, along with other wonderful creators. I'm excited to gift a copy of The Torch Keepers to someone this Christmas season along with the other great prizes. Click the picture to enter!
So merriest of Christmases, friend! May this time of remembrance continually point you to Jesus as we rejoice together! He is so good and worth all. And yet He chooses to give us another Christmas, another time to celebrate, and He gave us His all so long ago because He loves. *more hugs* ♥
Your turn! How do you celebrate? What's your favorite Christmasy song or tradition? I'm eager to chat in the comments!
I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, My soul shall be joyful in my God; For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness, As a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments, And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. For as the earth brings forth its bud, As the garden causes the things that are sown in it to spring forth, So the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations.
- Isaiah 61:10-11
~♥~
December 8, 2020
Find Our Roots and Remain (+ Story Snippets!)
His fingers turned my chin to look straight into his face. "No honor is greater than being a servant of the King's way, my son."
I rubbed at my eyebrow and looked away.
"It comes with a price. I have sought the Oasis and the King, and I lost much... You too may have loss if you follow the King's ways, but it is always worth the pain."
I leaned my chin onto my fist. My forehead grew tight. The words tumbled through my head, but they couldn't seem to connect.
"Don't forget, Rekém." He leaned forward. "Don't forget the Oasis. There is so much I do not understand, but never forget the Oasis and where our people came from. And my son, when you are confused, go find our roots and remain there. Find the four riverheads that flowed into the Oasis. When you find where the moon-flower grows, you will be there..."
A shadow passed over his face. "It's your decision, my son."
- The Torch Keepers // chapter 7
Life can sometimes feel like I'm an artist.
I have a blank canvas, brushes by my fingertips, the bristles eager to jump into paint and spread beauty across the world. My easel is ready, and I unseal the tubes of paint to let them slowly leak onto the table. I fill a jar with water, grab another to hold the brushes, inhale deep.
Sometimes I paint the canvas.
Angles and dabs, squiggles and marks from the fan brush. They combine to form a melody from an orchestra, all those colors and lines and marks making something beautiful beyond myself. Something that takes on meaning. Something that tells a story and makes you smile and creates emotion in your eyes.
Other times, I paint different things.
Like my toddler sister's fingers. She grabs the paint tubes and squeezes. Color everywhere - on her hands and face and bare tummy. Blue on the floor and green on the door handles and in the sink. Little footsteps on the kitchen floor, that half-circle and five little toes.
Or maybe I don't paint anything. Maybe the dreams twine in my mind, and I keep them there, secretly locked up like an attic chest, treasures within.
My days are like that. Some create obvious beauty. Some make colorful, confusing messes. Others feel secretive, waiting.
If my value and purpose as a person was in my art itself, my work, my days, I'd be a miserable failure. But praise God, it isn't. He makes every single day beautiful and purposeful - especially those toddler fingers.
Joy comes, not in the art alone, but in rejoicing in the Artist who fills my heart with dreams to create. He is my root.
I was made to lift up my hands in praise to you I was made to lift up my voice just to worship you Who is like you, Lord God the Almighty, You are holy
Friend, find our roots and remain.
Remember where we came from. Savor the moment you first met Jesus and fell in love. Re-live those times He answered your prayers. The moments you wanted to dance because He filled you with joy. When you were scared, and He covered you with His feathers. All those times He was faithful.
They happen again. He is faithful continually! But there's also beauty in the remembering, in the thanking and whispers of praise.
Like Rekém in The Torch Keepers as he returns to his roots and discovers a glory and peace he cannot describe. Like his father, recounting stories of the ancient tales that still inspire hope.
And like you today, wherever you are, whatever life throws at you or smears on your canvas, whether obvious or abstract masterpieces, there's this greater purpose, and it's beautifully Jesus. He is our First Love .
If today seems to make masterpieces, messy toddlers, or blank canvases, it's all for good! God is the One who gives you those dreams. Live them just to praise Him, just to worship Him!
Life is a continual praise.
That's the root, Friend, the firm foundation: praising Him.
Where life has purpose. We have purpose.
But it's your decision. What's your root today?
Whoever keeps the fig tree will eat its fruit; So he who waits on his master will be honored.
- Proverbs 27:18
Thus says the LORD: "Stand in the ways and see, And ask for the old paths, where the good way is, And walk in it; Then you will find rest for your souls..."
- Jeremiah 6:16
~♥~
November 17, 2020
To Dream, to Hope
Once upon a time, little me wrote a book. At 5 years old, I narrated the stories to Mama and colored pictures with crayons. Small hands scribbled a tale of people who got married and had babies and become happy families. Boom - King and Queen and Mom and Dad was born. Two years later, I grabbed more crayons and wrote Life.
How picturesque; I think back to those simple days, the tiny dreams, and I see the colors sneaking outside the lines with vivid hues.
Truth be told, life doesn't feel that simple. I forget to dream; I live mundane. Sometimes I forget that the world has color. Sometimes, I honestly struggle to remember to smile.
But these little books are reminders:
To dream, to hope
- Anticipate -
Because it's the way to look forward
To a future Glory
Dream, Friend, hope.
Because this world we live in wants to choke and mix those aspirations until they dissolve like salt in water. Its lies are everywhere - the lies of "you're not loved" and "not good enough" and "a failure". Lies of who Jesus is, who God is, and who you are in Him.
If you feel like you're too busy or not happy or distant from God, fight, Friend.
I wondered why I was drawn to the little books I wrote with child fingers, but now I realize. The simplistic beauty and hope was a tiny shard of mirror that reflected a bigger beauty, a bigger hope.
The hope, truths, that feel so celestial that I can't seem to fully grasp. The childlike wonder of Him: it's Truth.
Those truths: I have peace with God. His love has been poured out into my heart. The Holy Spirit, God Himself, is literally in me. I'm made perfectly righteous in Him.
I used to dream of a bigger beauty, and I still do. I hope for that prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Any discouragements, any mundane-ness of this life is scribbled away in Jesus' crayons of purpose, love:
Because Jesus is coming back
Returning
And He's the story's Hero - a Lover, a King
Who'll right all wrongs
If life consists of little moments, I want to live them fully, me in Him, abiding in those truths He whispers in His Word.
I am with you. I love you. You have treasure in Heaven.
If life grows into bigger trials or adventures, I want to live them the same, to be based on something grander, beyond our imagination.
You are never alone. I wipe away every tear. These trials will produce a crown of life.
What if every little beauty we saw was a mirror reflection of the New Earth, futuristic glimpses of glory we can't even imagine?
That's why I started writing as a little 5 year old and why I still make stories today. Maybe it's one of the truest callings I can live out: to display tiny pieces of His beauty and hope in this broken world.
Hope littered throughout Scripture, promises of who He is and who we are in Him.
Focus:
Not on the struggles or fears or pains
The "not good enoughs", my weaknesses
Focus:
- breath release -
For Jesus writes my story
And completes the work.
Friend, no matter what, dare to dream! Dare to hope! Dare to grab crayons and color life and smile 'cause you mean it!
Be a dreaming hope-seeker, someone brave enough to look this world in the eye and say, "I'm living in Jesus' love, and nothing you do can stop me."
I could sooner count the stars,
Than number all Your ways.
Though I only know in part,
That part exceeds all praise.
As sunlight fills the skies
Your goodness fills my life -
For all your precious gifts
Receive my gratefulness.
- Sooner Count the Stars
...who set their mind on earthly things. For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself.
~♥~
September 22, 2020
A Simple Love
Hello Friend!
Happy September 22 (unless you read this later), Tuesday, first day of Autumn (all the feels!), national icecream cone day, and a million other blessings! Today I have some little, poetic thoughts as I sit here beside my favorite dictionary and dream of who I am, who God is, who we are.
And that's all - some pretty words I try to compile together and a deeper longing for Jesus. And if life is beautiful and full of autumn's sweaters and cinnamon scents and candles or if you struggle and skim over words and hide away within yourself, still know that there's purpose. You are here for such a time as this and dearly beloved.
May your fall be full of that rememberance, friend. *hugs*
I need a simple love.
Simple, like it says in black ink on this thin page:
consisting of one thing // uncompounded // unmingled // uncombined with anything else
Simple love, where my focus is on One, and He is all I see. Like the piercing brightness on this first day of autumn where the sun shines full blast and I squint, see nothing else save that warm whiteness. Or like a drenching storm as I stand under a tin roof and hear that one consistent rhythm, and it becomes all.
Not a love where I work and strive and struggle to muster it up, but a simple me and Him. A Daddy I sit beside, share secrets. A Friend who holds my hand. A Lover I can’t help but talk about and giggle about and tell everyone I know.
Like the rain, I forget all. I forget the sun and clouds and stars somewhere in space and become consumed by the pounding drops, shattering like crystals. They soak my hair, my clothes, and I watch the lines of water pulse in invisible wind patterns. The stars are somewhere too, but I don’t see them, don’t think of them, because these glittering galaxies are ones I can touch.
I need a simple love like that.
Or simple, this black ink goes on to define, can be a medicinal herb or plant, and I laugh to think I can go “simpling” down meandering meadows and rolling hills. And yet, walking with book in hand and eyes searching is a singular purpose. I track to find a healing remedy, simples – those medicinal greens – but I’m really seeking the One who heals. The secret One who is so close yet spans the world. Who is invisible yet can be seen in the moments of the everyday. If my love is like that, searching the valleys with ardor for Him, it's enough.
Maybe “simple” could be replaced with “focused” or “singular.”
But despite the word, I’m seeking that kind of love. Like the sun as I exit the house’s eves and step into brightness, that overcoming light. Like pouring rain that drenches every part of my being.
I’ll wander through meadows seeking a cure, seeking Jesus. My soul is still, eyes focused, singular purpose for the One who loves me.
‘tis all and more than enough.
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.
O Israel, hope in the Lord From this time forth and forever.
