Cheryl Grey Bostrom's Blog, page 10

Mist, Spiders, Dogs, and Ruminants.

Just pics and captions for you this week. Immersed in my new novel, I’m funneling my words there. If you’d like to follow the book’s progress in a few weekly lines, drop me a note here: Cheryl@CherylBostrom.com. I’d love to send you a short letter on Saturdays.

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Vapor.

“But a mist used to rise from the earth and water the whole surface of the ground.”

—Genesis 2:6

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Garden weavers.

“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

—Ephesians 2:10

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If you keep your ears open . . .

“Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts.”

—Hebrews 3:15

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Romp!

Daisy and Aunties (one visiting from Idaho )

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Thanks for stopping by, friends. So glad you’re here.

Watching Nature, Seeing Life: Through His Creation, God Speaks.

Lepidoptery?

If you ‘re one to study butterflies and moths, here’s a project for you: this butterfly, newly emerged the last week of April from her chrysalis in Berthusen Park, Washington State. Do you know her name? If you can identify her, will you send the link to me? My email: Cheryl@CherylBostrom.com.

Thanks!

Newborn.

“The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”

—2 Corinthians 5:17

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Milestones: This week, Daisy learned to descend stairs, pointed her reflection in our stove door’s window, and slept all night in her crate without a potty break. She also displayed what we presume to be a genetic connection to piranhas and wildebeests.

When Daisy’s brother Gillie (r.) comes to visit.

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When you’re the little kid.

Better with sound

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And finally, a place of solace for you.

“He makes springs pour water into the ravines; it flows between the mountains.”

—Psalm 104:10

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Thanks for stopping by, friends. So glad you’re here.

Watching Nature, Seeing Life: Through His Creation, God Speaks.

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My sequel to Sugar Birds is well underway. If you’d like to follow the novel’s development, drop me a note at Cheryl@CherylBostrom.com . I’ll send you Saturday updates you won’t find anywhere online.

Word’s Getting Out

I guess the word’s getting out that my words are getting out . . . of my head and onto the page. A number of you who see these Saturday posts through social media have been asking where you can learn more about my WIP (work in progress) and my writing life.

Well, every Saturday I send an email just to those who have asked for them—with musings and updates on my latest projects. These are brief little letters, from me to you—with the day’s blog post attached at the bottom. They don’t show up anywhere online.

If you’d like to receive them, just drop me an email here: Cheryl@CherylBostrom.com. I’ll send you old-fashioned letters, from me to you, and if you’d like to write back, I’ll be delighted!

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And now, this week’s pics, including a few snaps of our new little nugget DAISY!

Updraft.

—1 Thessalonians‬ ‭4:17‬ ‭

“After that, we . . . will be caught up . . . in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.”

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Fairy huts?

“You are my hiding place . . . “

—Psalm 32:7

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Cliff dwellers.

“For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”

—Matthew 18:20

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Daisy, nine and a half weeks old.

We’re smitten.

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Thanks for stopping by, friends. So glad you’re here!

Watching Nature, Seeing Life: Through His Creation, God Speaks

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Have you read SUGAR BIRDS yet?

A Million Skies, Reviewed

Author Abigail Alleman has traveled to a far land—a harrowing one, into depths of psychotic mania that broke her.

In her new book A Million Skies: Secure in God’s Strength When Your Mind Can’t Rest, Alleman describes her dark encounters so vividly that I shook as I read, and ached for her and her family.

But even from its early pages, I knew this is no ordinary account of mental illness and loss. Alleman writes with such clarity, humility, and wisdom that I soon realized the treasures she extracted from her experience were nothing short of holy gifts from the God who calls her Beloved.

Here’s the cover copy:

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In A Million Skies, Abigail shares her journey to gain a true vision about the mental illness that radically altered her life: bipolar disorder. After facing several near-death experiences and a tumultuous fallout from her initial diagnosis, she was left with little of the life she had known. In time, Abigail has found victory in her mind, but that has meant that she has had to shift her views of herself, others, life, and God.

More than one woman’s story, A Million Skies is an invitation to understand mental illness in new ways. The reader who enters the pages of A Million Skies will find the author’s contagious courage, inspiring journey, and words of challenge compelling them forward.

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Anyone experiencing an earthquake of loss or shame—be it from mental illness or some other cause—will find this beautifully written book to be life-giving and hope-filled.

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And now, some of the week’s photos for you:

Reminder.

The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.

—1 Thessalonians 5:24

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For life.

” I have found the one whom my soul loves.”

–Song of Solomon 3:4

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Meet DAISY . . .

Eight weeks old when we picked her up last weekend. More pics to come!

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I was delighted to learn that FICTION FLOCK is featuring SUGAR BIRDS in their May Characters and Candles GIFT BOX: Berries and Birds!

A portion of the proceeds benefit SARDIS RAPTOR CENTER, our local wildlife sanctuary in Ferndale, WA.

SAVE 25% and learn more at the link below! Order by April 30.

FICTION FLOCK BERRIES AND BIRDS GIFT BOX

Sugar Birds

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Thanks for stopping by, friends. So glad you’re here.:)

Watching Nature, Seeing Life: Through His Creation, God Speaks

Life is Sweet, Y’All

Now, here’s an idea for Mother’s Day!

If this sounds like a promo, IT IS—simply because I found Maggie Wallem Rowe‘s new little gift book Life is Sweet Y’All so enchanting and downright fun.

Already recognized as Amazon’s # 1 New Release in Cultural, Ethnic, and Regional Humor, it’s a feel-good collection of hilarity, wisdom, practical tips, and good old southern recipes.

The cover copy sums it up:

“Zip that lip!”

“Don’t be a worrywart!”

Do either of those Mama expressions sound familiar? Life Is Sweet, Y’all is a collection of delightful reflections laced with timeless truths and folksy quips from the past that celebrate the sweet gifts the good Lord provides. Packed with plenty of practical life lessons, helpful household hints, and recipes that Mama used to make, this handy guide to a happy life makes a great gift for any woman who longs for yesteryear. Consider it a slice of heaven topped with a whole lot of love and laughter.

Gift it with a vintage hanky and you’ll have a winner.

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Now, this week’s pics, straight from our yard.

New kid in town.

“Mischief shall come on mischief . . .”

—Ezekiel 7:26

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Overcooked.

“Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No.’”

—Matthew 5:37

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Homecoming.

“Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land.”

—Genesis 28:15

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Thanks for stopping by, friends. So glad you’re here.

Watching Nature, Seeing Life: Through His Creation, God Speaks.

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Sugar Birds, available in paper, e-book or, on sale here, the AUDIO version.

Spring Walks

Three walks, and pics from each—of early spring, arriving with mist and ground dwellers.

Enjoy!

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Lace curtains, mole-sized.

“It is he who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them like a tent to dwell in…”

—Isaiah 40:22

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Ethereal.

“Life is like the morning fog . . .”

—James 4:14

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Shell game. (Our pups’ version.)

Western Painted Turtle—now safe, back at the pond.

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Thanks for walking with me, friends. So glad you’re here!

Watching Nature, Seeing Life: Through His Creation, God Speaks

Off-Topic

Given my typical content here, this post may seem off-topic. After all, pointing you to a source for vetted Christian counselors may seem unrelated to nature photography, fiction-writing, or book reviews.

Unless you consider the connection counselors have to human nature, our life stories, and making sense of them.

In recent months, friends have asked me who can help them grapple with their broken hearts, broken relationships, broken lives. My outdated list of therapists did them little good. But at the Collide Ministry’s Mended and Restored Conference last night, I learned that this organization can direct you to a selection of recommended therapists they trust. Click my highlighted links to both Collide’s website and their Wholeness and Counseling page. There you’ll connect with a wealth of information about the counseling process—and the sort of counselor (whether in-person or online) that may be best for you or someone you care about.

For more info on their recommended counselors, write them HERE.

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Earlier this month, I had the opportunity to chat with Willow Weston, founder of the Collide ministry. You can hear the full podcast interview below:

Creation Speaks Daily: Healing Words from Award Winning Author Cheryl Bostrom

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This blog is only part of my weekly updates. If you’d like to step inside the writing process with me as I compose my next novel, let me know at Cheryl@CherylBostrom.com. On Saturdays you’ll get a few lines about my weekly and cumulative word count, writing insights, and hair-pulling setbacks. The latest posts from this blog will be linked at the bottom of every email.

You won’t find these letters anywhere else online. They’re just for you, and I’d love to send them your way.

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A highlight of my week?

This little nugget. We hope to bring her home just after Easter, unless she goes to someone in Minnesota first.

What should we name her? She look like a Daisy to you?

When “Maybe” wears fur.

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Pears-to-be.

“So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit.”

—Matthew 7:17

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Daffodil . . . or a sunny face? (See her?)

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Thanks for stopping by, friends. So glad you’re here.

Watching Nature, Seeing Life: Through His Creation, God Speaks.

Mud Music

At last, the frogs are singing. Awakened from winter’s mud, every year they remind me that Light shines again. Darkness flees. Hope and Life prevail.

All in God’s trustworthy seasons.

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Through the lens: HOPE. See it? Maybe hear it, too?

Greens eater.

(Skagit Valley snow geese)

“Daniel then said . . . “Please test your servants for ten days: Give us nothing but vegetables to eat and water to drink. Then compare our appearance with that of the young men who eat the royal food…”

—Daniel 1:11-13

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Above the fray.

(Mt. Rainier)

“As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

—Isaiah 55:9

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From Above.

“And the Spirit of the LORD will rest on him— the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.”

—Isaiah 11:2

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Oh, Sedona!

“Behold I do new things, and now they shall spring forth, verily you shall know them: I will make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.”

—Isaiah 43:19

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Sedona last week for our nephew’s wedding…and a good long hike.

So grateful for the joy and beauty and peace there . . . as we pray for our world.

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Patience with a beak.

“You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.”

—Jeremiah 29:13

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Thanks for stopping by, friends. So glad you made time.

Watching Nature, Seeing Life: Through His Creation, God Speaks.

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P.S.

Thrilled and honored to hear that SUGAR BIRDS is a

Finalist for the 2021 FOREWARD INDIES BOOK OF THE YEAR Awards in both the General and Religious Fiction Categories!

(Winners will be announced June 16, 2022.)

Soli Deo Gloria.

You can get your copy of Sugar Birds HERE.

The Forgotten Life of Eva Gordon

Since I review books now and then, publishers and authors regularly send me ARCs (Advance Reader Copies) to read and consider. I choose not to write negative reviews, but if I can give a book a strong star rating, I’ll share my thoughts about it on book sites and social media and, sometimes, here.

Today I have a GEM for you that launches on May 17. You’ll want to preorder this one.

Remember Elizabeth Strout’s Pulitzer Prize winner Olive Kitteridge? Well, Linda MacKillop’s The Forgotten Life of Eva Gordon brought Olive to mind by the time I’d turned twenty pages. It’s that good—and more: where Olive gives pause, Eva Gordon captures. She and the rest of MacKillop’s characters landed in my bones, guts, heart—and took up residence. This book is a memorable, utterly beautiful story of perspective and hope.

Here’s the cover copy:

“Eva wants to run away from her life–if only she could remember how.

Failing memory has forced Eva Gordon to move in with her granddaughter, Breezy. But Eva hates the bustle of Boston. All she wants to do is move back to her quiet, cozy Cape Cod home and be left alone.

“Then Breezy announces she’s getting married, and they’ll be moving to her new husband’s rundown family farm, where he lives with an elderly uncle. They’ll be one big family—but only Breezy and Brent think it’ll be a happy one.

It’s all too much for Eva. Too much change, too much togetherness, too much of an over-crowded life she never wanted. But as her desire for privacy collides with her worsening memory, Eva may find herself in a pickle she can’t get out of. Can an unlikely cast of misfit characters step in to woo Eva from her self-imposed isolation?

Fans of A Man Called Ove will appreciate Eva’s predicament, and enjoy the poignant, hilarious, and intergenerational rescue effort to save her from herself.”

Hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

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Now this week’s posts:

Coppersmith.

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Birds of a Feather.

(Skagit Valley Snow Geese)

You must not follow the crowd in doing wrong . . . do not be swayed by the crowd to twist justice.”

—Exodus 23:2

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When ideas run dry.

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Mt Olympus is

in these Olympic Mountains,

in the Olympic National Park,

on the Olympic Peninsula,

65 miles from Olympia, as the crow flies.

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When mallards translate.

If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.

—Romans 12:18

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Upstaged.

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Thanks for dropping by, friends. I’m so glad you did.

Watching Nature, Seeing Life: Through His Creation, God Speaks

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P.S. If you’re arriving here through WordPress Reader or social media and you’re curious about how the writing of a novel unfolds, I invite you to join me as I write my next one. Some weeks only a line or two. RSVP me ( Cheryl@CherylBostrom.com ) with your email address, then check your inbox on Saturdays.

Hawk, Hawk, Goose

BUTEO.

Beauty, OH! I think, whenever I spot one of these rough-legged hawks (genus buteo). Elegant, soft-eyed and named for the insulating feathers that stretch to their toes, they winter here in NW Washington. Every year I camera-hunt them on the Skagit Flats, where I find them hovering over vole-rich fields, their faces to the wind, or perched, studying the ground.

Spring will find them back in the arctic (with all those snow geese), where they’ll bring lemmings to nests of up to seven waiting eyases.

On rough-legs?

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

—John 16:33

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Lofty.

“Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.’

Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you . . .”

—1 Peter 5:5-6

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When you come up empty.

“But as for you, be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded.”

2 Chronicles 15:7

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Silly goose?

(Snow goose, trailing a flock of hundreds.)

“How foolish can you be? After starting your new lives in the Spirit,

why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort?”

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Thanks for stopping by, friends. So glad you’re here.

Watching Nature, Seeing Life: Through His Creation, God Speaks

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P.S. If you’re arriving here through WordPress Reader or social media and you’re curious about how the writing of a novel unfolds, I invite you to join me as I write my next one.

I’m sending play-by-play emails every Saturday to those of you who’d like to follow progress on my new book. They aren’t lengthy. Some weeks, maybe only a line or two, but I’m sending things like word count updates, writerly musings, angst, and joys. And you’ll be among the first readers to receive my opening chapter.

These aren’t posted online anywhere.

They’re letters.

To you.

May I send them to you?

RSVP me ( Cheryl@CherylBostrom.com ) with your email address, then check your inbox on Saturdays.

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Your next read? Get it HERE.