Cheryl Grey Bostrom's Blog, page 6

Summer Shots and a new GIVEAWAY!

If you’re a middle-grade reader or looking for a gift for one, Linda MacKillop’s new novel Hotel Oscar Mike Echo tops my list of recommendations! Winsome eleven-year-old Sierra tells her compelling narrative of homelessness with such tenderness and candor that she’s sure to inspire empathy even among the most disillusioned—or unaware. Such a well-written, heart-warming, and real story that focuses on hope, not politics.

Here’s the gist:

Home isn’t always what we dream it will be. 

Eleven-year-old Sierra just wants a normal life. After her military mother returns from the war overseas, the two hop from home to homelessness while Sierra tries to help her mom through the throes of PTSD.  

When they end up at a shelter for women and children, Sierra is even more aware of what her life is not. The kind couple who run the shelter, Mr. and Mrs. Goodwin, attempt to show her parental love as she faces the uncertainties of her mom’s emotional health and the challenges of being the brand-new poor kid in middle school. The longer she stays at the shelter, the more Sierra realizes she may have to face an impossible choice as she redefines home.

This middle-grade novel offers a compassionate look at poverty, homelessness, and hope. Readers walk alongside brave Sierra as she holds on to a promise she believes God gave her: that one day she will have a real home. But what if that promise looks far different than she has ever dreamed? 

To enter this week’s giveaway of Hotel Oscar Mike Echo, just write SUBSCRIBE at the contact link HERE. (You can unsubscribe anytime.)

As a subscriber, you’ll get my Saturday Letters with this photo blog attached. Not found anywhere online. these brief notes also include thoughts about writing and life, regular book giveaways, and first-to-know updates on my novels-in-progress. I’l love to have you join me!

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Meanwhile, some favorite pics from years past, just for you .

If contentment were liquid.
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“I have learned to be satisfied with whatever I have. I know what it is to be poor or to have plenty, and I have lived under all kinds of conditions. I know what it means to be full or to be hungry, to have too much or too little. Christ gives me the strength to face anything.”
—Philippians 4:11-13

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A House Wren’s Aria.

His nest is nearby, so he’s staked a claim on our garden, too. While I pulled weeds, he sang nonstop—just to remind me . . . uh . . . that I was only a guest.

“For this world is not our permanent home; we are looking forward to a home yet to come.”
—Hebrews 13:14

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When you leave your woods.

“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.”

—Isaiah 43:18-19

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Dragons, drinking.
Nocturnal beasts, dragons. They come out as the sun sets, flop snouts in the water, and drink.
Salt? No problem.
(We may want to drink elsewhere.)
.
“Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters . . .”
—Isaiah 55:1a
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If fences laid eggs.

(Family resemblance?)

“In those days they shall no longer say: ‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge.’”

—Jeremiah 31:29

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Tight-fisted.

“But you’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed

You’re gonna have to serve somebody.”

—Bob Dylan

“No one can serve two masters.”

—Jesus, Matthew 6:24

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When your hill is long.

“I press on toward the goal . . .”

—Philippians 3:14

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Tumbleweed.

Thinking about how word seeds fall—into me and out of me.

“A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. Whoever has ears, let them hear.”

—Matthew 13:3-8

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Fireworks.

(Douglas Spirea growing wild on the fencerow in our south field.)

“. . . I will meditate on your wonderful works.”

—Psalm 145:5

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Readers, +3.75 Diopters

“Oh, magnify the Lord with me,

and let us exalt His name together.”

—Psalm 34:3

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A good place to be small. (See him?)

Blue sky beauty for your weekend.

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

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

P. S. An international bestseller, my award-winning novel Sugar Birds has been acquired by Tyndale House. Now at the printer, the book re-releases this fall. Included in this new edition are the opening pages of its SEQUEL, which will launch in May 2024.

Preorder Sugar Birds HERE.

Oldies but Goodies

Oldies but goodies for your mind and soul this week. Enjoy!

I’ll meet you here in TWO weeks instead of next Saturday, friends.

“Say! I like green eggs . . .”

—Dr. Seuss

“Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.”

—Jeremiah 33:3

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Then the giraffe stopped by.

“Not all those who wander are lost . . .”

—J. R. R. Tolkien

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I was watering young trees when I came upon a crowned sparrow’s nest in a small Douglas fir.

And then . . . I spotted this second nest, mere inches below it:

.

Bald-faced hornet.

Wonder who built first?

“Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.”

—Psalm 91:1

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Puffs passing through.

Like us.

“The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever.”

—Isaiah 40:8

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To my email subscribers, I send Saturday Letters with this photo blog attached. Not found anywhere online. these brief notes also include thoughts about writing and life, regular book giveaways, and first-to-know updates on my novels-in-progress.

May I include you? Write “SUBSCRIBE” at the contact link HERE. (You can unsubscribe anytime.)

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

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

P. S. An international bestseller, my award-winning novel Sugar Birds has been acquired by Tyndale House. Now at the printer, the book re-releases this fall. Included in this new edition are the opening pages of its SEQUEL, which will launch in May 2024.

Preorder Sugar Birds HERE.

Lunch on the Fly

We wake to a riot of birdsong these days, as music-makers wake early to feed and tend nestlings in woods and fields. We see them everywhere. In a cedar branch over a walking path, a demitasse cup of hummingbirds. Near the pond, black-headed grosbeaks and Swainson’s thrushes. In ground nests and shrubs, our woodshed and trees, finches and sparrows, towhees, robins, juncoes and more—those perching songbirds called passerines—are raising their broods.

And in our eight nest boxes, one wren family and seven nexts of these beauties:

Tree swallows, waiting for lunch on the fly.

The youngest hatchlings live here, on a corner of our garden fence. Parents drop inside to feed them.

Every few minutes . . .

With another beak full of bugs.

Next, the box by our north woods.

These kids are old enough to reach. Parents can feed them through the doorway without going inside.

Kickstand.

But these youngsters—in the box on our lane—will fly within days . . .

or hours. They wait at the door.

Spot Mom or Dad en route.

Ready . . . Set . . .

Swallow!

“Not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care.”

—Matthew 10:29

To my email subscribers, I send Saturday Letters with this photo blog attached. Not found anywhere online. these brief notes also include thoughts about writing and life, regular book giveaways, and first-to-know updates on my novels-in-progress.

May I include you? Write “SUBSCRIBE” at the contact link HERE. (You can unsubscribe anytime.)

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

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

P. S. An international bestseller, my award-winning novel Sugar Birds has been acquired by Tyndale House. Now at the printer, the book re-releases this fall. Included in this new edition are the opening pages of its sequel Chalk Horse (working title), which will launch in May 2024.

Preorder Sugar Birds HERE.

Dwell: a Review and a Giveaway

Last week’s overwhelming reply to my devotional giveaway prompted me to offer another beauty this week from an author whose fiction I’ve enjoyed for years. Tender, engaging, and wise, Sandra Byrd‘s voice shines in this nourishing new release perfect to give as a gift or to savor in your own quiet moments.

Subscribers to my Saturday Letters are eligible to win.

Here’s the gist about DWELL: 90 Days at Home with God:

“Join Sandra Byrd on a 90-day journey as she draws inspiration from do-it-yourself projects, gardening, home decor, and more, and then pairs each story with biblical insights that nurture gratitude and deepen faith. You’ll love the earthy look of this devotional. With a scattering of full-page photos and full color throughout, this warm, inviting devotional will feature beautifully on a nightstand or coffee table and provide fresh encouragement for the soul.

With stories from real life and gentle words from Scripture, Sandra invites you into her own home and garden. Whether you’re delighting in a window view of a chubby squirrel, savoring the first bite of a hot buttery roll, stressed over a broken-down furnace, or distracted by badly hung wallpaper, you’ll discover that every experience can bring you closer to Jesus.“

I’ll announce the winner of Dwell in my next Saturday Letter on June 24th. If you’d like to be included in the drawing, subscribe by writing “ENTER” HERE.

Not found anywhere online, my letters to you include thoughts about writing and life, regular book giveaways, and first-to-know updates on my novels-in-progress.

(If you already subscribe, please write “ENTER” HERE or reply to your email. )

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Meanwhile, some PNW pics and musings for you:

Baling day in our field: Our neighbor girl snapped this young baldie. (See that changing pate?)

“Young people, it’s wonderful to be young! Enjoy every minute of it. Do everything you want to do; take it all in. But remember that you must give an account to God for everything you do.”

—Ecclesiastes 11:9 NLT

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Ramparts.

.

Hear my cry, O God;

attend to my prayer.

From the ends of the earth I call out to You

whenever my heart is faint.

Lead me to the rock

that is higher than I.

For You have been my refuge,

a tower of strength against the enemy.

—Psalm 61:1-3

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Sniff for it.

“For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.”

—Matthew 7:14

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In the morning when I rise . . .

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Throwbacks from years ago you may not have seen . . .

Rookery.

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Ambrosia, warm from the garden.

“He gives food to every creature. His love endures forever.”

—Psalm 136:25

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Summer scent —from your childhood, too?

“A wise youth harvests in the summer . . .”

—Proverbs 10:5

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

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

P. S. An international bestseller, my award-winning novel Sugar Birds has been acquired by Tyndale House. Now at the printer, the book re-releases this fall. Included in this new edition are the opening pages of its sequel Chalk Horse, which will launch in May 2024.

Preorder Sugar Birds HERE.

A Moon Swoon, a Review, a Giveaway

Looks like anticipation to me—that glowy lunar profile, aswoon in advancing sunrise.

I want to live like that:

rapt in my waiting,

radiant with imparted hope.

Regardless.

Paul David Tripp‘s devotional New Morning Mercies shows us how—

in pages terrific for breakfast, my friend Shelly tells me.

I bought it, and agree. The book’s deep, true, wise.

Others have said the same—in over 11,000 five-star reviews and ratings.

Here’s the gist from the cover copy:

Mornings can be tough. Sometimes, a hearty breakfast and strong cup of coffee just aren’t enough. Offering more than a rush of caffeine, best-selling author Paul David Tripp wants to energize you with the most potent encouragement imaginable: The gospel.

The 365 devotionals lead off with a compelling, gospel-centered thought, followed by an extended meditation for the day. Focused less on behavior modification and more on helping people encounter the living God, this resource equips listeners with the good news that they need to trust in God’s goodness, rely on his grace, and live for his glory – day in and day out.

Energize you . . . potent encouragement . . . compelling . . .encounter the living God?

Yesyesyes.

I’m giving away a copy of the book this week to my Saturday Letters subscribers. If you’d like to be included in the drawing, write “SUBSCRIBE” HERE: https://cherylbostrom.com/contact/ .

Not found anywhere online, these letters are additional thoughts about writing and life, and they include updates on my novels-in-progress.

If you already subscribe, you’re automatically entered, but if you drop me a note, I’ll enter you TWICE.

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Now, as always, a few pics for you, old and new:

TB – Bubble house for a spittlebug (foamed-up plant sap).

“And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat agains that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”

—Matthew 7:27

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TB – Sneezy.

“And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass . . .”

—Genesis 1:11

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TB – Don’t blink.

—James 4:14

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TB – Marianas Trench.

“Oh, the depths of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!”

—Romans 11:33

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A taste of later.

“Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”

—Genesis 28:15

“Behold, I am making all things new.”

—Revelation 21:5

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

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

P. S. An international bestseller, my award-winning novel Sugar Birds has been acquired by Tyndale House. Now at the printer, the book re-releases this fall. Included in this new edition are the opening pages of its sequel Chalk Horse, which will launch in May 2024.

Preorder Sugar Birds HERE.

Orioles

At our Columbia Gorge campsite, we awoke astonished.

After three nights of wild, tree-shredding winds, the nest still dangled like a pear from pliable aspen branches.

Hardly seems possible that it survived.

But there they were, both parents feeding nestlings in that snug, intact little pouch.

Bullock’s orioles, canopy gleaners of insects and fruit.

The mister, a flame.

The missus, her beak toward heaven. A singing flower.

Then, a preen and sunbath.

Under that stripe in her feathers, her brood patch.

Brood patch: the belly skin that warmed her clutch (anywhere from three to seven eggs) for eleven days or so.

As few as eleven days from yolks to nestlings.

Prompts us to “think on these things.”

—Philippians 4:8

“The rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.” —Matthew 7:25

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

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For additional thoughts about my writing and life, subscribe to my Saturday Letters, which I email to you directly. These letters aren’t found anywhere online—and I attach this weekly photo blog at the bottom of each. Want to join me? Write “SUBSCRIBE” HERE: https://cherylbostrom.com/contact/.

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

P. S. An international bestseller, my award-winning novel Sugar Birds has been acquired by Tyndale House. Now at the printer, the book re-releases this fall. Included in this new edition are the opening pages of its sequel Chalk Horse, which will launch in May 2024.

Preorder Sugar Birds HERE.

Trails

A flight home from citified California.

Arrival to a land bursting with May

and nose-high orchard grass, buttercups, and rye.

Tomorrow, the tractor and mower.

Until then, trails.

Walk them with the dogs and me—in the dew?

Where I pray that You, Father, will make known to me the path of life . . .

And fill me with joy in your presence . . .

With eternal pleasures at your right hand.

—Psalm 16:10

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Where I pray you’ll help me watch the path of my feet . . .

so all my ways will be established.

—Proverbs 4:26

May I, with your help, in all my ways acknowledge You . . .

So that You will make my paths straight.

—Proverbs 3:6

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I pray the same for you, friends.

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

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For additional thoughts about my writing and life, subscribe to my Saturday Letters, which I email to you directly. These letters aren’t found anywhere online—and I attach this weekly photo blog you’re viewing at the bottom of each. Want to join me? Write “SUBSCRIBE“HERE: https://cherylbostrom.com/contact/.

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

P. S. An international bestseller, my award-winning novel Sugar Birds has been acquired by Tyndale House. Now at the printer, the book re-releases this fall. Included in this new edition are the opening pages of its sequel Chalk Horse, which will launch in May 2024.

Preorder Sugar Birds HERE.

Lighter than Air

On a month’s notice, he took the job.

They sold their home, packed, and relocated

from a quiet lakeside home with a yard and trees

to a townhouse in a city of millions,

and millions.

To a concrete yard.

To a treasure hunt, of sorts, where—

while I’m here for a while—

we’re hunting the beautiful

in cracks and edges.

And when we skip to the beach,

we’re lighter than air.

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I can never escape from your Spirit!

I can never get away from your presence!

If I go up to heaven, you are there;

If I go down to the grave, you are there.

If I ride the wings of the morning . . .

If I dwell by the farthest oceans,

even there your hand will guide me,

and your strength will support me.

I could ask the darkness to hide me

and the light around me to become night—

but even in darkness I cannot hide from you.

—Psalm 139:7-12

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

For additional thoughts about my writing and life, please subscribe to my Saturday Letters, which I email to you directly. These letters aren’t found anywhere online—and they have this weekly photo blog attached. Want to join us? Say yes HERE: https://cherylbostrom.com/contact/.

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

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P. S. An international bestseller, my award-winning novel Sugar Birds has been acquired by Tyndale House and re-releases this fall. Included in this new edition are the opening pages of its sequel Chalk Horse, which will launch in May 2024.

Preorder Sugar Birds HERE.

Via Thunderstorms

In the last six days I’ve traversed the country twice. The first leg, a diagonal from Washington State to Georgia, took me to a retreat hosted by my literary agency. Thunderstorms and a tornado or two plagued the long return trip, this time to visit our son and his family in California . . . when they return.

For now, I’m holed up in their empty home, writing. Walking the beach. Listening—to waves and gulls. To characters in this next novel of mine.

To the Word.

I include more thoughts about all that in my Saturday letters, which I email to subscribers directly. These letters aren’t found anywhere online. And if you write to me, I’ll always write back. Want to join us? Say yes HERE: https://cherylbostrom.com/contact/.

Meanwhile, scroll for a few bites of beauty, adventure, and deep hope.

From a few years back: Koala.

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When growing cracks you.

“The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.”

—Psalm 51:17

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Lines in the sand.

“‘Do you not fear Me?’ declares the Lord.
‘Do you not tremble in My presence?
For I have placed the sand as a boundary for the sea,
An eternal decree, so it cannot cross over it.
Though the waves toss, yet they cannot prevail;
Though they roar, yet they cannot cross over it.”

—Jeremiah 5:22

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Whisper a little.

“My heart stands in awe . . .”

—Psalm 119:161

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Sand Sipper.

“Strike the rock, and water will come out of it for the people to drink.”

—Exodus 17:6

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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. An international bestseller, my award-winning indie novel Sugar Birds has been acquired by Tyndale House and re-releases this fall. Included in this new edition are the opening pages of its sequel Chalk Horse, which will launch in May 2024.

Preorder Sugar Birds HERE.

High Mesa

My six week hiatus to work on my next novel began when Blake and I left our Washington winter behind and flew to California. At a nature preserve between Big Sur and Carmel, on a Central Coast beach, and at tables both on high mesa and in flatlands, we gathered with family to eat, talk, laugh.

To play.

The best sort of heart-filling inspiration for this writer.

Thought you’d enjoy meeting a few of the locals down there.

Wild turkeys.

Including a couple of Toms . . .

Dressed to impress.

Reminded me of a verse about another bird:

“The wings of the ostrich wave proudly; But are they the pinions and plumage of love?”

—Job 39:13 ASV

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And these wild hogs. Dozens more where they came from.

We even drove hogbacks to find ’em.

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Saw this guy, too. “Catbob,” a favorite preschooler used to call his sort.

Quiet hunter.

“But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.”

—Romans 8:25

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Sunset over Big Sur.

“They who dwell in the ends of the earth stand in awe of Your signs;
You make the dawn and the sunset shout for joy.”

—Psalm 65:8

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Hiking at Point Lobos State Natural Reserve.

Tidepools, inlets . . .

Where happy urchins (us included ) thrive.

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Too soon, home again.

Seattle lights: caught on our wings.

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Thanks for stopping by, friends. Good to be back with you.

If you’d like to read more, drop me a note at https://cherylbostrom.com/contact/ and I’ll send you my Saturday Letters, not found anywhere online. Thoughts on writing and life.

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

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Tyndale’s new release of my novel Sugar Birds comes out in October (and includes pages from the sequel Chalk Horse). Preorder it HERE: