God is good.
I have been saying that phrase for years, in nearly every post, in many stories, in journals and talks and so much more, and I was afraid that one day it would lose its potency. But to this day, it has not. And I still think about it and the truth of those few words when I look around at this world we get to live in and the way that He has designed it.
God is good.
I’ve grown up on a farm, with a big family in Southwest VA. This is a life I would not trade. Not the chaos of it, not the hard nights or the long days, because in life there is hard in everything, but oh, there is good too. And this life is filled with so much good by His grace.
I began writing for real in a homeschool class when I was eleven. I laughed the few times people asked if I was going to publish anything in the years since then, because I never thought I would. When I briefly considered it I thought it would be a someday thing, down the road. Never this early.
But God’s plans are not ours, and oh how thankful I am that that is true.
Growing up on a farm, we got a taste of many things, from learning to appreciate getting out of muddy clothes to understanding hard work, long days, good laughter and real food, all things I am thankful for. But more than any of those things, I am thankful for the time that was spent in those long days and that hard work with my siblings, growing and laughing and throwing weeds at each other in the garden. Those are things I am forever grateful for, because I think laughter and rest are both all the sweeter when your muscles are achy and your mind a little tired after a long day.
That’s the work you won’t forget, and the things that will teach you more than any desk job in the world.
Some of my favorite…
Books:
Till We Have Faces, by C.S Lewis.
Watership Down by Richard Adams.
Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte.
The Home Ranch, by Ralph Moody.
Death by Living, N.D Wilson.
The Confessions of St. Augustine, by St. Augustine.
Stepping Heavenward, by Elizabeth Prentiss.
A White Bird Flying, by Bess Streeter Aldrich.
Things to do:
Photograph couples and weddings, which is actually my full time job. So when I’m not writing, I’m probably still editing.
I absolutely love hiking, and every chance to hike, especially anywhere with mountains, I’ll be there.
Attending live concerts, especially at small venues. The smaller the better. The last two years we’ve has the joy of seeing several artists live, which has been a new and fun thing for us.
Causing chaos with my family. There are 21 of us and counting now, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Time when we all get to be in one place is a beautiful thing, and one that I treasure.
Music:
Josh Garrels
The Arcadian Wild
Ben Rector
Sarah Sparks
Avi Kaplan
Ben Zornes
Sons of Korah
The Gray Havens
Podcasts:
Renewing Your Mind: with R.C Sproul.
King’s Cross with Toby Sumpter
Revive Our Hearts with Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth.
Things Unseen with Sinclair Furguson.
Book Series:
Lord of the Rings, especially the Return of the King. That one is gold.
Little Britches by Ralph Moody
The Giver by Lois Lowry
The Fireborn Epic by Gillian Bronte Adams.
The Nightengale Trilogy, by J J Fischer.
