My Why

It’s a sitting on the back porch, sipping iced tea, hammering out some work sharing about my soon-to-be released book, Walking in Wonder: A Devotional Journal for Moms of Toddlers, kind of afternoon.

I’ll confess I’m not so good at this part. I love writing. I cherish mothering and the spiritual formation involved. I feel awkward when it comes to marketing. But over the past few years, I’ve had to reorient my mind around it.

I’ve always been a very hospitable person. I love welcoming people into my home and sharing my heart and a home-cooked meal with them. I love the life-on-life discipleship that happens spontaneously in these Holy Spirit moments. And I’ve had to realize that sharing about this book, this series, that I’ve poured my heart and hard-won years of spiritual and mothering wisdom into, is yet another form of hospitality.

I can tell you my heart behind releasing these three books has always been about impacting moms and future generations with the beauty and hope of the Gospel for everyday life. The messy, real parts where you are covered in baby spit-up or crying because you’re hormonal, or scrubbing puréed carrots from the high chair moments—this Gospel meets us in all the unglamorous points of motherhood and infuses purpose and even joy into the hardest parts. Yes, the book is beautifully packaged. It has features that make it accessible and easy for busy moms. Yes, it’s packed with nuggets of practical and useful developmental information, but none of that is what led me to write it.

What led me to write, is a heart eager to exalt Christ at the foundational point in a mother’s journey. So I hope that if you know someone in these early mothering years, you will think of these books and think of my heart to see Christ made much of in hearts and homes.

This one, Walking in Wonder, is available for pre-order now, but comes out officially July 9th. Meanwhile, Waiting in Wonder: Growing in Faith While You’re Expecting and Watching in Wonder: Growing in Faith during Your Baby’s First Year are already available wherever books are sold.