January Letter

Happy New Year!

As I sit here and type, the skies are a dull gray and all the trees are brown. Not much beauty to behold. Or is there? I told my family recently that there is still beauty to be found, even in the gray and brown. Sometimes, you have to be patient and wait for the beauty—a streak of red from a cardinal flying past the window or the cheery song of the Carolina wren as it sings its morning song or the rays of the sun appearing for a brief moment, lighting up the sky and casting shadows on the walls. Those are gifts worth watching and listening for in the drab days of winter.

“Whoever you are, you are human. Wherever you are, you live in the world, which is just waiting for you to notice the holiness in it.” (Barbara Brown Taylor from An Altar in the World: A Geography of Faith)

We are walking into a new year, and that feels very beautiful in and of itself.

what is January
but a cold slate with
the white chalk dust of a year
blown away in a 
           b  r  e  a  t  h 
of illumination?

the motes will soon resettle,
re-arrange, re-engage, 
onto a calendar of
chaos and caresses as we
           careen forward, ever faster
ever gentler, into 
a new epoch.

Each new year, I choose a word for myself—something to focus my mind on and strive towards. This year, I am going to choose a new word with each season. Winter’s word is…

I plan to explore new creative ventures, such as making my own journals,

and spending more time outside exploring, even though it’s cold.

The books I will be exploring in 2024 include the Elizabeth Goudge books I have yet to read,

as well as some from my TBR stack. I will be reading along with

Elizabeth Goudge Bookclub

and

Jacqui Wakelam @ TheBeagle

. My goal is quality over quantity, meaning I want to spend more time in the books I read (and read fewer) instead of trying to rush through them to move on to the next one. For those who have not read Elizabeth Goudge, she was a British author who lived from 1900-1984. There is so much that can be said about her, but I’ll just share two of my favorite quotes from her book The Bird in the Tree.

In times of storm and tempest, of indecision and desolation, a book already known and loved makes better reading than something new and untried. The meeting with remembered and well-loved passages is like the continual greeting of old friends; nothing is so warming and companiable.

And here is a quote that I love showing her humor.

More happy homes have been wrecked, Lucilla was apt to say, by not seeing eye-to-eye about how much window to have open than by any other controversy known to man.

A book I loved in 2023 is The Extraordinary Deaths of Mrs. Kip by Sarah Brunsvold.

From Amazon:

Aidyn Kelley is talented, ambitious, and ready for a more serious assignment than the fluff pieces she's been getting as a cub reporter for the Kansas City Star. In her eagerness, she pushes too hard, earning herself the menial task of writing an obituary for an unremarkable woman who's just entered hospice care.

But there's more to Clara Kip than meets the eye. The spirited septuagenarian may be dying, but she's not quite ready to cash it in yet. Never one to shy away from an assignment herself, she can see that God brought the young reporter into her life for a reason. And if it's a story Aidyn Kelley wants, that's just what Mrs. Kip will give her--but she's going to have to work for it.

Debut author Sara Brunsvold delights with this emotional multigenerational story that shows that the very best life is made up of thousands of little deaths to self. You'll want to be just like Mrs. Kip when you grow up!

Mrs. Kip helps me to think about what kind of legacy I want to leave. Here are some of my favorite quotes from the book.

*Clara grinned. “Oh, honey. I think heaven will be the wildest ride yet.”

*She clung to the belief that the Lord had something for her here, so she shuffled forward.

*He [God] was always up to something good…If only she had learned that truth earlier in life.

*“…the Lord has his warriors in surprising places.”

*Clara smiled, feeling the lightness in her heart—that sensation of the Lord’s hand at work, orchestrating his people to be part of a generous answer to prayer.

*His [God’s] stories usually are better than anything we an come up with.

*The author of life truly was a masterful yarn spinner.

*"Thank you, Mrs. Kip. Thank you for helping me find a life that matters.”

For a great picture book pairing, read Birdsong by Julie Flett alongside Mrs. Kip!

What are your plans and goals for 2024? What books will you be reading? I would love to know!

As I sign off, I will leave you with this: a perfect song as we look to a new year.

This Year by J.J. Heller

Blessings for a wonderful 2024!

~Stephanie

P.S.—Thank you to everyone who bought a copy of my poetry book, Beautiful Glimpse, over the holiday season! If you purchased one, would you mind leaving a review? Buying the book is a great gift to me, and leaving a review would make it even better! Thanks again!