Introducing Motherhood Magazine

Many days I'm amazed at the small, seemingly random ways that God finds to bless me. 

For example, the last few years I've been given numerous editing opportunities. I don't consider myself an editing professional, but I've enjoyed stretching my skills. I haven't searched for any of these projects, but each one has been a blessing in a specific way. For example, I was working on an Anabaptist history book during 2020. Studying God's faithfulness to the persecuted church gave me a valuable perspective to the Covid challenges. 

This spring, through a series of unexpected circumstances, I had the opportunity to help edit a new magazine for mothers. Only God knew how much I would need to read and reread words of hope and blessing to moms. I was surprised to find that even after multiple readings, a phrase or line could still move me to tears as I fought days of discouragement this summer. 

Motherhood Magazine shares words from mothers and grandmothers from various countries, ages, and stages of life. Over and over they repeat the message that God sees and knows and cares for each mom. The words are combined with carefully selected artwork, photos, and design for a calm reading experience. I especially enjoyed the selected Scriptures. This is a magazine to be savored. 

Kerra Troyer is a young mom who has the vision for a magazine to encourage mothers. She has a background in design and marketing, but as a young mom herself, she and her husband knew they would need to set up boundaries. 

So Motherhood Magazine is a non-subscription magazine. Each issue will be sold individually. This removes the pressure for Kerra to produce a magazine under a time limit. At this point she doesn't know how long or how often she'll offer a new issues of the magazine, but her goal is that each issue will be a high-quality keepsake for mothers. 

This week, Kerra is opening the Motherhood Magazine website for preorders. If you want to make sure you get a copy of this new magazine, order now. The magazine will be shipped in October, and once they are gone, they probably won't be reprinted. 

Each issue of the magazine cost $10 plus shipping. 

If you combine your orders with friends, or order extras as gifts, shipping costs will be reduced. If you order 10 copies or more, the cost is $9 plus shipping. 

If you live near me and would like a copy of Motherhood, message me I'll combine your order with mine. 

Visit Motherhoodmagazine.org for more information. You can also sign up for updates so that you will hear about future magazines.

If you prefer to place an order by email, contact Kerra at stan.kerra2012 @gmail.com .

Sisters' September Reading Challenge

Though many children (including my own) started school weeks ago, September still feels like the beginning of the school year. To me, the change of seasons is a great time to reflect and make goals. So our focus this month has those themes in mind.

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Sisters' September Reading Challenge 

1. Read a book written by a teacher or about a teacher.

This could be a modern book about education, a memoir of a teacher, or fictional story that has a teacher as a character. Or maybe the author is a teacher, such as Emily Steiner and Jonathan Rogers.

Examples: Dangerous Minds by LouAnne Johnson

Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt

Anne of Avonlea by L.M. Montgomery

2. Read a book on a topic that you want to learn more about.

Many of us are in the habit of going to Google when we want to learn about a topic. There can be great value in reading a longer length piece on a topic to gain a wider view. The book doesn't have to be deep (but could be.) Maybe you want to read a fictional story set in a place you'd like to visit, or a nonfiction about a specific subject, or a memoir of a person that had a fascinating life experience.

Examples:

Is your heart breaking over Afghanistan? Read In the Land of Blue Burqas by Kate McCord

Do you want to build better habits this fall? Read Atomic Habits by James Clear.

Do you wonder if you have value to God? Read Unseen by Sarah Hagerty

3. Enjoy a wordless book.

Wordless book are such fun! They beg you to find a child to talk about the pictures. I didn't know I enjoyed so many wordless books until I found this list in my files. These books depict very different illustration styles and content. Your librarian could find you many more

Mirror by Jeannie Baker

Journey by Aaron Becker (first of a trilogy)

The Girl and the Bicycle by Mark Pett

The Lion and the Mouse by Jerry Pinkney

Float by Daniel Miyares

Spot, the Cat by Henry Cole

4. Buy a book at a thrift store.

I decided to track my book purchases in 2021 and have discovered that most month I buy several books at my local Goodwill or Abebooks.com. I can hardly drive by Goodwill without stopping in to see if there are any new treasures on the shelves. 

5. Share something you learned in a book with someone else.

It has been proven that we remember things better if we share them with others. It may be easier to discuss the weather or things we have read online, but part of this challenge is to share what you have learned from a book. There may be value in the latest words being written, but many of them will be obsolete before the end of the month. Reading a book allows you to slow down your information and read words that had a chance to settle for at least a few years.

I can't wait to hear what you choose to read this month!

Sisters' August Reading Challenge

 My reading life in August was surprisingly rich. I read more than usual, despite it being a busy month. I won't list all the books I read this month, just the ones specifically for the challenge.

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1. Enjoy a graphic novel.

Charity - March by John Lewis and Andrew Aydin

This delightfully illustrated graphic novel tells the riveting story of John Lewis. In his own words he tells of growing up as an African American in the south. As the Civil Rights movement sweeps across the US, Lewis grapples with what his part should in in the history unfolding around him. I was so happy that my librarian suggested this book or I may have missed out!

Gina - When Stars Are Scattered by Victoria Jamieson and Omar Mohamed

Omar and his brother will never stop searching the thousands of faces at the refugee camp to find their mother though it has been years since they had to flee their home in Somalia because of war. This graphic novel depicts the life and dreams of a refugee boy. I found myself moved to tears, but didn't realize until I finished the book that the author was telling his own story, and he now lives with his family near me. Note: The author is Muslim and this book contains mention of his religion.

2. Read a mystery.

Charity - Strong Poison by Dorothy Sayers

I'm scared of crime novels. Too much blood and murder and you can count me out. But I do love Sherlock Holmes and Father Brown, so I started this book with caution. Friends, I loved it! Lord Peter Wimsey had me laughing out loud and the plot had me reading feverishly. I'll be making a trip to  my local library for some more of Sayers novels!

Gina - And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

One of my goals in this reading challenge is to read some of the many unread books on my shelves. This was one of them. For years I've wanted to figure out why Agatha Christie is the best-selling novelist of all time (behind the Bible and Shakespeare). And Then There Were None has been called the best mystery book ever written. The plot feels impossible, bordering ridiculous, and certainly morbid but by the end I was in awe of Christie's skill in fitting together the pieces.

We both enjoyed listening to The Literary Life podcast episode on the detective novel. This episode discusses why the years after World War 1 were the Golden Age of the detective novel, including the roles of both Sayers and Christie.

3. Choose a book of the Bible and read it several times this month.

Charity - Revelation

For the past two years I have been writing a summary of each book of the Bible as I read through it. But I have to read each book several times before I can accomplish that goal. This month found me at the last book of the Bible. As I read it again and again, I was struck by the faithfulness of God and His incredible calling that He has given to the Church. I keep asking myself, am I a faithful part of the Bride of Christ, waiting and working in delighted expectation for His coming?

Gina - 1 Thessalonians

I chose Thessalonians since that is where I happened to be in my Bible reading. I found that the Bible app on my phone (Tecarta) has numerous Bible translations that I could access through free streaming. I read through the book several times choosing various translations. I found myself looking at familiar verses in new ways.

4. Read while sipping a cold drink.

Charity - I finished locking up at work and grabbed my Cold Brew Green Tea, compliments of a shift as a barista. At home in my quiet house, I settled down to finish one book and start a new one. The Perfect afternoon refuel. 

Gina - My older children have been sometimes making a pot of coffee and chilling it. I've enjoyed starting mornings with a glass of iced coffee and my Bible

5. Send a book quote to a friend.

Charity- I took the "send a quote" seriously. In my mind it meant snail mail, though I could have done it by text. It was a great excuse to send a friend some encouragement!

Gina - I hadn't even considered snail mail until Charity mentioned it. I couldn't let my little sister beat me and since I wanted to send a few cards anyway, I looked through my quote journal to find some appropriate quotes.

Charity and I have never taken so many photos together, and we are having such fun doing these book photo shoots each months. We typically do no planning, just grab a book sometime we are together and find the nearest person to shoot some photos. Thanks to our sister Darla for being willing to stand on a ladder in an alfalfa field for us!

My No-Till Mulch Gardening

I grew up with a traditional garden - plowing in the fall, tilling in the spring, and tilling/hoeing between the rows during the summer. In Pennsylvania, bare soil means weeds. I spent countless childhood hours fighting weeds in the garden. The work didn't hurt me, but the battle with weeds wasn't enjoyable and the weeds always won. 

When I married, Ed introduced me to mulching. We collected grass clippings from our yard and used them to mulch the garden. Sometimes we also layered cardboard and newspaper. I was amazed at the difference. Covered soil results in far fewer weeds. But it was always a fight every spring to get enough grass clippings to cover the freshly-tilled soil before the weeds grew. We usually loss. 

Over the years I have read about mulch gardening - a method of keeping your garden covered in mulch and not tilling the ground so weed seeds are not exposed. There was an older woman (I can't remember her name) who wrote about mulch gardening in Organic Gardening magazine decades ago, and I found a compilation of her articles. Lasagna Gardening was a popular book that came out twenty years ago. And Back to Eden has made the method popular in recent years. 

I've experimented with various mulching methods through the years, but got more serious the last two years. I'm hardly strong enough to handle our tiller and though my brothers are willing to help, it would be nice to be able to garden without always asking for help.

We have a large yard with many big trees so I started by layering grass clippings and leaves on sections of the garden. In the spring, the mulch had settled and began to rot, and I dug holes in the mulch and directly planted things like tomatoes, broccoli, and pumpkins. I had nearly no weeds. Success! 

But I wasn't sure how well I could plant seeds in mulch. 

Last fall I covered the whole garden with at least a small bit of mulch. This spring I did no tilling. Using a hoe, I pulled aside the mulch and planted onion sets, beans and corn seeds, and vegetable plants directly in the mulch. I had a large amount of finished compost from my compost pile that I added to the planting rows as well.

I was able to plant the entire garden with only a hoe - no tiller needed.

The result has been a lovely garden with almost no weeding. I'm still learning what ingredients such as lime that I'll need to add to my garden to increase its fertility. As mulch decompose, it can lock up certain nutrients which is why some people allow their mulch to rot before adding it to their garden.

Garden in June

After the strawberries were finished in June, my brother tilled under some of the old strawberries, and I planted some late beans and corn. These tilled areas immediately grew a fine crop of weeds. The contrast between the mulched and tilled areas was significant.

Potatoes were another experiment this year. I often have volunteer potatoes grow in the spring from potatoes that were missed in the harvest. I decided to have purposeful volunteer potato patch. 

When we dug our potatoes in the fall, I sorted out some of the small potatoes. We tilled one end of the garden, made rows, and planted those small potatoes. We then covered this section of the garden with leaves and waited for spring.

This spring the potato plants emerged.

Potato patch in June

Not every potato grew, so we had a few skippers in the rows, but it was a lovely potato patch, with no work at all in the spring.

Last week the potato plants were nearly dead so we started digging.

I first pulled out the plants, and since we had not hilled the potato plants, the potatoes were right at the surface under the mulch. This made digging potatoes much simpler, but it also meant that quite a few of the potatoes had green skin from exposure to the sun. The mulch from the fall had rotted down too much to protect them.  We should have added another layer of mulch in the spring to protect the potatoes from the sun. The green on potatoes is poisonous, but we'll cut off the green part and eat the rest of the potato.

But despite our dry weather, the potatoes were a great size - some larger than my hand. We are getting about a half bushel per row (my rows are short), which I think is about average from past years.

When we finish digging the potatoes, I plan to sort out the small potatoes and plant next year's crop. I'll try to be more diligent in adding another mulch layer in the spring, but otherwise, this experiment worked well enough to repeat.

I love gardening, but hate weeding, and mulching allows me to maximize my favorite parts of gardening (planting and harvest) and minimize the least favorite. I look forward to learning how to make this method work better for us.

Have you tried mulch gardening?

Sisters' August Reading Challenges

 August is a busy month for many of us. Our family attempts to do some traveling and harvest the garden during the same month. So Charity and I planned some lighter reading challenges for this month. 

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1. Enjoy a graphic novel.

Yes, this is your excuse to read comic-style books. This genre has published some excellent books recently, including some wonderful nonfiction titles. I'll list some examples, but perusing your local library might reveal some more treasures. Don't think that these are for children; these are meant for teens and up.

The Unwanted by Don Brown - Don's written several great  books - this one on Syrian refugees.

Catherine's War by Julia Billet - A story based on the author's mother's survival as Jew in France during World War 2.

The Faithful Spy: Dietrich Bonhoeffer and the Plot to Kill Hitler by John Henrix - Amazing graphics contrast Hitler and Bonhoeffer. You might not agree with Bonhoeffer's choices, but this is a fascinating way to learn history.  

2. Read a mystery.

When I recall my childhood reading, I remember the hours spent with the Bobbsey Twins, Boxcar Children, and the Happy Hollisters. I loved these stories of siblings who worked together to solve a mystery. Give yourself permission to read a "who-dun-it" in August.

Some examples: 

Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle - There is a reason these books are classics. Since he wrote short stories and longer novels, you can find something to fit your available reading time in August. Or listen to it on audio.

A Death in the Family by Caroline Duford - A cozy mystery in an English manor.

The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin  - A middle-grade mystery that hooked me as an adult.

The Lake House by Kate Morton - Why are so many delightful mysteries set in England? Note: Adultery plays a big part in the plot of this book.

3. Choose a book of the Bible and read it several times this month.

You can listen to it on audio, choose a different version to read each time, or somehow focus on one particular book. A short book or long - your choice.

4. Read while sipping a cold drink.

Take the time to slow down and enjoy a moment of rest.

5. Send a book quote to a friend.

This can be a verse, favorite quote, or line of poetry. 

Hope you enjoy reading in August.

Sisters' July Reading Challenge

 

The July Reading Challenge was such fun for both of us. You know it is good when your sister comes over for supper and reads an essay out loud from her book. I hope that in the midst of the summer craziness, that you took time for words. 

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1. Read a magazine from start to finish.

Charity - Daughters of Promise: Resilience (Issue 34)

I struggle to read entire magazines. I think it might be because I don't feel the sense of accomplishment that comes with finishing a book and adding it to my book log. I was delighted to have a reason to read this magazine from start to finish, and it was worth it! This issue challenged me more than usual. I found myself jotting down quotes which is always a good sign. Resilience deals with hard things--lives that are not perfect, in a world that is flawed. But we, as Christians, serve an amazing God.

Gina - I too read and thoroughly enjoyed the Resilience issue of Daughters of Promise. I was challenged by the stories of those striving to know and serve God even when He feels silent.

2. Read a book with a color in the title.

Charity - The Turquoise Table by Kristen Schell

Kristin is just an ordinary mom living in an ordinary community. But she wanted to know her neighbors and experience life with them. So she painted her picnic table turquoise, placed it in the front yard, and moved her family activities out of the backyard. They became front-yard people. I loved how this book was practical, and though the concept was a challenge, it also felt as if I could implement the concepts into my life no matter where I am. The question I am left with is, am I willing to give up my privacy, my quiet, and make my life one that people can enter into?

Gina - The Solitary Blue by Cynthia Voigt

Jeff's mother left when he was seven, and he closed his heart to emotions. But when she enters his life again, Jeff finds out how painful love can be. I loved the view of Eastern Maryland and the lovely shore. I had never read this middle-grade novel, but it made me want to reread Dicey's Song, which is in the same series. Voigt has a beautiful and heartrending way of describing the emotions of children.

3. Read a book of essays.

Charity - Endless Feasts: Sixty Years of Writing from Gourmet compiled and edited by Ruth Reichl

From breakfast in Maine to dinner in Tibet, this compilation of articles from Gourmet magazine was truly delightful and sometimes gut-rollicking hilarious. Not only did I gain a view of years past but also other countries, others states, and high class social events. The essays are from a variety of writers and span from 1949 to 1999. They cover travel, home cooking, restaurants, and just fun stories. May I issue a warning? You might want to avoid reading this book while hungry!

Gina - The Points of My Compass by E. B. White

Most readers know White as the author of Charlotte's Web and other children's stories, but White was also a talented essay writer. I was thrilled to find this collection of essays written in the late 50s and early 60s at a thrift store. White divided his time between his homes in New York City and a quiet cove in Maine so his topics include the demise of the Maine railroad, a book he is reading, politics, his old cook stove, and the New York pigeons. The book gives a glimpse of life during the Cold War before the first moon landing, from someone who wasn't trying to write history, but to describe life. Some of the essays held my interest sixty years later better than others, but whatever White writes, he writes well.

4. Read a book or listen to an audio book in a vehicle.

Charity - I delight in finding a good book to entertain me in the car. Though I told Gina that this month's audio book was a little too sappy, it was still rather fun. I also find it essential to take books with me if I even think there will be a moment of waiting and boredom. So books in my car are just a normal part of my nerdy existence!

Gina- We took a trip to North Carolina to visit family and listened to Pay Attention, Carter Jones by Gary Schmidt. As usual, Schmidt didn't disappoint. His books always include a struggling youth and a caring adult who teaches a specific topic while helping the teen cope with the hard things in life. In this book a butler shows up at Carter's door just when the family needs a stable adult. This was a story that all ages could enjoy and managed to make me want to watch a cricket game. My biggest complaint is that the cover makes this look like a book for younger readers but I think teens will enjoy it more.

5. Read beside water (ocean, lake, river, pool, creek, or lawn sprinkler).

Gina - My children enjoy splashing in the stream in a quiet park near our home on hot summer days. Most years I say I'm too busy, and only get there a time or so, but this year I've been trying to ignore the work and the annoyance of soggy clothes, and visit the creek often. I always find that my spirit is revived after an hour sitting with my feet in the water. I always bring a book to read and usually read a few pages, but I'm often distracted by the children, or just feel like staring into the ripples. I told Charity she should meet me at this park with her book for a photo shoot. 

Charity - My reading by the water was brief. Actually, I read my magazine while I waited for Gina. And then we enjoyed book talk instead of reading. But I do have in mind a lovely little spot to take my book someday - so maybe in August.

We'd love to hear what you are reading. Do you like to read outdoors? Do you have a recommendation for audio books for our August traveling?

Check back in a few days for the August Reading Challenges.

Book Review: Peanut Butter and Dragon Wings

I knew I was in trouble when I read the introduction to Peanut Butter and Dragon Wings. Shari Zook says, "This is not a book about self-care. This is a book about receiving the care that surrounds you."

I don't do well in accepting help. (That might be an understatement.) I remember one morning many years ago when my children were all babies, and I woke up with a painfully stiff neck. I was barely able to get out of bed, but I hobbled through the motions of caring for my family. Ed looked at me before he left for work and said, "Are you going to call your mom and ask for help or do I have to?" By this time, he knew how stubborn I was about asking for help.

In the last four years, I've been forced to accept help. I've opened checks that paid for our medical bills, served casseroles made by other hands, and watched others cut firewood, do home repairs, and care for Ed. I'm incapable of providing for my children alone, and I know it. I'm grateful for all the ways others have held up our family.

But I'm still slow to admit my emotional needs, and if you ask me how I'm doing, my default will be "I'm fine." Last year  I read a book that made me realize how deeply my identity was founded on feeling capable, efficient, and productive. I'm most comfortable giving and serving. I don't want to look needy and helpless and am willing to fake to the point of deception to hide my needs. 

For months I had Colossians 4:19 hanging in my kitchen. "But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus." I've seen God meet my needs, and I'm grateful for the abundance of His riches. But what if I'm missing part of the glory by shutting myself from the people of God? 

So that is the background in which I opened up Peanut Butter and Dragon Wings by Shari Zook and read of her desperation when being capable and efficient didn't work anymore. She faced challenges in parenting, ministry, and marriage and watched God reach out to her through other people.

Shari writes beautifully and has the ability to laugh at herself. But she doesn't shy away from looking straight at the reader and asking the hard questions. She tells of her discovery of her own failures and losses and practical ways to reach out for the grace of Jesus through the ministry of others.

If you live locally, I'd love to say that you can borrow my copy of Peanut Butter and Dragon Wings, but I think I need to reread it first. One of my friends asked if I was interested in reading through it slowly, maybe two chapters a week, and discussing the end-of-the-chapter questions together. That kind of vulnerability scares me silly, but Shari has modeled it and showed us how beautiful honesty can be. 

If you want your own copy of Peanut Butter and Dragon Wings - and you do if you are a mom of a challenging child, or are a foster mom, or have faced depression, or avoid asking for help until you are dying, or are a pastor's wife (and that pastor disappoints you), or want to find a mentor. You can find your own copy at Amazon (affiliate link) or the publisher Herald Press. You can also get a sample of Shari's writings at her blog Confessions of a Woman Learning to Live.

Shari gave me a copy of her book as a friend, but didn't require a review in return. All opinions in this review are my own.