How NOT to Start a Year

When Beauty is Armor

Friends,

Have you noticed? So many January posts focus on NOT starting the year like this:

Pretty sure I see my prints in there.

This year, for me, rabbit trail frenetics are out.

This year, I’m doubling down with more camera time.

Why?

To dress my mind with beauty. Beauty that’s armor against . . .

well . . .

against all those distractions.

C’mon, Cheryl. Will you really?

Ha. Not alone, I won’t.

But beauty’s Maker will help me,

will fortify me with the armor

of the Word planted in me

and revealed in the creation I photograph.

Beautiful armor that makes room for Him to grow in me—as in you—these :

Love.

Joy.

---

Peace.

Patience.

Kindness.

Goodness.

Faithfulness.

Gentleness.

Self-control.

—Galatians 5:22-23

. . . And to grow this story I’m writing about foxes (see her?).

“Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

And pray . . . ” —Ephesians 6: 14-18

***
📙📙📙From My Bookery:

CONGRATS to the winners of our three-author giveaway last month!

CHERI SWALWELL—please send me your snail mail address, and I’ll ship your book bundle right off to you.

This month, I have a special book giveaway for you subscribers only: Kendra Broekhuis’ new release Nearly Beloved! Having so enjoyed Kendra Broekuis’s Between You and Us, I snapped up Nearly Beloved—and am so glad I did.

With her characteristic wit and humor, Broekhuis hooked me into her tale of a young woman’s quest to discover her true biological identity. And when the story led me from protagonist Dylan’s DNA hunt into her vulnerable search for personal belonging, I was all-in. This author’s deft storytelling wins me over, every time.

If you’re a Millennial or in Gen Z—or love someone who is, this story’s for you.

Here’s the gist:

In this captivating novel, a DNA test turns a woman’s world upside-down. Will searching for answers give her the peace she craves—or deepen the fractures in her life?

Dylan Turner works hard to keep her life predictable, though she would never call it that—she loves her routine, two guinea pigs, and minding her own business. But when her dad dies and the DNA test results in her inbox say he’s not her biological father, the life she’s so carefully built starts to unravel.

Craving answers and getting none from her mother, Dylan follows a sparse trail of clues across the country to where she grew up. It’s a journey full of unexpected encounters, including a friendly co-worker and another familiar face from her past—one she isn’t sure is a solace or an obstacle. As Dylan digs deeper into her family’s secrets, she can’t help but wonder, Is a comfortable lie better than the pain of knowing the truth?

Woven with emails, interviews, texts, and journal entries, Nearly Beloved is a heartfelt tale about looking for answers, even if they aren’t the ones you were expecting.

***

Reply with NEARLY in your subject line by January 31, and I’ll enter you. I’ll announce the winner the first Saturday of February.

Interested? If you haven’t already, subscribe below—and you’ll be eligible for all my monthly book giveaways.

One last thought on armor: if the belt in yours is cardboard, it’s a waist of paper.

Love,

Cheryl