My blog accidentally sent out a random post yesterday (I think it was my most recent post from the summer), and I’m not sure why. But it was a reminder that my blog needed a little love. In truth, I have been staring at this blog for months wanting to write something but have not been able to find the words because so much is happening. Despite my lack of words to describe life, it tends to steamroll ahead anyway.
But there are many things of note. For one thing, Juliet is turning 18 in a couple of days. When I started my blog, this is what my children looked like.
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- Juliet and Gabriel, 5 & 3
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- William, 1 yr
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- Juliet in Bretagne
And this is what they look like now (from our recent trip to Dominican Republic).
We wanted to have this memory – this time away in the Caribbean while we had three children who were still minors and living at home. Not that my daughter is going far next year – she will be studying illustration in an art school in Paris. Gabriel is now taller than Matthieu, and William is taller than me. I confess that I allowed myself to get a little lost in the old pictures and posts from the beginning of my blog as I searched for these photos. What a great storage place for memories.
Our house construction is finally getting resolved. Remember that disaster? The abandoned construction project that we’re still making loan payments on? These are not the most wonderful pictures, but you see us here in our current state – en route to having a complete house with a bedroom for everyone plus a guest room. (The one shown on the right is my daughter’s, and all the rooms will have a mezzanine bed to give more floor space).
Apart from the 4 bedrooms we need for our family, we will end up with a guest room (new), and with the old rooms, what is supposed to be an office for me and a tiny sitting room for Bible studies or when we need to have private conversation with someone. However … given the situation in Ukraine, we’re just waiting to finish the work with the hopes that we’ll be able to host people from one of our churches in Ukraine.
They are still coming into Paris and other cities in Europe, and we’re coordinating with our sister churches to meet that need. The war is hitting close to home. We have no more oil on the shelves, apart from olive. And we now have several families (women and children) added to our church and teen ministry in Paris, along with a shared prayer list for all the husbands, sons and family they’ve left behind. We’re hunkering down to serve for the long haul.
I am writing, still writing. I have one recent release, which I love, that takes place in Waterloo. Tons of research and heart went into that one, and it was hard to let go of when it was finished. You can click on the book cover if you want to see it on Amazon. It has been getting great reviews.
I also have an upcoming release in May that I’m very excited about. It’s the last in the Clavering Chronicles series and the one that’s being distributed by Elm Hill to bookstores. This one is much lighter in tone. You can also click on this cover if you want to find it on various sales platforms.
And finally, I have a cover for a new book which is gorgeous, but which I’m having trouble writing. Matthieu and I have planned a quick trip to Lincolnshire so that I can get inspired. It’s for a new series I’m starting called Daughters of the Gentry.
What’s neat about this cover is that I hired an illustrator I admire (who did the Folio version of Georgette Heyer’s Venetia), and the portrait is one of my daughter’s classmates who was kind enough to let me snap a picture of her for the artist to paint. This whole series will have illustrated covers, and I’ve got all three models set out. My books are also now being translated into German, French, and Portuguese.
Writing really does eat up much of my time, which is why you see me less here.
Of course I’m still cooking and baking, but less so. Lately I’ve been making this strawberry yoghurt cake for when we have people over. I’m laughing at myself because my last recipe on this blog was also a variation on the traditional yoghurt cake. If you click the link, you’ll see the original recipe.
It’s the simplest thing to make if you need a cake in a pinch. You use the pot of yoghurt to measure and it all goes into one bowl, which makes it a breeze.
A yoghurt, 2 pots of sugar, 3 of flour, 3 eggs, a teaspoon each of baking powder and vanilla, and a half teaspoon of salt. Last of all, you need a pot of bland oil (harder these days without the sunflower). My kids love having chocolate chips in it (2/3 – 1 cup), and I’ve started adding this freeze-dried strawberry powder I have on hand and it’s delicious. 1 tablespoon of that if you want to try it. Into a greased round pan it goes, then into a preheated oven (at 350°F) for about 40 minutes. And there you go. So simple to make, so delicious.
One of the reasons I keep staring at my blog and missing it is that life was simpler when I was blogging and not writing books. (I mean, I was poorer, but life was simpler). I was forced to live life by blogging about it because it meant taking photos, and cooking delicious recipes that our family could then eat – and paying attention to the all moments in our family’s life, whether big or small. My life now is so much more hectic with a 2-3 books a year publishing schedule and teens who need sounding boards (us) as they forge their identities. I didn’t know life with teens would be so busy.
A few weeks ago, I decided to start taking sabbaths. On Sundays, I spend time outdoors. I can do anything in the house (even laundry), but I can’t do anything book-related or computer related (unless it’s a quick deadline thing, like approving the latest cover, which happened last Sunday). Just like blogging, it forces time to slow down. I take walks with Matthieu and listen to the kids. We watch movies, I cook better meals and spend a little time in the garden. It has been healthy.
Tomorrow is Easter when I will once again take my sabbath. We’ll go to church (now meeting without masks, all together once every two weeks, and in homes on the off-weeks). We’ll come home and I’ll make lamb, potatoes and green beans. We’ll spend time in the garden and I’ll read my latest Mimi Matthews book (actually I have an advanced copy and it’s great). We’ll eat our chocolates and remember what is good despite being conscious of what is difficult.
In French, the word for Easter is Pâques – the same word for “passover” – and it means “passage”. The parallels here always strike me. Jesus was crucified on the passover. In Exodus, the Israelites passed from the land of slavery through water into the land of freedom. Under the new covenant, Jesus provides passage through the waters of baptism, taking us from the slavery of sin to that of redemption, freedom, and eternal life.
Matthieu has a French Chouraqui Bible, which tries to stay as close to the Hebrew language as possible, including in the New Testament (which is in Greek and Aramaic* – but there it keeps the Hebrew spirit). This means that the language is not fluid, but it’s authentic adding deeper layers to its meaning. *My husband corrected me after reading this. The OT had some Aramaic, but was mostly Hebrew. The NT is all Greek.
On Pentecost, when all the devout Jews returned to Jerusalem for the Festival of Weeks, Peter and the apostles were filled with the Holy Spirit manifesting as tongues of fire. This verse in Actes 2:36-38 describes what happened at the Pentecost, 40 days after the resurrection (in traditional scripture):
– 36 Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.
– 37 Now when they heard [this], they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men [and] brethren, what shall we do?
– 38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
In the Chourqui, verse 38 translates roughly to this:
Petros tells them, “Make return! Let each of you be immersed in the name of Yeshua the Messiah for the remission of your faults: You will receive as a gift the Sacred Breath.”
Jesus came so we could have remission of our faults and receive the gift of the Sacred Breath. And that concept is so, so beautiful.
Happy Easter, to all who have and long for the Sacred Breath.
