Happy Thanksgiving, friends! 🍂

Just a few more days to enjoy the fullness of fall before Advent is upon us! So while we’re still in this season, I am embracing the observation that autumn is God’s way of showing us how beautiful change can be.

And indeed, there is much change afoot around here. For starters, my husband and I are now officially empty nesters. Which means that after being heads-down bringing up kids for the last 20+ years, we’re looking up, looking around, and asking ourselves what this means for us.

One thing we anticipate it means is a move within the next couple of years, God willing and God leading. After thirty+ years in the Seattle area, we feel a tug to be elsewhere. Somewhere in North Carolina, we think, but we have a few other states to visit before we decide, so we shall see. I’ll keep you posted.

Meanwhile, there are still plenty of good and beautiful things to enjoy right where I am. Here are a few:

Family Update

We finally made it to Paris! Two years later than originally scheduled, our long-planned, much-anticipated trip to Paris and beyond happened at last this past summer. By God’s great provision, it was wonderful in the true sense of the word–full of wonder and, despite the inevitable travel hiccups, graced with God’s many mercies. We bookended our travels in Paris, with stops in Bavaria, Austria, Liechtenstein, and Switzerland in between. Accompanying my husband, daughter and me for the duration was our niece–a first-time world-traveler–with our son joining us partway through. 

The experience rekindled my appreciation for many things French, and while we have no plans to move there, this piece tickled my whimsy.  

What I’ve Been Reading

The Winds of War by Herman Wouk. I love this book–you can tell by my ancient, travel-worn copy in the photo above. It’s the one tome I toted with me across Europe (that’s why its ghetto appearance with the cover held together with band-aids, haha — I could find no tape). I took advantage of every airport wait and train trip to pull it out and escape into Wouk’s masterful storytelling. I love the novel for its historical insights, its vast scope, and most of all, its vivid characters painted with the author’s brilliant brush. If you’re willing to invest in a doorstop of a novel written by one of the 20th century’s finest novelists, I invite you to dive into The Winds of War.

What If It’s Wonderful?: Release Your Fears, Choose Joy, and Find the Courage to Celebrate  by Nicole Zaskowski. I was inspired to read this book after listening to The Brain Game: Think on the Good on the Open Door Sisterhood podcast, and it was so good. The title alone has helped reshape my thinking. And of course it so perfectly aligns with the Philippians 4:8  mindset I’m prayerfully aspiring to. 

Worship: The Ultimate Priority by John MacArthur. As we emerged from pandemic conditions, I sensed that my attitude toward personal and corporate worship needed a realignment, and this was just the book to do it. It confirmed what I’d been intuiting about the general state of corporate worship, and further convicted, uplifted, and inspired me to worship God more fully in spirit and truth. An edifying and transformative read.

Riverbend Gap by Denise Hunter. Though I’m not a big romance-genre fan, when I do want one, I’ll often reach for a Denise Hunter. I enjoy her trademark small-town settings, flawed-but-wholesome characters, sparkling dialogue, and masterfully drawn romantic tension, all undergirded with biblical morality. A winsome combination. This is the first in her Riverbend Gap trilogy about an imperfect blended family set in North Carolina along the Appalachian Trail.

[P.S. Looking for a little holiday escape? Falling Like Snowflakes is Denise Hunter’s only full-length Christmas novel, and the eBook is on sale for $1.99 until November 30. I haven’t read it yet but have it loaded on my phone to read next!] 

The Hunt for the Peggy C: A World War II Maritime Thriller by John Winn Miller. The subtitle sums it nicely–that’s exactly what it is. The story of a naval captain smuggling Jews out of Europe, with a ruthless Nazi in fanatical pursuit, this slim novel is gritty but relatively clean and smoothly written despite its plethora of naval minutiae. The idea for Peggy C began as a screenplay, and perhaps it will end as one. It certainly reads like a well-imagined movie with vivid descriptions and a host of lively, well-created characters with a believable mix of unique foible and strength. Within its pages  you’ll find plenty of adventure, danger, and a touch of romance. I have it in mind to give one of the men in my life for Christmas and would recommend it as good reading for just about any man (or woman) who enjoys an engrossing maritime tale. *

Book news

I’m joining International Justice Mission (IJM) in the fight to bring beauty to the brokenness of this world. IJM is a global organization that partners with local justice systems to end violence against people living in poverty. I became impassioned about partnering with IJM after researching and writing Her Memory of Music. (Read more about my journey here.)

Toward that end, I donate all proceeds from sales of Her Memory of Music and Shadow Sister to IJM. (Buy signed copies here.) So with every purchase of my books, you’re helping to protect vulnerable girls and women.

Click here to learn how you can support IJM in their fight against injustice and receive a beautiful Destiny Reflection bookmark (like the one pictured here), handcrafted by rescued human-trafficking survivors in India.

Around the table

When we were traveling across Europe last summer, one of our favorite things was the ample opportunity for alfresco dining and long, lovely convos around the table. Sometimes, when we were feeling particularly wilted after a long day, we enjoyed responding to prompts to get us going. I love these imaginative, printable conversation starters from one of my favorite food bloggers, Jenn Segal at Once Upon a Chef. 

Soul Care

Because, as the ladies at Beloved Women say, your full life can’t run on an empty soul. Here are a few podcasts and posts from around the web that have recently nurtured mine. 

• There is Hope in Our Suffering by Sam Williamson at Beliefs of the Heart
  • “It’s a spiritual principle that God uses our deepest pains to bring about our greatest joys.”
• Hope for the Exhausted Mom by Marci Ferrell at Thankful Homemaker
  • “Jesus had busy days of ministry, and He fully understands what your days are like, Mama.”
• Using Scripture for Whatever Your Facing with Ellie Holcomb at Proverbs 31
  • Author and singer-songwriter Ellie Holcomb shares the life-changing power of memorizing Scripture and how it inspires all her music.
• Joy and Sorrow Weaved Together: What Tolkien and Lewis Teach Us by Jamie Lapeyrolerie at The Musings of Jamie
  • “These two British writers… remind us that both grief and joy will weave deep in our souls throughout our lives. That is both hard and beautiful, but each making us all the more human.”

That’s it for this month, friends. 

May you savor all the graces of the season!

💕 Katherine xo

P.S. For those in the Seattle South End — on Saturday, December 3, I’ll be signing books at the Romans 8:28 Books & Gifts shop in downtown Enumclaw. Would love to see you! Hope you’ll consider stopping by to take advantage of my buy one, give one free promotion in which you buy a copy of Her Memory of Music and get a free copy of Shadow Sister to give away. 

*Thanks to Bancroft Press for providing me a free copy of The Hunt for the Peggy C to review. All opinions are mine.