There's some exciting news on the home front; a welcomed respite from the struggles of the recent months.
If you'll remember a post or two ago, I mentioned that Ashley had been working on a side project.
I called it a side project because we'd been working through a lot of the struggles that came along with her cancer, but in reality, this project consumed a lot of Ashley's time and energy. It was not a side project.
Over the course of the past 2+ years, maybe even longer than that, Ashley has been working on a book. You read that correctly, a book. A children's book, more specifically, entitled it When I Hold You. I cannot think of a better name for this book.
I could go on about the backstory (and probably will in the coming days), but I'll put some of Ashley's words below about why she wrote this and how it all came to pass:
I wrote this out of obedience to Christ. As I started my recovery from my initial surgery and treatments, I never set out with the intention to write a book. I just wanted to put my words together for my daughters to have something to read and know that God is ever present. The further I got in to the process, the more I questioned God on if I could even write this. As I struggled with my words and my thoughts, I questioned if it would even be possible to finish. Yet, God called me to step 'out of the boat' and pursue Him all the more. Trusting, with faith, in His plan and in the words He allowed me to find. At the end of the process, this book became more about being encouraged with God's Word in motherhood and wanting to share that, not only with my own girls, but also with others as well.
Something I extremely excited about is that I get to be Ash's 'Hype Man'. I know she is excited about finally being able to tell others about this book, but I think, as her husband, I am more excited than she is. I, both by design and from force of the situation, was not heavily involved in the writing or formation of this book. Certainly, I offered support along the way, but while managing a majority of the home front and juggling through my own work and her medical ups and downs... her book was the one thing that was solely hers. Trust me when I tell you this, because it is solely hers, you will see that come through in every single page. Her compassion and gentleness carefully crafted words that are coupled with a verse on each page. She labored over writing this and even struggled at times to come up with the right words to use. I could not be more proud of my wife. To be diagnosed with terminal cancer, wrestle through treatments, struggle to communicate effectively... with all of that going on, she still yielded her 'blank check' to God and submitted to the direction He led. There is so much to learn from her and the obedience she shows.
Certainly there will be more posts in the coming days as we begin to flesh out the story behind the book, the look and feel of each page and, ultimately, where we hope it leads those that read it. For now, I'll leave it at this... My wife has written a book and as we begin to share it with others, we hope you'll come alongside us and do the same.
If you want to check it out for yourself, head over to her publisher's page:
https://www.bhpublishinggroup.com/products/when-i-hold-you/
https://www.bhpublishinggroup.com/products/when-i-hold-you/
Or, you can even check out her page on Amazon:
Hi! I don't know if you'll see this, but I came to read this blog as I purchased Ashley's book from a Christian bookstore in Australia after my first baby and it has been a significant part of transforming how I feel about motherhood. I did not adjust well to motherhood, and struggled to feel the living feelings that seems so normal for some. Ashley's book helped me connect to the loving feelings I knew from God, and translated them into how I could feel and show my daughter. It is so beautiful I went to look up more books by her that you can believe what sadness I have in hearing she has passed. The Lord certainly works in ways we don't always understand because it seems almost incomprehensible that you and your girls have to live without someone so faithful and kind. But this very fact has humbled me so much and caused me to feel even more joy and determination to be a faithful and kind mother, as I consider how Ashley and your girls don't get to be together during their upbringing.
ReplyDeleteYour testimony is phenomenal and I am so uplifted by what you have written (I have been reading your other articles) on the blog. How faithful you both have been to the Lord I am in awe. You are such a great example and I just deeply appreciate the pain and vulnerability you have been in, but like Christ you have turned towards others to bless us. I can imagine you might not have considered how you would bless families in other countries with your story (life story and children's book). I feel convicted to mother my children in a way I imagine Ashley's heart would (how I perceive her heart from how I read her book).
Many thoughts and prayers for you as you navigate your life from now and I hope you find much hope and happiness ahead. You're amazing. Thank you for sharing your thoughts and testimony so graciously. You have made significant impact in lives you may never see the full good so I just wanted you to know even the tiniest part of the great good you are yielding for Him. Thankyou for pointing me closer to Him and showing me how I could serve and honour Him. Much love.