Giveaway!

There’s still time to snag your copy of “A Visit to Oaklenbrooke Farm” and claim your goodies!
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These bookmarks and baby keychain of the book are just begging to go home with you. ;)

Just email me a copy of your receipt and I’ll work on getting the gifts to you right away!
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​Get your copy today! 

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I wrote “A Visit to Oaklenbrooke Farm” years ago. One of the hundreds of poems I added to my collection. But there was something extra special about this one. From the moment I wrote it, I could vividly see each character and the charming animals. I just knew that one day it would become a children’s book!

But finding an illustrator proved to be such a difficult task.
I tried everything. From contacting artists I found online, to searching through the children’s books at the bookstore and writing down my favorite illustrators. I spent hours researching, but nothing came together. They were either too expensive, or too commercial, and the style was never right.

I finally just settled. I wasn’t too entirely pleased, and nothing ever felt right. She did a few practice illustrations and I sat down one afternoon to tell her to go ahead with the rest of the designs. But no matter how hard I looked, I couldn’t find her email! All of her contact information had completely disappeared. It was so odd! But looking back, I now know it was 100% God.

I ended up giving it all to the Lord, something I should have done long before then. If He wanted me to find an illustrator, He would bring me one in His timing.

A couple of years later, I was scrolling through Facebook one evening and came across some photos a friend posted from his trip to Realm Makers. Being the nosy totally-non-creepy-stalker that I am, I explored a group photo and clicked on some of the people he tagged. I stumbled upon Mariposa’s profile shortly afterward, and my excitement grew with each picture I saw. She was such a talented artist! Her style was 100% what I had envisioned for A Visit to Oaklenbrooke Farm. I couldn’t have found a more perfect match.

I quickly sent her a message and waited for a reply. But the doubts began to creep in. “There’s no way such amazing illustrations are going to be sold for cheap.” “She doesn’t even know me! She might not answer my message! She probably thinks I’m such a weirdo!” 

Imagine my surprise when I discovered the complete opposite. I not only found my illustrator that day, but I discovered a new dear friend. We bonded over our mutual love for Charles Spurgeon, and the same excitement over the characters from A Visit to Oaklenbrooke Farm. These characters quickly become our own as we created this world together.

It just goes to show you that God has such a marvelous plan for your life. He cares about your dreams, maybe even more than you do. So just some encouragement for you today, if you’re not exactly where you want to be, just trust that God has a beautiful plan. And it’s going to be far, far better than you can ever imagine.