Atlas Girl Giveaway by Emily Wierenga
Today I’m excited to introduce my friend, Emily Wierenga. She is guest posting today about her just released personal memoir Atlas Girl.
It’s a beautiful and bold journey on finding home in the least expected place.
Be sure to leave a comment on today’s post for a chance to win one of 3 giveaway books.
Now meet my friend Emily.
Why We Never Have to Really Worry about Our Children
By Emily T. Wierenga
I pull out Mum’s recipe for chicken and rice, faded on a tattered piece of paper, and I don’t see the rips or the stains.
I see our wooden kitchen table, the oval one which fit six of us around, and Dad at the head with his leather Bible and the basket full of Christmas cards, praying over a different family every night.
Mum baked granola for breakfast each morning and bread for every lunch, and she dished up our plates every night—meatloaf and mashed potatoes, chili and rice, and always dessert—and at nine years old I stopped eating.
I stopped eating for four years and yet we never quit meeting around the table.
The Bible was read around that oval structure, even when I was thirteen and sixty pounds and dying.
And when I gave birth to my eldest son at 28, a miracle child the pastor had prayed over us to conceive; when I held him to me and fed him, his hand orchestrating the sky and his soft cheeks filling and emptying, I cried.
I held him and I cried for those years when I wouldn’t let Mum hug me. For all those meals, those plates filled with love, trying to save a child who kept getting skinnier.
But more than those meals, my Mum prayed.
[box] A mother’s prayers are like knitting needles; they knit God’s Spirit around her children, like the warmest of sweaters.[/box]My mum prayed deep into night, and it was her prayers that fed her four kids, that kept us alive, that kept us walking with Jesus, and we won’t always get it right.
Parenting is the most difficult and rewarding of journeys and maybe you have a son or daughter who is refusing to eat right now? Maybe you’re weeping into the night wondering what you did wrong, but friend? We serve a God whose Spirit wove your child into being. We serve a God whose Spirit is the placenta that cushions all of our children’s falls, no matter how old they get.
Our kids never outgrow the womb. Because the womb is simply this: God’s Holy Spirit wrapped tight around them, and even as they stretch and develop and move, the Spirit moves and expands with them. God’s voice nourishing and nurturing them.
There may be years when we cannot reach our kids. When they refuse to talk to us. When we feel helpless and scared, because even though we’re doing all of the right things—it feels like it’s not enough.
You don’t have to be enough. You don’t have to do enough. You just have to pray.
My memoir, ATLAS GIRL, is releasing this month, and I am excited to give away THREE copies today. Just leave a comment below to win!
From the back cover:
“Disillusioned and yearning for freedom, Emily Wierenga left home at age eighteen with no intention of ever returning. Broken down by organized religion, a childhood battle with anorexia, and her parents’ rigidity, she set out to find God somewhere else–anywhere else. Her travels took her across Canada, Central America, the United States, the Middle East, Asia, and Australia. She had no idea that her faith was waiting for her the whole time–in the place she least expected it.
“Poignant and passionate, Atlas Girl is a very personal story of a universal yearning for home and the assurance that we are known, forgiven, and beloved. Readers will find in this memoir a true description of living faith as a two-way pursuit in a world fraught with distraction. Anyone who wrestles with the brokenness we find in the world will love this emotional journey into the arms of the God who heals all wounds.”
Click HERE for a free excerpt. I’m also giving away a FREE e-book to anyone who orders Atlas Girl. Just order HERE, and send a receipt to: [email protected], and you’ll receive A House That God Built: 7 Essentials to Writing Inspirational Memoir — an absolutely FREE e-book co-authored by myself and editor/memoir teacher Mick Silva.
ALL proceeds from Atlas Girl will go towards my non-profit, The Lulu Tree. The Lulu Tree is dedicated to preventing tomorrow’s orphans by equipping today’s mothers. It is a grassroots organization bringing healing and hope to women and children in the slums of Uganda through the arts, community, and the gospel.
Emily T. Wierenga is an award-winning journalist, blogger, commissioned artist and columnist, as well as the author of five books including the memoir, Atlas Girl: Finding Home in the Last Place I Thought to Look (Baker Books). She lives in Alberta, Canada with her husband and two sons. For more info, please visit www.emilywierenga.com. Find her on Twitter or Facebook.
I can hardly wait to read this book!
My daughters are young, but I can see how image and weight is on their minds. Good reminder to be praying for them as they grow and mature. Thanks so much!
Worried for my children constantly. Their father and i divorced in 2012 and I worry that I don’t pray with them enough, don’t talk to them enough. I have a 7-year-old son and a 10-year-old daughter. I feel like my daughter thinks and feels things about the divorce that she won’t always say. I’m afraid the failed marriage ruined her perception of love and trust and what God intended for marriage. I have too many fears and it seems there are never enough prayers. I just want to know that they are gonna be OK.
oh Scarlett, how I ache for you… NOTHING is beyond God’s redemption. He can take anything and turn it into good. I am believing in this for you, for your children… don’t stop trying or praying or loving on them or inviting them to be open…. may the Spirit FLOOD your home. e.
Thanks, excited to read your book.
I’ve been praying the Lord would save my sixteen year old son for many years. He recently just accepted the Lord in his life. The Lord answered in His way and His time. Keep praying moms!
oh praise God Kelly!!! Such wonderful news!!!
What a powerful reminder to start the day! Sounds like an awesome read, thank you!
What an encouragement to those who suffer from this terrible illness, would love to read a copy and gain insight into the struggle and the victory in Emily’s life. Thank you for the opportunity!
While I ran up the hills in Newton, A woman, who looked like she might be out for a walk herself, jokingly shouted, “Look at all these smiles! What is wrong with you people!?”. Therefore, once you have taken the portion you need for your cooking requirement, the remainder of the root should be wrapped in aluminum foil with the ends folded down to completely seal or enclose the root. It was catfish.. According to my handy NCC brochure, Boat Sight symbolizes the arrival of “culture” in the primeva
Thanks for the encouraging words and the reminder to keep praying. Don’t quit and don’t give up. Praying for my son who is struggling with porn and smoking pot.
oh Missy, may God give you strength and grace as you love on your son…
So poignant that I read this posting today on Facebook….another whisper from God to me. I need to read this book; sounds beautiful and inspiring.
Wow! Adding this book to my list to read.What an amazing story God has written with your life. This will be an inspiration to many.
So brave to be able to share this powerful message. I’m sure all who read Atlas Girl will be inspired.
Would love to read this book :)
I really need to read this book!
THIS. Today.. Right Now. A fresh breath of the Father’s love straight to this aching mama’s heart. Thank you!
Amazing story
As a mother of four, I feel like I don’t pray enough. I am now praying for my 17 year old nephew Glenn because he has announced to his parent’s that he is an atheist. He was raised in a strong Christian home. I would love to read your book!
I love your heart Allison… may God reach your nephew…. e.
I am moved beyond words with this authors introduction to her world. I would greatly appreciate the blessing of receiving a copy of her book and the opportunity to learn from another’s walk.
I have loved all that I have seen from your book!
my daughter; myself. I would love to have a copy, Thanks.
What an intriguing story! As a pastors wife, I pray for my children’s faith, hoping that they don’t turn from organized religion. Looking forward to reading your story.
Dear Brenda, I love your heart, and want to reassure you–that even if your children do turn from it for awhile, God can always bring them back, as he did for me–and not just to organized religion, but into the heart of Abba. Bless you! e.
Emily’s life and book resonate with me. I find her story so intriguing and would love to win this book! Thank you! :)
I love the quote “A mother’s prayers are like knitting needles; they knit God’s Spirit around her children, like the warmest of sweaters.” Very encouraging to this mamas heart
What a poignant story. I’m glad you wrote this book. I know it will benefit and touch many. Blessings.
Thanks for the opportunity, Emily. And for the open sharing of fears and hope.