If you’ve spent much time here lately, you’ve likely realized that seasons are a big deal for me. My Dad passed away on the first day of Spring this year, and my precious girl was born on the first day of Autumn. I struggle with being a west-coast transplant in a cold-winter part of Canada. I’ve also been in a new season of nesting and rebuilding life after a chaotic season of change. It’s not a surprise then, that my Ellen’s Pick book for the long, hot summer days was framed around seasons.
Reading “Roots & Sky” by Christie Purifoy was a balm to me. As Christie struggled through Autumn & Winter, saw new life and hope in Spring, and then walked into Summer in her Pennsylvania farmhouse, I journeyed right along with her. It might sound weird, but I felt her heart poured out on these pages.
And honestly, how do you put down a book that starts with these words?
“I first saw the house on a day of record-breaking heat. I suppose we never choose the day when our dream will come true. Just as we do not choose the precise place our dream will carry us. This Victorian, red-brick farmhouse did not look like the home of my dreams. That first, terribly hot day, it did not feel like it, either. But my dreams began rearranging themselves almost the moment I stepped across the smooth, worn stone of Maplehurst’s threshold.”
I loved where she landed as she unpacked this dream, imperfect but in process. I felt like we were pilgrims together. And when a friend of mine, who helped bring this book to life, told me I’d just love Christie as much in person, I was so glad that I’d picked her book.
Written almost as a holy journal through a year in the life of a home, a family and the mother who is finding her place in the midst of it, the book starts in Autumn, September. I love Christie’s discoveries of long nights and fireplaces and the magnificent moments of advent and anticipation, of wondering if winter will ever give way to new life, of seeing daffodils sprouting along laneways, of opening hearts to neighbours at Easter, and gardens and stars and magnolias and babies and birthdays.
I’m thankful to Christie for sharing her heart with our Ellen’s Picks Community in this little video and hope that as you pick up Roots & Sky you’ll also find a dear friend in its pages. I want to actually visit Maplehurst now (does that seem a bit stalker-ish?), and am dreaming of a fall trip to Pennsylvania to experience autumn glory and maple trees. You can also find Christie’s amazing photos of Maplehurst on Instagram @christiepurifoy . So, so beautiful. Enjoy.
Also… one of my commenters will receive their own copy of Roots & Sky. Comment below by 5:00 PM EDT on August 26th to enter to win!
Loading InLinkz ...If you enjoyed this post, you may like When Life Looks Ugly.
This book was like reading my own life story. Transplanted to a farm 19 years ago from suburbia, I have watched God grow me in so many ways as a wife, woman, and mom. It’s a journey, but like any journey, there are hard times, but so many fabulous experiences that are part of the package – like my 19 year old son coming home after a summer on a ranch in Saskatchewan with two orphaned calves. They join our sheep, dogs and cats in our ever growing life at Poplar Hill Farm.
I want to see your farm someday! Love, love, love that you have taken in two orphaned calves. 🙂 So glad you enjoyed it, Janice! (and awesome to have seen you in Vancouver)
Ellen, this sounds like an amazing book journeying new hope. Sometimes it’s tempting to be discontent with where we are, in every aspect….but do important to remember that he has placed us where we are in this time and space for a reason – are we making the most of it? I know I’ve often failed in this respect, but understand the importance of blooming where we are planted. Because of God just made us for heaven, He could take us home right now. There’s a reason He hasn’t.
Yvonne – that’s so true. I love your insight!
I enjoyed the video, thank you for sharing. I have wanted to read this book, but our library doesn’t have it yet.
Having a sense of home is something I long for…maybe because my real home is on the horizon.
Thank you so much for this post. Blessings!
I hope your library is good at bringing in books that patrons request – this would be such a good one to have on heir shelves! Funny how we have this innate, common longing for home. It is a gift, I think.
I love this book! and related to it on so many levels. I remember the day our first born son, just learning to talk, first used the word “Home” with such longing in his voice when he tired of our shopping trip. While not his first word this cry resonated deeply with me as a mom and as a human being. I have been studying and seeking to create “home” ever since… Love the video clip above too and the calling to be “place makers” creating places of safety and beauty for others. On a recent trip to Moldova, poorest country in Europe, I was overwhelmed at the beauty a ministry called Beginning of Life had created in it’s Psychological Art Studio – a place for women who have been traumatized by abuse and human trafficking. They understood that beautiful spaces are healing. That these women needed a home to come home too. In a conversation on the same trip a woman who works with Romanian orphans talked of their plans to open a “Family Home” for these kids to visit on weekends. Let that sink in for a moment… Thanks Christie for writing this beautiful book. And thank you Ellen for introducing me to it!
Oh Ellen, I want those orphans to have a place that they can really call a “family home”. How heart-wrenching. I’m so glad this resonated so deeply with you. Thank you for sharing!
[…] For Ellen’s full post, click here […]
Ellen, Thank you for these lovely reflections on Roots and Sky, and thank you for choosing to share my book with your community. I am incredibly grateful. I think you’d love it here at Maplehurst, and you and yours are welcome any time!
It was my genuine pleasure. Such a pleasure. Hopefully i’ll get to see Maplehurst in person sometime!
This book is beautiful for its honesty. So often the media, our friends’ posts on FaceBook, our glib response “fine” or “great” when we are asked how we are, all suggest that life is great, and if it isn’t then it should be. This is such a refreshing and truthful glimpse into a life that recounts beautifully that life is not always how we hoped or imagined it would be, that there are seasons and some of those seasons are hard, brutal and seemingly unending. And even though the challenges I face are not those that Christie recounts, I journeyed with her, I empathized with her and laughed with her. She made me look outside myself and I am grateful for that. And at the same time this is a book of hope. It made me think of the beautiful words in Psalm 30 which have comforted me more than once “Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning”. My favourite chapter was one from April, describing the Easter egg hunt. Christie describes the Kingdom of Heaven as an Easter egg hunt as toddlers tripped over eggs and their parents laughed together, and there is a challenge there for us – how we can we bring about a taste of God’s kingdom in our homes and neighbourhoods? And the chapter concludes with the picture of daffodils – bulbs she hadn’t planted but will now enjoy. We (I) can often strive for things outside our control and be disappointed when we don’t see the hoped for results. And yet how often do I take time to enjoy the fruit of things I haven’t planted or worked for, but are God’s gift to me. “I should have believed the promise of those green shoots in neat rows. But I had not felt able to hope for flowers I knew I had not planted myself. Now it is clear to me what is coming. An entire hillside, stretched out along the drive, will soon ring with golden trumpets.”
Beautiful quote! I loved that story of daffodils as well!
In the midst of a summer filled with a lot of coming and going it was a pleasure to pick up Roots & Sky and begin reading. Within the first couple of pages I decided this was going to be an enjoyable and inviting read; like cozying up in a big, comfy chair with a warm, soft blanket. Christie Purifoy is a descriptive and articulate writer and I’ve loved reading this book.
The chapter called A Good and Terrible Story (pgs 75-79) really jumped out at me. You see, I like fences and safety and to be sheltered from the unknown. And yet I also know the Lord is calling me to tear down fences, step out into the unknowns and to trust His sovereignty. “Part of me still wants the oblivion of snow. But grief has rattled the bars of my empty, anxious self, and I know now that I also want something else. I want a hammer. It is time to tear down our fences. It is time to open our gates.” I don’t know exactly what this is going to look like, but every step forward (whether big or small) moves me ahead not backwards. Thank you for this lovely gift called “Roots & Sky”!
So, so glad you loved it! I felt that exact same way – reading it was like a bit of nesting in the midst of a full summer. I love the way you think, Jo-Ann.
While the entire book is filled with nuggets of gold, there were two sentences that resonated so deeply for me.
The first is:
“When I stop trying to fill my empty places, I make room for glory”. You could write an entire book about that statement! How true!! There is SO much of the Spirit available to us – He is never ending – if only we would make space for Him. Space that is meant for Him. All of us filled by Him – can you imagine? I will carry this statement with me from here, checking myself, “am I filling my empty places, or am I making room for glory?”
The second is:
“Every beautiful thing has been spoken into being by love. It is made through Christ, for Christ, and is held together by Christ.” I almost just feel like saying “amen” and leave it at that, because really, there is nothing to add to it. Oh that we would all see that we are beautiful things, spoken into being by His love, because of His love!