'Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.' - The Bible, Matthew chapter 6, verse 21

I read these words this morning. 
They are not new. They are Sunday School verses, these ones. Drilled into a good Christian kid. Repeated, reminded and diligently studied as an adult. 
But this morning they felt new. 
This morning they stood up quietly. Humbly. Like the child outside the principal's office, best work in hand, waiting for the prized Gold Sticker of recognition. 
This morning they spoke into the tumbled up space of my Greater Sydney Lockdown. 
Without blame or accusation they gently nudged my spirit and asked: Where is your treasure today?
And I came up blank. 
I know where it should be.
But have you noticed how lockdown shakes our priorities from the neatly arranged agendas we've set in place and tips everything out on the floor?
Our angst and worry, our frustration and boredom, they all reveal how we've propped our good and Godly sounding treasures with a plethora of other good and busy occupations. When it comes to weighing the daily 'I wish I could.... but lockdown won't let me' complaint against the the immovability of the gospel, we realise something. And it's not that startling, really. Somehow, in all the comfortable spaces we've lived in before now, we have unconsciously, thoughtlessly - accidentally even - replaced the treasures of Christ with lesser shiny things. And our hearts are struggling. 
Our hearts were meant to beat in time with that of the Almighty God. Our hearts were meant to seek and love and be sought and loved by Him. Our hearts were meant to walk in adventurous trust in His Spirit and His Son. This is where our heart longs to be. 
Lockdown strips back the clutter. It turns down the noise - if we let it - and our hearts are shown to beat for the treasures we've collected, whatever they may be. 
Where is your treasure today? 
The question remains hanging and my heart nudges me to respond. I wonder whether I'll let these words into my lockdown, offer them a seat and give them that Gold Sticker for work well done?

There are some parts of the Bible that I read without much self-confidence. The book of Isaiah is one of these. You see, I’m not a seasoned Biblical scholar. I’m not well studied in ancient prophecies and their modern interpretations. I am keenly aware that the context and content of this part of Scripture is more about Israel, than about me. But even with all these disclaimers, there is something huge and wonderful about reading these old, old words. Isaiah speaks in riddles and rhyme. It points to the future and the past. Familiar phrases leap out from paragraphs of seemingly distant description. And amongst it all, the majesty, humility, incarnational mystery of Christ comes calling out with such accuracy my heart threatens to break.
And I think this is why I love the Bible so much. Because it’s not just a ‘here and now’ text. It’s a ‘then’ and ‘what’s next’ and ‘despite it all’ type story. Even in passages I approach like a foreigner I can see the character of God burst and whisper and weave an invitation to something more.
Like today, nestled between a tricky description of judgement and salvation, I found this verse: ‘This is what the LORD says: ‘As when juice is still found in a cluster of grapes and people say, ‘Don’t destroy it, there is still a blessing in it,’ so will I do on behalf of my servants; I will not destroy them all.’ Isaiah 65:8
And I’m caught again. Can you see it? The tenderness of God’s compassion? Yes, his holiness demands a response from us. Yes, it exposes our best efforts as feeble flapping. And yes – if we are honest enough, we know we have fallen short in so many ways on so many days we deserve more than we get. But the character of God isn’t one of ‘measure up or get out’. It’s incredibly kind. He sees the struggle in our hearts. He knows what we’re up against. And he reaches out to us, sees the blessing still in us and instead of destruction he draws us to himself over, and over, and over again. 

NOTE: Think about such things is a new series of posts I'll be writing and sharing on The Penny Drops. They'll be more reflective than newsworthy, as I ponder and marvel at the grace and wonder of God.  

In the middle of a Greater Sydney lockdown, my newest picture book was released! 

The book is called One Potoroo: A story of survival and tells the story of one of the last remaining Gilbert's potoroos at Two Peoples Bay, Western Australia.  

This book is SO beautiful!

The illustrator is Alicia Rogerson. You can read more about her work on this book here, or visit her website to see some of her time-lapse videos of work on One Potoroo. 

The book is published by CSIRO Publishing and is available for purchase now. 
(To buy author signed copies,  go here.)

What do you get if you put two pet-loving friends, who aren't allowed to have pets of their own, together with a grumpy talking cat? 
A brand new series of children's books!

These books are such a treat. I co-wrote them with friend and fellow author Cecily Anne Paterson (see my earlier post for more details). And this month, we are celebrating their official launch and release out into the world!

The books are available now as ebooks and audiobooks, which for traditional lovers of print, may feel like a let down. But there are some unexpected perks about books in these formats offer that print books don't have. Especially when it comes to holiday reading for kids:

1) Ebooks and audiobooks are by their nature incredibly portable! This means kids can take their Pet Sitters stories wherever they go. So whether it's visiting grandparents, waiting around for talkative adults or long distance travel, these books can go with you without loading up the suitcase!

2) Audiobooks offer great down time after Christmas hype! You know that grouchy let down after a great time out visiting or at the beach? Load up the audiobook and you've got a low energy, gentle form or entertainment that is also relaxation for tired minds and bodies. 

3) Audiobooks make the kilometres go faster! Trust me, I know this one from experience. And it can be extra handy if the books you listen to in the car are ones the whole family can enjoy. This was one of those things we thought about a lot when we were writing the Pet Sitter stories. They've all been road tested (no pun intended, but it works!) and have received chuckles, sighs and story appropriate gasps of delight from all age-groups!

4) Combine the audiobook with the ebook for guided reading and you'll have your kid practicing their reading over the holidays without even realising it! They'll be up to speed and ready for school returning without an ounce of pestering! 

So, what are you waiting for? Grab your ebook and/or audiobook copies of the Pet Sitters from the Puddle Dog Press website today!

​(Gift vouchers are available too, if you'd like to order for someone in another household or car trip!)

So... I've got some pretty exciting news! 
But before I get to that, I've got a question for you: What sort of pets did you have when you were little? ​

I had quite a few! Ranging from goats to a blue tongue lizard, a doberman to homing pigeons, a young kangaroo to a guinea pig named Nix. Don't worry, these pets were spread out over the years and locations we lived in. But they've got great memories attached and lately I've been wandering down memory lane quite a lot as I've been on the lookout for ideas, adventures and emotions for a brand new series of stories for children!

Yes, my big news is that despite the discouragements of COVID and the unsettled nature of the year, I've got some new books coming soon. And these ones are a little different from anything else I've written because they're the first set of books I've ever co-written AND independently published  Introducing the Pet Sitters series!

The Pet Sitters books are a series of early chapter books for 6-9 year olds. They're about two best friends who'd love to have pets, but can't so they end up pet sitting a range of other people's pets. The first pet they pet sit is a talking cat named Gus and this grumpy, opinionated and yet thoroughly adorable cat is a huge feature of all the subsequent stories. As the tagline for the series says: ​

This is SUCH a fun series to write! One reason is probably because I haven't been writing it alone. I've been collaborating with friend and fellow Christian children's and middle grade author, Cecily Anne Paterson (you can learn more about her books here). We've planned this series together, laughed at some of the crazy ideas we've come up with and then written the books, chapter a turn. We'll also be independently publishing the books under the joint pen name of Ella Shine (to avoid the difficult and inefficient combination of both our names on the front covers!).

It's been exciting to watch how God has brought together all the different aspects of this project. Illustrator Lisa Flanagan (who has worked on many significant projects including the Christian children's book Mighty Mighty King by Penny Morrison) eagerly signed up to do the artwork for the series. With full colour covers and internal black-line illustrations to accompany each chapter, Lisa's been doing an amazing job! Cecily and I have been thrilled to see how she's brought our characters to life on the pages of these stories so far.

But it's not just text and pictures for these books. The Pet Sitters series will also be available as audiobooks, due to a successful grant from the NSW Government, Create NSW. The stories will be recorded by Australian voice actor, Suzanne Ellis and will be launched simultaneously with the ebooks on December 1. (Print books will follow in the new year.)

​So that's my exciting news. Now back to the question from above: What sort of pets did you have when you were little? (Maybe we'll feature them in one of our Pet Sitter stories!)