All The Things: Our February Book!
Joy has something more to say.
For the past two years, a verse had been the focus for the All The Things January print and lock screen. It’s coming your way soon, along with a simple something (arriving in your mailbox :)) that holds a lot of meaning.
But first I need to direct your attention to the rearview so we can all appreciate the irony before looking out the windshield, forward-facing for our February All The Things book.
(More January ATT things are coming, but I wanted to send this info first so you have more time to order a copy/request it at your library and read before the February Zoom call.)
Nearly a year ago, I wrote words that, upon reading them today, had me reaching for Kleenex. Time is weird and wild and rude and beautiful and complicated. I won’t copy/paste the entire thing here—you can click the link below to read if you’d like— but there’s a section that is particularly worth repeating today before I tell you the February book.
I’ve never had a “verse of the year” but I posted about Romans 15:13 in January of 2022, thought of it every single week, and even put it on my Christmas card to close the year. I did have a word of the year in 2022, though: Joy.
Somewhere around October or November of 2022, I saw a particular word and knew—that’s it. That’s the one to lean into and learn from, to sit with and dwell on. Joy wasn’t done. It had something more to say.
From my January 6, 2023 post:
This is the next step, the challenge AND the invitation, the thing I’m determined to do no matter what 2023 brings: Rejoice.
None of my friends would say I was a light and breezy bundle of joy all year long, but they’ll tell you I dug my nails in and refused to stop looking for it, declared I was all out of it and said I’ll get my hopes up anyway, believe for it anyway. Honestly? I think the waves are gonna keep on coming. Honestly? I’m so weary. I’ve wrestled through the night, and I don’t mean that metaphorically, but I’m going to choose to rejoice even if it’s a fight. I’ll keep looking, confident that God’s goodness will be on these pages of the Story too. Joy, re-joy, rejoice.
I had a hunch. But also I had no idea.
What I mean is, if you laid out for me that day what the rest of the year would hold—the lies that would be told, the losses that would accumulate, the shockwaves that would ripple out, the unchosen changes and the unwanted newness that would be there waiting each day, the attempted break-in, the diagnosis, the weekly trips to a haunted house (metaphor, but I think you know1), the fire and the ashes and the shards that still cut from all that shattered in the blaze—well, I would have said absolutely no way.
Waves? Yes. A longer wrestle in the dark of night? Probably.
But—what 2023 held? No way, never, couldn’t be.
“I’m going to choose to rejoice even if it’s a fight.”
Joy. Re-joy. Rejoice.
I knew but I didn’t.
I had a hunch.
I had no idea.
If you skim the middle of the piece, you’ll see these both/and ‘still actually in the middle’ lines…
The storm is still being its stormy self.
I’m still waiting on a miracle.
The sea still exists.
I’m still asking “how much longer?”
But the thread is still running through.
Goodness is still chasing down.
And if you skip to the end, you’ll find an anchor and a blessing to begin the year, inspired by Romans 15:13…
Hope held me and Hope held true, so I’m holding Hope to His word.
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him—in every delight and disappointment, every pounding wave and moment of wonder, every waiting room and answered prayer, in both daylight and darkness—so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
A little over a month ago, I held up a spiral-bound PDF on Instagram Stories and told you about a brand new book I genuinely thought you’d like. (Click below to watch.) And then your messages began to arrive… and kept on showing up as orders were placed and books shipped.
If you ended 2024 weary and worn out, holding hope but also very much relying on Hope to keep on holding you… or if you’re starting 2025 desperate for joy amidst All. The. Things…
Well, according to my DMs, you aren’t the only one.
In October, I began praying about the first ATT book of 2025. What would we need? What topic or idea would be helpful to lean into, to discuss together, to sit with and dwell on? I went back and forth on a few five-star (IMO) books, but I just didn’t feel settled for some reason, and then your replies came in and it was abundantly clear. I reached out to Asheritah, she graciously said yes, and I began writing this email to you.
Then I re-read the piece from this time last year and, well, Kleenex. It’s not that I forgot overarching hope (2021) or joy (2022) or rejoice (2023) or how God strung them together into a verse for 2024. There hasn’t been a second that it slipped my mind over the last 365, hasn’t been a moment that I missed it: choosing joy still, now, here, isn’t flippant or flimsy. It’s a fight. It’s intentional. It’s a decision.
When rejoice showed up, I was somewhat wary. Would it mean there was great reason to rejoice or would it look like learning to rejoice in a tsunami? I didn’t know, but I knew that was the word.
Joy had something more to say. Joy. Re-joy. Rejoice.
But it’s also, somehow, a gift… a wonder, how it shows up miraculously even in what turned out to be more tsunami than ta-da! surprise! answered prayer!
So, yeah, I 100% chuckled even though my eyes were glassy with tears as I read the lines written on the heel of ‘the year of natural disasters’ and at the start of a year I hoped would hold all those R words we love so much. Redemption, restoration, reconciliation, renewal—take your pick, I’d take any of them. I teared up because the flames continued but joy held true, even if just an ember, and I shook my head at this line in last year’s piece because it’s the October prayer right there in the rearview… except now it’s the windshield—this time, together:
That’s the one to lean into and learn from, to sit with and dwell on. Joy wasn’t done. It had something more to say.
I can’t wait to listen with you.
Our February Book: Delighting in Jesus by Asheritah Ciuciu
📗 Book description:
For many Christians, “daily devotions” and “spiritual disciplines” strike guilt and shame in our hearts. But what if we got it all wrong? What if our Christian experience hinges not on perfect spiritual disciplines, but on the perfect love of a Father who delights in us?
In Delighting in Jesus, Bible teacher Asheritah Ciuciu invites you to lift your gaze from your to-do list and get to know the One who spun the stars and knows you by name.
Discover the theological foundation for how we were Created for Delight. You’ll see that throughout Scripture, joy originates from God, pulses at the heart of the gospel, and is promised to us as fruit from God’s Spirit.
By considering three Robbers of Delight, you’ll trade those things that steal your joy to receive Jesus’ personal invitation to a life of joy with Him—not just someday in heaven, but starting here and now on earth!
Finally, you’ll learn five practical Rhythms of Delight: joyful practices found in Jesus’ own life that increase our awareness of God’s presence with us, His delight in us, and our continual communion with Him. Forget about rigid formulas—these creative ideas will fit the rhythm of your modern life and lead to freedom to connect with God right where you are.
If you’re weary or disheartened, this book is for you.
📚 Book links:
Here are several quick links for ordering, but don’t forget to check your library or local bookstore!
Amazon paperback (currently 24% off)
Audiobook via Audible (read by Asheritah)
Bookshop.org (affiliate link)
📖 Suggested reading schedule:
As always, read/listen as it works for you! I know a few of y’all prefer to read the entire book the week of the Zoom call, while others space it out, reading a chapter or two a week all month long. Our Author Chat with Asheritah will be toward the end of February, giving as much time as possible for books to ship + for everyone to read without feeling rushed.