Growing a spiritual garden with new book: Water My Soul

News release

August 9, 2017

Growing a spiritual garden
90-day devotional puts down roots to the love of Christ and service to others

HARRISONBURG, Va.—How does your spiritual garden grow? What do you do to keep your Christian life flourishing? Darla Weaver explores these ideas as she connects gardening to spiritual growth in a new devotional, Water My Soul: 90 Meditations from an Old Order Mennonite (Herald Press, September 2017).

Touching on themes such as humility, contentment, right living and forgiveness, each meditation includes a daily Scripture reading, prayer, and journal prompt or response idea, designed to motivate and strengthen readers.

“As I worked in my ever-expanding gardens, I was amazed how often God used the natural world to open my eyes to new spiritual truths,” Weaver writes.

As an Old Order Mennonite living in southern Ohio, Weaver spends her time gardening, cooking, caring for her family, and living as much as possible off the land. Weaver bares her heart in these 90 devotionals, all drawn from her home-centered life, and encourages readers to root themselves deeply in Christ’s love, and service to others.

Cindy Woodsmall, New York Times bestselling author of Amish fiction says the book is a “lovely collection of real events that whisk the mind to a beautiful way of life, while the insights resonate with the longings from the deepest part of our hearts.” Mary Ann Kinsinger, coauthor of the Adventures of Lily Lapp book series adds, “These devotionals provide glimpses of the presence of God that is all around us if we only open our eyes and see.”

Women especially will relate to these meditations sprinkled with stories from Weaver’s children, marriage, Old Order Mennonite community and wider friends and family.

Darla Weaver’s first book, Many Lighted Windows, was published in 2016, and she has written for Family Life, Ladies Journal, Young Companion, and other magazines for Amish and Old Order Mennonite groups. Before her three children were born she also taught school. Her hobbies are gardening and writing.

Water My Soul is available for $12.99 USD from MennoMedia at 800-245-7894 or MennoMedia.org; in Canada, the book is $15.75 CAD from CommonWord at 877-846-1593 or commonword.ca; or check bookstores and online.

To schedule a phone interview with Darla Weaver, contact LeAnn Hamby at (540) 908-3941 or [email protected].