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The sections covering the winter months are the most refreshing, perhaps because I am reading the book in winter. As a family, the Soules greatly enjoy the cold months, taking joy in playing in the snow and even greater joy from coming in out of the cold to warm up by the fire. They suggest simple ways of bringing green into your home during the barren, wintry months (e.g., sprouting seeds, growing herbs, making a terrarium.) Amanda writes gracefully about the way their family moves through January: “I am in love with the awe and wonder and magic of the out of doors, and equally in love with being inside stoking a fire, baking and creating a warn retreat for us to return to. In and out. Out and in. This is our winter rhythm. This is my family. This is our home. This is our place to come in from the cold.”
The Soules’ lives center around their small family and while there is much in the book about embracing nature and the earth, there is little about embracing the whole world. With their great love of nature and their careful observation of the seasons, they teach their children how to take care of the natural world minduflly. This is encouraging to me as I see her children continuing to care for the natural world around them. But I wonder about the people around them, the community in which they live, their larger family, their peers and elders. What of their community? Friends? The postman? Where is there a rhythm of community? Being self-sufficient as a family can be quite attractive, but in the past, the community was how you thrived and where you trusted your children to bloom. I can not imagine so isolated a life, as my family finds great joy in our particular (and peculiar) rhythm of community and faith and people. Perhaps the Soules simply did not include the ways other people impact their daily rhythms, but it is telling that they can write and entire book over the course of a year and mention others outside their family so seldom.
So while I would not recommend this as a guide for family living, per se, I found it to be a charming and thoughtful take on one family’s chosen rhythm. It also serves as a good reminder to embrace all that’s around us—and to take a few moments to pause, take a deep breath, and really see it, as well.
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Jeni Newswanger Smith is part of the Englewood Christian Church community on the Near Eastside of Indianapolis and a wife, mother and teacher.
C. Christopher Smith is the founding editor of The Englewood Review of Books. He is also author of a number of books, including most recently How the Body of Christ Talks: Recovering the Practice of Conversation in the Church (Brazos Press, 2019). Connect with him online at: C-Christopher-Smith.com
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