Turning of Days: Lessons from Nature, Season, and Spirit

Praise for Turning of Days "Turning of Days delights, mesmerizes, and intoxicates. With gorgeous prose and rich insight, Anderson calls us to radically notice the world around us so that, in Annie Dillard’s words, “creation need not play to an empty house.” This is a rare book, full of truth and beauty, that gave me new eyes to see the world around me with all its complex revelations and luminous wisdom." —Tish Harrison Warren Anglican priest and author of Liturgy of the Ordinary and Prayer in the Night "Hannah Anderson’s meditations in Turning of Days capture my heart at the core. It is like a walk in the woods with the Scriptures.¿Her words come to life on the pages, enhanced further by the natural images.¿It is like a flashing yellow-light invitation to slow down and drink deep of God’s goodness right here in this wild world he has made. Turning of Days is a worthy celebration of beauty that comes at just the right time." —Sandra McCracken Singer and songwriter, Patient Kingdom xa0"This book left us breathless. It powerfully knits the threads of natural revelation and grace, and reflects the consistently holistic way our loving Creator reveals Himself. Hannah’s stunning writing and Nathan’s delightful illustrations elevated what we get to call our daily work in a way that will never leave us." —Sarah and Steve Pabody CEOs, Triple Wren Farms "Gracefully written essays turn gently with the seasons. Each opens with an experience in nature and ends with relevant teachings of Scripture. Anderson’s writing is intimate, moody, soothing; at times searing, like nature and life itself." —Julie Zickefoose Authorand illustrator, The Bluebird Effect: Uncommon Bonds with Common Birds and Saving Jemima: Life and Love with a Hard-Luck Jay "As soon as I finished reading Turning of Days , I went back to start reading it again. There is an abundance of searching, patient wisdom here, drawn from things we always see but rarely notice, and written in beautiful prose. Read, and enjoy." —Andrew Wilson Teaching Pastor, King’s Church London "Turning of Days brings reminders that will both inspire and comfort you. You’ll be reminded of God’s faithfulness through His Word, displayed in nature." —Ruth Chou Simons Founder of gracelaced.com; bestselling author of GraceLaced and Beholding and Becoming ; coauthor of Foundations "The apostle Paul tells us that God’s eternal power and divine nature can be clearly seen through the world around us. But it is often hard to read nature’s testimony, for we’ve forgotten the vocabulary. But Turning of Days is a delightful primer for us all. Take and read! After that, get yourself a little blank book and pencils then take a long, slow walk outside and transcribe creation around you—as is so delightfully modeled for you in these pages." —Ned Bustard Illustrator and designer of Every Moment Holy "It’s amazing how much we can learn from nature, if we have the eyes to look, and the patience to ponder. Hannah Anderson’s beautiful meditations on creation help us appreciate the wonder that is all around us, and the unique insights creation provides into the character of God and the life of faith. Reading this book is like going on a long, refreshing walk in the woods—it nourishes your soul in ways you can’t fully articulate." —Gavin Ortlund Pastor and author of Retrieving Augustine's Doctrine of Creation: Ancient Wisdom for Current Controversy "If, as the poets say, attention is a form of devotion, Hannah Anderson has given her readers a great gift in these pages. In Turning of Days , she has modeled the worship that begins by venturing out, bending down, and considering: the frost and the floods, the deer and the daisies, the seeds and cicadas. To attend to our glorious, groaning creation is to see the steady Hand that sustains life in all of its teeming and wild variety. “An entire cosmos designed to teach you faith,” Anderson reminds. This lovely, meditative book deserves to be read slowly under the banner of the skies." —Jen Pollock Michel Author of A Habit Called Faith and Surprised by Paradox "Christians throughout the centuries have affirmed what the Wisdom Literature of Holy Scripture states bluntly: that if we had ears to hear and eyes to see, we would discover in creation an alphabet of theology, or as the Reformer John Calvin once put it: how the little birds that sing, sing of God, how the beasts clamor for Him, how the elements dread Him, how the mountains echo Him, and how the flowers laugh before Him. This, too, is what Hannah Anderson invites us to discover in her beautiful series of reflections on nature: the ways of God in the works of God so that we might revel in the wonder of God. As a theologian and an artist, we loved this book, with its delightful illustrations by Nathan Anderson, and we hope many others do too!" —David and Phaedra Taylor David is Associate Professor of Theology and Culture, Fuller Theological Seminary and author of Open and Unafraid: The Psalms as a Guide to Life ; Phaedra is an artist and gardener xa0"When you pick up and read Turning of Days , you might move faster than the pace of the book. That’s not because the book is slow, instead it’s likely we are poorly trained at what the Andersons are leading us towards. It’s a book that, with some urgency, pulls you by the sleeve, jerking you back to what you’ve missed in your speed. The real joy of this book is seeing what they show you." —John Starke Author of The Possibility of Prayer and pastor of Apostles Church Uptown in New York City "This book is an invitation to awaken the senses—sight, smell, touch, and hearing. It bids you leave behind the noise, the rush, the unforgiving concrete jungles and find a park or garden and sit awhile. Hannah weaves ancient biblical truths like parables, around her keen observations of the natural world her words a paintbrush displaying divine purpose and patterns. Nathan’s gentle illustrations of the outdoor world they both evidently love make this book a garment of beauty, woven by skilled words, colored by skilled artists combining to bring awe and wonder that inspire worship." —Guy and Heather Miller Leaders of Commission The heavens are declaring. Are you listening? Turning of Days beckons you to a world of tree frogs and peach blossoms, mountain springs and dark winter nights—all in search of nature’s God. Join Hannah Anderson, the author of Humble Roots , as she journeys through the four seasons searching out the spiritual and theological truths woven deep within the natural world. This collection of lyrical essays and accompanying illustrations will feed your soul and guide you into a life of observation and awe. A life that sees God’s glory everywhere. The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them. Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world. Psalm 19:1–4 “ Turning of Days delights, mesmerizes, and intoxicates . . . a rare book, full of truth and beauty.” - Tish Harrison Warren, author of Liturgy of the Ordinary “It is often hard to read nature’s testimony . . . Turning of Days is a delightful primer for us all.” - Ned Bustard, illustrator and designer of Every Moment Holy “This book left us breathless. It powerfully knits the threads of natural revelation and grace, and . . . elevated what we get to call our daily work in a way that will never leave us.” - Sarah & Steve Pabody, CEOs, Triple Wren Farms “ Turning of Days captures my heart at the core . . . a celebration of beauty that comes at just the right time.” - Sandra McCracken, singer and songwriter “An abundance of searching, patient wisdom here, drawn from things we always see but rarely notice.” - Andrew Wilson, teaching pastor, King’s Church London “ Turning of Days . . . will both inspire and comfort you. You’ll be reminded of God’s faithfulness through His Word, displayed in nature.” - Ruth Chou Simons, author of GraceLaced , Beholding and Becoming , and Foundations “Intimate, moody, soothing; at times searing, like nature and life itself.” - Julie Zickefoose, author and illustrator of The Bluebird Effect HANNAH R. ANDERSON lives in the haunting Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. She spends her days working beside her husband in rural ministry, caring for their three children, and scratching out odd moments to write. In those in-between moments, she contributes to a variety of Christian publications and is the author of Made for More (Moody, 2014), Humble Roots (Moody, 2016), and All That's Good (Moody, 2018). You can connect with her at her blog www.sometimesalight.com and on Twitter @sometimesalight. Read more