The Courage Chronicles

Posted on May 5, 2019 | 18 comments

Welcome to the Courage Chronicles!

I’m thrilled to be partnering again with these dear friends. In the past, we’ve been honored to bring you the Hope Chronicles, the Christmas Chronicles, and the Trust Chronicles.

This time around, since we’re discussing courage, we stepped outside our comfort zones do something a little zany: create a collaborative painting! Using a painting kit that tied into each of our books’ settings or themes, we each took a turn adding a layer of the watercolor, letting it dry, bundling it up and mailing it on to the next person. It is now complete, and we are here to reveal its continued progress today!

It was SO fun to be a part of this with these ladies. Didn’t Sarah and Regina do an amazing job? Yes, yes, they did, and it makes up for my own questionable watercolor skills, I think! Not to mention, their trailblazing ways lent me courage to do that middle row of mountains!

Giveaway Details

Each of us have posted or will post a blog post this week, where you’ll find a video of us painting and discussing courage within the pages of these books. Our hope is to invite you along on the journey for some fun, for some food for thought, and–of course, for some courage.

After watching each video, you can enter the giveaway for the complete painting and a copy of all five books. To enter you’ll need to answer a question that’s answered in the video. You only need to fill out one form from one author to enter the giveaway, but you can earn up to five entries by visiting all five posts and filling out all five forms!

The event runs May 6-10, 2019, with the giveaway closing May 17, 2019 at 9 am EST. The giveaway is open to residents of the U.S.  The posts are located at:

Mon. May 6: Regina Jennings

Tues. May 7: Sarah Sundin

Wed. May 8: Amanda Dykes (you’re here!)

Coming Thurs. May 9: Karen Barnett

Coming Fri. May 10: Joanne Bischof

…and here is my video chat. Grab a cup of tea (or your own painting tools to join in!), and let’s talk “Courage”!

Oh, and don’t forget to enter your answer in my
Courage Chronicles Giveaway Entry Form! 

Enter Here

The chill in the sky thickens the falling snow, and together they look up. They still. There’s something about this moment completely outside Robert–a sense they are standing in the calm before a coming storm.

She shivers, and he releases her long enough to place his humble jacket over her New York dress. It should be something better, he thinks, than the worn wool that’s seen too many winters. But she slips her hand back in his, and tugs him over to the railing.

They’re at the mouth of the river now. She points out Charlestown Naval Yard across the harbor. Always, an ocean between him and the navy. Eva gestures toward the docks.

“There,” she says. “I thought you might like to see that.” He scans, trying to pick out what she’s brought him here for. There are ships, docks, buildings…but one ship sticks out from the others, its tall wooden masts strung from history itself, lines running to deck in perfect symphony.

This is not a gunmetal grey war ship, all bulk and might. It is a frigate from another era, one when ships began as saplings in a forest and grew their strength from the earth. Steady and great, like the men who hauled those logs from the deep, snow-laden forest. The men who labored them into vessels mighty enough to traverse unkind seas.

“Is that the—”

“U.S.S. Constitution,” Eva says with pride. “Named by George Washington himself.” Unseen sinews unfurl in the dark, reaching over the dark shimmer of water and gripping him.

“Why. . . ” he clears his throat. “Why did you show me that?” He asks, trying to sort out this feeling of being stitched to that ship with iron thread. Eva studies him, then gives a light shrug contrary to the depth in her eyes. “It reminds me of you.”

There’s a stirring deep in his chest as he watches the wooden hull rock over the harbor waves effortlessly.

“That boat,” she says, “was carved by time. It’s not like the rest of these.” She sweeps her arm out over the harbor, encompassing the fleet of warships. “They were churned out in a hurry, all for utility and speed and power. Sure, we need them right now. But that?” She lifts her delicate chin toward the Constitution. “That one tells a story that’s taken time. And it’s one that’ll be around long after this war is over. No less needed, either. Just as important and courageous as the others.”

Why is she saying all this? They’ve only just met, yet somehow she knows him more than he understands himself.

“Think of this harbor without that boat. Think of what those seamen see as they embark. When they look back at that frigate, they see inspiration. The reason they’re going. It gives them hope, strength…and if someone hadn’t been willing to put the time in to build that… well, this would be one sorry harbor.” She closes her eyes and lifts her face to the sky, leaning back and letting her hands catch the rail to hold her. “I get that feeling about you, fisherman Robert. You’re meant for something great.”

He’s about to protest, to tell her the truth—that he’s just a humble man of the sea, better with waves than people. But he’s interrupted when a black Bentley pulls up to the curb next to them.

“Fiddlesticks,” Eva says. She brushes her dress straight and the way she tries to look dignified with her face streaked in axel grease drives her further into Robert’s heart. “Don’t mind whatever he says. He has eyes all over the city and likes to remind me of that.”

To keep reading Whose Waves These Are, learn more here.

If you enjoyed the style of this painting kit, be sure to check out this kit and more at Letsmakeart.com!