Come with Me to Babylon

I guess I’m going through an empty nester midlife crisis. 

We dropped my boy off at college in August, and I suddenly had a burning desire to write a book.  The idea has been bubbling and stewing in me for a dozen years or more, but it sprang to the surface when my days were no longer filled with chauffeuring, homeschooling, and dance and theater momming.

The seed for the book was planted a dozen years ago when some of us homeschool moms did a Daniel Bible study with our kids, and the story of Daniel hit me in a way it never had before.  I wondered how Daniel’s mother felt as she stood outside Jerusalem’s wall, watching her baby boy ride off alone into captivity in Babylon.

What was going through her mind — Will I ever see him again?  Will he stay strong in his faith?  God, how could you let this happen?

In the last few months, I’ve been on a journey of discovery, trying to put the pieces together. 

My book is fiction, of course, but it’s inspired by real men that God raised up to be heroes of the faith and real events which changed the course of history. 

My story begins with four boys and a girl who study scripture together, so I thought this picture was a perfect way to introduce my blog.

Notice that the girl in the picture below doesn’t look very happy.  Frankly, she looks like she’s just about had it with her little brother who’s been cutting up and not taking the lesson seriously.  And she wasn’t too pleased that the other boys thought her indignation was pretty amusing. You might see some of that reflected in the book. 

And here they are, those four boys and a girl, ready to take on the world. 

Imagine if it were these boys taken captive, heading into the unknown, leaving behind everything they’ve ever known and everyone they’ve ever loved. But they have placed their trust in the Lord, and He has given them each other.

I hope you’ll join me on the journey!