There is no better beginning to my days than a few minutes (or more) alone in the quiet with my bible and a cup of tea. When I'm in a good rhythm, and I can wake up anticipating that time from the moment of consciousness, I fairly sprint downstairs. (When I'm not in rhythm, it looks very different, but we won't go there right now.)

Even if the rest of the house is a mess, I make sure that the corner where I will start the day is clean, uncluttered, and pretty. Recently, our family hit a pretty major crisis, and then I was called out of town. I navigated that crisis as best I could from afar until I returned home. While I was gone, Kristin (who is both my daughter-in-law and the artistic talent behind Take Up & Read) was in town for a wedding and stayed at my house. She knows my heart and my house, and she knows where my good days begin. When I walked through the door and back into the formidable challenge I had to manage, I saw that she'd been there first and she'd prepared a place for me. Tears sprung to my eyes.

Dear friends, this is the essence of our new book. It's about knowing and reaching someone's heart for the good. To celebrate that spirit, and to encourage you to reach out, we have prints available to newsletter subscribers. There are four prints here--one for each week of the study. Maybe you print them and surprise a friend with a print in a frame, switching it out for her as you work through the book together. Maybe you print all four at once and hang them where your children will see them every day. Maybe you treat yourself to prints in a frame for a gallery wall. They're yours, from Kristin, because she knows how beauty nurtures the soul.

Scroll to the bottom of this page to subscribe to our newsletter. The prints are yours, with our love.