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Hello dear friend!

It's finally summer! And my world is currently full of LKOTP launch prep, PN line edits, park picnics with my kiddos, beta reading some incredible books written by my friends, studying Hebrews, praying the Psalms, and generally trying to keep up with laundry. (Playing outside season is my favorite, but it comes along with lots of tiny muddy clothes to wash!)
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What about you, friend? What have you been up to?

In this week's issue of the Goblin Grace Gazette:

• Work in Progress Updates
• The LKOTP Dedication (and why I HOPE it's for you)
• Meme of the Week
• Out of Context Quote
• Encouragement for my Creator Friends

WIP UPDATES: Lost King of the Pattern author copies are... **checks mailbox** ...yeah, no. They're still on their way. I was hoping to do the hardcover reveal this month, but it isn't looking like that's going to be possible. July, it is! Project Needle beta suggestions have been implemented, and the story is a whopping 10% longer now! I'm finishing up line edits this week, and hoping to get my proof copy in by the end of the month. The Fralsningdor Chronicles, Book III is STILL at 1% (Thank you in advance for your patience! I firmly believe I have the best readers in the world. Love you to pieces.)

THE LOST KING OF THE PATTERN DEDICATION (and why I hope it's for you)
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​"For every wretched sinner saved by grace alone;
heaven cheered the day we were claimed by the King.
Soli Deo Gloria."​
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"People don't change," they say, in a tone of forced bravado to mask their pain. Maybe that pain reeks of disappointment. It might have a haze of salt from decades of tears. Or perhaps it tastes more like grief. Regardless of the reason, folks who say that people don't change are usually not okay.
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Unfortunately, they’re right.
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Based on our own efforts, humans don't change! Not down to the core. Not where it truly counts — the heart. After all, precisely how much changing can a dead man do? Not much, other than rotting further into decay.
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​Ephesians 2:1 tells us that the normal setting for mankind is dead in their sin. Because of the Fall, our default is cold, empty, and lifeless like a stone (Ezekiel 36:26). Thankfully, the “people don’t change” crowd also couldn’t be more wrong, because of two beautiful words that always cause my heart to tremble with wonder, “BUT GOD.”
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​But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.​
(Ephesians 2:4-9)
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For those who are unfamiliar with YHWH — the living God who seamlessly blends impossible dichotomies and contrasting principles of reality like an artist with a pallet of watercolors — please give me two minutes to explain.
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God made a very good world, and humans destroyed it with our sin. What's more, we also destroyed the crowning jewel of Creation, ourselves — man and woman made in God's image. When our federal head (Adam) fell into sin, his offspring (mankind) fell right along with him.
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Now, before you complain about that being unfair, take a second to consider if you’ve ever personally sinned. I’ll save you some time — we all have (Romans 3). And the state of our sin is so much worse than we can imagine. Truly, if we got what we deserved, there would be no hope for any of us.
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​So PRAISE GOD, that the gospel is unfair in OUR favor!!!​
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​For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.​
(2 Corinthians 5:21)
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It wasn’t fair when Jesus was tortured to death on my behalf while I was still in sin (Romans 5:8). It isn’t fair that I can boldly approach the throne of grace as a child of God after every terrible thing I’ve ever done (Hebrews 4:16). None of this is fair at all! But it is good and just and merciful, all at once.
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Lost King of the Pattern is for broken people who have been claimed and redeemed by the King of Kings. For those who don’t deserve God’s grace and have been made new by it, all the same.
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Why do I hope that's you?
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Because everyone begins life as a wretched sinner, and we only go downhill from there.
Because the only way to be made right with a holy God is through the freely-given blood of Jesus.
Because when the Lamb of God holds His wedding feast and presents His holy bride to the Father, I want you to be there.
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If you don't belong to the King yet, it's not too late. Today, while you still have breath, repent and believe! No matter what you've done, no matter how far you've fallen, no matter how irredeemable you feel, I promise — Jesus is enough.
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{Oh, and what does the Soli Deo Gloria thing at the end of the dedication mean? Great question! That's Latin for "Glory to God alone." While my stories are feeble, meager offerings to a perfect, mighty God, it is my dearest hope He uses them for His glory and our good regardless (Romans 11:36 & 8:28). If there's anything good in LKOTP, it came from Him. If there's anything bad, it came from me. For this book and everything I do, I'm doing my best and resting in His "enoughness."}

A little Tuesday encouragement for my Christian author/artist/creator friends.​
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Hi, I'm Laura and I struggle with imposter syndrome.
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​*hello Laura*​
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And this morning, before sending off today's email, I wanted to offer a little mindset shift that I'm currently working on. No, I don't do this perfectly yet, but I am making an effort and I pray it will be fruitful.
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My imposter syndrome mindset looks at my current WIPs and published works, and it wrinkles its nose in disgust. "Look at all those mistakes," the imposter syndrome says. "Why did you word that so awkwardly?" it demands. "You're making a fool of yourself!" it declares.
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And when it speaks to me like that... I believe it.
"You're right," I reply miserably. "This is terrible. Letting people buy this book is an absolute joke."
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But what if I answered it differently? I can't make that acrid, doubting voice stop speaking, but I can respond in a way that strips its words of their power.
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"Yes, there are quite a few mistakes, aren't there? It's good I know better now," I could respond cheerfully. "I wouldn't say it like that today, but see how much I have grown in just a year!" I could say. "I may look a fool to some, but others are being blessed by this story. I have no right to disparage their trust in me or the ways God is working, even if He uses imperfect tools like my book." Then, as the final knockout punch, I declare, "Hopefully, this is the worst book I'll ever write!"
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And what exactly can my imposter syndrome say to that?
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I'm acknowledging the flaws, after all, just like it wanted. But instead of letting those imperfections ruin me like stones thrown by an enemy, I can choose to duck out of the way, let them sail past, then step on top of them to rise higher. (*cue the "it's over Anakin, I have the high ground" meme*) I have never produced a perfect thing in my life, and pretending my efforts don't deserve any amount of critique would be foolish. But believing that my work is worthless or that I'm cursed to forever be the inexperienced author I was when I drafted my first story, would be far more foolish!
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Sharing our gifts with the world takes courage, friend, and all good gifts come from God. Including YOURS!! The world needs your light more than it knows, because "your" light is simply the light of Christ reflected back into this dark world like sunshine onto the moon. We're not shining out of ourselves; we're reflecting HIM! Do we do it imperfectly, poorly, and awkwardly? Absolutely. But when offered in faith, to the best of our ability, and for the Glory of God, our art will bear fruit.
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So take up your pen, your brush, your crochet hook, your whisk, or your tablet, and get to work. God is doing incredible things, changing lives, reclaiming hearts, mending broken souls, and strengthening the weary... and we've been invited to particpate.
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"Courage, dear heart."
–Aslan, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader