A New Book by a New Author About the Greatest Theme

It is always fun when someone from our Soli Deo Life community uses their talent to produce something that points people toward Christ, and Sara Lubbers does that beautifully in her new book “Always Love: The Timeless Story of God’s Heart for the World and What it Means for You.” Not long ago , Dave, our writing curator asked Sara a few questions as a way to introduce her and to reveal her motivation behind the writing of “Always Love.” Sit down with a cup of something warm and enjoy the conversation!

Dave: Tell us a little bit about yourself?

Sara: I’m a 30-something Midwesterner married to a Texan, who has lived in 4 different countries since 2005. I’m an ISTJ, Enneagram Type One, homeschooling momma of three that loves for life to be slow and predictable yet finds it’s often anything but that. My family of origin was deeply broken, yet I’ve found that in God’s mysterious sovereignty, it was a beautiful way for Him to introduce me to Himself, to lavish me with grace, and create in me a heart that desperately wants and needs to fully depend on Him.

Dave: How would you describe the Soli Deo Life, and how does that play out in your context?

Sara: The older I get and the more I walk with Jesus, the more I realize—and deeply own—that I’ve been created in a specific way, shaped by specific experiences, for a specific purpose, by a God who makes no mistakes. So I guess you could say that, for me, the Soli Deo Life is this daily adventure—sometimes slow and methodical, sometimes fast and furious—of growing to know and love the Lord and know and love myself so that in my own unique way, I can better know and love the world God created. Many days that happens as I serve the little ones God has entrusted to me by wiping their tiny noses and bottoms, reading through stacks of picture books with them, and inviting them to see Jesus in everyday life—sometimes inviting them to see it in my own weakness. Sometimes it means hiding away in my quiet time nook, prayerfully delving into the deep broken places of my heart to invite the love and light of God to do what it does best in dark places. And some days it means taking that same love and light to the women who sit at our local park while our children play together. It means everyday faithfulness—mostly God’s as He never fails to walk through each day with me—but also my own growing faithfulness as He teaches me to keep at it every day, faithfully living through each day seeking no one’s approbation but His own.

Dave: What do you do in your free time?

Sara: Our family loves to be outdoors! We love playing at parks together or eating meals outside—if the weather permits, we’re outside! But what else…? I enjoy challenging my husband to a game of Dominion, going on long bike rides, grabbing coffee with friends, relaxing with a good book and a fun drink or snack, or cooking and baking in the kitchen!

Dave: I understand you have a book coming out, tell us a little about the book and why you wrote it?

Sara: I’ve heard it said that the church in America is declining because it’s increasingly becoming disconnected from the story of the Bible. So my book, Always Love, is an invitation for readers to re-connect with the story of the Bible. It’s written as an engaging narrative, taking the reader from Genesis to Revelation by weaving together the larger themes of Scripture, turning hard to understand passages (like Leviticus!) into understandable narratives, and revealing how the Bible is actually one cohesive Story—all pointing to Jesus, and all inviting us to respond to His love and to what He’s doing in the world around us.

I had wanted to write books since I was in elementary school, but it felt like the older I got, the less I knew and the more I knew I needed to learn before I felt like I could contribute anything of value to the written world. I felt like I needed to grow to become the author of the books I knew were in me and would eventually come out. At the end of 2017 I started to feel this “stirring” to start working on a book but still didn’t quite know exactly what I’d write. So I’d jot and scribble things here and there and try to just be aware of my heart and what was stirring in it. Then, in early 2018, life circumstances changed suddenly, and I found myself in a season where I had much more flexibility to write, and at the same time suddenly had a clear vision for the book I wanted to write. So I just jumped in and wrote it!

Dave: Is the book currently available, if not, when will it be available?

Sara: It is available! Always Love was released on October 20th and can be purchased through Amazon.com

Dave: What was the hardest part about writing this book?

Sara: The hardest part at first was finding time to write. I’m a homeschooling momma of three little ones, and we were transitioning from one field of service to the next via our passport country. It was this strange, sometimes chaotic season that I wouldn’t have thought would be good for writing a book. But I think, in general, it’s a bit of a challenge in any season for a husband and wife to figure out how to best free each other up to lean into our individual callings, and that’s what my husband Josh and I found ourselves doing a lot last year. But Josh was so supportive even taking on grocery shopping and cooking dinner for a season just to carve out more hours in the week for me to write! But even when I had the time to write, sometimes I felt guilty taking time away from my family to do so. But we kept leaning into the newness and discomfort of it, and by God’s grace, in a mere 9 months, the manuscript was written!

Dave: Were there any authors or books that inspire you?

Sara: Oh sure! More than I should mention here, but I was recently asked the question, “If you could’ve written any published book what would it be?” and my immediate response was “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe” (or really the whole Narnia series) by C.S. Lewis. I love how Lewis takes the deep, rich truths of the Gospel and weaves them into a compelling story that captivates and shapes its readers. So, I think those are the kinds of authors that inspire me—those that skillfully make truth and theology accessible through story.

Dave: Does writing drain or energize you?

Sara: I’d say overall in energizes me. I love that I can take a blank page or screen and then after hard work and creativity fill it with something beautiful that stirs hearts and captures imaginations. I love the thrill of having the next chapter taking shape in my heart and then sneaking away to a nearby coffee shop or quiet corner of the house to let it flow out my heart through my typing fingers and then take shape on the screen. It’s hard work but normally really energizing for me!

Dave: Do you have a particular reader in mind as you write?

Sara: Yes, but a few different ones! It felt like a bit of a stretch, but I wrote it with a few different readers in mind. First, I wanted a “read aloud friendly” resource for our times of family worship, so I had families in general and my own family in particular in mind. Second, having been involved in campus ministry, I wanted a resource that could help high school and college students root themselves in God’s love and inspire them to love His Word. Third, I wanted missionaries to be encouraged that we’re a part of a Story that has been going on since before time began (which encourages me when life on the field seems hard or confusing) and to have a storying resource that would lead them through the Bible from beginning to end. So far, I’ve had people in various seasons of life—from age 8 to age 60—read my book and tell me they’re loving it and that it’s impacting their walk with Jesus and how they understand the Bible. So hopefully it worked to have so many different readers in mind as I wrote.

Dave: How has writing this book changed you?

Sara: I love this question! Writing a book, for me, was similar to becoming a mother. Motherhood has forever changed me, and I think becoming an author has as well. In what ways? Well, because of the actual experience of writing it, I have more courage. It takes courage to creatively put something in black and white and offer it to the world. But the message of the book also changed me. It shaped my heart to rest more deeply in God’s love for me. As I daily immersed myself in the message of the Bible, writing about person after person who either rested in or rejected the love of God, it shaped my soul in eternal ways. I wrote the book in one of those confusing “God, what could You possibly be up to?” seasons of life—when I could tell He was at work but had no idea how it was all going to work out. We transitioned to another part of the world which meant grieving and saying goodbye. We walked through several miscarriages which meant more grief and confusion. And yet, through it all the main themes of my book kept being whispered in my heart, shaping me to see and trust the Lord in greater ways.

Dave: Do you have any other book idea brewing at the moment?

Sara: I do! Two actually. One is a children’s resource, but I’m thinking of asking a friend to collaborate with me on that, which will add a new dynamic to writing! And the second one is a book idea I had even before I began writing Always Love, but I get the sense I still need to grow into becoming the author of that book. But maybe one day! For me, writing Always Love was a lot like being pregnant and birthing a baby into the world. So, yes, I’d like to have more “book babies” one day and I do have some fun names picked out for them, but we’re taking it one book baby at a time right now. :D

Dave: Are you a morning person or a night owl?

Sara: I’m a 6am-10pm person pretty much every day of the week. So I guess that makes me a morning person? J But I’m an introverted morning person so, while I’m normally up early, I like to start my morning alone. Thankfully my husband does too! We typically don’t even say “good morning” to each other until about 7:30. J There were many, many days when I was writing Always Love that I’d wake up at 5am to have my quiet time and have a small chunk of time to write before my children woke up.

Dave: When do you normally write?

Sara: My husband and I are still figuring out what on-going rhythms will look like. When I was writing Always Love, I’d write each weekday afternoon as a regular rhythm, but I’d also write one evening a week and sometimes wake up early to write between my quiet time and my children waking up. But we were in a unique season of flexibility where we could do that. In this season I’ve been using afternoon naptime for writing.

Dave: What advice would you offer for someone considering becoming a writer?

Sara: Do it! God spoke the world into existence through words and is called the Word Himself! Part of image-bearing means that we we’ll use words in creative, powerful ways too! So, as the Spirit leads you, let that creative image-bearing part of you do what it was created to do! And as you do, embrace it as a transformative journey in which writing shapes you to become more of who you were created to be, and becoming more of who you were created to be shapes your writing. For me, writing a book wasn’t so much something I did or produced—it was something that was birthed out of who I am becoming. So, if you have an idea on your heart that you just can’t ignore, courageously lean into it and trust that it’s on your heart for a reason.