I decided to order a piece of Cobaltoan Calcite and a chunk of Rose Quartz to commemorate this era of my life, to celebrate my first two books—“The Gift of a Dozen Reasons” and “The Gift of a Dozen More”.

To me, the bright pink color symbolizes joy. This is why I chose bright pink to be the main color of my first book, “The Gift of a Dozen Reasons”, because that’s what the book is all about—joy expressed through gratitude, through worship.

I chose light pink for its sequel, “The Gift of a Dozen More”, because to me, the color represents peace. Peace is what this book is about—peace expressed through gratitude, through rest in our Lord. It’s in this second book we see the character’s chosen gratitude in spite of her pain; we see her find peace in the midst of loss; we see her find rest in the loving care of her Heavenly Father.

Gratitude, worship, and joy; engaging with nature through the senses, believing we were created with purpose—this is the very core of my book “The Gift of a Dozen Reasons”.

Gratitude, rest in the Lord, and peace; engaging with nature via the mind/memories, having faith we will meet our loved ones again—this is the other side of the coin, the sequel; this is “The Gift of a Dozen More”.

Just as gratitude is a form of worship, which we see in “The Gift of a Dozen Reasons”, gratitude is also a form of rest, which we learn in “The Gift of a Dozen More”. When we choose to find things to be grateful for in the midst of our pain, we can know true rest.

Whenever I look at these two rocks, I’ll remember the importance of gratitude. I’ll remember all the little reasons to thank God (and the big ones too). I’ll remember that in gratitude, we give glory to our Lord and rest to our souls. And of course, I’ll always remember the two dozen.