My Book Cover

Why I chose a garden + Shameless pleas for Amazon Pre-Orders

Today is the day!

Don’t judge a book by its cover is not a throw away phrase.

I’m convinced it was coined by an author who poured her vulnerable soul, salty tears, and every spare second into crafting the book she wanted to write. And then she had to pick from four images put together by her publisher for the cover of her book.

My publisher did an amazing job taking the themes and spirit of my book and transforming them into a book cover. I still struggled to choose one of the options they gave me. Each had aspects I loved. But ultimately, I think the cover I chose reflects the complexity, and hope I want to communicate in this book.

I chose a cover with a garden because the garden is a complex place. There’s no simple how-to’s. Yes, there are ways to go about growing a healthy crop. But things don’t always go as you planned. There’s pain in the garden right along with joy. There’s death and life. There’s growth and a fallow season. What grows in the garden and in marriage takes work. You can’t be a passive bystander and expect to grow a healthy garden or a healthy relationship.

Also, I think God loves gardens. He created marriage in a garden. God’s people grow like trees in his garden. Like cultivating a garden, relationships, both with God and with our spouses (and others), require intentional work, and surrendered faith. Just as planting a vegetable garden requires purposeful pressing of seeds, and trust in God for the growth, our relationships and lives produce fruit as we partner with God in the work he calls us to.

When you want to grow in your faith and cultivate a healthy relationship with your spouse but your spouse is an atheist, or a skeptic, or has walked away from the faith, or practices a different religion, trying to grow a healthy relationship while following Jesus can feel like trying to grow a garden in desert soil. Even still, something fruitful and beautiful can grow in marriage with an unbelieving spouse. God is doing this in us! He is growing something fruitful and beautiful in his son or daughter in marriage with a spouse who does not yet believe.

And so, the garden metaphor, which tells of our relationship both with God and with our spouses, is why the book cover I chose is mostly covered with plant life.

Here she is!

Shameless Pleas for Amazon Pre-Orders

Please, please, please go to amazon and pre-order today! Help me get Married To An Unbelieving Spouse out into the world.

I am not an influencer, and I want this book to reach the men and women who need it. Pre-orders will help Married to An Unbelieving Spouse reach people looking for a resource like this.

You can also use the #marriedtoanunbelievingspouse and tag me on your socials. Share the amazon link for pre-orders. Share my substack. Share the image of my book. Tell your friends. Tell your pastor, priest, ministry leader. Tell your co-workers and the lady at the grocery checkout. Tell the guy pumping your gas.

I will be sharing more in the coming days and weeks as release day approaches. I hope to do a series here on Substack sharing stories of other couples married to unbelieving spouses.

Desperate Pleas For Prayer

For the past year and a half I’ve given my full attention to writing this book. I’m not one to talk about spiritual battles, but I’m confident I’m in one. Writing a book like this forces you to face yourself, wrestle with things you’d rather ignore, and vulnerably open yourself up to the unknown.

Release day is March 30th, 2027 and between now and then I want to faithfully do what I believe God calls me to— let Jesus teach me to love well. I want to love my husband well. I want to love the people who will read this book well. I want to practice the ways I preach.

I’m thankful, and excited! I’m also trembling. So whether you pre-order, read or share this book, would you please pray for me, my marriage and my readers?

Thank you!