Purpose Statement
Soul Gardening is a journal written by mothers, for mothers, designed to offer tangible encouragement and community as we respond to the call to grow in holiness and simplicity. Published under the patronage of Our Lady of Nazareth, our purpose is to express the beauty of this vocation, the heaven to be found in even the diapers and the dishes, and the power in making our days a living prayer.
“Pick up a pin for the love of God,
and count the day well spent.”
-St. Thérèse of Lisieux
We welcome you to the ‘retro’ world of printed journaling! Once upon a time Soul Gardening was a blog which despite the broken side links, still offers some of our early articles (starry eyed and wet-behind-the-mothering-ears still) for you to peruse. Still, we felt called to let that be, to roll up our sleeves and really be present to our children, let others tend to the saturated online world of inspiration and to, ourselves, focus on our homes. A couple years later, we prayed about it. We all came to the conclusion that God was leading us (against all logic) to go to a printed format in our mission to continue to offer inspiration to women all over the US and in nine other countries (so far!). We wanted to give mothers something authentic and tangible that could be held and read while nursing a child or sipping some tea. The printed word is a dying art and we are doing our best to hold strong against that. In your mailbox filled with advertisements and bills, this journal aims to be something real and meaningful. We truly hope you enjoy our efforts!
Who We Are:
Ellie is five children in and still sometimes wonders how in the world she ended up on this path! Whatever happened to having a doctorate degree by now and teaching bush children in the Amazon how to read? Thankfully, for all its whirlwindedness, she is quite content living with a man she loves and teaching her own bush children. A true North-Westerner, she loves fresh rain, ominous skies, mushroom hunts on damp hikes, the return of sweaters and scarves each Autumn, and exploring the Olympic peninsula.
Sia used to be a potter and a farm-hand. But more presently she is a stay-at-home mother of four– three boys and a little girl. She makes her little urban home in the Pacific Northwest, the land of waterfalls and volcanoes. She enjoys cardboard box construction with her boys, picnics on the river, a good cup of tea, and saltwater marshes full of winter birdsong.
Mary is a mother of four boys and wife to one scholar. Currently she is in the middle of her first-ever attempt at home-schooling, and pleasantly surprised that she does not want to burn her house down. She and her family of four boys (seven and under) spend their long Canadian winters planning their gardens, reading Paddington Bear, and tapping their one maple tree. Residing in Ontario, they have a house full of swords and shields, bows and arrows, hammers and nails, and books.
Hope is mother of six children. She spends some of her spare time recording albums with her husband and has a blast with it! Originally she’s from Vermont, but makes her home in sunny Southern California. Not one with a green thumb, she is proud that this year she and her children have planted an herb garden, some lavender, and a strawberry patch. She’s crocheting again, reading some good books, making smoothies out of kale and enjoying the occasional NBA game on cable.
