Frequent DG blog contributor Gloria Furman has a new book.

Glimpses of Grace: Treasuring the Gospel in Your Home, is a book showcasing Gloria’s skill in applying the gospel to the everyday life of a wife and mother. Here’s one short excerpt, to illustrate my point.

For me, as I go about my day in my home, I can see how attempting minimalism and simplicity seems like the solution to my discontent. When I glance into my children’s room after I’ve asked them to clean up, and I see piles of books strewn all over the place, the play jewelry has been dumped onto someone’s bed, and tiny chunks of crusted Play-Doh litter the floor, I feel a tremendous lack of peace.

The clutter bothers me, so I start lobbing vain threats into the atmosphere: “If these toys don’t get put away properly I’ll assume you don’t want them anymore, and I’ll throw them into the garbage.” I might make a mental note of the things I need to organize better. If only I had that particular closet available or a more efficient system for storing toys, school supplies, clothes, whatever — then I’d be happy.

I think that if I don’t see any chaos, then that assumes the presence of peace. That’s the deluding lie. I humbly submit to you, if your heart is anything like mine, it doesn’t matter how well you’ve organized your storage closet, your kids’ toys, or your in-box if there is discontent bound up in your heart.

This natural impulse we all feel to quell inner chaos through outer order is one reason I wanted to put Gloria on the line to talk about her new book.