Hey Sistas,

As some of y’all know, last spring, I signed a book contract with Herald Press!

I know, right?  I’ve mentioned this on the podcast, but here on the blog I think I was waiting for the perfect time to tell you.

Well, here we go.

I’m writing a book for you and for me.  A book that reminds us of the things that makes for peace.  “Shalom Sistas” is my story of evacuating New Orleans after Katrina and praying for Jesus to speak “peace be still” over the very literal storm of my life.

What I wanted was for him to show up, help us find our way in our new city of Boston, maybe let me make some friends, and heal my marriage.

But like Jesus and his get to the heart of the problem ways,  he completely messed me up by asking me to study peace in the Bible:

Did I really know what I was asking for?

Uhhh… No.

After months of study, I was challenged with a different picture of peace—a deeper, wider, richer picture than the one I was asking for and quite honestly, one I’ve prayed for others too many times to count.

Shalom is a richer picture peace: God’s dream for our wholeness in a broken world.

In the pages of “Shalom Sistas: Living Wholeheartedly in a Brokenhearted World” I really hope to make you laugh, think, smile, remember awesomely 80’s movies, wanna say “y’all”, join the Sisterhood,  and of course, invite the Prince of Peace to make you whole because, Sistas…

We are made to make the world whole.

Here’s my journal in which I’m writing “Shalom Sistas”. Pray for your girl, ok?

ShalomintheCity.com

 

There’s so many ideas in here and plenty of SHALOM STEPS, because y’all know I know I like to roll practical and accessible.

The book will flesh out our manifesto points, which by the way…have you seen the update to the blog?

I’m organizing this space to be a resource of peacemaking for you—starting with the front page:

Each direction of practicing Shalom has it’s own image and link on the front page to some of my favorite and most popular posts on that topic:

Screen Shot 2016-08-18 at 11.29.23 AM

Screen Shot 2016-08-18 at 11.28.04 AM

Once  a week, I’ll write on our all new manifesto points:

1:  There is grace upon, grace upon, grace upon…GRACE

2: I Belong to You, You Belong to Me, and We are Beloved

3: We Will Listen to Our  Jealousy

4:  We are Enough

5: We Will Show Up, Say Something, And Be Still

6: We Will Blame the Hard, not the Person

7: We Will Choose Subversive Joy

8:  We Will Tell Stories

9: Our Hands are Open

10: We are Pierced Women

11: Our Bodies Are Wholly Good

12: We Will Build Bridges

 

So, make sure we’re connected so can be a part of the conversation, subscribe or follow me on Facebook— I’m pretty active over there.

Shalom and book writing for my Sistas,

Osheta