Seth Lewis

The Leaf Collector (a very short story)

He had not been prepared. It was meant to be a routine check-up, not a death sentence, so he didn’t blame himself for the things he said in anger. Anyway, now his mind was clear. The tidal wave of shock and grief had washed away every excess concern and left him with one solitary desire which he now realised had always been there—he just hadn’t noticed it among the clutter he’d been collecting. The foundation was bared. His heart was exposed, and focused like never before.

He wanted to live.

Just the thing (a poem)

When the thing that I thought
I was waiting for happened
it opened my eyes up to see
that the thing that I thought
I was waiting for wasn’t
the thing that I thought
it would be
so I thought I would wait
for another thing, maybe
and this one would be
just the thing
but it turned out it was
just the thing that it was
not the thing that I hoped
it would be
I could go on forever just
hoping and waiting
for something to be
just the thing
or stop with the somethings
and turn to the Someone
who teaches my heart
how to sing

A Personal Update

This is the time of year when we all have to get used to writing 2026 on things instead of 2025. In doing so, we’re reminded again of the passing of time. It’s a funny thing, time—it can feel so different from different angles, like trying to read a book through a glass of water when it’s all distorted and warped, too condensed in some places and too drawn out in others. It seems to me that time is usually moving too fast, and too slowly, all at once.

Christmas Isn’t Over

If Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year, then what is January? In Ireland, it’s dark and cold. The sun is getting up late, staying lazily low, and clocking out early. Although December is literally the darkest month of all, January is when you feel it most. The darkness of December just means you can turn the Christmas lights on sooner and enjoy them longer. But now the lights are coming down, while the darkness still remains. Christmas is over. Or is it?

Ring it in (a poem for a new year)

The bark still looks the same to me
its wrinkles and its moss
it’s just like the same old normal tree
with no clear gain or loss
I see the branches bending up
though now they’re bending bare
but I know well that underneath
are buds being prepared
and roots have reached down
deeper and the trunk slowly
expanded as the seasons
of another year
transform the life that’s planted
and my life is planted, also
and my heart-wood growing, too
and a new ring I have added
for each year
that I’ve passed through
some are thin—just bare survival
some are thick—great with revival
but each year
that I’m still here
I’ll ring it in
like the old oak tree
ring it in
until the world sees
how the grace that God
has granted
can transform the life
he planted
ring it in

An Irish Christmas Selection Box 2025

Every year at Christmas the shops in Ireland fill up with a variety of chocolate selection boxes, and I’ve made it a tradition to offer a selection box of my own here on the blog. I would give you chocolate if I could—Irish chocolate really is the best—but I can’t, and you probably already have enough sweets around anyway, so I’m bringing you a selection of Irish Christmas links. Enjoy!

It Isn’t Night for the Moon

Winter in Ireland. The time of year when the sun keeps shortening his hours, and the darkness encroaches steadily. It wasn’t late, but as I passed through our town that evening the sun’s face had already been missing for hours. And yet, I could still see his light. I saw it reflected off the full moon, beaming in the sky in all of its silver glowing glory.

Learning by Experience

The moment I met our first child, everything changed. It happened as quickly as a heart can beat, with a force that took my breath away—my eyes and my heart were suddenly opened to understand love in an entirely new way. I had heard about the love of parents for their children. I had experienced it from the other end, as the child of truly wonderful parents. But none of this prepared me for how it feels when your hearts bursts with absolute, unconditional, unfathomable love for a human you don’t even know, who can’t respond, and whose needs never seem to end—and none of that matters at all.

Thanks in Advance (a poem)

I thank you
right now
for the light you will bring
though I sit in the dark
where I can’t see a thing

I thank you
right now
for the peace you’ll command
though I wait in a storm
that I can’t understand

I thank you
right now
for the gold you’ll refine
through the fire and heat
in my heart, in my mind

I thank you
right now
for the good that you’ll do
for your promise and presence
that carry me through
for this long night of mourning
will end with a dance
so I bring you my thanks
in advance

Some Of Our Favourite Teen Fiction Books

A friend asked our family recently for recommendations for their teenage daughter, who’s an avid reader. She knew that our children are voracious readers, as well. The trouble with teenage bookworms is how quickly they devour books, and the trouble with the modern world is that so many of the books currently being written and marketed for teens are rubbish. As we compiled a list of some of our family favourites to share with our friends, we thought there might be other families that could benefit, as well. Our teens are still moving through books fast, so we’d love to hear any recommendations you have—if you leave them in the comments, we’d be grateful!

I’ve posted previously about some of our favourite children’s picture books, as well as some recommendations for older children.