Strong Allies: Creating, Cultivating, Restoring. This item is unavailable.Strong Allies: Creating, Cultivating, Restoring

Countless books have been written about what women can and can’t do, but this book asks the question: What did God make women to be? Rooted in Scripture and listening to the stories of artists, writers, teachers, homemakers, caregivers, shopkeepers―single and married, young and old―Strong Allies calls women in every walk and stage of life to love the people around them in the places where he has planted them, through creating, cultivating, and restoring. Leslie Anne Bustard loved gathering people together, and this generous hospitality is woven throughout this book. While Leslie’s voice guides the conversation, she also invited over twenty different women to join her at the table: alongside Leslie’s teaching, Strong Allies features essays from Karen Swallow Prior, Luci Shaw, Christie Purifoy, and many others, all reflecting on how they have either sought to be strong allies or have been shaped by the strong allies they’ve encountered throughout history, literature, and their own lives. By spreading this feast of examples before readers, Leslie reminds us that we are not meant to fit into one mold but to live out the endless variety and beauty of the Lord, each in our own particular way. Leslie’s vision is one of abundance―not a narrowing, but a broadening, a deepening, that fills the expanse Scripture gives to women without overflowing the banks God’s Word also lovingly provides.

Leslie Anne Bustard spent much of her adult years home-schooling her three girls and teaching literature, poetry, art appreciation, and writing to other children in various homeschooling co-ops. Leslie also taught middle school literature and writing at a local classical school, as well as produced high school and children’s theater.For the past two decades, she and her husband lived in a century-old row house in downtown Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where they loved to offer food and friendship to folks and to collect a plethora of artwork, music, and books. Leslie has written for The Cultivating Project, The Black Barn Online, Veritas Press, Story Warren, Anselm Society, Rabbit Room Press, and Calla Press. Her first book was Wild Things and Castles in the Sky: A to Choosing the Best Books for Children (Square Halo Books, 2022). You can find more of Leslie’s musings at PoeticUnderpinnings.com and listen to her podcast at SquareHaloBooks.com.