The changes and chances of life …

Posted byKatie SchuermannPosted inUncategorized

Here I Write

I can do no other.

My conscience is held captive by the Word of God, the good of my neighbor, and the Oxford comma.

Dear subscribers,

Mailerlite suddenly changed its policy this past month and, subsequently, determined my subscription list to be too big not to be charging a service fee. It is important to me that you continue to be able to receive this newsletter for free, so I moved all of us from Mailterlite to WordPress.

And so, here I (now) write on WordPress.

I will do my best to keep everything familiar and comfy, though the change in services necessitates some changes in design.

Thank you for sticking with me through the changes and chances of life. Your writerly fellowship remains a great blessing to me.

Yours in Christ Jesus,

Katie Schuermann

“The task of modern educators is not to cut down jungles but to irrigate deserts. The right defense against false sentiments is to inculcate just sentiments. By starving the sensibility of our pupils we only make them easier prey to the propagandist when he comes. For famished nature will be avenged and a hard heart is no infallible protection against a soft head.”

— C. S. Lewis in The Abolition of Man

My Favorite Things

While I don’t love online learning, I do love teaching my Thursday evening online class, Learn to Write from the Literary Greats. I’d certainly rather be gathering with students in person from week to week, but it is a blessing to be able to analyze and discuss good creative writing with scholars from coast to coast, all at the same time.

Our post-class discussions are quickly becoming one of my favorite things. For those who are able to stay up a bit later, we hang out online for an hour or so, hashing out topics such as how to organize plot material ahead of writing a manuscript, the importance of knowing your reader, and coping with reviews.

And dare I say it? I don’t hate Google Classroom.

Would you like to join me online next semester on Tuesdays from 6:00-7:00 PM Central (starting on January 13) for another round of Learn to Write from the Literary Greats? Together, we will study the writing choices of authors from the literary canon and then try our hand at imitating their techniques ourselves.

Registration opens for the Spring 2026 semester on October 1st with the Institute for Classical Lutheran Education.

All the Household

If you have not already met Kristen Einertson and Tessa Muench, then you are in for a treat. Check out their website and blog, All the Household, on which they lead all of us in seasonal, pious (and delicious!) practices for living liturgically in our homes.

These lovely ladies also graciously read and discussed the first two books of The Creed series with their families this past summer and invited me to chat with them about the important role storytelling plays in liturgical living.

You can watch and listen to our interview here.

Concordia University Chicago

It was a joy talking with students in the Ministry to Women class at Concordia Chicago about how to care for barren women in the church. Thank you to the Rev. Tony Oliphant and Deac. Frances Szeto for inviting me to share in the formation of future church workers.

Will you be at the LEA Convocation?

Lutheran educators and administrators, please, come visit me at the Kloria booth in the exhibit hall next week at the America’s Center Convention Complex in St. Louis October 2-4! I want to show you some beautiful Lutheran literature created specifically to bless your classrooms and provide opportunity for you and your students to discuss the Apostles’ Creed and the Ten Commandments.

A bonus: I have stickers of Joshua the cat from The Creed series to give away!

Lord willing, see you there!

Katie Schuermann is a baptized child of God, pastor’s wife, and author of The Saints of Whistle Grove; The Creed series, including The Big Father and His Little Boy and The Beloved Son and His Brother; the acclaimed Anthems of Zion fiction series, House of Living Stones, The Choir Immortal, and The Harvest Raise; and nonfiction favorites such as He Remembers the Barren, He Restores My Soul, and Pew Sisters. When not writing, Katie can be found making music, reading, cooking, gardening, holding babies, or trying to climb the nearest tree.

+ SOLI DEO GLORIA +

Not yet subscribed to Here I Write?

Here I Write, Issue 36

Copyright © 2025 Katie Schuermann, All rights reserved.

Published by Katie Schuermann

I believe the Holy Scriptures to be the inerrant Word of God, inspired by the Holy Spirit and fulfilled in Christ Jesus, our risen Lord and Savior. Therefore, I have faith that children are exactly what God tells us they are in His Word: a heritage to receive from Him. Children are not a prize for me to earn, a commodity for me to demand, nor an idol for me to worship. They are a gift which my Heavenly Father only has the privilege to bestow and to withhold. If God makes me a mother, then I can receive His good gift of a child with all joy and confidence in His love for me. If God does not make me a mother, then I can still know with all joy and confidence that God loves me completely in His perfect gift of the Child Jesus whose sacrifice on the cross atoned for my sin and reconciled me to my Heavenly Father. I am God’s own child, purchased and won by the blood of Jesus, and God promises in His Word that He will work all things - even my barrenness - for my eternal good. For this reason, I can in faith confess that my barrenness is a blessing.