{"title":"For a hard season","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe hardest seasons don't ask to be fixed. They ask to be seen.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhen someone you love is in a hard season, there is almost nothing you can do to make it shorter, and that is usually the hardest part about it. You cannot lift it off them or talk them out of it. What you can do is stay near, stay soft, and let them know they are not sitting in the mud by themselves.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSometimes the hard season is your own, and the same thing is still true: you do not have to fix it today. You are allowed to look for the small good things, like the blanket that feels great on your lap or the candle lit on the bedside table because the light helps. A hard season does not cancel those tiny graces. Sometimes it is what helps us to notice them.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThese are gifts for the ones in the long middle of something hard.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"the-acorn-print","title":"The Acorn Print","description":"\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"\u003eAn acorn gives no sign of what it will become. The whole oak is already inside it, the height and the shade and the hundred years, and still it has to spend a long season on the ground, like nothing is happening, before the first green shows.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eHandmade paper art print with four full deckled edges, approximately 8 1\/4 x 10 1\/4 inches. Front is letterpress printed. \u003c\/span\u003ePackaged in a clear protective sleeve with thick backer. \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"The Author","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53287044350259,"sku":null,"price":30.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0941\/9613\/8291\/files\/IMG_9646.jpg?v=1781646088"},{"product_id":"the-tabletop-fire","title":"The Tabletop Fire","description":"\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"\u003eThere is an instinct in us to return to the fire, to pull a chair close when the day has worn us down and let the flame settle the mind. We come back to it to remember the light, and to be steadied, the way a flame holds our attention and quiets us at the same time.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"\u003eHand-poured concrete, United States. Burns clean on isopropyl alcohol, indoors or out. Lid included to extinguish the flame. Use caution when handling, vessel will get warm when burning.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"The Author","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53405430186291,"sku":null,"price":48.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0941\/9613\/8291\/files\/IMG_9418.jpg?v=1779974673"},{"product_id":"the-forest-candle","title":"The Forest Candle","description":"\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"\u003eSmell is the sense that takes you somewhere without asking, one breath and you are simply there. This one takes you into the woods, the deep green dark that represents the hard middle of so many of our stories, the place a person walks in and, in time, finds their way through.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"\u003e12 oz soy and beeswax blend, United States. 100 hour burn time.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"\u003e3.2 x 4.5 in. 1.38 lb\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"The Author","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53405443391795,"sku":null,"price":36.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0941\/9613\/8291\/files\/IMG_9423.png?v=1779975259"},{"product_id":"the-ash-vase","title":"The Ash Vase","description":"\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"\u003eThe surface of this vase is like cooled lava, the rough dark crust left behind when something molten and full of upheaval finally goes quiet and still. It is the color of the aftermath, of ground that has been through the worst of it, and it is also, strangely, the most fertile ground there is, the place where things grow back richest.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"\u003eSand-cast aluminum with a textured ash-black coating, India.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"\u003e5.25 in diameter, 8 in tall. Holds 55 oz. \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"The Author","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53405517676851,"sku":null,"price":76.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0941\/9613\/8291\/files\/IMG_9378.jpg?v=1779977492"},{"product_id":"the-whitman-journal","title":"The Whitman Journal","description":"\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"\u003eThe line pressed into this cover, that every moment of light and dark is a miracle, was not written from comfort or distance. Through the worst years of the Civil War, Walt Whitman volunteered at the army hospitals, sitting at the bedsides of hundreds of dying soldiers, writing their letters home and staying with many of them at the end. He looked straight at the darkest thing he could have found, and he chose to call it part of the miracle too.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"\u003eCopper foil letterpress on charcoal handmade recycled cotton paper, one deckled edge. Japanese stab-bound, 50 lined pages. United States.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"\u003e5.75 x 7.75 in\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"The Author","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53405550903603,"sku":null,"price":30.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0941\/9613\/8291\/files\/IMG_9436.png?v=1779978804"},{"product_id":"deep-waters","title":"Deep Waters","description":"\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"\u003eWhen Isaiah speaks of deep water, he does not say it will be kept from you, or that you will be spared the crossing. The water is named plainly, spoken of directly by the One who promises to be there for all of it. What is promised is not rescue but presence in the water alongside you. It is the difference between drowning and being held, and for the one going under, that difference is everything. You will never be alone in the deep.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"\u003eFramed canvas print, oak floater frame.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"\u003e16 x 20 in. Wire installed, ready to hang.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"The Author","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53405673816371,"sku":null,"price":168.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0941\/9613\/8291\/files\/IMG_9449.jpg?v=1779987970"},{"product_id":"the-linen-blanket","title":"The Linen Blanket","description":"\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"\u003eA throw is the blanket within reach, less for a real chill than for the moments you want something soft over your knees while you sit a while. Linen has a rare quality among fabrics, the more you use it, the softer it gets, so a throw used often only brings more comfort with the years.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"\u003eHandwoven European linen, herringbone weave, hand-knotted fringe along all four edges, India. Pre-washed for softness.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"The Author","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53405681778995,"sku":null,"price":140.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0941\/9613\/8291\/files\/IMG_9451.jpg?v=1779988422"},{"product_id":"the-sheepskin-throw","title":"The Sheepskin Throw","description":"\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"\u003eFew images sit deeper in scripture than the shepherd with the sheep, the one who watches the flock, who leaves the ninety-nine to find the one, who carries the lamb across his shoulders home. A sheepskin carries a small echo of that whole tradition, the warmth of being looked after by someone whose attention has not turned away. It is the kind of piece you buy once and live with for years.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"\u003eNatural New Zealand sheepskin, designed in Vermont. Fog.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"\u003eApproximately 41 x 24 in. Spotting and variations in color on the skin is expected, inherent to the material.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"The Author","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53405684564275,"sku":null,"price":226.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0941\/9613\/8291\/files\/IMG_9453.jpg?v=1779988726"},{"product_id":"the-weighted-prayer-pillow","title":"The Weighted Prayer Pillow","description":"\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"\u003eThere is real comfort in holding something heavy and soft against your chest, the same way a child is comforted by being held. On the back of this pillow, the word \"loved\" is stitched in gray, and inside there is a small pocket for a written prayer, or a name you want to carry close.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"\u003eBosnia and Herzegovina, approximately 1.5lbs\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"The Author","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53405699703091,"sku":null,"price":46.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0941\/9613\/8291\/files\/IMG_9458.jpg?v=1779989637"},{"product_id":"humilty-comes-before-honor","title":"Humilty Comes Before Honor","description":"\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"\u003eThe line is from Proverbs, but a person does not need to read it as scripture to know it is true. The seasons that humble a life, the ones that take away what we lean on, are almost always the ones that come first. The hard part often comes before the good part, and we must remember to remain humble through both.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"\u003ePermanently printed on 100% cotton canvas, United States. Four wooden push pins included.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"\u003e34 x 23 in.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"The Author","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53405705666867,"sku":null,"price":60.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0941\/9613\/8291\/files\/IMG_9462.png?v=1779990008"},{"product_id":"the-raphael-and-mary-coin","title":"The Raphael and Mary Coin","description":"\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"\u003eOn one side of this pendant necklace is the Archangel Raphael, whose name in Hebrew means God heals. He is the angel sent in the Book of Tobit to walk a long road with a young man through danger, and to bring healing at the end of it. On the other side is Mary, the Mother who stood at the foot of the cross and did not look away, who could not change what was happening but did not leave. The coin is a reminder that healing and presence are both blessings.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"\u003eDouble-sided coin pendant, gold, on an expandable chain. United States.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"The Author","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53405708878131,"sku":null,"price":44.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0941\/9613\/8291\/files\/IMG_9464.jpg?v=1779990425"},{"product_id":"the-crescent-necklace","title":"The Crescent Necklace","description":"\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body\"\u003eThe moon is never in one state for long. It thins to a sliver, fills, empties again, the way seasons of life do. It is also the one light two people can look at from opposite ends of the earth and know they are seeing the same thing. The poet Andrea Gibson, who put the moon in many of their writings, often referred to the way it pulls the sea toward it, the two held together across a distance neither one ever crosses.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body\"\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eBrass pendant with 14k gold filled chain. Length: 18\". \u003c\/span\u003eUnited States.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"The Author","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53406092001587,"sku":null,"price":38.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0941\/9613\/8291\/files\/IMG_9492.jpg?v=1780341020"},{"product_id":"the-beach-stone-vase","title":"The Beach Stone Vase","description":"\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"\u003eA beach stone is shaped by what runs over it. The water and the sand wear at it for years until what was rough has turned smooth. This one has been hollowed and fitted with a metal frog inside, so that even a single stem will stand upright in it. What is gray and weathered and what is green and alive, each one beautiful, held in the same small place.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"\u003eHand-carved from natural stone, with a 1.35 in stainless steel pin frog included. 2 in opening. Each stone is unique in shape, size, color, and texture. Made in the United States.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"The Author","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53420508512563,"sku":null,"price":46.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0941\/9613\/8291\/files\/IMG_9667.jpg?v=1781896851"},{"product_id":"the-wildfire-print","title":"The Wildfire Print","description":"\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"\u003eLoren Profit Smith wrote this poem about wildflowers that bloom abundantly after a fire. Baker's Globe Mallow is one of them. Its seeds wait in the soil and bloom in abundance after a wildfire has burned through, the pink flowers coming up across ground that was charred only a season before.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"\u003eLetterpress print on handmade soft white paper with deckled edges, black ink. Approximately 5.25 by 7.25 inches. Made in the United States.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"The Author","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53420537282867,"sku":null,"price":16.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0941\/9613\/8291\/files\/IMG_9655.jpg?v=1781708619"},{"product_id":"the-lava-bead-bracelet","title":"The Lava Bead Bracelet","description":"\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"\u003eLava beads are stone that was once molten, cooled and hardened into something porous and lasting. To wear them is to wear a small reminder that what burns can become solid ground, and that the hardest seasons can leave behind something stronger than what was there before. Each piece sold supports women escaping human trafficking on their way to a new life.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"\u003eLava beads with emperor stone accents in blue, red, and bronze. Adjustable to 9 in. Hypoallergenic. Unisex.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"The Author","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53425192730931,"sku":null,"price":58.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0941\/9613\/8291\/files\/IMG_9562.jpg?v=1780516156"},{"product_id":"the-crown-dish","title":"The Crown Dish","description":"\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"\u003eA crown is a symbol given to those who hold an inheritance, the visible sign that they belong to the line they came from. This dish carries the same image, pressed into pottery made by survivors of human trafficking and at-risk women in the United States. It rests on the dresser or nightstand among the small things we keep within reach, a daily reminder that our worth remains constant in all seasons.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"\u003eCream-glazed pottery with embossed crown. 4 in by 7 in.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"The Author","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53427423019315,"sku":null,"price":36.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0941\/9613\/8291\/files\/IMG_9573.png?v=1780575243"},{"product_id":"the-st-michael-strand","title":"The St. Michael Strand","description":"\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"\u003eThe Archangel Michael's name in Hebrew is a question: who is like God? It was spoken as a challenge to anything that would set itself up against him, and Michael is the angel who carries it. In scripture and in tradition, he is the one called to protect soldiers, travelers, the sick, and anyone walking through danger. The prayer of protection is set into this strand in Morse code, dots and dashes in blue glass and silver. It can be worn as a necklace, wrapped as a bracelet, or held in the hand like prayer beads.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"\u003eAqua and azure blue glass beads with silver-dipped bugle beads and a silver-tone Archangel Michael medal cast in Italy. 60 in long with a 2 in extender. Comes with the Prayer of Protection.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"The Author","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53428100464947,"sku":null,"price":72.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0941\/9613\/8291\/files\/IMG_9575.jpg?v=1780595598"}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0941\/9613\/8291\/collections\/chris-yang-5wWCf65RQZA-unsplash.jpg?v=1777644174","url":"https:\/\/www.theauthorohio.com\/collections\/for-a-hard-season.oembed","provider":"The Author","version":"1.0","type":"link"}