Before writing The Windkeeper, I researched wind in the Bible. It was so fascinating that when I pondered what to write for my next blog post, I instantly wanted to share this with all of you.

Over and over in the Bible, God used the wind to accomplish His plans . . . and I’m just in awe. Absolutely overwhelmed by His glory and power. The four winds of heaven in The Windkeeper are little characters, and through my research they have come to life! First in text, and then graciously through Jennifer Savage Britton’s beautiful illustrations. I’d like to introduce them to you:

North Wind is naughty. There’s just no other way to put it. He’s a hotshot and he reacts before he thinks. You’ll see him on the cover of The Windkeeper flexing his muscles. I mean, how much more of a showoff could he be? But he is a powerful wind and through God’s patient instruction, he eventually uses his gifts for God’s glory instead of his own. Passages about the north wind in the Bible show that it drives away the rain in Proverbs 25:23. And in Ecclesiastes 1:6, the wind comes from the north, erratic and whirling. Yup, that’s my North Wind!

South Wind is my shy little wind. She is quiet and so delicate. Easily distracted. As the French would say “she has her head in the clouds.” LOL You almost forget she’s in the book except that God cares for her so very sweetly, that you can’t help but fall in love with her. One particular verse in the Bible matches my South Wind perfectly. Job 37:17 says that God “quiets the earth with the south wind.” Acts 27:13 says that the “south wind blew softly.” She’s a whisper of a wind in The Windkeeper, and I love her.

East Wind leads. God commands; and she leads. She leads her brothers and her little sister. I think reading about the east wind in the Bible produced the most reverent awe for me. Never have I paid so much attention to how God uses the east wind than when researching for my characters. God sent the east wind to bring a plague of locusts upon Egypt when Pharaoh wouldn’t release the Israelites. Through the Bible, the east wind scorched, withered, and scattered. And many things are compared to the power of the east wind. If a children’s book needs a leader wind, there is none better than East Wind.

West Wind doesn’t get much attention. But he doesn’t need attention because he is so settled in his role and purpose as God’s steadfast, faithful wind. West Wind is East Wind’s twin brother. He works well with her . . . just like the west wind in the Bible worked well with the east wind. The west wind didn’t get much attention in the Bible either, but the ONE mention of the west wind was powerfully awesome. Remember above, I said that God used the east wind to bring a plague of locusts over Egypt? When God needed to drive the locusts away, He used the west wind. Yup, that twin duo worked together to bring about God’s plan. Of course they had to be twins in The Windkeeper.

Which brings me to Wendall, my windkeeper. He’s the most patient windkeeper I know. He doesn’t understand why this batch of wind gusts is so special to God, but he’s perfectly fine not knowing because he knows God’s plans are always good.

My prayer is that The Windkeeper encourages you to open the Bible with your children and read these passages that hold so much power and awesomeness. The Windkeeper’s theme verse is Psalm 135:7: “[God] brings out the wind from his storehouses.” When I read it long ago, I thought, “Huh, I wonder who tends to the wind when they are in heaven’s storehouse?” And The Windkeeper was born.

To read their story, learn more about them, here’s a link so The Windkeeper can bless you as much as it has blessed me: http://bit.ly/1Kpb6GX