Inspired by the growth of her family and their journey through infertility, adoption, and foster care, author Ashley Rae (Klinger) has introduced A Shrub Not a Tree as the first book in a special collection of children's books aimed at empowering and equipping families around the world to live purposeful, intentional, engaged, and faith-filled lives. What started as a "legacy project" for her family transformed into a relatable message that families around the world can embrace and apply to the growth of their own families. The initial concept and inspiration for A Shrub Not a Tree grew through her (and her husband's) desire to understand, as parents, how to initiate conversations with their four adopted children that would help them understand their family's story and the circumstances that contribute to their family's dynamic. They also wanted to help their young children recognize that although their family may grow differently than some, their family, like every family, is planted with a purpose and is equally important to God and His kingdom.
Through the simple comparison of a shrub and a tree, Ashley Rae developed the nontraditional Family Shrub as an alternative concept to the traditional Family Tree to celebrate the different ways that families grow to be. The concept of the Family Shrub and the "shrub not a tree" philosophy is not meant to chop down the Family Tree. Instead, it's meant to provide all families with a way to embrace the growth and intentional blessing of their family, and to help them recognize that their inability to add a leaf in what some consider the "traditional way" to a TREE, doesn't define them as a FAMILY. Rather, it's their ability to achieve God's purpose for planting their family.
Whether they've grown to be a shrub or a tree, Ashley Rae guides families through a creative two-step process that demonstrates how families can work together as a team to grow together in their relationships with one another and to reach their maturity and full blooming potential as individuals and as families, to achieve God's purpose for planting their family. In step one, she helps readers understand the importance of recognizing how to LOVE abundantly in order to grow together in their relationships with one another - and with God. To do so, she demonstrates how to replace weeds of negativity with positivity by identifying their weeds, picking their weeds, and nurturing their gardens in order to multiply goodness in their relationships. In step two, she helps readers understand the importance of recognizing how to SERVE selflessly and intentionally in order to reach their maturity and full blooming potential as individuals and as families. To do so, she demonstrates how to recognize and pair together their God-granted abilities and opportunities in the most appropriate and effective ways in order to be fruitful in their efforts to glorify God.
A Shrub Not a Tree features a two-part approach to provide children of all ages with a thought-provoking, age-appropriate message that's easy to comprehend, while also providing adults with additional insight and a deeper understanding of the message and overall mindset behind the concept of the Family Shrub and the "shrub not a tree" philosophy.
"Whether our families grow to be more of a shrub or more of a tree, we are all a part of God's kingdom and His one big family!" Ashley Rae
