So, why the name "Tov Branches"? What does that even mean?

"TOV". Well, tov is a little Hebrew word--used 652 times in the Bible--which understatedly means: "pleasant, agreeable or good". (According to Strong's Concordance)

This is just the tip of the iceberg, however. Tov can simultaneously be connected to the ideas of aesthetic beauty, desirability, high-quality, functionality, as well as moral or ethical goodness. It covers the whole spectrum of what God considers to be of value; and it is closely tied to those things which create and sustain further life. (For a better understanding of this amazing word, read Genesis 1 and check out the links below).

Everything created by God is Tov, and as his children, everything we make should be Tov too; we should take the Life He has planted in us and offer that to the world. Just like a luscious, juicy pear has first received its life from the soil, and then transfers that life to us, so our creativity--whether it be in the form of a garden, a painting, a song, or a film--should pass on that life to the one who sees it. It doesn't mean it all has to be pretty or perfect, but it should enrich and nourish the way God does.

"THE TREE OF TALES". In Tolkien's essay "On Fairy Stories", he coined the term "Tree of Tales", and used it to reference the long line of stories throughout history, and how each is really a development of something that came before. I think this is a helpful analogy, but I will modify it for my own purposes. The Tree of Tales, as I call it, is the vast collection of all creative work--not simply stories--crafted over millennia, where each song, painting or book draws from a myriad of others--each a branch, leaf or limb attached to one huge trunk, its roots reaching to the very beginning of time, and planted in the soil of God's very own Creativity.

The tree, however, is not entirely Tov--though it was meant to be. God, the Author of Creativity, meant for us to rule the earth as good Kings and Queens, "Subcreators" as Tolkien put it, creating new and fresh leaves that would flourish on this magnificent and holy sapling of creativity.
But when we, (as so vividly described in the Silmarillion), began making themes in discord with the song of the Creator--(when we ate the fruit of--incidently--another tree)--The Tree of Tales became sick. From then on, its canopy was mixed with deadwood, decay and disease, only half alive. And so for ages, without God and without hope, we created in discord with Tov--in discord with life, beauty, functionality and goodness. 

THE TOV TREE.  But then there's Jesus. When he, like Aslan, came "bounding onto the scene" (as C.S. Lewish put it), everything changed forever. Not only does he make life-giving creativity possible, He makes it possible to turn the deadwood alive again, and heal whole histories, realms and stories with His blood. The Tree of Tales can put on new branches, Tov Branches, and one day, we pray, the whole tree will be Tov.

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Tov Branches is about using our gifts as creatives in a dying world; to show forth the truth in as beautiful, honest and helpful a way as possible. It can be hard to find out just how to do that, but it can be done, and it is worth it. We live in a world whose stories need happy endings, honest (yet imperfect) heroes to look up to, and a mission to believe in. 

The Tree of Tales is old and weary, but I have hope. Why? I look up and I see a lot of green; I guess it must be Springtime.

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So, still confused and what all that means? Basically, it boils down to this:

1. Everything created by God is good, so we should create things that are full of goodness too.
2. Goodness doesn't just mean doing the right thing (moral goodness); goodness is  also beautiful, of excellent functional quality (it works well), as well as being morally good, and it creates more life.

3. We are part of a bigger story, and we get to add to this story thru the gifts we've been given.