a sign, a story and a stay-at-home time
I guess you could call it a sign of the times. It all started with sidewalk chalk, well actually not. But that was the idea we had. Hopscotch and curlicues drawn along the sidewalk, encouraging passersby to kick up their heels and play. But this wasn’t what was in the package when our order arrived. […]
Beauty and the Beast Turns the Tables
Something captures us in this story, these characters, and their theme song. Oh, we’ve read it a thousand times, thanks to Disney. Beautiful princess is rescued by fair prince. No, wait! That’s not this story, these characters, or this theme. This re-telling compels us because it’s an improbable love story; beautiful Belle, kind, caring, determined, […]
In Sync
Imagine walking into a room full of people, totally unannounced, and having one remark, “Ah, it’s amazing what prayer can do!” And they meant you. They didn’t know you were coming. Had no idea to expect you. They weren’t looking for someone to save or rescue them; they were just fine before you came. Yet, […]
Forward vs Foreword
Got a spelling lesson today. I’d never realized that the front matter of a book, the introductory pitch, written by some famous or inspirational person to get you to read what’s coming, is not a “forward” but a “foreword.” It’s not a ready-set-go. It’s a word that goes before. A preparation for what’s coming. It […]
I sing all the verses at Christmas
It is the music that makes it feel like Christmas to me. To the chagrin of my family, I turn on the Christmas stations and put in the Christmas CDs and hum along with the songs piped in at the mall. I am positively impossible at Christmastime. But this year is not like previous Christmas […]
What can one voice do? write the middle chapters
I am sensing frustration and dissent out there. People who see that change is needed and want to make it. But they’re just one person. One voice. USA.gov (tagline, “government made easy”) reads, Due to a lapse in funding, the U.S. federal government has shut down. Call 1-800-FED-INFO (1-800-333-4636) for answers to government questions. I […]
Stamped in Red Letters
Just discovered this teacher’s stamp in my desk drawer. I twisted the the knob to scroll through the rubber words. There was still some red ink on the ones most used: VERY GOOD and EXCELLENT. What if God had a stamper like this? If I received my life back stamped in Red Letters, how would […]
Wired for storytelling
Some UVA scientists have “discovered” something: “the human brain is wired to connect with others so strongly that we experience what they experience as if it’s happening to us.” Really? People who read books discovered this eons ago. We see what the protagonist sees, hear what she hears, feel what she feels. It’s the magic […]
Steadied by Design, even in “present shock”
There’s no more need for the narrative…they say. They, being CNN Opinion writer Douglas Rushkoff. “It’s a quaint structure that went out with the industrial age and the moon shot. We live in a state of present shock.” In the aftermath of breaking news every moment with the Boston tragedy, all of us hanging on every […]
What is so compelling about Twilight?
I have a confession to make. Just to buck the whole rush-around-during-Advent business I ducked into a movie theater last week. Took myself to the last Twilight movie, Breaking Dawn, part 2. No academy award winning acting there, but I love a great story. I felt a bit guilty taking a couple hours off when […]