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SAINT PATRICK’S BREASTPLATE
So much has happened over this past week. For many of us, the world feels rather flipped on its head and the talk of so many lips has been consumed with âvirusesâ, âpandemicsâ, âgovernment overreachâ, and âsocial distancingâ. In the midst of the chaos and confusion, however, one thing came and went with quietly normal precision. The holiday of St. Patrickâs Day. His story is truly powerful. Kidnapped from his homeland of England as a young man to be sold as a slave in Ireland, escaping six years later by the miraculous leadership of the Holy Spirit only to be called back to Ireland as a missionary through a dream,…
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MOVIE NIGHT WITH THE ERWIN BROTHERS: MOMâS NIGHT OUT
âHardworking mom Allyson has a crazy night out with her friends, while their husbands watch their children.â ~ IMDB description of âMomâs Night Outâ âThe hand that rocks the cradle rules the worldââŚbut what happens when the baby in the cradle goes missing? đ Thatâs what Allyson and her fellow moms discover when they try to take one night off from their hectic lives only to have everything that can go wrong go absolutely wrongâand then some! But, before I can continue this post, I feel like I need to clarify something⌠The above-mentioned missing baby is perfectly safe throughout the course of the entire movie and is returned to…
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MOVIE NIGHT WITH THE ERWIN BROTHERS: OCTOBER BABY
âA beautiful and naĂŻve college freshman sets out on a road trip with her misfit friends to discover herself after she learns that her entire life is a lieâ ~ Google description of the movie âOctober Babyâ This month, March 2020, two of my very favorite filmmakers, brothers Jon and Andrew Erwin, are releasing their fifth movie into theatersâŚand, though âI Still Believeâ (the true story of award-winning Contemporary Christian Artist Jeremy Campâs love story with his wife as she battled with cancer) doesnât come out till March 13, I thought it would be fun to celebrate by discussing each of their films and the impact they have had (and…
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MY LOVE STORY (SO FAR), PART FOUR: EVEN SO COME
âLike a bride waiting for her groom | Weâll be a Church ready for You | Every heart longing for our King | We sing | Even so, come!â âEven So Comeâ by Passion Worship Band Itâs amazing where we can find God sometimes. A sunset. A word from a friend. A song on the radio. A sign on the side of the road. A blog post (hopefully đ)âŚ. I find Him in a love story that looks non-existent to the world. If youâve been following my last three posts, you know I take this romance thing pretty seriously. Originally it was the one thing I wouldnât give to God…
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MY LOVE STORY (SO FAR), PART THREE: INTENTIONAL WAITING
âLike waking up from the longest dream, how real it seemedâŚuntil Your love broke through.â “Your Love Broke Through” by Keith Greene I once heard a heroine in a story say the fear she felt at being captured by bandits âpaled in comparisonâ to how safe she felt in her heroâs arms when he came to her rescue. Thatâs certainly how it was for me. As I walked out of that gymnasium (see my last blog post) into the parking lot of South Laurel High School, I knew my life had turned a beautiful corner. Peace overwhelmed me like I hadnât felt since the early days of my childhood when…
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MY LOVE STORY (SO FAR), PART TWO: SWEET SURRENDER
âOh, to tell you my story is to tell of Him.â â “My Story” by Big Daddy Weave October 22, 2000, is the sweetest date of my life. For a year after I slipped the promise ring on my finger, I struggled with holding onto life on my own terms. I knew Jesus wanted moreâdeep down, I knew He wanted everythingâyet I just couldnât bear the thought of what that might mean, especially in regards to my love story. As mentioned in my last blog post, the infamous image of what life would be like if God took over haunted my imagination in vivid color: me, aging and miserable, stuck…
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MY LOVE STORY (SO FAR), PART ONE: PURITY RINGS AND SELFISH PROMISES
Part of me really does not want to write this blog post. For one thing, it has very little to do with being an author or writing consultant or story explorer, which are the main points of this website. For another, Iâm a fiercely private personâespecially in the romance department. My love life is something I guard like a bulldog and rarely ever discuss with, well, anyone, let alone the whole world. And, finally, I like being liked. I donât enjoy making people uncomfortable, I hate being offensive, and I never want to purposefully do something that would either cause someone to laugh at or be angry with me (or…
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âWHEN IN DOUBT, LEAVE IT OUTâ
âWhen in doubt, leave it out.â I donât remember my grandfather, but his sage advice (handed down to me by my Mother) has guided me through many complicated decisions. Lately, especially. Iâm currently half-way through the first draft of my newest novel (praise the Lord!) and decided a few days ago to take a look over what Iâd already written, just in case things needed a little fine-tuning before I plunged ahead. Needless to say, they did. đ If youâve never written before or are new to the whole âauthoringâ process, please allow me to be the first to enlighten you: Editing is a good thing. Did you catch that?…
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THE PURPOSE WILL FUEL THE PROCESS
âWhy?â When I was growing up, this was the number one question my father taught me to ask. âIf you donât know the âwhyâ behind something,â he would say, âthen there is no purpose.â I have come to discover he was right. In every arena of life, we must know the âwhyâ behind what is being said or done or else all becomes meaningless, mindless rhetoric and response. Without purpose we have no reason for doing anything, and without a reason we will never have the zeal necessary to persevere and accomplish what we were made to do. And nowhere is this more true than in the field of writing.…
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WHY STORIES?
âBecause when you read a book as a child it becomes part of your identity in a way that no other reading in your whole life does and IâveâIâve gotten carried awayâŚâ ~ Kathleen Kelly (played by Meg Ryan) in the Warner Brother’s film “You’ve Got Mail” Stories have power. I know that. Most of who I am or what I believe can be traced back to a story I loved as a kid or teenager. From warrior courage in âPilgrimâs Progressâ to heroic chivalry in âBambiâ, selfless kindness in âHeidiâ to dogmatic perseverance in âHomeward Boundâ, honorable sacrifice in âThe Chronicles of Narniaâ to supernatural power in âThis Present…
