One Question Friday

Every Friday I’m going to ask a question. The questions I choose might be ambiguous on purpose. The goal is to have you answer the question according to your beliefs, where you’re at in life or a circumstance that might have recently impacted you. The only thing I ask is that you provide an explanation for why you answered the way you did.
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It's my hope to understand you better through this and also to gain a greater understanding of humanity and how people make decisions.

Here’s a first, instead of reaching into the endless tunnel in my brain, today’s question is from the book our small group is reading (The Tangible Kingdom Primer). I loved it and thought about it for hours after I read it. So I’m sharing.

Imagine if Jesus were to walk into the room you’re in right now and say, “Come on, get up, and come with me.”

Where do you picture him taking you first?

*photos by flickr

A Page out of My Life—Muppet Mayhem

I’m going to try something new to alternate on Wednesdays. Every other Wednesday I might give you a page out of my life. And of course, it will trigger a question so I can learn about a page from your life.
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You probably remember vacations when you were a child. Sticky fingers from ice cream. Harbors perhaps. It’s A Small World one hundred times over. Maybe even a historical landmark or two.
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I’ll never forget the summer we went to Nantucket. I have a few typical Nantucket memories. Pedaling bikes to the beach, smacked with luscious whiffs of honeysuckle along the cobblestone path there. Tossing a Frisbee on the beach for so many hours I developed a sunburn. Singing “Back in the High Life” and “Mad About You” at the top of my lungs with my older sisters. You know, the usual.
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But another memory floats to the surface of my thoughts whenever I think about that Nantucket vacation.
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Muppet Mayhem.
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To the pig and frog it must have seemed we’d trekked to their biggest nightmare. Me and my older sisters claimed several high ceiling loft rooms upstairs. Awesome sleeping arrangements. Miss Piggy did not find them so awesome when a bat kept circling her and finally landed. In her hair. It tangled around her fat curls. I don’t think the bat or Miss Piggy were happy campers.
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As if that wasn’t enough for the Muppets.
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The next evening Kermit decided to sit a little too close to the light bulb. His left eye, bulging and glossy white no longer appeared to be either of those things. It was fried. And it smelled. Charred and sunken in.
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It wasn’t a good summer for the Muppets. But it was a great summer for me. A great vacation. (That could be because Miss Piggy and Kermit didn’t belong to me, but to my sisters. I wasn’t so calm when one of our Norwegian Elkhounds chewed off my Cabbage Patch Kid’s nose.)
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Don’t you find it odd what gets stored in the memory bank?
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Do you have any unusual family vacation memories you’d like to share?
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*I’m excited to join the team over at The Writers Alley. Check out my introduction there tomorrow.

**photos by flickr

Enhanced Perception

This is my screensaver. I took this picture while walking Marginal Way in Ogunquit, Maine, easily one of my favorite places on earth. Why do I keep this picture as my screensaver? Because of what I perceive within the picture. Because of what’s beyond—the story within.

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Look at the berries. There’s a grouping of vibrant ones clustered to the right. And then there is one lonely shriveled one. See it? This picture serves as a bold reminder—every day I have a decision to make about who I choose to be. Will I surround myself with other thriving people or will I remain off to myself in an unhealthy, dying state of pity? There is always a choice no matter what we are going through.
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So one person might see this screensaver and say, “Oh, pretty berries.”
And I look at it, express the same sentiment but am also deeply thankful for an enhanced perception.

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I’m convinced that is the unique blessing writers are given—enhanced perception.

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Check out a snippet from one of my favorite poems by William Blake

To see a World in a Grain of Sand
And a Heaven in a Wild Flower,
Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand
And Eternity in an hour.

I have a theory about creative folks. It’s a test, actually. I’m willing to bet most creative thinkers, writers, artists, etc. look up at the clouds and drift back to a child-like wonder. Clouds transform into something more. They are no longer about precipitation. They become shapes of perception.

If you consider yourself a creative person, am I right? Do you often catch yourself seeing beyond—in relationships and in clouds?

The Preacher’s Bride by Jody Hedlund

Heeeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrrrreeeeeeee’s

Jody!

Switching up this One Question Friday to review my friend, Jody Hedlund’s debut book,

The Preacher’s Bride.

The Preacher’s Bride. The beginning hooked me. The middle swept me off my feet and the end left me with an overall feeling of contentment. Now that’s the definition of a good book. My friend, Jody Hedlund orchestrated a beautiful story, creating a rich cast of characters with deft attention and intentionality. I flipped pages quickly. My mind was transfixed as I read the entertaining and tension-building plot.
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And I’ll be honest with you; this is not the kind of book I ordinarily read. But I’ve read enough of Jody’s blog posts to trust her writing skill. I was not at all disappointed. The Preacher’s Bride delivered. My heart fluttered with Elizabeth Whitbread’s, a young Puritan woman feeling called to help care for motherless children. Jody handled the romantic elements of the story gracefully. John Costin, a preacher in the throes of grieving his wife, is portrayed in a realistic light. I admire how through the vulnerability and conflicting moments, Jody evidenced her research of England and its inhabitants in the mid 1600s.

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One of my favorite parts of the book doesn’t occur until the end in the Author’s Notes. I love what’s revealed in these notes. It added to the satisfying impact of The Preacher’s Bride—a book I’d highly recommend.
Well done, Jody!

In case you miss the One Question Friday, I’ll hit you with one. If you’ve been blessed to know Jody through social networking, what have you learned from her?
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I’ll go first. I’ve learned when I become published to maintain humility and grace in the process. Thanks, Jody for bestowing those qualities. And I also like how Jody often uses her blog as a resource to help other writers grow.

If you don’t know Jody, well it’s about that time. Head here and introduce yourself.

*I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review
**Click over to Jill Kemerer’s blog today for a party

celebrating Jody’s launch

Why I Allot 10 Min. Prep Time Before I Write

I 8 Wednesday. I don’t do jumping jacks, but I could. Exercise has always worked well to get my synapses firing.

So I’m not running up and down my stairs, but here’s what I am doing before I sit to write:

I clear my mind of distractions

Are you laughing yet? I know, impossible in a home with three young children. I can work with distractions, but I try to minimize them. I turn off my phone. I keep a piece of paper near me so I can jot something that crops up I might need to throw on a list. And oddly enough, though music pumps in my veins, I cannot write with it so I make sure the TV is off and no music is playing.

I get into character

I would be a sad, sad actress. I can’t bluff. But I throw myself into my characters. I want to feel what they’re feeling. I want to remember details of their backstory before I touch down on the page. I climb inside my narrator’s head before I type a single word for the day.

I set the scene

I close my eyes and visualize where I am in the book. The setting. The scene. What is happening. I watch it in my mind like a movie.

I pray

Yep. My words are no good if I haven’t taken a moment to dedicate them.

I send signal to my girls (if they’re in the house) that Mommy is entering the zone

Time for quiet time. When I write I make sure it’s at a convenient time (whenever possible—this gets tested a lot). I protect my time and instruct my girls not to interrupt me (and because I parent with an expert Mary Poppins skill, they never do).

I read over my notes

Sometimes I review and edit the prior chapter, sometimes not, based on time. But I do read notes I’ve made about the character, scene additions, and new discoveries.

I remember my audience

I take a moment to remember who I’m writing for and who I’m writing to.

I gather

I gather tea, pens, and all of my supplies so I don’t need to stop writing. I’ve been known to grab three pens in case one loses ink, then the next one loses ink. As most writers know slipping out of the zone is a crashing experience.

What do you do to prepare before partaking in something you love?

*photo by flickr

We Are All Pinocchio

The nose is one of the few body parts that never stops growing. (I think I got this from Grumpy Old Men—not sure it’s true, but it certainly got my attention.)

This nugget of wisdom is important to remember.

Why?

It serves as a great reminder lest we all think we are greater than Pinocchio. Lest we forget we all fall short of God’s glory.

Because my thoughts multiply faster than things found inside a Petri dish, this made me think of how tempting it is to categorize sin. To classify one lie as greater than another, spending time dwelling on which one is worse. Reminder folks: not our job. Besides, God sees differently than we do. He has a bird’s eye view of our growing noses. We only need to look at our own noses in the mirror to be reminded we need a Savior.

We are all like Pinocchio. May your growing nose remind you each and every day of your need for Truth.

Any interesting findings you'd like to share?

*photo by flickr
**wanted to expound upon this, but we had a long car trip yesterday, we got home late, and some of us are battling a stomach bug. I plan to win.

One Question Friday

Every Friday I’m going to ask a question. The questions I choose might be ambiguous on purpose. The goal is to have you answer the question according to your beliefs, where you’re at in life or a circumstance that might have recently impacted you. The only thing I ask is that you provide an explanation for why you answered the way you did.

It's my hope to understand you better through this and also to gain a greater understanding of humanity and how people make decisions.

What energizes you?

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*My story, What She Gives, is in Christian Fiction Online Magazine this month
**What’s Listening Got to Do With It? Find out what I think over at Sage.
***photos by flickr