Writers write to be heard, which means writers must brace themselves for input, whether it ends up being destructive criticism or health critique. J.C. Schaap describes this kind of input among students in his blog post "Witless Fear and Hug Lines." In it, he tells how scary it is for a student to lay out something he or she has written in front of her … [Read more...]
Corrie Ten Boom Online Treasures
Check it out! I can write a short post!I thought I'd prove it to you...in contrast to yesterday's incredibly long post about touring the ten Boom museum. Online I found some Ten Boom treasures to share with you: A youthful Pat Robertson interviews Corrie in 1974 (interspersed with a few short clips from "The Hiding Place" movie). It's so neat to see and hear … [Read more...]
Is Google Making Us Stoopid?
The cover article for the current issue of Atlantic magazine (July/August) is entitled “Is Google Making Us Stoopid?” Hm. Is it?Author Nicholas Carr writes:“As the media theorist Marshall McLuhan pointed out in the 1960s, media are not just passive channels of information. They supply the stuff of thought, but they also shape the process of thought. And what the Net seems … [Read more...]
Stone Crossings: Finding Grace in Hard and Hidden Places
When I was relatively new to blogging, every once in a while I'd be scanning comments on somebody's post and spot one by L.L. Barkat. I'd read the well-formed response and think, "Wow. That person's smart!" I wasn't sure, at first, if this person was male or female. No photo confirmed gender, and the initials L.L. didn't help me know for certain. At some point I finally … [Read more...]
Five Days of How-To Posts: A blog experiment offering helpful information in bullet-point form
What makes a post popular?On my blog, which is an unfocused mish-mash of ideas that flit through my mind at any given moment, the all-time top posts are as follows: Castile Soap for a Simpler Life (and blemish-free face) Thick and Chewy, Fast and Easy Pizza Dough Overnight Crockpot Steel-Cut OatmealWhat am I doing posting about the perils of my attempts to multi-task?Why … [Read more...]
Kathleen Norris, Acedia, and the Commonplace Book
Kathleen Norris's session at the Festival of Faith & Writing offered some good stuff, though my notes are spotty. She spent most of the time defining that word, "acedia," that has fallen out of usage. She's trying to resurrect it, because she thinks it captures our current culture's general boredom, apathy, or ennui. None of those words expresses the attitude and … [Read more...]
Yann Martel on Life of Pi, Interpretation, Stillness, and Art
A couple of years ago, urged by a friend, I read Life of Pi, by Yann Martel.It left me fascinated, and a little confused. I guess I'm not so good with obscure stuff. So I was quite interested that the Festival of Faith & Writing brought him to speak. Would he explain the book for the slow-of-brain?The evening began with an amusing glitch. Martel was introduced by a … [Read more...]
You. Are. Blessed.
During the festival, I spent time with several single people. I was walking with one of them to a lecture and mentioned that I was blogging. He said that some friends of his were bloggers, as well. I asked if they had a particular topic that they focused on, or if they just wrote about life.He said that one of them was married, and she and her husband were trying to have a … [Read more...]
Connections and Conclusions
As I stepped into the room where Phyllis Tickle was speaking, our eyes met and, in her words later, "I jumped! Did you see me jump?" She remembered. She remembered the transatlantic flight we shared in 2005, and the descent that led to my child's airsickness. She remembered how my husband and I mopped up vomit as the plane landed. She remembered handing me a paper … [Read more...]
Live, from Grand Rapids, it's the Festival of Faith and Writing!
Approximately 2,000 writers, readers, editors, publishers, and assorted literary types are converging at Calvin College for the biennial Festival of Faith and Writing.I'm here for the first time ever, to listen and take notes.This event pulls together a wide range of authors--novelists, poets, essayists, memoirists--to present various thoughts on writing and faith. And … [Read more...]
Blogger's Prayer
This weekend I'm off to a women's retreat.In preparation, I've been thinking about this well-known passage from Psalm 19--a prayer, really--and as I've prayed it, I realized how perfect it is for Christians who blog. I offer it to you today, especially for this coming week, Holy Week, but ideally, for every week.For every day.For every moment.For every post....a blogger's … [Read more...]
My Five Writing Strengths
I was once asked to make a list of five strengths I possess as a writer. Here's what I came up with. Five Writing Strengths 1. The ability to sit still for long stretches of time Not everyone can do this, you know. Some people get antsy, restless. After a few minutes of sitting still, they fidget and have to get up and make hot chocolate or call a friend. Writers need … [Read more...]
An Oasis in our Fast-Paced Lives
Ken Gire, in his book The Reflective Life, described the plentiful options we have before us to fill our plates, our days (I'm adding a few and updating to reflect opportunities present in 2007): Vehicles to transport us wherever we want, even off-road, with audio technology and reading material--iPods, books on CD, podcasts--to keep the ride from getting … [Read more...]
Creative Methods for Capturing Family Stories
At my brother’s urging, I signed up with StoryCorps to interview my mom back in 2007. My brother interviewed Dad. The idea of StoryCorps is to collect the stories of everyday people and save them for posterity. Here’s how they explained their vision: StoryCorps is modeled—in spirit and in scope—after the Works Progress Administration (WPA) of … [Read more...]
Life. Parenting. Writing. Perspective. (Writing in the Midst of Motherhood)
I remember settling sideways in a black, plastic chair to sit across from a new client. I was developing my freelance corporate writing career simultaneous to incubating my first baby. My client, a land developer, stared doubtfully at the tent-like awning—er, maternity blouse—brushing the edge of the table. I tried tucking my "bump" under the table, but that didn't work. … [Read more...]
