“You’re not going to believe what they chose.” My friend, being the sympathetic kind, asked what could possibly be so bad. Instead of answering, I threw out the other ideas that had been mentioned and suggested I go with one of those. After all, I’d given myself that out—I didn’t have to go with Continue Reading
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Don’t You Think Spies Are Kind of Questionable?
After a week of hearing bits about Perry Kirkpatrick’s awesome series, I figured you’d all be kind of curious about what she has to say about it all. So, for this review of A Spying We Will Go I bullied her into giving me a super-short interview. No, really. I did. The poor girl has several Continue Reading
Sometimes We Need the Ugly to Embrace the Beautiful
“I’m sick of it.” Okay, here’s the thing. When my daughter says those four little words, I know a gem is forming behind those lips. As expected, the rest came a moment later. “I’m sick of people acting like God’s saving work in people is only amazing if the person used to be involved in ‘really Continue Reading
What Does It Take to Be a Superior Nanny?
So a couple of years ago, I read a book with the world’s greatest babysitter. Seriously, Phoebe can babysit my bestekids any day. She’s awesome. You can read about her in Cathe Swanson’s Baggage Claim. When you’ve found the best, who needs any more, right? Well, as any wise mother knows (and Continue Reading
How to Avoid Paper Cuts in 3 Simple Steps
The next message in our Facebook conversation prompted a grin. She wrote, “I'm working on Bad Things, Small Packages, and I’ve got to go write a scene—paperwork for Brent.” “Make sure you give him a paper cut.” “I will.” A second later, I added, “Make it two—with that much paperwork, he’d Continue Reading
What Makes Cliched Tropes Work Like Magic?
How many times in some movie have you ever heard someone say, “I know a guy?” And while we’re on the subject, why does the guy saying it always have a Jerzee or Chicagoan accent? Well… when it comes to TV and movies, “I know a gal.” No, really. I do. I can’t tell you her name. That would be Continue Reading
How Does Hadassah Compare to the Real Story of Esther?
Am I the only one who associates certain things with places? Dunkin Donuts with Arizona, orange juice with Noel, Missouri, a mustard/gold sweater with Landers. Don’t ask. Some associations should be relegated to desert sands and wind… like that sweater. I do it with Bible stories, too. Moses and Continue Reading
Loved, Hated, Laughed, and Cried, but Why?
I have a secret that I should probably confess. All my life, I’ve had this crazy, inexplicable love of mysteries. Shocker, right? Well, yeah. What can I say? It’s a thing. I blame my mother, and no… not because she used a Nancy Drew book to teach me to read—or so I’ve heard. Though I can Continue Reading
Why Do Christians Love Books about Sin and Sorrow?
I think it took exactly three weeks for one of the kids to ask. “Mom, why do the Lutherans sing such morbid, dreary songs?” It sounds so disrespectful now, but it wasn’t. The question came sincere and seeking to understand… with just a hint of frustration under it. Look, you can’t blame the Continue Reading
It’s Almost Election Year & with It Comes the Insanity
You know, when I was a kid, I remember looking forward to election years. I was ten the year that President Reagan took his seat in the White House and fourteen the year he beat Mondale by a landslide. We’d go over to Uncle Ron’s house in Spring Valley Lake and watch the debates. Even at ten and Continue Reading
2 Simple Reasons This Complex Book Is a New Favorite
It happened at a lock-in—at Julie Hall’s church if I recall correctly. Why I went, I don’t know, but unless I’m combining two events in my mind, I remember it vividly. Cheryl and I went home with Julie after school and from there we went to Julie’s church. They had songs, food, and games. But Continue Reading
Why Hope Is an Excellent Theme for this Series
Series often have a theme, and the trilogy of books I’ve ready by E. C. Jackson’s is obvious—hope. She chose her theme well, and the books reflect it in obvious ways. Still, it’s not trite. Jackson kept the layers of hope in her stories subtle when they needed to be and overt when they didn’t. Continue Reading
