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Chautona Havig

Chautona Havig

Using story to connect YOU to the Master Storyteller

You Really Do Only Live Once…

by Chautona Havig ·

My kids and I were discussing this yesterday.  You see it and hear it everywhere.  Facebook, Twitter, texts, email, message boards. Yolo.

So I have to ask.  Why do we reduce something truly worth notice to a trite,  annoying little acronym.  “Yolo.”  Really?  Then, if that’s not enough, we just slap it on every thing we do as if an excuse for spending money in the grocery store vending machine at our age.  After all, “Yolo.”  Oh, and that gives it the dubious honor of also being over-used.  Yippie doodle.

I used a gas station restroom out of desperation.  Yolo.  (well bully for you.)
I quit that job I hated and never wanted in the first place and accepted a better paying job that I’ve always wanted.  Yolo.  (because that took guts!)
I went for a walk.  I bought my favorite ice cream.  I sneezed.  YOLO!

It’s like when people use LOL as punctuation.  Haven’t you ever read a Facebook status or text that said, “I just broke my toe LOL  I need a ride to the doctor LOL Oh look, there’s a bone sticking out the top LOL”  The meaning is lost.  Gone.  Kaput.

I’d say the average person probably only manages a dozen or so true “yolo” events in their life–those things that are so uniquely out of their comfort zone or deeply desired that you have to make an effort to make them a part of your life.  You know, climbing Mount Everest, leaving a lucrative career to pursue your passion, or at least taking that vacation that you always find an excuse to postpone.

I just think it’d be nice to make those special things… oh, I don’t know… special?  It’s like that line from the Incredibles, “It’s psychotic! They keep creating new ways to celebrate mediocrity.”

You know, this fits a lot of today’s “speak.”  I think it started a hundred years ago with saying “love” for things like “I love ice cream” instead of “I enjoy ice cream.”  However, that exaggeration has morphed into an entire array of exaggerated terms.

LOL-  Really?  Did you?  It makes sense to say so.  But considering how often I see people write, “I actually LOL’d,” my guess is that we don’t.  I’m just as guilty as the next gal, but I have been trying to train myself to type “snicker” or “snort.”  Those are more like the actual things I do when I’m amused at something I read.
I can’t wait-  Really?  You can’t wait for the mail?  You’re just DYING to get that catalog?
Dying-  that’s another one.  Really?  You’re going to collapse on the ground in a soulless shell of a body if that catalog that you couldn’t wait for didn’t arrive on time?

and of course,

Yolo–  Used the way it is now, it seems like maybe we should make it fit every single thing we ever do.  After all, you only live once– better pick up that paper off the ground while you can!

 

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The Because Fiction Podcast

The Because Fiction Podcast
The Because Fiction Podcast

Taking the pulse of Christian fiction

Episode 215: A Chat with Henry O. Arnold
byChautona Havig

I had a chat with actor and author Henry O. Arnold a while back, and boy did we have a lot of fun. His Song of Prophets and Kings series features the advent of Israel’s kings from Samuel’s birth through David hiding from Saul (so far) and onward. Listen in as we chat about his most recent release, The Singer of Israel.

 

note: links may be affiliate links that provide me with a small commission at no extra expense to you.

What Made David Such a Man after God’s Heart?

I think this series will show us. I love that Henry O. Arnold started back at Samuel’s story to prepare us for the story of arguably the most influential king of Israel. Yes, Solomon was the wisest and richest, but David offered something that Solomon didn’t have. He was an average guy—a shepherd, no less—chosen by God to lead his country.

In a sense, it’s kind of the ancient Jewish version of a poor, everyday guy growing up to become President of the United States. If you know what I mean.

This five-book series is available as an eBook, in print, and as an audiobook, too! Henry read a snippet of it to us, and boy you get a feel for his love of Scripture and God’s people as he reads.

And if that wasn’t enough, he even gave us a hint of his upcoming Christian suspense/thriller “series. He says he has two books planned for sure, so… at least a duology, but maybe we can talk him into a trilogy at least? Get those odd numbers and everything?

The Singer of Israel by Henry O. Arnold

A singer’s voice inspires a troubled nation…A shepherd’s courage vanquishes a giant

The last official act of the prophet of Yahweh was to secretly anoint a replacement for the king of Israel who has been brought low by an unbalanced mind. The great prophet of Israel lives in fear of the wrath of the king. Then out of the hills of Bethlehem emerges the last-born son of a family of shepherds to become the unforeseen hero of Israel.

When David sings of the glory of Yahweh, this shepherd wins the hearts of the royal family and restores King Saul’s troubled mind. But when the singer/shepherd defeats the champion of the Philistines in single combat, David becomes forever known as “the giant slayer.” Saul quickly sees that David is now a threat to his kingdom and secretly plots to have him killed.

David may be the champion of the people of Israel, but he must live under the constant threat of Saul’s wrath until he is finally forced to flee for his life.

The Singer of Israel is a tale of triumph and tribulation, deepest love, and burning rivalries; the new epoch is given a voice…and it is The Song of Prophets and Kings.

You can learn more about Henry on this WEBSITE.

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Episode 215: A Chat with Henry O. Arnold
Episode 215: A Chat with Henry O. Arnold
March 24, 2023
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