Continue reading »]]> After spending two weeks this winter at two different writers events, I was talking with someone about mentoring and giving back to other writers.

Somewhere in the conversation, it struck me that investing in others, pouring out our gifts and talents to the advantage of others is really what Jesus was talking about in the Parable of the Talents.

Here’s what He said in Matthew 25:

“For the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country, who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them. 15 And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability; and immediately he went on a journey.”

Jesus goes on to say that the one with five talents multiplied them to ten. The one with two, double his portion to four. But the servant with one buried his and returned to his master only what was given him.

The master called him a foolish and wicked servant. Why? Because the servant was stingy. Afraid. He knew he’s have to give an account for the coin/talent to the master and if he screwed up, he could lose the one measly talent he had.

So he sat on it.

Ever feel like that’s you? You feel talentless, ungifted, a boring slug while everyone with five and two talents is happily going about life doubling their portion?

But the truth is, everyone is insecure in their calling, gifting and talent. We don’t know what we have or what we can do until we try.

If we fail we fail. Let’s count on the master’s compassion and mercy.

But if we sit on what’s been give to us freely, then how can the master have much compassion? Look, I’m not saying we have to spend every waking hour of the day using and sharing all of our gifts, but we have to be willing to step out in each opportunity given.

Like me, working with other writers to teach craft, help them toward their publishing dream, as I’ve been helped.

There was a writer at the writers retreat who was good. Darn good. She showed up without a story, worked on her idea while in classes all day then wrote the first chapter during the evenings and free time.

On the last night, we read everyone’s chapter out loud. Y’all this girls piece was laugh out loud, slap your thigh funny. Well written. Well done. Great characters.

I wanted to throw in my writer card.

I realized I’d just helped her possibly take my place!

But how could I do anything less? The Lord had sent so many people to inspire, help and encourage me!

How could I be stingy?

That’s when I understood the servant with the one talent. He was stingy.

“I’m not going to give, risk losing the master’s money. Or worse, help someone get ahead of me.”

It’s such a human temptation to horde, to cling to our possessions — both in the natural and spiritual.

But Jesus is imploring us in the parable of the talents to give. To step out. He will bring the increase.

What about you? Is their an area of your life where you just can’t have faith to give, to share, and for the Lord to bring increase?

***
Pick up Rachel Hauck’s newest book, Once Upon A Prince.

“Classic romance at it’s best!” Debbie Macomber, #1 NY Times Bestselling Author.

Continue reading »]]>

Photo source: http://www.ideas42.org/does-poverty-create-new-psychological-burdens/

One of the presentations I have given centers on the importance of story-telling to teach truths. Jesus rarely “preached” as we think of sermons today. Instead, he reached people’s hearts by telling them stories. And while those stories had deeper meanings, he left it to the listener to find that meaning.

He didn’t end his parables by explaining what they meant or by giving his audience specific rules to live by. Instead, he said, those with eyes will see; those with ears will hear. He understood we are all at different places along our spiritual journey, and we will take from his stories exactly what we are ready to take.

Below, I’ll share one of my favorite contemporary parables.

A young woman, in her desire to serve God, trains at a missionary school, learning how to take Jesus to the poor people of her country.

Finally, after years of training, she is ready to be sent out as a missionary. She joins the landless people, walking with them in their march for justice, laughing with them when they are joyful, crying with them in times of sadness.

“I was trained to take Jesus to the people, to share Jesus with them, to be Jesus to them,” she said. “But that’s not how it worked. Jesus was already there. I found Jesus among them. These people were Jesus to me.”

Continue reading »]]> It’s “favorite parable” week on the porch, and I’m going to tell you about one of my favorites.  But, before I go there, I wanted to say a word about

Arch book I read as a child.

the wonder of how our brains are hard-wired:  to understand one thing in terms of something else.

For instance, I recently heard a poet describe loss like this:  Grief is a purple gorilla.  What a crystallizing image.  I begin to understand grief in a much clearer, deeper way because of the brightly colored primate on a tear through someone’s house and heart, don’t you?  What if the poet had said, grief is big, unavoidable, dangerous and terrifying.  Would that have driven the point home in quite the same way?

Christ chose to teach in parables.  He used everyday items and common occurrences to reveal God’s kingdom because He knew (and knows) how our minds work:  There was a woman who had ten coins, there was a judge growing weary of a persistent widow’s plea, there was a man going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, there was a Pharisee and a Tax Collector who entered the temple…

            When I was a little girl, maybe six or so, I somehow ended up with a soft, little Arch book like the kind we had on the weathered shelves of the Sunday School classrooms of my childhood.  Maybe my mother bought it for me at a garage sale or maybe she had borrowed it to prepare for a lesson and forgot to return it: it was worn and the glossy white pages were greying on the ends.

I can remember being in a quiet place and reading the book to myself.  In my memory, it seems like it may have been one of the first books I ever read to myself, and it was certainly the first time I chose to read a Bible story on my own … and  let me tell you, it hit me over the head like a two by four.  I was thunderstruck.  Here was this scruffy looking man who pleaded to the king to forgive his enormous debt and spare his family from becoming slaves.  The sovereign king looked down upon him and had mercy.  He forgave his debt completely and sent him on his merry way.  He was footloose and fancy free.  He was saved!  Just moments later, the servant ran into someone who owed him money.  He grabbed him, choked him and demanded to be paid, and when the person pleaded for patience and a little more time, the servant had him thrown into jail!  Of all the gall in the world!

I can remember wanting to cry, or feeling something like glass breaking inside of me when I read that book quietly to myself in my little pink bedroom.  It hurt to see how blind the servant was.  How ungrateful.  How unmoved he was by the mercy that had just been shown to him.  I felt ill, dizzy, and furious.  How could he?  How could he possibly?

Maybe I had the faintest sense, even at that tender age, that I was the unmerciful servant.  Maybe my vague realization of this is what moved me to such horror.  Maybe I had some idea that I would sin over and over, condemning others when nothing but Grace and Mercy had been showered upon me.  Maybe the story, like so many of Christ’s gems, was a mirror for me to take the time to gaze into.  Maybe the grown up in me knew that I had to look up and see…

I still can hardly read it without wincing, cowering and wanting to plug my ears with my fingers.  But I suppose, that’s the point.  The parable begins with Peter asking how many times they should forgive their enemies, and it ends with a warning:  we must forgive our enemies from the heart.   This is not something we can bypass in life if we’ve been rescued and restored by Christ.

Here’s the parable.   May you be blessed as you read it, dear friends!

  The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant   (Matthew 18:21-35)

²¹ Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?”

²² Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.^[a]

²³ “Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. ²⁴ As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold^[b] was brought to him. ²⁵ Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.

²⁶ “At this the servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ ²⁷ The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.

²⁸ “But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins.^[c] He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded.

²⁹ “His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.’

³⁰ “But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. ³¹ When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened.

³² “Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. ³³ Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ ³⁴ In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.

³⁵ “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”

For more info. on Beth Webb Hart’s novels go to www.bethwebbhart.com

Continue reading »]]> Happy Monday everyone!  We’re sharing some great parables this week.   Just for reference, I looked up the exact definition:  Parable — a short allegorical story designed to illustrate or teach some truth, religious principle, or moral lesson. 

While “the Prodigal Son” and “The Servants And the Talents” get a lot of press in Sunday school circles, there’s one parable we don’t hear about in sermons and Bible studies very often.  It’s one of my favorites because it speaks to me on many levels, but especially as a writer.  In the Bible, it goes like this:

The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard

“For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. 2 He agreed to pay them a denarius[a] for the day and sent them into his vineyard.3 “About nine in the morning he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. 4 He told them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’ 5 So they went.

“He went out again about noon and about three in the afternoon and did the same thing. 6 About five in the afternoon he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, ‘Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?’

7 “‘Because no one has hired us,’ they answered.

“He said to them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard.’

8 “When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.’ 9 “The workers who were hired about five in the afternoon came and each received a denarius. 10 So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius. 11 When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. 12 ‘These who were hired last worked only one hour,’ they said, ‘and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.’

13 “But he answered one of them, ‘I am not being unfair to you, friend. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius? 14 Take your pay and go. I want to give the one who was hired last the same as I gave you. 15 Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?’

16 “So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”

Of course, at its heart, this is a parable about grace — about the fact that we can’t earn our way there, no matter the amount of our works, but on a human level, there’s another lesson here.  How does this lesson translate into the life of a writer?  Like this:

A Writer’s Version:

An author submitted his manuscript with great hope.  Then one day in January, about nine in the morning, an editor called and gave the author the most wonderful news!  The author was being offered a two-book deal with a modest advance, and the book would be released in mass market paperback.  The author was thrilled.  After many years of writing and submitting, he would finally be published. He had achieved the dream at long last!

Some months later, the author went to a writer’s conference. This year, he was thrilled to be arriving with a .jpeg of his new book cover, safely stored in his iPhone.  It was a wonderful cover, and best of all, was emblazoned with his name in big, gold letters.  Life couldn’t get any better! 

While he was waiting in line for the big conference banquet, he ran across a woman he’d met on a writers’ loop two years ago when she was just finishing her first manuscript.  He was thrilled to tell her about his upcoming novel and show her the .jpeg of the cover on his phone. 

The woman congratulated him, then reached into her briefcase and handed him an advance copy with a glossy cover.  She had sold her manuscript right after the last conference, after only two years of rewrites and submissions.  She’d also secured a successful agent, who had negotiated a nice advance and good contract terms.  Her book was coming out in the fall in trade paperback, and her publisher was sending her on a small four-city tour.

The author felt the sting of disappointment as he let his phone go dim and tucked it into his pocket.  Why hadn’t his publisher printed beautiful, glossy advance copies of his book?  Why wasn’t he being sent on tour? What was wrong with his agent?  Didn’t the agent know they should have held out for a better deal?

The questions weighed heavily as the writer entered the banquet hall and found a seat.  His companions at the table exchanged business cards and talked about their works-in-progress.  He mentioned his upcoming book, but didn’t bother getting out his phone.  After all, not having advance copies to throw around made him seem small-time.

He was relieved when the Master of Ceremonies took the podium to introduce the keynote speaker, and the table talk tapered off.  He tried to focus on the MC and enjoy the dessert the waiters had just served up, but it’s hard to enjoy anything when your publishing deal is so much lousier than someone else’s. 

Finally, it was too painful to think about it anymore, so he tuned in as the keynote speaker came to the mic.  The speaker looked young.  Very young, and nervous.

“I never really thought about writing a book,” the kid admitted, “But I had a dream one night, and when I woke up, I remembered all of it, so I sat down and wrote it straight through in three-and-a-half weeks. 

“I never thought I’d show it to anybody, but my mom’s housekeeper read it, and that day she was cleaning for a literary agent next, so she offered to take my book along.  The agent was at home sick, so she read my manuscript.  She called me the next day and said she’d been up all night with my book.  She’d already talked to five publishers that morning, and she thought we could get mid-six figures at least, for just the book rights.  So, while the auction for the book rights was going on, a film producer called the publishing house and asked if they had anything with dogs or weddings in it, and my book is about dog weddings, so then we sold the movie rights…“

The writer pushed away from the table, tossed off his napkin, and headed for the door. Staying in the room any longer was pointless.  When life is so ridiculously unfair, it’s impossible to enjoy anything.

Even your own slice of chocolate cake.

– Lisa

Blue Moon Bay one of BOOKLIST’S 10 Must Reads Of 2012!

Firefly Island on shelves now!

  Click for peek at The Prayer Box

 Click for sneak peek at Firefly Island 

Digital graphics by Teresa Loman

Click here to Bling Up Your Blog with her digital scrap kits!

Continue reading »]]> Greetings to the SBV community and Happy Friday! I hope you’ve enjoyed movie review week here on the porch. I know I tucked away several new recommendations— to watch for when they come out on DVD! It’s true. My man and I seldom make it the movies which means we’re usually talking about the movie the rest of the world saw last year, if not the year before.   If we do go to see a current movie, chances are it’s a sports theme that has pulled us in. (We’re that family, the ones who can pop popcorn and watch Hoosiers over and over like we do not know who is going to win in the end. )

Lately, however, something has been happening at All Things Southern that is changing the movie landscape at our house. I’ve been interviewing authors on my talk show, ATS LIVE, for a long time now.  Every day I hear from publicists interested in securing an interview for one of their clients. I love it, too. The only downside is scheduling. The requests far outpace the radio time!  This new development is adding to the lovely chaos.

In the past six months or so, ATS LIVE has made it onto a list somewhere out there in publicity land as a movie reviewer. DVD’s are now being delivered to my door by my sweet Ups man with almost as much regularity as books! I’m not complaining, mind you. I just need to wisdom to make this all work.  I’ve interviewed some really cool people lately, but I’ll choose one to tell you about today.

One of my recent guests was Shervin Youssefian, the Writer and Director of Crossroad, an emotional and inspiring story of redemption, forgiveness and the ultimate realization of God’s grace at work in every life. I can’t begin to tell you how much my man and I enjoyed this movie, winner of 5 Dove Awards!  Here’s a link to watch the trailer:

 I’m not sure it’s still showing on the big screen, but you can find it on DVD.  ~wink~

Hugs,
Shellie

Shellie Rushing Tomlinson is an author, speaker, radio host and most unlikeliest of movie reviewers. You’re invited to follow her home to http://www.belleofallthingssouthern.com and join her ongoing southern celebration of faith, friends, and family!

Continue reading »]]> With the opening of the latest version of The Great Gatsby, I decided to watch the 1974 version of the film.

One, it starred Robert Redford. Hubba. Two, it was free. Hubba-hubba.

It was a Sunday afternoon and I’m usually pretty tired after a busy church morning, so I dozed off during the film.

But when I woke up, the plot hadn’t advanced much.

Frankly, the ’74 version of The Great Gatsby was slow, a bit boring and lacking any real emotion.

Other adaptations are:

The Great Gatsby (1926), a silent film, directed by Herbert Brenon and starring Warner Baxter as Gatsby, Lois Wilson as Daisy, and William Powell. This film is considered “lost.” (Isn’t that sad?)

The Great Gatsby (1949), directed by Elliott Nugent and starring Alan Ladd as Gatsby, Betty Field as Daisy, Shelley Winters, Macdonald Carey, Barry Sullivan, and Howard Da Silva.

Wonder if this version is on Netflix. Maybe YouTube?

And, a 2000 version starring Toby Stephens, Mira Sorvino, Paul Rudd and Martin Donovan.

But now the 2013 version is out.

The trailer looks vibrant and wild, almost over-the-top with color and characters.

But isn’t that what the Roaring Twenties were all about? Over-the-top?

DiCaprio plays rich, eccentric playboys well.

Toby Maguire seems to be the perfect Nick Calloway.

The costumes look extraordinary if not a bit modern.

Will I see the movie? Yikes, I don’t know.

It’s just interesting to me that F. Scott Fitzgerald’s thin little book has so profoundly impacted literature and now film.

Is the book that wonderful? Are the underlying social comments so intriguing? Are there no other stories to tell?

Why this book, again? Five movies on The Great Gatsby! Wow!

Some times I think it’s easier to retell a story because the foundation has been laid.

Previous films worked out the plot, the screenplay, the filming.

A new writer and director can build off of that to create a higher, broader, bigger view of the “same ole story.”

The story is not new to us. But the filming and staging is new.

Besides, it’s fun to visit the ’20s again.

Why go see The Great Gatsby in 2013? To see how far they take the ’20s decadence? To see the costumes? To hear the music?

To watch DiCaprio and Maguire? To see how Carey Mulligan plays Daisy Buchanan?

Often, if we know the story line going in, we can focus more on the characters and events of the story themselves.

But in the end, I’m pretty sure Gatsby will die. Daisy will be ruined and Nick will wander off, pondering life.

What about you? Will you see The Great Gatsby? If so, why?

***

Rachel Hauck is a storyteller. She is on deadline. “Better get to work, girl.”

Her latest, Once Upon A Prince, is “brilliant,” according to Rel, of Relz Reviewz.

Vist her at www.rachelhauck.com

Continue reading »]]> There were so many fantastic movies this year – Argo, Zero Dark Thirty and Brave, to name a few.  My two favorites were Les Miserables and Lincoln.    Les Miserables because this timeless story is about all that matters most – a life transformed by Grace.  Also, what I love about this story (and what was so beautifully rendered in the recent film) is how the church functions as a refuge for the fugitive, the outcast, and the desperate.  So often the church – in novels and films – plays the evil character.  It’s usually the place where darkness lurks in the form of a twisted pastor, a ruthless deacon or a wicked, gossipy, Bible-wielding group of pink lipsticked old ladies.  In Les Mis, the church is the very place Jean Valjean finds a way to escape the ever dogmatic Jalvert who sees only one way to live: by the letter of the law.  Profound theology is packed into the story and the film;  I chewed on it for months… and will – hopefully – continue to.

I loved Lincoln because of what I learned about Lincoln’s personality, home and inner life.  Lincoln was an avid storyteller.  He worked his way through many of his own problems by spinning yarns, and he persuaded many a politician to see life from his perspective through this seemingly disarming habit.   What vital history he made by getting the 13^th amendment passed.   He would not give up.  You can’t help but love and deeply appreciate the man after seeing the film.   Daniel Day-Lewis became Lincoln, an Oscar well-deserved.

What was your favorite movie this year? And why?

For more info. on Beth Webb Hart’s novels go to www.bethwebbhart.com

Continue reading »]]> Happy Monday, Everyone!  What a crazy, wild, emotional week around here!  One boy graduated from college (a parental highpoint, to be sure) and the other found himself defeated in the baseball playoffs with his high school team (sad moment with big-boy lips dragging).  For the seniors on the team it’s the last game.  The end.  The finish.  The last time these guys will take the field together.

For some, the last time they’ll take the field at all.  Which leaves me thinking… what lessons have these boys learned from all the hours, and hours, and hours spent on the baseball field?  They’ve seen wins and losses, bad calls, lucky breaks, ugly parent behavior, good coaches, lousy coaches, hot streaks, slumps, golden days, and days when errors abound.

As luck would have it (while I wasn’t attending the final playoff game in the 2 out of 3 series Saturday night, because it didn’t happen) I went to see the movie 42 (the story of Jackie Robinson’s first season in major league baseball) at our little neighborhood theater.  I highly recommend it, if you haven’t seen it yet.  Take your older kids and your parents or grandparents (I will warn you that there’s one scene in which the manager of another team hurls racial insults at Jackie, so be prepared if you’re thinking of taking younger kids).  If you’re old enough to have kids, there’s a good chance that your parents or grandparents remember when Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in the major leagues by being the first black player to take the field.

Take the time to have a family talk about the movie, see what your relatives remember, compare the take-away lessons gleaned by those who lived through it and those (like me) who can hardly even imagine a world with signs hanging over restroom doors “Whites Only” or “Coloreds.”  If you’re looking for a good memoir of ordinary life back in the day, check out Once Upon A Time When We Were Colored.  Click here to learn more.

If you do go to watch the movie as a family, here are a few “family movie night” discussion questions that might help bring the lessons of 42 home.

Family Movie Night Discussion Questions for 42 The Movie

1.  Why do you think Branch Rickey doesn’t admit his real reasons for bringing Jackie Robinson onto the team until later in the season? Why does Branch initially tell everyone it’s all about bringing in more money from black fans and winning more ball games?  Do you think he believes this is his reason for breaking the color barrier in the major leagues?

2. Branch tells Jackie he’s looking for a player with the courage not to fight back if he is persecuted, insulted, abused, and hated by players, officials, and fans.  How can having a “thick skin” be an advantage in life?  How might things have turned out differently if Jackie had given in and lost his temper on the field?

3.  Victory is often about adapting to change.  How do the various players of the Brooklyn Dodgers and other members of the league adapt differently to addition of Jackie to the team?  What happens to those who don’t adapt?

4.  42 is a story of personal courage, of people with the guts to stand up against a situation that is both wrong and accepted by the masses.  Do situations like this exist today?  Do we all face these situations, even if on a smaller stage, in our own lives?  Have you ever experienced one?  What did you do?  Was there something you’d do differently, if, like Branch Rickey, you had the chance to go back and right an old wrong?

5.  Both Jackie and Branch are gifted people — Jackie with talent, and Branch with money and influence.  They choose to employ those gifts to change the world, even when they could have followed an easier path.  What gifts do you have that could be used to change your school, your community, or the world?

6.  Actions speak slowly, but loudly.  What do your actions say?  Have you ever been disappointed with your own actions in a difficult situation?

7.  Jackie’s first season begins to inspire change in young people who watch him play.  How can we inspire the people around us?

8.  Are Jackie’s teammates, who at first do nothing when Jackie is ridiculed on the field, as guilty as the people who yell racial slurs?  When we pretend not to see bad behavior or injustice are we, in effect, saying it’s okay?  Do people assume that doing nothing means “I agree?”

9.  Was it hard for you to watch the scene in which the Phillies manager, Ben Chapman, yells racial slurs at Jackie Robinson on the field?  How did you feel when Jackie’s teammate came out of the dugout to stand up against the Phillies manager’s racism?  How can being “Under fire” sometimes propel us to heroism we didn’t know we were capable of?

10.  Do you think Jackie would have made it through the season if he hadn’t had the support of his wife, Branch Rickey, and eventually teammates like Pee Wee Reese?  How can finding the right people to support us increase our ability to stand up for what we believe in?

11.  After showing support for Jackie on the field, Pee Wee Reese receives a threatening letter, but when he takes the letter to Branch Rickey’s office, he soon learns that Jackie has received hundreds of mail threats.  Can we ever really understand what another person may be enduring without walking in those shoes?  How did you feel when Reese stood beside Jackie on the field as a demonstration of support? Why did he choose to do this?  (incidentally, in an interview, Reese once said this:  “Something in my gut reacted at the moment. Something about what? The unfairness of it? The injustice of it? I don’t know.”)

12.  What’s the biggest lesson you took away from the movie?  Which individual did you find the most heroic?  Which individual did you most closely identify with?

What about you?  Has a movie ever brought valuable lessons into your life?  How can stories teach us and affect our ways of thinking? Leave a comment and share your recommendations with us!

Blue Moon Bay one of BOOKLIST’S 10 Must Reads Of 2012!

Firefly Island on shelves now!

  Click for peek at The Prayer Box

 Click for sneak peek at Firefly Island 

Digital graphics by Teresa Loman

Click here to Bling Up Your Blog with her digital scrap kits!

Continue reading »]]> Spoiler alert– today’s post contains absolutely zero relevant material….

In an effort, I suppose, to stay true to my life’s overall theme, my knees are weird.

FYI, my knees have ALWAYS hurt. When I was a teenager running bleachers during basketball conditioning I thought it was normal– that everyone’s knees were aching.

A trip to the ortho in my 30′s when I was playing tons of team tennis and my knees were killing me revealed that no, not so much. I’m just consistently weird.

After x-raying my knees and studying the film, the doc seemed to find it genuinely amazing that I could even walk. He pointed out the uniquely non-simpatico parts of my oddly shaped joint and asked incredulously, “Are you in pain?!”

I considered directing his attention to the appropriate blank on the form I had completed while vacationing that morning in his luxurious waiting room (not) with his up to date magazines. (We landed on the moon! Who knew?!)

Instead, because I have noticed that not everyone on the planet gets my equally weird humor, I explained that I thought it was normal. That would be when he joined an increasingly large choir and their same tired old refrain to let me know I was not– normal, that is, which brings me to the point of this post that I’m tap tap tapping out in my IPhone while I’m walking because, well, I don’t know. Don’t distract me.

Hear ye, hear ye: Having reached the delicious age of fifty I may be actually showing signs of maturity. Stop, that! I have evidence!

I’m through acting like my knees don’t hurt. I asked God for new ones and the answer seems to be, “I’d rather you appreciate the ones you have.” So, drum roll,  I’m now doing way less jogging and way more walking. Granted, I COULD still jog all the time because I have discovered that my interesting knees DO NOT HURT ONE LITTLE BIT when I jog backwards. (What? The experiment just occurred to me one day.)

That said, my darling husband does have to live in this town and the poor fellow can only be expected to endure so much ribbing about me. “Phil, I saw Shellie jogging this morning. Backwards.”

What’s more, Dixie Belle acts like she doesn’t know me when I do it. So, I am raising the flag on this one. No more backwards jogging.

Unless I drive out to the turn roads on the farm.

And we have now made it back to the dock. Here’s a pic of my loyal friend now. I can’t imagine why she won’t look at the camera…

Hugs, Shellie

Continue reading »]]>
Hi y’all, I’m Stephanie McAfee and I’m tickled pink to be a guest on the porch today.

Big thanks to Rachel for the invitation! (Thanks for being here!)

So I’ve heard the talk around here is all about food, fun, fiction, and faith -which is great because when you grow up in the sticks like I did, those elements run through your life like the stitching in a hand sewn quilt.

Food came from Mamaw’s garden, fun was making mud pies and chasing fire flies, and good fiction was what you came up with when your mama showed up with a switch. And faith, well, our faith in God covered us all like a warm, fuzzy blanket on a cold winter night.

As a child, one of the first words I learned was heathen (pronounced HEETH-urn) which referred to people who didn’t show up at church on Sundays.

In elementary school, we started each day with a prayer and the pledge of allegiance. When I was in high school, being late for church on Sunday morning meant I was automatically grounded for the next six and a half days so I could spend some “quality time” thinking about my priorities.

As an adult, I’ve traveled a lot and moved around quite a bit, and one thing that I’ve discovered along the way is that my childhood was filled with a somewhat unique brand of faith.

Growing up in Dry Creek, Mississippi, we had faith in everything! Especially our neighbors.

If anyone bothered to lock their doors at all, you could bet there was a key outside and it was probably under a flower pot on the window ledge closest to the door.

You waved at everyone who drove down the road and they always waved back.

The folks you knew real well would honk when they saw you outside and might even stop and visit for a minute. Walking barefoot in the grass.

Mind the bees! Drinking from the garden hose. Mind the bugs! Riding in the back of a truck to the lake. Mind the tire tubes! Life was simple, slow, and safe in its own special way.

It was a different time and a different age, but one thing that hasn’t changed about that community (which includes anyone who has ever lived there for any amount of time or just spent the night with someone who did) is how much they pray.

And just a few weeks ago, Dry Creek had a major victory. I’m talking about King-sized answered prayers.

And those prayers were for my Aunt Brenda.

In February, Aunt Brenda -who is tough as nails, by the way- went to the doctor because she was having severe pain in her abdominal area and had become very sick.

The doctor put her in the hospital in Tupelo and the testing started soon thereafter.

What they eventually found was a large tumor in her kidney that had spread into her aorta and grown up to her heart, plus another blot clot type tumor in her inferior vena cava that was almost completely blocking that side of her heart.

The doctors in Tupelo told the family they could not perform the kind of surgery that Brenda needed.

At first, there was talk of a group of doctors in North Carolina so my aunt Judy and Uncle Ken (the family preacher) immediately started planning a trip out there.

Then a suggestion was made about a team of doctors in Jackson, Mississippi. That didn’t work out either, but Aunt Judy didn’t stop packing.

After a few more days, we got the good news that a team of three doctors in Memphis, Tennessee, would attempt the surgery at the Methodist Hospital.

When Brenda arrived there, she was told that her condition required two separate procedures which would be performed during one operation. Complicated and risky? You bet.

On the day of surgery, the waiting area was full of her family: Four kids, two daughters-in-law, a passel of grandkids, four brothers, two sisters, and literally a truck load of in-laws.

When the doctors spoke to the adults, they were blunt. Brenda’s chances of survival were not high.

They said she might not make it off the table. It was a somber moment in a group that’s normally laughing, joking, and carrying on like crazy people (which most of us actually are).

And so everyone started praying: Family, friends, church, and community. No telling how many prayer lists she was on.

After more than six hours of surgery that involved stopping her heart and dramatically lowering her body temperature, Brenda Pannell woke up.

And the good news spread like wild fire. I imagine the prayer lines to heaven were flooded with thanks that day because we were one big grateful bunch!

Aunt Brenda’s recovery has been both swift and amazing.

To us, she stands apart as a miracle. Her life even more of a gift. Her family and community, richly blessed. She’s back at Concord now, the little Baptist church just up the road from her home at Dry Creek.

This past Sunday, she sang a special during the morning service just like she’d promised God that she would if she survived.

I like to think the same angels who were watching over her throughout the surgery were singing right along with her.

And next month, Aunt Brenda is finally taking that trip to Ireland that her globe-trotting brother, my uncle Michael, has been planning for quite some time now.

Can I get an Amen!

As for me, well, no matter how far I wander from my childhood home, I know that same blanket of faith is and will always be there. And for that (and countless other things) I am forever grateful.
stephanie-mcafee.com/

Meet Stephanie!

About me…

I was born and raised in Mississippi, graduated from Booneville High School and attended Northeast Mississippi Community College (where I changed my major about sixty times during the two years I was there).

I also attended Mississippi State University and eventually granduated from Ole Miss with a B.A. in English.

After that came a Master’s from the University of Alabama. So if nothing else, perhaps that explains my deep-seeded love for all things SEC, especially football.

***

Rachel here: Okay Belles, let’s give Steph a big shout out and AMEN!

Thanks for being here, girl!!