Category: Musings

“…and the soul felt its worth.”

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“…and the soul felt its worth.”

You may recognize that snippet from the Christmas carol “O Holy Night”.

It is also Anna’s special prayer for a particular someone in Kissing Father Christmas – A Novel. 

What is the worth of a soul? How does it “feel its worth”? 

Here’s more of the song:

O holy night the stars are brightly shining
It is the night of our dear Savior’s birth
Long lay the world in sin and error pining
Till He appeared and the soul felt its worth
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices
For yonder breaks a new glorious morn
Fall on your knees
O hear the angels’ voices
O night divine
O night when Christ was born…

Another way to look at it is like this:

But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law,  to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.  And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.  ~Galatians 4:4-7 (ESV)

A week from tonight is Christmas Eve. Looking ahead to that night, my prayer for you is similar to Anna’s. May your soul “feel its worth” this Christmas. And may we thank the true Father Christmas (God) Who shows us the worth of our souls with the Greatest Gift, His Son Jesus. 

If you’re looking for a good book either for a Christmas gift or for your own enjoyment, check out Kissing Father Christmas by Robin Jones Gunn. It’s a heartwarming tale set in England complete with Big Ben, a secret revealed and, of course, a jolly ending!  

 

Forgotten

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Have you ever revisited a story you read as a child and found parts you didn’t remember?

One example might be Felicity Learns a Lesson: A School Story by Valerie Tripp. Within the pages of this short chapter book, the reader finds reminders that even if the land in which we live is ruled by an earthly king we also live in God’s kingdom.

This truth is easy to forget – just like it may be easy to forget the five-pointed star hidden within an apple (a little wonder used to illustrate a point for Felicity). But sometimes these forgotten things can have huge impacts on our lives.

This week much of the world is thinking of Halloween or its variations like Día de los muertos. However, October 31 marks the 500th anniversary of an event that has had a profound impact on human history. 

That event was the start of the Protestant Reformation. 

It certainly hasn’t been a perfect movement. No movements made up of imperfect people will get it all right. But at its core, it gave light to a few powerful thoughts:

  • No one can be saved from the penalty of sin (death) by their works…and definitely not by the indulgences that some were trying to sell at the time! (Romans 6:23, Ephesians 2:8-9)
  • We are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ who paid the penalty for us through His death on the cross and Who conquered death in His resurrection.
  • The Bible should be available to the people to read for themselves.
  • “For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,” (I Timothy 2:5, ESV).

These truths – like the points of the star hidden within an apple – are easy to forget. But what impact would they have on our lives if we remembered them?

  • What if we lived remembering that we can’t earn our salvation?
  • What if we lived remembering that the price has been paid for us – that eternal life is a gift to us – and lived in the reality of this grace? This saving grace is free to us, and yet it changes everything of who we are, doesn’t it?
  • What if we lived remembering that the Bible is the Word of God and read it for ourselves often?
  • What if we lived remembering that Jesus is our advocate and that we have direct access to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords?

Day of Encouragement – 4 Ways to Encourage Others

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With all the recent happenings in our world, we could all use a Day of Encouragement. Here are 4 things we can do to spread a little encouragement today. 

  1. Say “Thank you”. Maybe you still know the teacher who made all the difference for you in high school. Perhaps a friend of yours has really been there for you. Was there a doctor who gave you or your loved one from-the-heart, skillful care? What about the author who’s been writing that series you love? Even if the act was done years ago, take a moment to write, call or in some way express your thanks.
  2. Ask a simple question to show interest in others. Let’s face it, we all like to be valued as people. Waitresses, retail staff and others often ask “How are you?” but may not be asked the same question back. A little courtesy can go a long way in brightening someone’s otherwise dull day.  
  3. Send a text or write a snail-mail letter just to put an little extra sunshine in someone’s day. Let the recipient know you are thinking of them and share something particular you appreciate about them. Perhaps you can let them know you are praying for them and share an encouraging Scripture as well. 
  4. Commend someone on a job well done. Do you see someone living well? Life isn’t easy – we all know what it’s like to have bad days. But let’s make sure we notice when people are doing well, too. That Mom in the grocery store with a toddler and a baby who is juggling her life (fairly) gracefully? She could probably use a compliment as much as anyone. And the nine-year-old who’s putting effort into learning good habits and multiplication tables? Definitely. 

And, in the spirit of the day, thank you to all of you who follow and read A Storyful Life. Thank you for sharing your thoughts and comments over these couple of years. Thank you for “liking” and sharing posts on Facebook. Know that you are being prayed for today. In the words of Ephesians 3:14-19 (ESV):

“For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named,  that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.”

 

 

Grandparents Day

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Grandparents Day is September 10th! Here are some ideas of how to celebrate and make it a “storyful” day. (Think of the acronym T.E.L.L.) 

  1. Take time to be together. This may look like reading a picture book together or it may look like talking over cups of coffee or chatting over the phone. A truth is time is one gift none of us can ever get back or get more of and so when we share it with someone, we are, in a sense, sharing one of our most valuable treasures.
  2. Enjoy something yummy together. What’s your favorite treat? Chocolate chip cookies? Ice cream? Whatever it is, enjoy it together. The smells and tastes of our favorite foods are often connected to sweet memories that make for great stories. 
  3. Look back at the past together. Grandparents are a living connection to history, a real gift to grandchildren. Why not look back over family photo albums, visit a local historical site, or watch a history-focused show together? However you do it, ask questions, share stories and listen. Sometimes grandparents are shy of talking about the past. We obviously don’t need to know or share everything and can let some topics stay silent. But an encouragement for grandparents is that their stories may be just what a grandchild needs to be inspired and connected. Many of us these days need new connections, not only to people but also to hope. And stories from previous generations about overcoming struggles, seeing how life’s pieces came together and learning lessons may be the best way to give those connections. 
  4. Laugh together. It’s been said that “A cheerful heart is good medicine” (Proverbs 17:22, NIV), so in your “storyful” day silly stories and jokes are welcome! 

May you have a blessed and “storyful” day!

P.S. What if you don’t have grandparents with whom to celebrate? Well, like Andrew in My Own Grandpa by Leone Castell Anderson you may find an older person who needs a “grandchild”, too.

For a few recommended children’s books about life with the elderly, see this post. 

Photo credit: Adobe Stock. 

Of Solar Eclipses, A Story Weaver and Sunlight

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On August 21, 2017, much of the world focused on the total solar eclipse. Then Hurricane Harvey happened and the eclipse was, well, eclipsed. 

I’d like to take us back to the eclipse for at least a moment. 

Did you experience the darkness of totality? Or did you see it on TV? 

It begs the question, what would life be like without the light of the sun? 

Of course, this is a reality blind people experience, in a sense, every day. However, while they don’t see the sun’s light they still feel it.

One of the greatest story weavers of the 20th century, if not of modern times as a whole, was C.S. Lewis. This quote from him is rather enlightening on the topic of the sun,

“I believe in Christianity as I believe the sun has risen, not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.”[1}

Something to think about when we get up in the morning and see the sun shining. And perhaps it’s on purpose that the sun rises every twenty-four hours. After all, events seem to get eclipsed in our minds rather quickly, don’t they? 

[1} C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory and Other Addresses (New York: Macmillan, 1980), pg. 92; quoted in W. Gary Phillips, William E. Brown and John Stonestreet, Making Sense of Your World: A Biblical Worldview, 2nd ed. (Salem, Wis.: Sheffield, 2008), pg. 114. 

Photo credit: Adobe Stock

A Chance for Change

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“Every day of her life and the years she had yet to live people would be changed because of her story. Her life story.” ~Karen Kingsbury, Remember Tuesday Morning

Are stories just for entertainment, not changing anything about how readers live? If the true answer were “Yes”, most writers would lay down their pens and let dust settle on their keyboards. 

Why?

Writers scribble to bring joy, give direction, shed light, build or tear down barriers, cause tears, heal hearts and change cultures. Just ask Dickens, Louisa May Alcott, Steinbeck, C.S. Lewis and Karen Kingsbury if you get the chance. 

Isn’t it remarkable that each real-world life is its own story – a subplot of the grand Tale of Time? And each real-world life is written for change just like the make-believe lives. 

Each life brings a chance for change but not just for itself. It’s a chance to bring change to someone else. Of course, those changes may be harmful or helpful. As we step into this chapter called 2017, let’s ask ourselves, what changes will our life stories bring this year as they intersect with others’ stories?

A kind word well timed?

An offer of grace?

A sacrifice of love?

A safe, warm place?

May we look to the Author and Finisher of our faith – Jesus – and take our cues from Him, asking Him to make the changes in us that need to happen so He can use us to bring good changes to the other stories He is telling this year.

A Bookshelf Full of Thanksgiving

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Amy stood in Scrooby, England, in the very chapel where 400 years ago many of the men, women and children who sailed on the Mayflower met to worship God. She saw Scrooby Manor where they planned their journey to Holland. She understood that the little band knew the venture risked both their lives and their fortunes and  yet would allow them to keep their sacred honor.

From childhood, stories of the Pilgrims flitted through Amy’s imagination. She dreamt of what it would be like to talk with William Bradford or Squanto. She admired their courage, she learned from their sacrifice, and she wanted their faith. 

Then here she stood where their feet once trod, sat in the pew where (supposedly) William Bradford once sat, and sang a Psalm that the Scrooby congregation may have sung all those years ago. 

Her Plymouth day was over all too soon. 

How did these people whose lives are so distant from Amy’s become real to her? Through stories, of course. Historical fiction, radio drama and even video may play a role in giving personality to names like Bradford, Brewster and Squanto. 

Here are several of my favorite stories. Many of them are for younger readers (not that older readers aren’t allowed to enjoy them!), but there in one tome on the list sure to satisfy the most sophisticated bookworm.

Problems in Plymouth (AIO Imagination Station Books) by Marianne Hering and Marshal Younger: Fueled by a mystery, this chapter book may be just the thing to get a young reader interested in these people called Pilgrims. 

The Mayflower Adventure (The American Adventure Series #1) by Colleen L. Reese: This was perhaps the first historical fiction book I read about the Pilgrims’ journey to America. You can time-travel all the way through WWII if you read the entire series.

“Stepping Stones – Parts I&II” by Paul McCusker: A pull-you-into-the-story audio drama for children that shares the story behind the Pilgrims coming to America and what it took for them to get here – a story many schoolchildren may miss out on today.

The Legend of Squanto (Radio Theatre) by Paul McCusker: Take a different look at the story of the First Thanksgiving as you step into the life of Tesquantum (or Squanto) narrated by Massasoit. If heroes are measured by how they respond to challenges, Squanto could be among the greatest.

Of Plymouth Plantation by William Bradford: I haven’t actually read all three-hundred-plus pages of this book, but I’ve read some and am rather fond of it because Grandma liked it. I believe she actually said it was “fascinating”. Beyond that, as any student of history knows, primary sources are the best if you want to get the real picture.

I hope you enjoy these stories and that you have a richly blessed Thanksgiving full of sweet times with those you love. However, as a recent conversation reminded me, sometimes we get so caught up in the “doing” of holidays, we can forget the point. For this holiday, the main thing is Thanksgiving.

Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever! – Psalm 118:1 (ESV)

 

Of Plums, Poland and Possessions

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“Lord,” Papa said loud enough for the angels, “we do not understand what you did to your plums, but that is your business. For the food before us and your blessings, we thank you.”
…And Papa, who had just lost at least half of his income overnight, had never looked more like jolly old Saint Nicholas.[1]

I recently read Eva Underground by Dandi Daley MacKall. While I wouldn’t put it on my most-recommended list, I learned a lot from it about life in 1970s Communist Poland.

Eva, an American teenager, moves to Poland with her father. While he teaches with an underground education movement, she witnesses the suppression of free speech, the fear of government displeasure, the limited food supply, the isolation from the world, the cost of seeking freedom…

Amidst all that, Eva meets Papa Muchowieckis who is thankful and trusts the Lord even when he has so little and half his plum crop is destroyed by an ice storm.

A book like this can really make you look around and realize how much you have, wonder if you need half the things you own, recognize more blessings for which to be thankful than you may have ever seen, and reflect on who really owns what you have.

“Lord,” Papa said loud enough for the angels, “we do not understand what you did to your plums, but that is your business.”

Your plums? Your business? Don’t we often think of the things we work for as ours, as belonging to us? The question, of course, is do they really belong to us? If we read the Bible, we will come to the conclusion that all we “own” ultimately comes from and belongs to God. Along with this, the success of our endeavors – whether our college studies or our plum crop – ultimately comes from God as well. It really is His business. if it’s not, then maybe God isn’t the omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent God we claim Him to be.

Agreeing with Papa Muchowieckis that it is God’s business brings both peace and a sense of joy that Papa portrays. However, this peace and joy demand great faith. Do any of us have this faith? Maybe this is the kind of faith that grows from a life pruned by hardships and persecution.

[1] Dandi Daley MacKall, Eva Underground (Harcourt Books: Chicago, IL, 2006) pg. 148-149.

Changing Seasons

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“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven…” – Ecclesiastes 3:1 (ESV)

If you’ve ever lived in a part of the world where there aren’t four seasons, you may have a different appreciation for the change of seasons than those who have walked through life with spring, summer, autumn and winter as perennial companions. Some parts of the world have two seasons – the muddy season and the dusty season. While these places have their own unique (and appreciated) beauties, some people may miss the gentle falling snow that melts into flower beds that are warmed by summer sun and covered by crunchy, color-coated leaves.

The seasons not only add beauty and variety to our lives but also remind us that life has seasons.

Sometimes we step into a new life season smiling. Other times we drag our feet and hold onto the vestiges of yesterday like an oak tree keeping its leaves while all the other trees let theirs fly.

I’m doing a little of both right now. However, the truth remains:

There is a season for posting to one’s blog routinely, and there is a season for rearranging goals to make room for new things.

I think I need to transition into that rearranging season, so I may be posting a couple of times a month in this new season instead of every week. It’s not that I lost my love for sharing ideas or have run out of ideas. I especially still love getting good notes from readers. Beyond that, the thought of missing a week after (I think) 83 consecutive weeks is rather deflating. But life is fuller with other things these days. I hope you’ll still keep up with “A Storyful Life” in this new season. Who knows? Maybe I’ll surprise myself and get a post up most weeks anyway. 🙂

Labor of Love

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A year ago, I met one of my favorite authors. The evening involved driving in rain so torrential I prayed a good part of the way home. However, it also involved showers of blessings.

Me and one of my favorite authors, Robin Jones Gunn

Me and one of my favorite authors,                       Robin Jones Gunn

For a story-loving heart, what could be better than stories of how God is using stories to change lives and – we hope and pray – those lives to change communities and those communities to change nations? The evening also included shared time with a special friend, international yummies, and, yes, oh, yes, a sweet little conversation with that favorite author of mine.

Now today I’m preparing a little note to post in the mail to that author. When it reaches her after a journey of thousands of miles, I hope she gets a smile on her face and a little glimmer of a reward for her labor of love.

Labor of love. Something I’ve learned from my Christian writer friends is that what they do is a labor of love. Love for words. Love for their characters. And even more, love for Christ and His truth and love for the millions of readers out there who need a little love. 

These loves fuel these writers through the sleep-short days, the pouring out of themselves on paper that may sit on an acquisitions editor’s desk for months, the reading for work not pleasure, the struggling for just the right word, the cutting out of the beloved scenes that don’t serve the story, the researching for accuracy, the aching of rejection, the perusing of contracts, the downsides of success, the handling of budgets. 

Yes, all of this – all of this for love. 

In a glass-dimly way this may reflect for us the love that God showed His children by sending His Son Jesus to earth and that He continues to show us each and every day.

What wondrous love is this, O my soul, O my soul!

What wondrous love is this, O my soul!

What wondrous love is this that caused the Lord of bliss

to bear the dreadful curse for my soul, for my soul,

to bear the dreadful curse for my soul?

~”What Wondrous Love Is This?” (Anonymous)

Apparently, National Author Day (US) isn’t until November 1, but considering what authors go through to craft the stories we enjoy, why not take a few minutes this weekend and send a snail-mail note, email or Facebook message to one of your favorite authors. Thank them for their work and let them know what you love about their stories. Maybe your encouragement will lead to a whole new tale…

If you would like to learn about the work of Media Associates International and how you can help train writers around the world to share God’s love and truth, visit their website.