Category: Reading & Thriving
-
If I can’t be a good example, at least I can be a horrible warning…
“If you can learn a simple trick, Scout, you’ll get along a lot better with all kinds of folks. You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view, until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it.” Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper…
-
Once Upon a Christmas
I love fall, but I’m not a fan of snow and winter. It’s the middle of November which should be giving me pretty fall colors and cool temperatures. Yet in my last post I jumped into the Christmas season. I bypassed Thanksgiving on the blog (already doing enough of that with my Facebook posts)…
-
Need a “Little Christmas”
My mom was all about Christmas. She really did it up big. She went way overboard every year. Every year we waited for her traditional claim that she was “cutting back.” She tried hard not to say it and we conspired to make her slip up. She always did. And when the proclamation inevitably came,…
-
How Far Away is Catastrophe?
https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-45775309 THE LATEST SCIENCE REPORTS “Climate change is the canvas on which the history of the 21st century will be painted.” Mark Lynas, writing in “Six Degrees: Our Future on a Hotter Planet.” I’ve read stories about the most recent findings regarding climate change in many venues today. (I am linking here to the…
-
The Emperor Has No Clothes
I am a Christian. I say that unapologetically yet knowing that there are people who will make assumptions about me that may or may not be true. I watch the things that some who call themselves Christians do in the name of Jesus, and I cringe. A “church” shows up to protest at the funerals…
-
Ten Little Monkeys Jumping on the…
I first heard of the idea of “Monkey Mind” through a book that was recommended to me by a counselor. I had never heard a more accurate description of what so often goes on in my mind! My thoughts not only jump around like monkeys in the trees, they keep returning to the same branch…
-
Yeah So, Anyway…
Have you ever read anything and thought, “Yeah, that’s true”? Have you ever read something and thought, “Yeah, that’s true, but…”? I just had that experience reading a little book called Anyway: The Paradoxical Commandments – Finding Personal Meaning in a Crazy World by Kent M. Keith. I read the book at the recommendation of…
-
Words Aptly Spoken
A Word Aptly Spoken. It’s the title of my blog. It has been brought to mind quite a number of times in the last week as I listened to many give words aptly spoken. I only wish that their words could have the impact our country needs. I’m not going to write a long post…
-
New Hope for a New School Year
Back to school time has always been exhilarating to me. It brings the anticipation of change and renewal coming. Others may make resolutions and plans on January 1, but this girl always felt like the year begins with September stretching out in front of me. The cooler air and crisp nights that are right around…
-
Old Enough to Read Fairy Tales Again
Have you seen the Great American Read program that PBS is doing? After conducting a poll in which people were asked to name their favorite novel, PBS came up with Americans’ 100 most popular books. They limited the selections to only one novel by any given author and counted a series as one book. …
-
We Live in This World
Barbara Kingsolver wrote a book in 1988 called The Bean Trees. Thirty years ago. And it is this book that is resonating with me right now, today, all these years later. It is as relevant and pertinent today as it was when it was written. In fact it may be even more germane today as…
-
Throw Away My Shot?
I went to the theatre last night. It was a community theatre production that held a tiny house – about 80 people in total. And I was in the front row where I was afraid to stretch out my legs for fear of tripping an actor as they worked through the challenging music, lyrics, and…
-
Actions Along with Words, Please
I really like seeing all of the positive affirmations like this that have shown up over the last few days in response to some very public suicides. There is some proof that when someone rich and famous like Kate Spade or Anthony Bourdain commits suicide, often a rise in the number of suicides follows. It…
-
Before You Comment
“Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone, Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone, Silence the pianos…” Okay, so quoting from W. H. Auden’s poem “Funeral Blues” is a bit dramatic! But that’s the way I am feeling lately. I just want to scream, “SHUT UP! JUST SHUT THE HELL UP! …
-
Tweens Can Find the Joy of Summer Reading
We’re coming into summer when everywhere you look from bloggers, magazines, radio, and television to your local bookstore and school offer up the joys of summer reading through lists and displays. Most of them highlight what’s new, just out. Schools don’t tend to do that with their reading lists, but I think they should. Hear…
-
Sometimes, It’s So Good It Hurts
“We read to know we’re not alone.” I’m not sure when I first heard this quote from William Nicholson. I know it was before I knew his film Shadowlands which is where the quote originated. (I know that I first saw it attributed to C. S. Lewis – the subject of that film.) I…
-
Lessons and Memory
It’s is the week before Mother’s Day. Facebook posts about how much people are missing their mothers who have passed on started days and even weeks ago…seems kind of like the Christmas ads that start earlier and earlier each year. I get it. I miss my mom. Throughout the year I think of her. I…
-
My name is Lynne and I’m a…
“Oh no.” said Surinder, coming to the door and folding her arms over her rather ample bosom…’You’re not bringing them in here. Absolutely not.” “It’s just…I mean, they’re in perfect condition.” “It’s not that,’ said Surinder. ‘And don’t give me that look, like I’m turning away orphans.” “Well, in a way…,” said Nina, trying not…
-
You’re In My Thoughts and Prayers
My prayers are with you. I will keep you in my prayers. You are in my thoughts and prayers. There has been much written lately about these phrases. To some they are meaningless. To some they are shallow platitudes trotted out during times of heartbreak and disaster. We hear these phrases thrown out as a…
-
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH.
I know all the arguments about guns. I believe in the Bill of Rights. All of them. However, the right to own an assault weapon and the right to own a gun are not the same thing. I know all the arguments about criminals don’t pay attention to laws. We can continue to hash out…
-
I Am in Love With TED
Okay, so everyone knows how much I love books. I don’t just love fiction. I am just as interested in nonfiction – especially if it introduces me to something new. And it isn’t just books that I am hooked on. I love learning new things, hearing thought-provoking ideas, and listening to people who have creative…
-
Finding Where I Fit, Where I Should Be
click to listen The image of a person in search of self-identity, purpose, and a place in this world is common. It’s that young adult fresh out of school and facing the question of “what now?” Except I am finding that isn’t the full picture. I’m that person wondering where I fit in, what I…
-
Power of Memory
I wonder if this has ever happened to any of you. The first time it happened was a year or more after my grandma died. I was just hanging around my home doing whatever, and I grabbed the phone thinking, “I have to call Grandma. It’s been so long since I…” I broke down right…
-
Welcome, Take Your Shoes Off and Sit a Spell.
You know, I really like my house. It’s a townhouse, not big but a nice place – nice kitchen, huge master bedroom and master bath, Jacuzzi tub, fireplace, open first floor. My grandson, Chapin, told me once that if I cleaned it up some more it could be one of those houses in a…
-
And If All You Hear is a Whisper of Leaves…
There are times when you read a book that is so wonderful, so wise, so profound that you just sit, contemplate it, maybe reread some passages, smile, and ultimately find a special place on your book shelf for it knowing that you will come back to it again. Maybe you review it on Goodreads. If…
-
Seasoned to be Interesting
I have reached an age where there are lots more people younger than me than there are older than me. That’s okay. I love being around people of all ages. But not too long ago I realized that everyone I was reading about was younger. Everyone. Part of that comes becauseI love children’s books…
-
Ahhhh, Hygee
“Nina really loved wet and cold . . . days; she liked to sit with her back to the radiator, listening to the rain hurl itself against the windowpanes as if it could breach them; she liked knowing she had nothing to do that afternoon, that there was bread to toast and cream cheese…
-
Whose Little Purple Chair Will You Sit in Tonight?
A friend of mine shared this post on Facebook. I was quite inspired by it and very impressed by what she does and her wisdom. So, I asked permission to share it. IMAGINE IF YOU WILL: *Being a first grader lucky enough to have a teacher who cares about you and loves you this much. …
-
Great Expectations
C. S. Lewis once said, “We read to know that we are not alone.” Once in awhile I read something and know he was right. I started a book today, and reading the very first paragraph was one of those moments. I haven’t even read enough of the book to know what it’s really about…
-
Stories Color Our Lives, Learning, and Links to Others
Human beings love stories. We are entertained by them. We learn from them. We pass on faith, culture, history, and character through them. Story telling is as old as mankind. The earliest forms of history were oral traditions passed from one generation to the next. We see story telling in the ancient hieroglyphics as people…
A Word Aptly Spoken 