Magical Memoir Moments
Frugality: Lessons Remembered from My Mennonite Upbringing
Can you guess why I took this picture? No, I didn’t go on a butter binge. Nor am I experimenting with French cooking. These are wrappers saved over the last year. Every time I look at a butter wrapper, I smile, remembering a statement one of Stuart’s Old Order Mennonite aunts made years ago when…
On the Way to the Finish Line: Stopping to Hug an Author
Since I’ve never published a book before, I find every phase of the process fascinating. The first thing I’ve learned that it’s harder work than I ever could have imagined. And it takes a whole village to produce one book. I turned my last draft in on April 1. Since then, I’ve worked with two…
The Plain Girl Within: One of Many Surprises in Writing My Memoir
At first I thought that my memoir would be about difference — how I felt like an outsider much of the time in my growing up years. When I started going to school, I became aware that I was “plain.” Sometimes I felt inferior to the majority of the students who were “fancy.” I…
Returning Thanks: An Annoying Duty to a Child, A Profound Memory for the Adult
My father’s father, David Paul Hershey, figures large in my memory of growing up. That’s primarily because the relationship between him and my father was complicated. Daddy bought the family farm (called The Home Place in my memoir Blush). Enough said. For now. But despite the differences of opinion between the two patriarchs who ruled…
The Author Responds to Critique: Thrill of the Chaste Part III
I’ve admired Valerie Weaver-Zercher’s insights and frisky, learned (not a combo you meet every day) writing style ever since I first read her work in magazines. Over the years, I found her reviews in Christian Century, her articles about practical spirituality in Sojourners (you can purchase at Amazon through the link) and her op-eds in…
Sabbath: A Challenge to Truly Take a Break
Every Sabbath is a New Beginning. But we don’t always take the gift it offers. Today can be different. My New Beginning today is to do no blogging. In fact, I am not going to check email, Facebook, or my blog all day. I’ve written this post in advance so that I could try a…
Wholeheartedness: The Way to Make a New Beginning
Yesterday we talked about Brene Brown’s TED talk on vulnerability. Her word for the people who have embraced vulnerability with courage, is “wholeheartedness.” I hope your New Beginnings give you greater, and more whole, heart. If you need a little extra heart today, just take a look at my grandson Owen on this picture. He’s…
The Power of Vulnerability: Admitting My Ambition and Fear of Pride
One of the themes I heard from the pulpit during my Mennonite childhood was called “nonresistance.” We read texts like these: “My strength is made perfect in weakness.” II Corinthians 12:9 “Perfect love casts out fear.” I John 4:18 Keep these texts in mind as you watch (or possibly watch again) Brene Brown in her…
Beginner’s Mind: How New Beginnings Lead to Growth Through Grace
The birth of a baby reminds us of how fragile and malleable the human mind and spirit are. We can only stand in awe as a baby opens her eyes and eventually finds her fingers and toes. Soon she is smiling and reaching for toys. This same transformation takes place thousands if not millions…
Bowled Over by New Beginnings: Day Two of the Journey toward Launch
Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert. Isaiah 43:19 King James Version (KJV) Confession: yesterday when I set out the 100 Day Challenge, I wasn’t sure what would happen. I knew…