Storyteller

"...the people who know their God will be strong and take action." Daniel 11:32(b) I could not count on all my fingers or toes how many times I have heard Kay Arthur quote this scripture. The idea of being able to actually know the God of the universe is mind-blowing when you stop to mull it over, yet His word says it is true. How can we know God? It's not all that complicated. After all, He gave us a great big book that tells His entire story. Challenging and confusing at times? Yes. Difficult to study? Not really, especially if you have the right tools. I first encountered Kay Arthur and Precept  ministries in the mid-1990s. I had attended a women's Sunday School class while visiting my sister and family in Oklahoma. That particular week, the ladies were studying Jehovah Tsidkenu (The Lord Our Righteousness) from Lord, I Want to Know You . This gave me a taste of what an in-depth Bible study could be, and I was hooked. The strategy of repeated reading of the text, ...

Like every generation before them, today's young people have created their own language. If you've had a conversation with any teenagers lately, you have likely heard them use words and phrases in altogether new ways, and sometimes requiring a Google search to translate.  In my work as a FaCS (Family and Consumer Science, formerly known as Home Economics) teacher, I write all sorts of recipes for my students to prepare in class. I have attempted to write it in today's slang. If I wanted to make it truly authentic, I would remove all capitalization and punctuation, but I simply can't bring myself to take it that far.  The following recipe will make positively scrumptious sugar cookies, the best I've ever found. They stay soft for several days and never dry out, so give them a try. Bring a teenager along if you need help translating :-)  Sigma Sugar Cookies INGREDIENTS: ½ c butter, softened ¾ c sugar 1 egg 1 ½ c flour ...

 **This was written in 2013 as a mentor text for my middle school English students. As it is one of my most popular stories to tell, I thought it would be a good way for you, Gentle Reader, to get a taste of my writing and hopefully have a chuckle as you envision these events. Be assured that my mouse phobia remains alive, powerful, and utterly ridiculous to this day.** You may or may not know that I have a completely irrational, pathological but nonetheless very real fear of mice. Read on to learn of the happenings of my past 24 hours.  Yesterday morning I came across a pile of shredded napkins in the floorboard of my car. I tried to think of any other explanation but when I also discovered some mouse poopies, that was it. Of course, this happened about 10 minutes before I needed to be at Bible study. I promptly shut the doors of the car, called my husband, and drove the truck to town...barely touching the pedals with my tiptoes, and keeping an eye out for anything scurrying....

I've been chewing on the idea of starting a blog for over a year, even writing it on my to-do list a time or two in the hopes that it would actually come to fruition, yet I have procrastinated time and time again.  The death of a dear friend has prompted me to finally put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard, in this case). She was a skilled storyteller herself, and her blog posts were a delight to read. It is with her in mind that I begin this adventure in personal expression.  I love to tell a good tale. I tend toward the humorous and self-deprecating, but now and then I hope to impart a lesson as well. I am a teacher by trade, training and spiritual gifting, so while that comes naturally to me, I also hope to entertain you along the way.  Welcome to my blog, and eternal thanks to G.O. for paving the way. I thank the Lord for your influence and example.