Monthly Archives: March 2018

Diving Into a Sea of Books–Praying at the Sweetwater Motel

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As an avid reader, I get excited about the great number of books out there to read, either for entertainment, education, inspiration or with some books, all three. The quantity available in print, audio, and e-books reminds me of the vast amount of life in the oceans, so I call these book reviews “Diving Into A Sea of Books”. As with diving into an ocean looking for interesting objects, diving into books means you come across mixed results: over here, a book you don’t bother to finish, over there, a “treasure”–one that you like so much you can’t wait to reread it, and over there, a book you read and think, “Meh”.

Praying at the Sweetwater Motel by April Young Fritz, a novel for pre-teens, is told from the point-of-view of twelve-year-old Sarah Jane Otis. Sarah Jane’s family breaks apart after her father physically abuses her mother and then, for the first time, hits Sarah Jane as well. Sarah Jane’s mother flees and takes Sarah Jane and her younger sister with her.

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Friday Photos–Abundance II

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“…I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” Jesus, John 10:10b (KJV)

Some years ago while I was sitting on the couch, not really thinking of anything, a picture showed up on the screen of my mind. In the picture, flowers of all kinds and colors stretched before me as far as my eye could see. I believe God gave me a picture of abundance.

I’ve thought of abundance as what I have and what I receive from other people. I guess that’s natural, particularly in the culture I live in. Lately, this occurred to me: what if it’s also about what I give–from what God gives me? What if I am walking in that abundance right now and don’t recognize it?

After all, to God, life and abundance are more than material, they are also spiritual. Think about it: If life and abundance to God meant just material things, Jesus would have been born in a palace, not a stable; He would have lived in the finest house with lots of servants, He would have come at the head of a convoy of camels loaded down with bags of money to reward all His followers, many Scripture verses would not be in the Bible, and, lastly–I suspect He would not have died on a cross nor risen again. His values would not have been any different from the world’s. But because God’s values are different, His ideas of life and abundance are different. They run deeper than just what we can see. He considers abundance the way He sees it so important, so necessary for us that Jesus came to live among us.

©P. Booher

 

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Writing Resources

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Photo Credit: Kaitlyn Baker, Unsplash.com

Here’s some resources I’ve found helpful in my endeavor to become more skilled in writing:

Blogs

“Between the Lines”, the blog of the Books and Such Literary Agency

the Steve Laube Literary Agency blog

A shout-out to the agents and writers at these blogs: their posts maintain the difficult balance between being  realistic and being encouraging about the craft of writing and the business of publishing. They manage to do it day after day. Both blogs feature people who have years of experience behind them, whether it be as writers, editors, agents, or a combination. With all that experience, they have plenty to write about. Whether you are a “newbie”, like myself, or a seasoned pro at writing, you’ll find something worthwhile to read at either of these blogs.

Magazines

The Writer

Writer’s Digest

Both these magazines have been writing about writing for a long time. As with “Between the Lines” and Steve Laube’s blogs, the magazines convey information and news about publishing without sounding dry and tedious.

Entrepreneur

I include this magazine because the business people featured display perseverance, diligence, creativity and the willingness to take risks–the same attributes writers need too.

Books

The Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White

Writer to Writer by Cecil Murphey

The Curious Case of the Misplaced Modifier by Bonnie Trenga

Painless Writing by Jeffrey Strausser  (actually a textbook for middle-school/high-school students, but helpful for anyone wanting to improve his writing. Although a textbook, it teaches without inducing boredom.)

A Complete Guide to Writing For Publication, Susan Titus Osborn, General Editor (some material may be slightly outdated, especially the chapter on using Internet resources, but overall, there’s useful information and wisdom to be gleaned from it.)

Note: As you can see, this is just a tiny bit of the huge amount of resources out there for anyone interested in writing, but this is what I am familiar with right now. You don’t have to invest a lot of money.  I think I paid 35 cents for The Elements of Style at a local library’s used book sale. Many online courses are available at low cost, and many local libraries offer free Internet access.

©P. Booher

 

 

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Friday Photos–Yes, Spring Is Coming!

The past few days here saw the lingering winter and the oncoming spring fighting for dominance.  Old Man Winter is determined not to leave, but Spring is just as determined to come. The weather the other day reminded me of boxers duking it out, as first the sun shone, then a brisk wind brought gray clouds over which dropped sleet on the grass. The wind blew, blue skies arrived, the sun shone and melted the sleet. Then the clouds came over again, and dropped some more snow/sleet. This cycle continued for most of the day.

But, spring is coming. The purple crocuses are almost finished blooming, with the white and the purple-and-white striped crocuses waiting for their turn, followed by the yellow ones in a few days. The daffodils are priming for their show, and the hyacinths are a couple inches out of the ground, getting ready to show off their colors and perfume the air with their fragrance.

In the meantime, here’s some photos from the past couple years to enjoy, while those of us in the Northern Hemisphere wait for this year’s spring to finally arrive.

©P. Booher

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Friday Photos–Abundance

 

 

 

God is the God of abundance. I marvel at the abundance He gives us in nature. (Ever try to count the leaves on a tree? or the stars in the sky?) Genesis 1 speaks of the abundance God created, especially Genesis 1:11, 14, 20,21,22, 25 and 28. Pause for a moment from the rush of your day, and enjoy these examples of God’s abundance.

Wild Phlox, trees along trail

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Diving Into A Sea of Books–On Writing

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As an avid reader, I get excited about the great number of books out there to read, either for entertainment, education, inspiration or with some books, all three. The quantity available in print, audio, and e-books reminds me of the vast amount of life in the oceans, so I call these book reviews “Diving Into A Sea of Books”. As with diving into an ocean looking for interesting objects, diving into books means you come across mixed results: over here, a book you don’t bother to finish, over there, a “treasure”–one that you like so much you can’t wait to reread it, and over there, a book you read and think, “Meh”.

On Writing by Stephen King is a book I wish I liked. For one thing, it appears on many lists of recommended writing books. Since I am a developing writer, that attracted my attention. I want to read a book that someone says, “This book is worth reading. It will help you.” Secondly, Mr. King can write books that hold readers’ attention. I’m beginning to realize how hard that is. He is someone to learn from.

The author gives valuable insights into the craft of writing. One of his most important points is that success (and earning enough from writing to pay the bills) doesn’t happen overnight. A writer has to be willing to spend the time to learn and practice the craft, and even then, fame and fortune aren’t guaranteed. Mr. King also spends time on the importance of rewriting. He gives other tips too.

On Writing is a memoir as well as a writing book, so these insights are sprinkled among his memories. The tips are a little hard to pull out from the rest of the narrative.

Although I looked forward to reading a book from an expert in the craft, I was disappointed. The book would have worked better had the memoir been split from the writing insights. What really did it for me was the author’s use of offensive language.  Never having read any of Stephen King’s books, I wasn’t aware of his liberal use of a certain four-letter word. About two-thirds of the way through, I had more than enough of that language and closed the book. The language he chose prevented his greater message from getting through to me.

Comment: I don’t want to read this again; it’s not worth my time.

©P. Booher

 

 

 

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Friday Photos–A Walk in the Woods

For those of us who are tired of winter, here’s a pictorial walk in the woods.

Little Buffalo Creek and woodsgreen-along-the-trailferns-in-woods

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