01 May 2013

What's Up Wednesday

First of all a big thanks goes out to Jaime Morrow for hosting the What's Up Wednesday blog hop, and Erin Funk for alerting me to it. Follow the links to their blog - join in!

What I'm reading

 

Whenever I need encouragement in writing or in life in general, I pick through Madeleine L'Engle's Walking on Water: Reflections on Faith and Art. Right now I'm reading it in its entirety for the third time. It always hits me how true it is that we do not create alone, that God is with us, inspiring us, working through us.

I'm also almost done with Seeing What is Sacred: Becoming More Spiritually Sensitive to the Everyday Moments of Life, by Ken Gire. I've spent some time with this one. Many of the chapters challenge the way I think about everyday moments - especially in how I spend time with my children.

What I'm writing

 

The month of April has been busy. The A-Z Challenge has kept me honest with a daily writing routine on this blog, but also with my second book.

I serialized a short story called "Dystopolis" (it's still posted here on my blog - start here - you can buy the story on Amazon soon!), in 26 posts with the challenge. It was such a unique experience to sit down each morning and hammer out another section of story. It was a great way to force myself to work out a first draft.

The book I'm working on doesn't have a title, but the main character is Mossy, a boy who came to his parents one night as they walked through the forest. He was sitting under the trees waiting for them. The story takes off when Mossy's dad, Milt, disappears. Will their family be reunited? Will the mystery of Mossy's appearance be revealed? I'll let you know...

What else I've been up to

 

Only a few more weeks of school left! I teach English I and II at the local high school, and right now I'm teaching Romeo & Juliet, as well as a bit of poetry. Teaching is a joy and a challenge all at once.

And, of course, I come home and play with my three sons. The evenings are lengthening and we're spending more time outside - now if we could just stay healthy!

What inspires me right now

 

About an hour ago I read this from Psalm 32: "I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, 'I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,' and you forgave the iniquity of my sin."

I'm again in awe that our God forgives sin, especially that sin that I can't seem to throw off completely. He throws it off for me, and I'm thankful.


So - what have you been up to lately?

6 comments:

Jaime Morrow said...

Writing a serial for the A to Z Challenge is such a great idea! Good for you! As for Madeleine L'Engle, my sister is a huge fan, so I really should read more of her stuff. I have some of her fiction sitting on my shelf, so I have no excuse. :-)

I remember what those last few weeks of school were like when I was teaching--kids antsy to be done, to get out and enjoy the nicer weather. Hope it goes quickly and smoothly!

Ian Anderson said...

Thanks, Jaime. And thanks for putting this blog hop on - what a great idea!

Miss Cole said...

Ah, Romeo and Juliet. That brings back memories of school ^_^

Erin L. Funk said...

Like my sister said, I'm a big Madeleine L'Engle fan. I just recently read A WRINKLE IN TIME to my son and WALKING ON WATER is also a favourite. You're very ambitious to do a serial story for the A-Z challenge! I didn't even attempt the challenge because it seemed like such a long haul.

Ian Anderson said...

Thanks to all who stopped by! Erin, I finished the five books of L'Engle's time and space trilogy over the summer. I wish there was much more about Charles Wallace, and the last book didn't have the same feel as the first four - have you read them all?

Erin L. Funk said...

Yep, I've read them all, but it's been a while. I do remember that the last book was very different than the other three. I don't remember much about what happened to Charles Wallace though. If I recall correctly his story ended sort of ambiguously, so that might be why. I'll have read them again someday and refresh my memory.

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