Month: September 2010

If you didn’t see it yesterday, go on over to The House Studio and check out my guest post for their ongoing “Monday is for the Random” segment. It involves a combination of the Jackson 5/Nirvana (Smells Like Rockin’ Robin) as well as a very scary Mary Poppins.

Now for today’s regularly scheduled programming.

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Picture this: we are driving down the road in my 1990 GMC Safari minivan.  That’s right, much like the one pictured here, but gray instead of blue, and without the big house in the background.  Also, ours does not have a/c, and the windows won’t go down.  And the radio shouts at you like a large cat dying of colic, even when you turn the volume all the way down.  Cade and Lucy are in the back seat.

Cade: Dad, what’s wrong with your radio?

Lucy: It’s broken.

Me: Yeah, it doesn’t work.

Cade: Why not?

Me: I don’t know, it’s old.

Cade: Why don’t you fix it?

Me: I can’t do it myself, and I don’t want to spend the money to fix it.

Cade: Why not?

Me: Because it would probably cost like a hundred dollars (I always use this amount because to them, the need to come up with $100 is an insurmountable obstacle)

Silence for a moment.

Cade: I bet if you ask Mimi (his grandma) she’d give it to you.

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Previous episodes of “Stuff Cade Says” include:

– the one when Cade suggested I breastfeed our baby

– the one about why God gave us clothes

– the one about superheroes, and the power of Home Depot

I spent last week hanging out with Lily Isaacs, finishing the latest (and hopefully almost the last) draft of her book.  If you remember, last winter I blogged about how traveling on the bus with her band made me feel like a rock star.  Anyway we pretty much got through it by Thursday afternoon, at which point I sat in her living room and thought about stories.

Specifically, life stories.

I used to think these things called life stories were so straightforward – you know, sit down and write about your life, right?  Aren’t our stories just time lines, one event after another?  And if so, isn’t writing a life story just about taking those points on the line and writing about them?

It’s just not that easy.

What I’ve come to realize, while trying to wrap up Lily’s story, is that our lives couldn’t be any further from simple lines with dots.  I think they’re more like the tiny, individual strands of a very thick rope.  Our lives are so entwined with the stories of the people around us that there is no way to cut them all off and get down to that single strand without ruining the whole thing.

This made me think about the compilation of a life, how some of the strands (people) in our rope are stories that we invite in, and others are strangers who force or find their way in.

What was the life of Jesus like? What sort of strands or stories or people did he intentionally wrap around himself?  What sort of rope did he form?  Is my rope like his, full of broken strands and frayed strands and weak strands, held together through relationship and community?  Or do I protect my sterile rope of a life and only allow myself to become intertwined with other “perfect” threads?

That seems a silly, futile way to spend a life.

If you get a chance, go over to Inkling Media today and check out my guest post on changing the world.  Seriously.  Changing. the. world.  In the mean time, here are some folks who can help you expand your horizons (the good, the bad, and the funny):

On Twitter?  Here are 5 people you should be following:

@bryanallain @kmueller62 @andilit @tylerstanton @donmilleris

On Facebook? Here are 5 pages you should like:

Ben Halvorsen Tennis, The House Studio, Stacy Barton Stories, Kim Walker, The FreshPod

Reading blogs?  Add these to your Google Reader:

Chip MacGregor ; Seth Godin ; Mai Time in the Kitchen ; Shawna Lewis ; 3 Men and Their Ladies

Looking for something to read? Here are my three most popular blog posts in the last month or so:

Democracy: An American Christian’s Prop?

Words the Church Should Stop Using: Sin

Tuesday’s Top 10: Types of Candy

Now go back and read my guest post at Ken Mueller’s blog.  Seriously.  You could change the world.

Wondering what the Fireside Writer’s Conference might have that’s of interest to you? How about…

A college professor with an MFA, published essays and a passion for writing…

One of the most experienced social media experts in Lancaster County…

A blogger closing in on 1000 followers…

A Zen Buddhist who just published a new book of poetry…

A blogger who landed a book deal with Tyndale House and is currently working to transfer said blog to new book…

A 20-something who lost her husband to cancer, and is writing about it…

A successful business women who lost her daughter in a farming accident, lost hope, found hope, and wrote about it…

A man who started a nonprofit after his son committed a terrible crime, hoping to save other young people from a similar fate…

Or maybe just lots of ellipses.

I mean, if none of these folks interest you, then there’s nothing I can say.  But, if you are interested, they’ll all be at the Fireside Writer’s Conference, and they’re all ready to share what they’ve learned with you.

For more details, click HERE

And even if you can’t come, at least go HERE and like it.  That would make me feel better about myself.

30 bloggers. 30 days. $30,000 for charity:water. That’s our goal. Tyler Stanton and Bryan Allain have assembled a group of 30 bloggers; September has 30 days…now we need your help on the $30,000.

Check out this one minute video about what life would be like in NYC if there was no clean water:

Jennifer Connelly in charity: water Public Service Announcement from charity: water on Vimeo.

Some things you should know about charity:water…

* 100% of the money donated goes towards water projects. Private donors take care of all overhead.
* $20 provides 1 person clean water for 20 years.
* Our money will go towards building water projects in Central African Republic
* If you give, charity: water will keep you up-to-date with the status of your project, provide you with GPS coordinates of exactly where the well you contributed to is being built, and take pictures and video along the way.

Think about going HERE and checking out the graph on our progress or donating some money to the cause – your $20 gift would provide 1 person with clean water for 20 years!  If we can reach our goal of $30,000, we could provide clean water to 1500 families!

Please share the page above on twitter, Facebook or through whatever outlets you can think of.  And if you’re a blogger, consider taking one day this month and blogging about this goal and inserting this link in your post.

Stay tuned, as we try to make a difference in the next 30 days.