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She sat there, in bed, looking around at the others. She tried to act normal, tried to disguise the panic slowly rising. Nothing out of the ordinary had happened to them that morning – they went about their routines. They stretched and eventually stood up, grabbed a bite to eat, took their time getting a drink, then finally walked outside.

Yet she still sat there, completely still. Scared to move because of what had happened earlier that morning.
Continue reading “Can You Solve Today’s Story Riddle?”

The first time I read A Prayer For Owen Meany, I found myself getting teary-eyed at the end. What a character! What a story! I had never read a novel that so perfectly illustrated for me the concepts of faith and doubt and friendship. The emotion that rose within me in that moment, as I read the end of the book, was palpable.

So when I stumbled over L’Engle’s quote in her book Walking on Water about emotion and writing, I had to stop for a moment.

“Emotion can come before writing, and after writing, but it must not be present during writing.” Madeleine L’Engle

Emotion must not be present during writing.

When’s the last time you cried or laughed out loud or got angry while reading a book?

What do you think about L’Engle’s quote, that emotion must not be present during writing?

So many fun projects approaching publication. This is an excerpt from the family history book I’m writing, My Amish Roots, which should be widely available in about three to four weeks. It’s a series of stories and reflections having to do with my ancestors, going back to the 1500s, and I also talk about what it’s like to be the first in ten generations of my family to move away from Lancaster County and to not grow up Amish:
Continue reading “What’s Happening to Your Family Stories?”

This is Lucy’s first year riding bike without training wheels. This weekend she rode her tiny, pink bike in circles, calling out to me across the yard.

“Daddy, look, I’m doing it, I’m doing it! I’m riding on flat ground!”

Then, crash.
Continue reading “Failure’s Forgotten Lesson”

Game night at the Smucker house. Popular choices recently have been “Ticket to Ride” or “Blockus,” strategy games that I love playing with my kids because I can see their little brains working hard to figure things out.

Recently though, they’ve been going with an old standby from my childhood. I loved this game when I was growing up, but after playing it the other night, I’m not so sure.

What game could get my attention so much that I’m blogging about it?

That’s right.

The Game of Life. Continue reading “Men Drive and Women Sit in the Passenger Seat”

Last night, while an October mist drifted around the house, and the occasional leaf fluttered against the darkened window, I worked on a revision with clients who are now friends. They drank glasses of white wine – I consumed coffee. Their dining room light was the only light on in the house, and their Boxer prowled under the table, bumping into me, resting his chin on my knee, looking for a little attention.
Continue reading “(Revised) Words With Friends”