Questions

Questions. Kids are good at them. Why? Why is the sky blue? Why do the leaves fall off the trees — don’t they like the tree anymore? What’s that? Where are we going? (And the dreaded Are we there yet?) Writers need to be good at them, too. Why is a good question for writers…

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Keep Right On to the End of the Road

Have you ever had a mountaintop experience — something so inspiring, so uplifting, so affirming, that you just wish you could stay in that moment forever? Or, by contrast, have you experienced valleys in your life that are so deep you wonder if you will ever come out of them? I suspect you have. I…

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Jumper cables for our lives

One day recently, my car refused to start. I can’t blame it, as it was very cold that day, for humans and for everything else, including little cars. I was sure I’d have to call the Auto Association the next day to do their jump-start magic. However, the next day — a much warmer day…

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Having Heart and Hope in the Hard Times

How do we deal with hard times? Sometimes it seems as though ostriches, with their fabled “head in the sand” mentality, have it right. When the going gets tough, stick your head in the sand and hope things blow over. First of all, that concept isn’t true. As National Geographic Kids points out, if they…

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A Time for Evaluation, Reflection, and Celebration!

Today, December 12th, is my birthday. As it happens, it is one of those special birthdays that only comes around once every ten years. Today I am sixty. (That boggles my mind somewhat. Where did those years go?) I’m writing this on the eve of my birthday. A friend emailed me this evening, asking if…

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‘Tis the Season for Sharing Books!

Have you ever used a bookmobile? Hey, wait a second, Beth – bookmobile begins with B. You’ve already done B. Bear with me a moment, and you will C where I’m going with this. 😉 Bookmobiles are marvelous inventions that bring books to people who otherwise wouldn’t have access. Here in North America, there is…

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Bookmarks

I used to collect bookmarks. I had a whole little basket full of them. Most I had purchased, or someone had made for me. One, a friend brought back from England for me. It was a representation of a “jam butty” – a piece of bread with jam smeared on it. This and other bookmarks…

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