For These Tough Times

Yes, I know it's Christmas Eve and this post should be full of joyful wishes. In a way it is, because not everyone will experience a warm, fuzzy Christmas this year.

I ordered Max Lucado's book, For these Tough Times, Reaching Toward Heaven for Hope and Healing, thinking it would be about the economy. Instead it's a gift book meant to help people dealing with personal problems. As I read it I kept thinking of people I know who need the help and encouragement the book offers, and intend to give my copy to one of them right away. Probably what my friend will find most helpful is the discussion of how a good, loving, and powerful God can allow bad things to happen.

After all, being miles from home and having no place but an animal's feed box to put a newborn baby isn't exactly warm and fuzzy. God can use absolutely anything for good.

The Moon Shines Down

I meant to publish this several days ago, but accidentally sent it to the wrong blog, so here it is. "The Moon Shines Down" is a brand new picture book written by Margaret Wise Brown, who has been dead for a long time. Yes, that is possible. The original manuscript, written years ago by the famous author, was recently found, but it wasn't long enough for a book so someone else added to it. The theme of unity between people all over the world is a great one, and the illustrations are cute and cheerful, though, of course, they're different from those in Wise's well-known book, "Good Night Moon." The meter and rhyme scheme are off in several places and, as a former English major, I find that very irritating, but it probably won't bother 'normal' people very much. The page mentioning a Christmas celebration makes the book an especially appropriate gift for this season.

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Writer, Beware

If you're a writer, beware! Once people know what you do they may react in peculiar ways. For example, I used to write feature articles for a newspaper in the San Francisco Bay Area and someone I knew would call me and complain every time the newspaper wasn't delivered to her house on time. It made no difference how often I tried to explain that neither I nor my editor had anything to do with circulation. She was sure I could control her delivery person. Fortunately the delivery was usually on schedule, so she didn't feel the need to call me about that very often. 

And then there was the first time I spoke at a Christian writers conference. Several of the wannabes who had never attended a conference before followed me around all weekend, acting like they worshipped me. That was scary. Fortunately it never happened again at any other conference where I've spoken, and I hope it never will. That experience sure made me feel sorry for the movie stars, politicians, and other celebrities who are treated like that all the time.