Personal

Christmas in Story

By Karen Ballon December 7, 2016

December is here, the time we celebrate the greatest story of all—the advent of a holy baby/Savior. Of course, my favorite version of the Christmas story is found in Scripture, but I love that the spirit of that story can be found in countless venues and styles of story.

So I thought I’d share my favorite Christmas books and videos with you fellow storytellers, in case you’re looking for something to watch or read. And I’d love to have you share your favorites as well.

Here you go!

Movies

Miracle on 34^th St (the Maureen O’Hara version, of course)
Christmas in Connecticut (the Barbara Stanwyck version)
Ernest Saves Christmas (Yes, seriously. Cracks me up every year. “Them’s pizen snakes!”)
Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer
Babes in Toyland
White Christmas
The Holiday Inn
Die Hard (What can I say? It’s a tradition with my husband and I.)
How the Grinch Stole Christmas (the original animated version. LOVE Boris Karloff’s “You’re a mean one, Mr. Grinch…”)
Muppets’ Christmas Carol (“Light the lamp! Not the rat!”)
The Christmas Carol (Patrick Stewart version)
It’s a Wonderful Life
Sherlock Holmes: The Case of the Christmas Pudding

Books

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson (I adore this story. “Hey! Unto you a child is born!”)
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss
The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding by Agatha Christie

And I’ve ordered a new book that I just discovered: Letters from Father Christmas by J.R.R. Tolkien. What fun!

So how about you?

Getting Ready to Give Thanks

By Karen Ballon November 23, 2016

No doubt about it, it’s been a tough year. In publishing. In politics. In our nation. In our world. There are so many things to worry about, to be frustrated about, even to fear. And yet… God is. Whoever runs the country…God is. Whatever personal or professional trials you face…God is. However discouraging circumstances may be…God is. Whatever is happening… GOD. IS. As we prepare to celebrate …

Category: Personal, TheologyTag: Faith, Personal, Theology

The Year 1908 and Being a Cubs Fan

By Steve Laubeon November 7, 2016

As you may know, last Wednesday saw the Chicago Cubs baseball team win the World Series, their first time since 1908. To put it in historical perspective, in 1908 Teddy Roosevelt was president of the U.S. (Taft was elected in November of that year). The Summer Olympics were moved to London because Rome was financially ruined by the eruption of Mt. Vesuius a couple years earlier. The first Model-T …

Category: Personal, Publishing HistoryTag: Cubs, Publishing History, Steve Laube

Writing through the Fog

By Karen Ballon October 12, 2016

You may have noticed I haven’t had a blog posted here since losing my dear dad a few weeks ago. I want to thank all of you for your kind expressions of sympathy and your encouragement. You blessed me a great deal. God has held me close, granting me wondrous touches of His kindness and peace. Though grief hits me at unexpected times—such as last night, while I was clearing off the kitchen counter …

Category: Personal, The Writing LifeTag: The Writing Life, Writers Block

Memory Lane and Wishes

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon September 29, 2016

Recently my mother was hospitalized for a few days. She is better now, but it made me wish things were different. I wish I could be a married grown-up with children as I am, but that my parents could freeze time and stay the same age forever – forever young, or at least forever middle-aged. Looking at old family photos takes me back to the 1970s today. Do you write in that time period? As of …

Category: PersonalTag: 70's, Tamela Hancock Murray

Fun Fridays – September 23, 2016

By Steve Laubeon September 23, 2016

For those of you who may not have heard, Karen Ball’s father passed away this past week. She has been providing in-home care for a long time. He was a former pastor and loved the old hymns of the faith. My father passed away four years ago this month. He too loved the old hymns and particularly liked to hear me sing “How Great Thou Art.” The lives of these two fathers are what …

Category: Fun Fridays, Personal

What Do You Think of Used Books?

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon September 15, 2016

Some authors might complain that books shouldn’t be sold on the secondary market since authors don’t earn royalties on used books. I understand that sense of loss, but as is the case with libraries, used book stores are a great place to discover authors and their work. Our town has two used book stores, though I tend to favor one with convenient parking. Here, a customer can’t go in and say, “Do …

Category: Personal, ReadingTag: Book Sales, Reading, Used Books

“Do You Love Me?”

By Karen Ballon September 14, 2016

Have you heard the one about the elderly woman who heard her friends’ husbands over the years tell them how much they loved them? Oh! How she longed for her husband to do the same. To regale her with the depth and breadth of his enduring love. But…nothing. Finally, as they were sitting out on the porch one morning, she turned to him and said as sweetly as she could, “WHY don’t you ever say you …

Category: Personal, TheologyTag: God's love, Theology

A Time for Lament

By Steve Laubeon July 16, 2016

For a while we were able to rattle off the cities or the names of various people and incidents where someone died. Every place from Columbine to Sandy Hook to Ferguson to Fort Hood to Charleston to Orlando to Dallas to Nice. But now the litany has become too long and transformed into one long cry. Not a cry for a rally but literally a cry of lament. What makes it worse are the untold tragedies …

Category: Christian, Personal, TheologyTag: Lament, Theology

Expecting the Unexpected

By Karen Ballon April 6, 2016

I used to think that if you did a, b would follow, closely tailed by c. That belief was blasted into smithereens by the time I hit my third decade of life. I’ve learned that doing a MAY bring b, or q, or something not even remotely related. I’ve learned in my life, my career, and my faith to expect the unexpected. So why am I telling you this? Well, a couple of weeks ago I promised you a blog …

Category: Christian, Faith, PersonalTag: Christian, Faith