I enjoy writing, it turns out my nine year old daughter does too. Here is a short story she wrote this weekend.

Friendship Never Leaves

by Laila Mooney

There once were two girls who were best best BEST friends. Their names were Tracie and Amber. They were playing kick the leaves when Tracie’s mother called her inside.

Tracie said, “Yes Mother!” and immediately went inside.

Amber curious about what was going on was about to get up and go inside when Tracie came out crying. Tracie ran over and gave Amber a big hug and choked up the words, “I’m moving!”

Amber thinking of another town said, “Where?”

Tracie calmed down because of Amber’s hug and said, “California!”

They lived in Pennsylvania so this was a big move.

When the words came out of Tracie’s mouth, Amber was so shocked she just couldn’t hold back tears. She asked, “How can I live without my best friend?”

They stood outside sobbing in each other’s arms for what felt like hours, even though it was only a few minutes. Then Amber’s mom came to pick her up. Surprised by the crying she asked what was wrong.

Amber spilled the bad news.

“I just don’t understand why she has to move!” she said. “I mean, I’d be okay if it was another town but California? I mean that’s just crazy!”

Amber’s mom said, “I understand that it’s shocking news Amber but remember, no matter where she is she will always be in your heart, and so are all of your memories”.

Amber looked at her mom and said, “You’re right Mom. She will always be in my heart”.

Later that week at the moving away party, Amber came over to Tracie and said, “My mom reminded me the other day that you will always be in my heart and I will always be in yours.”

Tracie, holding back tears said, “Thank you. You just reminded me.”

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Generally I read a book on the way to work (I walk), today I walked out the door checking Twitter. My friend Kelly Stone (@KellyMarieStone) reTweeted: “RT @michaelgungor: A bit of a fiery rant about Christian media, wine, and yes, zombies. (http://bit.ly/t3Zfzz). Compelled by curiosity I followed the link.

Wow. Amazing. It turns out its the blog of Michael Gungor, who I have previously never heard of, and his post is a few of his thoughts on “Christian” media.

By “a few of his thoughts,” I mean 2,969 words of awesomeness!

You have to read it (click here).  I know you’re thinking, “3000 words? really?” But you know, it’s worth it.  Some things can’t be packaged into tiny 250-300 word capsules. Maybe that’s part of the wonder I felt when reading it, that Michael didn’t care to shorten his thoughts, or abbreviate his point into separate posts. He just put it out there: Ready or not, here I come.

And that’s also the point of his post, that “Christian media” has become more a marketing machine than culture of artistic impression, and God forbid, creativity.

His focus is music, but I would also agree this point is true with books.  I read quite a bit, maybe more than the average Joe (my bookshelf), but most of the fiction I consume is not Christian, as it generally annoys me in the first few pages.

I am writing a novel and in doing so have read the “bibles” on writing, and the “what not to do” sections could be filled by many “Christian” novels written by the higher selling authors. They have a “feel” to them that’s easy to pick out, much like Christian radio stations, which are easily distinguished even before the “Jesus loves me” lyrics can be heard.

Not that it’s entirely bad, but the eerie feeling is one of inadequacy, of missing the empirical standards set by many secular authors like Stephen King, Philip Roth, Dan Brown, and John Irving.

I know my ideas may never be bought into by the larger marketers (oops, publishers), but that’s why I must create it. That is why I cannot settle for the subpar, call it “Christian” and expect people to like it. The Christian public may buy it, but like me, they are likely tired of the same old crap they get handed.

And so I raise my Guinness and toast to writing the way I want, to making my posts 2,969 words if I must. *chug chug*

For those of you still reading, Gungor’s music is amazing, and I leave you this video.  If you want to buy their album, as I did, click here: Gungor – Ghosts Upon the Earth.

It has been brought to my attention that my blog was not working for Internet Explorer 8 or 9 for some time now,  I’m truly sorry. The great news is that I found and eliminated the problem, so if you have not been reading my posts because of this, you are now without excuse.

Oh, and get a real browser like: Firefox, or buy a Mac, lol

I found this video about the power a simple smile can have to change your life. Smiling more everyday can even extend your life 7 years! Oh, and even fake ones count a little.

Most amazing to me is that kids smile as many 400 times a day. Adults? Most smile about 30 times a day.  So I encourage you today, no matter your circumstance, find a way to smile today, it will improve your life!

What always brings a smile to your face? For me, it’s when I come home from work and all my kids rush to me screaming “Daddy’s home!”

EDIT: I just found out that Gutman has a book on this subject you can get by clicking here: SMILE!

I love to read and I love to write, but no matter how hard I try when I write, I always feel like my ideas and words are mediocre at best, and every one else is a brilliant literary savant.

I frequent Jon Acuff’s blog, made famous by his comical and witty book “Stuff Christians Like” (my review here) and more recently “Quitter” (great book!), and I was blown away by a recent post titled “The talent we have the hardest time recognizing is our own.”

He posted a video by a guy named Derek Sivers which sums it up pretty well.

Derek asks at the end of the short video, and I would like your thoughts as well, “Are you holding back something that’s too “obvious” to share?”

Mine is writing.

The talent we have the hardest time recognizing is our own.

Sometimes, you want to help feed the homeless, but you really don’t have the financial means to do so.  Comedian Tom Mabe offers his way of helping to feed the homeless. While effective, I think it may be a misdemeanor.

 

Amazon Link

I enjoy reading so I read quite a bit, often 3-4 books at a time.  I recently finished a couple and found myself at a loss of what to read next, so I decided to get out old faithful.  We all have one; the book that you can read a million times.  It’s like comfort food for the soul.

My “old faithful” is Ray Bradbury’s “Something Wicked This Way Comes.”  It’s the only book other than the Bible I’ve read at least four times.  It’s a story about two boys, Will and Jim, and a mysterious carnival that blows into town.  I just can’t get enough of it.

Bradbury’s writing is so playful, and descriptive, I just can’t get enough.  Sometimes I will read a sentence or paragraph ten times in a row because it’s so brilliantly flawless: perfect.

The pic for this post is the front cover from the copy I have, a 1970 Bantam paperback that is near the end of it’s life.  (Take that ebooks, lol You’ll be irrelevant in 41 years and I’ll still have my paperback!)

So, what’s your “old faithful?”  What book keeps you coming back time and again? What is it that you love so much about it?

I like questions, they’re intriguing; and I like to hear other people’s questions.  Today I was thinking, “What would I ask God if I could ask him one question?”

Mine: “Why can’t angels be redeemed?”

Also, I asked my kids, here are theirs:

Laila-9: “How long will I live?”

Jaivin-7: “Are their aliens?”

Kaiden-6:  “Can I be your best friend?”

Alaina-4: “How do you make people?”

Lillee-2: “Can I have a baby in my tummy?”

What’s your question?

You have probably noticed there are some advertisements on my blog, and they are there for good reason: to give.  Originally, I opened an Amazon Associate account to help pay for my hosting and domains, but I don’t want to profit from what I write here.

So I am giving it away.  So, if you like to buy from Amazon, please stop here first and click through one of my book links, then search for what you want at Amazon and 4%-6% of you purchase will go toward the charity listed for that month!

Starting March 2011, all proceeds from my blogs (www.CRMooney.com and www.christianwriterscorner.wordpress.com) will be given to a different ministry or cause.  I will be posting a capture of my earnings and receipt of the giving for accountability.  There is a two month pay cycle, so the receipt won’t show until I have been paid, and the money given.

Also, please feel free to click through to the different organizations and see if you would like to donate on your own!

To see what’s been given so far, click the “giving” tab at the upper right of the blog, or click here to go to the Giving page.

I think most people are crazy, maybe because I think I am, but everyone knows ‘Merry Christmas’ offends some people because the word ‘Christ’ is in it, but how does ‘Easter Egg’ offend?  I don’t know, maybe we should ask the nuts at the Seattle school districts after they encouraged volunteers to refer to  Easter Eggs as, get this,  ‘Spring Spheres.’  Yeah, because that just rolls off the old tongue.

An article by The Star (article found here) got their information from an unnamed girl from an unnamed school, so we can only assume here, but heck, let’s ride this pony.  If we are going to start renaming every holiday with any religious or offensive reference, we have to be able to do better than ‘Happy Spring Sphere Day’ or some crap like that.

So, what do you suggest?  And it can be any holiday, and remember, the name can’t be offensive to anyone.  here are a few of mine:

St. Valentine’s Day = “buy my wife something nice so I can get lucky day”

Ash Wednesday = “recognize that I may have offended an unnamed, possibly non existent deity or other superior life form and tell him, her, or or it that I sincerely apologize day”

St. Patrick’s Day – “Buy your friend a Guinness Day”

Memorial Day – “Celebrate those who have died to protect freedoms we are currently throwing away day”

Independence Day – “Celebrate our rebellion day”

Labor Day – “celebrate that unions can opt out of Obamacare but no one else can day”

Thanksgiving – “Thanks for ‘giving’ us all this land day”

Christmas – “Happy baby Jesus day, who may or may not have been deity, and may or may not have died for your sins if you wanted him to and if you don’t well you get to buy your kids presents today anyway since our fore fathers thought it a significant enough date to give pretty much everyone in the country a couple days off for it day

And a funny note, nothing really came up when I Googled “spring spheres.”