by Elizabeth | Aug 3, 2015 | Learning Story, Parenting
Remembering Stories
One of the wonderful benefits of writing stories as you march through time is the joy of rereading and remembering and looking at where you are now along with where you have been.
Today I am still “convalescing” (okay, that sounds worse than I am:-) from the two grand celebrations of this summer — the weddings of first, our third child – a daughter – on June 6, and second, our firstborn – a son — on July 25. The two not-yet-married children are with us at the beach for a week, so it’s not time to do new writing yet. But searching back through August posts, and having noted that some parents of kids going off to college are starting to post about that on Facebook, I offer this memory from the past.
The Sound & Story of an Empty House
Over the last three weeks, I have helped deliver three children to various college campuses. Our elder daughter is a campus ministry intern, our younger daughter, a junior, and our youngest son, a freshman. Our eldest son graduated from college last year and has long ago left the nest.
On the first quiet day home, I decided to do some processing. Opening a creative writing book, I chose what to me is a challenging exercise: describe the “sound” of something. I hope my piece might help you process some of your feelings about a major change in your life. I also hope my rough efforts might inspire you to try your own. (And if you do so, I hope you’ll share them with us in the comments section!).
Bed and chest rattle and shake over every bump we hit in the 250-mile drive to my daughter’s new home. The rattling is quiet compared to my noisy emotions – hope, fear, uncertainty zinging around inside. Happy squeals reach us across the parking lot as roommates reunite after the long summer apart. The helpers pleasantly greet us and politely ask where to start. The trailer door clangs as they open it, and a whoosh of hot air rushes toward us. They lift heavy boxes with barely a whimper; I pull small ones out of the car with dramatic groans. My daughter calls out from her room, “Mom, where should we put the table?” I go inside, where we chat casually about furniture placement.
Silence echoes through the large empty house. Stillness calls to stillness. I wander by the darkened piano, its mouth shut up, waiting stoically for release. Our empty nest teddy bear dog sighs heavily in the hallway. My phone tweets from my pocket: “31DayFacelift is now following you.” “Really?!” I mock the message, staring at the non-person that delivered it. Drawn by the silent piano, I sit softly on the bench, tentatively striking notes unknown. A not-unpleasant noise sings forth, signaling the distant possibility of a graceful melody arising.
Why not try it yourself? Set a timer for 7 minutes. On a blank sheet of paper, make a list of the sounds of something you’d like to describe. When you’re done, either continue to write your list into a paragraph, or set aside another time to do that.
or
If you don’t want to write the sound of something, simply record your thoughts about a major transition in your life (like two of four children getting married in one summer 😉 or a new job or some other big change.
by Elizabeth | Sep 29, 2014 | Learning Story
Have you ever been lost and really needed a sign? Here’s one of my favorite “lost” stories.
I like my GPS friend, except when I don’t. Yesterday was one of the “don’t” days. All I wanted to do was find the Florida Turnpike so I could get the heck out of Central Florida via I – 75…
Homeward bound, I was, and I still had time to make our Sunday evening traditional meal of Hamburgers and French Fries (Yes, that is capitalized – good beef, grilled burgers, and homemade fries, family tradition from my mother’s side that stayed steady even in uncertain times….). Every Sunday night, and it tastes so much better when you’re coming off road food (which for me, on a retreat or conference weekend, often means subsisting mostly on Think Thin bars and coffee for about 72 hours because I’m too rushed for the real meals.)
Even if I hadn’t been on a deadline to make dinner, I would have been in a hurry. I am, shall we say, an “efficient traveler.” Ask anyone who has ever had the dubious joy of being a passenger in a vehicle I was commandeering on a road trip. Don’t drink much, because there won’t be many potty breaks. I am single-minded and focused in my goal of making it there. We will stop for lunch at the regular time but we will eat it in the car, so bring a towel to catch all the drippings from that greasy fast food!
All that to say, yesterday, my GPS friend failed me. But knowing she was going to do so, I had even asked directions from the bell”boy” at the hotel – “How do I get to the Florida Turnpike from here?” I should have noticed the telltale frown of uncertainty on his baby face (I had, after all, been teaching on “uncertainty” this weekend:-), but I was in a hurry and I wasn’t going to ask someone else.
So I turned back to my trusty friend who had gotten me out of many a jam in the past – Ms Gips, as I call her. No matter how much I argued with her, she insisted on taking me on the highway – I wanted the byway!
Finally, after wasting an hour or so driving around Orlando, I gave in and went her way, the high way, but not without a rant. (Yes, my children and husband are thanking God now that they weren’t along for this ride!) And then.
And then, I said to myself, or should I say the Holy Spirit said to me, “It’s been such a beautiful weekend – lovely women representing not all, but many, of the tribes, tongues, nations, and people groups of this cosmos, along with a handful of very gracious men; deep engagement with the Word and lovely new friendships formed…
ARE YOU GOING TO LET LOSING YOUR WAY LET YOU LOSE YOUR WAY?” Truly. Will I let all the grace drain out of this glorious weekend?
So I began to thank God, aloud, for every wonderful moment of the weekend, and I tell you, there were many.
Then I saw it. I had seen the practice circle the skywriter had scrawled in the sky. But then I noticed a word…I said to myself, “Does that say…?”
But I knew. I didn’t need to ask. I knew exactly what it said, even before I could read all the words…”Jesus l…” I didn’t need to wait for the skywriter to finish his message in the sky. I had spoken the words with conviction less than 24 hours before: “Jesus loves you.” (Actually, the sky eventually said, “Jesus loves u.”
Being the efficient road warrior that I am, I waited for one of the many stoplights that had interrupted my flow so that I could take a photo. But now I kept getting green lights. Finally, I did a wasteful thing. I pulled to the side of the road and took this picture…
Thanks be to the God who speaks to me in the sky when I lose my way on the road!
Do you have any lost stories? Sign stories? “Jesus loves you” stories? Please share them in the comments!
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by Elizabeth | Sep 16, 2014 | Learning Story
1. Eugene Peterson
Stories are verbal acts of hospitality.
— Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places: A Conversation in Spiritual Theology
2. Flannery O’Connor
There is something in us, as storytellers and as listeners to stories, that demands the redemptive act, that demands that what falls at least be offered the chance to be restored. The reader of today looks for this motion, and rightly so, but what he has forgotten is the cost of it. His sense of evil is diluted or lacking altogether, and so he has forgotten the price of restoration. When he reads a novel, he wants either his sense tormented or his spirits raised. He wants to be transported, instantly, either to mock damnation or a mock innocence. — Mystery and Manners: Occasional Prose
3. Dan Allender
You are a story. You are not merely the possessor and teller of a number of stories; you are a well-written, intentional story that is authored by the greatest Writer of all time, and even before time and after time. — To Be Told
4. Scotty Smith & Steven Curtis Chapman
God is telling an authentic, non-spin story of selfish, broken people, who are in the process of being made new by Jesus. That’s why Jesus has the lead role in God’s Story. But He’s not the only character. He’s making us characters too. We are carriers of God’s Story – targets for hope who’ll serve as agents of hope, and candidates of mercy who’ll live as conduits of mercy. Jesus is bringing restoration to broken individuals as a means of bringing healing to other individuals, families, communities, and ultimately, to the whole universe. — Restoring Broken Things
5. Christopher J.H. Wright
. . . the whole Bible renders to us the story of God’s mission through God’s people in their engagement with God’s world for the sake of God’s whole creation. — The Mission of God
6. Rachel Remen
Real stories take time. We stopped telling stories when we started to lose that sort of time, pausing time, reflecting time, wondering time. — Kitchen Table Wisdom
7. Madeleine L’Engle
We turn to stories and pictures and music because they show us who and what and why we are. — Walking on Water
And a free bonus:
“Everyone will share the story of your wonderful goodness.” Psalm 145:7 NLT
by Elizabeth | May 6, 2014 | Learning Story
Story Feasts are an essential part of each Living Story Bible study, so it makes sense to share some favorite “Foods to Feast By” on this blog (but don’t expect me to go all “food blogger” on you — as you will see by the amateur iphone photos:-). If you have a feasting food you’d like to share, please let me know in the comment section, and your recipe may be featured here.
Here is the story and the recipe of our version of “Mick’s” Chocolate Pie, the best chocolate cream pie ever.
It was the day after 33 hours of travail, a ludicrously long pitocin induction that brought our first child into the world — they did stuff like that in the late 80’s….and I was starved. My meal of choice?
A guacamole burger and a slice of chocolate cream pie from Mick’s, a favorite Atlanta restaurant.
Mick’s version was no stiff, plasticine cafeteria chocolate cream pie. This heavy pie held a deep double chocolate custard firmly set in a chocolate wafer and butter crust, slathered with fresh whipping cream and topped with chocolate shavings. (Sorry for the repetition of chocolate in that sentence, but chocolate is never redundant!)
You can bet my husband delivered this calorie-packed reward to me bedside! I have an old picture, but the pie is out of focus because my husband was actually focusing on my fluid-filled face, which I’m not humble enough to reveal here:-)!
If Mick’s Chocolate Cream Pie was the food I wanted to feast by the day after our first child was born, you can imagine how thrilled I was when its recipe appeared in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. According to urban myth, a disgruntled former employee stole the recipe and sold it to the paper.
Whether that story is true or not, I couldn’t wait to make my own Mick’s pie for a feast. One Friday afternoon, I hurried home after a full day of teaching, excited to prepare this famed recipe for my friends. I had already purchased the supplies, so I launched into prep, following the instructions precisely.
As you will see, it’s not an easy process, but the rich taste is well worth the labor! An hour later, I had finished: chocolate pie crust — check; chocolate filling — check; whipping cream ready to be whipped — check; chocolate shavings ready to top whipping cream — check….
Only then did I notice one essential instruction that should have been at the beginning (in my version it is:-) — you know the part where it tells you the baking time or chilling time? Oops. 24 hours. About 3 hours later, it was time to serve the — chocolate soup. Every single person lapped it up, and a few wanted seconds.
Technically, this is not a chocolate cream pie — it’s a chocolate ice cream pie made for a birthday, and usually the entire pie is covered with whipping cream and the smiley face is chocolate, but they look similar…
Future versions were chilled 14-24 hours, and the Turnage’s Mick’s chocolate pie became a family feasting favorite. Eventually my girls took up the pie mantle and added their signature smily face drawn with a finger traced through the whipping cream. One of my daughters even decided it would be her feasting food for Thanksgiving because she doesn’t like apple pie (which my older daughter makes). (Did I mention that from the time they were about 10, every child had an assigned dish to make (with some help:-) for Thanksgiving? I’m just not one of those big-hearted women who likes to spend the whole day in the kitchen by herself while everyone else has fun!).
I dare you to try it. Make it for a mom for Mother’s Day — or, if you’re a mom, see if you can get your kids to make it for you! (Not recommended if you have children under 10!)
Oh, and CHILL AT LEAST 14 HOURS — 24 IS BEST!
Turnage’s Mick’s Chocolate Cream Pie
Ingredients:
Filling
1 1/4 C. sugar 4 C. whole milk
7/8 C. flour 4 egg yolks
1/8 t. salt 1 1/4 C. choc. chips, melted
1/2 C. cocoa 1/2 t. vanilla
1/4 C. butter
Crust:
1 1/2 C. crumbled choc. wafers (Best are Nabisco ice cream wafers in sundae section of grocery — our grocery only carries them certain times of year, so we stock up when they have them.)
2 T. conf. sugar (or regular)
4-5 T. melted butter
Topping:
heavy whipping cream: 4 oz.
candy bar for chocolate shavings: I sometimes use Ghirardelli squares.
Make the pie crust first so it can start chilling:
- Stir sugar and butter into crumbs until well-blended.
- Pat into 10-inch pie pan. Refrigerate before filling.
The pie:
- In an 8-quart cooking pot, mix sugar, flour, salt, and cocoa. If you’re really ambitious, sift them first. Slowly add milk and stir well. Cook over medium-low heat until scalded (film begins to form on bottom), always stirring.
- Separate eggs. You want the yolks. Beat yolks. Slowly stir in 1 cup of hot milk mixture. Add this back to the rest of the mixture in pan and continue stirring and cooking over low heat. (If you’re really ambitious, use the whites in another, healthier recipe:-).
- Melt chocolate chips (I put them in a glass measuring cup in the microwave on medium heat, stirring after 30 second intervals, but you could also do the glass bowl over small cooking pan filled with water method — if you don’t know what I’m talking about, google it).
- Add melted chocolate chips to pan mixture; continue stirring and cooking on low heat until thickened.
- Remove from heat.
- Add vanilla and butter; stir. (Sometimes I forget this part, so I’m bolding it).
- Pull that chocolate wafer crust out of the frig, and refrigerate 12-24 hours.
- Before serving, place whipped cream on top and garnish with chocolate shavings.
by Elizabeth | Apr 28, 2014 | Learning Story
On Friday, I shared an Easter story Facebook can’t capture. Don’t get me wrong — I’m not hating on Facebook. I like scrolling through photos and statuses to get a glimpse into friends’ lives. But we all know it severely cramps our freedom to tell the whole story. Maybe it depicts only the precious 10-year-old’s perfect gymnastics routine and none of the falls it took to get there. Or, alternatively, it describes a terrible, horrible, no-good, very-bad day that rivals Alexander’s (does anyone still read that classic?🙂 without allowing that this could make a really good story one day. From time to time, we need to remember the whole story — splendid moments of “the way it’s supposed to be” interlaced with the fallen world realities of “not the way it’s supposed to be.” (To quote Cornelius Plantinga’s great title). So here’s your chance… Write, tell, share a whole story…tons of ways you could go with this one — have fun! 1. Choose a topic:
- Write an Easter story — one from your childhood or a recent one.
- Write a resurrection/new life story — one that tells about how you were “raised to new life” in a particular way.
2. Consider these Scriptures: John 20; Romans 6:1-14; Rev. 21-22 3. Journal or take some notes on these questions:
- Describe moments of shalom. Shalom refers to peace, wholeness, rest, joy, abundance.(For more on shalom, see here, or check out any of the Living Story Bible study books).
- Describe moments of broken shalom. What was “not the way it’s supposed to be”?
- Where do you see loss — of life, hope, love, keys (we can get into the nitty-gritty of life too:-)
- Where in the story do you see the hope of a risen Savior?
4. Put it all together and write it:
- Do you want to organize chronologically?
- Do you want to organize with comparison/contrast? Do you want to describe all the good things first then the bad, or intermingle the two?
5. Share it: with a friend or group (share the assignment and get them to do one too!) with Living Story: Comment below with the title or first two sentences of your story, or tweet about your story with the hashtag #livingstory or post on Facebook and tag Living Story.
