mentoring digital wordsmiths
I was Lucy the Valiant, Queen of Narnia. In one hand I grasped my shield–a metal garbage can lid–and in the other I held a wooden sword. Together with my brother, Peter, High King of Narnia, we vanquished the White Witch and brought spring to Narnia once again. The books I read as a child came alive to me as…
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Dear Reader, Larkin is one of my favorite games, stories, and dreams. Alan W. Harris’ The Tales of Larkin are adventurous, exciting, and comical. All four books are perfect for the whole family to read aloud. Hawthorn, a young Larkin, is off on his first hunt when he is ambushed by the Renegades. He is not quite successful in his…
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Dear Everyone, My name is Sara. My family calls me Sara Bear or just Bear. Sometimes they try to call me other things like Cutie or Pumpkin or something silly like that. But I always remind them, quite emphatically, “I’m Sara!” This year was a busy one for me. I had to help Daddy with a lot of the work…
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“A children’s story which is enjoyed only by children is a bad children’s story. The good ones last.” -C.S. Lewis If a good children’s story is one that can be enjoyed by all ages, then Love, Mary Elisabeth is a good children’s story indeed. In Love, Mary Elisabeth, Christy Martenson has given us a winsome and delightful tale. Written in…
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Dear Reader, Since my mother first got Love, Mary Elisabeth on my Kindle, I have been a TOTAL fan! Love, Mary Elisabeth is a heart-warming story of a young girl who, after her mother is diagnosed with Tuberculosis, is whisked off to her uncle’s farm where she is safe. Imagine, a simple farm about one mile from Barstow, Washington. A dusty…
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I met my husband when we were thirteen years old. Our families exchanged mailing addresses after a “chance” meeting and a few hours’ conversation in Yellowstone National Park. His big sister became one of my many pen pals. Soon so did his little sister. And then one day, when I was 17 years old, I found a letter in my…
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At any given hour of the day, you can hear Thornton W. Burgess audiobooks in one room of our home, Jim Weiss’ reading of Story of the World in another. Other times it’s The Wingfeather Saga in the girls’ room, and The Tales of Larkin in their brother’s room. I have to ask them (approximately half a dozen times a…
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The year our baby girl was born was one of the hardest yet. Six weeks of bedrest, wondering if the baby was going to make it anywhere near term. Four hours of emergency induced labor, knowing each moment was further endangering the baby’s life and mine. Hearing the words life flight. Seeing that look on my husband’s face as he…
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Dear Everyone, My name is Sara Elizabeth but my family calls me Sara Bear or just Bear. Since my mommy is really busy, I am writing our Christmas letter this year. There’s this pretty white stuff coming down from the sky outside and it’s really, really cold. But my family says it doesn’t look much like Christmas inside (I don’t…
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“Don’t Take the Girl” was the first Country song my boyfriend played for me. I cried. The song is a story (as all good Country songs are) of a boy and a girl. The little boy is going fishing with his daddy and doesn’t want the girl to come along. “Daddy, please don’t take the girl.” Then he’s a teenager…
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My son had double hernia surgery when he was two months old. But that didn’t stop the spitting up. First I couldn’t bear to let him cry because I knew what it did to his hernias, and then to his incisions. And then, crying just exacerbated his indigestion. We finally concluded that it was diet-induced reflux issues. And changing my…
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I love babywearing. But in all honesty, there are some reasons you may want to steer clear of the babywearing fad. Thus, I present these ten points to consider before you jump on the babywearing bandwagon.