Contradictions!

I was doing some search through a few things I wrote about twenty years ago, and I found the words posted below. Have things changed much?

There are some stunning contradictions in our main sources of entertainment. Television has many programs decrying the rampant teenage pregnancies, but they are sponsored by the sex merchants. Some use fifteen year old girls to advertise their sex-will-sale products. Movies depict the beauty of "Foxes" and "Little Darlings" doing it naturally in "Blue Lagoons", and all the while the marquees suggest that no one be admitted under seventeen years of age.

The worst contradiction though, comes a home, where we try to spoon feed our children about life and sexual purity, while we are engaged up to our ears in televised "jiggle" jokes and x-rated acts as our entertainment.

Call me what you like, but it seems to me we ought to be consistent.

Matthew 23: 25 "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrite! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self indulgence."

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My New Favorite Commercial!!!

I watch a lot of television and find most commercials to mindless. But I just saw one that made me laugh out loud. It is by Quiznos. It depicts a beautiful young woman sitting on a park bench. She was watching another woman, rather plain, eating a sandwich. She is very jealous of the lady with the sandwich, we hear her thoughts, "That should be me." Then she speaks vehemently to the plain Jane, "I hate you!"

The lady looks up with a surprised look and a smile spreads across her face and she responds to the Beauty, "Wow, really?"


Now that is a commercial with which most of us can relate!

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The Hungry Dog

It is the hungry dog that does the hunting. A comfortable, satisfied feeling sometimes leads people to complacency, and possibly boredom. On the other hand, people with a desire to reach a goal are constantly busy and alive.

Having something we want before us helps us to have a purpose in what we do. If we are a student, that needed diploma motivates us. If we are parents, having our children become responsible citizens requires determination and steadfastness. As Christians, a longing for Heaven and peace prompts us to take up our crosses daily.

Matthew 5:6 "Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled"

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An Attitude of Gratitude

One day my mom received a painting from her favorite aunt. It was a round canvas, with a diameter of 24 inches. It was a still life of flowers in a nice vase. My Mom wanted it framed professionally. When she brought it home from the framer, she had also bought a sconce to place on each side of the painting when it was hung on the wall.

Our nation has set aside one day each year, the fourth Thursday of November, as a day of Thanksgiving. We have much for which to be thankful as a nation, freedom, security, and plenty. The turkey is the symbol we all relate to Thanksgiving Day.

Christians should not wait until November to be thankful for all their blessings. All good and perfect gifts come from God. That includes not only the temporal blessings, but the spiritual blessings like salvation, the church, the Scriptures, and our hope.

God deserves thanks every day. All we do should be done in an attitude of gratitude, giving the glory to our Father in Heaven.

1 Thessalonians 5:18 "in everything give thanks, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus".

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Peer Pressure Is Not Just Kid Stuff

Peer pressure is one of the most subtle, yet overwhelming pressures we have to face. It is extremely difficult to overcome the desire to be one of the crowd.

The period of maximum group pressure is probably during adolescent years, from seventh through twelfth grades in school. During those years the strongest motivational force on the average teen is not to please parents. It is to please friends, to be accepted by peers.


Peer pressure may subside in later life, but it definitely does not cease. A housewife and mother may be tempted to lie about her family so they will be accepted. A business man may give in to social activities or business practices that are against his conscience, just so he won't be left out of the inner circle, or branded an outcast.


Temptations associated with peer pressure can be extreme. Giving in to these temptations brings weakness and even eternal death. Standing fast brings strength and leads toward life everlasting.


Romans 12:2 "Don't let the world around squeeze you into its own mold..."


(This post first appeared on another blogsite that is now defunct).

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Receiving and Bestowing The NICE AWARD!

I have had The Nice Award bestowed on me today by my dear virtual friend, Inklings. She said so many nice things, I am sure I will go back to reread it from time to time when I am not feeling good.

My assignment now is to present a nice award to a deserving blogger. I could have chosen anyone of a dozen or so virtual friends that have been especially nice, but is easy and a joy to name Sharon Hurley, aka wahmwriter, Hall.

I first met Sharon in the WritingUp.com neighborhood and I count her as a tremendous neighbor. Sharon is one of the most successful bloggers and freelance writers in cyberspace. Very few bloggers are more ready to share and encourage others than Sharon. And what she shares is highly significant because she is so very knowledgeable. Sharon works hard to make the community of man a better place.


SHH has made a wonderful impact on those with whom she has come in contact, and I for one am glad to present her with this nice award! She is free to pass it along on any of her blogs, and link back to keep the Nice Award moving along.

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Piggy Banking

When I first entered the ministry, I was doing youth ministry. Within a few years I had developed good friendships with many who married and began families. When their children were delivered, I always went to the hospital to visit. But I always wanted to take a little something as a gift, rather than go empty handed.

Very early on I settled on giving little ceramic banks. After all, I was in the Saving business. Sometimes they were piggy banks, or other animals. Sometimes I would give a football or other theme bank. I tried to make the banks fit the family. Sometimes it was hard to find the perfect bank, and I would settle for what I could find.

The giving of banks has become such a tradition that the moms often wonder what bank they will get from me. Now days if I here that one of our members is expecting, I will begin seeking the right bank long before the baby makes an appearance. I have on a couple of occasions, been able to buy banks in homelands of the mother, who came to the States with her groom. One came from Shanghai and was a monkey, matching the year of the Chinese zodiac in which the child was born. The other was from Belarus and was a figure of a little girl in traditional dress from that country.

I sometimes wish I had kept a list of the names of the children I had given banks at their birth, but I did not. I wonder how long it will be before I am able to present a bank to a child born to a parent that was also a recipient of a bank from me at their birth.

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More Births Than Any Other Week!

I was a bit surprised today to learn that this week is the week that more babies are born in America than any other week. Track back on the calendar to nine months ago, and you will find Valentine's day! Some how I missed in by biology classes that chocolate and gold or diamonds had any connection to conception. Silly me.

By the way, I want to wish my wife and one of my grandsons a happy birthday. They both will be celebrating on Wednesday, the 14th!

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Records?

A couple of days ago in a discussion with my girls and grandkids about music, I showed my age and how out of touch I am. I asked one of them if they had any records of Hannah Montana. Several of the young ones looked at me funny and asked, "Records?" I realized that none of my grandkids has ever had, and maybe never seen a record player!

As we laughed and talked about the progression of recording on phonograph records, to 8 track tapes, to cassettes, to CDs to MP3 players. Today I saw a news piece about a creative guy making use of old records. Maybe I will get some of his creations for my grandchildren for Christmas!

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Keeping Them Quiet in Church--Reprise

This is an edited version of a post I wrote for a now defunct blog site more than a year ago. I hope you enjoy it.

This blog grew out of my response to kamirusma's blog yesterday. She introduced the issue of church being boring. No doubt it is a real factor within the families of faith. I suppose all of us have had heavy eyelids in church, as well as almost any other place we sit still for more than a few minutes.

In my opinion it is inexcusable to make the message of Christ boring. In our day of instant gratification, I suppose that to some the traditions of faith can seem dull, especially if those leading worship and presenting the message are just going through the motions.


I belong to a fellowship that is conservative. We do things as close to the way they are outlined in the New Testament as we can. We are not high church, if that is a functional term for this community, but not charismatic either. We sing acapella, no gimmicks to hype up our services.


But we try to make the message and the worship assembly meaningful and practical, we want it to be part of your life everyday and in every place.


One of the things we do is give our teens opportunities to be a part of the services and to participate in ministry of the word. I think it is an important part of why there are few who sleep in our services.


We have our Sunday school study centered around one passage or topic for the whole family on any given week. That way the families can read and share with their kids in discussions of the subject before classes. The intent is that everyone be aware of the subject before they get to class so they do not feel left out. They will even be likely to contribute to the lesson.


We do some other organized activities to help the young ones know the basics of faith so they will develop a faith of their own. Hopefully, by their teen years so they have made their decisions for faith and are not as likely to be "forced to go to church".


Skouba has some good ideas in the comments of kamirusma's blog, & I encouraged her to post them on her site too. She points to the need for mom and dad to train the children to worship instead of programming them to need to be entertained.


Another item that helps is that the messages in our services are not long and drawn out, at least not on a regular basis. I had a friend and mentor tell me long ago, "No sermon is all bad if it is short enough."


I don't know if this helps the debate, but I hope so.

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My First You Tube Video--A Quick Trip to Dominica

I bought a new Mac laptop a month ago, and have finally explored a bit of the iphoto capabilities. I made my first little video. It is a few of my pictures from my most recent visit to Dominica. Dominica is located in the Caribbean, between the French Islands of Guadaloupe and Martinique. It is a beautiful place, but not as developed as some of the more easily accessed islands. Let me know what you think!

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Family Plan at the Y

This past summer my grandsons, who are six and seven, began jogging with a coach from the local high school. He told me that the little one has an ability to run that needs to be encouraged and developed. Since August I have been running with the boys, a mile in our neighborhood, two or three times a week.

In late October the YMCA opened a branch in our neighborhood. We signed up as a family, primarily so the boys could play in the sports leagues they offer. But I have been also going to the fitness center. A trainer set me up on a circuit that I have now done 11 times, lifting a total of over 48,000 pounds!

I next want to learn to play pickle ball. I hear it is a blast.

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My Grandson Has A By Line!

Once a month there is a community newsletter delivered in the mail to everyone who lives on the west side of our town. Sometimes I scan the pages to see if there are some articles I want to read. It is a 40 page periodical with lots of items about home and school and church functions.

The copy that was delivered yesterday has only one story on the front page, about happenings at the new high school that is opened near us. I was very pleasantly surprised to see that article was written by my grandson. He is a freshman at the new high school, playing basketball and participating in school life for the first time after having been home schooled from kindergarten through his junior high years.

The boy is taking a journalism class, and is working on the yearbook staff. The story in the community newsletter continues on page 2 and ends on page 3. The young man did a nice job, if I do say so myself. Best of all, it was paid by the paper for his efforts.

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Perception

Material goods and physical possessions seem to be the focal points of human thought. Our carnal minds tend to see only the superficial. Men are measured by their physical abilities, and success is judged by material assets. There is seldom a day that passes without us wishing we had this or that, usually in abundance. We even misunderstand those things we count as necessities.

The Lord has promised to provide for our needs even more than He does for the birds of the air and the flowers of the field. Our priority needs to be seeking God and His righteousness. But even here we often respond to the physical. We fill our prayers with words of thanks for things. "Thanks You for our home, our food, our clothes, and all our blessings. And most of all for Jesus."

These are good words and thoughts, but do we see the true picture? Are we improperly regarding the gifts of Him who loves us, while failing to perceive the love of Him who gives" Let's not be guilty of placing more value and esteem on the gifts than on the Giver!

Matthew 6:33 "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you."

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Two Years Ago Today

Two years already, it is hard to believe. On the fifth of November, 2005, my wife donated a kidney to a gentleman we worship with. He was down to only fifteen percent function in his own kidneys and in dire need. When my wife found out you do not have to be a blood kin to make a donation and she volunteered.

She went through the long series of tests and was found to be a match to our friend. The operations went well and within a couple of months my bride was fully recovered. The recipient had to undergo lots of treatments to help prevent rejection but today he is doing so well. At services last night he came by to ask me if I was aware that today is the second anniversary of the transplant.

It is funny how something can seem so long ago and still be as fresh in memory as though it were yesterday.

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Revisiting THE SUN SINGER

Yesterday I read an interview with Malcolm Campbell on a blog. He is the author of a fascinating novel, THE SUN SINGER. Malcolm also is a blog friend of mine. About a year and a half ago, on a blog site that is now defunct, I was privileged to host a discussion of the book. That discussion is one of the highlights of all my blog experiences. Since the topic is being stirred else where, I decided to repost the posts I made. Sadly, I do not have copies of the hundreds of comments and observations made by the participants, but maybe the posts will whet your appetite for the book.

I have made a few editorial changes, taking out links to the old web site, but essentially below are the postings of four days material about the book.

THE DAWN OF THE SUN SINGER

As anxious as I have been to get this discussion started, I have also been anxious about my ability to adequately analyze the work of our virtual friend, Trick Falls. Our friend and mentor, Trick Falls, is known in an alternate reality as Malcolm Campbell.
In our writing up world, we have known Trick Falls as a good blogger. Through the portal of THE SUN SINGER, we now realize he is also an excellent novelist. I had only read a few pages when I thought to myself that we were going to enter the world of Frank Peretti and the spirit realm. That was fine with me, I have enjoyed several Peretti novels; This Present Darkness, Piercing the Darkness, and most recently, Monster.
But before long I was being led through landscapes and following trails with the descriptive prowess of one of my favorite authors, Louis L’Amour. Trick Falls is not just some “hack writer” that came along and stumbled through a story!
His character development was also more than satisfactory. There were common names like Robert Adams, and Grandfather Elliot and David Ward. But with the likes of Aton, Caros, and the Black Horse, Sikimi, I knew there were imageries I was missing because I did not know the stories of some of the historic or mythical peoples or individuals. That thought was confirmed in the Qoheleth discussions between believin and Trick Falls a week or so ago.
There were moments as I read that we were simply on a coming-of-age journey. That may be the way Hollywood portrays it when they make the movie, but I hope not. The young hero does struggle to gain Intelligence, Wisdom, and Balance (Equilibrium), and to channel the divine gifts he has been given. He does struggle with guilt over being blessed when others are not so blessed. But there is so much more to the story.
I would like to limit the discussions here today to general impressions and observations; as well as discussions of the imagery of names and symbols, if possible. I propose that tomorrow we investigate the meanings and messages of the book in an attempt to “Harness the Power of THE SUN SINGER.

IN ORBIT AROUND THE SUN SINGER

I enjoyed the discussion yesterday. I was encouraged by the exchanges, and I gained more confidence that I had understood most of the symbolism of THE SUN SINGER as they were intended. We also got some nice pictures in the links from Montucky.

I had thought we would go into the meanings and messages of the novel today, but I think we did not get to importance of some of the relationships within the story. The relationship between Robert and his grandfather was fairly easy to understand. Grandfather Elliot was the anchor for Robert’s life, and his death was the mechanism to motivate Robert to embark o his journey to maturity. Other relationships were not so simple for me to discern.

For example, I kept wondering at the reluctance of Robert’s mom to share with him information that might have made his journey easier and less dangerous. Was it simply a picture of a mother not facing the fact that her little boy was growing up? Or was there some more sinister idea behind it, something related to the magic involved?

And what about Robert’s father? Why was he out in the middle of a lake and not a factor in the young man’s journey? Was he just too busy, and wrapped up in his own place in life, or just ignorant of his son’s dilemma?

Also, when Robert had gone through the portal into Pyrrha he encountered Gem and Cinnabar. I found myself wondering about their relationship to Grandfather Elliot. At one point I was afraid that there was about to be an incestuous relationship between Robert and Cinnabar. I thought they might be alternate world siblings for a time. I knew there was a family connection from very early in the tale, but I did not figure it out, I had to read it to get it.

There were lots of great interactions, and we did not investigate them yesterday in any depth. So it is my proposal that we focus our discussion today on those elements of The Sun Singer. Then we will tackle the meanings and messages our author friend wanted to impart tomorrow.



HARNESSING THE POWER OF THE SUN SINGER

I really enjoyed our discussion over the past couple of days about the images and the style of writing of our friend, Trick Falls. I appreciate all of you who participated and am looking forward to more of the same in this segment, likely the last unless developments here lead to more.

As I mentioned in the first segment, it is my intention today for us to talk about the meanings and the message of The Sun Singer. Of course the key character of the story was Robert Adams, a teenaged boy who is trying to find himself. It is always a difficult test to move from boyhood to manhood. It always seems as if there is no sure path to follow. On the one hand young men want to be told how to do things so they won't make mistakes and look foolish. But at the very same time, they do not want anyone to treat them like a child who can't fend for himself. Two sides of 1 coin, as it were.

The Sun Singer is a masterful presentation of the difficult journey between worlds. Robert has the mentor he longs for in his Grandfather Elliott. It is the gifts of his grandfather that help Robert have the courage to go forward, even the eager anticipation and sense of duty that is necessary.

I really appreciated that the tangible gift that Robert received from Grandfather Elliott was the Staff of Equilibrium. All young men need to maintain their balance and not go too far in the direction of destruction. And was it not the Staff of Wisdom that opened the portal between worlds? I'm not sure why the Staff of Intelligence remained in the hands of David Ward, but I suspect there's more to the story than we've yet heard.

I loved how Trick Falls led us through the inner struggle of Robert Adams as he learned conviction and demonstrated his commitment to right and justice. Robert being lamed in the battle helped us to remember that there is consequence and personal accountability for decisions we make and actions we take.

Trick Falls, of course, acknowledges the struggle that young men have with passion for the opposite sex, and the struggle to remain pure. The descriptions of the seductiveness of Dryad really painted a picture of how powerful those urges are in a young man. But I am really grateful that in this story The Sun Singer was able to overcome the urges and to maintain his purity. Too many storytellers today want us believe that everyone gives in, and that there is no way to resist.

The struggles that Robert had in learning how to accept blessings when others do not seem to be blessed at all came through in his handling of himself being alive and the little girl being killed. I also enjoyed Robert coming to realize that doing good is possible, even when you don't know everything. Too many of us allow ourselves to be paralyzed by our fear that we don't know enough. I suppose that has to be balanced with those of us who rush in and do things before we do know enough. But it was a strong element of THE SUN SINGER story.

Robert Adams, THE SUN SINGER, learning to harness the power of his divine gifts, and to accept his place in the world, is story that needs to be told and retold.

I have touched on a few of the threads that Trick Falls wove together into such a beautiful tapestry. I invite your comments on the things I saw, and more importantly I am anxious to hear what you saw.





SUN SINGER EPILOGUE


At the beginning of the month I hosted the monthly book club, reading group some of us have formed here on writing up. We had a lively discussion of the novel, THE SUN SINGER, by our virtual friend, Trick Falls, aka Malcolm Campbell. I thought the discussion had run its course, and moved on to other pursuits, like the Fantasy Blogger League.

But last night merryone announced she had finished the book and had lots of observations she wanted to share. The discussion was so good I decided to revisit the topic, as something of an epilogue.

THE SUN SINGER is the story of a young man’s journey into maturity, using alternate realities as the mechanism for seeing things differently. It is a masterful approach to the topic. If you missed the three posts and threads of discussion earlier in the month, I think you would find the time spent in going through them very educational.

But for tonight I want to set the table for a discussion of the creative process involved in writing a work of art. It is not uncommon to read a review of a movie or book that includes statements from readers/viewers. That is what I want to do here, in hopes of stimulating more input from our community, which contains several already accomplished authors/writers.

I hope to have input from such writing up citizens as Ed Butts, Sharon Hurley Hall, Inklings, Gracepub, Ethan Mawyer, Believin, and others who have a grasp of the creative process, in addition to Merryone, Seth Mullins, and the inimitable Trick Falls.

To get your thoughts flowing, I have copied remarks from the earlier posts that address the creative process:

Merryone--

FF&F, you have some interesting questions about the creative process. I'd love to hear some more input from some of the other writers about their own process, but I always think there's so much to learn from other writers. It seems to me that everyone has their own way of doing things and whatever works to spur your own creativity is the 'right' way for you... in other words, contrary to some people's perceptions, I don't think there is a right way or formula for creating fiction.
So far, for me, I don't work with outlines in any way. I know a lot of writers would disagree with that, but it's not the way I work. I had the basic premise and main characters in mind when I started, and I knew the basic location. From there, the story takes on a life of it's own. I find my characters emerging in way that I hadn't expected and turns in the story that surprise me (which is, by the way, my absolute favorite part of fiction writing... when the characters start to tell the story, you know you've gotten it to breathe)...
There are things that I am inherently interested in that make it into the story, and sometimes there are things that I just happen to stumble upon and they fit perfectly, synchronicity again... I research enough so that it's accurate, but not so much during the rough draft period... I just make a note to double check the facts or to embellish the description and it comes into play in later revisions.
I would guess that the research end would come into play very heavily when writing historical fiction... and there is always an amount of research if you want your story to have depth...
Anybody else want to share some of their process...


Seth--

...and I was actually astounded by how similar your creative process is to mine. You even describe it in similar terms as I am wont to do. Yup, no outline, just a sketch of characters and setting at the onset. (Actually, I do a lot of 'world-building', but I never know how much of that will be used. It's the two-thirds of the iceberg that is submerged, oftentimes). And when the characters take off running, yes, that's when the excitement and reality enters. And making those notes in the margins for further research or fleshing out, yes! It's good to just keep moving, especially in a first draft.

Me--

Your description brought to mind the first couple of chapters of Genesis. Lots of world/universe building took place, lots of it unused and unseen. But when the characters take off running, yes, that's when the excitement and reality enters." Everything that was made before the characters was pronounced good, but when the characters were introduced into the world, it was called "very good."
Yours sounds to me like inspired creativity.

Merryone--

Your description brought to mind the first couple of chapters of Genesis. Lots of world/universe building took place, lots of it unused and unseen. But when the characters take off running, yes, that's when the excitement and reality enters." Everything that was made before the characters was pronounced good, but when the characters were introduced into the world, it was called "very good."
Yours sounds to me like inspired creativity.

Trick Falls--

If I were a painter, merryone, I would spend years buying the paint, the brushes, and the canvas. Then I'd put on a blindfold and go to work. That's the way the writing goes now. The research takes me so much time because when I'm blindfolded, I want to be able to grab up whatever I need without losing the flow of the story.
In the current novel, set mostly in "real life," the David Ward character is serving on an aircraft carrier during the Vietnam War. Okay, I was there, but I wasn't taking notes. I have memories and impressions and some facts. The chapter about the ship was stalled for a week while I was tracking down the exact wording of all the shipboard announcements that one hears over the intercom while at sea. For me, these anchor the impressionistic story (rather like the use of bird and plant information in "The Sun Singer") and I need them lying here on my palette before I start slinging words.
Sure, I know more or less where things are going, but the characters have their own ideas, so--like you--I'm not sure who is (in my case) doing the typing.

Merry--

By the way, ff&f, word crafting is no small thing in my book; in fact, to me it's only another way of saying, 'writing' (you should hear a choir of angels at the mention of the word...)
I absolutely think that your preparation and execution of sermons is a creative process of the highest order. Not only are you communicating a message or point to teach a lesson and impart knowledge, but your writer's voice comes from a place that you are most passionate... I would say that's the best form of creative communication, and not every writer is lucky enough or good enough to claim that.
Trick Falls, I love the way that you depict your process and research. Our styles are a bit different, but I think yours would be one that I would employ if I ever venture into historical fiction (something I would dearly love to tackle at some point).

Okay, do you have questions for the authors, input about the creative process, or some more observations of THE SUN SINGER?

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Getting Started on Publicizing My Blog

Beginning a new blog and trying to raise its profile in the virtual world requires a bit of homework, like posting a profile from Technorati so I can have the blog claimed. This is what this little post is intended to do. Of course it is always nice to have friends and other readers drop by technorati to make a new blog a favorite--hint, hint.

Technorati Profile

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Family Fun Faith as a Domain of its Own

I began blogging about two years ago at the encouragement of my middle daughter. She had found a blog site that was a fun community called writing up. It is now defunct, but she and my first born and I have continued to blog in several different sites, but today is the first time I have blogged on a paid domain with my favorite blog identity, Family Fun & Faith.

I will likely make this my primary blog focus over the foreseeable future, though I will still show up in the old neighborhoods, to stay in touch with old friends.