Doubling up today!
It's Day 5 of the Slice of Life Story Challenge, started by Two Writing Teachers. I am writing around the theme topic of "What I Know For Sure." (See Day 1 for a full explanation.)
I also look forward to Thursdays when I can publish thoughts on my spiritual journey and hear the thoughts of others on a weekly theme topic. It has become a space for an encouraging and fortifying community to come together. We welcome anyone who would like to join us! For the past couple of months, we've been writing around the One Little Words of our little community. Feel free to join us on Thursdays if you'd like. Let me know at @muellerholly.
This week we are writing about Libby Mueller's word, ADVENTURE.
Did you know it was World Book Day?! Last weekend I attend the Ohio Council of Teachers of English conference. My teaching soul mate, Megan, and I were presenting, but we were also looking forward to all the great literacy learning we knew we were going to experience while there. After all, Jordan Sonnenblick and Penny Kittle were keynote speakers! Of course, we were right. Both speakers were amazing and shared a common theme topic: story.
Here are some of my tweets during the conference:
"The best thing we have for dealing with pain...is story. The most important thing we can give our Ss is story." - @JSonnenblick #OCTELA
— Holly Mueller (@MuellerHolly) February 27, 2015
Drums, Girls, & Dangerous Pie was written for Emily, a student who needed the story. - @JSonnenblick (I LOVED that bk!) #OCTELA
— Holly Mueller (@MuellerHolly) February 27, 2015
So excited to hear @JSonnenblick ! "You're (English teachers) a torch-carrier for story." #OCTELA pic.twitter.com/XjDVar933L
— Holly Mueller (@MuellerHolly) February 27, 2015
Books should allow us to go on a journey to figure things out. @pennykittle #octela
— Holly Mueller (@MuellerHolly) February 28, 2015
Story has played an integral part of my life since I was a little girl. My mom and dad sang, told, and read me stories. I loved to read when I was little, imagining I was Laura Ingalls Wilder, Nancy Drew, and Fern. I attended Sunday school and heard all the Bible stories (I even won a perfect attendance award). I wrote a book about horses when I was in 6th grade and devoured the Black Stallion series. I still remember visits to the library and book mobile with fondness. Ultimately, I made story my major (English Literature) and career, teaching reading and writing. I read books aloud to my girls, followed their journeys with the Harry Potter series with enthusiasm, and continue to recommend books to them to this day. I belong to book clubs, am a proud Nerdy Book Club member, and keep a blog full of stories. March Slice of Life challenge and Spiritual Journey Thursdays are all about telling stories and making sense of this thing called life.
What greater adventure do we have than story? Even if you aren't particularly adventurous (I'm not going to go hang-gliding or parachuting any time soon), you can take an adventure with a boy wizard, a curious girl investigating a wardrobe, and a hobbit and his posse. You can learn from all the dynamic characters that have become, or are waiting to become, part of your life. Story can help us connect, heal, think, feel, and relax. Telling our own stories can be life-changing.
This brings me to the greatest story ever lived and told. Jesus's story. His story begins in the Old Testament and continues in us today. It is the never-ending story. And it's full of adventure. It is epic.
I read the book, Epic: The Story God is Telling by John Eldredge several years ago and loved it. Here is my Goodreads review:
| John Eldredge's little, but profound book shows us that life is a story, but our part in that story is no accident. We are part of THE story. Eldredge writes that we have all the great and tragic stories that we have because we have embedded in our soul the one true epic - the story of the Trinity - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. I love all the references to great stories in this book - The Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, The Chronicles of Narnia, Wrinkle in Time, Gladiator, the Matrix, Braveheart, etc., and how they echo God's story. This idea gives you a sense of purpose and hope because we have a crucial role to play in the bigger story. The bigger story can't exist without us, and we can't exist without the bigger story. I love this paragraph: "Jack will come to rescue Rose. William Wallace will rise up to rescue Scotland. Luke Skywalker will rescue the princess and then the free peoples of the universe. Nemo's father rescues him. Nathaniel rescues beautiful Cora - not just once, but twice. Neo breaks the power of the Matrix and sets a captive world free. Aslan comes to rescue Narnia. I could name a thousand more. Why does every great story have a rescue? Because yours does." "We will always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body." 2 Corinthians 4:10 |
What I Know For Sure: We live and breathe Jesus's story, and it's quite the plot pyramid. God gave us part of the story in The Bible. We get to be part of the rest of it if we choose. Now that's an adventure!
Just when I thought we were at the end of our One Little Word journey, God has continued the adventure!
MARCH 12th: Jaana's OLW, DISCOVER
MARCH 19th: Teresa Winterstein's OLW, BRAVE
MARCH 26th: Mary Hill's OLW, EXERCISE
Adding Epic to my TBR list. Love this reminder that we are part of a much bigger story, and the best part is...we know how the story ends! Thanks. ~ Jen
ReplyDeleteJen,
DeleteYes!! We know the ending! I love that.
How did I miss Epic? I love Elderedge's Beautiful Outlaw! I too am adding this to my TBR list. As people we do live in the narrative. I want my kids to understand that idea of the fact that HIS-story has us each living an important role. Like Whitman said,"...and the powerful play goes on, and that you may contribute a verse!" Oh Me! Oh Life!
ReplyDeleteHappy World Book Day too! Teresa
I haven't read any other Eldredge books, but Beautiful Outlaw looks great! Love your quote! :-)
DeleteI saw so many tweets that came out of that conference. It sounded like a good one. I'm glad I got to learn from the presenters from the comfort of my home in PA.
ReplyDeleteSonnenblick is an awesome writer - and thanks for the Tweets!
ReplyDeleteHolly,
ReplyDelete"Story can help us connect, heal, think, feel, and relax.Telling our own stories can be life-changing." On the journey called life, we await the connections and healings gathered along the way as we think, feel, and relax. Your story connected to my poem that connected to your daughter's one little word, adventure. We are travelers that share insights and hope in a faith that leads us on.
Bravo Holly. Glad I finally got here to read the post that inspired a number of slicers today. Love it.
ReplyDeleteDigital Bonnie
I'm late to link up because I was working on another adventure, sending off the first 10 pages for a critique from SCBWI. Yikes! That was so hard! Our stories, fiction or nonfiction, become part of us. I agree with you that Jesus' story becomes part of our story. Hope abounds.
ReplyDeleteThat's so exciting, Margaret!! I can't wait to hear what happens!
DeleteI'm really enjoying your Spiritual posts, Holly :) And that book AFTER EVER AFTER sounds terrific, too!
ReplyDeleteLoved your take on adventure and story. Wish I could have joined you for the PD, thanks for sharing with us your learning and tweets.
ReplyDeleteI'm a day late...so sorry! Writing about adventure challenged me! Thanks to your daughter for a great word!!! The conference sounds AMAZING!!!!!
ReplyDeleteI love your blog today -- stories are so important. Words are powerful. The idea that we are part of God's story, a vital player was phrased in a way that made me stop and think. It's pretty cool, isn't it? To play a role in the greatest story ever written. (By the way, I'm jealous you got to meet Jordan Sonnenblick -- love his books.)
ReplyDeleteOh how I love stories. And the story of Jesus is the sweetest.
ReplyDelete