The Trickle Down Affect of Porn

27 02 , 2015 10 Comments

ChildrenI was moving through a crowded hallway at the local middle school when an itty-bitty girl stopped me. I had to lean in to hear her as she came to just above my waist. A petite sixth-grader who could have passed for a fourth-grader.

She had been in one of the classes I spoke to earlier. I was there talking about the writer’s life. Career Day, you see. Come tell our students what you do.

So I did. Took in copies of all my books, read from a couple of them, talked about the tools a writer needs: listen, pay attention, read, read, read.

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An Epidemic of Liars

24 02 , 2015 7 Comments

Pee

Lying has reached epidemic proportions in the United States. Listen, I understand that it is human nature to lie. Humans have been telling fibs every since Adam ate that apple. Or was it a peach? That story always cracks me up because you got to be some sort of dumb squat to think you can convince the God of the Universe that you just misremembered eating the one thing he told you not to touch.

No wonder Scriptures is clear that one of the things God hates most is lying: “There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil,  a false witness who pours out lies and a person who stirs up conflict in the community. ” Proverbs 6: 16-19.

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Fifty Shades of Debasing Women

23 02 , 2015 6 Comments

 

Dakota

 

Did you watch the Academy Awards? If so, did you happen to catch that totally uncomfortable interview Lara Spencer did with Melanie Griffith and her daughter Dakota Johnson?

If you are a parent, you have most likely experienced an awkward moment or two dozen of them with your child. However, not many of us experience it on live television in front of God and millions of viewers.

Raise your hand if you winced for Melanie when Dakota snapped at her momma: “All right, you don’t need to see it.”

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Coming to the Stage in 2016!

20 02 , 2015 17 Comments

Springer. 2015. 1

 

A couple of weeks ago, I got a call from Georgia. I knew it was a Georgia phone number because of the area code. Although I did not recognize the number, I answered the call anyway. I was sitting in a hospital room at the time, waiting on the birth of a grandson.

Springer. 2015. Sign

 

Paul Pierce, the artistic director of Springer Opera House in Columbus, Georgia, my hometown, was on the other end of the line. I about fell out when Paul told me he had finished reading “Mother of Rain” and wanted to adapt it for the stage. Seriously. It was one of those out-of-body moments.

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Speak Louder – I’m listening

19 02 , 2015 No Comments

party line

I am an unabashed eavesdropper. If you are talking anywhere within earshot of me, I am likely listening to every word you say and in some instances, dictating it.

Such was the case of the woman sitting in row 20 of that late flight out of Portland on Tuesday:

“Our brother looks so much like Daddy now. I mean I always thought he favored Daddy but ohmygosh! Now that he is older, he really looks like Daddy. And Lolly has really aged. I mean like really, she’s showing her age. You know she was always cute, well, aging, it’s really bothering her that she’s not cute any more. She went on and on about how beautiful your girls are, but in a loopy way. I am not sure if she had too much to drink that night, or if she really is getting loopy, you know, mentally. It might be her mind. Or maybe she had more to drink than I knew about that night, but I am telling you, she was really loopy, and not in a good way.”

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