Sarah's "Dog" Shopping Nightmare

Sarah woke today from dozing in a pain-pill induced haze and called for me to come over.

"What, Sweetheart?" I asked, "Do you need more water?"
"No, I need a hug. I just had a terrible dream."
"Oh no, what was it about?"
"It was really bad."
"It's ok. You can tell me."
"Well," she started, "I had a dream that I was shopping."
"That sounds good. Girls love shopping."
"No, I had a dream that I was shopping and Beth Chapman from Dog the Bounty Hunter had her own clothing store."
"You're right," I said. "That's a terrible dream."
"The worst part was that Beth Chapman had her own store and she was forcing me to buy clothes and try them on. It was a really bad dream."

The moral of the story: If you think all the crowds are bad while you're doing your Christmas shopping this month, remember, it could be much worse. You could be trapped in a store owned by this woman, and forced to try on clothes. Fashions by Beth: A fate worse than death.

 

Sarah Preps for Surgery

Sarah prepares this morning for bone graft surgery. The procedure will remove a mass from inside the bone that forms the tip of her left ring finger. Once this mass is removed, bone matter from forearm will be used to fill the void in her finger bone.
It's a routine operation that will take an hour to complete. She's scheduled to begin at around 9:30. We anticipate bringing her home by Noon.
I know she'd appreciate your prayers for an uneventful surgery.

Anatomy of a Story

Whether you're reading a book or writing one. Whether you're watching a movie, a commercial, or viewing a magazine; you are experiencing Story.

I've been studying Story for the past 8 years now. How to build them, interpret them, transfer them, capture and retell them, and how to assess their potential emotional impact on an audience. I'm still not very good at any of those things...but I have seen and told a tale or two.

The past couple of weeks I've been reading the Old Testament in large chunks. No, it's not because I'm spiritual. It's because I'm playing catch-up on all the semester end projects I should have been working on since October.(It's amazing what procrastination can do for your time in the Bible when you're in seminary.)

Anyway, reading it in large sections give you a great bird's-eye view of the major themes and movements. Usually when you read the Bible, you get bogged down in the details. You can't see the forest for the trees... You can't see the point for the facts.

In the middle of all this reading, I had an epiphany about Story. From a TV ad to a feature news story, to a travel magazine article, to the "greatest story ever told," I'm seeing a simple pattern in the little stories that make up Story. It's kind of a meta script for how good stories are put together in a way that keeps us interested, engages emotions and provokes response.

Others have already seen this pattern, this meta script for assembling good stories I'm sure...but I'm calling it:

Anatomy of Story

1. A hope is held.
2. A problem interferes.
3. The problem deepens.
4. The hope is revived.
5. The hope is realized.

Try putting the stories you come across through this filter. Does it work? Think about it in relation to the story of Christ and Christmas...

Ok...now I have to stop procrastinating and get back to my reading...

Dear Wildman: "Women Not Complicated, Grow Up"

Dear Wildman:

Girls are *not* complicated! How hard is it to say "You're pretty" and give us chocolate?

-Simple in AZ

Dear Simple:

Women are complicated.

Let me 'splain. It's complicated. Because, it doesn't just involve the words and candy. It also involves timing. So, what makes women complicated is that you have to do the right things (which they've told you to do) at the right time (when it's convincing and they don't think you're doing it because they told you to). Plus, you have to surprise them with the comments and chocolate - even though they know what's coming and when.

Women are not complicated like golf is not complicated. Simple, yet requiring great skill. Oh, and your life could be in jeopardy if you mess up. So, I guess it's more like playing golf with the devil with your eternal soul on the line.

Not complicated at all.


Except for you, Sarah, my sweet, pretty wife. Here's some chocolate.


(Didn't see that one coming, did you? Score.)


  

Snow?!?

A 70 degree Thanksgiving weekend followed by a chilly snow? Now I'm even more confused about climate change. Can we install a climate change switch? I'll take some global warming in the winter and some global cooling in the summer.

Now that'd be what you call climate control!