Movie Review- Risen

Follows the epic Biblical story of the Resurrection as told through the eyes of a non-believer. Clavius, a powerful Roman Military Tribune and his aide, Lucius, are tasked with solving the mystery of what happened to Jesus in the weeks following the crucifixion, in order to disprove the rumors of a risen Messiah and preventing an uprising in Jerusalem.

















This is by far the best Biblical-based movie I have ever seen. The filmmakers did not feel the need to over-embellish or "re-imagine" the true events in order to create an entertaining story. Instead, they filled in the details of the story and found a creative new way to tell it by using the perspective of an outsider.

This movie made me think. Seeing Clavius struggle to reconcile what he thought he knew, with what he was seeing and experiencing to the contrary was really amazing. Imagine being a foreigner who had not been immersed in Jewish history and prophecy, nor have you heard anything about this Nazarene man until you are tasked with finding his body. It is a whole new ballgame.

The setting of the movie was perfect and authentic. It was dusty, dirty, and hot, mingled with an earthy kind of beauty that was spectacular. The people were dirty, sweaty, and looked very normal. The filmmakers did not try to make the crucified bodies, or anything other bloody and dirty aspect seem neat and tidy. They showed it for what it was without being unnecessarily gory. I did wince many times when watching this film, but that was entirely appropriate given the subject matter.

The characters were solid. Clavius was a very driven individual, but he wasn't one dimensional. You knew from the very beginning that he was human. His character arc was very consistent and believable.

The disciples. Oh goodness, this is how Bible stories should be told! The disciples were adorable and hilarious. Indeed, I did not expect to laugh as much as I did when watching this film. The writers did a lovely job mingling humor with the serious events of this story. It's easy to get the impression sometimes that people in ancient times were all solemn and serious, and only focused on life and death issues. But people are people, and God gave Mankind a sense of humor. The disciples were just that, they were people living in a rough time who needed a sense of humor to brighten up their life.

This entire movie was consistent, well-rounded, and left me feeling very satisfied. I highly recommend it to believers and non-believers alike.

Book Review- A Stand At Sinai (The Promised Land Series)

Jarah, Ezra, Ada, Eitan and all our other friends from A Cry From Egypt join us again in one of the most thrilling eras in history. A Stand At Sinai takes the Israelites from the crossing of the Red Sea, through battles with the Amalekites, an Israelite wedding (wonder who?), the giving of the Ten Commandments - and the temptation of the Golden Calf.












I waited eagerly for this book for two years. Granted, it was out earlier than that, but unfortunately, this author does make it a little difficult to have easy access to buy her books. However, even after two years of waiting, I was not disappointed with the end result.

A Stand at Sinai picks up just a few weeks after the end of A Cry From Egypt. The Israelites are beginning their long journey through the desert wilderness. This book is at least twice as long as its predecessor, which was fully necessary in order to flesh out the story properly.

Just like with the ACFE, A Stand at Sinai takes you out of the sky and puts you on the ground in the Israelite's sandals. I think that many of us read the account of the journey from Egypt to the Promised Land with disgust towards the nation of Israel, their fickleness, and their short memories. We think, "How on earth could you turn away from God after all that He has done for you?" I have often thought that I wouldn't have been that foolish and fickle, I believed that I would have stayed strong.

But here's the truth: I wasn't there. I wasn't the one walking for hours on end in a hot, thirsty desert. I wasn't hungry, I wasn't scared. I didn't lose loved ones to attacks from the Amalekites. And to top it all off, many of the older generation turned away from God. It terrifies me to the core of my being to imagine what it would be like to have many of the trusted elders in your life, the people you have always relied on to be strong, suddenly turn away from the God they taught you to trust.

The Hebrew people were just that, they were people. They were inconsistent, they were foolish. Sometimes they were brave, and sometimes they were cowards. They were hungry, they were thirsty, they wanted to provide for their children. They wanted a place to call home. Welcome to the human race, for this is all of mankind. If I had been in their sandals, whose to say what I would have done. I really hope that I would have made the right choice, but a bit of reality has since taught me that I would have had to struggle and fight to make that good choice.

Auer yet again puts you right in the situation with Jarah and those around her. Jarah struggles so much in this book. Her faith is stretched to just about every limit there is. She desperately wants to do the right thing, to be a support to her family, and she dreams of a future in the Promised Land. I understood many of her struggles personally, having faced my own version of them. There is quite a bit of character development and growth that takes place in all of the characters in this book, particularly the younger generation. Several strong characters in particular take very defined stands for their faith, even after they have been dealt terrible blows, they continually turn their face towards Yahweh and resolve to follow Him, even if it breaks them.

I was deeply inspired by this book, and I felt that it came at a very pertinent time in my life. Many of my young adult peers are being tempted with the world, and some are falling away from their faith with God and running eagerly into the dark arms of the world. Its scary. I have sometimes asked myself the question, "If there was a room full of people, both strangers and beloved friends and family alike, and I was the only one who was willing to stand with God, would I be able to do it? Even if it meant walking alone in terms of human fellowship." The thought of being like the younger characters in this book who are losing their elders is even scarier.

And yet, just like the characters of the book, I keep coming to this conclusion: where else is there to go besides God? He is Almighty, the Alpha and the Omega, I AM, He is Yahweh. Where else would I go? The answer is no where. When hardship strikes, when trials come, when the pain deepens, there is no where to run to but to the Lord.

One of the most magnificent scenes of this book takes place at the foot of Mount Sinai itself. The moment when Yahweh descends upon the mountain and speaks to His people. I have a deep desire to experience something like that. Can you just imagine what it would feel like to have the ground tremble, and to hear loudly the voice of God? It is so awesome.

My only critique of this book is yet again the cover art. The artwork is beautiful, but it gives this book the feeling of a children's book. And while children could certainly read and enjoy this book, the story and writing is capable of entertaining and feeding a wider age range. I think the author may be limiting her audience with the cover art.

I highly recommend this book to anyone. It is so rich, it will encourage you in your faith, and it will give you that earthy and full-detailed picture of what it would have been like to experience this event firsthand.

Check the book out here on Amazon, or on Hope Auer's website. You can find this gifted author on Facebook and Twitter.

Book Review- A Cry From Egypt (The Promised Land Series)

Jarah was a slave in Egypt. It was a dangerous place to be. The work was exhausting and her family was torn between the gods of the Egyptians, and the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And her brother....would his Ada be given in marriage to an Egyptian in the palace? Would they ever be free?

Adventure, excitement, love, and faith come together when Jarah and her family find themselves at the culmination of four hundred years of history.














I loved this book! Growing up I learned about Moses and the Plagues in greater depth. I was utterly fascinated at the intricacies of this monumental time in history. Discovering that each plague had a specific meaning involving one of the Egyptian gods made me even more in awe of the incredible intelligence of God.

As wonderful as history books and the Biblical account are of this unique period of history, most of them are an overhead view. A big picture look at this memorizing story. A Cry From Egypt takes you out of the sky and puts you right on the streets of Ramses and Goshen.

Jarah is a very sympathetic and relate-able character. I have never in my life experienced the kinds of hardships that she and her family endure. Pain, hunger, being beaten within an inch of their life. Having no power over their own lives. Still, somehow, Auer managed to create a connection between my 21st century struggles as a Christian trying to follow God with those of a 12 year old slave girl in B.C. Egypt, who is struggling to seek and follow Yahweh.

Another incredible aspect of this book is the plagues. In all other accounts, we only get the big picture of what the plagues would have been like. Bloody river, frogs, flies, bleh! Even one of my top movies The Prince of Egypt relegates the plagues to a montage scene with some really epic music. But we never really get to feel firsthand what it would have been like to experience the plagues.

But through Jarah's eyes, and the eyes of her family and friends, we finally get an on-the-ground perspective of what the plagues would have been like. I found myself full of compassion for the Egyptians and Israelites both. For the Israelites, because they were still affected by what happened to the Egyptians; what with Pharaoh increasing their workload, and suffering great cruelties upon them. For the Egyptians, because they suffered and lost so much because of their leader's hardened heart. Auer does a wonderful job of humanizing the Egyptians, and you feel their pain deeply.

My only critique of this book would be the cover art. It is very clearly hand done, which while not bad, it does give the book more of a homemade, unprofessional feel. If I didn't know that this book was such a treasure on the inside, I would be tempted to pass over it as a half-way finished work of art. The phrase "don't judge a book by its cover" really isn't applicable in the world, because guess what, we do judge books by their covers. If I see a polished cover that excites me, I am for sure going to make an effort to read that book. But if I see something that looks amateurish that fails to create emotion in me, I will pass the book over. I do not mean anything offensive personally to the artist, the artwork is not bad in general, but for this context, I believe it cheapens the book and lessens the appeal.

I recommend this book to children and adults alike who love historical fiction and want to dive more deeply into one of the most awesome stories of the Bible! You can find it here on Amazon, or, on Hope Auer's website. You can also check her out on Facebook and Twitter.

9th Truth of Christmas- The Journey Matters

Historically, travel has been one of the hardest things for humans to accomplish. It is only within the last few hundred years that any major advances in transportation have been made. We can now be on the other side of the world in a matter of hours, a journey that would have taken months of misery in previous days.

Funny, and we still complain about long car rides with air conditioning or automatic heat. We still fuss at crowded airports and busy subways. I'm sure if we brought someone from the past to our world they would experience our modern travel with wide eyes and an open mouth.

Regardless of whether you travel on the back of a donkey, or in a jet, there is a desire to arrive at the destination as soon as possible. We have an expectation that our destination is more important and satisfying than the journey to get there.

Something that God has been teaching me extensively over the last several years is this....

the journey matters.

We don't hop from point A to point B on the map instantaneously. No, there is a road in between the points, one that we must travel and experience. In fact, when you look at the grand scheme of life, most of your life is spent on the journeys rather than the destinations. Our entire life on this planet is our journey towards our final destination, heaven. To believe that the destination is all that matters would discount the importance of our time spent here, on our journey.

Journeys are the time we spend getting from one place to another. There are short journeys, such as from when you begin learning to read until the time you have mastered it. And then there are much longer journeys that span years, decades, and lives. The journey of becoming more like Christ is one you begin at salvation, and continue until the day you die.

It is during the journey that God teaches us, molds us, and helps us grow. We meet people on our journey who have an impact on who we are, and who we become. We experience pain, joy, and hardship along the way, and those things either make us stronger, or break us down. Sometimes they do both.

When I begin a journey, I am usually feeling a mixture of excitement and dread. Excitement, because I am on the road to a new destination, and dread, because I know how hard the road ahead will be. About midway through the journey, I find out just how hard the road is, and I begin to beg God to let me be done as soon as possible. By the time I am almost done, I feel like I am dead on the floor; it is only by the grace of God that I keep going.

But when I am done, and I look back over the journey that God brought me on, I think, "Wowzers, that was intense. I'm so glad that is done."

And the way I know that the journey was worth it, is when I ask myself if I would trade that season for something easier. My answer is no, I wouldn't trade it for anything, because I can see how far God has brought me.

Mary's journey to Bethlehem was one of great hardship. The poor woman had to ride on the back of a bony donkey while being pregnant. She was cold, thirsty, hungry, tired, and in pain. Joseph had to walk that journey in sandals! They faced crowded roads, crowded towns, bad weather, and bad people. Their end destination? A stable for what was little better than a side-of-the-highway birth.

The journey had to be terrible, but in the end, I bet Mary was okay with the results. She was right where she was supposed to be. All of the prophesies regarding Jesus's birth had been fulfilled. Shepherds had greeted the her son with open hearts and tears of joy. Not to mention that she had given birth to the Son of God in stable after traveling across the country, talk about a tiger mama!

Jesus could not have been born in Mary's home village, He had to be born in Bethlehem; the shepherds surrounding Bethlehem, they were the ones chosen to meet the Messiah first. Who knows what else happened on that journey, who knows what people Mary and Joseph came in contact with,. Who knows what effect that journey had on others who were on their own journeys. Only God knows the answers to all of those questions.

Destinations do matter, they are incredibly important. But without the journey to get there, we would be far poorer as people.

This Christmas, embrace the journey that God has you on right now. Even if it is hard and messy. There is a purpose in our journeys, and when we finally arrive at our destination, we will thank God for the journey that brought us there.

...........................................................................................................................................................

Need more truth this Christmas? I have 8 more days worth to share with you, Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, Day 5, Day 6, Day 7, and Day 8.

I would love to connect with you, you can find me on Facebook or Twitter! You can also comment or leave me a message here on the blog. 

6th Truth of Christmas- I'm Right On Time

For most of my life, I have struggled with feeling like I am about two steps behind everyone else. When my friends were having their summer break, I was still doing school. When other people were eating dinner, I was eating a late lunch. When all my peers were driving, I still hadn't gotten my quota of practice hours in yet.

I know I'm not alone in this. This Christmas season especially has everyone freaking out, running late, feeling like the calendar is looming over their heads with a blinking red light on the 25th.

I have even felt that I must have been born in the wrong time, or that God must have made a mistake when He chose the year for me to start my life. Not that I actually believe this, but there are places in my heart where I feel that I could be more effective if I were older, wiser, etc.

Several years ago I read a book that went more in depth on the life of Christ. There were many neat things that stood out to me, but there was one fact that still continues to amaze me to this day.

Jesus was born at the beginning of the Roman Empire.

Why is this important? The Roman Empire is known for two things (1) its powerful military that allowed it to conquer most of the known world, creating one of the largest empires in history (2) Rome was known for its architectural masterpieces such as paved roads, which connected the empire and revolutionized travel in the ancient world.

Jesus was born at the beginning of the most internationally connected era in ancient history. By the time he was a grown man, Rome had only increased in power. By the time the early Church began, Rome was very strong and very connected, which enabled the spread of the gospel to happen with incredible speed.

Let that sink in for a bit. What if Jesus had been born a few hundred years before? He might not have had to deal with those rude Romans, but practically speaking, the impact of the gospel would have taken longer to go into effect.

What if Jesus had been born a few hundred years later, during the Dark Ages? Growth was nigh stunted in some parts of the world for centuries, due to the chaos and disconnected nature of the Dark Ages. Instability reigned supreme for hundreds of years, and it wasn't until the Renaissance that life and progress really began to happen on a more international scale. If the gospel hadn't already been spread and taken root across the world before that era, who knows what would have happened?

Maybe it is because I am a total history nerd that I find this concept so amazing. But I don't think that is the whole of it. What really amazes me about this fact, is that it shows me yet again that God has a plan. He has a grand timeline of history, He knows all things that were, that are, and that have yet to be.

He knows when to make things happen in the right time for the right outcome.

When I was little, I used to wish that I had been born in the American pioneer days. I was obsessed with cowboys and covered wagons. The idea of crossing vast prairies to begin a new life in the mysterious west was utterly thrilling and romantic to me.

That was a childish daydream. But as time has gone on, I have often wished I was somewhere else than where I currently was, or am at the moment. And then one day, it hit me.

I was born at the beginning of the Internet Empire.

Being a child of the nineties, I am a member of that unique generation who are just old enough to remember the pre-cell phone/email/worldwideweb age; but we are also the generation of children/teens who were growing up when that great divide was crossed. And the world is forever changed because of it.

I live in the most connected time in all of history. Within seconds, I could reach millions of people across the globe in spite of time, distance, language barriers, experience, and different background. None of these factors are major hindrances to me.

What an incredible thing it is to be alive right now. What an incredible opportunity I have to make an impact on the world. One of the greatest fears I have had in my life is that I won't make a difference in the world. But when I stop and think about the few pieces of God's master plan that I have glimpsed, my fears are soothed.

God knows what He is doing. He sent Jesus at the exact right moment in history so that His Church would be born most effectively.

I'm not Jesus, but God has given me a role to play in the timeline of His-Story. Everything, from the year I was born to how long it took me to get my driver's license are all a part of His plan for me.

I'm not running late, and I'm not too early. I am right on time.

...........................................................................................................................................................

Want to read about the previous Truths of Christmas? Catch up on Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, and Day 5.

If you want to learn more about me, check me out on Facebook and Twitter!

Movie Review- Bridge of Spies

During the Cold War, an American lawyer is recruited to defend an arrested Soviet spy in court, and then help the CIA facilitate an exchange of the spy for the Soviet captured American U2 spy plane pilot, Francis Gary Powers.

Spoiler Free! I'll be back on here soon with my spoiler riddled (N-Depth) post where I will discuss the movie in depth.

My older brother and I had the pleasure of seeing this movie last night. It was one of the top movies I have ever seen. Trust Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg to know how to tell a story! And to learn that most of the story is true? Ah, it's a good day to live in reality.

The cinematography was beautiful, with several very impressive scene transitions. Some very clear contrasts were shown in the story using scene placement. Oh, and one very impressive bit of foreshadowing. I was delighted!

However, the thing that impressed me the most about this movie, was how they told the truth from every angle. Not all of the Americans were not shown as being angels, they were correctly portrayed as human beings. Humans with prejudices, and sometimes, a lack of integrity.

At the same time, Communism was not portrayed as being beautiful, as is often the propagated message given to us by our modern world. No, Communism was shown to be just as ugly and cruel as it truly was.

But above all, this movie was about people. James Donovan was an amazing man who valued human life. He was a man of integrity, who strove to do the right thing. His strength of character and desire for justice is the strongest feature of this movie.

I wish all of America would go see this movie. During one scene, I heard one of the clearest definitions of what makes America special that I have ever heard. This movie did such a magnificent job of clearly defining truths, showing human beings realistically, and above all, placing a value on life and integrity.

I highly recommend this movie as an inspiring and educational story.

Dear Introvert

Hi Introverts, it's me, an Extrovert, coming to shake your world up a bit and make you feel uncomfortable.

I'm terribly sorry, it is not my intention to make you feel nervous. I feel terrible when other people are uncomfortable, and I try very hard to be sensitive to other people's needs.

I have had this message knocking around in my brain for some time now, and I feel the best way to present it is head on. Take comfort, dear Introvert, that you can read this post when/where/how you feel like it, and there is no pressure to respond to my comments immediately. Please just read what I have to share and then think about it for a while.

I have spent time thinking over all of the reactions and buzz on the internet caused by Meyers Briggs personality test. I have taken the test at least three different times. Strangely, I ended up with a different extrovert personality each time I took the test. Each time the result was a part of me, but it was never the entire picture. More on that later this week in my post "Dear People".

As a human being, I understand that it is really encouraging to be able to understand yourself. It is comforting to find a classification to fit into. It creates a sense of belonging, a feeling that we as human beings crave.

And for you dear Introvert, I know it must be especially comforting to finally feel recognized for who you are. Our culture holds those who appear bolder, brasher, and more socially active as being of higher value to society. Our culture is wrong, and I am so sorry, dear Introvert, that you have been made to feel obscure, stupid, and lame. 

In truth, dear Introvert, I, an Extrovert, feel that there are some ways in which I have also been misunderstood. You and I aren't as opposite and different as you may think. Neither of us are simple or tidy enough to just be put into one tidy box. We are complex, we are similar, and we are different.

Please hear these things from my heart. I share them with you out of a desire to know you for who you are, and to be known by you for who I am.

Here we go....

• I think deeply, almost all of the time. I have gotten the impression from some of my reading, that there is a misled belief that introverts have the corner on the market when it comes to being deep thinkers. I have come across this more so from individuals, who have created a stereotype for both introverts and extroverts. It's not true. I think deeply, all the time, sometimes to the point where I can't settle down and go to sleep at night. I know other extroverts who do this as well, so know that I am not a rogue agent.
• There are moments when I feel trapped inside my own head. This goes hand-in-hand with thinking deeply. I think so deeply sometimes, that I feel a bit smothered. Granted, the best way I find relief is in blurting my thoughts out on paper, or to another person, but they may still be jumbled and messy. 
• I overthink....everything. I never want to get things wrong, I don't want to mess up introductions, friendships, relationships. I never want to be caught unprepared, I hate being at a loss for words. My solution? Lay awake at night, or waste time in the shower thinking up every possible scenario, and coming up with a game plan for my response. And I still fail, regularly.
• Many times, I am at a loss for words. "Uh, how about that weather we're having?" Yeah, being classified an "extrovert" doesn't mean that you are good with all people, anywhere, anytime. Some days I feel bold, and I have an easy time drawing a person into conversation. Other days, I wish I had just stayed home and never even gotten out of bed.
• Crowds freak me out. I do love being with people, I really do. And certain situations involving large groups of people are very intriguing and enjoyable to me. But overall, large crowds of strangers totally freak me out. I feel small, smothered, and overwhelmed by all of the sounds, the movements, and the smells of so many different people.
• I need space. I do like to get cozy with my family and close friends. I am not afraid of touch, I love hugs, and I love the warmth of someone being near me. But, I need moments when I can have some space. I need a place that I can go where it is just me. Without that refuge, I feel like I am just wandering, a ship without a home port.
• I need time to myself. I need time to just be quiet, to sort out my thoughts, to have less noise surrounding me. It is in this time that I recharge my batteries, clear my head, and get time to feel the world around me. I have conversation with myself, just me, myself, and I. Without this time I feel frantic, harried, and irritable. Let's just say I have a hard time being a good Christian when I haven't had any alone time.
• I often feel insecure and stupid in social settings. It all depends upon the social setting and who I am with. This is one aspect of the Meyers Briggs test that I feel is terribly flawed. The questions about social settings are too cut and dry. When I am asked, "Do you feel comfortable in social settings?" I am uncertain how to answer. With certain groups of people, my answer would be a resounding YES. But with other groups of people? In those scenarios I am often insecure, and nervous. I have to constantly step out of my comfort zone and put myself out there.
• I don't like unnecessary/loud/obnoxious behavior or conversation. I see loud and overly obnoxious people as very rude. They are so focused on themselves and what they want in that moment, that they fail to think about how their actions are stealing the oxygen from everyone else in the room. I have done this very thing myself before, and I am ashamed of those moments. When I am in situations where people are behaving this way, I tend to shut down, withdraw, and just coast through the rest of the evening on autopilot. There is no way I can compete with the level of energy that obnoxious person is expending, and truthfully, I don't want to.
• In some cases, I come home from social settings utterly exhausted and spent. I don't want to talk, I don't want to engage with anyone; I just want to be left alone and go to bed, read a book, or watch a movie.
• Most of the time, I am just acting like I feel confident. Being born an extrovert doesn't come with a genetic tendency towards confidence. That is something that we both (Extroverts/Introverts) have to grow into, nurture, and develop over time.
• I love to create. Everyone on planet earth has the desire to create buried inside of them. It is encoded in our DNA, another secret message within our structure that points us to the fact that we are made in the image of the Ultimate Creator.

You and I are needed in this world, dear Introvert. We both have a role to play in the timeline of history being written by our mutual Creator. Understanding ourselves is important, but not at the expense of recognizing that we as human beings are too complex to be stuck with one specific labels that we feel we have to live out of all of the time. 

It is my desire to give you, dear Introvert, room to be yourself. But honestly, I don't want to be introduced to you as, "Hi there, I'm an introvert. That being said, our entire relationship will be defined out of how I feel or think I am supposed to feel." I would venture to guess that you wouldn't desire the same when it comes to meeting me. "Hi there, I'm and extrovert, so here is how this friendship thing is going to look."

No. I want to meet you like this, "Hi there, my name is So-and-So." And then I can reply, "Hi So-and-So, my name is Grace."

Let's take it from there. We'll figure each other's personalities out over time. We'll find out what makes each of us comfortable, or uncomfortable. What quirks we each have. What shared interests we both enjoy. What makes us laugh, and what makes us cry. We'll create a history of friendship together, built on the foundation of getting to know each other as people, who are more than labels or boxes.

That is the joy of getting to know people, it is the journey of discovering each other, one step at a time. Each person you meet will be different, and your journey of friendship will be taken on a new path.

...........................................................................................................................................................

Join me on Wednesday for my next post, "Dear Extrovert".

The Magic of Good Characters- The Secret Garden

"Have you met Dickon yet?"


This was a question I asked my nine year old sister as we sat at the dining room table, discussing books. She is not at a reading level where she could read The Secret Garden on her own, but due to the wonderful invention of audio books, she has been able to step into an entirely new world of stories.


A moment later, the significance of how I had worded my question struck me.

Have you met Dickon yet?

I spoke of Dickon as if he were a real person, an old and dear friend, one whom I couldn't wait to discuss and elaborate on.


But then it made sense, that is exactly what Dickon is. Dickon is an old friend of mine, one that I met years ago and have held fondly in my heart ever since. When I look at nature with a wondering eye, or see a picture of a fox, I think of Dickon.


Dickon taught me what the word "wick" means. When something is alive and green, it is wick. Wick is a simply delicious word.


Mary Lennox. She and I did not connect as quickly, the only thing I had in common with her in the beginning was our shared pastime of creating pretend gardens out of heaps of earth and weeds.


Yes, I softened towards her a tiny bit when she stopped wearing black. She did get more approachable whenever Martha was around. But I doubted that Mary Lennox and I would ever become fast friends.


But then, it happened. We, Mary and I, we discovered a secret garden. A magical, mystical-feeling garden with a tragic history. It had been shut up after the death of a beloved soul, left to be forgotten and overtaken by darkness. If only we could get inside this place! Luckily, we had made friends with a delightful little bird we dubbed Robin Redbreast. He seemed to know our deepest hearts' desire, it was almost as if he had waited for us to come along so that he could share this great secret with us.

Oh the wonder! Robin Redbreast gave us the key, and we opened the door to the secret garden. Our secret garden.

And then, a very magical thing happened. Mary Lennox and I became friends. Our shared love of beautiful and secret places drew us together. Our desire to bring life and beauty back to what once was dead strengthened our bond.


We met Dickon and decided that he was a perfectly wonderful boy. We began to practice our own broad Yorkshire. We got a little set of gardening tools and began to bring life back to our secret garden.

Oh! How our hearts leapt for joy when Dickon proclaimed the rose vines to be wick. The image of the stone walls of our garden covered with tangled rose vines and beautiful blooms brought a lump into our throats.


One night, a strange cry sent us searching about the various halls and chambers of Misselthwaite Manor. And what should we find, but, dear heavens! A boy!


It turned out that he was cousin Collin. His mother, the former occupant of our secret garden had died, and his father had abandoned him to travel Europe, hoping somehow to travel away from his grief.


Collin was a fascinating individual, just another piece of this mysterious and secretive place. But he was rather self-centered. And foolish. What was wrong with him anyway? He was convinced that he was a hunchback and going to die. Well, we weren't going to put up with a single moment of that nonsense! How ridiculous!


The next several hours of my life I spent with my new friends. Mary, Dickon, and Collin. Together, we got stronger physically, as well as strengthened our friendship. We ate secret meals of potatoes baked over an open fire in the woods. We showed those stupid doctors a thing or two about health. And just to prove everyone wrong, we helped teach Collin how to walk, just like we knew he could.


And above all, our garden prospered. In the end, even Collin's father, Mr. Craven, was not immune to our efforts. By the end of our time together, we had brought life and love back to the entire Misselthwaite Manor. The secret garden was a secret no longer, the time for secrets and hidden darkness was over, a new era of love and life had begun.


...........................................................................................................................................................


Francis Hodgson Burnett wrote The Secret Garden over a century ago. To some people, a book about a lonely little girl on an English moor written by a woman over a hundred years ago would some irrelevant.


Those who would believe such a lie do not know the value of a good story, or of true characters. Mary, Dickon, and Collin are very real people in a sense. I feel their emotions, I earnestly desire them to strive for the best. I cheer when they do well, and I weep when they are hurting.


That is what the magic of a good story, a good character does. It takes us to places afar, and allows us to befriend and feel the emotions of someone whose entire physical existence consists of paper and ink.


But a good character is more than that. When you meet a good character from a very good, old story, you become a member of a long line people suspended in time. See, Dickon has been making friends since he first appeared in 1911. He probably knew some of my ancestors. He knows my mother and younger sisters.


And he was still there, nearly a hundred years after his birth, ready and waiting to befriend me with a twinkle in his eye and a smile on his rosy face. Dickon is like Peter Pan, only better, for Dickon will never abandon me as Peter Pan would Wendy. I will never grow to old for Dickon, and neither will he for me, we will always be friends.


Common friends have a way of drawing people together. I would venture to say I could make friends with people of all ages who are also friends of Dickon.


That is the magic of a good character. Good characters bring people together, across decades, centuries, ethnicities, and differences of opinion. Good characters remind us of ourselves, or teach us something new about someone else. Good characters, once befriended, are friends for life. Good characters never grow old, or become irrelevant, or cease to affect us. Good characters add to who we are as individuals, and as a group.


Have you met Dickon yet? Or Jo March? How about Puddlglum? Do you know Frank and Joe Hardy? We really must get together soon with the Fellowship....


....the magic of good characters...