The Character Files- Introduction

What is one of the greatest elements of a good story?

It's as obvious as the nose on your face: good characters.

He may be a sad, strange little man. But he's one of my favorites!

A good character consists of someone who brings emotion out of you. A good character is a protagonist that you cheer for with all of you heart. A good character is an evil villain that causes you to grind your teeth and sends shivers down your spine. A good character is someone who begins as an unlikable, worthless individual, and ends as one of your best friends.

We were in love with this scoundrel from minute one, still, he was arguably a better person by the end.

A good character stays with you for longer than the amount of time you spent between the pages of their book. A good character rises up in your mind as you live your everyday life. A good character enables you to draw parallels between them and other individuals you meet in reality.

A good character is your friend even when you are 100 years old.

A good character becomes a friend, an ally, a family member, or an enemy.

"Which one am I?" We don't really know at this point, Loki, but we still love you. <3

A good character can make or break a story. Even a story with a somewhat dull plot can keep your interest if you are deeply in love with the character. We are instinctively drawn to root for persons who capture our interest and connect with our own hearts.

This is the beginning of a new series of mine in which I will explore some of the greatest characters in both books and movies. Characters, even fictional ones are a great way to connect with other people in your own world. The fact that two people are drawn to the same character can be a link that can lead to communication and friendship.

Great characters can bring us together, great characters can divide us, a great character can change our lives forever; and a great character can reveal the best and the worst parts of who we are as people.

Join me as I share about some of my favorite characters. And who knows? Maybe they are your favorite as well....

....and this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

My Secrets of Literature- If I Could Meet One of My Favorite Literary Characters

I was over at The Pink Cave where I read Kaycee Browning's post on meeting a favorite literary character. It sounded like fun, so I thought I would give it a go.


How do you pick a favorite literary character? In my opinion, that's like trying to choose a favorite child, which is cruel and unusual punishment. Therefore I have adopted the policy of choosing "one of" my favorites, rather than settling on a specific, single answer.


I was debating over whom I would choose to meet from literature, this thought process was happening when I was supposed to be going to sleep. Welcome to my insomnia-atic brain folks!


Would I go speak to a character who was going to make a poor decision(s) leading to hardship and suffering (Julia from Mark of the Lions Series)? Would I fan girl over a character I had admired, and yes, crushed on since childhood (Frank and Joe Hardy), or would I choose a character whom I had always hated so that I might have the pleasure of either verbally assaulting/and-or-decking him (Mr. Dinsmore Elsie Dinsmore Series)?


Upon sifting through the myriad of characters swirling around in my head, it hit me who I really had wanted to talk to all along.

Yes, Edmund Pevensie. Like so many blessed home schooling children, my parents read C. S. Lewis's wonderful The Chronicles of Narnia aloud to me and my older brother. Throughout the years we have gone through multiple copies of the books, and our Focus on the Family radio drama CD cases are dog-eared. Oh, and of course, we own all of the movies.

I always loved Edmund as a character, even before I fell in love with the movie version of him in the most recent The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe at the tender age of 10. I still feel wonderful when I watch him.

Edmund represents humanity (us), in all of our ugliness, our betrayal, and our treachery. He has these wonderful siblings, and the incredible privilege of entering this beautiful land called Narnia. And yet, who is the first person he makes a connection with? The White Witch. She then uses him to betray the ones he loves best, and because of his actions, someone must pay the price. Aslan, the noble lion representing Jesus, chooses to give up his own, glorious life so that a single traitor like Edmund might be saved. After that, Edmund is an entirely different person.

He gains valuable time in the battle at the end of The Lion, the Witch, The Wardrobe by breaking the White Witch's wand, which she has been using liberally to turn the Peter's soldiers into stone. However, breaking the wand comes at a price, the White Witch stabs him and he nearly dies on the battlefield.

I know, so many people love Peter, or Lucy. They are the instantly likable ones. Peter is strong, brave, and courageous. In the books, you never read about him slipping up or making mistakes on purpose. Of course, in the movies, they give Peter a bit more of a believable emotional arc in which he deals with pride and recklessness.

Lucy is always this shining example of belief and open faith. She discovers Narnia, she is always brave, and she is always cheerful.

But no, I always loved Edmund more. Edmund, dear boy, knows what it means to be redeemed in a way that is unparalleled by any other character in this entire series. Edmund is touch with his own humanity, he knows what he is capable of, and he knows what his choices have cost. I believe this is why he became King Edmund the Just. Humility, wisdom, and justice are best friends.

After he is redeemed, Edmund becomes one of the steadiest characters. He is there backing up Peter and giving him courage when Peter has to go charging into his very first battle. In The Horse and His Boy (MY FAVORITE BOOK IN THE SERIES, I CANNOT WAIT FOR THEM TO MAKE IT INTO A MOVIE), Edmund is the guardian of his sister Queen Susan, and it is greatly due to his wisdom and discernment that she is saved from a life of horror and abuse. Later on, he, along with his sister Queen Lucy, leads the Narnian troops in aiding their beleaguered neighbors in Archenland.

In Prince Capsian after having been called back from our world, Edmund aids in rescuing Narnia from the grip of the Telmarines and restoring Prince Caspian to his rightful throne. In this book/movie, Edmund again shows how much character he has, he is the only one to back up Lucy when she sees Aslan, and the second one to see Aslan as he is revealing himself to the siblings. Peter would be lost without him at his side, as would so many others. His courage and quiet strength are the glue that hold most of the others together.

I have had multiple dreams where I go to Narnia, and I am always with Edmund. I love this character so much, and I believe that his story is probably the most vivid allegory ever written of Christ's redemption of humanity. Edmund, to put it, is broken, redeemed, and simply beautiful.

Small side note here, for fans of the movies. The actor who played Edmund Pevensie, Skandar Keynes, happens to be a direct descendant of the Charles Darwin! Coincidence? I think not! Simply consider that for a moment, the irony of it is too beautiful to be ignored. 

Movie Review-The Hundred-Foot Journey

The Kadam family leaves India for France where they open a restaurant directly across the road from Madame Mallory's Michelin-starred eatery.

This was the movie my family watched in the evening on Christmas Day. I had seen the trailer for it before and I just had a gut instinct, this one was going to be an unforgettable watch.


I was right ladies and gentlemen, this has to be one of the most beautiful, rich, amazing movies I have ever seen! I cannot recommend it enough!


The plot- while everything seems to point to the idea that this movie is about food, it really isn't, although the food is a nice bonus. This movie is really about relationship, and it is beautiful.


The writing- This has some of the best writing I have ever seen in a movie. The writers were able to weave truth, normal conversational, deeply felt emotions, and humor all together in an unbreakable flow that was magnificent.


The music- What can I say? I am listening to the soundtrack as we speak. It's pretty wow.


The setting- First in India, then in a small and stunning village in the countryside of France. I have to be honest, I am not really a fan of either the Indian or the French cultures, I often feel like the former is oppressive and rigid, and the latter is snobbish. While this movie does an excellent job of showing how strongly these characters are rooted in their culture, it also shows them living their lives in a manner that is relatable to all humanity, no matter what the culture.


The romance- This movie did such a lovely job with the romance, both the older, and the younger. It was gentle, sweet, and not at all forced or made to look "sexy" or "passionate". It was real people opening up their hearts, some learning to love for the first time, and some learning to love again. They took their time, and ended up making a much more real, beautiful romance than most movies I have ever seen.


The characters- They were beautifully written, and beautifully portrayed.


Madam Mallory (Helen Mirren)- The proud and very French owner of a famous eating establishment in a French village. Her whole world is tied up in this restaurant and its success. Honestly, she is a difficult character to like at first, but over time you find yourself completely in love with her as she lets down her walls, opens her heart, and begins to live once more. And despite the ups and downs, Madam Mallory is a lovely woman who carries a graceful and elegant presence with her wherever she goes.


Papa (Om Puri)- This man, oh this man! He speaks his mind, does what he likes, and doesn't put up with nonsense, all while being absolutely hilarious, a little bit mischievous, and above all, a Papa with a big heart.


Hassan (Manish Dayal)- The second oldest son of the Kadam family, you were rooting for him from the very start. He carries this sweet feeling of innocence and value for beautiful things like food and memories. He knows how to savor. He does have some struggles, but comes out a much fuller person in the end, having slain his dragons and come to realize what is important to him. I loved watching him cook, it was like watching a musician play beautiful music.


Marguerite (Charlotte Le Bon)- A lovely young lady who works for Madam Mallory in her restaurant. She was the sweetest little thing, lovely, feminine, honest, and just a pleasure to watch. She was so very French, but not in the "sexy and alluring" way that they often play French girls up to be, she was a breath of fresh air.


This movie grabbed my soul from the moment it started and held my attention all the way until the end credits. I can tell when I deeply enjoy a movie, because my face moves more often, I often find myself smiling through large sections of it.
This movie leaves you feeling full, and no, not in your stomach, you are actually insanely hungry when it is all over, but in your heart. Like you have traveled to a distant land where the light is golden and the truth is obvious, and came away just a little bit wiser. I can't recommend this movie enough and I know my family will be purchasing it.

Being a Family Is...Part 4

Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3 here.


Being a Family is...Sacrificing.


Our culture is constantly telling us what we deserve, what we have a right to have, and why we shouldn't have to share that with anyone or anybody. Wrong! Life is not, nor has it ever been about just you.


This is especially true in a family. A well functioning family cannot exist without everyone doing their part and being willing to give of themselves. This may mean giving up your bedroom to move in with your sisters (true story), or trading out some Netflix time by yourself to read Gigi books to your little sister and ending up lightheaded because you don't do anything halfway.


Sacrificing means that your dad gets up every morning and goes to work, sometimes to a job he doesn't like. It means that your mom is often the last person to bed because she was doing just one more load of laundry. It means that your older brother brings his laptop into the living room while you all have a movie on that he may not be a fan of, but he knows that you like his company.


It means playing two hours of Battlefield with your little brother even though the height of the computer desk makes your right arm go numb. It means staying up WAY later than you intended so that you can help your brother come up with ideas for his latest LEGO contest.


Sacrificing means that when you ask your little sister to get you a drink of water she does so with a smile and a dimple (SO CUTE). It means that your older brother not only takes you out to a movie and pays for your ticket, but also buys you ice cream afterwards.


Sacrificing means that your sister loans you one of her cutest skirts or a new pair of earrings she got, because you have been eyeing them for weeks. (Currently enjoying the benefits of that skirt as I write.)


Sacrificing means that you choose to love your parents even when they make mistakes that leave you feeling broken and like your dreams are dead on the floor. Sacrificing means dying to your flesh and choosing not to give into the deep feelings of anger that you have towards someone you love.


Sacrificing means that your family continues to love and encourage you even when you feel empty and like you've got nothing left inside to give, when you feel like your light has died and you are just an unlit candle.


Sacrificing means being real, and opening yourself up, forgetting your pride, and allowing other people to see the broken, sometimes ugly, sometimes beautiful thing that is your soul.


Jesus sacrificed his own, pure, snow-white self for a whole bunch of ugly, bleeding, hateful people. Can I do any less for the people who I love, and who love me the most?

Being a Family Is...Part 3

Part 3 of my series on what I believe it means to be a family. You can read Part 1, and Part 2 here.


Being a Family Is...Crying.
From tears of joy, to tears of deep sadness. One of the most precious and treasured things about a family is being able to share life's deepest joys, and life's most tragic sorrows together. I believe this is one of the key reasons that God created the structure of the family, because He wanted families to be able to support each other.


Crying together is something my  family has done many, many, many times before. Everyone from my Dad down to my littlest sister. It could be something more trivial like that end scene in Toy Story 3 (get's me every time), or it could be all of us asking God why our life is so hard.


When I say crying, I do not mean it is always literal tears, obviously, some of us are better criers than others. But everyone has cried at some time, and often we are all crying on the inside, we just show it in different ways.Throughout the years I can remember a multitude of experiences in which one, a few, or all of us were down and needed the comfort, support, and love of the others to get us through that moment. We haven't done it perfectly by any stretch of the imagination, but we have done it.


This is an incredibly beautiful part of families, one of my favorite parts actually, and most definitely something that I do not take for granted. I am so grateful that God put me in a family where we can feel things together.

we can feel things together...

I treasure the moments when we shared tears of sorrow, and I always love the moments where we share joy. I look forward to many more in the future, and I hope that they are shared with my favorite people in the whole world.


Being a Family Is...Learning.
Some families are better at this than others, but regardless, if you are in a family, especially one who cares about important things, then you will be learning, constantly.


I am homeschooled, so my home is also my school. But learning is more than 2+2 is 4, and i before e, except after c (yeah, it still doesn't make sense to me either). Learning is about growing, it's about becoming a bigger, better person, and it's about learning how to relate with and connect to people.


One the ways my family is great about learning is that we talk, a LOT! I believe I have mentioned this fact before, but really, we talk a lot. For as long as I can remember I have been having questions and asking them. And my parents have done a really great job of talking them out with me. Through years of doing this I have learned how to ask a question, wrestle with it in my mind and heart, pray about it, and find an answer.


This covers a multitude of subjects. I love to talk about theology and politics with my dad. We have great conversations that make me literally feel like I am on cloud nine. My brain feels like it is on fire, and I get so excited. Call me a nerd, but it's true.
I also love learning practical things from my dad. For years I have watched him build things, fix houses, drive cars, etc. I have learned so much from my dad. Even just watching how he goes about learning something new has taught me much. Before the days of the Internet being everything, if my dad wanted to learn how to do something, he bought a book. Now, he will research something online until he feels confident he can do it.


From my mom I have learned a lot about the Bible, and about people. She and I have spent hours upon hours talking over things in the past, present, and future. She is the first person I run to in order to hash out something in my own mind. When I ingest something really hardy, I usually seek her out to use as a sounding board while I reiterate what I just learned. She is my confidant in so many things. And I have learned SO much from her.


I have learned much from my siblings as well. Often they teach me things unconsciously, just by being themselves I learn a truth about life. Amazing how that works. And because I am older than all but one of them, I have had the supreme joy and privilege of being able to share my fraction of life experience with them in the hopes that they might grow and learn as well.


This past June I was blessed with the opportunity to attend Worldview Academy. It was a phenomenal experience that I will never forget. I had my concerns before I went that maybe it would be too much for me, that I hadn't read enough of the recommended books or maybe some of the concepts would go right over my head. I couldn't have been more wrong. I was over-prepared for Worldview. Half of the content I knew already from having been exposed to it at home, and the other half I was able to take in and digest because of the exceptional training I have already had at home. I came home and told Mom and Dad just how great of a job they have done.


We as a family analyze everything, delve into everything, and talk about everything. I have learned so much, and I have grown to love learning greatly.

Being a Family is... Part 2

Part 2 of my series about what being in a family means to me. You can read the first part here.


Being a Family Is...Creating.
My family is homeschooled; homeschoolers are naturally pretty creative because our lifestyle encourages a creative attitude. But even more that, my family is, how shall we say it, beyond creative.
When I was three I got a  beautiful wooden dollhouse, but I didn't have any furniture to put inside of it. Mama sat me down at the kitchen table one day and we made furniture out of plastic lids, popsicle sticks, and tiny mugs out of beads and macaroni. Later on when I was thirteen I made an entire dollhouse out of cardboard boxes, and five rooms full of furniture and accessories right down to the a roll of toilet paper in the bathroom. When we kids were little mom let us build elaborate tents in the living room, and when dad got involved they usually involved the entire room and some string. Those tents would last for days. We've made Christmas ornaments, snowmen out of coffee creamer bottles, and little Christmas cabins out of wooden sticks. We've built playhouses in the backyard. I've sewn costumes, my siblings build insane Lego creations. Our Lincoln Log forts are works of art. My mom can go into the kitchen and create mouthwatering meals just by feeling it out, no recipes involved. My dad and older brother can build amazing websites and things online. The fact of the matter is, we love to create, and I believe families were designed to create, the very structure of a family is built to nurture creativity.

Yeah, it kinda goes without saying that Phineas and Ferb are some of our heroes. I mean, who wouldn't love these guys? They are some of the coolest characters out there, and their show is hilarious! Have I memorized their hit song, "Bow Chicka Bow Wow"? What do you think?


Being a Family is...Laughing.
Laughter. Pure, beautiful, bubbly laughter is straight from heaven. I have gotten more than my share living in my family. Strong families laugh together all the time, even when things are hard, or some of the members are angry, families need to laugh together. I've gone through my share of hard times, I still am, but throughout all of my life, some of my favorite memories have involved those when I was laughing with my family. Everyone in our family has a slightly different sense of humor, sarcasm for some, slapstick for others, clever comments, or puppies sliding on a kitchen floor (guilty). We all are very witty, from the eight year old on up, I think I mentioned in my previous post that this was a direct result of talking too much. ;)


My mom and dad used to tell us stories before bed a lot. We had two different series of stories. Mom's was Richard, Susan, and Busbee (pronounced Biz-bee). They were three dogs who lived with a very rich woman called, "The Master". Susan was sensible and feminine, Richard had been taken in off of the streets and was more rough around the edges. Busbee was a baby (Mom used the cutest baby voice that still tickles me when I think about it), he got his name because he was always a busy bee. They often went on adventures, and Busbee or Richard would get them into trouble that was always hilarious. There was this one story in particular that involved eating spoiled food out of a restaurant dumpster and a cat passing out that still leaves me in stiches every time I think about it.


My dad's series was called "Muller and Carmichael". They were two ugly, decorative turtles we owned that a few of the younger ones had gotten from the dollar store for mom on her birthday one year. She named them after her favorite missionaries, George Muller, and Amy Carmichael. Dad turned these plain, ugly little turtles into objects of endearment with his stories. Mueller was the adventurous one, he would propose an idea that the sensible and reluctant Carmichael would object to. But inevitably they would end up in trouble. Driving the tractor, accidentally attaching themselves to fireworks and ending up at Grandpa's house, sneaking into the freezer to eat turtle sundae, accidentally emailing the kids' Christmas lists to all of Dad's coworkers. The things those turtles did while we all slept.

I love laughing with my family, especially when I have had a hard day or week. I think if more people enjoyed their families enough to laugh with them, the world would be a better place.

Being a Family Is... Part 1

I live in a big family, six kids, two parents. Granted, we're not the Duggers, but to an average American household, we are pretty large. Seriously, you should see the stares we have gotten when strangers see our fifteen passenger van pull up. They halt and watch the train of kids getting out of the back, unable to leave until the last kid is out, then they kind of shake their heads and move on. Knowing that I have an audience when I am getting out of my family vehicle has forced me to learn how to exit in a very ladylike fashion, so, yeah, not all bad.


I have lived in my family for eighteen years now, and I think after years of agonizing, asking questions, praying, and probing the depths with my inquisitive mind, I have finally grasped the tip of the iceberg on what a family is. So here it goes, this is one girl's idea of what a family is...




Being a Family Is Talking...a LOT!
Ever seen the Brady Bunch? You know those super chaotic scenes where all of the children are talking at once, and the parents are desperately trying to make sense of it? Yeah, that totally happens all of the time. From the moment you have more than one child and all of them can talk you begin conversation wars where everyone is attempting to talk at the same time. The conversations can range from, knock knock jokes, the best way to take out a burgler (thanks to little brothers), why glitter and playdough are both acceptable, no, necessary substances (go team glitter!), music, politics, Hallmark Channel dramas, what so and so said on Twitter, when can we put up the Christmas décor (yes, I know it's September, who cares), the technical pattern of Yoda's speech, why Captain America is better than Thor, the latest from HonestToddler, and so forth. In the end someone usually looks like this.



Exhausting as these conversations are, they have groomed me and my siblings a lot. We are very funny people (other's words, not just mine ;), we can talk to any age group, and are actually pretty decent at improv games.


Being in a Family Is Being LOUD!
This seemed like an appropriate subject to move into considering the previous one. I'm just gonna shoot straight from the hip and say it, my family is loud. Some members more than others, obviously, but we are loud. We laugh loudly, many of us listen to music (yeah, that Austin and Ally soundtrack was me, no shame) my younger brothers get deeply involved in their Battlefield games to the point where I believe I may have gotten singed eyebrows from a nearby explosions.



Yeah, we may need to tone it down sometimes, ok, a lot of the time, but I have come to accept that being in a family, at least, my family, often means being loud. And when I am alone, I find it far too quiet. As loud as it gets around here, at least that noise means that I am surrounded by people I love.


Being in a Family Is Forgiving, ALL THE TIME!
It starts with siblings destroying block towers. It get's deeper over time. He hurt my feelings, she is ignoring me, he doesn't understand me. Parents have to forgive their children for saying hurtful things to them. Children have to forgive their parents for making mistakes, and vice versa. The idea of a family is that you have a group of imperfect beings who are bound in this close circle where they have to constantly interact, be given the choice of doing right and wrong, and treat others as Christ would want them too. News flash, imperfect beings, that ain't happening all of the time. And so you find yourself in the position of having to forgive someone, yet again.



Seven times seventy times people, and most of the forgiving you have to do in your life will be in your family.