Classic Books for Curious Minds
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Bible for the Busy Woman: How Jesus Responds to Temptation in Matthew 4:1-11
What should we do when we’re faced with temptation? Watch this week’s video to find out how Jesus responds to it.
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Crime and Punishment
Crime and Punishment toys with unique political, psychological, and philosophical ideas, exploring questions about morality, society, and human motivations.
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Bible for the Busy Woman: Why Was Jesus Baptized?
In today’s video, we look at Matthew 3:13-17 and why Jesus was baptized. We’ll also explore the importance of the Trinity in the passage and in our daily walk.
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Where Did Valentine’s Day Come from?
Why do we celebrate Valentine’s Day? Where did this holiday originate?
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Revisiting Cú Chulainn
When I was studying abroad in Ireland during my senior year of undergrad, I had the privilege of taking an Irish mythology course. In it, I was introduced to Irish greats like Cú Chulainn and Fionn mac Cumhaill (Finn McCool).
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Bible for the Busy Woman Matthew 3:1-12
Today’s video introduces John the Baptist, a relative and forerunner to Jesus. You’ll hear the importance of his message of repentance in preparing people for Jesus.
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Defending Shame: Its Formative Power in Paul’s Letters
Shame, like other emotions, is neither good nor bad. It depends what is eliciting this response in us.
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Bible for the Busy Woman: Matthew 2:13-23
Here’s my latest video on Matthew 2:12-23. My aim with these videos is to encourage women who have difficulty finding time to study the Bible.
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The Door in the Wall by H.G. Wells
H.G. Wells (Herbert George Wells, 1866-1946) was a great English novelist who considered himself more of a journalist than a poet. He is arguably one of the fathers of science fiction, two of his most well-known science fiction works being The Time Machine and The War of the Worlds. Wells grew up in poverty and… Read more
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A Day in the Country by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov
Anton Chekhov was an interesting writer. He was born in Russia in 1960 and died in Germany in 1904. During his life, he wrote many plays and short stories in his distinctive, simple style. He wasn’t trying to show off his literary prowess. Rather, he focused on seemingly trivial, day to day aspects of life… Read more
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Bible for the Busy Woman: Matthew 2:1-12
Here’s my latest video for busy women who want to learn more about the Bible, along with some notes and further reading.
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The Woe of Wishes in Five Children and It
E. Nesbit’s Five Children and It is a fun, fanciful story with an underlying message to “be careful what you wish for.”
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Facing Shame: Families in Recovery
I read this book to better understand the system of my shame-based family of origin and how to break free from those patterns.
I also want to help people, especially in the church, to recognize and move from unhealthy, shame-based patterns to healthier ones. -
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Bible for the Busy Woman: Matthew 1:18-25
Today’s passage is Matthew 1:18-25, which talks about the awkward situation Joseph finds himself in when Mary is pregnant before they had “come together,” and how God orchestrated events to make Joseph Jesus’ (adoptive) father.
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Undine By Friedrich de la Motte Fouque
Though it has been likened to the Little Mermaid, the stakes in Undine’s premise are much higher. She is not just looking for a man she fell in love with; she needs a soul.
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Movie Review and Background: Miss Austen Regrets
Miss Austen Regrets is based off of the surviving letters that Jane Austen wrote.
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Bible for the Busy Woman: Matthew 1:1-17
Here’s my latest Bible for the Busy Woman video!
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Annals of A Quiet Neighborhood
Annals of A Quiet Neighborhood seems like it is the closest to autobiography as anything of MacDonald’s I’ve read. As you get into the story, you discover that many of these characters have dramatic and scandalous backstories, but all of them are in need of one thing: redemption.
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Bible for the Busy Woman Launch
I’m excited to announce that I am launching a project on Youtube, called Bible for the Busy Women.
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Goal Setting for 2021
For the New Year, I have a LOT of goals! I try to think of specific areas of growth or things I want to focus on doing more of or getting better at.
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Reflecting on My #2020 Goals
What a year it’s been! Around this time of year, I always like to reflect. I don’t do “resolutions,” but I do like to make goals.
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The Story Behind Classic Christmas Hymns
We’ve all heard classic Christmas hymns over the years, but where did they come from? And do we need to listen to them for the umpteenth time?
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A Real Life Hallmark Town
Like many, I enjoy watching the Hallmark Christmas movies each year. Though they get increasingly predictable, sappy, and contrived, I still like seeing the Christmas decorations and how a group of people come together to solve a problem. Recently, I spotted a story on Thrillist when I was looking for information for 2021 travel plans.… Read more
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Advent Week 4: Love
“All you need is love,” sang the Beatles and many others over the years. Love might just be all we need, but this also prompts another question, which philosophers have pondered in song: What Is Love? I think the most compelling definition of love is the giving of oneself for another. In short, love is… Read more
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Chicago Christmas Photos
Since we haven’t been able to go out and explore Chicago this Christmas, I’ll have to share some photos from last Christmas. Hopefully, once our apartment is decorated and if we drive through a Christmas lights display I will have some more to share. The Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago I loved seeing all… Read more
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Third Sunday of Advent: Joy
We all experience joy in our lives, even if it’s just for a moment. This week of advent we celebrate joy. There are many joys in the Bible’s Christmas narrative, but one encapsulates them all: the Messiah is coming!
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Christmas Classics: The Little Match Girl
Hans Christian Anderson’s The Little Match Girl has always seemed depressing, and never fit the fairytale genre to me. Yet, it holds its own kind of hope (albeit in a depressing way).
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Second Sunday of Advent: Peace
We all want peace, don’t we? As an enneagram 9, I truly long for peace- both internally, and between those around me. Yet, there are false peaces…
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Christmas Classics: The Three Kings
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was a well-known, 19th-Century American poet, astute scholar, and world traveler. Though The Three Kings is not his most popular work, I wanted to share it with you, in the spirit on the Christmas season.
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NaNoWriMo Week 4
Well, the truth is, I did not hit the 50,000 word mark for NaNoWriMo- at least not on the book I was working on. I did more like 28,000 words, but that’s okay! I figured out I have too many different projects going on at once to really sink my teeth into one at the… Read more
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First Sunday of Advent Reading
There are different interpretations and traditions surrounding the season of advent: wreath-making (here’s a great article with more about this), lighting candles, singing certain songs, and reading specific Bible passages. All of these traditions celebrate one thing: the “advent” (important event) of Christ’s birth. Each Sunday, I will share a scripture passage and song for… Read more
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What I’m Thankful for in #2020
As we are in 2020, I thought I would share 20 things I have been thankful for in the last year: My faith is the foundation of my life. Whenever things are rocky or seem hopeless, my faith in God and His plan get me through. I pray, I hope, and I try to live… Read more
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Frankenstein, or Modern Prometheus
Frankenstein isn’t just a story about a crazy scientist and a horrifying, murderous monster. It’s a deep, thought-provoking work about the human condition, written with beautifully prose.
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NaNoWriMo Week 2
Well, I didn’t make amazing progress in this second week. I have the usual excuses: tiredness, doing other work, the malaise that the election and the uprise in the pandemic leaves in its wake. Still, I am enjoying working on my modern Jane Austen tale, which follows four sisters in their teens and early twenties.… Read more
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Jane Austen (Action Figure) Adventures, Episode 2
Last time we saw Jane, she was in danger of drowning.. Will she be able to climb out? “I found a pumice stone, and have hoisted myself up.” “What are men to rocks and mountains?” Now that she’s dried off, she hears a knock on the door. Who could it be? A gentleman caller? And… Read more
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NaNoWriMo Newbie
I honestly hadn’t heard of NaNoWriMo before I started blogging at the end of November last year. Since I have never done it before, I thought I would give it a shot.
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Jane Austen (Action Figure) Adventures
For you, it’s another ordinary, “there’s still a worldwide pandemic and when will things be normal again” kind of day. For Jane, things are far more complicated. She’s a six inch tall action figure from the Victorian period, stuck in a confusing, gigantic, 21st-century apartment. Join our classic author as she bravely faces each challenge.… Read more
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The Story Behind Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Robert Louis Stevenson wrote the mysterious, The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde in six weeks, but the story was probably brewing in Stevenson’s mind long before that.
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10 Essential Fiction-Writing Tips
If you’re a fiction writer, like me, then you love to use your imagination. You might have lofty ideas for your next novel or you might be in the middle of crafting a stellar short story. Whatever your jam is, I promise that these tips are for you.
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If You Love Your Writing, You’ll Edit It.
They say if you love something, you should let it go…but with writing, you shouldn’t.
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Foil Characters in Journey to the Center of the Earth
Journey to the Center of the Earth is a story with few main characters. For the entirety of the book, the two main ones are Axel, the nephew, and his Uncle Lidenbrock. They serve as foil characters to each other, which makes for an intriguing and often exasperating tug of war throughout the book. Axel… Read more
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A Trip to an Outdoor Mall
The other day, my husband’s wifi wasn’t working. We had to go to the Apple store, which happened to be in an outdoor mall. While I was waiting for him, I enjoyed walking around there. They have some really nice displays. Here are some pictures I took of the Old Orchard Mall near Chicago. How… Read more
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The Genius of Jules Verne in Journey to the Center of the Earth
Genius is a word that is thrown around too often nowadays, but after reading Journey to the Center of the Earth, I think Jules Verne is one person who deserves that title.
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Funny Misunderstandings of Grown-Up Speak in The Railway Children
This is my last post about the Railway Children, I promise. One element that I loved in this book, other than the playfulness of the parents, is the misunderstandings of grown-up actions and phrases by the children. Imitating Things Grown Ups Say After the children’s father is arrested, the children try not to fight, for… Read more
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Transitions in the Past Year
This post recounts the many transitions I’ve seen in the past year. #2020 was not quite what I expected, but there’s always room for growth and learning no matter the circumstances.
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“Harrison Bergeron” asks What is Equality?
From the first time I read this short story, I was instantly arrested. I love allegorical, philosophical works, and Harrison Bergeron does not disappoint in that department.
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Christian Allegory and Psychology in John White’s The Sword Bearer
Today we’re going to talk about John White’s “The Sword Bearer.” John White was a psychologist and a Christian speaker, and both of those things, his faith and his background in psychology, are definitely present in this book.
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Wonder, Comedy, and Irony in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
Who was Lewis Carroll and why did he write Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland? Visit my blog to find out!
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