Hale and Hearty Words

August 22, 2011 · 5:00 am

Behold the Power of the Nap

I took a nap yesterday.

That doesn’t happen very often, but when it does, it’s better than winning the lottery.

But even as I was about to fall asleep, I kept thinking about all of the other things on my ‘To Do’ list that I was neglecting by being selfish enough to take a nap.

And then I thought, ‘Scuse me, what? For Pete’s sake, even God rested!

And I didn’t feel so bad.

See, life has recently been running me ragged. I have gotten to the point where I am so physically tired that I am unproductive, unmotivated, and unhealthy. Have you been there?

So, I went to the 11th Commandment– Thou Shalt Take a Nap.

Well, that should be the 11th Commandment.

I’m certain that Jesus condones napping. It rejuvenates, restores, and in the case of my boys, helps them find entirely new personalities as they sleep.

And I’m not the only one who believes in the power of the occasional nap. In his book, 40 Days Without Food, Russ Masterson mentions that a short nap helped him change his entire outlook on the 40 day fast he was undertaking, “which only further confirms my strong belief that napping is, in fact, a path to godliness.”

Don’t neglect yourself. If God saw the importance of resting after hard work then occasionally we need to do the same.

Share with Me: Do you make time for the occasional nap? How do you best “recharge” when your batteries are all but dead?

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Filed under The Christian Walk, Writing

Tagged as nap

August 19, 2011 · 5:00 am

The Great White Way

I recently participated with our church children’s choir in a production of the musical “Amazing Grace.”

I played Grace. And I had a blast.

Afterward, a sweet church member paid me a compliment that meant the world to me. He said, “You ought to be on Broadway.”

I know you are laughing to yourself because after all, it was just a little church production with the children’s choir. Nothing to really put my acting chops to work.

But that compliment meant the world to me, because if given the chance at any other career in the world, Broadway is where I’d be found.

When I was in high school, drama was my thing. Our school drama department was very small and only did one large production a year, but I put my soul into it. I loved everything about it.

You know how there are those people who hang on to their high school achievements, even 20 years later? Remember Uncle Rico from Napoleon Dynamite? He still lived in the moment from the 80s when he was on the high school football team.

My senior year in high school I won best actress in our regional One-Act play competition. Call it a small accomplishment, but it’s something I’m still seriously proud of. 🙂 I played a 300 lb Irish nun that year. I stuffed my nun’s habit full of towels and small pillows and threw myself into the role (literally- I had to dive across the stage and fall off of chairs in that production), finally able to put my ability for accents to good use.

I went to college on a theater scholarship with every intention of becoming a drama teacher-slash-Broadway star.

But although I loved performing, circumstances (and God) pushed me in a different direction and I became a history teacher; something I’m equally as passionate about. And now I find passion in being Mommy and Writer.

My friend Katie Ganshert recently wrote a post about choices and how they affect the direction of our lives.

While I would never, ever give up my family, home, and life, if I had an alternate universe in which I could function, I would definitely pursue a life of performing on the stage.

My dream role would be to play Elphaba in Wicked. (She’s the green one.)

Dear Wicked Producers, should you ever need me, I already have the dialog, monologues, and music memorized. Give me a call. 🙂

Share with Me: Is there a career or job you wish you’d had the opportunity to pursue? Maybe one that might surprise the people who know you best?

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Filed under Just For Fun

Tagged as Broadway, Wicked

August 17, 2011 · 5:00 am

Constructing the Perfect Man- Occupational Hazards

Time for another installment of Constructing the Perfect Man.

Remember, we are talking about creating a hero that readers will love– one that reaches out of the pages of the novel and grips the hearts of readers. We authors want our readers to fall in love. And that’s why I need your input, readers.

So today I want to discuss the job of our hero.

Let’s generalize the occupations of the cliche romance novel hero. He’s usually “rugged,” which involves working with his hands or being employed in a “dangerous” profession.

The farmer. The cattle driver. The athlete. The firefighter. The warrior. For historicals, there’s an overflow of knights, soldiers, and wealthy aristocrats with nothing else to do but seek adventure.

These “rugged”, hard labor jobs are appealing to most female readers. But not all.

But what if the leading man was a dancer? Or a chef? Or a teacher?

The teacher poses an interesting occupation for a leading man because there’s a marked difference in the perception of the personality of the character (and sometimes even the physical traits) if he’s a college professor, high school teacher, or elementary teacher.

For example, the college professor should probably be more serious, right? And the high school teacher can get away with being the “funny man.” But if our guy is an elementary teacher he had better be compassionate, kind, and even (dare I say it?) in touch with his feminine side occasionally.

The occupation of our hero (and heroine) can push the story forward, and sometimes drive the story all together. Because of this, let’s pretend that the occupation of the hero has nothing to do with the story itself, just so that you can attempt to be impartial.

Think about it this way– what occupations do you find attractive for a leading man?

Do you prefer a hero who’s in an exciting job, like the CIA agent or the war correspondent journalist, or something more earthy like a farmer or rancher? What about the guy who works with his hands, like a carpenter or artist, versus the office guy who might work on computer systems, etc? Or do you like the paranormal dude- the vampire, werewolf, wizard kind of guy?

All this leads me to my next question in this series and it’s all about the occupation of our man.

Share with Me: Do you prefer a hero who is more or less like your real-life with his occupation? What occupations do you prefer your leading man to have? Can you find excitement in a story about an insurance agent as easily as you can a CIA agent? What one occupation would immediately kill an interest you could potentially have in a hero?