A Whimsical Adventure

Have you visited your childhood lately?

Neither has Christopher Robin, but in the new Disney movie that shares his name, he’s about to.

If you enjoyed Winnie the Pooh at any time in your life, this movie is a must-see. It’s a fun bit of whimsy that will transport you on an expotition (expedition, for those non-Pooh fans out there) into the sweet Hundred Acre Wood… and your childhood.

There were mischief and adventure, stubbornness and grace, family and heroics, danger and encouragement. It was everything that Winnie the Pooh always stands for… plus lots and lots of honey.

Pardon my gushing (or join me, if you like). Christopher Robin, starring Ewan McGregor, is one of my top two favorite movies of this year (tied with Tomb Raider, starring Alicia Vikander). It’s everything I think a movie should be. Sweet, funny, sorrowful, happy, family-oriented, and full of adventure and hope. Did I mention whimsical? That isn’t necessary for every movie, but it never hurts.

Derailed!

By Andrea Renee Cox

It was an ordinary Friday afternoon. My dad and I were running an errand when my mom called. She had peeked out the house window and seen something crazy down the street. Out of the ordinary doesn’t begin to describe the event of Friday, June 20, 2014.

Four train cars derailed.

As in, came off the tracks.

Yep. The train that had gone by our house just before Dad and I left apparently had trouble of some kind, and four of the rock-carrying cars toppled over, leaving a fifth car leaning precariously. The weird thing was, with the air conditioners going, my mom hadn’t heard the crash from inside our house.

When Dad and I returned after completing our errand, sure enough, there was a sea of rock splattered across the grass down the road from our house. Four large, black train cars lay on their sides, rock still half filling them. The fifth car worried me, as I was certain it would fall and crush someone, especially once workers arrived to clean up the huge mess.

It took all day Saturday, but the crews were able to get the cars righted once more. First, they emptied out the rest of the rock. To make sure they got it all, they used two cranes and a backhoe type machine to turn the cars upside down. Then they turned them right side up and suspended them in the air above part of the track that was still intact. The men on the ground then came in and assisted the crane operators in attaching new sets of wheels to the bottom of the cars. Once that task was completed, one of the cranes pulled the fixed cars farther down the track so they could repeat the process with the other cars that needed to be put back on tracks that hadn’t been destroyed in the derailment.

They brought in an engine to pull the rear of the train back away from the messed-up section of track. Once all the toppled cars were moved down the other side of the broken section, the engine hooked up to the remaining cars. When the engineer tried to pull the train cars, the engine’s wheels spun and spun, flinging orange sparks against the ground. With the leaning car still attached, the other cars wouldn’t budge, even though a couple of crew members put some tool in front of the wheels to help right the leaning car, which was still filled to the brim with rock. After several unsuccessful attempts, they decided to uncouple the leaning car from the rest of the train. The engine was then able to pull the upright cars to the other side of the highway that sits in front of my house, so it would be out of the way of fixing the tracks.

So, they brought the cranes back over to lift the super-heavy leaning train car. They slowly took it down to a part of the track that was still lined up right. There the ruined wheels were exchanged for new ones. With that job finished, the guys stopped work for the day.

As I’m writing this article in my living room on Sunday afternoon, a crew is outside cleaning up the carnage that used to be railroad ties and train tracks. I’m not sure if they’ll get around to scooping up the spilled rock today or if that will be done tomorrow, when you’re reading this. It’s such a huge mess, the cleanup process takes multiple days. Each step gets its turn, with each crew member pitching in at the right time. It’s quite the orchestrated chaos, if you ask me, but the job is getting done.

I’m thankful that no one was hurt, either in the original crash or during the cleanup. It did concern me when I first saw the disaster, because there have recently been several children riding their bikes up and down the two roads parallel to the tracks. Praise God they’re all safe and weren’t injured in this catastrophe. This might have been a much more somber event, but I’m so glad it wasn’t.

Seeing the process of cleaning up the derailed train reminded me of how God takes my brokenness and cleans me up and fixes me one little piece at a time. It’s the reminder and encouragement I needed this weekend. I’ve been struggling because promises take so long to be fulfilled sometimes. The more years that go by, the harder hope is to cling onto. But through this weekend’s craziness and Sidewalk Prophets’ CD Live Like That, God showed me that He hasn’t forgotten me. He’s the God who is more than all I’ve ever wanted. He’s saving me every day, through every pain and doubt and struggle I face. He’s scooping me up and hugging me tight, whispering words of comfort into my heart. Though I may struggle to find the courage to stand firm in my faith at times, I will never lose sight that God is still God and God is still good. He’s got me in His hands, and He’s leading me into the future He has designed for me. I trust Him with my life and my dreams, because He is my Everything.

Readers, what exciting things happened during your weekend? What lessons have you learned from the weekend that you can apply to your life? Are you holding onto the hope God is giving you?

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Author Interview with Kim Vogel Sawyer

Today, I'm talking with author and Facebook friend, Kim Vogel Sawyer, whose latest book What Once Was Lost releases to bookstores tomorrow.

Available September 17th

Andrea: In your most recent book, What Once Was Lost, Tommy Kilgore was such an enjoyable character to get to know. Did someone in particular inspire his character?

Kim: No, Tommy is purely from my imagination, but I certainly grew attached to him.

Andrea: What piece of research surprised you most? Were you disappointed in any of your research?

Kim: The terminology which was perfectly acceptable surprised me--referring to poor farms as "asylums" and the residents as "inmates." I encountered these terms on historical sites and the images in my head, painted by today's use of those words, were quite different from the reality of that time. I find it intriguing how language evolves.

Andrea: Your descriptions in Tommy's point of view (POV) made it easy to feel what blindness would be like. Did you use a blindfold to better imagine the scenes? Or was there another technique you used? Or was it pure imagination?

Kim: I closed my eyes when writing in Tommy's POV. It sounds simplistic, but it's amazing how your other senses "step up to the plate" when you limit the use of one. Try plugging your ears sometime in a public place and see how keen your observation becomes. :O)

Andrea: Do you plot your books or write as you go? Are you ever surprised by the twists or outcomes in your stories?

Kim: I am a seat of the pants writer, so I am constantly surprised by what transpires. Every day is an adventure! I love it.

Andrea: When did you realize you wanted to write historical Christian fiction novels?

Kim: I always wanted to be a writer, and I always wanted to write historicals, but I think I became focused on Christian writing when I read my first Janette Oke story. I loved how God was a main character, and I wanted to write stories of the hope only He can give.

Andrea: How has the added responsibility of running The King's Inn Bed & Breakfast affected your writing schedule?

Kim: I like to start my day focused on writing. Now I have to wait until we've served breakfast and visited with guests before I can focus. Since I am most productive in the morning, it was a real adjustment for me to put something else ahead of writing, but it's balancing out. Fortunately the Hubs is good about doing all the clean up, so once the guests are served I can scoot up to my office and get busy.

Andrea: The theme of helping others is dear to my heart, which is one reason I especially love What Once Was Lost. How do you decide which themes to focus on in your novels? Are there any certain factors you consider while planning your stories?

Kim: The only thing I plan is my characters' emotional/physical/spiritual arcs. I know what each of them hope to achieve and why it is important to them. Beyond that, everything else that transpires is a natural out-growth of the characters' journeys. I am often amazed at the themes that develop.

Andrea: Who was the most challenging character to write, and why?

Kim: Tommy ... because I couldn't use his sight and I am a very visual person.

Andrea: What's up next on your busy schedule? May we have a hint at what your next book is about?

Kim: Up next is a story set in a Kansas chocolate factory and features a female investigator who is going to turn the life of the Dinsmore Chocolate Factory owner's son upside-down!

Andrea: Lastly, but most importantly, how's that new grandbaby of yours doing (and her parents)? Is she close enough to spoil regularly, like your little Wugmump? (Of course, all your grandkiddos are precious! I always enjoy the photos you share on your website and blog.)

Kim: Our newest one is growing like a weed and learning to smile, which is always so precious. I wish she was closer--three hours can seem like thirty when you want a quick visit--but thankfully Skype allows us to see and talk to both Wugmumps whenver we need a fix.

Andrea: Kim, thank you for visiting with us here at Writing to Inspire. You write such endearing stories.

Kim: Thanks, Andrea!

Since the release of her first novel in 2006, Kim Vogel Sawyer has become one of the most beloved writers in the Christian market. Drawn to her gentle stories of hope and the life lessons contained between the pages, readers eagerly anticipate the newest release. When Kim isn't writing, you can find her serving guests with her retired-military hubby at The King's Inn Bed and Breakfast Inn or spoiling her grandchildren. You can learn more about Kim and her writing and speaking ministries at www.KimVogelSawyer.com.

What Once Was Lost

A fire destroys the kitchen of Brambleville, Kansas’ poor farm house, displacing Christina Willems and her charges. The townsfolk open their doors to provide refuge for each one—except young Tommy Kilgore, a blind boy. Christina wonders, “Why did people find it so easy to turn him away?” (page 12) As a last resort, she approaches the town hermit about harboring the boy until she can get the poor farm house repaired.

Levi Jonnson doubts the woman’s claim that the inconvenience will be temporary, but he begrudgingly agrees to give sanctuary to the youngster. How is he to know this one decision will change his life forever?

Will an adversary from Christina’s past stir up enough trouble to permanently discourage her? Will the mission board provide the funds needed to rebuild her beloved home? Will Levi hold onto the reasons he became a hermit and refuse to open his heart to the little boy now in his care? When trials of great magnitude block Christina’s path, will she have the courage to embrace help, or will she tighten her grasp on her independence?

These and many other questions plagued my mind as I read What Once Was Lost by Kim Vogel Sawyer. By the end of the book, I had laughed and cried and felt my heart lifted up in gratitude. There’s nothing quite like reading about someone’s sorrows to make you count your blessings and thank God for them. (I do this anyway, but I found myself praising God for His kindnesses a lot more while reading my advanced reader copy of Kim’s latest book.) Such poignant writing that tugs the heartstrings book after book is difficult to find, but this author delivers! I’ve loved her books since I first read My Heart Remembers many years ago, but her last two books (Sweet Sanctuary and What Once Was Lost) have proven (again) to me that Kim Vogel Sawyer is at top form, writing books that will forever have a place on my book shelves.

Particularly, I was quite impressed with her descriptions while in Tommy Kilgore’s point of view. Her vivid use of the boy’s senses—with the exception of sight, since the boy is blind—made me want to close my eyes to fully experience Tommy’s world. Of course, when I did that, I couldn’t keep reading! A conundrum like that I’d gladly face with a great book like this one.

If you’ve never read one of Kim Vogel Sawyer’s books, What Once Was Lost is a fabulous one to begin with. There is also a prequel entitled The Grace That Leads Us Home that is available only on eReaders. You won’t want to miss that either!

There are many ways to let Kim Vogel Sawyer know how much you enjoy her books. You may visit her website, Facebook page and Twitter account. You may also order her books here. If you enjoy her writing, be sure to stop by her blog to learn more about her and nine other women who write such touching historical fiction novels.

Thank you, Kim, for selecting me as a member of your Hope Harbingers influencer team. I appreciate the advanced reader copy of What Once Was Lost and the fellowship with you and the other members of Hope Harbingers. Blessings to you all!

Have YOU ever read a book that made you stop reading to count your blessings? What was it about the book (or books) that had you feeling extra thankful?

Calling Me Softly

This weekend, I thought about my current situation as a tutor. This got me wondering about my calling in life. I wondered if God had called me to this job or if it was just the direction my life has gone because of the circumstances surrounding my life at the time I obtained this job.

To understand the current path I’m on, we have to look back at the paths that came before.

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles/
FreeDigitalPhotos.net

When I was in grade school, I helped out in Sunday school classes when the adults in the church were unwilling. From the nursery to the toddlers to elementary school kids not much younger than myself (I was nine or ten at the time), I worked with them all in turn. The whole youth group helped out, and we gained knowledge and experience and wisdom the adults missed out on.

At ages twelve and thirteen, I helped out at a preschool with the two and three year olds. During this time, I learned a lot about the responsibility required to work with young children. Sometimes it was lots of fun. Other times, I had to be the disciplinarian, which was very hard on my nerves. (It still is today.) 

Image courtesy of
Sura Nualpradid/
FreeDigitalPhotos.net

That led me to baby-sitting, which I’ve enjoyed immensely over the years. The children I’ve watched have varied in ages from newborn to 13 years. Each child and their parents taught me new things about what it means to be a parent and how difficult it can be. But there were also lessons in how to have fun and enjoy each other’s company. (I must say those moments I savored.)

Also, as a teenager, I helped out one summer in Vacation Bible School. This experience was incredible as several of the kids in the class I shared with a sweet lady came to know Jesus as their personal Savior. I’ve never been more humbled than I was that summer. It escaped my understanding why God would use me to reach those kids for Him. My mind is still delightedly boggled to this day about that.

I guess you could say God used those (and other) experiences to groom me to become a tutor. In my senior year of high school, while I was homeschooling, a man in town had a couple of sons who both needed help with math. My mom worked with one while I worked with the other. I never thought I would be a math tutor, but there I was, teaching a sixth grader how to work mathematical problems. Word of mouth brought more students to us, and God taught us how to work with each one in the subject(s) they struggled with. Now, ten years later, it takes all three women in my family (mom, sister and me) to help all the kids God leads to our door. We have even pulled my dad in when we needed his computer expertise!

Glancing ahead into the future for a moment, I suppose you could say God is using tutoring and all the other past experiences with children to groom me to be a great mom. Though I am as yet unmarried and childless, I know God is working out His plan for me one step at a time. I may not always understand this plan of His, but He gives me glimpses along the way.

This article is proof of that. Until this moment, I hadn’t really known that tutoring was my calling. I always thought I would audibly hear God call me to a certain career or life path. Or at least feel an emotional nudge in a certain direction. Apparently that isn’t the way God spoke to me on this one. It seems it wasn’t any one particular moment that drew me into tutoring. It wasn’t one simple decision that led to my working with children for over fourteen years.

Image courtesy of Paul Gooddy/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Instead, God called me softly. By placing in my heart a longing to be around and help children, He led me to my current path of tutoring kids. Yes, it’s difficult at times. Yes, it’s overwhelming and frustrating when my techniques aren’t working for certain kids. But, then God shows me something new. Then, God cultivates in my heart a step of maturity I never thought I’d reach. He’s given me patience (something I still haven’t mastered), love, joy, fascination and many other blessings along the way. I’m so grateful for the opportunity to work with my family and not have to find work outside my home. This has given me the chance to pursue another possible career path (writing novels), but that’s another topic altogether.

The blessings of working with children confirm to me that, sure enough, I have been called into action.

God called me softly. How did He call YOU? Was it audible or silent? A gentle nudge or hard shove? Did you stumble upon it or was it dropped in your lap? I can't wait to hear your stories of God's call on your life!