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I need a place to work with my writing ideas -- a place to pound out stories or muse about books. More important, I need a place to meet with readers even if all is not polished.

 So, this blog is mostly about writing practice. I'd like to share some stories, most of them works in progress. I'm not generally a believer in electronic reading, and I don't read deeply online. Yet, I know many people do, and some are not as distracted as I am when online.

 I'll continue to write on paper, too. I generally like what I write on paper more than what I compose with any sort of word processor. That means I'm not going to try and post every day -- or even every week -- and I don't plan on posting everything I'm working on.

 Recently I've also wanted a place to reflect on what I've read. So from time to time I'll post some thoughts related to books or stories. I will mostly avoid full reviews, and instead lean toward writing on various ideas that connect from different material. The Bible will certainly be part of posts of this nature.

 I've decided that this site should be plain, and though it won't contain actual pages in a book, I want to get as close as possible. This is because I want to write the kind of thing that will invite the reader to escape -- even escape the Web (these days maybe especially the Web). My long term goal is to publish paper books, but working online will be good practice.

 Leave comments if you're so inclined. Thoughtful criticism given with good intentions is welcome.

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Cottonwood

Let me tell you the story of this tree. It's around 7 years old--I know this because I pulled it out of a crack the first spring it popped up. I was walking with some students along the sidewalk, their chatter filling the air, and I spotted it: 3 or 4 sets of leaves waving like a mini flag right next to a car tire. It had rained a day or two before, so when I gently pulled on the trunk--which was more like a twig--it came up easily, roots and all. "What are you doing?" One of my students asked. "Saving this tree," I said. We headed inside to find a cup of water, and I explained just how I intended to save the tree. "It's dying." I assured them it would live. I explained--again--that if I left the roots in water and later planted and soaked it, it had a good chance. "It's dying." It's over seven years later, and every once in a while I remind one of the students with me that day that the tree is still alive. I've replanted it a
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Silliness Solidifies Relationships

On February 8th, I posted an introduction of sorts called "Toward a Manifesto of Silliness." Every week since then I've written about silliness, mostly as a way to meditate on and answer the question: What makes silliness important? My family and I talked it over, and here are our answers: "Silliness is a Sign of Joy." "Silliness is Important Because We are Silly." "Silliness is Just Fun." "Silliness Helps Bring Balance." Thinking on and writing about those answers helped this last silly answer grow -- I had an idea at first, but those initial answers shaped how I thought/think about silliness. It was a suspicion that began the day my youngest son and I played our game of nothing. Remember? All this began with nothing. Try to imagine: First, we sat side by side, the whole room bright from the sun. Soon, he draped his arms around my neck, and because of the faces we'd been making, laughter took over. His brothers were close by,
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