I have a near entourage of people coming to STORY this year. Well, ok, Dan and I and Serenity and our brother-in-law Ryan. And my friend Melissa. But there’s room for you, too! No tour bus option, sorry, we might even take the train, but we’ll show you a good time!

Buying a STORY ticket is an investment, so you’ll want to get in on the best rate by this Friday. The two days are packed with presenters – some Christian, some not – all with a general focus on making great art, so the per speaker/performer price tag is very affordable. (I happen to know there are a couple late announcements coming this week that – trust me – you are going to be a little excited about.) You have to come prepared to suck in as much info and inspiration as you can and then plan to steal someone’s notes or buy books from the merchandise table. (You might be able to do this from your smart phone at your seat – if my sources are correct.) Even better than beating this Friday’s rate? Talk three of your friends into joining you for the group rate!

I’m sensing a couple of shifts in the focus this year, lots of music and lots of film-related speakers and artists. If either of these areas are your sweet spots, you really ought to give STORY a try. Plus, Chicago is amazing in September. Seriously.

If you can’t make it this year, though, I’ll do my best to give you a report after the event! Here are links to my re-cap posts from last year:

A STORY Moment

A STORY Principle

My favorite word is RECONCILED.

You and me with God. You and me with each other. (See 2 Corinthians 5:17-19.)

The big idea question this passage asks is, “Are you in need of reconciliation or do you have the ministry of reconciliation?”

We either have it or we don’t. We either offer it or we need it. Anything in between is religious goobly-goo or apathetic excuses.

Eugene Peterson phrased the good news of Christ’s reconciliation this way:

“Become friends with God; He’s already a friend to you.”

. . . hardly feels like work at all!

I love discoveries like this. When I was loading photos onto my computer from the camera, I found several I hadn’t taken myself. Either Ada or Jesse took this photo one morning while I was still off-camera getting ready for the day.

Our mornings don’t always run this smoothly, but on this particular occasion, as is as likely to happen as not, Dan sat down at the piano and gave the girls a dancing tune. Can you see the pure joy and abandonment in Macy’s spin here? Even in a school uniform!

Don’t you wish you had a Daddy who played live music for you every morning so you could dance your way out the door?

Oh, wait, maybe you do. Maybe we all do, if only we’d listen.

What kind of music do you hear in your morning routine? And does it make you dance?

Now that I’m finished watching Friday Night Lights, I’m taking on a new challenge. My friend Katie introduced me to Erin Blakemore’s blog (and book) The Heroine’s Bookshelf. I lurked for awhile and then commented on Katie’s guest post. That comment won me a copy of Gone With The Wind and now I’m joining Blakemore’s read-a-long of the classic.

To me it makes perfect sense to find inspiration from the heroines of some of our favorite classics. I’m looking forward to reading Blakemore’s book for that very reason. Who hasn’t wanted to be brave like Jo March or loyal like Jane Eyre?

In Gone With the Wind, we read about a fairly imperfect heroine – one we may choose to fight with even more than cheer for. But we read stories to help make sense of our world, I’ve heard said. It is important for us to see an imperfect heroine and still see how she is beloved. Sometimes she changes – or sometimes we only wish desperately that she would. All the while, we are deciding how we would behave in similar situations, what we believe is the righteous choice.

Talking with my friend Denise this weekend I told her the only thing I didn’t like about the conclusion of Friday Night Lights was the way Mrs. T whined and fussed at her husband when she didn’t think she was getting her way. She had a reason to be upset, but I didn’t like the way she tried to make her point. I watched the story’s heroine and made a choice for myself.

I don’t know if any of you would be interested in joining the read-a-long. (If you are, just click here to read about the details.) It is a ridiculously thick book. But I know some of you (Carol, ahem, Carol) have mentioned how you miss literature classes and this could be a way to feed that. Or you might want to pop over to the site now and then (the group book club runs through October) and see what people are discovering as they read. Or maybe you’ll just be inspired to pick up that old copy of your own favorite classic. Whatever you decide, remember to keep an eye on those heroines; we’ve got a lot of choices to make in this life and we can use all the help we can get!

Yesterday afternoon I received one of the best text messages ever:

“Hey. I want to take you on a date tonight. I have a babysitter and everything covered. I’ll pick you up at 4:30.”

I said yes.

It has admittedly been awhile since we’ve had a real date. A kid-free night out. No grocery shopping allowed.

We ate out someplace new – in patio seating! And then he took me shopping.

Since March – when Dan saw pictures of himself in swimming trunks – we’ve been working on a little weight loss project. Crazy enough, it is totally working. Weight Watchers has been our guide, but the most important factor has been the two of us working together. Sharing ideas for “cheap” meals (if you know WW, you know that doesn’t mean monetarily anymore) and encouraging each other after bad weigh-ins. It hasn’t happened fast but we feel pretty accomplished. In fact, Dan wanted to take me shopping so I could pick up a few new things to fit my new size.

There’s still more work to do – so far I’ve lost my 15 simply by eating less (Dan’s lost nearly 30). Exercise is next on the list. But last night it was nice to be spoiled. Loved. Celebrated. All by the person I love the most.

Thanks, Babe!

And thanks to our friend Ramy and his wife, Tiffany, for the encouragement and ideas for d8-Night! Her blog has fantastic go-to ideas for date nights, if you need help. Or call Dan – he’s really good at this!