Mother…..the eternal dreamer…..the miracle-maker with words! I can still see her holding her files of written stories, close to her chest like a priceless treasure. Her own words written, so creatively, with a clear purpose in mind. At 90 +, she was the only one at the nursing home that had a laptop computer and iPad to boot to make these dreams come alive! But sadly, in the end, the computer kept getting things “all wrong” as she would press “SAVE” and off went her favorite words to cyber-space somewhere and she could never find them again. She had always been computer-savy and had so much she wanted to share. We, as her children, would run to her rescue and restart the computer, trying, in earnest, to find her last edited piece, all to no avail. But she always had her dull green folders of printed text with pencil corrections and additions to fumble through and contemplate.
Later, after her passing, we found one of Mom’s proposal letters in one of those dull green folders:
“I propose a series of picture books for children, based on the Bible using numbers from 1 through 10, written in rhyme to capture a child’s attention, to enrich his love of literature, and to reclaim the “one-two, buckle your shoe” crowd.
The picture books are Biblically accurate, sometimes humorous, but all are informative. The purpose is to present; not preach. Each tries to instill respect for the Word of God in a disrespectful world. Each uses repetition and a strong rhythmic pulse to persuade the child to memorize by the irresistible cadence found in each story.
An artist who is adept at comic-book-style illustrations and has a sense of humor will put these books on the cutting edge of what is presently being offered in the juvenile publishing world.” Miggy Krentel
Along with the letter was the name of her Agent and a detailed wish list of Bible stories.
Two of the number books, Two by Two and I See Four were already published books in the late 50's and early 60's but are OUT of print. These stories make up part of the 10 books needed.
They seem to follow this plan.
They seem to follow this plan.
1. *One House Stood Still ( the story of the wise man who built his house on the rock)
2. *Two by Two (republish the book by MEK of Noah and his Ark)
3. Three Along the Road (The Story of the Good Samaritan )
4. *I See Four ( republish the book by MEK about Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego)
5. The Five Loaves and Two Fish ( Feeding the Five Thousand)
6. ?
7. Seven Dunks in the River (Naaman the leper)
8.* Samson, Strong as Eight Men (story of Samson)
9. The Nine Foot Giant (David and Goliath)
10 *Ten Pennies and the Lady who Lost One
(* completed works by MEK)
There it was, five stories in rhyme right in front of me. I could complete this dream or at least, give it a “college-try”. Mom’s dream was clear enough, so I decided to get to work and “fill in the blanks”, so to speak………writing the other number stories to complete the set. What fun it was for me! (That is, all except 6, as I can’t really find something with 6 in the scripture (just the first miracle or the six days of creation. Open for suggestions.....)
Here is a sample text from I See Four to tease you:
Way........ high, UP in the sky! TALLER than either YOU or I! A big statue stood, its head in a cloud. King Nebuchadnezzar was really quite proud!
He sat on his throne, checking over his list to see that no deal he wanted was missed! “Six cubits wide, let me see that’s........ nine feet. Ten fingers, ten toes, well, I guess it’s compete!”
“Now, call out the ‘Measure-Man’-tell him to try to see if this image is ninety feet high.”
“10 feet......move over, you’re sitting on 20! 30....here’s 40,” and on and on went he counting and climbing high in the heavenly. “50 and 60, it’s scary at 70! 80, then 90......” He’s reached the big crown!
Then he grabbed hold the tape....and SLID all the way down!
And so, it was finished! The statue complete from the shine of its head to the gleam of it’s feet! The crowd was delighted; it gathered around on the plains known as Dura from country and town! As they stood gazing, a sound pierced the air-”King Nebuchadnezzar- has this to declare!
“When the sackbut, the cornet, the trumpet, and flute- the psaltery, and dulcimer, start in to ‘toot’-
Bow down and worship this beautiful statue and don’t run away-or someone will catch you!
“This is real serious, this is no play! This is a law that you HAVE to obey! Just look at that furnace roaring with heat waiting for those who think they can cheat!”
There were THREE Hebrew boys, I’m sure you all know.......Shadrach....and Meshach....and Abednego! They remembered God’s Words to Moses of old; “Ye shall not make gods of silver or gold, nor worship nor serve them, nor bow down the knee, for thou shalt have no other gods before me!……………………….
Anyway, during this time, I also called Mother’s Agent and she told to start a blog just in case this dream came to some happy ending. Blogging……I didn’t even know what it was. My son was kind enough to show me how it works and off I went into the world of internet messaging. I dutifully complied with writing one post a week for almost a year, using Melissa Comes Home chapters, at first.
Then, I took the plunge and I began writing my own pieces. Writing is so very new to me, but I enjoyed it. It’s like sending out a special message in words to someone and you don’t know who it is. You wonder about the quality of what you put out ‘there’ in the first place and question why you are doing it. Sometimes, it seems like a regiment with no purpose.
But then, I remind myself again of the reason I am doing the blogging….a twofold reason: to keep Mom’s picture book dream alive in the event the books ever were to be publish, and to share a testimony to the faithfulness of God in my life!
But no blogging magic has happened in all this time. No dreams fulfilled. Little feedback. And the publisher, that was looking at possibly republishing I See Four and Two by Two, seems no longer very interested for taking on the project any time real soon. Plus, there has been no positive developments from my Agent that would encourage this dream to continue. Purpose Number One seems to have all closed doors.
Should I be a “Dream Catcher “ or not?
That leaves Purpose Number Two….”giving testimony to God’s faithfulness.” Surely, I could do that!
But is this blogging effort really “God’s” will, or simply “my” will?
Perhaps, you would take the time to tell me what you think.
Is blogging a worthwhile pastime? Should I continue to make an effort to keep Mom’s dream going?
At this crossroads, your opinion will be valued. Leave me a comment so I know how to proceed. Thanks so much for visiting this site as much as you have in the past.
