My Western Sky

I know what you're thinking..."Enough with the TFIOS metaphors." But this post has nothing to do with Hazel Grace and Augustus and everything to do with what is going on at the border of my beloved state, my home sweet Texas, and the southern borders outlining America.  Yep. I'm going THERE.  Confession: I've purposely ignored the crisis at our border. I caught glimpses of images on the news, heard bits and pieces from soundbites, gleaned a few facts from newspaper and internet articles. But I chose to keep my head in the sand on this issue. I continued writing my words, reading my books, enjoying my vacation, and living my easy suburban middle-class life. It's been a Summer of bliss. And indifference.  And I am ashamed.  This is wrong.  This is unchristian.  Thanks to a Friday morning Facebook scroll, the veil of indifference was yanked away.  First, I came across a beautiful blog post by my girl, Jen Hatmaker . If you know me at all, yo...

Augustus Waters is faultless for many reasons. (Sorry, I couldn't resist.) But maybe the best reason of all is his excellent example of a metaphor: My mind is a tangled web that searches for connections in everything. It's impossible for me to turn off my reader/writer brain. I constantly try to make sense of the world around me, and like Augustus, I think in metaphors. (For an even more extensive analysis of this brilliant scene, read John Green's Tumblr post here .)  My family recently spent a week in the picturesque mountains of North Georgia. Our rental house rested at the top of a mountain. (Okay, so it probably was not a REAL mountain, but I'm from the FLAT LANDS of Forney, Texas. Anything with an elevation is considered a mountain in my mind.) In order for Jason and me to get our weekly running/walking miles logged, we had to go down the mountain and then turn around and come back up. The going down was easy. In fact, I broke out into a sprint several...

I am pecking this post out on my iPhone in the middle of Some-Small-Town, Alabama, as we make our way back to Home Sweet Texas after a fantastic vacay in the mountains of North Georgia. We spent quality time with extended family, enjoyed copious amounts of delicious Southern cooking, and experienced outdoor adventures--zip lining, kayaking, and white water rafting.  But I think the true sign of a great vacay is how many books you read, and in just 12 days of vacation, I have finished three books and am starting my 4th one! Here's a quick rundown: Call Me By My Name by John Ed Bradley  --This is the book that I posted about on FB because it made me burst into tears in the middle of Louisiana. It reminds me Remember the Titans. I insisted that Jason read this book, and he flew through it and thought it was excellent. (He got choked up, too, so it's not just me.) If you are a football fan, then add this one to your list! All Fall Down by Jennifer Weiner-- I don't think I ...