May15

Play it Again, Sam (30-Second Edition)

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Play it Again, Sam (30-Second Edition)

 

Play it Again, Sam podcast

(Originally posted November 14, 2012)

 

“If you could relive any 30 second period in your life, what would it be?”

When the Bible study leader first asked the question, I had no idea what my answer might be. Blips of important days flitted through my mind like clips from a movie scene. The day Barry and I married. The days my children were born. The day I accepted Jesus as Savior. The day I truly knew Jesus as Lord. Moments from the 25 short days baby Brendan was with us on earth.

What would I pick? I wondered, as I half-listened to a friend share.

And then I knew.

This summer our family traveled to California. We’d planned to go after our eldest son graduated high school, and the time had finally arrived.

The anticipation built steadily, especially during the final three months. We talked about what we would do. We conducted online research. We watched videos. We looked at different airlines, hotels and vacation packages.

Step by step, we solidified our plans. Booked the round trip flight. Booked the hotels. Purchased tickets for the attractions we would visit.

Which 30 seconds would I relive from that adventure?

I’d relive the 30 seconds after we boarded the first airplane and settled into our seats.

The 30 seconds that marked the culmination of all our preparations. That marked the beginning of an experience anticipated for years. That made our children quiver in giddy anticipation, faces radiant, ready to lift off. Knowing that the best was yet to come.

Yep. That’s the 30 seconds I’d relive.

 

What about you? If you could relive any 30 second period of your life, what would it be?

 

May1

The Resurrection: A Storytelling Adventure

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The Resurrection: A Storytelling Adventure

I enjoyed telling the story at Bible study this week. It was about the Resurrection of Jesus, and the text was from Matthew 28 and Luke 24 in the NLT version of the Bible.

Check out the video if you have a few minutes :-)

(And thank you, Alicia, for taking the video!)

It was a little difficult to cast characters for the scenes because we’ve already packed most of the kids’ stuffed toys. But I think God was okay with the hero I found to represent Jesus. . . after all, He’s got a great sense of humor.

Apr24

Need a Little Sanity Break?

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Need a Little Sanity Break?

coffee

 

Hi! I’m so glad you stopped by! I so needed a little sanity break.

As in, a break to MAINTAIN my sanity, not a break FROM sanity (although that’s necessary sometimes, too).

Barry and I are getting our house ready to sell. Yep, I know. Craziness. But you can’t say I didn’t warn you in the title.

We’re practically buried under paint, tape, brushes, boxes, cleaners, STUFF. We’ve worked until weariness set in almost every night for the last two weeks, and will continue on. Barry has tomorrow and Friday off from work, so we’ll finish as much painting, cleaning, packing and preparation as we can in the next four days.

The other night I washed the bathroom door to prepare it for a fresh coat of paint. I was SOOOO tired. I thought “I don’t want to do this.”  And yet, on a deeper level, I did.

Although our little house has fulfilled its purpose for the season of life we’ve been in, I’m ready for something new. Something bigger. A house with a great kitchen, dining, and entertaining area. One where I can have my own writing retreat. And maybe a master bathroom and a hot tub.

So when I get tired, or think of how much work we still need to do, I think of the new house. And because of the “joy set  before” me, I push on. Past the weariness. Past the regret for lack of writing time. Past the worries of when our house will sell, or for how much.

Thanks for the sanity break. I desperately needed it! Now I can go back to tackling the never-ending project list.

And if you get bored, you’re welcome to come back by to visit with painting clothes on. I’d love the company and the help :-)

 

Apr19

Wax Poetic, Please, with Me guest post

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Wax Poetic, Please, with Me guest post

dogwood tree cropped

 

Hurrah for April! Hurrah for National Poetry Month!

I wrote a little guest post for the creative and talented Grace Thorson. If you have a moment, can you pop over to her blog to read it? You get brownie points from me if you comment, and DOUBLE brownie points if you write a haiku and post it in the comments section.

http://gracethorson.wordpress.com/2013/04/19/guest-writer-bernice-seward/

Apr16

21 Books in 14 Days?

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21 Books in 14 Days?

caden n abbie read

Would you believe it if I told you I’d read 21 books in the last two weeks?

Might be hard to imagine, right?

After all, a girl’s gotta sleep. She’s gotta eat. She’s gotta clean. She’s gotta work on house projects if she’s gonna get the house listed within the next month.

And of course, when she’s married with children, one might wonder when she’d find the time to read ONE book, let alone 21.

So, 21 books in two weeks. Could she really do it?

Hold on to your hats. Because yes, it’s true. I’ve read 21 book in the last 14 days, many of them on Publisher’s Weekly’s best-sellers list from 2012.

It might help to know what type of books they were. Three were middle grade novels, one was a chapter book, and 17 were picture books.

Oh. Believe me now?

But you may wonder . . . why would a busy woman read oodles of kid’s books in such a short time? Is she sick in bed? Is she trying to make it into the Guinness Book of World Records? Is she quite sane?

Let me say, first of all, that I don’t think I’m quite insane, though I don’t confess to being totally sane, either.

Why have I read so many books?

Research.

As a children’s writer, I want to know what makes a story good. Not just good, but AMAZINGLY good. So good that people don’t just want to check it out at the library. They want to own a copy so they can read it over and over and over again. They connect with the characters, get to love them as friends, and wait with anticipation for a new story so they can see what their quirky friend is up to now.

As a children’s writer, I also want to research publishers, What types of books do they publish? Do I like the books? Does my writing style and the books I write mesh with ones they publish?

So, yep, I’ve been reading a lot lately. And I’ve met some new, favorite characters along the way.

 

Apr11

Excited about Something that Really Sucks?

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Excited about Something that Really Sucks?

shark

 

I’m so excited! You’ll never guess what I just bought!

Well, okay. I’m sure you see the picture. So you probably know what it is. Even the type and color.

I spent my fun money on an appliance. What sane woman does that?

My current vacuum sucks–or rather, it doesn’t suck as well as it should. The main part works okay, but the attachment hose has no suction when used separately. Go figure.

So, as the dog hair and dust has accumulated in corners and crevices, my approval rating for said vacuum has dwindled to a measly one star, if that.

I considered buying a little stick vac to help; after all, it would be light enough for the kids to push without fear of chiropractic problems as they grow. But, but, but, and but (that word repetition must be legal–Ian Fleming did it in his book Chitty Chitty Bang Bang) I saw this pearly purple Shark on sale.

Not only would it suck big time, it was half price. Can it get any better than that?

So I raced to the store and bought it. The only one left on the shelf, I might add.

Now I can hardly wait to unpack it, put the puzzle of pieces together, and conquer those crevices.

So, TTFN!

 

P.S. Have you ever gotten exuberantly excited about getting an appliance (or something else that involves work)? If so, do tell!

Apr8

How a little Planning Averts Chaos

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How a little Planning Averts Chaos

caden creation

 

Phew!

Spring Break is over. My two Littles are off at school–only 10 minutes late, the tardiness made worse by a squabble about which child would be the servant and hold open the door.

“Hurry up and RUN to class! You’re already late!” I yelled through the open car window.

Yeah. Like tardiness holds any importance during a stand off of elementary aged siblings. I had to park the car and escort them in.

Anyway, they made it to class. I made it home.

I had worried as we headed into spring break. I didn’t feel like we’d ever recovered from our last vacation from school.

Barry and I had devised a routine and new chore chart early in the year, and we’d made progress with the kids on following the routine. With the changes and the additional structure, they had been doing better at cleaning up after themselves, obeying, getting along with each other, and staying out of things (like self-made chemistry projects).

During our last break, though, it all fell apart. I tried to keep working in the mornings, which gave the Littles too much free time. I didn’t structure their time well. We didn’t keep up with our routine and chores consistently.

The first day and a half, the children did great at entertaining themselves and getting along without structure. But then the effects set in, and chaos rumbled towards us like the boulder in the Indiana Jones movie.

Even after school started back up and the days were more structured, we never fully regained the progress we’d made before the break.

So I went into Spring Break with a little trepidation.

But I determined that it would be different from the prior break had been. I wouldn’t work unless the kids were being babysat. I’d structure some type of activity for each day.

So we had a schedule. One day we met friends at the park for lunch and a playdate. On other days a friend and I swapped “child watching” times–her youngest two came to our house to play for a few hours one day, and my Littles went to their house to play for a few hours on another day. On Wednesday our church had a kid’s activity day. Plus we went to the library twice during the week.

Scheduling some events? That made all the difference.

No, we didn’t have a serene and perfect week. But it was a good week. We had fun. I had a little time to work. And we didn’t lose ground.

So Hallelujah, and lesson learned. I little planning not only averts chaos, it also increases fun and friendships!

 

Apr3

The Most Important Thing I Learned about Creativity from Phil Vischer

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The Most Important Thing I Learned about Creativity from Phil Vischer
IMG_2661

Pretzel alphabet by Caden Seward

Phil Vischer is, undeniably, a creative genius. He designed scores of lovable, computer animated vegetables that children worldwide have fallen in love with. He developed countless story lines and catchy little tunes. And his repertoire of voice acting is awe-inspiring to say the least.

I learned a lot about the creative process by reading Phil Visher’s book Me, Myself & Bob. About how his dream was born. About how it began to unfold. About how the provision and the time and the ideas and the help came together to form the foundation that VeggieTales would grow from. About hard work. About learning constantly. About determination.

But the most important thing I learned from Phil Vischer about creativity? It wasn’t about being faithful and pressing through blockages to “aha moments”–although that is an important part of the creative process.

It was that, sometimes, the ideas we become most know for aren’t birthed in the hours of focused time, when we’re trying to be creative. They spring forth unbidden as we drive home from church, as we look for a razor in the shower, as we carry tax forms across a plaza. For Phil and his co-workers, this bubbling of creativity led to The Hairbrush Song, the Water Buffalo Song, and other parts of the show we’ve come to know and love.

The ideas bubbled up from within, from who God created them to be.

Each one of us is fearfully and wonderfully made. It’s not necessarily the “trying” and the “doing” moments that will produce the highlights our lives and our work are known for. Rather, it’s the “being” moments.

Being who God created us to be.

Being filled up with Him.

Being His sons and His daughters.

Being.

I think that’s why Phil Vischer’s book and his experience struck me so deeply.

I’ve been trying so hard. To learn enough, to do enough, to be enough. And I realized that I”m even farther from being “there”–that place where my dream is heading–than I had thought. So I would have to learn more, do more, be more.

And yet, Phil’s sharing freed me from that. I realized that I don’t have to make it happen. I don’t have to see the path ahead clearly. I don’t have to dig the tunnels, forge the path, find the right place and the right time. That is not my burden.

God knows all of this. He knows the path ahead. He knows who needs to hear what I have to share. He knows the what, the when, the why, the how. And He’ll put it all in place.

Not me.

So I can focus simply on obedience and on walking with Him.

And I can stop trying to have impact, and know that “the impact God has planned for [me] doesn’t occur when [I'm] pursuing impact. It occurs when [I'm] pursuing God (Me, Myself & Bob, 251).”

Amen?

One last thing. I promised I”d tell you what ONE book I had to buy after reading Phil Vischer’s book. It was Chosen to be God’s Prophet Workbook: Lessons from the Life of Samuel by Henry Blackaby. The quotes Phil referenced from Henry Blackaby encouraged me and whetted my appetite for more. So I guess you know what new  Bible study I’m working on :-)

Mar26

What I Learned from Phil Vischer about Dreams, Part 2

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What I Learned from Phil Vischer about Dreams, Part 2

If you have about half an hour sometime, this is an awesome message about burdens that Phil gave at Liberty University’s September 2012 Convocation.

  ______________________________________

“To build the most trusted of the top four family media brands within twenty years.”

That was the Big, Hairy Audacious Goal that Phil Vischer set for Big Idea. Not necessarily a bad goal, but one that would have major ramifications as he built his company.

A number of issues complicated the process. As VeggieTales’ sales soared, the company faced tremendous growth. This growth required new executives, producers, marketers, and other specialists, many whose ideals differed from Phil’s. Attempts to reach higher and further than Big Idea was truly prepared for, and financial decisions based on expected sales and growth, helped erode the company’s stability.

And in the end Phil Vischer’s wonderful, wonderful dream came crashing down.

In the autobiography Me, Myself & Bob, Phil shared candidly about his dream. About how it grew and how it fell. About his personal strengths and weaknesses. About how God met him in the midst of building the dream and how God met him in the painful aftermath. It was an incredible book, filled with inspiration, self-realization, business advice, and God’s incredible love and faithfulness no matter what.

I believe we all have a dream. We may dream about being a parent (or a grandparent). We may dream about being a nurse. Or a ballerina.  Or a singer. A Christian counselor. A teacher. An author. A shop or restaurant owner. Whatever it may be, there is something we long to do or to be.

So, what can we learn about dreams from Phil Vischer?

Many lessons we already know. God will open doors and provide connections in His timing. He will bring along people whose strengths shore up our weaknesses. He will faithfully meet and lead us, help us acquire the knowledge and the other things we need to along the way.

But the most important thing we can learn from Phil Vischer about dreams? It is that our dreams are good, but they should not drive us. They should not define us.

Otherwise our dream can become an idol in our lives. It can consume us, drive us, dictate our forward path. And only God should do that.

A number of statements Phil made in the last section resounded with encouragement and freedom. He wrote:

“God has taught me to focus not on results,  but on obedience. Not on the destination, but on the journey (250).”

“We really shouldn’t attempt to do anything for God until we have learned to find our worth in him alone (250).”

“When it is time to do something for God, and that time will come quickly if you’re listening, don’t worry about the outcome . . . . That’s his job. Your responsibility is simply to do what he asks (250).”

“The impact God has planned for us doesn’t occur when we’re pursuing impact. It occurs when we’re pursuing God (251).”

So, we can enjoy the freedom and joy that come from pursuing God, and let him worry about the rest. Sounds like a win-win situation to me!

Mar25

What I Learned from Phil Vischer about Dreams, Part 1

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What I Learned from Phil Vischer about Dreams, Part 1

me myself and bob

 

Phil Vischer had a dream. He wanted to change the world. More specifically, he wanted to “make movies and tv shows filled with biblical truth.” Popular shows at the time, MTV in particular, were filled with rotten messages. Phil felt called to combine his creativity with film-making technology to change the fabric of television programming.

He wanted to become a “Christian Disney.”

Early on, as Phil’s dream began to unfold, the technology to build the computer animated shows he envisioned didn’t exist. So he waited, learning and working, until technology caught up with his dream.

Building a dream often involves money. Money to purchase equipment. Money to lease workspace. Money to pay workers. Money to produce and market the product. Money that a young man with a young family simply didn’t have.

Along the way, God provided in various ways. Unexpected money to help cover bills. A loan from frugal parents to purchase the software and first computer work station.  A donation from a gentleman’s retirement account because he believed in the work Phil was doing.

Add to that a supportive wife and talented people to help with animation and production.

So the pieces fell into place. Big Idea was formed. Cute characters were created–Larry the Cucumber, Bob the Tomato, Archibald Asparagus, Junior Asparagus, and so on. Songs and storylines flowed. The first VeggieTales movie, Where’s God When I’m S-Scared? squeaked out just in time for Christmas of 1993.

And step by step by step, the other pieces of Phil Vischer’s dream and of Big Idea’s success fell into place. People fell in love with the characters and the stories, and Big Idea grew and grew and grew. . . . until the beginning of the end.

As far as I can tell, the beginning of the end started with a BHAG. A Big Hairy Audacious Goal. Not because it was a BHAG. But because it was a temporary BHAG. One Phil penned down, intending to replace once God gave him his real BHAG. But Phil got busy building the dream, and forgot to pursue God for that. And so the company was built around this big, hairy, audacious goal:

“To build the most trusted of the top four family media brands within twenty years.”

Not necessarily a bad goal, but one that would have major ramifications in the future.

 

Check back tomorrow to hear the rest of the story, including the top things I learned about dreams and broken dreams from reading Phil Visher’s book Me, Myself & Bob.

 

Mar22

Dream a Little Dream–My First Video Blog

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Dream a Little Dream–My First Video Blog

Hurrah! I’m excited to share my first video blog (aka vlog) with you. I’ve anticipated this moment SOOOO long!

Of course, it’s not perfect. It took all morning, and 9 takes, to get it to the point it is now. But I”m learning to use some new software, and the process will get better and faster as I get used to it.

Enjoy! And if you want to read the post that inspired the video, you can check it out here:

Original Dream a Little Dream blog post

Have a wonderfully glorious weekend!

Mar21

A Teaser for Upcoming Posts U Won’t Wanna Miss

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A Teaser for Upcoming Posts U Won’t Wanna Miss
My friend Jan's cat Nippur

My friend Jan’s cat Nippur

 

Just had to give you a little teaser for some upcoming posts I’m excited about.

After much anticipation and preparation, I’ll post my first vlog (that’s video blog) tomorrow. I can hardly wait for you to see it!

Also, I just finished reading Phil Vischer’s incredible book entitled Me, Myself & Bob. Next week I’ll share a series of blog posts about what Phil taught me about dreams, broken dreams, business, and creativity. Plus the ONE book I HAD to purchase after I finished reading his.

Anticipation, anticipation, anticipation. It’s a beautiful thing!