The Storyteller | Mary Vee

Let's talk about Turkey. The country, not the bird or the food. Turkey happens to be the bridge county between Syria and European nations.  You've probably heard about the Syrian refugees who've fled their country. Syrian men, women, boys and girls generally have fled their war torn country and headed north into Turkey with the goal of reaching Europe. A while ago we talked about the Olympic swimmer who escaped Syria and saved the lives of those on her boat, also fleeing Syria, by pushing the raft many miles to shore.  Today's thoughts go to the people of Turkey who have spent may liras helping the Syrians. If you could imagine a national budget that did not expect this need. Not only did this cost liras (the Turkish unit of money), but man power, education, water, food, the list is very long. Humanitarian aid was important to the Turkish people, but their pockets were only so deep. YET In recent news, the Turks have magnanimously stepped up, beyond any e

Every once in a while two celebration events happen on the same day. Isn't it fun? The  first event I celebrate  with you is: Memorial Day A day of parades, patriotism, and parties. Memorial Day is a time to celebrate the sacrifice of soldiers both past and present.  My family participated in this way: My husband served in the Air Force,  My father in the Army,  My brother in the Marines,  My brother-in-law in the Navy  I believe all four served during a time of war or "police action". How blessed our nation is to have the men and women who protect us. Let us celebrate and appreciate each one's sacrifice. I am thankful to you. May God bring great blessings in your life and your family's life. The  second celebration  event today is my daughter's birthday. Birthdays are always fun, but when a holiday enables family to come together and celebrate as a larger group the merriment increases tenfold.  My daughter's birthday doesn't a

Photo Courtesy When riding a motorcycle around a curve, lean into the pull of gravity no matter what your body says to do. No mater what your head says to do. No matter what your eyes say to do. Make friends with gravity. Once giving into the natural lean, the motorcycle will move forward as expected. We are faced with seeming contradictions almost every day.  If we stand on the edge, even if the ground below our feet is sure, we feel like we will fall. If the lights go out and everything is pitch dark, we feel like we can't breathe. If...then...we all have personal if....thens that mess with us and skew our decisions. Jesus said to His followers, "If you lose your life then you will gain it." Studying God's Word and getting to know Him helps us understand the principle of this statement. If we stop focusing on what we want for our life and turn instead to the activities that God designed for us, we will gain far more than we could ever imag

This weekend I am off to the Blue Ridge Mountains. Internet reception usually isn't great in remote areas, so I asked my friend, Karen Witemeyer who is also an author to stop by and share a thought we could talk about. The topic that came to her mind involved road blocks. Hah, yeah. Well, with the construction I'm driving through to get those lovely Blue Ridge Mountains, I know about road blocks. Sheesh, I hope I make it to the meetings on time. Anyway, Karen wanted to share how road blocks can actually be a good thing. Yeah. I know. Doesn't seem possible, right? Take a moment and check out what happened to my author friend, Karen Witemeyer:  Those Annoying Roadblocks I was no fool. I expected the road to publication to be arduous. So I prepared. I put my craft muscles through years of intensive training and stretched myself in critique groups and contests. Then I took my first completed novel to a writer's conference.  I arrived a

Sleeping Bear Dunes-Traverse City, MI, photo by Mary Vee It's time to take back our lives! Since the dawn of communication, I'm talking all the way back to Eve and Adam, persuasion and stretching the truth have become the core of communication. Beware what you believe. Hold on, don't run away. I'm not writing one of those "The Earth is Going to End" doomsday posts. Sheesh. Wouldn't that put me in the same boat? What I'm trying to do is to cause all of us, me included, to consider what we hear/read/see before we jump on a bandwagon. Not that long ago sayings like, "Do it Your Way" and "You Deserve" were the theme of commercials. Those phrases became a norm. A mantra for unions. An enticer for sales. The focus has been on me. Me. ME. The current phrase, and this one is not so new either, is: "I'm Entitled." Okey doke. Let's talk about what we are really entitled to. BECAUSE JESUS died for us a

I met Camy Tang at ACFW. She was one of my mentors. Her gift for  listening, understanding, and guidance made me so thankful I had signed up to meet with her. What a blessing.  Sometimes all we need is a listening ear to understand direction. Sometimes all we need is to take the direction and follow, no matter how bizarre it seems. I asked Camy to share with us today.. Here is what she wrote : God Asked Me to Lay Down My Writing! I’ve always loved writing, but my attitude wasn’t the greatest. I was more interested in my name on a book cover than in giving God glory. So, God asked me to lay down my writing. Mary here- I can see this happening for any career. We often become consumed with our idea of the end goal and not God's. Been there...many times. At first I thought He was nuts, but once I realized He was serious about it, I fought Him long and hard over it. Eventually, I did it—laid down my writing, stopped cold turke

Photo by Mary Vee - Pisa, Italy She was told she wasn't qualified. God had asked her to do a job. A work for Him.   She went to school for training and failed. She went to the man in charge of the board and begged to be given a chance. He said no. "I'm sorry. You are only qualified to be a maid." He pulled out a card that listed a job opportunity for a maid. She left the office.  Who was she? Not going to tell you...not yet.  First, think of a time you've driven to a place. On the way, construction closes the road. Did you turn around and go back home?  Probably not.  Now think back through your life at the times God has asked you to do something and everything possible got in the way.  Maybe it was to bring food for a church meeting. You looked in your kitchen cupboard and didn't find enough of any ingredient to make a dish. You checked your bank account and saw there wasn't enough money to go to the store. You decide to st

A project started years ago. I am talking serious years. As in: at least ten. It was the dawn of my writing. A fun gift for my students. The sprouting of a precocious character who acted a lot like (confession time) I did. Yeah. I was the kid my parents wanted to return. The good news is...kids like me can turn out to be sweet, loving, kind, compassionate, considerate, really wonderful people. We rascals walk through the school of hard knocks. Gladly don our bumps and bruises, punishments, time-outs, and shunnings.  Then like a caterpillar exits a cocoon as a quasi wonderful human being, we become the people our parents prayed for. What better story to write. William is a boy full of mischief. If there isn't any trouble to participate in, he makes it. Until one day when the result of mischief happens to him. "That's not fair!"  How could this happen to him?  William Worthington Watkins III has been a story waiting for my writing skills.  After hordes 

Photo by Mary Vee - Desert flower, Tucson, AZ We've all had something unexpected happen. The best is when the unexpected is good, am I right? Yah. I think so too. Sadly, the reality is there are also a lot of bad unexpected things that happen to people around the world. Weather related, criminal, social, economical, and much more. I wish, how I wish I could do more than I already do to help. But having only two hands makes it tough. Photo by Mary Vee, Michigan Sunflower For today, though , let's talk about the good unexpected moments. Those times when someone or something completely surprises us. Think presents. Think opportunities Think the sun peeking out on a rainy day. Think the person who helped change a tire. Think the check in the mail Now that we're thinking about it, there were a lot of unexpected blessings that came our way over the course of our lifetime, right? All gifts from God. Photo by Mary Vee  - Sea of