The Storyteller | Mary Vee

Photo Courtesy My daughter called me one day, her voice a mixture of anger and sadness. For the second time that same week, a friend made arrangements to meet. They were just going to have coffee or lunch. Whatever, just a time to chat and laugh.  The meetings were around 2pm, technically after lunch. She chose to hold off eating to enjoy the meal with her friend.  They lived about an hour and a half away from each other so the meeting place was put somewhere in the middle.  My daughter watched the clock then left in plenty of time to get to the location. She and her friend had made the final arrangements about thirty minutes before she left so there shouldn't be any problems, right? She parked her car just as a text came in. "Sorry," her friend's text read. "I won't be coming. How about if we get together tomorrow?" I suppose it wouldn't have been such a big deal except another friend basically did the same thing two days earlier. ...

Today we welcome author: Kristen Ethridge One commenter will win a copy of  Kristen's August release:  The Doctor's Unexpected Family Mary here. I discovered Kristen's name in a post on newly published books. I contacted her and was so happy to meet her! She is such a sweet person! I asked Kristen to share how God has led her on her writing journey You're gonna love reading her God story. Here is what she said: God's Imprint I’m so glad to be here with Mary and all her friends today!  Mary asked me to talk about how God has led me on my writing journey, and I think the current series I’m writing definitely has God’s imprint all over it. I’ve taken my fictional town of Port Provident, Texas on a journey I know very well—that of a hurricane. In September 2008, I was living and working in Galveston, Texas when Hurricane Ike came through. The experiences I had of going through Ike and the recovery that followed have built the back...

Photo by Mary Vee I recently picked up my new glasses. The old ones were horribly scratched, made seeing a bit difficult. While the gal adjusted my frames to fit, a twenty-something man sauntered to the lobby. He flopped down in a chair. One of the employees asked, "Can I help you with anything?"  He stood and swaggered to her desk then plopped down in the chair. "He said I need to get glasses." Okay, then. The clear tone and body language translation was "I don't see why I need glasses. I really don't want them. I was perfectly fine before, but the doc said...so I guess I have to." He shoved a pout on his face and rolled his eyes. The gal looked at the script. "So you're wearing contacts?" Uh-huh. ..her raised eyebrows and tone said: "This script indicates you have a real vision problem, dude." "I've worn contacts for as long as I can remember and they've worked out just fine for me. I...

Photo Courtesy My guest today is the United States of America. I am thankful for all the men and women who have given their lives and those who, unfortunately, are suffering from injuries for the sake of our freedom today. Celebrating is always fun. Don't you find the pop of fireworks and the splash of color in the night sky amazing? I do, too. Due to weird work schedules in our house, we celebrated the United States of America on the 1st instead of the 4th, complete with big taco meal, invited family guests, and a family firework show. We talked, laughed, shared stories, updated everyone on the latest about each family member. What a fun time. I hope your 4th celebration is as grand. I wish our country could celebrate Independence in a way that considers everyone. I'm not referring to political beliefs, just every person. I learned in one of my first full time jobs as a secretary that I couldn't meet everyone's need, no matter how hard I tried. I...

Photo by Mary Vee It was a Wednesday when a volunteer pianist came to play for the residents in the nursing home. The aids and visiting family members wheeled in men and women with varying disabilities.  When the last person arrived, all the available seats were full. Not every activity gets a crowd, but this one does. For one hour the pianist played hymns from long ago. At first everyone listened to the piano, then one by one, compelled by their memories, the listeners hummed.  A blind woman, sitting to the side, broke into song. Her lovely soprano voice sang every word encouraging others to join with their voices. She wasn't a senior, but in need of care. An elderly gentleman rubbed his forehead and looked down while singing. He didn't smile, and seemed somewhere else in thought. Still, his voice rang clear and strong. A group of sisters visited their mother who had dementia. Two visited from different states. The girls sang harmony to their mother's ...

Today we welcome author: Betsy St. Amant One commenter will win a copy of  Betsy's new release:  Love Arrives in Pieces Mary here. Betsy is an awesome friend. She spent time with the Alley cats at the last ACFW conference, enduring all our crazy. In her post below you will see she is full of energy and has experienced more than a bucketful of life already. Her website shows a list of her published books. I asked Betsy to share how God has led her on her writing journey You're gonna love reading her God story. Here is what she said: God is Evident on My Journey I was asked to write a post about how the Lord has led me on my writing journey. And all I could think of was the phrase “kicking and screaming”.  ::grin:: You’ve probably seen the cartoon of the stick figure Jesus and the Christian. Jesus is pointing out the footsteps in the sand. “Those multiple set of prints are where I walked beside you. Those single footprin...

Photo Courtesy The incredible group of ladies met for breakfast at a small town restaurant.  The first lady arrived at the same time hubby and I pulled into the lot. She parked in the handicap spot, walked into the restaurant with her walker and requested seating at a group of tables that had one long bench joining them. She sat by herself, ordered coffee and patiently waited, speaking occasionally with the waitress. Two other ladies, both donning short, white permed hair and glasses greeted their friend and sat with her. Their chatter sounded like best friends continuing a conversation where they last left off. Over the next twenty minutes, ten more ladies joined the group, each one hopping in the conversation as they sat. At two minutes before twelve, two last ladies walked toward the table. There were no more chairs. One of the two ladies stiffened her back and frowned. "Well," she huffed. "We should have set the time f...