by Kathy Brasby | Aug 6, 2013 | Hope
I could have said this story happened on an ordinary day but there were no ordinary days with my youngest. Allow me to illustrate.
I was fixing dinner one evening when he wandered into the kitchen. He was about 5 at the time but pushing a step ladder up to the counter was no problem.
“What’s that,” he asked.
“Hamburger patties.”
He tilted his head. “Can I call it ‘sook’?”
“Um, those are still hamburger patties.”
But for dinner that night we had sook on a bun.
Another day we went shopping. He carried a quarter and five pennies into the store and laid them on a shelf. As we were leaving the store, he discovered his loss and we had to backtrack in search of his loot. We searched long and hard but could only find the quarter and four pennies.
“We need to go.” I finally laid the law down.
He went, with a long face. “I’m going to miss that penny.”
Not long after that, he came to me with eyes drooping and mouth downturned. “I’m sorry. Mom.”
Uh-oh.
“I’m sorry, Mom, but I can’t fly.”
I did wonder how he figured that out.
We were eating breakfast one morning when he announced over scrambled eggs, “Do you know what a Gurgler is?”
I had to admit my ignorance.
“They’re a machine that sucks down people and things.”
“Yuck,” I said.
“I hate to tell you this but if you meet one, you’ll die.”
“Oh, no!”
“But it’s OK because they live on the other side of the world.”
“Good.”
“Mom,” he said. “They’re on the movies.” I believe an eye roll was included in that comment but I wondered what movies he’d been watching.
He liked to help me bake so one day we stirred up a batch of muffins using a whisk to mix. Soon the batter stiffened and he lifted the whisk with the muffin ingredients clumped onto it. “Look! I have a lunk!”
He ate the lunk, too, after it baked.
Then came the day when he rushed into the kitchen, his arms flailing and his face red and hot. “Mom! Becky says I’ll get wigworms if I drink my potty!”
Um, I still can’t get the scenario figured out.
But I’ll bet it wasn’t an ordinary day, either.
by Kathy Brasby | Aug 2, 2013 | Hope
The Bible utilizes allusion so well that so that we often forget the familiar phrases are allusions.
An allusion is a figure of speech that makes a reference to a place, person, or event. Allusions engage the reader and often help the reader remember the point of the passage. A writer using an allusion often can make the point simply and directly.
A modern-day example: “After that line, his nose should have grown like Pinocchio’s.” We remember the story of the wooden boy whose nose grew whenever he told a lie.
Some familiar biblical allusions include:
“He was a Good Samaritan yesterday.” This refers to Jesus’ parable about the Good Samaritan.
“She turned the other cheek after being insulted by her co-worker.” This one refers to Jesus’ teaching about forgiving rather than taking revenge.
“You are a Solomon when it comes to decisions.” We remember King Solomon, who prayed for wisdom.
But the Bible also contains more complex allusions which we, reading with modern-day glasses, don’t recognize at first.
An example is the story in Exodus about the baby Moses placed in a basket on the Nile River. The word translated “basket” is the same word translated “ark” in the Genesis account of Noah. So those reading Hebrew would recognize the allusion in the Moses story as referring back to Noah and his family being saved in the flood.
The Noah story involved a renewal of creation while evil was pushed back. So the allusion in the Moses story reminds us of the new beginning as Moses, the future rescuer of Israel, was saved from evil intentions. Moses would one day lead the Israelites out of Egypt and slavery.
His rescue from the Nile was reminiscent of Noah’s rescue from the flood. The allusion to Moses’ basket/ark helped readers capture the idea of God’s new beginning.Another example involves Joshua, who followed Moses as commander of the nation of Israel. The night before the Israelites prepare to circle Jericho the final time, Joshua stands alone outside Jericho when a man confronts him and orders Joshua: “Take your shoes off your feet, for the place you stand upon is holy.”
That command is the same wording given to Moses when he first encountered the burning bush in the wilderness. God called Moses to a mission: freeing the Israelites from Egyptian slavery.
Joshua is now called, as Moses was, to lead the Israelites. Moses brought them out of Egypt. Joshua will take them into the Promised Land.
As we read the exact phrasing used to call both Moses and Joshua, we understand that this is God’s mission. Joshua is, in a sense, the second Moses, God’s chosen leader.
Allusions deepen the meaning of narratives in both biblical texts and in our own writing. We can learn from the intricate allusions we read in the Bible.
by Kathy Brasby | Jul 30, 2013 | Hope
If you’re not familiar with 4-H, you have missed one of those incredible opportunities for training and crazy stories.
Because we’re in a rural area, our kids completed several 4-H projects in their careers.
But the most interesting was cake decorating.
The Food Network has nothing on some of those extravagant cakes displayed at the state fair. Fortunately, our kids didn’t see those works of art before they signed up.
A 4-H project manual builds basic skills so unit 1 zeroes in a simple icing, some simple tools, and a simple cake.
The cake part proved to be a problem for daughter #1, who baked her show cake the afternoon before it had to be entered. When the edges of the cake wouldn’t release from the pan, she solved the problem by cutting away the edges.
Most of the cakes entered were 8” round but hers was more of a 5” lumpy. She slathered on icing in an attempt to hide the lumpy. No blue ribbon that year.
Daughter #2 was the creative sort and felt stifled by the rules for the unit. When she was required to place touching stars of frosting, she didn’t understand why the cake couldn’t show through. A lot. And why she couldn’t make the cake look like a diorama of the earth. No blue ribbon that year, either.
Our son, at age 10, insisted he be allowed to take cake decorating and even went to a workshop where he and about 25 girls learned the fine art of placing stars of frosting on waxed paper. This, of course, made absolutely no sense to him except when he licked clean the paper after the workshop.
We found out later that he signed up so that he could be in charge of the family birthday cakes. He figured if he’d finished cake decorating 1, I’d let him do the cakes.
And presumably lick the frosting, too.
His show cake came together on a hot summer day with frosting that needed a lot more sugar than he put in the bowl. He didn’t quite pour on the icing but you get the idea.
His design drooped by the time he got the cake to the fairgrounds. We’re talking blue lines and yellow stars turning into dripping green blobs. I still wonder if his judge stifled a giggle or a technical foul upon seeing the entry.
No blue ribbon that time either.
What he didn’t know was that he didn’t need any cake decorating classes to take over the birthday cake tradition in our family. After I had served up a birthday cake one year that looked like a heap of crumbs molded like the foothills of Colorado instead of the puppy pan it had come from, I was in no position to hold onto the cake-making tradition.
I let him take care of the birthday cakes.
I was in charge of licking the bowl.
by Kathy Brasby | Jul 26, 2013 | Hope
The Bible contains many examples of excellent writing that contributes to the author’s meaning. As we read, we need to learn how to engage in the writing techniques.
I’m going to examine beginning of Genesis as example.
Here are the first two sentences:
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep.
Look how much information is shoe-horned into two simple sentences:
- We know the time frame: the beginning of time.
- We know the main character: God.
- We know his action: creating.
- We know the setting: heaven and earth
- We also know the problem: the earth was without form and void.
- And a bit of a cliffhanger: darkness was over the face of the deep. Where did this darkness come from? Is it related to the deep? Is it related to the lack of form and void?
The next sentence adds a new layer of intrigue to a mysterious situation:
And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.
We draw more information with the addition of this new sentence:
- God has a Spirit.
- This Spirit was present on the scene (hovering).
- Water is introduced.
Now, as readers, we have gleaned some information. The next step is to ask some questions:
Why was the Spirit hovering? Was there problem with the waters? Was the Spirit hovering in anticipation of an action by God? Or something unique in the water? Was there something significant in the water?
In three sentences, the biblical writer has given us a mysterious start to the greatest story every told. We’re drawn to learn answers.
We know the value of opening sentences. In Genesis, the writer packed much information into three sentences and each word contributed to the unfolding story.
Expert writing contributes to profound meaning and an alert reader can uncover meaning with good observation and great questions.
by Kathy Brasby | Jul 23, 2013 | Hope
I like dogs and I tend to like precise words. So, when my sister called to tell me that her family had gotten a new dog, I decided to stop by the house and check it out.
Image from Stock.xchng
My nephews met me at the door. Well, they bounced to the front door and shook out their hands while they rebounded like pogo sticks. I let myself in.
“We have a new puppy!” said the five year old.
“He’s our very new puppy. We have a new puppy!” said the four year old.
It seemed there was little more to say about the puppy than that he was new.
They were pointing down the hall to their bathroom. “Um, where is this new puppy?” I asked.
“He’s getting a bath!” said nephew #1.
“Mom is giving him a bath!” said nephew #2.
Oh, good. Whether the puppy was great, these two little boys worked off lunch before it was 2 pm with their jumping. Their feet continued to pound the floor as they did the pogo stick re-enactment in the living room.
“Can I go see him?” I asked them.
“Mom’s giving him a bath!” said nephew #1. “We have a new puppy.”
“New puppy,” said nephew #2, tiring just a smidgen. He was too young to shriek and bounce so he was settling for bouncing.
Their excitement was contagious and I called to my sister. “Are you done? I want to see this cute little guy.”
“Hang on,” she said. “I’m done.”
And the boys found a higher jumping gear at that point, pointing and squealing. “Here he comes! Here comes our new puppy!”
I prepared for the fuzzy little guy. What’s cuter than a thick-legged puppy with thick fur and a baby face?
Through the doorway came this long leg followed by another and then a Great Dane emerged, towering over the boys.
“Our new puppy!” the boys squealed and wrapped arms around each of the dog’s front legs.
My sister followed the dog into the room.
“Puppy?” I said.
She shrugged, wiping off her hands on a towel. “So they say.”
I tend to prefer precise words. In this case, big dog would have worked well. But what can you say to little boys who believe they have a great puppy?
by Kathy Brasby | Jul 19, 2013 | Hope
A literary technique that biblical authors use extensively is the motif. A motif is a recurring theme or distinctive feature woven through a literary text.
A common motif in the Bible is the barren women.
We first encounter this motif in the story of Abraham and Sarah found in Genesis. In that story, Abraham is promised a son who will become the first of many descendants: a great nation.
The problem is that Abraham’s wife, Sarah, is too old to bear a child. She has never had a child. She is barren.
However, following the promises of God, Sarah becomes pregnant and delivers Isaac. Isaac in many ways has a significant role on the Old Testament story line. He is the father of Jacob who is the father of twelve sons who become the heads of the twelve tribes of Israel.
A significant man is born from a barren woman.
The motif continues in Isaac’s life, when his wife, Rebekah, is unable to conceive until he prayers for her. Then she delivers twins. The reader is ready to see if the barren woman motif is incorporated in this story – and it is. One of the twins is Jacob.
Jacob’s beloved wife, Rachel, also is unable to have children while Jacob’s other wife, Leah, is prolific. But eventually Rachel produces two sons. The oldest is Joseph, who ends of as second in command in Egypt.
From there, he provides protection for his family during a devastating famine. The family of Jacob moves to Egypt and, during their time there, grows from a family to a nation.
So we have three barren women – Sarah, Rebekah, Rachel – all delivering men significant to the history of Israel.
The motif continues with stories of Samson’s mother, Samuel’s mother, and Obed’s mother (Ruth, who had been married for 10 years without offspring). In each case, the son born to the formerly-barren woman had great significance.
Samson became a judge who helped the Israelites overcome Philistine oppressors. Samuel was the last of the judges and the man who anointed King David. Obed was the grandfather of David.
The motif continues into the New Testament. John the Baptist, the last prophet before Jesus, was born to Elizabeth, a barren woman. Each barren woman conceived through a miraculous touch of God.
Consider the birth of Jesus, born to a virgin who conceived through a miraculous touch of God.
In the Bible, the son born in a miraculous way will become a man of significance. Biblical texts use a motif – in this case, the barren woman – to highlight the theme.
