Dallas through a Window/Meeting a Favorite Author

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​Recently, I went to Dallas for the first time in over a decade, but I only saw the city through car and hotel windows. From what I remember on my last visit, it’s a great place with great food, but this time, my view consisted of a whole slew of twisting highways on the ride to my hotel near the airport. (How many scary spaghetti junctions do they have in Dallas now?) Once I checked into the Hyatt for the conference I was attending, I didn’t leave the building for three days and was happy about it!

Have you ever played that get-to-know-you game—sort of a mixer—where you tell everyone three things they might not know about you? I have a couple I always think of on the fly. I’m deaf in my right ear, I was only engaged for a little over three weeks before I married my husband, and I once shook hands with Gerald Ford. I’m adding a new one to the list, but I’m not sure which one I’ll take out. Probably the deaf ear thing because if you’re around me more than a few minutes, you can probably guess as I circle and ask you to repeat everything you just said. The new exciting event is that at the American Christian Fiction Writers annual conference I met and took a picture with one of my all-time favorite authors—Francine Rivers! Not only that, I met many other Christian authors.
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Few things could thrill me more than meeting AND worshipping with writers who don’t think I’m weird for making up stories with characters talking in my head. I know some people don’t really get fiction, but I believe stories have power. Power to change lives. In the Old Testament, the prophet Nathan convicted King David of his affair using the made-up tale of a rich man who took and ate a poor man’s pet sheep. Jesus used many parables when he taught—from the prodigal son to the unmerciful servant. Stories have also been a fun way for me to learn about history, culture, and even science.

Really, all of our lives are part of a bigger interconnected story being played out through history. John Eldridge writes about this in his little book called Epic. He says we’re all part of God’s story. And I believe there’s a happy ending. If you’re reading this, I’m glad you’re part of my story!

​Have you met someone you admire? Do you have three facts about yourself people might not know? And what do I need to see next time I’m in Dallas besides the freeway and the airport??

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