Stations of the Cross Art, Writing Activity

Catholics observe Lent in preparation for Easter. Lent culminates with Palm Sunday and then Holy Week. Maundy or Holy Thursday of holy week marks the beginning of the Easter Triduum: the final three days of Holy Week. At this liturgy, commemorating Christ's last supper with His disciples, the Eucharist was instituted with Jesus's exhortation: 'This is my body; take and eat. This is my blood; take and drink?" Why not explore this most sacred holy season in writing and art? Here's an activity to make a set of stations of the cross from the Bible. As you recreate Christ's Biblical walk to calvary visually, I encourage you to write corresponding prayers or devotions for each station. It might be in the form of a poem or haiku, too. Here's an example for the first station: Jesus is Condemned to Death

Font of Life, you chose
a criminal's death to heal
peccata mundi

Stations of the Cross Art, Writing Activity

Writing Ideas from Nobel Prize Literature Laureates

The list of Nobel Prize for Literature laureate authors makes an superb required reading list for an Literature, English, high school reading and even history class. I've compiled this list of world renown authors who've not only won the Nobel Prize, but also written works that have become well-known outside of the more esoteric Nobel Prize circles. I've chosen authors and works that will be of especial interest to students in high school and college. That's George Bernard Shaw to the left. His "Pygmalion" gave us the Audrey Hepburn film "My Fair Lady." It's almost Shakespearian in concept. When I teach literature, I try to find parallels from classics to more modern books. Students like bringing older stories and themes into modern contexts. For example, when I taught Romeo and Juliet, I had students create Myspace profiles (more popular social network then). Now I'd use Facebook or Twitter. Using social networks helps kids understand character webs and story maps. Lesson Plans from Nobel Prize Literature Laureates

A Happy Freelance Writer Moment

Freelance writing, like any other profession, can feel thankless and go-nowhere sometimes. Negative feedback from online trolls, lonliness from work-at-home environment, scrabbling for assignments, having to write stultifying content for word mills, forgoing work in the magnum  opii, in lieu of writing for less-interesting, paid jobs--I've done all these. Sometimes I feel ashamed for not pursuing my higher writer calls. But then it might just be that it's a grey gloomy day and I miss when kids were little. At any rate, we all little celebrations and I got one this weekend. I write a regular beat about local events in a major nearby city. I'd included a symphony orchestra chorale event. I was delighted to be contacted by a PR rep asking me to cover an upcoming concert and offering me complimentary tickets to the event. It's to be hosted at the magnificent Detroit Symphony Orchestra hall. My husband, daughter and I will be able to visit with our son who lives there and take him to the ensemble production as well. I love these kind of exchanges--arts and culture for my work. And it honors and humbles me to know my work is read and appreciated and that I'm getting a name in the journalism field. It just reminds me that if I'm passionate about what I do, if I do it to the best of my ability, if I cast good bread upon the waters, sometimes it comes back ten-fold! Blessings to you in your endeavors!

Al-Anon Slogans for Coping with Stress: Easy Does It

I just had a major meltdown the other day. When I was a younger mom, I had them more frequently. I'd been doing so much better and it makes me mad that I had one. But I know now to look to the source of the problem. And I found it--pushing myself too hard. After talking to husband and kids (and apologizing profusely), they all said that I didn't rest enough. I'm trained as teacher but can't find a job, so I write online. Since I started this job we've been able to dig out of debt, thanks be the higher power I choose to call God. I'm glad we don't owe and I'm terrified of going back there. So I push myself--hard. As my oldest says, my reward to myself for a day of work is more work. Not good. I cracked. So I went back to my Al-Anon roots to see where I went wrong. Alanon and AA, or Alcoholics Anonymous have wonderful and witty slogans that I use to guide my life.

For coping with stress, worry and tension, I remembered 'Easy Does It'. Another version of this slogan says, 'Easy does it does it Best." If I'm constantly driving myself to achieve more, I'm hardly taking it easy! So writers, let's meditate on the wisdom of "Easy Does it" so we don't drive ourselves and everyone crazy, but most importantly so we can learn to say "well done" instead of "damn you, lazy person! You're a failure!" (those are my old self-messages--perhaps you're familiar with them. It's time you and I started being nice to ourselves, right? For more on this subject, click  Al-Anon Slogans for Coping with Stress: Easy Does It