I’m Really Glad You Asked: A Post Featuring Your Questions and My Answers

When my sons were tiny, I kept a running list of their zany questions in my journal–everything from the deeply theological to “What’s inside my tongue?” Now it’s my grandkids who keep the party going, but for some time now, my readers have been sending questions my way, so this post will be given over to a fun Q and A session–and, naturally, there’s a book review at the end.

Let’s Get Started…

Question 1: How and when did you start writing?

My first blog post here at Living Our Days was published in July 2014. It was my review of a (then) new C.S. Lewis biography. CLICK HERE if you’re interested in a walk down memory lane. I really had no idea what I was doing, so early posts were mostly book reviews, and, if they included an image at all, were accompanied by a view of the book’s cover.

Blogging came along, for me, at the time when my nest was beginning to empty. It was time to stop creating rhymed scavenger hunts for little boys’ birthday parties and to start sharing some of the books I was reading and the grace I had been receiving through those challenging years of parenting. I continued homeschooling, and pretty soon the grandkids began to arrive so it’s been a growth process, slow and steady.

Pretty quickly, I began sharing my work with other sites and building online relationships with other writers. For example, my first post for Desiring God connected with a reader in Maryland, and I was invited to speak at her church’s annual women’s conference. I’m still experiencing the blessing of connection thanks to YOU, readers!

Question 2: Is there a way to scroll through ALL your book reviews?

Question 3: What’s the difference between your newsletter and your blog?

One difference is frequency. Lately, I’ve been publishing here at Living Our Days (the blog) on Wednesdays and Sundays. The newsletter comes out monthly, on the third Thursday of the month.

Sometimes I’ll share a link in the newsletter to something here on the blog, but my goal with the newsletter is to serve faithful readers by offering unique content and extra resources in that little space.

I’m still on a pretty steep learning curve with the newsletter, but because it’s going out ONLY to those who subscribe, the tone is a little more intimate and the communication is definitely two-way. Any free resources I develop for readers are offered there first–and sometimes only there.

If you’re not already a subscriber, you can sign up here…

Question 4: What’s the best way to connect with you?

I always read and respond to comments here on the blog. If the topic is personal, you can reach me via email (morin6.mm@gmail.com). I’m also active on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, and I respond to Direct Messages or comments on all my posts. If we’re not already friends on social media, look me up!

Question 5: What’s the easiest way to share your work with friends and family?

At the bottom of every blog post, (after the article but before the comments) there are some cute little buttons that enable you to share that post on social media, via email, or even to print the post if you prefer reading or sharing in that way.

If you want to share the newsletter, simply forward it via your email account.

Question 6: What are you up to these days? How’s the empty nest? What about your Parkinson’s diagnosis?

I’m lumping these very kind questions together, and want you to know how deeply I appreciate the friendships that have developed through the years in this little online space. I still refer back to my parenting days in my writing, but I try to be clear that my sons, all four of them, are grown and married and flourishing. My homeschooling days ended in 2020, and the grandchild count is up to FIVE now!

I substitute in the public schools here in our area two or three days per week. That means sometimes I get to ride to work with my good husband who has been teaching for over thirty years. Teaching, church responsibilities, writing deadlines, studying for speaking engagements, and hanging out with my grandchildren all keep me just about as busy as I want to be. I have to say, though, that it will always be my very favorite thing when all fifteen Morins are together.

I’m working hard to slow the progression of Parkinson’s disease with a daily exercise regimen and an almost-daily workout. When it’s slick underfoot or too ridiculously cold outside for a real walk, I use the treadmill or the recumbent bike that resides in what used to be the school room in our basement.

At this point, I will occasionally get questions from students who notice the tremor, and I have days when my energy level isn’t what I’m used to. This is my lesson in humility. However, I don’t need prescription medication, and I check in with a neurologist only every six months. This is my nudge toward gratitude.

Thank you…

…for these good questions! If this Q and A has given rise to other questions, fire away. I appreciate your interest and your faithful attention to my writing.

And Now Let’s Talk Books…

The psalms were designed for prayerful meditation, and the authors’ combined efforts have yielded an impressionistic poem for each one with Psalms 1-75 covered in volume one (Sheltering Mercy) and this latest volume covering Psalms 76-150. (I reviewed Sheltering Mercy HERE.)

I began by reading the entries for the psalms I know best. Connecting those much-loved words with Wilt and Smith’s renderings revealed each psalm anew in its refreshing honesty. 

Viewed through a New Testament lens, the psalms clearly magnify Christ. Received as an invitation to personal prayer, they open a window to praise and offer a gritty script to the desperate. Praying scripture may be the strong medicine needed by 21st-century believers who have become perfunctory in our prayer life.

The psalms provide words for exulting in the presence of the Divine Author behind all the psalms’ human authors. God gives joy for the heart and strength for the soul. Praying the psalms reminds our hearts that God’s relentless presence is every bit as real today. 

In #EndlessGrace, @DanWilt and @itsryanwhitaker have teamed up to lift the psalms off the pages of your Bible and into your prayer life. @BrazosPress

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Holding you in the Light,

Many thanks to Brazos Press and NetGalley for providing a copy of this book to facilitate my review, which, of course, is offered freely and with honesty.

Photo by Debby Hudson on Unsplash

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