The setting for the story of our life is changing. We’re moving. It’s not the biggest, most daring move. We’re not traveling 8,000 miles to live in Africa (as my parents did with us when I was a kid). We’re moving about 100 feet. We are buying and moving into our neighbor’s house. (Insert coveting jokes here.)

Boring?

I hope not. The small story of our family moving is about more than more space, more than moving up the hill into a little bigger house. It’s about a dream, a vision, a story our lives are telling.

Overstating it?

We’re moving because we believe the setting of the new house will allow us to thrive in our passions. We believe it will help us be and do who we are and what we are called to.

Space, the final frontier. We did not need more space. We have said, “we need more space,” and have heard others say it many times. It’s sort of true, but not really. We have more space than most people in the world and in history have had. (A good measure, I think. Especially to gauge thankfulness.) We could have made it work.

We want more space. Why?

I want to set my beautiful wife up to succeed in everything she’s called to. I believe that’s part of my job (and one I’m slowly learning to do better, I hope, by grace). Gina has some hard jobs. These are jobs she loves, feels called to, and wants to do. Jobs like cooking every day to feed five…er, six, people. Jobs like teaching the kids about birds, sums, sentences, and czars. Jobs like sewing and writing, leading and loving. The new place enables her to more easily achieve success in her work. This is the leading reason for the move, in my view. But there are others.

We want to have people over. Hospitality has been on our hearts for a long time and we want to have a space that makes that possible/easier. The place we’re moving to is not huge, by any means. But the way it’s laid out allows for a lot more room to have people in our home.

The fact that there’s more opportunity for easier hospitality figures into our plans for our children. We plan to have a lot of “home games” with their friends. We want our kid’s friends of all ages to want to come to our place and to have room to operate and have a good great time. This house gives us more of that.

The place has a small hut that I plan to use for writing. A Writer’s Hut, which Chris Yokel –outstripping all competitors– has perfectly named “The Forge.” It’s kind of a dream-come-true. (Of course, it needs some work. Much like the novel I can’t wait to return to writing when things settle a bit.)

I could go on, but you get it.

We think this place will serve to aid us in our various vocations. And that’s the point of writing a little about this.

The setting changes, the story proceeds. I could go on about our situation in particular, but I mainly just want to connect the move (an ordinary thing) with our calling and our story.

I want our decisions, under God, to connect our family to the story we’re in, both in the common themes, and the plot lines particular to us.

So, here’s to the wild, wonderful adventure of moving next door!

What’s happening in your life? What is God doing to advance the plot of your story?

FYI: Gina took all these pictures. I steal things from her site a lot.The first pic is of what will soon be our “old house.” The last one is the mailbox my brother Will painted for me. It was a swell gift. The funny thing is (concerning the name on it) this was well before I, or anyone else, used “S.D. Smith” to refer to me, myself, and/or I. I remember thinking it was funny at the time. Now, literally tens of people know me by that name.

My 2 year old son says, “Mommy has him baby in hor scummock. Him can’t get out ’cause him’s scuck in dair.”

It’s true. The highly-anticipated sequel, Smith Baby IV, is due out in February.

As my wonderful wife says in her post, it’s a bit crazy/hectic/difficult/wonderful/etc. here at Smith HQ.

We are selling and buying a home, which has been a lot of work and an enormous blessing. We’ve had a lot of help from faithful saddle-pals. After a whole lot of work whipping this place into shape, our home sold pretty quickly (under a week). And now we’re blessed to be expecting another child in our family. It’s all a great kindness from the generous hand of our Father. Of course, we know there are, will be, and have been, times of real suffering. It’s not all happy, happy, joy, joy. But there’s always occasion for thankfulness, even in a world where a hard providence is often just around the corner, or fresh in our minds.

For now, though, we are very happy. And exhausted.

Gina hasn’t felt very well at all, but has been battling bravely on, like a brave onward battler. I’m very proud of her and pleased to be in this thing together. She is the best of fellow travelers.

So our kids will eat more corn dogs, as Dad is a poor substitute in the kitchen. We will take time to rest and watch The Cosby Show, or The Adventures of Robin Hood, when we can. I will almost definitely post even more quotes and funny pictures stolen from around the internet (with credit).

Bear with me. Things are not unbearable. I bear good news. A child is to be born.

If you think of it and do this kind of thing, please pray for us. The next few weeks will be pretty challenging. I know everyone goes through this kind of thing, or often much more challenging things, but it’s a lot on the plate at once. Thanks!

Again, we are delighted by this news, and feel graciously equipped (with friends etc.) to meet the adventure before us.

Peace to you. –Sam

Pictured: Our family, with the forever young Eric Peters sitting in for the for-now unpictured, smallest Smith.

I’m determined to read a bit more widely this year in non-fiction, but I don’t really have much of a plan. As a reader, I’m kind of like the kid just getting used to playing the sport, learning to love it. (FYI: The sport is reading.) I will need more and more coaching as I go along. I will say that, of all these books, I think Greg’s was the closest to home. But these were all good.

Wrestling With An Angel (Greg Lucas)

Saint Patrick (Jonathan Rogers)

How the Irish Saved Civilization (Thomas Cahill)

Cinderella Man (Jeremy Schaap)

The Lives of The Kings and Queens of England (Antonia Fraser)

Walt Disney: The Triumph Of The American Imagination (Neal Gabler)

A Sweet and Bitter Providence (John Piper)

What is the Gospel? (Greg Gilbert)

The Four: Survey of the Gospels (Peter Leithart)

Ancient Near Eastern Texts Related to the Old Testament (James Pritchard, editor. I did not read the entire thing, but selections)

The Literary Structure Of The Old Testament (David Dorsey)

Bible Reading was mostly in: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Ruth, Judges, Luke, John, Ephesians.

I read a lot of poetry (for me) last year. John Milton, Billy Collins, Wendell Berry, my daughter (the best!) and some others.

I read a lot of e-mails.

Every year I mean to write down the books I read as I read them, but I never remember to. So, below you’ll find a list of what I can remember that I read this past year. So fascinating, I know. Please don’t hyperventilate.

I’d love to bore you with more details, like which books I loved and which not so much, but I won’t. Most were good (Winter’s Tale), some were transporting (Paradise Lost). I’m linking only to books of friends and a few others, because of a long and complicated reason, best summed up by the following: I don’t want to do the rest. You can find ‘em if you want to. I’d be glad to answer individual questions about any in an e-mail, or in person (like age appropriateness, negative depictions of Appalachians, etc.). I’m psyched out of doing a Top 10, or any ranking, so don’t look for that.

I’m a very slow reader, but audiobooks have rescued me. I listen to a lot of them. They do count, by the way. Don’t hate, participate.

I do read a lot of fiction (compared with my non-fiction reading). Part of that is to try to learn the craft of novelizing and improve at what I think is a calling on my life. Another is that I love fiction and think it is very valuable –even to Bible study. Of particular value to Bible study (which I love) is reading old literature from another culture which has been updated or translated. I got a few shots at that by reading Gilgamesh, Beowulf (and their excellent accompanying essays), and Ancient Near-Eastern Texts Related To The Old Testament. These are of great value for understanding how language works, how cultural idioms are related in verse, and how the world that is past is still understandable (to some extent).

Another value that relates specifically to understanding the Bible is the form of genre. It helps to read poetry, history, tales, prayers, etc. The Bible is a collection of a lot of different kinds of writing and it helps to see what those genres are like, to better interpret what is intended. I’d love to write a little more (on the very little I know) about Bible study, but for now I’ll just say this. To me, it seems really important to notice what the author is emphasizing (repetition, location in text, etc.) and to remove as many barriers to interpretation as possible (ignorance of genre, history, language, idioms etc.). More on that later? Or, do yourself a favor and read some one who knows what they are talking about, like David Dorsey in The Literary Structure Of The Old Testament (especially the first few chapters).

This will be the Fiction list, with the Not Fiction edition coming in a couple of days.

Gilgamesh (New English Version by Stephen Mitchell)

Beowulf (Seamus Heaney)

The Children of Hurin (J.R.R. Tolkien)

Farmer Giles of Ham, Smith of Wootten Major (reread, J.R.R. Tolkien)

Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien (reread, ed. Walter Hooper)

Tree and Leaf (J.R.R. Tolkien)

100 Cupboards (N.D. Wilson)

Angela’s Ashes (re-read, by Frank McCourt)

Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell (Suzanna Clark)

Paradise Lost (John Milton)

Fiddler’s Green (A.S. Peterson)

Straight Man (Richard Russo)

The Charlatan’s Boy (Jonathan Rogers)

Hannah Coulter (Wendell Berry)

Merlin’s Blade (Robert Treskillard)

Winter’s Tale (Mark Helprin)

The Martian General’s Daughter (Theodore Judson)

The Book of the Dunn Cow (Walter Wangerin Jr.)

Continued The No.1 Ladies Detective Agency Series (Alexander McCall Smith)

Book 2: Tears of the Giraffe

Book 3: Morality for Beautiful Girls

Book 4: The Khalahari Typing School For Men

The Fortune of War (Patrick O’Brian)

Some More P.G. Wodehouse, including Summer Lightning.

I know there were others, but I can’t remember and the library won’t give me a printout unless I’m from the C.I.A. (true).

Hutchmoot, the first annual Rabbit Room conference retreat gathering summit festival event, is happening this weekend in Nashville, TN. It’s the maiden voyage and I’m thrilled to be there for the breaking of the champagne bottle against the vessel. And the hoisting of the anchor.  Also, the green-faced sea-sickness.

The last time I went to Nashville it was for a basketball tournament back when I was in shape and could contribute my customary 6 or so points and 5 or so fouls per game. It must be admitted that I sometimes had more fouls than points. But, if memory serves, I think I absolutely went off for 10 in one game in Nashville. (Points, not fouls. Although, if you could have 10 fouls, who knows?)

I look forward to the event, especially to meeting in person so many of the people I have connected with in the Rabbit Room online community. I am also really honored to be inexplicably given a chance to share on the panels. I hope to demonstrate why taking such a generous risk on someone such as myself never pays off. It’s quite possible I’ll have more fouls than points, once again.

I really look forward to the concerts by AP and the Square Pegs, the address by Walter Wangerin Jr., the book release from Jonathan Rogers, and all the planned events. But I think I’m mostly jazzed for the conversation. The talks with new friends who share some of the same passions. (I refer, of course, to physical/lazy defense in basketball.)

I’m also really happy to be traveling with some great saddle-pals. Should be fun. I have no clever/cheesy, fourth reference to basketball to wrap this up. Sorry. That would have been a real score.

UPDATE: There are almost ZERO slots left. Register now, or lose your place forever.

Back-story: The Rabbit Room is a online public house, a website where some Christians (creative types, mostly) meet up and talk about the Story, Story, stories, movies, music, and a bunch of other stuff. It’s supposed to be an Inklings kind of thing (the meet-up for C.S. Lewis, Professor Tolkien and others –but they had a real pub).

The Proprietor of our on-line Rabbit Room is Andrew Peterson (author, singer-songwriter, pro-proprietor). At some point AP asked me to be a part of this thing by contributing a few posts a month. I assume this was to achieve readership among the highly sought after demographic of hillbillies.

Now: AP has long held a desire for the cyberpub to incarnate in brick and mortar. So, while there is no physical RR, there shall be, if God wills, an in-flesh get together of Rabbit Roomers this year.

The get together shall be a retreat/conference type of thing, but since a perfect name could not be agreed upon, Pete Peterson’s working title of “The Hutchmoot” was settled on.

Hutch = A home for rabbits.
Moot = A meet up (like the Entmoot in Tolkien’s LoTR).

So, all that to say this: Why don’t you come and join us? August 6-8. Nashville.

I am actually a bit late in posting this announcement (because I am stoopid) and the thing is getting rather full. So, head over to the Hutchmoot web HQ and see what all the fuss is about.

If you are a hillbilly and care what yours truly is doing there (besides trying to act casual around all the amazing artists) then I’ll be participating in two panel-things. One is on storytelling (because of my millions of books sold –oh, wait) with the a fore-mentioned AP, along with authors Jonathan Rogers, Travis Prinzi, Russ Ramsey, and Pete Peterson. I’ll probably just be fetching sodas and adjusting the air conditioner. The other is called “Strength in Weakness” and is with authors Pete Peterson and Travis Prinzi. I’ll be doing a reading in that one based on the work of Tolkien and the connection of his work with all the bathroom jokes in my writings.

Check out the website.
See the schedule.
Register.
Make travel plans with fellow Hutchmooters here.

I am really looking forward to it, and plan to post more later. Cheers!

I made it into the top 1,000,000,000,000 and am therefore pretty sure to win.

OK, really it’s only the top 1,000. It was based solely on the book pitch (short summary of the book). This is good. Next they narrow it down to the Top 250 (reading an excerpt from the book).

It’s like American Idol except with no idols or Americans and it’s non-sexy writers like me with pale skin and agoraphobia who only go out when the next Star Trek sequel is in theaters.

Here are the top 1,000 if anyone wants to scroll down and find my name (don’t really do that, Mom).

I’ll be sure to update everyone when I crash and burn in the next round.

Two friends made it into the second round as well: Robert Treskillard and Pete Peterson. Congratulations, fellows!

Thanks for all the nice remarks on Facebook yesterday!

Possible cover for my novel?

So God himself is, of course, the author and hero of this story that is my life. There’s no meaning, truth, beauty, or goodness apart from Christ. So, with that in mind, I want to be thankful out loud here for a few areas I neglected last week.

Family
The mercy of God in my ordinary life has no greater vehicle than my bride, Gina. She is the primary voice of encouragement in my life (and in my writing) and is a nearly-endless blessing to me in a thousand ways. She is an excellent partner and an enormous helper. There’s no higher calling than that. Our children have been an unbelievable gift, a source of joy and a point of focus for an intentionality in my life I’ve never had before. Thank you, Yahweh.

Our wider family has been a gift as well, from our parents to our siblings and cousins etc. I here include some special friends who have been like family to us. You know who you are.

Vocation
I thank God for the work he has blessed us with. I have never been more satisfied in occupational matters than I am now. I know the idea of vocation (calling) extends beyond occupation, and that we are called to many things. But I am thankful for my job.

I want to thank the saints at my local church. They have been an unlooked for delight to us, and an experience of meeting in the name of Jesus we are deeply happy in. The pastors have been faithful under-shepherds to the Senior Pastor (Chief Shepherd), Jesus.

Suffering
Suffering is an ordinary part of fallen life. I thank God that he has been good to us in and out of pain. Life hasn’t been easy for us in many ways, as I know it isn’t for anyone (though we all feel like our pain is unique and particularly difficult). God’s sovereign hand for good in all things is in evidence in our lives. We are thankful for this mercy.

Finally, I mentioned that we had a son. His name is Micah. We gave him this name as, primarily, a tribute to the unmatched glory of God. Micah means “Who is like Yahweh?” The answer is, of course, silence. There is no one like Yahweh (rendered “The LORD” in most translations). No one compares with him. All wholesome delights originate in him, reflecting glory back to the Source.

We want to find our joy in him, and see with clear eyes that all true delight is a gift from him, and we want to be happy about that. As a naturally somewhat-melancholy, anxious type, it’s my prayer that I can set aside the impediments which sprout in my heart, weeding with vigor at the nonsense fruit of vanity.

A Psalm we learned last year is an appropriate way to end this brief exercise in public thankfulness. Maybe you should consider memorizing it as defensive measure in the war on your soul -for when the inevitable attacks come.

Psalm 46

46:1 God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way,
though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,
3 though its waters roar and foam,
though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah
4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy habitation of the Most High.
5 God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved;
God will help her when morning dawns.
6 The nations rage, the kingdoms totter;
he utters his voice, the earth melts.
7 The LORD of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah
8 Come, behold the works of the LORD,
how he has brought desolations on the earth.
9 He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;
he breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
he burns the chariots with fire.
10 “Be still, and know that I am God.
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!”
11 The LORD of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah

May the God of Jacob get glory from us in 2010. He will be exalted, so let’s join in the endless chorus.

OK, since everyone is legally required to do these things, I will comply.

In no particular order –and in no way does this constitute the kind of reflection one ought to engage in– in 2009:

1. I won’t share much of my family life, as is my general custom*, but my wife Gina and I welcomed our third child (somehow not named Ender) and second son into our home. He has been a lot of fun –chief among God’s gifts to us this year. He looks like his mother, but still maintains a masculine aspect.

2. I was privileged to be published in each issue of West Virginia South (The Fledge Chronicles serial) in 2009. This was a real blessing, and allowed me the chance to work with a great editor in Audrey Stanton-Smith. She has been a believer in this series from the start.

In those Fledge stories I was able to work with three neato artists/illustrators:

Rex Queems     Ted Williams (my childhood chum)     Zach Franzen (who’s illustration will appear in February’s issue –I’m stoked)

3. I signed a contract with a literary agency, Eames Literary. Surprisingly, they also signed it. I am hopeful that this will lead to good things. If nothing else, it affords me with many awkward and unavoidable opportunities to try to say “My agent…” in a sentence without sounding like a big, self-important jerk.

4. I was pleased to be a finalist for the West Virginia Fiction Award, in which competition I was defeated soundly in the final round.

5. I won my fantasy football championship for the second time ever. Most of this was done without watching more than five minutes here and there of any games. You can be impressed.

6. I had a poem, called “The In-Between,” published in a regional arts journal called Holler. The poem references the “scattered bodies, once-homes, for souls of nicotine” and also some Frenchie named Napoleon. There is nothing about fantasy football in the poem.

7. I was happy to have a hand in bringing Eric Peters, one of my favorite singer/songwriters, into our area of the country for a concert (w/ LeeAnn Sharp). He is swell. It was a great time. He, unlike most of his cronies, actually is a man and loves football.

8. I copied and pasted a lot of quotes and called it “blogging.” I did this because 1) I liked them and thought you might as well, 2) They saved me (and you) from my drivel.

9. Andrew Peterson wrote a blurb for me which I couldn’t use because in it he said he’d never met me, but in fact he has (twice) and didn’t remember (shocking? No) and it would be weird if people read that and then found it was a lie…a LIE! <—Nacho L. reference in honor of my brother, Will Smith. <—-Not a lie.

10. I went further bald. <—- Excellent writing.

This picture proves that a) I am actually two-faced, or b) I move around a lot when teaching the kids.

11. I was defeated by my brother, Josiah, at our Independence Day Cricket Extravaganza. I was bowled clean not a few times.

12. I read some good books, including these which come to mind at the moment (I should probably actually write down the books I read):

Auralia’s Colors

Cyndere’s Midnight

Raven’s Ladder

North, Or Be Eaten

Fitzpatrick’s War

Notes from the Tilt-a-Whirl

A House for My Name

The Narnian

Jack: The Life of C.S. Lewis

J.R.R. Tolkien: A Biography

A Primer on Worship and Reformation

Is Christianity Good for the World

ESV Study Bible

Patrick O’Brian (Desolation Island, and another one, or two)

PG Wodehouse (a few of his –I can’t remember the names)

A Bunch o’ Sherlock Holmes (reread)

Ender in Exile

Cry, the Beloved Country

No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency

The Yiddish Policeman’s Union

The Wilderking Trilogy

Godric

Florence of Arabia

When Helping Hurts

The Meaning of the Pentateuch

Jaybor Crow

Lord Dunsaney’s Collection

An Intro to Biblical Theology

Most of them were good.  

13. My Bible reading was focused mainly in Genesis, Exodus, Matthew, James, Ephesians, and my favorite, Ecclesiastes.

OK, so those things happened, and some other things. Now you know.

* Note on item #1 (above). The reasons I don’t are many, but it includes the fact that that stuff is usually not as interesting to others as it seems to the person sharing. We have a private blog for that stuff and we just share it with our family/very close friends. But please know that family is central in my life, it really defines who I am in most ways. This kind of demonstrates how limited blogs usually are (and certainly are in my case) for getting to know the person behind them. Blogs, as we all know, are about copying and pasting smart-sounding quotes.

This October reminds me of last October. Last October was a good month for me in my efforts to be a “real writer.” I got my first paying gig writing fiction for West Virginia South magazine as they accepted my proposal to publish The Fledge Chronicles. The first story was published last October, “The Lion, the Bridge, and the Wardrobe Malfunction.” Since then they have continued to publish an installment of the serial in each publication. I am very thankful for Audrey Stanton, the editor of WVS, for being willing to publish the stories, and for her abundant supply of enthusiasm for them.

Last October I also debuted at the Rabbit Room, by the whimsical invitation of Andrew Peterson. I have posted two, or three times a month there (as AP requested) for the last year. It has been a joy to be in the company of such incredible artists and to get to know some of them a lot more betterer (see, writing is hard). The readers and posters over there have been a big encouragement to me, and I am so thankful to Andrew, and to the whole gang.

So, all in one month, I was being read by a lot more people and getting paid for it. Reflecting on this has been humbling for me this October. Who knows what awaits for me this October? Maybe more literary success. Maybe not. But I have reasons not to grumble.                 

Further, God seems to be kicking me in the pants with numerous exhortations to be grateful. Reminders of the mercy I’ve been given are jumping out in front of my car in a way impossible to miss. Mainly it’s the Gospel –pardon and peace with God! But it’s also babies, books, and bluegrass and many other things all singing from the same sheet music.

So October comes again. It’s another reason for skipping grumbling and going straight to gratitude. Who gets thanks? The God of Abraham.