Shirley Plantation

Shirley Plantation

Shirley Plantation sits majestically on the north bank of the James River in Charles City County, Virginia. It is the oldest active plantation in Virginia and the oldest family-owned business in all of North America. The plantation itself dates back to 1614 and was established by Sir Thomas West, a baron. It grew tobacco to be shipped to other colonies and to England. Edward Hill obtained part of the land in 1638.

James River

The Georgian, red-brick house standing today was started in 1723 and completed in 1738. The original Hill House had remained until the late 1860's, when it was torn down. Today, Hill descendants live in the upstairs rooms, and the downstairs is open to visitors. It may not be the largest or best known plantation in Virginia, but it's still quite impressive and worth the visit.

Kitchen

The estate includes several outbuildings, including a large kitchen with living quarters for slaves, a two-story laundry with rooms for slaves, an ice house, a smokehouse, a stable, a storehouse, and a round dovecote. Strolling around the grounds is like stepping back in time and experiencing history.

Dovecote

Stable

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The Wisdom of Elihu

See Job 32-42

Three of Job's friends pointed their fingers at him, judging and condemning. They were convinced that Job had sinned greatly, and God was punishing him because of it. In their own reasoning, this was the only explanation for Job's unending troubles, and they thought him a hypocrite. Although, they didn't know what Job had done wrong, they were certain it had to be serious. They had no understanding or compassion and refused to listen to what Job had to say.

Elihu, the youngest man in the group, felt differently, however. He had listened while the others spoke and came up with a different conclusion. Job hadn't done anything wrong to deserve his situation, but he did have a bad attitude about that situation. He tried to justify himself, instead of waiting for God, the only One who can justify, the only One who is truly righteous. He had also begun to see God as his enemy, instead of looking at the true source of evil, Satan. When Job understood these things, he repented.

As God addresses Job, He doesn't rebuke Elihu, but rather adds to what he said. As it turns out, Elihu was the wisest one among Job's friends. Wisdom can come with age, but it doesn't have to, because wisdom comes from God. How many times have we judged others too harshly or pointed fingers that hurt instead of helped? Only a close relationship with the Lord, an understanding of His Word, and surrendering to the guidance of the Holy Spirit brings wisdom. May we all be wise through Him.

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Pantsers and Plotters 

I had a very interesting online discussion recently about pantsers and plotters. There were a lot more pantsers who do very little outlining or storyboarding than I thought there'd be. I'm a pantser all the way. I even wrote the outline for my research papers in college after I wrote the paper if I could get away with it. 

If I had to figure out the details of what was going to happen beforehand, I wouldn't want to write the novel after I got through with the preliminary work. I write, just like I read, to find out what happens. Oh, I know my characters well, because I've lived with them in my head for months. I also know my setting and even researched it if necessary. Most of the time, I've lived in the places I write about.

I see scenes play out in my imagination like in a movie, and these continue as I write the story. I write quickly, because it's thrilling to see what the characters say and what happens. I've written the rough draft of three of my full-length novels in one month. If I had to plot it all out first, it would take the joy and excitement out of it.

However, this doesn't mean that plotting is wrong. It depends on the author. Writers who write character-driven novels tend to be pantsers, and those with plot-driven books tend to be pre-planners. Then some types of novels, mysteries for example, take more plotting than others. You'll find most of your pantsers among romance writers. The best technique is the one that works for the author and his or her readers.

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National Drive-Through Day 

July 24th is National Drive-Through Day. The trend for drive-throughs started in the 1930's. The Grand National Bank of St. Louis was the first bank with a drive-up window. Jordan Martin kept the idea going, and it caught on.

Besides banks we usually think of restaurants and fast food places as having drive-throughs. Then, of course, there's those blue mail boxes to drive by and drop off mail going out. Pharmacy windows are also quite common. Beverage stores often have a drive-through window, and so do a few grocery stores and photo processors, like Fotomat.

Public libraries, like the one in Cleveland, Ohio, may be moving in that direction. And there's also the drive-through wedding chapels in Las Vegas. The one that surprised me the most, however, was a drive-through funeral home. Supposedly you can drive by and view the open casket of your friend or family member through a glass.

Once, while on a road trip, I saw an Amish horse and buggy in the McDonald's drive-through in Mansfield, Missouri. It was so eye-catching and unusual I've never forgotten it. So, how will you celebrate National Drive-Through Day?

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Marching Orders

Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world (Matthew 28:19-20).

All Christians should be aware of our marching orders. We call it the Great Commission, and it's our call to service. The Bible tells us, if we truly love the Lord, then we will obey Him, but many don't take this commandment seriously. If all Christians did, the world would be a different place.

 When I say unto the wicked, O wicked man, thou shalt surely die; if thou dost not speak to warn the wicked man from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand (Ezekiel 33:8).

This is a chilling statement. We are to be held accountable for a man's eternal death in sin if we do nothing to try to show him his need for God. I think we all have probably fell short here at one time or another. But we serve a God of forgiveness. All we need to do is repent and ask his help to do better. And we need to remember to reach out to all in love the way Christ did. Finger-pointing and condemnation won't lead people to Him; love will.

Nevertheless, if thou warn the wicked of his way to turn from it; if he do not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul (Ezekiel 33:9).

Let's begin to take the Great Commission seriously and join with other Christians to spread the Gospel message. Thank goodness the first disciples weren't pew sitters, giving excuses why they couldn't go forth, at least to their neighbors. Our Lord and His Holy Spirit will give us all the guidance and support we need. So beginning right now, let's go forth in truth to share the message with others.

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Writing Dialogue  

One of the members in a critique group I belong to made an interesting comment at a recent meeting. After reading one of my chapters and discussing it, he said dialogue was my strength and I shouldn't hesitate to use it.

I had never consider writing dialogue as one of my strengths. In fact, I had one reader who thought I used too much dialogue, because she wanted to be inside the characters thoughts more. I try to do both. I find writing is often a balancing act, and, although I certainly want to please my readers, I also stay true to my writing style and who I am as an author. My stories are character-driven, and I let my characters direct the writing to a large extent.

All dialogue should have a purpose and move the story along. I don't know how may books I read that have too much chit-chat and doesn't need to be there. The key to writing good dialogue is to make it sound natural, the way people talk, but make it meaningful. Reading it aloud often helps. If I tend to read a line a little differently than I wrote it, I change it to how I say it. I consciously strive to make it smooth so it won't pull the reader out of the story to think about how something is said or what it means. I hope the gentleman was right. I'd like to think writing good dialogue is one of my strengths.

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Greenbacks

Congress authorized the first printing of paper money on July 17, 1861. These bills were quickly called greenbacks, because the backside was printed in green ink.. There had been other temporary paper money in the past, most to serve a special need, but this was the first permanent paper money to be used for legal tender.

The paper money came about because of the Civil War. Within a short period of time leaders began to see they'd underestimated the cost of the war.  When President Lincoln sought loans from banks, mainly ones in New York, they wanted to charge  24-36 % interest, which he found unacceptable. He charged Secretary of Treasury, Salmon P. Chase with finding another way.

This money's use evolved over the next months. The value of the greenbacks also fluctuated At it's low, it took 258 dollars in greenbacks to equal 100 in gold, but the victory at Gettysburg caused it to rally and be worth 131 dollars to 100 in gold. The idea of paper money had come to stay.

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