One of the things I ‘forgot’ about from my childhood is how much I love to act and perform. Months ago I began reading Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone to Chance. I skipped some of the words and skipped over some of the more violent parts, but it was a great time sharing space and a love of literature with him, and it really brought back the memory of when I was in theatre in school. On some nights I would ask Mark to read, but soon Chance would say, “Dad doesn’t do the voices like mom does.” A part of me felt good about that…I really enjoyed mimicking the actors from the movie (that helped to have a ‘go-by’).

Because the Harry Potter books are so well written, yet violent and full of, well, drama, we elected to skip reading the other ones for now (Chance is only 8).

We then went on a search for a comparable kind of adventure book, and we found The Far-Flung Adventures books by Chris Riddell and Paul Stewart. We started with Fergus Crane and now are reading Corby Flood. In a few days we’ll begin Hugo Pepper, the third in the series. Paul and Chris are a great writer-illustrator team. The writing is action-oriented so it keeps little minds moving (big minds too), and the adventures are imaginative and fun. I’ve always loved stories about gizmos and gadgets (think James Bond, Inspector Gadget), and these stories have inventors and engineers who create fun, inventive creations. The books are magical, and, yes, there are plenty of characters that require mom to ‘act’ out the parts. I find that Chance drifts off to sleep faster and more gently, and that I feel light, bright and free when we read.

What a gift!

P.S. Tune in today at 2:00 PM CST to listen to Minette’s new show on 100.3 The Word (in Dallas) – I’m the guest! You can also download the Podcast on the North Texas Kids website!

I discovered Jana Stanfield (where have I been?) last week – WOW! What an amazing voice, what an amazing spirit!

This song captures the feeling we had in mind when we (Kathy Garland and I) created Fearless Manifesting. Many of us know what fear feels like. I used to use fear like a weapon on myself. I would amp up fear to ‘get things done’ – what a torture device!

Imagine what you could do if you turned fear into power and power into action! Ask yourself…What would I do if I were brave? Let us know!