Yevet Tenney

Shortly after Reg and I were married, we invited some friends over for a Christmas party. The tree shimmered with decorations of red and gold. Packages tied in shining bows snuggled under the tree. Nametags spelled the names of each recipient. There was no mistake. Every man, woman and child would receive two or three gifts and when Santa came, it would be a magnificent celebration of giving and getting.

I can’t help but wonder how it must have felt for the Pilgrims to have stood on Plymouth Rock and gazed out into the vast gray ocean as the windswept waves slapped the shores of a freezing, uninviting wilderness.

Many years ago while I was involved in the dairy business, a most interesting thing took place. Naturally it involved a bit of questionable judgment that compounded itself, and things got worse.

This is how it’s played.

You choose sides. Each team grabs hold of one end of a sturdy rope that is stretched across the pig mire pond. When the judge says go, you dig your heels in the dirt and pull. The strongest team will pull the weaker team into the pig mire. That’s how it is with tug of war.

As I have listened and watched the election proceedings the last few months, I wonder what God would think of all the deception, backbiting and haggle over who is prepared to lead and who is not.

Last issue, I shared some ideas about how to write an autobiography. This issue, I would like to continue on the same subject by pointing out a few techniques that will help your writing to be more interesting.