Fiction Sample Ash Loanwright prompt

 I'm taking a writing class and thought I would share some samples from my class assignments. This prompt was to let the reader know what kind of person Ash Loanwright is without telling you what kind of person he is. Here's my 400-ish words...

“Hold on, little brother,” Ash Loanwright said as he grabbed Ben’s hand.

He watched the boy’s chest rise and fall in heavy gasps. His grey uniform was soaked in blood, and nothing Ash had done had slowed its flow. He knew it was too late for holding on, but he didn’t know what else to say. Ben’s eyes were opened wide and blood was coming from his mouth. Ash wished he could turn back time.

“I think we should take the girls up to Uncle Bob’s in Ohio,” Ben had said.

“Fine. Fine. Take the women and children. Then, you come right back here and defend this farm.”

Ash had insisted that his brother stand strong against the northern oppression, demanded as the oldest brother that they had to defend their father’s farm, to save their family land.

Ben’s grip tightened on his hand with each labored breath.

When his horse, Betsy, had gotten sick and lay suffering in the barn, Ash had knelt beside her and rubbed her side with his hand, begging her to get better. His father had brought him his hunting rifle and told him to put her out of her misery. To let her go. To let her be at peace.

He knew his brother was dying, that these were his last breaths. He wondered if it would be right to give Ben the same mercy he’d given Betsy. He knew he couldn’t. Even if it was the right thing to do, he knew he couldn’t. The Lord would have to take Ben. Ash wouldn’t help with that.

Ash bowed his head.

“Lord, have mercy,” he begged.

Silence.

Ash looked up to see Ben’s labored breathing had ended. He let out a gasp, and then in the silence, he heard a woman scream.

His brother was gone.

Ash still lived. He looked to the sky and then leaned over his brother to gently close his eyes.

He crawled toward the scream.

He could smell smoke and it drove him forward. Toward home. Toward his family. Toward Sally Ann.

He pushed himself up off the ground. He ran, dragging his injured leg behind him and cursing it for being so slow. He passed the bodies of his friends and neighbors. There was nothing he could do for them. They were in the Lord’s hands now.

He reached the edge of the woods and saw flames touching the sky above the barn.  He didn’t stop. He kept on towards the house. He thought of his folks. He thought of Sally Ann, who he swore he would marry if he could get to her alive.

So, now that you've had a peek at this sampler, let me know in the comments what kind of man do you think Ash Loanwright is? Did I do my job or not?

A Severe Mercy by Sheldon VanAuken a book review

We first meet a young man who has lost his father and his childhood home. We walk with him through his memories. He’s searching for something to make life worth living, something good, and true, and beautiful. All the books he’s read tell him it’s found in great love. He’s heard that some have found it in the love of God, but that’s not for him – he doesn’t even believe in God. He’s too smart to fall for that fairy tale.

We learn right away that he does find a great love, and he marries her, and then she dies. In fact, his wife’s death is given away on the back cover. Most of the book is about “Davy” (Jean Davis), their friendship, their love, their journey through a life of shared interests, seeking and appreciating beauty in all things. Above all, it is a story about the greatest love of all, being pursued by a living Savior.

At Oxford, these pagans meet philosophers and physicists, intellectuals of all sorts, and some of them are Christians, but to Sheldon’s surprise, he finds he likes them anyway. The joy of Oxford was that everything could be debated, no subject was forbidden. They spent their days studying great minds of the past and their evenings debating the great minds in their midst. On the topic of Christianity, an unbeliever might scoff and say, “I just don’t get how you can believe this cock & bull story about a resurrection from the dead” and everyone would laugh and go on with a hearty debate about the thing, always remaining in good spirits, and as good friends.

Those Christian friends encouraged Sheldon to read C.S. Lewis, who happened to be a professor at Oxford at the time. When Davy announces that she believes, and wants to go to church, Sheldon goes along. They both enjoy the beauty of the cathedrals, the high church liturgy, and the bells that ring throughout Oxford. But Sheldon doesn’t believe. He isn’t convinced. He’s stuck on the Resurrection. How can it be? He writes to Lewis, and Lewis in turn does more than respond, but invites him to lunch where they eat and drink and debate theology. This friendship grows over many such lunches, and many such letters.

Sheldon soon finds himself in a predicament. If Christianity is false then he would be a fool to fall for it, but if it is true then he must submit to it for to do otherwise would be to “reject my god.” Ever the rationalist, he finds himself standing on a ledge over an abyss – the leap of faith forward, without absolute proof, is foolhardy. But he also realizes that to take the leap back to unbelief, without proof, would be a mistake far greater. It’s an all or nothing crisis.

A Severe Mercy is a beautifully written story of one man’s experience being pursued by a relentlessly loving God.

Finding Hope: From Brokenness to Restoration by Heidi Goehmann; a book review

"Hope isn’t really hope until you need it,” Goehmann says in her book titled Finding Hope. Christ is the hope that comes in the brokenness of our lives. The brokenness of sin – our own, the sin of those around us, original sin, and the labor pains of a fallen world. Christ is there in the midst of it, redeeming us, redeeming the whole world.

This is the gist of her message woven throughout this hundred and fifty page book. The hope she speaks of is the hope we see in Romans chapter 5, where we read, “…suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit…” (See Romans 5:3-5)

The world needs this hope, we need this hope, to know that brokenness can be healed. When we are honest about our brokenness we unveil if from the shame and blame that cloaks it, and we bring it into the light so it can be healed. Brokenness makes us ask God “Who am I? Because if I am Yours, then why all of this?” Brokenness makes us ask “Am I worthy of being loved?”

Goehmann, a licensed clinical social worker and mental health care provider, says we need to learn to name the brokenness, and part of that is being honest about how we feel. When we hold in our emotions – our bodies take the brunt of them in stress, tension, and inflammation. We get into trouble when we let our emotions boil over onto others – our feelings should not lead the way in our decision making, and yet in our brokenness, they often do. The Holy Spirit is our Counselor and God’s Word is our guide. These speak truth, hope, and love when our emotions speak all sorts of other things.

We walk a broken journey with an unbreakable Savior, Goehmann is quick to remind us.

When we gather around God’s Word, we are reminded of Christ, who speaks hope over brokenness. With His Word and by His Spirit, we can walk through brokenness. We rejoice in hope, in the glory of God. Even in Christ, the race we run in this life is not easy. Imagine how hard it is to walk through this life of brokenness without Christ. That is why we share Christ with others. To give them Hope. We raise the banner of Christ for the world to see. We raise it over the darkness and brokenness that surrounds us and our neighbors.

We cannot avoid brokenness; to try to escape it is to heap unrealistic expectations of perfection upon ourselves and those around us. We often work to make our families “appear” to be without brokenness, and this is dishonest. It prevents us from getting the help we need, forces us into isolation, and causes increasing anxiety. It also forces us to carry shame and leads us to avoid relationships with other Christians who can comfort us with the hope that is in Christ.

The light of Hope is more clearly seen when we confess our sins and acknowledge our need for a Savior. Perfect people do not exist in this world but forgiven and loved people do. God brings hope to us all and gives us an Identity in Him. We look out into our broken communities that need the Hope of Christ, and we ask the same question that Jesus was asked in Luke chapter 10, “Who is my neighbor?” and the answer is the same as it was then, “The person in the ditch is your neighbor. The one who needs compassion is your neighbor. The broken, the bruised, the one in need – that’s your neighbor.” (see Luke 10:25-37)

Goehmann urges us to see Christ in all things. She reminds readers that “Our broken things are never left untouched by God.” He may not return things to the way they once were, the things of this world never last, but He sends His Son to give us eternal healing.

Finding Hope ends with a series of discussion questions to go along with each chapter, from brokenness in ourselves, and our relationships to brokenness in our neighborhoods and communities. She points the reader over and over again to the One who makes all things new.

Brokenness impacts everything. But it doesn’t get the last word. Christ does.