I’ve been feeling a lot of gratitude for Fred Rogers recently.

Maybe it’s because I’ve made it a new “life rule” to withdraw from online interaction that is characterized by contentiousness and dialogue-dominating personalities. I shut down comments on this blog because it became taxing to deal with hostile voices there. And I left an online community that I’d enjoyed for years because I could feel myself being provoked into a kind of dialogue that I want to avoid. I don’t mind criticism; in fact, I seek it out. But I’m allergic to criticism that is delivered with arrogance, condescension, or a lack of respect and grace. Am I thin-skinned? Perhaps. But I’d rather be thin-skinned than hard-hearted. I suspect that I’ve been spoiled by the blessing of good friends, caring family, and teachers who knew how to speak the truth in love.

I think I also learned at an early age to care about gracious conversation from Fred Rogers.

From Mr. Rogers, I learned a sort of liturgy of friendship: The way he came home and took off his shoes suggested that he was at ease with you, that you were welcome, a familiar and special guest.

He spoke so slowly, and he paused, allowing more “dead air” than any other show host, giving me time to think.

I loved Amy Hollingsworth’s book The Simple Faith of Mr. Rogers.

In that book, Hollingsworth writes,

He knew that silence leads to reflection, that reflection leads to appreciation, and that appreciation looks about for someone to thank: “I trust that they will thank God, for it is God who inspires and informs all that is nourishing and good,” he once said.

She also writes:

He taught me that taking one’s time, especially in relationships, allows the other person to know he or she is worth the time.

I also loved the PBS special that aired recently: Mr. Rogers & Me.

Today, my friend Dyana Herron posted this video on her blog. And then, of course, I discovered that people everywhere were posting it on Facebook and Twitter and all over the place.

Forgive me if you’ve already seen this twelve times, but I must, out of appreciation and loyalty, join the parade. Sit back, press “Play,” and enjoy… neighbor. …

Steve Carell will inspire you… (more…)

After a month of feeble-to-failed writing sessions, I made myself sit down to write yesterday morning.

I was pretty sure nothing would happen; I was tired and my head was full of practical matters. But I’ve been taught to show up, so, somewhat begrudgingly, I did.

The coffee shop was crowded and noisy. The table was too small. There were too many interruptions. And yet…  (more…)

It’s been a long time since I’ve written music reviews.

I started out writing more music reviews than movie reviews online, but the interest in movie reviews proved to be much more intense, and I adjusted, desiring to go where the lively discussion was happening. But lately, I’ve been missing the pleasure of “finding out what I think” about music, something that happens best when I write about it.

So, I’m going to pick a few hightlights from my listening adventures this year and make a few recommendations. This post will be updated throughout the year.

Here we go:  (more…)

Big news.

Good Letters, the daily blog hosted by IMAGE journal, where many of my favorite bloggers (including Sara Zarr, Bradford Winters, A.G. Harmon, Allison Backous, and others) contribute inspiring work every month, and where my film reviews are posted twice a month, is moving!

Good Letters will still be hosted by IMAGE, but it will be published on a larger platform that will bring us many new readers (and probably a much livelier circus of comments).

Where is this mysterious new kingdom of blogging? (more…)

Today is the fourth anniversary of the day I joined Twitter: my favorite social networking site.

And, as if in celebration, Twitter is serving up one exciting link after another.

Here are some of the highlights that I’ve discovered there today… (more…)

More than a decade ago, when I was writing for Christianity Today‘s movie-review website, I invited a variety of Christians who write film reviews to offer their opinions on “foul language” and whether or not Ted Baehr’s Movieguide and other “morality checklist” review sites were justified in their blanket condemnations of movies that contain cussing.

You can revisit that article here.

I thought of that article today when Alan Jacobs posted this link to The Atlantic… (more…)

As America waits to see Steven Spielberg’s Abraham Lincoln film, starring Daniel Day-Lewis in what some are treating as an automatic Oscar-winning performance, here comes another “Hail to the Chief!” kind of movie, starring Bill “He’s Overdue” Murray as FDR.

Here’s the trailer for Hyde Park on the Hudson. (more…)

I get a lot of emails from aspiring writers. Some of them I feel equipped to answer. Some of them I don’t…
(more…)

I’ve written a two-part reflection on the 1981 film Chariots of Fire, which is appearing at Good Letters, the blog hosted by IMAGE. (more…)