I watched\u00a0The Book Thief<\/em> last night. I’d heard it of it before, and it especially sounded interesting because the main character was a child and it seemed to involve books. It did, but it was also set in World War II, and Death was literally the narrator. Death tells you there are a lot of deaths in this story right off the bat, but the movie also gives a message that can override them.<\/p>\n

The Jewish character in\u00a0The Book Thief<\/em> gave the main character, Liesl, a blank book in which to write for herself, after several years of learning to read, and reading much. The Hebrew word for “Life” was written on the first page. The Jews more or less believe that everything that has life has it because of that word for life. In the Bible, God spoke Creation into existence and Jesus is the Word and<\/em> is the Life; hence, the Word of Life; hence, the vital significance of words.<\/p>\n

I was wondering why we should still write books. Videos are so much more popular, as well as podcasts. Why are books so special? For starters, the Bible is a book, and that’s going nowhere until every jot and tittle is fulfilled. Secondly, it’s one of the scant few ways that stories can be recorded at all. Even movies must be written first.<\/p>\n

“Why do stories matter?” I also wondered. In my research for my current book, I stumbled upon C.S. Lewis’s thoughts on myth, from “Myth Became Fact.” In sum, he basically says that myth, or stories, relate to us the truth in a way closer than any abstract portrayal can. You could write about Pain, but do you know Pain when you are no longer in it? Stories are what make our reality. Reality is life!<\/p>\n

The continual command of\u00a0The Book Thief<\/em> was to write, and keep writing. The lives of those you have lost will live on through your writing, and their lives and your life can touch many other lives through it. Find what is redeeming and good in every situation, and publish it from the rooftops!<\/p>\n

Once I spoke aloud at my Bible study, explaining what I wished for my book series, that it build up and reconcile rather than tear down and condemn, my doubts and the pressures hindering my writing left me, and I have successfully finished Chapter 4.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Your stories are alive, no matter what doubts or pressures you face.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1259,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[62,70,96,130,182,192,213],"class_list":["post-1347","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-on-writing","tag-books","tag-christian","tag-fantasy","tag-inspiration","tag-story","tag-thebookthief","tag-writing","has-post-title","has-post-date","has-post-category","has-post-tag","has-post-comment","has-post-author",""],"yoast_head":"\n