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- Chris Fabry
- Married to Andrea since 1982. We have 9 children together and none apart. Our dog's name is Tebow.
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
A listener to Chris Fabry Live, Darcy, sent these pictures of herself, her daughter, Natalie, and Alaska Governor, Sarah Palin.
Look at Natalie's face. If that isn't a look of hope and innocence, I don't know what is.
If you have a picture you'd like other listeners to see, email it to us.
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
This is the view from the trail we took Sunday afternoon. We liked it so much we went back Labor Day and encountered more people, some bikes, a dad speaking Deutsch to his child, and people on horseback. Of course, the kids had to pet the horses. That's Pikes Peak in the background and a train snaking through the valley below. Just a gorgeous scene, don't you think?cf
Sunday, August 31, 2008
For those who have read Dogwood--and for those who have yet to visit this wild, wonderful, West Virginia town, I want to give a peek into the writing process. I'm not a big fan of the term "writer's block," but there was a time when I was stuck in Dogwood. Here's what happened.
I had the characters, the setting, and most of the plot. I had great conflict within the characters and without. The whole thing felt like a movie to me as I wrote. There was a love storiy of a father and son, as well as the pursuit of one farm boy for the love of his life. However, that love story was the place of the most conflict for me. Here's a young woman, married to a pastor, three children, lots of responsibility, lots of expectations, and into her life comes this past love. How do you reconcile that?
I won't give away any more of the plot than that, but this was the point where I was stuck. I was about halfway through the book and the decision I made at this point would affect the whole thing. I'm a perfectionist and I hate hitting a rabbit trail and having to go back and start over.
Keep in mind, no one other than my wife and Kathy, my friend and agent, knew I was writing this book. No one cared. I wasn't being paid a dime for it. I had no guarantees that I would be paid a dime for it. I've written other adult novels before, but thankfully, none of them have been published. Kathy was adamant that because I had never published in the "adult fiction" category that I should complete the entire manuscript before I submitted it to any publisher. I agreed and set off to continue the writing in the midst of other projects, hoping that at the end I would have something worthy of someone's time and money.
I talked with Jerry Jenkins, my friend and writing mentor. We had written more than 50 children's books together by then. He's written about 200 books, many novels, and is a lot further down the writing road than I am. I didn't explain the plot much, as I recall, I just told him what was going on with the process.
He thought a moment. Usually, it doesn't take him long to figure out what answer he wants to give, but this seemed to be taking longer than usual. I think he had been where I was. Or maybe he hadn't. I don't know.
"Let your subconscious do the work," he said.
"What do you mean?"
"The next step of the story is there, it's just hiding. Relax. Don't force it. Let your mind play with the story and tell you where to go."
That's not an exact quote, but it's what I remember. So I relaxed. I made some notes. I looked over the first half of the story I had written. I liked most of what I saw. It moved me. If it took a couple of weeks to get ramped up again, that was okay. I let my mind wander about possibilities, about ways I could twist this story. I let my mind have free reign. I asked, "What if?" If I had to go back and start over, that was okay. The point was to have the best story possible. I was committed to the process anew.
It was a Sunday morning. Sundays are low pressure days. As a rule, I don't write on Sundays, even though most writers say you have to keep up the momentum and write every day. I figure if God can't get me from Saturday to Monday, it wasn't worth writing in the first place. (This is not to say I haven't written on Sundays, but that's my goal.)
The sun was just coming up over the hill to our east. The front range of mountains is to our west and in my mind I could see the orange glow on the pine trees as a stream of sunlight lit the shades. Andrea, my wife of nearly 26 years now, was asleep beside me. Face turned toward the ceiling. I watched her breathing, the gentle rise and fall of her chest. The human body is an amazing thing, blood pumping through us, coursing through our veins. I looked from her to the window again, yawned, and put my head on the pillow, relaxing.
That's when it hit me. Like a sledge hammer. Like some mental tsunami. I wasn't thinking about the story at all. I was thinking about the kids and church and when the dog needed to go out and wondering about the bank account and whether I had enough money for the withdrawal of our mortgage payment and a thousand other things. It was like lightning on the brain.
What if...
I sat up on one elbow and looked at nothing in particular because I could see Karin and Will and Ruthie, the three main characters, their interaction, the conflicts all three had. I saw Danny Boyd, the young boy whose sisters are dead. It all made sense. It was what I was writing toward all this time. It was what my mind was doing as a subtext and I didn't even know it. And not only did the pieces fit in the puzzle of a story, it perfectly illustrated a theological point about each of us, that we are dead in our trespasses and sins. We can't respond to God without his movement in our lives. We have to be touched by the truth in order to respond to it because none of us seeks after God.
I lay propped up like that a few moments, mouth agape, going through all the permutations of the story, gasping, I guess. Andrea had no idea what had just happened. She was still asleep. The dog didn't care. He just wanted to go outside. The kids slept peacefully in their rooms. Everything was quiet in the house. But I felt like screaming, "Yes! That's it! That's it!!!"
You might think I jumped up and wrote the idea down quickly. I didn't. I'm a believer that if you have a really good idea it will stick with you. I do write down bits of dialog I hear, just to get the flavor of conversations, but with these types of ideas, if I can forget them, they're probably not really that good in the first place.
I put my head on the pillow and watched the sun some more. I don't think I've ever had a moment of that type of clarity in the writing process. It was a breakthrough that catapulted me back to the computer the next day and it was as if I were writing downhill. The whole thing made sense. The whole thing fit perfectly with very little change to the first half of the book. And it made the ending, what I call "the reveal" that you're waiting for in every book, much more shocking, jarring, and satisfying. Others may not agree. Some have criticized what happens. Others see the beauty of it, the wonderful, terrible beauty.
Was it simply my mind, or did God have something to do with that moment? I think he did, though I wouldn't go so far as to say, "God gave me that idea." That's a bit presumptuous, I believe. I don't want to blame God for something that's not up to par. He made my mind. He gave me a desire to flail away at words. He gave the perseverence to start and slog through to the finish. And I will give him the honor and glory for any accomplishment I achieve, certainly. That he would show up on a Sunday morning and speak something true and creative is within his power and purview. I did feel the hair on my neck raise when the thought came.
I guess I'll let you decide the answer to that question after you've paid a visit to Dogwood.
cf
I had the characters, the setting, and most of the plot. I had great conflict within the characters and without. The whole thing felt like a movie to me as I wrote. There was a love storiy of a father and son, as well as the pursuit of one farm boy for the love of his life. However, that love story was the place of the most conflict for me. Here's a young woman, married to a pastor, three children, lots of responsibility, lots of expectations, and into her life comes this past love. How do you reconcile that?
I won't give away any more of the plot than that, but this was the point where I was stuck. I was about halfway through the book and the decision I made at this point would affect the whole thing. I'm a perfectionist and I hate hitting a rabbit trail and having to go back and start over.
Keep in mind, no one other than my wife and Kathy, my friend and agent, knew I was writing this book. No one cared. I wasn't being paid a dime for it. I had no guarantees that I would be paid a dime for it. I've written other adult novels before, but thankfully, none of them have been published. Kathy was adamant that because I had never published in the "adult fiction" category that I should complete the entire manuscript before I submitted it to any publisher. I agreed and set off to continue the writing in the midst of other projects, hoping that at the end I would have something worthy of someone's time and money.
I talked with Jerry Jenkins, my friend and writing mentor. We had written more than 50 children's books together by then. He's written about 200 books, many novels, and is a lot further down the writing road than I am. I didn't explain the plot much, as I recall, I just told him what was going on with the process.
He thought a moment. Usually, it doesn't take him long to figure out what answer he wants to give, but this seemed to be taking longer than usual. I think he had been where I was. Or maybe he hadn't. I don't know.
"Let your subconscious do the work," he said.
"What do you mean?"
"The next step of the story is there, it's just hiding. Relax. Don't force it. Let your mind play with the story and tell you where to go."
That's not an exact quote, but it's what I remember. So I relaxed. I made some notes. I looked over the first half of the story I had written. I liked most of what I saw. It moved me. If it took a couple of weeks to get ramped up again, that was okay. I let my mind wander about possibilities, about ways I could twist this story. I let my mind have free reign. I asked, "What if?" If I had to go back and start over, that was okay. The point was to have the best story possible. I was committed to the process anew.
It was a Sunday morning. Sundays are low pressure days. As a rule, I don't write on Sundays, even though most writers say you have to keep up the momentum and write every day. I figure if God can't get me from Saturday to Monday, it wasn't worth writing in the first place. (This is not to say I haven't written on Sundays, but that's my goal.)
The sun was just coming up over the hill to our east. The front range of mountains is to our west and in my mind I could see the orange glow on the pine trees as a stream of sunlight lit the shades. Andrea, my wife of nearly 26 years now, was asleep beside me. Face turned toward the ceiling. I watched her breathing, the gentle rise and fall of her chest. The human body is an amazing thing, blood pumping through us, coursing through our veins. I looked from her to the window again, yawned, and put my head on the pillow, relaxing.
That's when it hit me. Like a sledge hammer. Like some mental tsunami. I wasn't thinking about the story at all. I was thinking about the kids and church and when the dog needed to go out and wondering about the bank account and whether I had enough money for the withdrawal of our mortgage payment and a thousand other things. It was like lightning on the brain.
What if...
I sat up on one elbow and looked at nothing in particular because I could see Karin and Will and Ruthie, the three main characters, their interaction, the conflicts all three had. I saw Danny Boyd, the young boy whose sisters are dead. It all made sense. It was what I was writing toward all this time. It was what my mind was doing as a subtext and I didn't even know it. And not only did the pieces fit in the puzzle of a story, it perfectly illustrated a theological point about each of us, that we are dead in our trespasses and sins. We can't respond to God without his movement in our lives. We have to be touched by the truth in order to respond to it because none of us seeks after God.
I lay propped up like that a few moments, mouth agape, going through all the permutations of the story, gasping, I guess. Andrea had no idea what had just happened. She was still asleep. The dog didn't care. He just wanted to go outside. The kids slept peacefully in their rooms. Everything was quiet in the house. But I felt like screaming, "Yes! That's it! That's it!!!"
You might think I jumped up and wrote the idea down quickly. I didn't. I'm a believer that if you have a really good idea it will stick with you. I do write down bits of dialog I hear, just to get the flavor of conversations, but with these types of ideas, if I can forget them, they're probably not really that good in the first place.
I put my head on the pillow and watched the sun some more. I don't think I've ever had a moment of that type of clarity in the writing process. It was a breakthrough that catapulted me back to the computer the next day and it was as if I were writing downhill. The whole thing made sense. The whole thing fit perfectly with very little change to the first half of the book. And it made the ending, what I call "the reveal" that you're waiting for in every book, much more shocking, jarring, and satisfying. Others may not agree. Some have criticized what happens. Others see the beauty of it, the wonderful, terrible beauty.
Was it simply my mind, or did God have something to do with that moment? I think he did, though I wouldn't go so far as to say, "God gave me that idea." That's a bit presumptuous, I believe. I don't want to blame God for something that's not up to par. He made my mind. He gave me a desire to flail away at words. He gave the perseverence to start and slog through to the finish. And I will give him the honor and glory for any accomplishment I achieve, certainly. That he would show up on a Sunday morning and speak something true and creative is within his power and purview. I did feel the hair on my neck raise when the thought came.
I guess I'll let you decide the answer to that question after you've paid a visit to Dogwood.
cf
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Another picture from a listener of a beautiful butterfly has come to us.Martha writes, "I saw the butterfly picture on your blog and thought I would share mine with you.
This picture was made a few days ago in front of my house in Cottondale, Alabama."
Enjoy this handiwork of God!
This is the note from John Boy about his picture:Hello all! I wanted to take a moment to share this story with y'all. This past Saturday afternoon on my front porch I was leisurely finishing a ham and swiss sandwich I made myself for lunch when I noticed this beautiful butterfly busily working its way through all of the zenias in my front flower bed. It made me pause and marvel at the amazing creativity of God. I took some pics so I would remember this wonderful moment. Truly, how glorious is our Lord. Amen. I pray that each of you would take time in your busy lives to salee the fingerprints of God all around us. Serving with gladness (Ps. 100),
John Boy
Friday, August 22, 2008
I have to get this out of my system.Last Thursday I was in my office, working on the upcoming program, or playing minesweeper--I can't remember which, and only a few feet from my desk were about 60 women with coffee mugs in hand, talking about the kids getting back to school. Cars lined the street outside the house. Smiling women, laughing women, crying women, hungry women, they were all gathered at our home.
It was the first day of school and Andrea had sent a few emails out to some friends who show up each year at this time. I took a recorder out and placed it on the kitchen table. I dare you to listen to more than 30 seconds without citing Geneva Convention rules of engagement. The noise is unbelievable.
Ironically, a friend of mine from down the street called in the middle of this event and I sat in my office listening to the din coming from the kitchen window. "Chris, what are all those cars doing outside your house? Did somebody die?"
Jim is from Arkansas and still talks with the hint of a twang. He can turn it off if he wants to, but when we're speaking, he feels free, probably because he knows I'm from WV. "No, it's just Andrea's back to school coffee thing."
"You ought to go out there and sell books!" he said, and for the first time I realized I was missing a marketing opportunity.
However, Andrea does not include any kinds of sales in these get-togethers. The people who come know they're not going to be bombarded by jewelry, candles, Tupperware, or cosmetics. This is a get-to-know-you kind of event. There are no strings attached.
"What are you doing today, buddy?" Jim asked.
I told him. "What are you doing?"
He told me. "Hey, I went fishing Saturday at 11-mile canyon. I caught the most beautiful rainbow trout you've ever seen."
"What kind of fly did you use?"
He told me.
"Did he taste good?"
"Naw, that's a catch and release area. I just kissed him and let him go. You ought to go up there with me. It's the most beautiful spot in Colorado. We'll take the kids up there and let them get a line wet."
We talked for maybe 8 minutes. I went back to the kitchen and found the same women standing around the table, still talking after 20 minutes. I shut the recorder off, thinking about the differences between the my conversation with Jim and the conversations going on in there. I felt smug in my belief that my conversation with Jim was vastly superior to the chit-chat going on in the rest of the house.
That was, until I spoke with my wife. "There were so many who met someone new. And there were so many conversations about how hard it is to let go of the kids and women crying about the struggles they're having getting older and watching their kids move to high school."
I didn't have the heart to tell her about the rainbow trout. Nor could I tell her that my conversation with Jim lasted only a few minutes and we covered just about every base on the field of our relationship. I thought we had really gone deep. I couldn't wait to take her and the kids to 11-mile canyon. She was in a canyon of her own, with the waters of friends still rippling around her, her wading boots on, her heart open.
It was the first day of school and Andrea had sent a few emails out to some friends who show up each year at this time. I took a recorder out and placed it on the kitchen table. I dare you to listen to more than 30 seconds without citing Geneva Convention rules of engagement. The noise is unbelievable.
Ironically, a friend of mine from down the street called in the middle of this event and I sat in my office listening to the din coming from the kitchen window. "Chris, what are all those cars doing outside your house? Did somebody die?"
Jim is from Arkansas and still talks with the hint of a twang. He can turn it off if he wants to, but when we're speaking, he feels free, probably because he knows I'm from WV. "No, it's just Andrea's back to school coffee thing."
"You ought to go out there and sell books!" he said, and for the first time I realized I was missing a marketing opportunity.
However, Andrea does not include any kinds of sales in these get-togethers. The people who come know they're not going to be bombarded by jewelry, candles, Tupperware, or cosmetics. This is a get-to-know-you kind of event. There are no strings attached.
"What are you doing today, buddy?" Jim asked.
I told him. "What are you doing?"
He told me. "Hey, I went fishing Saturday at 11-mile canyon. I caught the most beautiful rainbow trout you've ever seen."
"What kind of fly did you use?"
He told me.
"Did he taste good?"
"Naw, that's a catch and release area. I just kissed him and let him go. You ought to go up there with me. It's the most beautiful spot in Colorado. We'll take the kids up there and let them get a line wet."
We talked for maybe 8 minutes. I went back to the kitchen and found the same women standing around the table, still talking after 20 minutes. I shut the recorder off, thinking about the differences between the my conversation with Jim and the conversations going on in there. I felt smug in my belief that my conversation with Jim was vastly superior to the chit-chat going on in the rest of the house.
That was, until I spoke with my wife. "There were so many who met someone new. And there were so many conversations about how hard it is to let go of the kids and women crying about the struggles they're having getting older and watching their kids move to high school."
I didn't have the heart to tell her about the rainbow trout. Nor could I tell her that my conversation with Jim lasted only a few minutes and we covered just about every base on the field of our relationship. I thought we had really gone deep. I couldn't wait to take her and the kids to 11-mile canyon. She was in a canyon of her own, with the waters of friends still rippling around her, her wading boots on, her heart open.
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Here are three emails that represent the views of a lot of other emailers from recent days:
Hi Chris,
First of all I thank God for your program and your faith in Christ Jesus!
Next, I am a Pro-Life Christian who agrees with John McCain; however, I also agree with the caller who talked about his protesting at an abortion clinic and said tha KEY is the Gospel of Jesus to convert the person's belief in order to "solve" the murders of innocent children.
Yes, I believe that God Almighty is going to "judge" America and the judges who legalized abortion! But while we are the Body of Christ, if we look at the early Christians who eventually overpowered the Roman government with God's mighty assistance, He is in control and if we concentrate on sharing the gospel of God's saving Grace we can prevent abortion one case at a time. Our local Crisis Pregnacy Center now called the Women's Resource Center is doing wonders with the assistance of the ultra-sound maching provided by Focus on the Family.
So if Obama is our next president, we are praying that he will have a major "conversion" and will go against the democratic platform and not appoint liberal judges.
Indiana listener
Chris,
I have to say my heart is grieved over this election. It doesn't matter which presidential candidate is white or black, republican or democrat, we as Christians should vote for what the bible tells us is right. I somewhat believe this is a test. Just as the Israelites were tested to see if they would do what was right in God's eyes and trust Him for the rest, He is now testing American Christians. Will we stand for the unborn or sacrifice them on the altar of convince? God destroyed many countries for killing their babies. Can we trust God to supply our needs or are we looking for a President that really has less power than the Congress to meet our needs?
Georgia Listener
ANONYMOUS
I would like to comment on my beliefs about the election. It is more a matter of the lesser of two evils. I am a right to life Christian and I know we are supposed to vote for our right to life candidates, but proven by history they have done little to end abortion. It continues to increase. Most pro life candidates are Republican and what the pro life candidates have done is a direct attack on the family structure of this country. The republican party increases unemployment and ruins the economy. From my research I have found that with the proportional increase of unemployment and economic downturn you have a proportional increase in abortion, spousal abuse, divorce, desertion of the family, alcohol abuse, drug abuse, crime and more. All of these factors have an immediate and devastating affect. If abortion is going to be stopped it will have to happen from the family level. Our pro life candidates seem to cater to the very wealthy and abuse the working class and the poor. The Republican agenda is to give all concessions to the wealthy and put the burden on the working class and the poor. In my opinion I see Senator McCain continuing the Bush agenda which will further damage the family structure of this country. I believe the most valuable resource of any country is it's youth and between theRepublican agenda and the Gay agenda the youth are in danger. What Christians have to be concerned with is preserving the family structure of our country. I will clarify my concerns with this passage which identifies the hearts of the republican party: 1Ti 6:10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
Hi Chris,
First of all I thank God for your program and your faith in Christ Jesus!
Next, I am a Pro-Life Christian who agrees with John McCain; however, I also agree with the caller who talked about his protesting at an abortion clinic and said tha KEY is the Gospel of Jesus to convert the person's belief in order to "solve" the murders of innocent children.
Yes, I believe that God Almighty is going to "judge" America and the judges who legalized abortion! But while we are the Body of Christ, if we look at the early Christians who eventually overpowered the Roman government with God's mighty assistance, He is in control and if we concentrate on sharing the gospel of God's saving Grace we can prevent abortion one case at a time. Our local Crisis Pregnacy Center now called the Women's Resource Center is doing wonders with the assistance of the ultra-sound maching provided by Focus on the Family.
So if Obama is our next president, we are praying that he will have a major "conversion" and will go against the democratic platform and not appoint liberal judges.
Indiana listener
Chris,
I have to say my heart is grieved over this election. It doesn't matter which presidential candidate is white or black, republican or democrat, we as Christians should vote for what the bible tells us is right. I somewhat believe this is a test. Just as the Israelites were tested to see if they would do what was right in God's eyes and trust Him for the rest, He is now testing American Christians. Will we stand for the unborn or sacrifice them on the altar of convince? God destroyed many countries for killing their babies. Can we trust God to supply our needs or are we looking for a President that really has less power than the Congress to meet our needs?
Georgia Listener
ANONYMOUS
I would like to comment on my beliefs about the election. It is more a matter of the lesser of two evils. I am a right to life Christian and I know we are supposed to vote for our right to life candidates, but proven by history they have done little to end abortion. It continues to increase. Most pro life candidates are Republican and what the pro life candidates have done is a direct attack on the family structure of this country. The republican party increases unemployment and ruins the economy. From my research I have found that with the proportional increase of unemployment and economic downturn you have a proportional increase in abortion, spousal abuse, divorce, desertion of the family, alcohol abuse, drug abuse, crime and more. All of these factors have an immediate and devastating affect. If abortion is going to be stopped it will have to happen from the family level. Our pro life candidates seem to cater to the very wealthy and abuse the working class and the poor. The Republican agenda is to give all concessions to the wealthy and put the burden on the working class and the poor. In my opinion I see Senator McCain continuing the Bush agenda which will further damage the family structure of this country. I believe the most valuable resource of any country is it's youth and between theRepublican agenda and the Gay agenda the youth are in danger. What Christians have to be concerned with is preserving the family structure of our country. I will clarify my concerns with this passage which identifies the hearts of the republican party: 1Ti 6:10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
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