Carol Moncado

It’s not the first day Rich Mullins inspired me*. It won’t be the last either.

But today, while IMing with the incomparable Laurie Tomlinson about our mutual love of all things Rich, I told her how some of his lyrics** had been speaking to me on a “fictional” level – that is, about the manuscript I’m trying desperately to finish.

Everybody used to tell me big boys don’t cry
But I’ve been around enough to know that was the lie
That held back the tears in the eyes of a thousand prodigal sons

(Growing Young, The World As Best as I Remember It, Vol. 2)

This! This encapsulates so much about my hero at the beginning of the manuscript. And this does, too:

If I stand, let me stand on the promise that You will pull me through
And if I can’t let me fall on the grace that first brought me to You

(Sometimes by Step, Winds of Heaven… Stuff of Earth)

My hero is a prodigal and when he has no where to turn, he turns back to the One who made him and becomes not just the prodigal, but the returning prodigal.

Sometimes I think of Abraham
How one star he saw had been lit for me

(Sometimes by Step, The World As Best as I Remember It, Vol. 2)

It’s such a simple concept and at the same time so incredibly profound. To think that when the God of all creation was hanging the stars, He had me in mind while placing one of them in a galaxy far away.

It’s awe-inspiring.

And a key to opening some thought about the eternal and the Creator in my heroine, to laying groundwork for things that happen later on.

My hero is the perfect age to be a Rich Mullins fan. In fact, the CD book thing he left in New York with his Rich Mullins collection in it looks to be a plot point of some significance.

I just hope that I did Rich justice in the scene. As a song writer, a story teller, a worshiper of Christ – he had no equal. Certainly not in me.

I spent too much of my writing time singing along with the Rich CDs recently transferred to my laptop***- and lyric sharing with Laurie. Tomorrow, hopefully, I can finish up the 1000 words or so this other manuscript needs. Maybe a couple hundred words on the new project. And editing all day Sunday so I can hit NaNo hard next week. [Er, and do a final????? read through before sending the other one out.]

Today’s counts:

Other manuscript total: 87340
Today: 1753
Official NaNoWriMo total: 103
Today: 103

Rockin’ ;).

Plus, lots of First Impressions stuff today as the entry phase of the contest wound down. And stray dogs. Had a Corgi for a bit today too :D.

*My retroactive first date with hubby was to a Rich concert. We met him once when we were first in like and he left the venue to go get Subway. Sadly, the shutter on the camera (remember those?!) didn’t open.

**I’ve been listening to loaner CDs of 20 The Countdown Magazine’s Tribute to Rich – you can stream it here.

***Hubs and sis were shooting things on the XBox 360 so earbuds were necessary!