Thank you for visiting my blog today.
Curious about my blog title? The plain part describes my first 24 years as a Mennonite girl in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania and the fancy follows as I move south: first to Charlotte, North Carolina, and then to Jacksonville, Florida.
Watch for stories about faith and family knitted together by memory. You have stories too—or responses to what’s happening now. Do comment. I love words. Share some of yours!
Expect me to post Wednesdays weekly. Subscribe now, so you don’t miss a one.
Get your copy of Marian’s newest publication
Mennonite Daughter:
The Story of a Plain Girl
Read the Latest
Coming Down the Pipeline: My New Book
You’ve heard many metaphors for life, images that suggest how daily happenings can throw us into a tailspin: Life is like a roller coaster with lots of ups and downs Life is like a washing machine, churning round and round Life is like bumper cars, hitting one...
Autumn Hanging on a Tree
The poet Maren Tirabassi reflects on the life of Christ, depicting autumn leaves showing their beauty, their brilliance, and their fragility--and then falling. Observe her weaving the seasonal into the scriptural, spanning His birth and, eventually, His crucifixion....
The Boy with a Dream and a Cure
The Boy with a Dream and a Cure True Story In the nineteenth century, a Member of Parliament went to Scotland to make an important speech. He travelled to Edinburgh by train, then took a horse-drawn carriage southward to his destination. But the roads were bad...
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Purple Passages
My Word, it’s 2016!
Have you started a diet? Renewed your gym membership or decided to walk more? Maybe you have resolved to cut down on Facebook time this year . . . Along with such New Year’s resolutions, some of my friends each year choose a guide word to help navigate the unknown...
Kids, Oaks, and Quotes: Purple Passages for August 2015
A Short Story Once upon a time seven children from three different states came to visit their family in Pennsylvania. Some came from far away in a car, plane or train so they could see each other and get to know their grandparents and great-grandparents, who lived in...
Purple Passages in Rainbow Colors
Calm Thoughts, Relax Here Where we relaxed at the home place, counting cars on a Saturday night, swinging on the porch and eating watermelon! * * * Be grateful for calm skies . . . Forever is composed of nows. (# 690) Emily Dickinson * * * I'm going to enjoy every...
About Marian Longenecker Beaman
I publish my blog Plain and Fancy Girl on Wednesdays. Whether you are a commenter or reader only, I appreciate your noticing.
Book Reviews
Bobby: My Ideal Reader
Bobby Oliver read my book, Mennonite Daughter, and reviewed it the same week. Bobby is the ideal reader and reviewer, but he is certainly not my typical reader. Seven of the Amazon reviews of The Story of a Plain Girl are from men. Women are more apt than men to pick...
The Movie LAND and the Longenecker Acreage
In a super-sanitized theatre earlier this year, we viewed the movie LAND, the story of a lone women who seeks solace in nature to heal unbearable wounds BLURB (no spoilers!) From acclaimed actress Robin Wright comes her directorial debut LAND, the...
Between Heaven and Mirth: Where Fun is Always ON
This past year has been like a treadmill trek with the degrees of incline jacked up higher every (day, week, month). The news generally has been grim. Have you felt a need for lightness and joy? I certainly have! Goodreads Review: Between Heaven and...
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