Day 269 All Hail the Verb!

Dear friends,

I am a big fan of strong verbs. More than great adjectives, powerful verbs make for delightful reading. I recently printed out a list of strong verbs for the writing program I'm using with David in the fall. Listen to how a verb with some moxie can change the emotional charge of a phrase:

She bugged him with her requests. She hen pecked him with her requests. She bullied him with her requests.

The gentleman was tricked out of his money. The gentleman was snookered out of his money. The gentleman was bamboozled out of his money.

In my life, I'm typically a wimpy verb kind of person. I often walk when I ought to stride. But I admire folks who live a strong verb life. People like William Wilberforce. He didn't only fight for the abolition of slavery: he engaged in combat with evil. Same with Ernest Shackleton. He didn't only rescue his friends: he retrieved and delivered them from certain death on the Antarctic's Elephant Island.

I walked in to Planet Fitness today to find my husband on the elliptical after nearly an hour there, dripping in sweat, huffing and puffing, moving those god awful ugly legs up and down with determination. He was one honking strong verb in action. To think, almost 9 months ago his blood pressure was 40/20. He couldn't move, talk or breathe on his own. Now, every day, he carries his titanium plated bones to the gym and makes them do what some predicted they would never do. That's because the Great One also loves strong verbs. He is a strong verb. It doesn't get any stronger than this:

"Before Abraham was, I AM." ~ Jesus

The ultimate verb of being. Giver of life to all, Lover of all life, in whom we "live and move and have our being." Wow. I can't find a great enough verb for Him.

I'm slack-jawed (how's that for a verb!) with amazement that so many of you are still reading here. I'm humbled, grateful and glad. Please remember to put Oct. 23, 7pm on your calendar for the special thank you dessert night at DFG. I want you to come! And if you feel inclined, comment or email me your favorite verb. I'm always on the look out for those little powerhouses of grammar.

Your friend on the pilgrim road,

Loriann