Category Hans Christian Andersen Illuminated by The Message
Sing for Joy
-The Nightingale Then the Nightingale sang, and so enchantingly that the tears came into the Emperor’s eyes and ran down over his cheeks. The Nightingale sang a second time, and still more sweetly, and the song went straight to the heart. The Emperor was so well pleased that he said the Nightingale should have his […]
Fairy Tale Lives
Hans Christian Andersen said, “Every person’s life is a fairy tale written by God’s fingers.” Why do we love fairy tales? Is it the conflict between good and evil, the drama, and endless possibilities? Or is it the happy ending that we so enjoy? God created us with free will and an array of unique talents. We […]
Leaning Toward Good
In fairy tales, there are good guys and bad guys. The roles are usually clear. We know who to cheer and who to fear. Life isn’t typically like this. The lines blur between good and evil. Good people make mistakes. They fail. Sometimes they do bad things. And bad people surprise us and do good […]
Fairy Tales and Miracles
Fairy tales are the stuff dreams are made of, and dreams do come true. So do miracles. The weak become strong, the small are the giants, and the ugly and down-trodden rise to the top. We see this in fairy tales such as with the Ugly Duckling that grows into a beautiful swan, tiny Thumbelina […]
The Good Guys Win
Fairy tales are filled with conflict. In most, a struggle ensues between good and evil, and good wins out in the end. We see this theme throughout Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tales. The innocent child reveals the naked truth about the arrogant emperor in The Emperor’s New Clothes. The spell of the evil goblin on little Kay in the Snow Queen […]
Appreciate the Little Things
“The whole world is a series of miracles, but we’re so used to them we call them ordinary things.” Hans Christian Andersen
Let Go. Let God
“Instead of trusting in our own strength or wits to get out of it, we were forced to trust God totally–not a bad idea since he’s the God who raises the dead.” This passage from 2 Corinthians 1:8-11 is paired with one from the story, Fortune’s Overshoes in the book, Hans Christian Andersen Illuminated […]
Pray Away Your Fear
“There she saw, seated in a circle on one of the largest tombstones, a group of hideous ghouls–horrid witches. They were taking off their rags as if about to bathe, but then they buried their long, gaunt fingers in the new graves, snatched the bodies out of them, and began to eat their flesh. Elisa […]
You, the Hero
We love fairy tales because it is where we can be heroes. Our imagination takes us to times and places where we are the best we can possibly hope to be. We really can be anything we want. With God, anything is possible. Dream big, ask the Lord for guidance, and you may be surprised […]
Mary K. Doyle 
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