Melodie Davis Archive

Pie Lady Moments

April 30, 2019 Melodie Davis

If you’re wondering, “pie lady?” what on earth is that, I don’t blame you. Greta Isaac is author of a new book, The Pie Lady: Classic Stories from a Mennonite Cook and Her Friends. In it, Greta shares 32 stories of “pie ladies” and their best recipes in a book that is more story than cookbook. I was privileged to serve as the managing editor for this book in my waning months at Herald Press before retiring, and had a lot of back and forth by phone and email with the author as we edited and revised to get all of her […]

A Gathering of Sisters: A Year with My Old Order Mennonite Family

November 9, 2018 Melodie Davis

Another Way for week of November 9, 2018 A Gathering of Sisters Darla Weaver is an Old Order wife, mother, expert gardener, and author. She and her husband have three children, but she grew up in a family of five sisters and four brothers. The sisters all live in the hills of southeastern Ohio near her parents’ house where they grew up. Darla and her sisters have the marvelous tradition of spending each Tuesday with their mother (their father joins them for lunch, from his work in their home-based greenhouse). And the little ones of these sisters absolutely love Tuesdays […]

Behind the Scenes: Making a Hymnal

August 31, 2018 Melodie Davis

Another Way for week of August 24, 2018 Behind the Scenes: Making a Hymnal What is your all-time favorite hymn or spiritual/religious piece of music? That may be hard to narrow down, but if you are a regular reader of this column, I know that you likely go to church and participate in regular worship services. If you do that, you also likely enjoy the songs and hymns most churches count as a very important part of their worship of God. It is the music portion of a service that most often moves me emotionally, even to tears, and I’m […]

A Humble Heart

May 21, 2018 Melodie Davis

Another Way for week of May 2018 A Humble Heart I’ve made my living for over forty years as a writer, which evolved into many varieties of media: script writer for TV documentaries and radio programs, ads, news, reports, columns, magazines, books, and editing all of the above. So I enjoy the written word. Some of the loveliest writing is found in the Bible. No matter what you believe, the writings in the Bible can be appreciated as poetry, hymns, well-told stories, wise proverbs, and encouragement to practice kindness and love. Of course there are also horrific battle scenes and […]

Seven Benefits for All in Dismantling Racism

February 2, 2018 Melodie Davis

Seven Benefits for All in Dismantling Racism These days seem to be filled with needing to talk about racism because 1) it still exists and threatens to split the U.S. yet again; 2) there are so many incidents which are either racially charged or are debated as such; 3) for people of color, racial incidents happen all the time. How can we begin to truly dismantle racism in this country, for the benefit of all? I like the helpful twist that Jodi Picoult adds to this thought in her novel Small Great Things:  Kennedy, public defender: “Do you think there will […]

The Compassionate Jesus

December 27, 2017 Melodie Davis

Another Way for week of December 23, 2017 The Compassionate Jesus At Christmas we recall the birth of baby Jesus many many years ago. Too often we forget—and certainly pop culture forgets or doesn’t know the beauty of the man who baby Jesus grew up to be. We focus on the surroundings of his birth: the dramatic story of his family’s last minute trip to Bethlehem for a census, not finding any decent overnight lodging, being forced to settle for shelter in a cave or stable for animals, snuggling a newborn in a manger, and angels announcing the birth to […]

How Coloring Can Help You Unwind

August 4, 2017 Melodie Davis

Another Way for week of August 4, 2017 How Coloring Can Help You Unwind Breathe in. Breathe out. Relax. For most of an hour, you could have heard a crayon drop on the thick carpet of the large seminar room at the Orlando County Convention Center, smack in the middle of one of the major entertainment centers of the entire United States: Orlando, Fla. About 80 women and teen girls spent almost an hour silently coloring some coloring sheets that I had passed out at the beginning of the “seminar.” There were a few quiet words among women at some […]

Discovering More about Native Life: Christian’s Hope

May 19, 2017 Melodie Davis

Discovering More about Native Life: Christian’s Hope Another Way for week of May 19, 2017 Although I grew up in the 50s, I didn’t grow up playing cowboys and Indians. This was because: We weren’t allowed any games that simulated shooting. My dad hated any play that had to do with guns. We didn’t have a TV so we didn’t know the “TV cowboy” genre. I had two older sisters and one baby brother so our games involved playing “house,” school, or church with poor Terry as our “baby.” I do remember making bows and arrows out of branches and […]

What is Middle-aged? What is Old?

April 28, 2017 Melodie Davis

#Midlifing: How do you know when you’ve hit it?  Another Way for week of April 29, 2017   I remember going to the 40th reunion of my high school class where I attended my first three years of high school. I took a look around at the gray hair and wrinkles and tried to see in their faces my high school chums. I couldn’t recognize some of those I hadn’t seen in 40 years. Did I look equally different to others? I truly wondered if I looked as old as them. This is a common experience for most of us. […]

The Covenant That Binds

December 2, 2016 Melodie Davis

Note: After December 2, all Another Way columns will be posted only on my personal blog, FindingHarmonyBlog.com, a week after they are first sent to newspapers, rather than here on Third Way website. All current personal email subscribers to Another Way will receive my weekly column via MailChimp. Another Way Newspaper Column for week of December 2, 2016 The Covenant That Binds This past year we celebrated 40 years of being married. I say celebrated when I should say the anniversary trip we would have taken at the end of May (over our anniversary weekend) was thwarted by church commitments planned […]