Author Archives: Becky Dingle

About Becky Dingle

I was born a Tarheel but ended up a Sandlapper. My grandparents were cotton farmers in Laurens, South Carolina and it was in my grandmother’s house that my love of storytelling began beside an old Franklin stove. When I graduated from Laurens High School, I attended Erskine College (Due West of what?) and would later get my Masters Degree in Education/Social Studies from Charleston Southern. I am presently an adjunct professor/clinical supervisor at CSU and have also taught at the College of Charleston. For 28 years I taught Social Studies through storytelling. My philosophy matched Rudyard Kipling’s quote: “If history were taught in the form of stories, it would never be forgotten.” Today I still spread this message through workshops and presentations throughout the state. The secret of success in teaching social studies is always in the story. I want to keep learning and being surprised by life…it is the greatest teacher. Like Kermit said, “When you’re green you grow, when you’re ripe you rot.”

“Row, Row, Row the Boat…”

Dear Reader: When we have time to reflect back on our lives…hasn’t most of it been  spent rowing…struggling to move from one situation to a better one? Sometimes our struggles have produced an improved change in life….but usually, for most … Continue reading

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Mary Went the Distance…

Dear Reader: I read an excerpt from Quinn Caldwell’s Christmas devotion ( All I Really Want) about the role of Mary in Jesus’ life and it made me pause and think about this epiphany more studiously. Basically it was the … Continue reading

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Words that Permanently are Associated with Christmas

Dear Reader: Isn’t it true that some writers create such memorable characters in literature that they remarkably take on an identity of their own? If you look up the word “GRINCH” you notice it didn’t come into existence until Dr. … Continue reading

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The “God Wink” at the Christmas Eve Service

Dear Reader: Yesterday I left you hanging about a remarkable incident that took place at the end of the Christmas Eve Service….the service in which I told an old German fairy tale…a story about a clock-maker and his love for … Continue reading

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“The Christmas Time Stood Still”

Dear Reader: I never know when and where the idea for the next Christmas Eve story will come…but I always know it will. I suppose I have my foot to thank for the Christmas story last night. While in my … Continue reading

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We All Need a Good Dose of Christmas Childhood Faith and Hope

Dear Reader: Yesterday afternoon this story popped up from one of several  devotions that come to me daily…I don’t remember ever signing up for them but they do seem to appear at the right time for me. This little short … Continue reading

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Wandering Thoughts of Wonder while Writing about Christmas

  Dear Reader: For three months I wandered in my imagination (while reclining with my foot up on top of so many pillows… I felt like “The Princess and the Pea“) wondering what my next car would look like…most likely … Continue reading

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P.J’s, Purgatory, and a Christmas Miracle

Dear Reader: What a mixed bag of emotions Thursday was…blustery, rainy weather…an oncology appointment…and then everything changed! The photos above were actually taken in the morning (Friday morning)…not at night… because yesterday everyone was having a P.J. Christmas party at … Continue reading

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Pop-Up Christmas Cards from the Past

Dear Reader: Today is the winter solstice…the shortest day of the year. (thus it is sometimes called the Longest Night of the year) On this day the sun is at its lowest arc and appears to “stand still”…which is Latin … Continue reading

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Christmas and the Magic Pencil

Dear Reader: A good friend of mine, Brooks Moore, a (mostly) retired educator after 45 years in the “business,” sent me a copy of his book titled: Chalk Talk: 30 Stories that will touch your funny bone and heart. Vickie … Continue reading

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