My name is Morgan E. Underwood. I am a theology nerd, lover of stories, writer, and mother to one black cat. Have you ever longed to dwell inside a story? Or have you ever been haunted by a desire for something or someone beyond all the stories? Know that you have found a kindred spirit.
As a kid, books captured my imagination. I consumed pages upon pages and scratched out a few stories. I dreamed of being a writer. I pictured myself tucked away in a lakeside cabin with one cat and one very large dog. As time passed, my dream of storytelling seemed increasingly impractical. Most terrifying of all, my desire to write demanded risk. After years of attempting to soften my calling, I relinquished my defenses. Stories bubble up within me, and so I must write.
This blog explores the intersection between theology and the arts. Like the Sacraments, the arts pull us into communion. As a student of theology at Dallas Theological Seminary and a lover of stories, I believe that stories possess the potential to awaken our longings, shape our affections, and call us into fellowship with the Storyteller. God pursues us with stories, and stories echo the footfalls of heaven’s hound, undaunted and persistent in his pursuit.
As I slip through pages cluttered with coffee and ink, I unearth bits of other worlds and enter the haunts of heaven’s hound. Threads of steam recoil from my coffee, entangling vision with mystery. The veil cast between the celestial and terrestrial wanes. A myth inhabits my own world — a True Myth behind all myths ever told. That Myth courses through the veins of story and woos the innermost cravings of my heart. My soul longs to encounter goodness, beauty, and truth untainted. The thrill of the chase suffuses my being with a rich flame. Yet, I am not the one hunting. I am the haunted and the hunted. The Author of the one True Myth hounds me.
Grab a mug. Pour a cup of coffee or brew a pot of tea. Together, we’ll linger among tales of fantasy, peering through the mists clinging to fairy stories. However, Reader, beware. A presence stirs in the shadows. Tendrils of fog eclipse the paths we wander. Eyes shine in the darkness. You, too, may discover that you are the haunted and the hunted.
Warmest Regards,
Morgan E. Underwood
