Stories by Donna Marie Todd

Small stories for the soul from Award-Winning Storyteller Donna Marie Todd.

"Meeting Racism" A Just 3 Minutes Story 06/20/2025

"Meeting Racism" A Just 3 Minutes Story Racism is ugly stuff. I thought we'd left it behind but I guess it was just hiding. I didn't know what racism was until I met it in the kitchen one day after a party my parents gave. The person targeted was someone I loved dearly. Remembering the story, even now, makes my face grow hot with anger and shame. /episode/index/show/awidowstale/id/37091780

"The Three Kings" A "Just 3 Minutes" Story Standing Up for What's Right 06/16/2025

"The Three Kings" A "Just 3 Minutes" Story Standing Up for What's Right Back in the 1960's our country was divided over racism. We'd long ago fought to end slavery but civil rights were still a dream away. This was especially true in the heart of coal country, up in the hills of West Virginia. This is a story about the time my Dad stood up to The Three Kings: who ruled the town, the mines, and the church. Since what's old is unfortunately new again, with all the executive orders dismantling DEI and wiping black contributions off government websites, it's a timely story for today. /episode/index/show/awidowstale/id/37031390

Cowboys and Indians: A Big Girl Pants Story about My Daddy 06/08/2025

Cowboys and Indians: A Big Girl Pants Story about My Daddy I wish my Dad was still here so I could celebrate Father's Day with him just one more time! But this little story will have to suffice! When I was a kid, we didn't play organized sports. We roamed the neighborhood like feral cats. But we mostly behaved because, back then, any parent that caught you doing something wrong had permission to punish you any way they saw fit, whether they were your parents or not, so like I said, we mostly behaved. But there was this one time when things went very wrong. Thank goodness my Daddy figured it out! /episode/index/show/awidowstale/id/26284836

"The Hangin: A Just 3 Minutes Story" 05/30/2025

"The Hangin: A Just 3 Minutes Story" Trump reinstated the death penalty by executive order in January 2025. As we reconsider capital punishment in America, this is a story worth hearing. It took place back in the 1940's. What happened in this story was so powerful it pushed my father into the ministry. It's a powerful reminder that family violence has multiple victims. Please share this story with people who need to hear it. /episode/index/show/awidowstale/id/36793550

Pip and the Sheriff: A Just 3 Minutes Story 05/16/2025

Pip and the Sheriff: A Just 3 Minutes Story Memorial Day invites us to honor those who have given their all to protect our Freedom. On a visit to the vet, a scared little Jack Russell mix has the opportunity to do just that. A magical story that just happens to be totally true. /episode/index/show/awidowstale/id/36597105

Whale Fall: A Just 3 Minutes Story 04/16/2025

Whale Fall: A Just 3 Minutes Story Ever wonder what your legacy from this life will be? What have you done worth remembering? What will you leave behind that anyone else will want? When my sister died this year these legacy questions began coming one after another. And then during a week at the beach, I saw something that helped me name exactly what I hope to leave behind when I'm gone. Now the only question is how to do that. /episode/index/show/awidowstale/id/36196715

Chaos vs Violets 03/27/2025

Chaos vs Violets With all the chaos in America these days, it's good to remember that man is never really in charge. Our power is more of a delusion than a reality. And, I highly recommend a springtime walk as a way of scrubbing the soul from all the dirty grunge of our current political fiascoes. /episode/index/show/awidowstale/id/35891365

The Power of Naps 02/17/2025

The Power of Naps I'm so overwhelmed by all the stuff hitting the fan these days, all the weird goings on with American politics, I've needed a lot of naps. And, it's been fascinating to see what I become aware of when I wake up! /episode/index/show/awidowstale/id/35319890

The Best of Intentions: A "JUST 3 MINUTES" STORY 02/12/2025

The Best of Intentions: A "JUST 3 MINUTES" STORY What we plan our lives around matters. I'm the one that always seems to figure that out too late. My sister died recently of ovarian cancer. She taught me a lot about living by the way she chose to spend her time. /episode/index/show/awidowstale/id/35256820

Loneliness: A Just 3 Minutes Story 02/01/2025

Loneliness: A Just 3 Minutes Story It seems like friendships are in short supply these days. Could you use a few more? /episode/index/show/awidowstale/id/35111110

Snowflakes: A Just 3 Minutes Story 01/19/2025

Snowflakes: A Just 3 Minutes Story Nature is always modeling things for us. I had another chance to contemplate that this past week when four inches of snow fell and turned the Great Smokey Mountains into a fairyland. Always claim the uniqueness that makes you who you are! The world needs all of us to show up and come together. /episode/index/show/awidowstale/id/34914085

WINTER REST a Just Three Minutes Story 01/10/2025

WINTER REST a Just Three Minutes Story If you've lost power in a storm or found yourself in a state of depression, you may have found yourself sleeping more. I've been sleepimg more after the difficult death of my sister. Winter is a time for rest. Perhaps tonight you should nourish yourself with a warm bowl of soup and a long winter nap. It's a beautiful way to take care of you! /episode/index/show/awidowstale/id/34808305

The Homeless Baby: A "Just 3 Minutes" Story 12/10/2024

The Homeless Baby: A "Just 3 Minutes" Story Christmas is a celebration of a homeless birth. Here's another story about another homeless birth and some questions we all need to be asking about when babies will be entitled to a safe home. /episode/index/show/awidowstale/id/34357740

Seeing Clearly - A Just 3 Minutes Story 12/03/2024

Seeing Clearly - A Just 3 Minutes Story Sometimes our vision, opinions, and judgment, becomes clouded. It's amazing what a fresh look at life can to help us see clearly again! As a new year begins, let's try looking at one another with a fresh set of eyes, and look for what we have in common instead of what divides us! /episode/index/show/awidowstale/id/34252425

A Thanksgiving with Moonshiners and Missionaries 11/26/2024

A Thanksgiving with Moonshiners and Missionaries I'll never forget what happened in the Zickafoose sisters cabin the Thanksgiving day the moonshiners arrived. Once you hear this, you won't forget it either. /episode/index/show/awidowstale/id/25037790

AFTERBIRTH 11/19/2024

AFTERBIRTH How long did it take you to deliver your children? I lost my husband when our son was newly sixteen. His birth was relatively painless, since it was a C-section. (The recovery from surgery, was not much fun, but epidurals are pretty amazing things.) But it was just this month, when he turned 26, that I delivered the placenta. This is the story of a mother's love and the length of time it often takes us to finish birthing our children. /episode/index/show/awidowstale/id/20399099

Hauling Ass to Hospice 11/11/2024

Hauling Ass to Hospice When you get that call that someone is dying, you leap in the car and go. Death doesn't keep an appointment book and cancer plays by its own rules. /episode/index/show/awidowstale/id/33879962

Hurricane Helene and Me 10/13/2024

Hurricane Helene and Me The catastrophic events of climate change (like hurricanes, wildfires, tornadoes, and floods) force you to abandon your sense of safety. /episode/index/show/awidowstale/id/33435572

A Reason for Thanksgiving 11/11/2023

A Reason for Thanksgiving I remember writing a report in 3rd grade on the reason for Thanksgiving. Mine was a little different than Tommy Spencer's. But then, I didn't dress up in a headband with a rooster feather in it either. /episode/index/show/awidowstale/id/28595553

Turning With the Season: What Do You See? 10/24/2023

Turning With the Season: What Do You See? No matter what is happening in the world of man, nature has her own rhythm. Something amazing is often right in front of us, but in our rush to "accomplish something" we miss it. Take a break to listen to this story about just such an almost-missed opportunity, and then take a break to walk in nature and see what she's up to. What you find is likely to delight and surprise you. And, who can't use a little delight and surprise these days? /episode/index/show/awidowstale/id/28411529

Life for Sale 10/03/2023

Life for Sale Have we gotten to the point where our lives are for sale? /episode/index/show/awidowstale/id/28210529

Time Is Running Out 09/06/2023

Time Is Running Out It feels like time is running out to do what we came here to do. How are you spending your days these days? /episode/index/show/awidowstale/id/27955704

Big Change 08/19/2023

Big Change When you sell your house, it's a lot of change all at once. I've been finding hidden messages at the back of the sock drawer, flipping through memories from childhood, teen times, and adulthood. Memory after memory flashes from every corner, from every found item. Some of our memories are like life preservers, they hold us up when we're in deep water. But other memories speak to all that went wrong. And those memories are an anchor that drags us down to the bottom and holds us there until we run out of either courage or breath. Our memories are our stories. And our stories remind us that each moment of our lives is a sacred place in time. /episode/index/show/awidowstale/id/27797487

Meeting Racism 07/21/2023

Meeting Racism I like to think of myself as discriminating (in a good way) but not prejudiced. But in today's times, it's important to think about how we contribute to prejudicial attitudes about other people based on political opinion or childhood conditioning. This is the story of how I first met racism and the way that impacts my life today. /episode/index/show/awidowstale/id/27529839

THE BOARDING HOUSE: A Bed and a Meal for $10 a Week 06/28/2023

THE BOARDING HOUSE: A Bed and a Meal for $10 a Week This isn't the first time America has had a housing crisis. A recent encounter with a homeless camp brought back a story about my great-grandmother. Twice widowed, she solved a problem for herself and for others. Maybe it's time to let stories from the hard times of the past inspire how we address problems today. /episode/index/show/awidowstale/id/27315693

Put Your Money in the Mattress 06/02/2023

Put Your Money in the Mattress I think most of us worry about money more than we'd like to admit. No matter how much we have, it seems like it's never enough. But have we entered a time like the one that made my Grandmom put her money in the mattress? Listen to her story, and mine. Maybe it's time to give that idea some new consideration. /episode/index/show/awidowstale/id/27026139

Never Forget: People Died to Keep You Free 05/27/2023

Never Forget: People Died to Keep You Free With all the political huffing and puffing in advance of the 2024 election cycle, the big issues we face as Americans are, again, off the table. Affordable health care, homelessness, food insecurity, mass shootings and more. Social media is slicing and dicing us like a red tomato into little voting segments. We're being fear-mongered into seeing each other as dangerous. Is that the America you want? Let's come together and prevent a second Civil War. This Memorial Day, let's take back our freedom. People died to keep you free. Honor that. /episode/index/show/awidowstale/id/26966769

The Hangin' 04/18/2023

The Hangin' God has a strange way of putting us exactly where he wants us to be. /episode/index/show/awidowstale/id/26576970

Born from Stories and Mystery 03/30/2023

Born from Stories and Mystery The formation of a human soul is complex business. As children we sift through ideas but also marinate in the stories of our family and the rituals that are passed down from one generation to the next. This is the story of one such formation. /episode/index/show/awidowstale/id/26394267

Rescue Mission 03/03/2023

Rescue Mission After hearing a Easter sermon about "taking up my cross" I saw a cat torture and kill a baby bird. And thus my ministry to save the birds of Elm street was born. /episode/index/show/awidowstale/id/26121792

Stories by Donna Marie Todd

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