I’m Jennifer Clark Tinker and the ideas here at A Truth of a Different Color are my life’s work.
The title itself is inspired by a scene in The Wizard of Oz. Dorothy is trying to get in to see the wizard and she’s told that “nobody gets in no how.” When it is stated that she’s Dorothy Gayle of Kansas, well then that’s “a horse of a different color,” and she and her friends are welcomed inside.
And really isn’t that just the thing? What seems perfectly settled by conventional thinking, all of a suddenly takes on a new dimension when we change our perspective, dig deeper, and find a truth we hadn’t seen before.
My special interest is in digging deeper to find truths we don’t easily spot about the differences between people. I believe this is important for a lot of reasons but here are some biggies:
- We are all created differently and we can’t change that no how.
- The more different we are the more we need each other.
- Each of us are better off when we get to be who we are.
This work has been gestating in me since high school. Even in my teens I had a unique ability to see controversial issues from a wider vantage point. I could see easily that each “side” had good points. I was frustrated when opponents refused to validate even a small part of the other side’s view.
I envisioned writing A Truth of a Different Color as a book to show people how issues can be viewed more holistically. But as I say, I was in my teens then. And I had some living to do before I could see deeply and widely enough to really do this work well.
But before A Truth of a Different Color it is a book, it is a blog. The time is now to share these ideas and blogging is the bestest way I know to put them out there. Also, I can use the blog medium to gauge how ready people are to hear these ideas.
I have another blog that is about my life more generally and living out my faith in Jesus Christ. You can find that at http://jenniferclarktinker.wordpress.com. It has some spiritual reflections, some life stories, and has occasionally gotten at some of the ideas I’m expressing over here. As time goes on, the two sites will have markedly different content, thus the need for the second one.
My background is in theology (BA) and church work. I am a Lutheran Deaconess, trained by the Lutheran Deaconess Association which is based in Valparaiso, Indiana.
I have always wanted to be a writer, but I didn’t do much with that idea until the spring of 2013 when I resolved to write every day. My life has taken one dramatic turn after another since I made that choice. And I wouldn’t trade these developments for the world. Through writing, I’ve met amazing people and had surprising opportunities.
I’ve learned that I can write about a wide range of topics, but the more of a range I stretch for, the more stretched thin I feel. I actually kind-of burnt out over the summer and had to let everything drop for a time to finally realize it is time to pick this up and share with you A Truth of a Different Color.
A Truth of a Different Color 