We found ourselves ordering so often on Amazon during 2020’s lockdowns, largely because we weren’t able to find items on local store shelves, that we turned Prime into a monthly habit. The bonus: being able to stream Amazon programming on my laptop (and later on our flatscreen TV). That temporarily replaced our tradition of watching…
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As the grandson of a man who emigrated from Ukraine to western Canada in the late 1800s, the eastern European nation’s name has always been familiar to me. Interesting how much relevance Ukraine assumed on the U.S. national stage after Russia’s late-February invasion. Suddenly everyone started flying yellow-and-blue flags. It has also become a one-word…
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Now that nearly three months have passed since we “sprang forward,” I’ve finally adjusted to the time change and am starting to feel better. With dust out of my eyes and cobwebs cleared from my brain, I hope that Congress does the right thing and puts an end to clock changes. The Senate has taken…
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Anyone who appreciates great musical harmonies and heartfelt lyrics in a country mix grieved the recent death of singer Naomi Judd. But we who live in the Tri-State Area encompassed by eastern Kentucky, southern Ohio, and western West Virginia felt the loss closely. Not because we knew the Ashland, Kentucky native personally; that number was…
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Were many of my extended family members alive, no one would be more horrified about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine than my aunt and uncle. They owned a small apartment building on Chicago’s Near North Side. Before shifting demographics changed the neighborhood, they lived in an area largely populated by Eastern European immigrants, whether Ukrainians, Poles,…
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Even though he wrote seven books, his name isn’t in the annals of best-selling authors. Yet when Romey Swanson died in late March at the age of 82, I lost a great friend. We got to know each other 30 years ago at a banquet he organized for contributors to Hands Extended. This crisis pregnancy…
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13th in a series: Read Part 12 or Go to Beginning Recently, I got one of those “I’d love to write for a career” inquiries. While I would never discourage anyone from following their passion, my standard reply begins: “Don’t quit your day job.” That may sound like I’m being sarcastic, but I’m quite serious. As…
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12th in a series: Read Part 11 or Go to Beginning At the first major Christian writers conference I ever attended, author Jerry Jenkins made a comment I’ve never forgotten: “I’m the most famous writer you never heard of.” Back then, Jerry had already written a number of New York Times best-sellers, working with some famous…
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11th in a series: Read Part 10 or Go to Beginning After more than 30 years on the roller coaster of freelancing, you’d think I’d be used to the ups and downs. Which is why, just three months ago, I was surprised when I battled a case of nerves like I hadn’t experienced in years. It…
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10th in a series: Read Part Nine or Go to Beginning My fortuitous trip to California for the Mount Hermon Christian Writers Conference landed the first contract for a book I had coauthored that was released by a traditional publisher. While that felt good, a couple of months prior to this trip, I experienced a separate…
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