With vacation season still ongoing, it’s startling to consider the 2025-26 school year is also upon us. As the latest academic calendar unfolds, there is no better news than New York becoming the largest state to ban cellphones and other internet-enabled devices during school hours. Although the state passed the law in May, I didn’t…
Read more
Growing up, roller coasters were my favorite amusement park ride. I especially remember one at Chicago’s now-defunct Riverview Park (which offered a bird’s-eye view of Wrigley Field). As we finished, my father chuckled; apparently my 10-year-old eyes had widened to the size of saucers as I grabbed the car’s rails. But fear didn’t create the…
Read more
I recently closed my old business checking account to prevent thieves draining all the funds. It’s not so much that it happened that bothers me as much as the way it happened. I recently decided to switch internet providers to lower the price to a more reasonable level (almost $45 a month). But a mistake…
Read more
In the modern news cycle, it’s ancient to talk about HBO talk show host Bill Maher going to the White House this spring to meet with President Donald Trump. Yet, in this fractured era of clickbait when everyone is loading their weapons (and not all verbal) so they can shoot anyone who disagrees with them,…
Read more
Although I had heard the story previously, it wasn’t until a member of a Christian editors group posted again recently about her experience that I remembered it. In brief, Rachel Bradley’s husband’s death from cancer left her a single mother of a two-year-old. The proceeds from his life insurance allowed her to stop working for…
Read more
It has been a while since I led a day-long workshop for a group of Christian writers near Boston. I spent considerable time planning it, but a spontaneous comment I made in one session offered my best piece of advice that Saturday. “You want to know the key to being successful?” I asked. Then I…
Read more
As we head into the United States latest birthday celebration next week, I can’t help thinking a year ahead. That’s because 2026 will mark Uncle Sam’s 250th birthday. Technically, that will be known as the “semi-quincentennial” (no wonder it was easier to say “bicentennial” nearly 50 years ago). For me, the next July 4 will…
Read more
Every so often I encounter a story that makes me sit up, take notice, and exclaim, “Wow! Wish I had written that.” Most recently, that happened when I read an article by longtime freelancing colleague Deann Alford. Though she and I have lost touch over the years, she still turns a mean phrase. Though it’s…
Read more
Christians from various backgrounds gathering to pray ought to be common. But because of the spiritual enemy that works to keep us divided, we remain splintered. However, there are inklings that may be changing. Three months ago, I learned of a prayer movement in the Fresno, California area that has been building for three decades.…
Read more
Most folks know the acronym: FOMO, or “Fear of Missing Out.” With would-be writers, I suggest another: FOBS. That stands for “Fear of Being Stolen.” Over the years, it’s one of the first questions raised by new writers: “How can I make sure nobody steals my work?” Locked up by irrational fears over something that…
Read more
