Working with words for a living has sensitized me to the need for a second—even third or fourth—set of eyes on anything anyone writes. Especially my jottings. Good proofreading is indeed priceless. Several years ago, I drafted a blog that contained some deep personal significance. Soon after it posted, I sent a copy of the…
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Since it’s self-published by Samaritan Ministries and initially printed in a modest quantity, Sharing the Burden isn’t likely to be a candidate for any bestseller lists in the near future. Still, having done two rounds of editing on this book, I can recommend it to anyone who wants to know more about Christian healthcare sharing…
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We’ve already slipped past the first month of 2020. But when it comes to New Year’s resolutions, I’m a slow starter. In the crush of deadlines and year-end records, I rarely find time to resolve to do much new during the new year, other than keep pace with my “to-do” lists. Still, I think it’s…
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The state of Louisiana and the southeastern Ohio town where star quarterback Joe Burrow grew up are cheering LSU’s just-concluded national championship football season. Yet, I can imagine the thrills are much more subdued for offensive coordinator Steve Ensminger. Losing a daughter-in-law in a plane crash the day of the semi-finals makes national accolades fade…
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As I had feared for the previous two years, in October our local Sears store closed, following the path of hundreds of others around the country. Among them was the one in my hometown in northern Ohio. The “Retail Apocalypse” has become a reality. Alas, not only is Sears where I got our lawnmower, it’s…
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The song has been out for more than a decade. Yet after a recent worship gathering where two musicians sang “Your Grace Still Amazes Me,” it made me list of favorites (again). It’s not that I hadn’t heard the song before. However, like so many it had faded into the recesses of memory, displaced by…
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After Wild Card weekend, we are on the verge of the second round of the NFL playoffs. It’s an occasion I greet with enthusiasm. That comes from growing up watching the greatest running back of all time—Jim Brown—play for the Cleveland Browns. Yet, no matter who your favorite team, this year we can all have…
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It’s been a long time since I became a John Grisham fan, thanks to a friend loaning me two of his early novels. Having since caught up with all his releases, I grab the latest once a year, usually as a vacation read. Though Grisham has written many, it’s one of those earlier novels that…
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Just when you blinked your eyes to open 2019, it’s almost time to close out the year. Although it is fading into history, I learned a lesson in recent weeks that will stay with me for a long time. It happened during a nail-biting week when two worry-fests proved to be a waste of time.…
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The University of Minnesota’s dreams of an undefeated football season came crashing to earth with its pre-Thanksgiving loss to Iowa (followed by another loss to Wisconsin). Still, I know my father—a 1947 Minnesota grad—would have enjoyed the media attention generated this fall by the Golden Gophers. But with Christmas less than a week away, more…
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