Freelance writers and editors have been having a tough time lately. I know because, despite several promising projects at hand, March was one of my bleakest months in years. It’s not just me. A friend and fellow freelancer recently told me of a severe slowdown in his work. In a prayer network affiliated with one…
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In a little over a week, millions will pour into America’s churches, making Sunday, Apr. 5, the biggest day of the year. It’s what some wags call the “Super Bowl of church attendance.” Yet, those who are simply putting in an annual appearance or just bringing the kids for an Easter egg hunt are likely…
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Years ago, while ghostwriting the testimony of an author from the East Coast, I glanced through parts of a book he had written. I’ve long since forgotten most of the content, but one thing that stuck out to me was a study he cited on the need to remain active after age 65. The results…
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A couple of years ago, I talked with an editor who has sent me writing or editing work on several occasions. She mentioned needing revisions on a book she was ghostwriting. One chapter in particular needed a complete revamp—and in a hurry. “How much would you charge to write a new chapter overnight?” she asked.…
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My wife and I had another anniversary last week. After 47 years, they are still special, but with age comes wisdom: Where we have dinner to mark a special occasion isn’t nearly as important as being together. I say that based on a pair of memories stemming from our time in Colorado years ago. The…
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Years ago I talked with prolific author Philip Yancey for a story in Christianity Today. It concerned the unusual step of one of his books making its debut in South America rather than the U.S. Because Yancey was an editor-at-large for CT at the time, connecting with him to get a comment was easier than…
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In the past, when someone asked, “What kind of year did you have?” my reply tended to center on one thing: how much money I made. A revenue increase meant a good year. If business had decreased, it would have been a bad year. After my second consecutive annual decline in 2025, I have learned…
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With my favorite team and a few others I follow out of the running, Super Bowl Sunday will be a bit of a non-starter for me. Likely to watch the first half, but by 9 o’clock my wife and I will tune in to the stirring PBS Masterpiece series, All Creatures Great and Small. Besides,…
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Second of two parts. Read the first part.The COVID Pandemic Scandals, Part 1 After seeing a mention online of In Covid’s Wake: How Our Politics Failed Us, I picked up the book by Princeton University professors Stephen Macdeo and Frances Lee. I have told several friends: If you read one book this year, make it…
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First of two parts Like many who hunkered down amid 2020’s COVID lockdowns and face-mask dictates, I reasoned that health and government authorities were doing the best they could in a sea of uncertainty. But after editing a book last year by a nurse practitioner who lost her license for the “crime” of prescribing early…
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