An elderly member of our church appears to be in the final days of his life, something that has saddened many of our hearts. Years ago he escaped death in an accident, spending a month in the intensive care unit. A few years later he developed complications from the incident and wound up back in…
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As one quite familiar with fluctuating freelance income the past 35-plus years, I know how challenging it is to be grateful when the roller coaster takes a dive. That’s what happened after I completed a time-consuming book rewrite and editing project at the end of January. At first, I wasn’t too upset. I had completed…
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While Monday of last week marked one of the best days of 2021, it started off a loser. I awoke feeling “out of sorts,” a strange fatigue that had dogged me for two weeks. At first, I attributed the situation to a mysterious knee injury that forced me to ice it every night. However, when…
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National champions: it has a nice ring to it. Considering it doesn’t happen all that often for a mid-level major like Marshall University, winning the men’s soccer title a few weeks ago set off wild cheers around Huntington, West Virginia. It was especially sweet given the chart published in the week leading up to the…
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While this year’s NFL draft drew national network coverage and hoopla galore, a story that remained in the background concerned the faith of #1 pick Trevor Lawrence. I learned of it after the first round, when a Christian news service ran a story under the headline: “The community that helped build Trevor Lawrence.” It told…
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Earlier this year, West Virginia made national news headlines for leading the nation in the percentage of residents being vaccinated against the coronavirus. Now that the low-hanging fruit has been picked, the hard work comes. Namely, getting a large enough percentage vaccinated to promote herd immunity. And, protect society from the kind of resurgence that…
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I’ve often thought if scammers would dedicate their time and talent to productive pursuits, it might raise the nation’s GDP by several percentage points. Of course, phony fund-raising letters, million-dollar payout promises, and the like have been around for years. But a rather scary story in the latest AARP Bulletin, “Lessons from Inside the Fraud…
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The legislation brewing in Congress may seem innocuous. It even has a benevolent name: Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act. After President Joe Biden endorsed it last week in his presidential address to Congress, you’ll be hearing more about it in weeks to come. However, unless its poison pill is removed, I hope it…
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On a recent magazine assignment, I heard a fascinating story about a Christian leader’s experience while working in a major corporate environment. During board meetings, she would pray and ask the Holy Spirit for ideas, which she later brought up to her colleagues. Afterwards, some would approach to ask about the source of her out-of-the-box…
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I wish it had been an April Fool’s joke, but this month marks the first time in nearly two centuries there will not be an issue of the Western Recorder. The newspaper was a weekly affiliated with the Kentucky Baptist Convention (KBC). I began writing for it regularly after my wife and I moved to…
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