Ask someone her greatest struggle as a Christ-follower, and she’s almost bound to say witnessing. And ask someone about the toughest audience to whom to witness, and she’s almost bound to say family.
In this space, we focus on victorious life in Christ despite adversity. But here’s an inconvenient truth: You cannot be truly victorious if you are defeated in your witness. (more…)
Last spring my oldest son got engaged. A shower would be held at my house, which necessitated finally repairing my unsightly kitchen ceiling. Then a reception hall proved unavailable, making my house the venue of choice. That, of course, necessitated more home renovations. In between, there was a second shower, wedding plans, another family wedding, Thanksgiving, then THE wedding (the week (more…)
The advent of January generally puts new wind under our sails. We wipe the sweat off our brow from the travails of the previous year, and we set high hopes for the new year. This is evidenced by the annual establishment of resolutions, many of which we simply pull out of storage and dust off. They are familiar faces, halfway between (more…)
As a writer, I’m hypercritical of books and movies. It’s hard to read a book without editing or rewriting it as I read, and it’s hard to watch a movie without calling out vapid dialog or flat storylines. But my biggest pet peeve is something all my literature and writing instructors drilled into me: A properly written story should be character-driven, not plot-driven.
The (more…)
First, I have to apologize for my brief hiatus. My full-time gig as a writer keeps me pretty busy. By the end of a normal day, I often have few words left to speak, let alone write. Add the upcoming wedding of a son to the mix, and you have one thinly stretched woman. Unfortunately, all this stretching has not added an (more…)