When I became a Christian in 1974, God seemed to care about a great many things. He cared about what I read and watched. He cared about how I dressed, how I spent my time, and how I spoke. He seemed to care about everything, even down to how I thought about things. The church had an opinion about many things too. I must admit, the two were not always the same. So, I studied the scriptures and sided with God where the two diverged in the woods. If you recognize the reference

Cain was cursed by God, so if he gets a bad rap, it’s deserved. Be that as it may, the one thing that he’s remembered for saying is a legitimate question. He used it to try and deflect God’s attention from his more serious crime, and the question went unanswered. The assumption among most folks is that the answer is “yes”. It seems almost needless to say that I disagree with that assumption. I am not my brother’s keeper, and I don’t want to be. I love him too much for that.

During the closing days of 1941, the “Greatest Generation” began marching off to war. Their heroism is the stuff of legends. Their dedication, sacrifice, and patriotism are beyond reproach. They deserve to be called the Greatest Generation. Line upon line of white tombstones around the world are a testimony to that. Without taking a thing from them, I want to tell a story of faith, loyalty, and dedication patterned after St. Paul’s hall of heroes. The eleventh chapter of He

When I was born seventy-some years ago, I came with pre-loaded software. The combination of my parents' DNA determined that I was to have brown eyes, black hair, and grow to be five feet eight inches tall. If you believe writers are born, not made, there is that too. I am thankful to my parents for all those things, even my propensity to be overweight. But how much did my birth make me my father’s son? When I look in the mirror, I can see traces of him in my reflection. He

And as he reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come, Felix trembled, and answered, Go thy way for this time; when I have a convenient season, I will call for thee. Acts 24:25 Paul was in prison (again) for being a troublemaker. The charge, as it should be for every Christian, was true. His preaching upset the established order from the synagogue to the councils of the church to the throne room. Paul’s defense struck a chord with Felix, and that is always t

What does a writer think about before starting a new work? Obviously, I can’t speak for everyone. My own answer varies from book to book. As I’m about to start book three in the Tettias series, I thought I’d let you peek behind the scenes. On the offhand you’re the one person in the world who has not read Trails of Troubles and Roads of Battle, I’ll bring you up to date. Bryn Bou, our hero, is planning to drop out of the military academy just before graduation. To complicat

I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain. Galatians 2:20-21 I have misquoted this passage for years. I believe I’m not alone in that mistake. My eyes and my ears led me to that conclusion. I’m not ashamed to ad

Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. For if these things be in you, and abound, the

Many people think outside their comfort zone means doing something new. That attitude is for wimps. My comfort zone takes in anything integrity, honor, and duty require. Being the one to provoke the displeasure of supervisors or the crowd fits right in my comfort zone, though they are uncomfortable acts with uncomfortable consequences. Outside my comfort zone means being willing to look like a fool doing something absolutely untried before, simply because life calls for it. A

Taking something that does not belong to you is called theft. God has a commandment against it, society laws against it, and people with integrity shun it. God declares Himself the same yesterday, today, and forever. So, that commandment isn’t going away. Can the same be said for our present distaste for the practice? The rampant practice of theft in our modern society argues against it. I’m not speaking about taking someone’s physical, personal property like their car or t

Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. John 14:6 I dropped my pen at church last week, and it rolled under the seat. I told myself I’d get it when the service was over, but of course, I forgot. When I returned today, the pen was still there. However, the tip and the reservoir holding the ink was gone. Only an empty shell remained. I was more surprised than disappointed. I did not expect to find the pen at al

“…with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.” Most Americans would instantly recognize the opening lines of our Declaration of Independence. A few might recognize the grievances it outlines as the inspiration for our constitutional protections. It is a rare thing indeed to hear anyone mention the pledge that is the true strength of the document. The men who signed the Declara

“But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain…” 1 Corinthians 15:10 Popeye declared, “I am what I am, and that’s all what I am,” many years ago. Since then, people seem to spend ever more time on concerns about their identity. Christians needlessly grasp for ways to be more than they are and mourn over perceived deficiencies. We do it even though we cannot make one hair white or black, and why? If what the grace of God h

Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. Luke 13:4-5 Every story needs a villain. The story of the Gospel is no different. But just who is the villain of the Gospel? The ready answer might be the Devil, but he plays such a small role that seems unlikely. Judas Iscariot tends to be mentioned more as an as

Like most authors, I’ve often asked where I get my inspiration. I wish I knew. I don’t think inspiration is one of those things that a person can “get” or find by searching for it. Having been a nurse for so many years, my preferred definition of the word is “the act of drawing in”. Although my Christian experience convinced me of that before I became a nurse. I believe inspiration finds a person rather than the other way around. Creation was spoken into existence from not

Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you. 1 Peter 5:6-7 Peter says the scriptures were written by holy men of God as they were moved by the holy ghost. Every Christian church agrees and lists divine inspiration and inerrancy of the scriptures as an article of faith. They believe it until living it gets in the way. I offer the practical application of the above verses a

I’m what some people in the writing community call a Pantser. That is, I write by the seat of my pants, no plotting, no planning, just take a flicker of an idea and start writing. I was an Air Force aircraft crew chief, pastor, and registered nurse before becoming a writer. A thread of unpredictability seems to run through them all. Just when I thought I’d seen it all…surprise! I can’t say all those surprises were pleasant. Every one of them was building material for my lif

“…a certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return. And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said to them, “Occupy till I come”.” Luke 18:12-13 The outside world is hyper-focused upon and very vocal about things Christians should not do. Sadly, many Christians have the same obsession. That does not mean that Christians should be blind to snares and pitfalls set for them. Awareness is fine. It is not meant t

Life is given to us without our consent. We weren’t asked if we wanted it. We were not asked when or where we preferred to receive it. We had no say as to who would work the physical reality of our creation. We were just kind of dropped into life. What’s more, we have no real say about how long we can keep this life. However long that may be, it is certain that we will face situations, not of our making, and that are beyond our control. It is also sure that the situations w

But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree: and he requested for himself that he might die; and said, It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers. 1 Kings 19:4 Elijah the prophet seems to have had no happy medium. In my experience, neither do all the preachers who cite him in their sermons. James calls him a man “subject to like passions as we are”. Overthrowing Ahab’s prophets o