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People of the Book

OK, class, repeat after me… For God so loved the world that he gave his only Book. Whoever believes in that Book shall not perish but have eternal life. What? You say you’ve memorized another version?...

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On the Spur of the Moment

Ten minutes before a conference this afternoon, I spotted my co-worker Randy Montgomery in someone else’s office. On the spur of the moment, I stuck my head in the door and said, “Hey, Randy, you might...

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The Opinionated Society

I used to think outrageous opinions were peculiar to broadcast news commentators, a way to capture and hold high ratings in the highly competitive world of electronic media. Lately, though, I’ve...

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Filling the Voids

A chipmunk brought down our air conditioner a few weeks ago. Where the A/C line runs underground, there was just enough space (about an inch) for the little bugger to burrow in and chew the insulation...

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A Life of Dependency

Two days ago, I had surgery to repair a ruptured tendon in my left shoulder, so now I’m pursuing a regimen of exercises to strengthen it. My medical team says I’ll need to wear a sling for at least 12...

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Staying Flexible

I went “under the knife” two weeks ago to repair a severed tendon in my left shoulder. The surgeon did some amazing work, judging by the photos I’ve seen, and he hopes I will regain a fair amount of...

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October Twilight

Golden sunlight blankets the yard of my back-door neighbor, where an aspen tree has already begun sprinkling its burley-orange leaves across the grass. A whisper of breeze flutters its garment and a...

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A Writer’s Reading Plan

Author Bob Hostetler shared one of his writing secrets at last Saturday’s meeting of the American Christian Writer’s Association, Indiana Chapter: his annual reading plan. Bob’s topic was “Read, Pray,...

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Places in the Heart

My thirty-something daughter was going through an emotionally wrenching experience when she sent me a text message: “I wish the kids and I could come see you now.” So I painted a word picture of a...

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Saints with 5 O’Clock Shadow

It’s easy to find novels that caricature Christian people; I read two of them this summer. Driftless, by David Rhodes, is an award-winning volume about contemporary life in rural Wisconsin. Rhodes is...

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How to Portray Well-Known People

Lee Daniels’ film “The Butler” tells the story of Cecil Gaines, an African-American man who served as butler for eight Presidents. The casting was masterful, but the casting director didn’t attempt to...

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“If you think this is bad…”

This winter’s extreme weather has awakened a dormant trait that I hoped I would never display: generational oneupsmanship. When a “polar vortex” brought record-cold temperatures to the Midwest earlier...

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Visit My New Blog

Today, I start a new blog on life in the Southern Mountains.  I grew up there (East Tennessee), still visit family there, and often go there in my fiction writing. You may find you have some things in...

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Time Is Running Out

I was 12 years old when Darrell Sovine preached a series of revival sermons at my home church in Johnson City, Tennessee–old enough to realize that I was about to step into adulthood, “with all the...

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Turning Inside-Out

I heard Amanda Luedeke, an agent for the MacGregory Literary Agency, speak to our Indiana chapter of the American Christian Fiction Writers in Fort Wayne last month about how authors can build a more...

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A Little Writing Music

Most writers I know like to have some sort of music playing while they write. At the moment, I’m listening to Stephen Watkins’ weekly choral music program, “For the God Who Sings,” from the Australian...

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Writing as Thinking

Johnson reportedly said to Boswell, “Sir, when a man knows he is to be hanged in a fortnight, it concentrates his mind wonderfully.” Likewise when our thoughts might become public. Any act of writing...

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Chair Practice

My wife and I recently began daily yoga exercises–a bit of a challenge because of my arthritic knees, so we use a half-hour instructional video of gentle yoga from Moffitt Cancer Center. This is called...

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“Do Your Best with Every Piece”

Philip Gulley spoke at last week’s Indiana Faith and Writing Conference at Anderson University, where he told how he first gained a national readership. It began when he was pastor of a Quaker church...

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Self-Publishing and Integrity

There’s nothing inherently dishonest about publishing your own work. Some of the most notable Christian authors of all time started that way, including Dennis Rainey, Larry Burkett, and R.T. Kendall....

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