A month or two ago, I had a fellow Tweeter ask me what Christian suspense was. I politely told them that Christian suspense was just suspense writing with a Christian theme. That got me to thinking about a question that came up in my blog about a year ago: Is there such a genre as … More Is There Such a Thing as Christian Horror?
Years ago, back in the Stone Age, I used to write music. I started while I was a student in Austria, namely because I had access to my roommate’s guitar (without his permission) and no access to a radio. Later, when I was back in the U.S., I kept it up and formed a Christian … More Just the Right Words
I just got finished watching “A Thousand Words,” a movie featuring Eddie Murphy. The story is about a book agent who develops a psychic connection to a mysterious tree. He discovers that for every word that he says–or even writes–a leaf falls from the tree. He determines–with the help of a holy man–that when the … More A Thousand Words
“Life is what happens while you’re making other plans.” —John Lennon I drank the Kool-Aid at an early age. I grew up with my mother telling me that “God has something special for you to do.” And I believed it. I believed that someday I would cure cancer, or write the Great American Novel, or … More The Trouble with Goals
I have a very nice pen in my office. I go through a lot of pens, so I am not sure how I came upon this one. It’s light blue, with a springy clip at the top so that you can clip it to things and you are less likely to lose it. The best … More The Purpose of a Pen
I love Texas. I will, however, admit that it took me a while to get to that point. Texas grows on you, which is saying a lot when you take a look at my lawn this time of year. I took a teaching job here in 1998 and moved here with my family from Idaho. … More Archive: Where Are the Green Christians?
I recently interviewed the academic dean of our fair university about something called the Success Initiative. It is a concerted action by faculty and administrators to direct the efforts of students toward “success”–that is, their ability to become the adults they should be when they graduate. It involves CORE–a series of classes that intentionally establish … More From the Archive: Unity, Not Uniformity
Tonight I got to watch the movie, “The Razor’s Edge,” based on the novel by W. Somerset Maugham. It tells the story of two young men who graduate from college in Illinois, then volunteer to drive an ambulance in France during World War I. The horrific experience they have causes one to cancel his wedding … More Archive: Root of All Evil
I heard a few days ago that Samoa is struggling with a problem. The island nation of Samoa does a lot of commerce with New Zealand and Australia. But Samoa is on the east side of the International Date Line and Australia and New Zealand are on the west side. What that means is that … More Archive: What Day Is It?
OK, first of all, I will admit. I am supposed to be writing on my novel, finishing the last few chapters of a five-year project. Instead, I am writing my blog and hoping inspiration will kick in sometime before winter. And my second caveat is that I am breaking one of my own rules. I … More Archive: The Greatest Want of the World
The Great Adventure 