Today commemorates the 22nd anniversary of 9/11, a day the United States should never forget.
Personal
Do You Tsundoku?
You may have heard of the numerical Sudoku game, but I play a much better game. And a lot more fun. Tsundoku. Do you tsundoku? That may be unfair, so let me have the Cambridge online dictionary give you the definition: The practice of buying a lot of books and keeping them in a pile because you intend to read them but have not done so yet; also used to refer to the pile itself. Until I recently …
When God Calls
Recently, I was on a work trip to Richmond, VA, to visit the International Mission Board. As a military missionary, the work of vocational mission training is at my very core. My heart is for the nations, and I pray often that revival will sweep through the warrior class today. While touring the building, I came across a wall of honor. These carefully curated memorials cause onlookers to pause and …
Be a Re-Reader
Maybe you’ve heard of C. S. Lewis. Some people consider him to have been a fairly smart man. A literary superhero, even, who once wrote, “An unliterary man may be defined as one who reads books once only. . . . We do not enjoy a story fully at the first reading. Not till the curiosity, the sheer narrative lust, has been given its sop and laid asleep, are we at leisure to savour the real beauties. …
Adopting an Author (Not in a Legal Sense)
Most authors find the promotion part of publishing a book at best challenging and, at worse, a necessary evil. Some authors enjoy it, seeing it as an important part of getting a book noticed and into the hands of readers. The antidote to this entire platform thing is to first think about readers and those you will influence through your work. It’s a borderline magic potion to enjoying the …
A Long Weekend
Since tomorrow is a U.S. holiday, many people are taking today as a holiday, too, creating a four-day weekend. Enjoy.
Handling Disappointment
I do not like to experience disappointment. I do not like rejection, even when it isn’t my personal project being turned down. I do not like to be the bearer of bad news. And yet I do experience disappointment, rejection, and the telling of bad news–every week. That is the nature of the arts. The arts (meaning music, writing, dance, and painting) are comprised of thousands of hours of …
20 Books That Molded Me
I’ve read thousands of books in my lifetime. I’ve written on this blog about why I read and about my annual reading plan. I’ve posted about how to read more. So, yeah, I read a lot. Wanna make something of it? Where was I? Oh yeah. Over the course of my decades of reading, I’ve even kept a record of the books I’ve read. So, not only can I tell you (if not by memory at least by a quick …
A Holy Week Meditation
With this being the week before Easter, I thought I’d take a moment to explore a thought which can be used for contemplation. When studying Luke 18:1-8 and the parable of the persistent widow, I came across an interesting thought. For the unbeliever, prayers are understood to be a transaction. We give, we get; or through begging, bribery, cajoling, intimidation, or even persistence, we feel …
A New Book Co-authored by Gilbert Morris and Steve Laube
I’m very pleased that tomorrow, March 21, is the official publication date for my new book called Write Your First Novel. The purpose of this book is to help those who are starting their fiction-writing journey. It teaches the basics and may give some needed help to that struggling writer. There is a fun backstory as to how this book came about. I quote from the preface: Many years ago, I …