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Finding Hope - By Nancy J. Farrier

Photo by Ron Smith on Unsplash I published the first part of this post in April 2019. The last part is an update. Blind! I’m going to go blind. The thought swirled through my mind in a nauseating repeat. Yesterday the ophthalmologist confirmed the diagnosis that I had glaucoma. No cure. No going back. Possible blindness. I sailed through the first day after receiving the news. I can do this.…

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LENT IS BEYOND SPECIAL by Vicki Hinze

  Lent 2025 started March 5th and continued for the next six weeks, ending April 17th  (Holy Thursday for Catholics) and April 19th (the day before Easter) for other Christians. Lent is a special time for all Christians.  It’s a time of repentance, of denying oneself something significant to honor Jesus’s spending forty days in the desert, facing temptation and preparing for what was to…

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Doves - Symbol of the Holy Spirit

The Dove, symbol for the Holy Spirit. Throughout the Bible, the dove is a messenger of peace, restoration, and safety. The dove returns to Noah bringing an olive branch to show the flood had ended. After Jesus was baptized in the river Jordan, the Holy Spirit descended onto Him like a dove. Doves hide and nest in rocks and caves. We hear their moaning, sad, mournful calls. They are symbols of…

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God and King by James R. Coggins

In His trials before His crucifixion, Jesus was asked two key questions. The high priest asked Jesus, “Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?” (Mark 14:61 NIV). The Greek word for “Blessed One” is eulogetos (from which we get our English word “eulogy”). It is a word compounded of eu (good) and logos (word, something said) and thus means “to speak well of” or “to praise.” Thus, the high…

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From Palms to Praise: Finding Hope in the Easter Journey

There’s something sacred about the rhythm of Holy Week—the way it carries us from the joyful shouts of “Hosanna!” on Palm Sunday to the somber stillness of Good Friday, and finally to the life-giving joy of Easter Sunday. Each moment tells a piece of the greatest love story ever written. Palm Sunday: The Promise of a King Palm Sunday is a day of celebration. Jesus enters Jerusalem, not on a…

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Human-Trafficking Awareness by Vicki Hinze

  In 2018, I wrote an article on Human-Trafficking Awareness.  Back then, it wasn’t on many people’s radars.  Today, word of it is more prevalent but because the topic is so distasteful, many turn their heads and ignore it.  We all wish there was no need for the topic to be newsworthy or to even exist, but there is, and it does. We need to be aware (or to become aware) to protect ourselves and…

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The Name of God by James R. Coggins

Most English translations of the Old Testament use two versions of the word “Lord.” “LORD,” in all capitals, translates the word YHWH, which is the name God revealed to Moses (Exodus 3:13-15). It means “I am,” referring to the God who truly exists and is ever-present. “Lord” usually translates Adonai, a more generic name for a lord/ruler/god. Sometimes, the translations use “Lord GOD” to…

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Play Day by Tara Randel

If you’ve read any of my blogs, you will recall that my daughter and I love to take a day off and go to Disney World. We’re annual passholders and take advantage of the close proximity to the park in order to have a play day. Right now, the Flower and Garden Festival is featured at Epcot. If there is one thing they do well at the park, it is creating beautiful, landscaped gardens and character…

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RANDOM THOUGHTS OF NOT ENOUGH by Vicki Hinze

I’m in a “random thoughts” kind of mood this morning, and I hope you’ll indulge me so we can discover where this leads together. I’ve been thinking about helping others and when it is good and when it is not.  About wanting to help more but not feeling confident of being positioned to do so. In this case, I’m talking about helping other writers.  But with health issues of late, I’ve hesitated.  I…

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NO ONE WAS SUPPOSED TO DIE

New Review via Christians Read by Kathy Carmichael

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Part Two: The Modern World and Christian Churches by James R. Coggins

In an earlier blog, I wrote about the great movements that shaped Western civilization and thus the modern world—the Renaissance and Enlightenment with their emphasis on reason, science, and the pre-eminence of humanity, on the one hand, and the Romantic movement, with its emphasis on emotion and nature. In this blog, I will explore some of the parallels and interconnections between these great…

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Guarding Our Words: A Sinner’s Reflection on Girl Talk, Gossip, and Un-Godly Bloodletting!

I’m going to DIVE IN because there’s just no other way. I’ve written and rewritten this column too many times already but, honestly, as a Christian, a sinner, a woman with her sins constantly set before her, I’m spent. As writers, we know, better than most. Words hold power. We use words every day to communicate the deepest of human needs, heartaches, joys, fears, and fantastical imaginings. Our…

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Where do you recharge?

As a suspense author, I’m a huge fan of setting my stories in the mountains for multiple reasons. Not only are the mountains breathtaking, but they are one of the places where I see God’s majesty displayed everywhere. Mountains make a great setting for suspense. Whether it’s for hiding the villain, or creating a surprise attack, they allow me to spread my suspense wings, and act as silent…

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Walking Another’s Path by Vicki Hinze

Walking Another’s Path by Vicki Hinze   One of the hardest things a parent can experience is watching their child go through life, and—boom!—you see trouble ahead unless they change paths. If the child is young, you guide them, counsel them, direct them away from danger or pain.    But the older the child becomes, the more independent s/he becomes.  The sphere of influence broadens to friends,…

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AI...It's Not Going Away

How many times have you started a text, email, or a letter and a message pops up from AI wanting to help you? Bugs me to no end. I’m a writer. I don’t need AI’s help. Or do I? If I’m honest, I do sometimes. I definitely need it for spellcheck. Then there are times when what I’ve written isn’t quite right, and if I click on the “corrections” AI wants to make, the sentence sounds better. However,…

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The Making of the Modern World (Part One) by James R. Coggins

It is indisputable that the modern world has been dominated by Western civilization, based in Europe and North America. English, itself an amalgam of European languages, is the established norm for international communication, used by air traffic controllers all over the world, for instance. But what is the character of Western civilization? What are the central philosophies behind modern…

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A God of Second Chances by Vicki Hinze

  The Bible is full of cases where God proved He was the God of second chances.  He created us, knows our every wound and scar, and all that leads us to make mistakes.  It is by forgiveness and grace that He gave us a way to accept responsibility for our errors, to repent, and make amends: 1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from…