In the midst of WWI, while all the earth round Ypres lay ripped and torn, trees blown to kindling and men to less, a young Canadian soldier noticed clusters of blood-red poppies in full bloom, sprung from ground freshly turned for burials of his comrades. John McCrae penned a poem that has become synonymous with WWI, and with our call …
I just returned from a family reunion—the first time this branch of my family has gathered in nearly 30 years. I didn’t want to miss the opportunity to reconnect, or to bear witness while the old guard, our parents’ generation of wise mentors, walk among us. But what I learned shook me to my core. As in every family, we have …
My husband has a saying that begins our every road trip, “When we’re lost, enjoy the scenery.” That used to drive my let’s-just-drive-from-Point-A-to-Point-B nature crazy, but I’ve come to see that I can either embrace the journey that is—with all its twists and turns—or make myself miserable by wishing everything was different, shorter, clearer. I think that’s true for writers, …
Chuck Colson, founder of Prison Fellowship, was ushered home this week. Knowing that a man so practical, so no-nonsense and down to earth, aware of the deep needs of others and of society at large has gone before, the veil between this world and eternity seems more thinly drawn. We’ve a glimpse over Jordan of a man walking on (maybe …
“Confronted with the persecution and murder of Europe’s Jews, witnesses had a choice of whether or not to intervene.” –from The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum’s article, “CHOOSING TO ACT: STORIES OF RESCUE.” Conflicting testimonies abound regarding how much everyday citizens who lived during the years of the Holocaust knew—here, in Germany, Poland, France, England, and more. Some have claimed, “We …
The story’s resemblance to the Titanic tragedy was uncanny. Some called it “prophetic.” Fourteen years before the “ship of dreams” foundered, Morgan Robertson published a novella, Futility or The Wreck of the Titan (1898). The thrilling fictional story, with its palatial and virtually “unsinkable ship” of a similar sounding name, its shortage of lifeboats, its fateful April collision with a …
When the services of Holy Week were held 100 years ago in Southampton, England, port of launch for Titanic’s maiden voyage, sea-going men and women had no idea that it would likely be their last Holy Week—let alone their last full week—with their families. Saturday, between Good Friday and Easter Sunday, was the designated day for crew to sign aboard …
A worldwide fleet of Titanic novels, histories, dramas, musicals, documentaries and films have launched during this year’s 100th anniversary of the luxury liner’s maiden voyage and sinking. Christian fiction authors, determined to find messages of hope and redemption in Titanic’s wake, have not missed the boat. The list includes, in order of release: Promise Me This, by Cathy …
Amazon recently compiled a list of “Great Reads for Downton Abbey Fans,” and to my delight, included Promise Me This! Watching Seasons I and II of Downton Abbey was like watching the research for Promise Me This race across my television screen: England and France in living color. I was mesmerized by the lavish costumes, the wonderfully drawn characters—upstairs and …
The greening of the forest outside my office window has come. Skunk cabbage raises its impertinent, emerald head along the Laurel Run, beckoning me to explore the creek banks in search of spring. Bright blue periwinkle crowds the ground cover in the garden outside my kitchen. Daffodil leaves have not only pushed through a rain-wet earth, but have grown straight …