I have discovered a wonderful book: Food at the Time of the Bible, by Miriam Feinberg Vamosh. I use it as I write, of course, because I can't have my first-century characters sit down to eat something that didn't exist in their part of the world . . . or I can't have observant Jewish characters eating something that was forbidden. (I was once taken to task for having Samson eat wild rabbits, but … [Read more...]

When I was in high school, I played with the church high school hand bell choir. One day our director, Dr. Jim Whitmire, told us we had been invited to play at a local synagogue. I was surprised, to say the least, but Jim said that if we blessed the Jews, God would bless us--it's a scriptural promise. So we went and played, and God planted something in my heart that later blossomed into a … [Read more...]

People who are really good at what they do make it look easy--but usually, it's not. Becoming truly expert at something, or even good, takes years of practice. Wasn't it Malcolm Gladwell who wrote that to become expert in ANYTHING requires at least 10,000 hours of purposeful practice? That's more than one full year of doing NOTHING else--no sleeping, eating, or stretching one's legs. And of … [Read more...]

As I write this, we have just come through (or been passed over by) Hurricane Ian. We were fortunate, with damage limited to scattered fallen branches and a wee bit of rain, but others weren't so lucky. We continue to pray for the devastated communities near Fort Myers, Florida. But even though we suffered very little, much of our area is still without power. My daughter's family was at … [Read more...]

A few years ago I wrote a novel, THE DEBT, about what happens when a famous TV preacher's wife unexpectedly meets the son she gave up for adoption long before she became a Christian. That story came to me all in a rush, and I knew the Lord was in it because it convicted me. I have always believed, you see, that Jesus meant what He said when he prayed, "I pray not that you take them out of the … [Read more...]