The young man who stood alone on the pier, gazing out at Lake Michigan was different from me in many ways—his age, his ethnicity, and his style of clothing, to name a few. But like me, he obviously had come to the beach on this warm, fall afternoon to enjoy the gorgeous day and picturesque view. Because I’m a shy, quiet person, it never occurred to me to speak with him. But my girlfriend Cathy is … [Read more...]

Boom! Pop! The house shook and the lights went out. “What's going on…?” a teenager called in disbelief. The house was plunged into darkness. No more Christmas lights twinkling at the window, or a brightly lit tree. No more Christmas movie on television or Bing Crosby crooning over the speakers. Computers waned on battery power and cell phones--already at low battery near day’s end--were … [Read more...]

As I write this on Christmas day, thirteen of our favorite people in the whole wide world aren't even here yet, but already it's been a blessed Christmas. A bittersweet one, since it's our first Christmas without my mom. And yet, my heart is full of joy and happy memories. We celebrated with Ken's mom and two of his brothers Christmas Eve. Our fun tradition the last few years has been to go out … [Read more...]

The authors of Inspired by Life...and Fiction wish you a very blessed Christmas! This Sunday feature is brought to you by ClashEntertainment.com. You may sign up to receive a beautiful photo with scripture in your inbox each morning or view the verse each day online. … [Read more...]

My daughter's second grade Sunday School class presented a nativity play to their parents this past weekend.  The play came complete with a narrator (the teacher in the red shirt in the below photo), dialogue, costumes, and hymns. The kids closed their performance by singing Joy to the World, which caused me to wonder about the history behind one my  favorite Christmas carols.  So I looked … [Read more...]