For Those Standing on the Edge

  ​“Put Christ back into Xmas,” we often hear at this time of year, as if X stood for the unknown in an equation, rather than the Greek letter chi for Χρίστος (Christos). But as Timothy Larsen points out, no one took Christ out of Christmas. Despite all the hoopla over Santa, most people are aware of the baby laid in a manger, of angels and stars and shepherds somewhere in the story, and they long for a moment of holy awe. Think of the ending to Charles Schultz’s “Charlie Brown Christmas.” Who doesn’t get goosebumps listening to Linus recite Luke 2? And modern secularists love the moment as much as believers. 

Bringing Good from Evil in Afghanistan

This summer in Vacation Bible School we reenacted Saul’s conversion. We made gray paper chains and carried them to “Damascus.” We circled the room muttering threats against those awful Christians who kept preaching that God wanted us to trust in Jesus rather than follow a list of rules. 

No, Not This LeAnne

 

 ​When I ran across an author named Leanne Smith, I had to check her out. After all, the first twenty-one years of my life that was MY name! I enjoyed her Leaving Independence. It was realistic and well researched. The romance was compelling without taking over the story. (I am NOT a fan of books whose main point is finding true love.) Smith’s characters are mature and concerned about things beyond romance.

I recently got to read an advance copy of her new book Alone in a Cabin. It is romantic suspense with a twist of history. 
 

What It We All Served Our Country?

 ​It’s noisy at our place on the lake in northern Wisconsin. It’s Fourth of July weekend and everybody and their cousins have come to the lake. Speed boat wakes set our swim raft bouncing. A small plane climbs over the water from the airfield a mile up the road. Children laugh and squeal as they splash. (I LOVE the sound of children laughing! Boomboxes not so much.

It’s a time when we eat hotdogs, watch fireworks, and consider what this country means to us. For some it is freedom to choose, to control their own destinies. For others that promise of freedom has yet to be realized. We struggle politically, socially and economically, yet we all love this land and long to see her live up to the greatness of her ideals.

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Guilt and Glitter

  ​Please welcome Stephanie Landem to “My Times and Places.” I first met Stephanie at a critique group we were both a part of and soon recognized a sister in the Lord. She was unpublished at the time. It has been fun to see her grow as a writer. I loved her biblical fiction, especially The Tomb, ​the story of Martha of Bethany. She just released In A Far-Off Land. It’s still biblical fiction in a way—a retelling of one of Jesus’ most well-known parables, this time set in 1930s Hollywood. It’s a wonderful read with great characters you will really care about!

 

Rent Hearth Stones

​​I’m a book person. I have a tendency to get behind in the magazines I want to read. Christianity Today is at the top of my list because it grapples with faith in a real-world context. Recently I ran across the December 2018 issue I seem to have missed in a pile (although I did recognize some articles I had read on-line at the time.) From the opening “Editor’s Note” it lamented this awful year. After 2020, I was hard pressed to come up with what had been so bad about 2018. I had to look it up—hurricanes, forest fires, school shootings, international atrocities and violence. Yeah, pretty bad stuff. And even when Coronavirus is over, bad things will continue to happen.

 

Beginning of the End?

 

“I’m excited,” I said, surprised to feel the flutter of my heart.

 
“Me too,” my husband admitted with a grin.
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