This summer, when I turned to the first page of Elisabeth Elliot’s “Passion and Purity,” I tried to have an open mind. Through the years, I’ve read dozens of books about dating and marriage, and unfortunately many have fallen flat in the face of extended singleness. Amid the recent mass cynicism toward purity culture (culminating… Continue reading Rediscovering “Passion and Purity”
Book Review: Elliot’s “Suffering is Never for Nothing”
Autumn finally arrived this week in the Ozarks. The record-breaking, sweltering September finally gave way to October, and today it is cool with steadily falling rain. I curled up this morning and finished Elisabeth Elliot's Suffering is Never for Nothing, a posthumous transcription of some conference talks she gave years ago. While the writing isn't… Continue reading Book Review: Elliot’s “Suffering is Never for Nothing”
I’m Still Glad I Kissed Dating Goodbye
Early last week found me getting a check-up for the first time in more than a decade. With medical professionals in my family, I can too easily put off those preventative appointments. So, I sat in the olive-green vinyl chair, the sort that populate doctors’ offices across the country. I felt a bit sheepish, like… Continue reading I’m Still Glad I Kissed Dating Goodbye
Them Hills
I presented this piece at the State of the Ozarks Writers Artists Night earlier this summer. It was an honor to be a part of the event, and I'm grateful for the opportunity to tell a little of my great-grandmother's story. “Why’d you want to move to them hills?” Grammy’s dark brown eyes crinkled with… Continue reading Them Hills
Sir Francis Drake: Until It Be Thoroughly Finished
"O Lord God, when thou givest to thy servants to endeavour any great matter, grant us also to know that it is not the beginning, but the continuing of the same, until it be thoroughly finished, which yieldeth the true glory; through him who for the finishing of thy work laid down his life for… Continue reading Sir Francis Drake: Until It Be Thoroughly Finished
