Can You Stop Long Enough?

When people post something beautiful online, it's usually a sunset, or sunrise, or flowers, or something like that. Not that those things aren't beautiful; they are. But there is a lot more out there that we don’t take the time to notice. Things like spider webs, or a child eating an ice cream cone, or...

Why praying is harder than you think

I'll admit, outside of church, I don’t pray much. And when I do, it's usually for something I need in the moment - like asking God to pleeeeeease help me make it to the gas station even though I'm the one who let the needle hover on empty for the past two days. When I...

Watusi

Thank You Fabula Argentea for publishing my short story "Watusi" in your July issue and for the kind words on my writing. Here is what they said: WHY WE CHOSE TO PUBLISH “Watusi”: There are a lot of heaven and hell stories out there (and we’ve published several in the past), but in “Watusi” author...

Heaven On Earth

There are moments so amazing that you just have to stop and take it all in. These are the moments when what you see is so stunning that everything else in the world disappears. And in that moment you feel that all is right with the world. It doesn't matter if there are a millions...

Spring has finally arrived, or has it?

After a long and grueling winter, spring has finally arrived. The plants are coming back to life, the birds and animals are returning, and people have emerged from their winter cocoons. It should be a time of excitement and optimism. But I don’t feel that way. I feel pessimistic and skeptical, as if everything I...

Now that I am older, what do I miss the most? The ability to dream

When I was young, I used to think about things - life, the universe, everything (not to quote Douglas Adams). I used to dwell on the big questions. Why are we here? Why is the world the way it is? Why am I the way I am? Does God exist? Do aliens exist? And so...

Why Fiction Writers Are Frauds

From movies to TV to books to lit rags and so on, it's endless. So why is fiction so popular? That's easy. Because your life is boring. Let's face it. No one wants to hear how you found the perfect spot up front at Costco last week. Our lives are so dreary, we need excitement....

To shoot for your dream or not

Note: I wrote this essay for an online site that chose not to publish it. No matter. Hope you like it. I’m not trying to boast, but my son, Alex, is an amazing high school student. He gets straight A’s. He has a GPA of 4.2. He’s taking all the AP classes as well as...

Languishing in Language – words that can’t be coincidence

Even though the American language is such a jambalaya blender of mismatched rules and words, some combinations are still way past odd. So I started a list. Category: Can’t Be Coincidence. Two words that mean different things but sound so similar that it can’t be by accident. Sadistic / Statistic First one is when you...

Change Your Wish

I originally wrote this for a religious literary magazine that wanted an inspirational story for preteens. Unfortunately, by the time I submitted it, the magazine had been bought out by another publisher. I tried marketing it to other places and even rewrote it several times, but no go, which is too bad. Sure, it's a...