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Yesterday marked 40 days until Thanksgiving. At church our pastor talked about unity and what that looks like. He first of all said that unity doesn’t mean that we have to look like each other, that we don’t have to be near each other, or that we have to agree with one another. He quoted…

Since this time last year (May 2012), I’ve been working on a book called Selfish Prayer. I am the ghostwriter, which means that I write another person’s story. That someone else is a member of the California National Guard, and served in Afghanistan in 2009 as a Medevac flight medic. It’s been quite an education.…

Fifteen months ago I stood on the bank of a rushing river, hesitant to jump in. This was a metaphoric river in my mind—knowing that once I jumped in, it would be one wild ride. I would be at the mercy of the river, letting it carry me wherever it led. I gathered some courage…

Finding My Words Again I haven’t blogged since December. I’ve been scarce on Facebook for months. My calendar has had only a few speaking engagements. Sometimes life is so overwhelming there are no words. My life has been like that for the past year. I’ve struggled to find words of encouragement in this time of…

It was dark when I went out to fetch the mail last night. I thumbed through the mail as I walked, straining to see by the dimly lit houses. One envelope caught my eye. It was a small card, made out to my author name, no return address. The postmark was from St. Louis, Missouri.…

It happened five years ago today in a remote village in Afghanistan. An ambush. A battle. Bad decisions. And 11 Americans and many Afghan nationals were forced to hunker down and fight for survival in what is called simply by its village name: Ganjgal. That one word conjures up pain in the hearts of those…

How to Love Your Cop Through Hate Yesterday I asked Chief about the general feelings of the troops in light of the movement of hatred toward police officers brought to the forefront in the Michael Brown shooting. “Just another day on the streets,” he replied. When I answered with a quizzical look, he reminded me…

My blog posts have been lacking lately. As in nonexistent. Nada. At first, when I realized that it was early spring that I last posted, I got a little nervous. “I’m losing momentum, my readers will miss my blog, I’ll lose followers!” But actually, the world has gone on without my little thoughts, and I…