The Redemptive Power of a Good Confession

The Redemptive Power of a Good Confession

Adobe stock library Rockwall, TX (November 29, 2024) – An old monk’s dying testimony surely surprised those who revered him for his great humility and service to all those around him. The Elder Zosima revealed his past sins of jealousy, anger, and hatred that nearly led to murder. Though he had grown up inspired by […]

Patti Richter, On Faith: Passion with Purpose – From Protesting to Producing

Patti Richter, On Faith: Passion with Purpose – From Protesting to Producing

Rockwall, TX (June 28, 2024) – No disease was needed to shut down April-May classes and commencement ceremonies this year. It appears that illnesses of the emotional type are equally contagious. Those staples of modern American culture—offense and outrage—so easily feed these epidemics. It’s no surprise that college students have the vigor needed to sustain […]

Patti Richter, On Faith: Reasons Not to Trust Those First Impressions

Patti Richter, On Faith: Reasons Not to Trust Those First Impressions

Rockwall, TX (March 25, 2024) – Elizabeth Bennet and the aristocratic Mr. Darcy quietly observed each other at a local ball. Lizzy disliked his high-brow bearing, while he, though attracted to Lizzy, rejected any thought of a connection to her less cultivated family. Reading Jane Austen’s classic novel Pride and Prejudice could cure us of […]

Walking and Talking along the Yellow Brick Road

Walking and Talking along the Yellow Brick Road

Rockwall, TX (August 8, 2023) – Plenty of tears will fall as the new school year commences. Not so much from the kindergartener’s eyes. Or the college freshman left standing awkwardly in a dorm room with a stranger for a roommate. It will likely be the parents—mostly the moms—whose eyes well up and spill salty […]

The Town and Country Church Mice

The Town and Country Church Mice

(ROCKWALL, TX — July 9, 2019) The beautiful church on a wooded hillside is only two country miles down the road. We’ve quickly warmed to the friendly congregation and their down-to-earth pastor who’s over sixty, like us. My husband and I appreciate the traditional worship service, although we’re less fond of the song selections, which […]

Clinging to Faith: A Close-Up View of Suffering

Clinging to Faith: A Close-Up View of Suffering

(ROCKWALL, TX — March 28, 2019) She sounded worried on the phone, and no wonder, her husband faced a federal indictment in connection to a former employer’s wrongdoings. The trouble was only beginning for my friend Luann and her family. Ominous clouds closed in on their once bright lives—rich in Christian fellowship, community service, and […]

Friendship, Two New Books, and God’s Love

Friendship, Two New Books, and God’s Love

(ROCKWALL, TX — February 12, 2019) I was smitten with someone’s writing several years ago. There was nothing intriguing about the topic of the manuscript that made its way around my critique group table: caring for aged parents. Even so, I became fully engaged by the colorful stringing together of words. I wondered if the […]