It hurts when the people we care about die. That pain is in no way lessened when it takes us longer than normal to learn the horrible truth of a loved one’s passing.
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Remembering Those We've Lost
The Jesus of John 11 weeps with His loved ones and mourns with us. Does the Jesus of Matthew 8 do the same thing?
Read MoreThe Ghost of Christmas Duality: There’s Good and Bad in Everything
My grandmother died about two weeks before Christmas a few years ago. That’s not exactly a happy way to start any story, especially a Christmas story, but it’s the truth. And if Dickens can start the most famous Christmas story ever written with a death, I suppose I can, too.
Read MoreMaking (Fake) Death Matter
There are several characters in pop culture who died and left us feeling…well, nothing. So how exactly do you make a character’s death matter?
Read MoreMurder in Print: The Pen as the Sword
There really is a perverse pleasure in killing a character you’ve created, but death in fiction needs to mean more than just death for death’s sake.
Read MoreHow We've Missed "Amazing Grace"
For some reason, “Amazing Grace” has been relegated to a rote performance at funerals and other such downtrodden occasions more than the worshipful anthem it is. But when I stop and really think about the words of this song, I can't help but start to feel overwhelmed with joy at realizing how God has given us a truly amazing grace.
Read More"Blessed Are the Dead"
Hushed murmurs were the order of the pre-ceremony conversation with farmers and teachers and salt-of-the-earth Americans from rural Kansas struggling for words of casual civility in the midst of such somber proceedings. Reverend Zachariah had called them all in that evening with the once-dormant church bells, and those who remained knew why they were coming together.
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