Published Writings

Good Words are Worth a Thousand Pictures

The beauty of the written word
is that it can be held close to the heart and
read over and over again.

– Florence Littauer

Then and Now - Hopelessly Hopeful Blog

Then and Now

One summer afternoon when I was ten, I climbed into my favorite place in a comfortable, maple tree, one of two, which stood in front of our home, between the cracked, uneven sidewalk and a quiet road. I enjoyed sitting in its branches, hidden from view, but this warm, sunny day was different. For this time, instead of a book, I had with me a blank notepad and pencil. Later, when I came down from the tree, I leaned against the trunk, leafed through the pad, and stared in amazement. Earlier, the pages had been blank, and now they held a message in story form. I stood in awe, as if I cradled a miracle in my hands. Throughout my life, I have revisited that memory many times, and whenever I have, I stood in greater awe than I did as a child.

Essays from Earliest Years of Writing

The Church Herald	4-91	What’s Happened to Sunday
Traverse City Record Eagle	5-22-93	The Main Thing; Keep the Lord’s Day Holy
Traverse Magazine	10-93	Awaiting the Return of Mrs.Richardson
Detroit Free Press Magazine	1-2-93	A Skater’s Waltz
Detroit Free Press Magazine	6-19-94	Mean Queen of the Rest-room Scene
Traverse Magazine	9-94	Simply Sumac
T.C.Record-Eagle Summer Magazine	7-22-94	Just Another Day
Traverse City Record-Eagle	3-16-96	Only Thing Missed is the Popcorn
T.C.Record-Eagle Active Years Mg.	6-96	A Father’s Day Keepsake Gift
The Church Herald	10-96	Alone in the Crowd
T.C.Record-Eagle Summer Magazine	7-17-97	Uninvited
T.C.Record-Eagle Summer Magazine	6-29-01	Paradise: $35.0

While participation in various spiritual-growth ministries have continued, essays ceased for the writing of a completed, but unpublished manuscript, Three-Legged-Ladder. It is an inter-generational, family-values mystery which highlights 1960’s – 80’s cherry farming, and the four-season beauty of the Grand Traverse area.

What’s Happened to Sunday, 4-91, was my first published essay. I thought that it had been rejected by the Church Herald, a Reformed Church of America magazine, for I never received a reply from the publisher. I learned that it had been published when a member of our church called to say that she had just read it. My first reaction was excitement, quickly followed by fear, the fear of seeing my words in print, and the possibility of regretting them.

However if you, and I, are going to make a difference for the cause of Christ, we must overcome fear. So, with effort, I did, at least enough to not succumb to it. I remember once when I was driving into Traverse City to speak to a group about discipleship, I was, once again, filled with self-doubt. I was driving down West Front Street, between a party and hardware store, when God reminded me that He could use a rock to speak for Him. I thought, Well, with God’s help, I should be able to speak at least as good as a rock.