Do you remember a teacher (or teachers) who impacted you profoundly as you were growing up? To celebrate World Teachers’ Day on October 5, today’s post offers a tribute to dedicated educators around the globe and the vital role they play in so many lives, young and old. My upcoming book Legacy of the Linnenbrink…
The FIFA World Cup ended last week. After duking it out against soccer competitors from 47 other countries, Spain has pulled off a win for the second time. You can bet their entire nation is belting out “We are Champions of the World” these days. Lamentably, none of the countries I’m closely associated with even…
Despite growing up the oldest of in a family of nine children and never-ending chores, my childhood abounded with playtime. The woods and fields near home, the enormous playground at school, and even the local library in the center of our small Maine town—all brimmed with “scope for the imagination,” as Anne Shirley described it…
No doubt you’ve heard of the Great Ones—Lee and Grant, Montgomery and Rommel. We could add Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, the Duke of Wellington, and David the Giantkiller to the list as well. But how many unknown soldiers have you read about? During one of our furloughs, almost 20 years ago, my husband and…
What’s the missing ministry in worldwide missions today? We have no shortage—at least less of a lack—of preachers and teachers, administrators and accountants, construction teams, musicians, and hostesses with the mostest. Even Christian colleges with dedicated missions programs focus on camps, seminaries, TESL and tentmaking. And I’m all for it! But we could really, really…
What do a suitcase and an umbrella have in common? As we slogged through our years of homeschooling, my daughters and I occasionally lightened up the day with a storytelling game. We each scribbled some random words on slips of paper, stirred them a basket, and then withdrew two or three to start a story…
Writers often debate the merits (and demerits) of prologue and epilogue—the figurative bookends of a story. Why? Many readers find them distracting, misleading, disconnected, and unnecessary. I’ll confess I just finished a book which I otherwise enjoyed, but whose prologue (written from the villain’s point of view) I completely forgot until I reached the epilogue….
Anthropology is the study of human beings. The term comes from the Greek words anthropos, “man” (in the generic sense), and logos, “word” or “study.” You can break this –ology down further into biological and forensic anthropology, cultural/social/sociocultural anthropology, paleoanthropology, linguistic and applied (to real-life problems) anthropology. Today we will dip into what is known…
Can you believe it’s that time again? On New Year’s Eve, my daughter and I both hustled to make our yearly reading goals. I finished around 9 p.m. She slid in at 11:25. Both of us in time for punch and fireworks in Chile! Now for the recounting of my top 12 books of 2025….
This year we’re celebrating Christmas with our middle daughter in beautiful southern Chile. Since her apartment is small, both decorations and kitchen space will be limited. So, for the first time ever, I decided to pull back a bit myself. I haven’t unpacked much of my Christmas stuff nor spent hours baking this December. But…
Did you know that November 20 is World (or Universal) Children’s Day? Here in Chile, we celebrate the children on the second Sunday in August, but on an international level it’s commemorated close to American Thanksgiving. Now, I admit that amid the race and roar surrounding me, I paused only a minute last week to…
The first time my husband and I drove around the Cabot Trail in the Highlands of Cape Breton Island (Nova Scotia) might have been the last. At least, in my opinion at that inexperienced chapter in the story of my life. I hadn’t yet gotten used to long trips—a half-hour journey to Bangor from my…