Writing for His Glory is a series of reflections and writing prompts drawn from a writers’ workshop I teach for high school students. God spoke all of creation into existence His Word; as He made us in His image, we can glorify Him with our own. My prayer is that these reflections prompt you to…
One of the questions I’m asked the most about my books has to do, naturally, with inspiration. “You must have loved stories about the Old West and devoured books like Tom Sawyer and by authors like Louis L’Amour,” the inquiry goes. And the truth is, well, not really. Don’t get me wrong. I loved the…
It felt like a guilty pleasure, like scrolling through pratfall videos on TikTok. I could have been studying I Corinthians or poring over the latest John Piper paperback. I could even have been slogging through The Scarlet Letter for AP English. But there I was sitting on my bed, turning the pages in Harry Potter…
Whether we’re working creatively, or teaching the kids we love about creating, it’s easy to be haunted by a desire for originality. Nobody wants to hear, “You just copied!” But as people of the Book, we’re uniquely free from the demands of novelty. We know we don’t work in a vacuum. Only God creates from…
“What kind of robes are we talking?” My 9-year-old’s eyes are wide and earnest as she looks up from her cinnamon roll to ask the question. We’ve found a table in the crowded café, plopped our Bibles and journals down, and waited patiently for our order. Now we begin what we came to do: study…
Every few years I travel back to the old, familiar places within books. During the spring I’ll find myself in Avonlea, dreaming with Anne and laughing with Gilbert. When July rolls around, I’m waiting expectantly for my letter of acceptance from Hogwarts to arrive and feeling again the thrill of hearing the words, “Yer a…
On the side of a county road stands a large wooden sign. It is obviously hand-painted, a protest sign against some proposed government measure. It is eye-catching however, because the sign’s maker punctuated the words by painting a large heron onto half the space. It is large,detailed, outlined in bold strokes. Obviously a great blue…
“‘But do you really mean, sir,’ said Peter, ‘that there could be other worlds—all over the place, just round the corner—like that? ‘Nothing is more probable,’ said the Professor.” C.S. Lewis, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, ch. 5 I have a passion for Other Worlds. I long for them with an eager appetite,…
When I have a day to myself—when the chores are tolerably done and all my children are at school—I fill a bag with books, a notebook, and my laptop and set off for downtown. I used to look in the shop windows as I walked, at the strings of patio lights and the window displays…
Sometimes I forget that my imagination didn’t form itself. I didn’t come from a family of writers, so at times it’s easy to look at authors who do and think about what an upper hand they had on me. But now I’m beginning to wonder if it’s less about what kind of people we were…
For years, read-aloud time was the beating heart of our homeschool. From the time my kids were toddlers, they’d tolerate academics because they knew that once they finished practicing homophones and math facts, we’d get to the good stuff — our “Cozy Up Reading Time,” during which they’d each grab a snack, I’d grab a…
I didn’t read much as a kid. Playing games and romping around outside was more my style. The power of a good book didn’t become apparent to me until 8th grade when I was assigned to read To Kill A Mockingbird. It made me feel things. What? Books can be engaging, amusing and address infuriating…
