It’s a topic I both love and hate to discuss, mostly because it’s so nebulous.  And yet…it’s also powerful and life-altering and sanity-preserving.  Corrie ten Boom said, “Prayer is the slender thread that moves the hand of God,” yet she watched her sister die a horrible death in a concentration camp.  How could she believe […]

A year ago this week, I entered the hospital in Ann Arbor for my tenth (and hopefully final) de-cancering surgery.  I marked the anniversary last weekend by taking a quick, overnight trip to Switzerland with my dear friend, Mari Ellen.  It started out wonderfully—a beautiful autumn day, a charming (and affordable) Bed & Breakfast nestled […]

In my mind, I’m a world-class body builder who can bench press a VW bug.  My biceps are so large my arms can’t hang straight and my six-pack has morphed into a twelve-pack.  That’s how buff I am. All fantasy, of course, but it sure would have come in handy a week ago, when a […]

Change. In most communities, it’s a word that inspires anticipation of adventures to come. Obama supporters made of it their mantra during his presidential campaign and there’s a Korean student at BFA who still screams “We want change!” on occasion—a sort of political Tourette’s syndrome—though he knows nothing of the man or the agenda behind […]

FLAGS UNFURLED There are moments that unequivocally mark the passage of time.  Such a moment happened on Tuesday, as BFA’s new year got underway.  There were ghosts lurking in the corners of every room I entered on that day–ghosts that looked familiar, in a sweet-wistful-happy-sad kind of way. But how could I stay bittersweet for […]

MISSIONS AND DEATH BY APNEA It’s a lazy Sunday afternoon–possibly the last lazy afternoon there will be until Christmas break.  I’ve been marking the moment by multitasking in my favorite way: watching TV (sorta) while surfing the Internet, writing emails and keeping my eyes off the small mounds of un-put-away items that are testaments to […]

THE REASON WHY It was in late June that I received the following note from a whimsical and profound pixie in the girls’ dorm where I work.  It’s taken until now—with my return to BFA imminent—for me to respond to it.  I can’t think of a more appropriate time.  Here’s what Hallie wrote: I’ve been […]

SNEAK PEEK Hello everyone!  The novel isn’t being widely released yet (the website is still under construction), but those of you reading here get to take advantage of this special pre-release sale. THE NEW NOVEL! When Marshall Becker arrives in Lamorlaye, France, to begin the massive renovation of a Renaissance-era castle, he unearths a dark […]

To my dear students (past and present), I know I’ve probably bored you with these points before, but…I’m a firm believer in repetition, particularly when it comes to topics about which I feel so strongly.  And I feel strongly about you, your lives, and your survival, so brace yourself—I’m stepping up onto my soapbox again. […]

THE BEAUTY TYRANNY (All photos are of beautiful places visited during my southern travels…) I wanted to write a blog about my southern adventure that would highlight the wacky-wise-wonderfulness of the Norris clan, family friends since long before I was born.  I wanted to try to retell some of our stories and transcribe a list […]