Hi, there!
After years of intermittent blogging and somewhat more consistent news writing, I have finally created a dedicated space online for all of my writing endeavors. Take a look around. You’ll find book reviews, devotionals, essays and even some of my favorite articles written for the local newspaper.
On my blog
The Book Shelf: Open-Door Living by Jen Schmidt
For those, like me, who are terrified of what hospitality has become in the age of Pinterest and 24/7 home and garden television, Jen Schmidt’s Open-Door Living is a breath of fresh air, showing how to make things comfortable and cozy for guests without losing your mind or spending a lot of money. The book… Continue reading The Book Shelf: Open-Door Living by Jen Schmidt
Christmas can wait (a #TBT post)
I had one of the coolest temp jobs ever in college. It was temp in every possible sense of the word, lasting only one night and paying pretty decently for the late 80s/early 90s. The local mall contracted with the theater department at my college to put up the rather extravagant Christmas decorations. We would… Continue reading Christmas can wait (a #TBT post)
The Bookshelf: Mi Casa Uptown by Rich Perez
I have to be honest. This book has been in a partially-read state for quite some time, which may say something about the book itself in that there were parts that simply didn’t compel me forward. I can’t argue with the premise. The tag line on the back cover reads, “What if, instead of contempt,… Continue reading The Bookshelf: Mi Casa Uptown by Rich Perez
The Bookshelf: The Dream of You
Who were you before you started to listen to everyone else? What dreams did you have before the world talked you out of them? Who did you become to negotiate your way through the world? These are the piercing questions trainer, speaker and author Jo Saxton explores in The Dream of You: Let Go of… Continue reading The Bookshelf: The Dream of You
The Bookshelf: Christ Chronological
I’ve always wanted to read the gospels in chronological order. There are reading plans available all over the Internet and in apps that guide you in doing just that, but these never clicked for me. Christ Chronological changes that. Where the reading guides and apps have the reader scrolling from screen to screen or flipping… Continue reading The Bookshelf: Christ Chronological
In the newspaper
I’m a writer. Of course I have a day job – a journalist with my hometown newspaper. Here are a few highlights …
Boiling Springs grad tells her story in Nike “Sport Changes Everything” campaign
Amy Bream is the first person to tell you she’s never considered herself athletic.
That makes it all the more “surreal,” to use her words, that she’s featured in a video for Nike’s “Sport Changes Everything” campaign.
Growing up in Boiling Springs, Bream did not take part in sports and did not work out in local gyms. She was self-conscious when it came to physical activity because she had been born without her right leg.
This story won a 2020 Keystone Award for a personality profile.
Carlisle’s Burkholder reflects on his roots, his coach on the weekend of Super Bowl LIV
It might happen when Demi Lovato hits the soaring notes of the national anthem. It might come during the coin toss or when fireworks light up the sky as his players take the field at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami.
He doesn’t know when, but Rick Burkholder knows that at some point Sunday during Super Bowl LIV as he stands on the sideline in his role as the vice president of sports medicine and performance for the Kansas City Chiefs, he’s going to think about home.
“I’ll be thinking about all my peeps in Carlisle. I love them. I love everybody back there. I don’t get back enough, but it’s special to me,” he said Wednesday.
Shaped by social media and a sense of justice, young Midstate activists step into the spotlight
Young activists raised in a culture of diversity and armed with an array of social media options have taken the spotlight in issues ranging from gun control to women’s rights to police brutality.
Rising Mechanicsburg Area High School senior Nathaniel Babitts said there are a number of factors at work for these youths, not the least of which is how much the world has changed in even the last five years.
“My generation is realizing how quickly everything can almost flip,” he said.
And now they’re looking to flip the status quo.
