Come meet the toughest girl in Texas. Lauren Scruggs is her name. She’s 24 and I’ve just collaborated on a new book with her, along with her parents and twin sister. Newly released, the book is called STILL LOLO: a spinning propeller, a horrific accident, and a family’s journey of hope. In December 2011, headlines around the world reported the heartbreaking story: Fashion journalist Lauren “LoLo” Scruggs had been on a short flight to look at Christmas lights, in a... Read more
If you really want to be loved and respected… buy donuts! Donuts are one of the overlooked joys in life! These magical little pastries bring pleasure to almost any occasion. Think about it. Another boring meeting… “Hey, Jim brought donuts!” All of a sudden, the meeting has more life to it. What other food has this power? But like many foods, there are some simple tricks of the trade that one needs to know about buying donuts. These simple “Donut... Read more
Do you know what it feels like to be an exile? It was the summer of 1975. I was nineteen years old and I had signed on to a program called Practical Missionary Training (PMT). Co-sponsored by CAM International and Wycliffe Bible Translators, PMT was an eight-week missionary life “sampler” for people who wanted to explore whether God was calling them to the mission field. Rather than being a simple “mission trip,” PMT was structured to give a broad sampling... Read more
In her article in the Wall Street Journal, Kay S. Hymowitz comments that not so long ago, most young men by their late 20s had accomplished the milestones of adulthood by being married, having children and being financially independent. Many young men today still live with their parents well into their 20s if not their 30s. They are often irresponsible, lack ambition, and sit around playing video games or looking at online porn for significant parts of their day. Relatively... Read more
Sex within a marriage carries a certain stigma: boring, redundant… lackluster. Maybe that’s why some women’s magazines and websites actually recommend affairs… to “spice up your marriage,” after all, “life is short.” Do many marriages eventually grow stagnant? Is there truth to this stereotype? How would you describe your sex life? How would your spouse? Have you put any effort into kindling the romance in your marriage? Twenty years ago a friend told me an edgy joke that I’ll never... Read more
What comes to mind when you hear the word pilgrim? In America most of us probably form a mental picture of the people who celebrated the first Thanksgiving, dressed in their austere black clothing, complete with funny hats. For some, the word might bring to mind John Bunyan’s allegory, Pilgrim’s Progress. Others may think about the pilgrimage that Muslims must make to Mecca once in a lifetime. Each of those mental pictures evokes a similar concept: travelling. When we think... Read more
Here’s a list of my favorite “manly” actors from today’s movies—there’s a whole different list from yesteryear. Most of the young actors today don’t have the chops to compete with these guys in the acting or masculinity departments. Interestingly, most of these guys are known conservatives (what a coincidence). I intentionally left off Bobbie DeNiro because he’s too obvious and he’s been in too many bad movies lately. Although with classic movies like Raging Bull, Taxi Driver, The Deer Hunter,... Read more
Dateline: day after election, everywhere, USA … and another thing, Mister President. Just wanted to say congratulations, shake your hand and all that. It’s been a long, hard election season, and we voters have done a swell job raising complex questions with no easy answers. Even though we’d like those easy answers to exist. So solving all the problems of the world is your job now. Yep … now that you’re in office we want our... Read more
No one would argue, Halloween has become an excuse for girls to dress slutty without feeling guilty. The sad fact is… this is starting to trickle down to our daughters. If you don’t believe me, just take a peek at the best selling costumes from the most popular costume retailers. Here’s Party City’s “Top Costumes” for teenaged girls: Seriously? Teen Girls Snow Bunny Costume? Really? It seems to be missing… pants! Teen Girls Unicorn Costume. It’s just a slutty girl... Read more
This month, I’ve been focusing on National Bullying Prevention Month. For me, this is a very personal cause. I’ve been bullied; I know how it feels. I know what it’s like to feel utterly powerless, to feel like there’s no one to turn to for help. Don’t expect bullied children to come to you and tell you what’s going on. Very few, if any, will do that. Why? They’re afraid that if they “tell,” it will only get worse. Most... Read more
A Few Grown Men
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In