Does your house of worship (church, synagogue, temple, mosque, etc.) need an armed guard to protect members from an active shooter? This excerpt from How to Survive an Active Shooter addresses some of the issues related to protecting houses of worship from possible attacks. It is geared primarily to organizations that do not have the budget [...]
In this Grammar Tip, we’re going to talk about the punctuation known as quotation marks. One of my pet peeves as a reader is seeing quotation marks used incorrectly. When that happens, it can be confusing and sometimes completely change the meaning of the words. First, this may seem obvious, but let’s mention it anyway. [...]
An apostrophe is that punctuation mark that looks like a comma but it’s at the top of the line, not the bottom. The apostrophe has two purposes: To show possession. To replace missing letters in a word. When you use apostrophes to indicate missing letters, it’s usually in a contraction. In the context of [...]
And if the same person sins against you seven times a day, and turns back to you seven times and says, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive.” Luke 17:4 (NRSV) Jacquelyn Lynn speaks about forgiveness in a sermon at Tuskawilla Presbyterian Church. Below are highlights from her message. You must forgive. Jesus is abundantly clear. When [...]
You learned in elementary school that homonyms are words that sound alike but have different meanings. Homophones are a type of homonym. They’re words that sound alike but have different meanings and different spellings. In this Grammar Tip, we’re going to talk about one of the most commonly misspelled and consequently misused set of homophones: [...]
In this Grammar Tip, I want to talk about one of the most common word usage mistakes that can completely change the meaning of a sentence, drive readers crazy and reflect poorly on you. And I’ll give you some tips so you’ll never make this mistake again. You may remember from elementary school that homonyms [...]
In this Grammar Tip, we’re going showcase two words that sound alike but are often mixed up. And I’ll give you some tips so you won’t mix them up again. The English language is full of grammar exceptions, and the specific one that applies in the case of when to use IT’S and when to [...]
In this Grammar Tip, we’re going to cover the difference between plural and possessive proper nouns. A proper noun is a name used for a particular person, place or thing and it begins with a capital letter. Nouns that name general things are common nouns. Plural means more than one. The general rule to make [...]
A small book can be a big marketing tool. Learn how: Do you have information to share that is more than an article but less than a typical 200- or 300-page book? Consider turning that into a small book. Small books are exactly that—short, small books that address a narrow topic. They’re typically quick to [...]
You may not realize how many figures of speech we use today come from the Bible. I’m understandably fascinated by language. It’s the primary tool of my craft. What I find especially intriguing are those phrases we use that don’t always make sense but we all seem to know what they mean—phrases like “by the [...]
