The blog
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Short essays on faith, story and the craft of telling the truth well — published several times a month.
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The Point of Punctuation<br>By Frank Ball
Punctuation marks are the traffic signals of language: they tell us to slow down, notice this, take a detour, and stop.
Broken Promises: Why Faith and Passionate Prayer Don’t Seem to Work
Why do Christians sometimes feel like God is ignoring them? How long will you ignore me, Lord? Surely, not forever. Isn’t it time that you showed your face?
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Week 5/30/25
Frank’s Random Thoughts for the Week Keep what you like as your own. Discard the rest. To have great thoughts, we need the mind of Christ.
Cut the Clutter: Avoid Writing Redundancies<br>By Frank Ball
The quickest way to slow down your manuscript is to be redundant. It’s boring, it’s overwriting, and it’s weak.
Salvation: Faith First, Then the Fight to the Finish
Why is faithfulness required “until the end”? Because evil will flourish, most people’s love will grow cold. But those who remain faithful until the end will be saved.
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Week 5/23/25
Frank’s Random Thoughts for the Week Keep what you like as your own. Discard the rest.
Curtain Call
My last chemo infusion was on April 21. Or so they say. I was handed a banner that claimed it was my final round—kind of like a graduation certificate, but without…
The Write Perspective<br>By Frank Ball
Deep point of view allows the reader to easily step into the viewpoint character’s shoes, experiencing every action and reaction through the character’s senses.
Rich Beyond Words
In what ways should Jesus be an example for our giving? You know the generosity of our Lord Jesus Christ.
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Week 5/16/25
Frank’s Random Thoughts for the Week Keep what you like as your own. Discard the rest.
Treasure or Trash
Where is my old stamp collection that taught me more about geography than any class at school? What happened to my box of baseball cards, old coins, and Indian relics?
Pictures in Mind: Paint Vivid Visuals Using Words<br>By Frank Ball
Don’t paint boring word pictures when you could do oh-so-much more than just slap words onto the page without careful thought. — C. S.