Get a guided journal for your Lenten journey — free for a few days!

Hey, look everyone! I’ve written a guided journal for Lent 2026 — and it’s FREE for the couple of days before Ash Wednesday (2/13-2/17).

It’s called Where Is God In All This? and it’s designed to be a prompt to get you into the Word and into a conversation with God to explore your relationship with Him more deeply.

Here’s some more info on what it is and how you can use it:

On any given day, we can find ourselves preoccupied with financial or relational challenges, physical or emotional trials, or vocational or social issues – sometimes several at once. Such concerns can sidetrack us and keep us from enjoying a fulfilling relationship with God and with each other.

Each week in this guided journal, the focus is on a different area where we tend to encounter distractions: mental/emotional, relational, physical, financial, vocational, social, and spiritual.

On each day, only the Bible verse is given (rather than the entire passage) so you can get into the Word yourself, read the context, and see what God wants to tell you.

Lent is a time of introspection. Take your thoughts to your journal book and write your heart out. Draw if you’re so inclined. Tell God your story.

Click the link above to get it on Amazon/Kindle. It’s free for the next few days, and after that it’s $2.99. If you have Kindle Unlimited, you can get it free any time.

26 in 26: January

[Note: I’m doing a 26-word post on the first day of each month of 2026. It’s an exercise in concision and precision, which every writer should attempt now and then. Also Note: This explanation is separate from the 26-word count.]


The ball drops, last year’s chapter closes, and Epiphany shines on the next. You have clarity now. Turn the page. Pick up your pen. Start again.

Making some Swanky biscuits

Just in time for Thanksgiving dinner, we’re getting a primer in how to make buttermilk biscuits from the best biscuit-maker in town.

No, not those biscuit-makers. We have a video from the one and only Chef Swanky! Take a look:

Those look delicious! Can’t wait to get in the kitchen and try out this recipe. They’ll make a delicious addition to anyone’s Thanksgiving feast!

Follow Chef Swanky here and on Instagram at chefswankyhw.

A Swanky explanation for the jack-o-lantern

It’s almost Halloween, and that means it’s time for trick-or-treaters and those bite-sized chocolates that I always save for myself, let those dressed-up beggars have all the jolly ranchers and candy corn … ahem, maybe I’ve said too much.

What I mean is: It’s time for tales of mischief and mayhem. Including tales about food!

Like this one: Ever wonder about why we scoop out, cut up, and light pumpkins? Chef Swanky does!

Follow Chef Swanky here and on Instagram at chefswankyhw.