Last week, I shared my thoughts on what goes on inside our little wood stove: the flames, their actions, and more. I wanted to add one more observation to the list...

I’ve been thinking, lately, about what appears to me to be quite a mess we find ourselves in — collectively as a nation — these days. While I am not so naive as to believe each of us bear a certain responsibility for our own current state of being, I do believe many of the hardships and troubles facing our nation fall squarely at the feet of the government. ...

Around this time each year, I try to think of something “profound” to share about moving out of the previous year and into the new one. (Note: I use the term “profound” with my tongue firmly in my cheek, because I don’t think of myself as someone who shares profound thoughts.) Nevertheless, I usually do try to offer some encouragement during the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day. I feel doing so might be a little harder this year...

Yep … I said “Christmas” wishes. I said it because this is, after all, the Christmas season. And I have some hopes and wishes for each of you...

Recently, I read where someone said as long as we fear what people think of us, we are owned by them. I think that is true...

A cool and cloudy morning … somewhere in the hills, Waiting for the day to break on through. A light breeze through the treetops … dew on the windowsill, I’m thinking one more cup of coffee will do. Living clean and simple … don’t need all those frills...

Seems like just yesterday it was a rainy, cool April down on the Tomahawk. We spent a lot of time waiting for things to dry out enough to get ground work done so we could begin the process of completing our new home at Shiloh...

I got out of bed early one morning last week after a particularly sleepless night at Shiloh. We had worked hard on our new home the day before, and I was aching in places I didn’t even know I had. So I poured a cup of coffee and slipped out to sit under the big Hickory just off the end of the old cabin...

Note: I am not a cat person! We were gone for a week visiting kin in San Diego, and then we spent last week at the farm trying to get the place ready to inhabit before October flies by. Poor Huck and Lana...

This isn’t usually a travelogue kind of column, but I just have to tell you about how we spent last week...

And suddenly, October came Came whispering in upon a gentle rain September left without a whimper And suddenly, October came And suddenly, October came Brought the harvest of the summer grain While winter waited in the wings...

I’ve been thinking, lately, about all that’s going on in the world right now. It seems we are in one of those periods of time that truly, as Thomas Paine wrote in December of 1776, “try men’s souls.”...

There’s a place out west, along a New Mexico stretch of old Route 66, where a person might lose all sense of where they are and what year it is...

It may look like just a cheap trinket sitting on a shelf to you, but to me it’s a treasure; a wonderful memory; even an anchor of sorts. To the unknowing eye it’s just an old, beat up, dented Zippo cigarette lighter. There’s a small piece of wire holding the hinge together. ...

Back in 1993, I was blessed to be able to join a few others on a mission trip to Crimea. It was an amazing adventure. On the way to our destination, we traveled by air to Helsinki, Finland; by small ferry over to Estonia; by train to Moscow; and then on through Russia and Ukraine; and finally into Crimea (which is part of Ukraine)...

DAUPHIN ISLAND, Alabama (April 24, 2021) — We made it! We’ve finally settled into our gulf-view rental on this small but beautiful piece of sand and trees at the mouth of Mobile Bay. From the front porch — looking through a small stand of Slash Pines — I can see the beach on the Gulf of Mexico side of the island. ...

After driving most of the day on Friday, April 23, the family stopped at a steakhouse just south of Memphis, Tennessee, for a day-late birthday dinner for yours truly. The food was great, the service cheery and timely, and the little “Hey y’all, we have a very special person in the house tonight” birthday song didn’t embarrass me all that much. After dinner, we got back in our vehicles and drove to Jackson, Mississippi, for a nice overnighter...

Spent a few days last week at Shiloh. Laura and I had to go to the farm to take care of some business, and our 4-year-old grandson, Ivan, tagged along for his first multi-day stay in the cabin — without his mom and dad and older brother. We had a blast!...

Proverbs 29:18 says “Where there is no (prophetic) vision the people perish (or cast off restraint) ... but blessed is he who keeps the law.” … I believe this speaks of revelation knowledge (prophetic vision), and about keeping God’s word...

So … Having chosen an option that pretty well leaves us to our own devices concerning our new forever home, I find myself filling the role of a contractor...