Published in Inspire, Believe, Grow

·Pinned

Construction versus Deconstruction

Are you trying to grow your faith — or tear it down? — The problem I have with “deconstructing” faith is that it seems more geared toward tearing down than building up. Some wise person once said those who want to find God find a reason to believe. Those that do not want to find a reason not to believe. To me, that…

100 Story Challenge

5 min read

100 Story Challenge

5 min read

Published in The Riff

·Pinned

Sad Songs That Hurt So Good

Rock and blues tunes may be the best at capturing the pain — It hurts when your love interest decides they are not interested in you anymore. Maybe it’s their fault, or maybe it’s you. There’s that feeling of pain, and maybe some anger starting to float in. It’s the stuff of some of the greatest songs that have ever been written. Just…

Music

5 min read

Music

5 min read

Published in ILLUMINATION-Curated

·Just now

What Rural Towns Really Are

They are faded but some are sprouting new life — Every town has its story. The tiny town of Wilson, Kansas is known as the Czech Capitol of Kansas. I explored it last weekend while attending a new music festival there. The music was held in an old barn that has been refurbished, insulated, and heated. That made the acoustics…

History

3 min read

History

3 min read

Published in ILLUMINATION-Curated

·2 days ago

Fading House on The Prairie

Does the American Dream still live? Here’s why I think it does. — On the road this weekend to a rural music festival. This one is in Wilson, Kansas, a historic little town with a lot of Czechoslovakian roots. It's called a bluegrass event, but it’s more country rock than anything so far. Some towns are drying up and blowing away. There are…

100 Story Challenge

4 min read

100 Story Challenge

4 min read

Published in ILLUMINATION-Curated

·5 days ago

How Deserts are Made

Historic ranches tell the tale of how the area along the Rio Grande was once fertile — On the Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive, west of Big Bend National Park is the Sam Nail Ranch. He built this ranch starting in 1916. He and his wife Nena raised a family there and eventually left the area. This time of year you can’t really tell it but there are…

Texas

3 min read

Texas

3 min read

Published in Six Word Photo Story Challenge

·5 days ago

Is This What You Imagined?

Six-word photo story challenge: Freestyle — Huff and Puff All You Want The story of the three little pigs and the big bad wolf is depicted in this display at Story Book Park in Wichita Falls, Texas. This was the third one, made of brick, that the wolf could not blow down. There were several of these sculptures, or scenes, in about…

Fiction

1 min read

Fiction

1 min read

Is This What You Imagined?

Six-word photo story challenge: Freestyle

Huff and Puff All You Want

The story of the three little pigs and the big bad wolf is depicted in this display at Story Book Park in Wichita Falls, Texas. This was the third one, made of brick, that the wolf could not blow down.

There were several of these sculptures, or scenes, in about…

Published in Short Shots City

·6 days ago

Challenge update: Story 68

Well past halfway, too late to turn back… —

100 Story Challenge

1 min read

100 Story Challenge

1 min read

Ill use any excuse to use a trail picture. Photo by author.

Challenge update: Story 68

Well past halfway, too late to turn back…

Published in Inspire, Believe, Grow

·6 days ago

Do You Have a Ticket to Heaven?

It is either a gift or a stumbling block. — God is making an incredible offer, as recorded in John 1:12–13. We can become the children of God simply by accepting the gift that is offered to us. There’s nothing you can do to earn it, and there are no gatekeepers to keep the gate shut. It’s not even based…

Religion

4 min read

Religion

4 min read

Published in Inspire, Believe, Grow

·Jan 23

Preferring Darkness over Light

Why do we want to keep our hearts hidden in the dark? — I have a lot of questions that I do not have a good answer for. One of the biggest ones comes from John 1:10–11. John talks about Jesus being God in the flesh and the light of the world. …

Gospel

3 min read

Gospel

3 min read

Published in The Riff

·Jan 21

Why I Like the Stones More Than the Beatles

After decades I’ve seen the musical light — I never thought this would happen. My musical tastes have evolved (some might say devolved) to the point that the Rolling Stones are my all-time favorite band. It took Covid to put me in a position to really listen to their music. I semi-ignored them for 40 years, but during…

Beatles

5 min read