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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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. Then he throws us a curveball by telling us that the…

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…