The discontented man finds no easy chair.   –Ben Franklin Lord, teach me to live contentedly. Amen. “Don’t they know that it’s so hard to find, one rich man in ten with a satisfied mind.”  -Folk Song “Satisfied Man.” A Satisfied Mind

“Take calculated risks. That is quite different from being rash.”   –George Patton George Patton was an integral part of the 1941 La. Army Maneuvers.  In the movie, “Patton”, he refers to Louisiana and the maneuvers in his famous “American Flag” opening speech. The following scene from my new novel, A Spent Bullet, relates an oft-told story of General Patton in …

I hope you enjoy this podcast from our audiobook, Hearts across the Water. 09 Our Weatherman This is the text from the book, Hearts across the Water Our Weatherman:   Lyle Whitlake   AKA ______________ It’s 2:30 am and I’m driving from the Houston airport east toward my Louisiana home.  The westbound lanes of Interstate 10 are full of vehicles slowly crawling …

09 Our Weatherman

Full Moon Living with a sense of wonder:  Full moon rises tonight@ 7:36 PM CDT/ Lake Charles. If the moon only rose yearly, or even monthly, or periodically like an eclipse, we’d turn out school to watch it.  The sight of this huge satellite rising through the pines always gives me a thrill. It’s a gift from God not to …

I’ve run across three timely quotes on life and adversity. Because all of us deal with adversity, I hope you find these quotes encouraging. In prosperity, our friends know us; in adversity, we know our friends.  – John Churlton Collins Proverbs says it aptly,  “There is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.”*  We always find out who those …

Special thanks to the Camp Bethany family for letting me stay and write at your camp.  Thanks to Robert and Joan, David and Derinda, Kelli, and staff. Camp Bethany is a beautiful Baptist Camp west of Shreveport on the Texas/La. line. A Spent Bullet: Coming in November This is the “elevator speech”* explanation of my  upcoming novel, A Spent Bullet. …

Writing from the road. Yesterday I saw my friend Jane Young.  We were discussing her parents,  Audice and Irene Earl.  They were two of my favorite people. Mrs. Irene kept our boys at Palestine Baptist and she had to be the sweetest person I’ve ever known.  Jane told a story of her mother once being in a car where someone …

“It is in spending oneself that one becomes rich.”   -Sarah Hernhardt   “Lord, may today be a day of life and giving in my life. Amen.” I’m gathering Oxen stories.  Do you know any of know of any oxen experts in your community?

On Getting Things Done…. “I’ve got to do this, and I can’t do it alone.” It’s that necessary tension between taking the ball in your hands vs. realizing you cannot do anything alone. I learn (and re-learn) it each time I write a book.  So many gifted hands, hearts, and minds are involved in writing, editing, producing, and marketing a …

Help!  The Army is planning to remove/sterilize the wild horses of Kisatchie National Forest.  Many are descendants of the escaped cavalry horses from the La. Maneuvers. I’m writing a children’s book on them, Uncle Sam: A Horse’s Tale. Spread the word that removing these horse destroys part of our western La. piney woods heritage.  If anyone knows of any conservation …

As requested by faithful reader and friend Mona Gibbs, here is my story, “The Ripple Effect.” The Ripple Effect From the book,  Wind in the Pines by Curt Iles           Copyright 2004   Creekbank Stories. Do all the good you can, In all the ways you can, In all the places you can, At all the …

The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.   –Martin Luther King “What’s popular isn’t always right and what’s right isn’t always popular.” One ought never to turn one’s back on a threatened danger and try to run away from it.  If you do …