Tractor Time     When this old world starts getting me down And people are just too much for me to face. I climb way up to the top of the stairs And all my cares just drift right into space. On the roof, it’s peaceful as can be And there the world below can’t bother me -On …

       In the coming days, we’ll be updating this Prayer Post for South Sudan. This will allow you to be praying for peace and stability.     Heartbroken  Thursday, Dec. 26 Read a simple but accurate report on the South Sudan Crisis. Christmas Day  25 December 2013 Today’s verse to pray over South Sudan (SS):   Psalm 46 …

  The following story comes from chapter 22 of our short story collection,  Christmas Jelly. A Gift from DQ     Christmas is a time for gifts, and there are all types of gifts. The best gifts come from our hands and hearts. They are created through a strong combination of love and skill. I’m obsessed with a gift I …

Scroll down to read today’s story from Christmas Jelly. Meeting Nelson Mandela on the Damascus Road   It’s big news all over Africa. Nelson Mandela has died. “Mandiba” (his African name) was loved by Africans and rightfully respected by the world. When I heard of his death, I returned to a lonely windswept section of highway in South Africa’s Zulu …

What it Means to Believe   This excerpt from my recent novel, A Spent Bullet, is a conversation between Harry Miller, a young soldier and Levon Reed, the father of the girl he plans to marry. It’s a conversation between two men about belief. A ninety-two-year-old cousin of mine wrote,  “I’ve taken college religion classes and lived nearly a century. …