The joys of an early morning. Fingernail slice of a waning moon. Lightning bug sends out his light. The birds begin their symphony. Bluebirds fuss over their gourd nest and its four eggs. A Cardinal singing his classic. “Whoop. Whoop. Whoop. Boys, get up. The Mockingbird sings its playlist of songs downloaded from iTunes. (non-copyrighted) I hear his “cover” of …

Scroll down on this entry to help proofread a handout as well as fill in the blanks. “Change is the end result of all true learning.”  -Leo Buscaglia “Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty.  Anyone who keeps learning stays young.  The greatest thing in life is to keep your mind young.”    -Henry Ford Some thoughts …

A Proverbs for May 6: Proverbs 6:32 “A man who commits adultery with a woman lacks wisdom, whoever does it destroys his own life.” The first chapters of Proverbs are full of wisdom and warnings about the price a man or woman will pay for straying outside the bounds of martial faithfulness. Sadly, I’ve often seen Proverbs 6:32 play out …

A touching story from the Congo. To read a strong testimony from the pastors we’ll be with in Congo, click here You can also read the article, copied from imb.org below. It tells of the struggles in Eastern Congo around the city of Goma.  This is where a team of us will be traveling later in the month.  All of …

Making New Friends This Saturday I’ll be in Dallas visiting with the Dallas/Ft.Worth Ready Writers Group. It’ll be an opportunity to make new friends and learn with other writers. To read about my visit and learn more about their group, visit   http://dfwreadywriters.blogspot.com One of the best parts of my speaking/writing ministry is the opportunity to make new friends.  I’m so …

Below is Chapter 2 from The Wayfaring Stranger.  It introduces heroine Eliza Clark and shares about her love affair with whip poor wills. The oldtimers of Louisiana’s No Man’s Land had many superstitions and sayings about birds:  whippoorwills, owls, cardinals, wood ducks, and crows.   If you know of any, let me know. Here is the saying that is covered in …

I value all things only by the price they shall gain in eternity.    – John Wesley “Remember you to always keep your good name. It’s the most valuable thing you have. If you lose your good name, it can hurt you for years. If you keep your good name, I’ll give you a button.” – Long ago wise words from …

Last Day of April:  I finally heard a whip-poor-will. Tonight at dark, I heard the long-awaited call of a whip-poor-will SE of our house.  I’d resigned myself to not hearing one in 2010. To hear the eerie lonesome call of a whip poor, click here. I’d been in Honduras during Louisiana’s prime whip-poor-will season. (April 6 was designated “whip poor …

A Proverb for April 27: Proverbs 27:2 “Let another praise you, and not your own mouth;” I’m not an artist; I’m a PawPaw Sketcher.  I draw for my grandchildren.  It’s what my dad and grandpa did and so I’m just carrying it on. This sketch shows the story of the famous big-mouth frog.  Here it is in a nutshell:   The …

Saturday’s Blog Scroll down to read:   1. Rainy Day in La.     2.  Sowing It’s a rainy day in Louisiana. But that’s not a bad thing. All of the local gardens and fields need rain. It’s been dry in Dry Creek (the world’s most overworked pun for my ears) We’ve been under a burn ban. Everything that comes our way is …

April 22, 2010 Scroll down to read: 1. My Uncle Bill 2.Training Vines 3. Making New Friends My Uncle Bill. I’ve always been proud of my uncle,  Bill Iles.  He is one of my heroes and has always been a wonderful encourager in my life and especially my writing career.  (He gave me my first journal in 1973.  I’m now …

  April 21, 2010 Pearline Reed’s wise words to her daughter Elizabeth in A Spent Bullet:  “Here’s the thing about forgiveness.  It’s a gift you give yourself.  When you forgive someone who’s wronged you, you’re giving a double  gift.  One to them, but the best gift is to yourself. It’s not about whether they deserve it or not.  Gifts often …

  Proverbs 20:12 “Ears that hear and eyes that see—the Lord has made them both.” Having gratitude is such an important thing. Gratitude is simply being thankful for all of the blessings of our lives, and that gratitude is directed at their source: God. God made a miraculous thing when he created the human body. The more I know about …

A good thought for a new day and week: A person starts to live when he can live outside himself.” -Albert Einstein