A Pineywoods Manifesto

A word to live by: Gratitude. Today, I’m thinking about gratitude. It’s such a powerful word. It’s more than simply being thankful for one event or blessing. It is an attitude that should permeate every second of our lives. It’s an attitude of gratitude. A thankfulness that flows out of the heart and examines every detail of our lives in …

One of the things I’m hungry to learn about is having a written plan to guide my life, decisions, and time. It’s called a Life Plan. I call my personal Life Plan “Ten Pins.”                         This plan, which I’ve used for over ten years, continues to grow and evolve. …

A Word from Curt           Let’s go see the eclipse. It’s going to be cloudy all over the texas/Arkansas/oklahoma If we don’t go Worst case scenario, We’ll have ten hours of uniterrupted visiting   Baseball season opened this weekend. Our beloved Houston Astros were scheduled to begin play today in New York against the Yankees. Rained …

A Word from Curt Fighting It’s a word a man must know if he’s going to win in life. I’m not talking about fists or knives. I’m referring to the soul.     We’re all familiar with the adage, “I’d rather fight a bear.” After watching that grizzly bear tear up Glass (Leonardo DiCaprio) in The Revenant, I’m not sure …

It’s Dr. Martin Luther King Day here in America. My first MLK Day in America since 2011. Once again, my thoughts have returned to Africa today. To Jinja, Uganda. Where the world’s greatest river, the Nile, surges out of one of the world’s greatest lakes, Lake Victoria. A plaque to Gandhi is at the source of the Nile. This is …

A Word from Curt I have two questions today: Where do you go for your lonely place? Where are your sacred spaces?     I’ve chosen to make the first question singular: where is your lonely place? In the first chapter of Mark’s Gospel, the writer makes a key statement on the life and ministry of Jesus: 35 And rising very …

Ignore that fancy word. Juxtapositon. It simply means comparing and contrasting. How is an orange like an apple?  How is it different. It’s a big part of how my mind works as I take three steps daily: Being curious Being Amazed. Being Moved to tell a story.     Many times my stories are about these amazing things and how they …

Tough or Hard   In front of me are three objects: a brick, a piece of leather, and a hammer. These make for a wonderful lesson. However, this story is not about the hardness of a brick, toughness of leather, or the pain of the hammer blow. This is a story about somebody. Objects don’t move us—but people do. Watching …

We’re highlighting stories from our short story collection, Deep Roots. Measure Twice, Cut Once   Also I have given ability to all the skilled workers to make everything I have commanded you. -Exodus 31:6   I’ve always loved watching an artist at work. To watch a skilled craftsman shape something with their hands—and heart—is a joy. As the above verse …

Sugar and Ivory It’s odd but I will always think of two dogs when I think of the long night that Hurricane Rita struck Dry Creek Camp. We had 350 people on our grounds. They had been moved and bedded down in our most solid dorms and everyone took enough food and water for the next thirty hours when we …