Creekbank Blog

A church built on the rock… Volcanic Rock! This is one of the Union of Baptist Churches near Goma, Congo. In the background is Mt. Nyiragongo (0ver ten thousand feet high), one of five active volcanoes in this area. You can see the smoke boiling out of the mountain. At night, you could see a red glow from the crater. …

Curt and Lovely Habimana.Lovely is the granddaughter of Congolese Pastor Habimana Athanase . Back home from Africa. Thoughts from my heart. Two things to bring home from any international trip: jet lag and a full heart. Lord, my prayer is this: Help me get over the former and never lose the latter. Amen. There are six life words that drive …

From Nairobi, Africa. “The life lived in fear is a life half-lived.” -from the movie “Australia.” It’s late Tues. PM here. We landed here and saw zebras and antelopes as we neared the runway. We (Reggie, Bill, and Curt) have an overnight flight at midnight to London. Then we’ll fly home to Houston by Wed. afternoon. A few thoughts from …

The following is a proposal and outline on a new book entitled Eliza’s Journey. I’d appreciate your input on the book title, the plot’s twists and turns, as well as the name “Frederick.” (see below. I believe there’s got to be a better name.) Let me hear from you. Curt Author’s notes: Tentatively Eliza’s Journey is planned as an 80,000 …

Burned, yet Blessed, by the Fire… “The best time to plant a tree is twenty years ago. The next best time is today.” We’re just finishing burning season in Southwestern Louisiana. Five days of rain and the greening of the grass ended one of the driest winters we’ve had in years. The following story is from my 2004 book, Wind …

The Lone Hostage “He to rescue me from danger, interposed his precious blood” –Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing Robert Robinson It’s only appropriate to write about Captain Richard Phillips on Good Friday. Phillips is the captain of the Maersk Alabama, an American cargo ship hijacked two days ago by armed pirates from Somalia. As the pirates attacked the ship, …

A brick of peat in County Mayo, Ireland. See below or click here on the sweet smell of burning peat. The “Smell of Home”   Recently I published a blog on the wonderful smell of honeysuckle. (Click here to read it if you missed it. Also read below for a treatise from my friend horticulturist Charles Chaumont on the two …

  A Pat on the Head A short story containing an old dog, a famous horse, an eulogy at a country funeral, and ending with a tragic plane crash, will be one of two things: It will either be a forgettable tangle of tales that leave a reader frustrated. Or it may be a wonderfully woven story imparting lessons that …

A Friend named Ivory From the book, The Mockingbird’s Song by Curt Iles “The friend who can be silent with us in a moment of despair or confusion, who can stay with us in an hour of grief and bereavement, who can tolerate not knowing … not healing, not curing … that is a friend who cares.” –Henri Nouwen “A …

Ivory “guarding” the office.   “Sugar and Ivory” From the Curt Iles book,Hearts across the Water 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 …