Creekbank Blog

“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 …

I asked my friend Randy Smith for permission to share his personal resolutions.  I believe they’ll be a blessing to you. I like each of them, including “Listen to the Martins.”   Birds are one of God’s gifts to us reminding us of his creation and care. Randy is working in the Middle East right now.  Pray for him and send …

Faith that the thing can be done is essential to any great achievement.  -Thomas Carruther Thoughts on revising a 90,000 word novel: “If it was easy, everybody would be doing it.” Morale is the single greatest factor in successful wars. -Dwight D. Eisenhower

Down in the Well “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding…”   Proverbs 3:4 My neighbor Dudley Mercer tells a story from his Dry Creek childhood.  His family farm had a 35-foot deep well on which they relied for all of their water needs. Dudley’s family also had a problem: one of their …

“Let another praise you…” The Parable of the Big Mouth Frog. Share this simple proverb with your children. Let another praise you, and not your own mouth; A stranger, and not your own lips. …. Proverbs 27:2 There is a memorable proverb about a big-mouthed frog that lived in Canada.  Each year he enviously watched the geese wing their way …

“Simplicity, carried to the extreme, is elegance.”   -Jon Franklin. Lord, teach me to be a simple man. Amen Today, August 1, is always a special/bittersweet day. My father, Clayton Iles, would be 76 today.  I listened to a song on my iPod last night and thought, “Daddy, would have liked that version. I wish I could play it for him.”  …

“Peace is not the absence of conflict, but the presence of God no matter what the conflict.”  -Anon.

“It is only when we begin to worship that we begin to grow.”  -Calvin Coolidge “How unhappy is he who cannot forgive himself.”   –Publilus Syrus The spiritual theme of my upcoming novel,  A Spent Bullet, is that “the hardest person to forgive is yourself.” I believe that oftentimes we have been the recipients of God’s complete forgiveness because of the …

Whatever your hand finds to do, do with all your strength.   Ecclesiastes 9:10 If it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing right. Especially if it’s for God. There is no room in the Christian life for sloppy, slip-shoddy work. Whatever we do should be a reflection of the Jesus we serve. And He only deserves our best. My prayer is that …

“An unused life is an early death.” -van Goethe “Lord, use me today to make a positive difference in at least one life. Amen