The Long Road
But in the end, the Camino de Santiago is just a road. That’s all it can ever be. The difference is, of course, when you’re on this road, you’re actually THERE.
Inspiration
Please Raise Your Hand
“What scares you most?” was the question asked to members of Mrs. Devonshire’s fourth-grade class. The little hands went up.
A Message For Her
I’m talking about the woman who isn’t used to being The Patient. Who used to be so full of dutiful energy for helping others. Who would do anything for anyone. And did.
Fuzzy Kitty: A Michigan Crime Story (Featuring Hoodie Bandits, Window Yeeting, and a $1,000 Vet Plan)
So…Let me tell you about Fuzzy.
A gray kitten my wife tried to adopt from the local animal shelter. My wife went in there like a normal, kind human being. She saw a little kitten and instantly fell in love—because that’s what happens when a decent person meets a tiny creature with big eyes and zero survival skills.
Winter Cleaning: Making Room in the Quiet Season
Winter cleaning, whether of our homes or our hearts, invites us to slow down, reflect honestly, and allow God to renew our hearts with grace.
The Warrior Brain is NOT a Glitch. It’s a God Given Gift.
Before the World Was Soft Civilization did not create the warrior brain. Civilization survived because of it. Long before laws, courts, or polite abstractions about peace, human beings existed in a world where violence was not exceptional—it was routine. Hunger, predators, rival tribes, and scarcity were constant pressures. The human nervous system evolved not to be calm, but to be ready.
Ginger Bias
In light of all the negative headlines, civil unrest, and the international political upheavals, I know many of you are anxious to know what I did for National Kiss a Ginger Day. Or maybe you missed this particular holiday.
Little Orphan Annie
When you’re having a bad day, think of her. She was born in Agawam, Massachusetts. One year after the Civil War. The daughter of Irish immigrants.
The Woman on the Curb
I see her on the street. She is a hospice nurse. I know this because she is standing directly beside her company SUV, which is covered in vinyl logos, parked outside an older house. She is mid-40s, wearing scrubs. And crying. Face-in-her-hands crying.
The January Spaces
January may feel like a long, cold stretch of waiting, but God uses these ordinary, in-between times to shape our faith, deepen our trust, and remind us that He is just as present in the January gloom as He was in the December joy.
The Beautiful Patient
The 20-year-old girl is sleeping when we enter her hospital room. But her mom tells us to come in anyway. I’m carrying my fiddle case. My friend Bobby is carrying his banjo.
Providence
The old timers in my childhood used a word I never understood. The word was “Providence.” The old timers couldn’t give me an exact definition of this word. Probably because it had more than two syllables.
The Rebels With a Cause
There were 26 of them, altogether. High-school kids. Not one cellphone among them. Neither were there TVs, airpods, gaming devices, or tablets. No tech at all.
It was a party.
The Hospital
In the elevator is a little boy and his mother. They are both carrying overnight bags. Mom looks like she hasn’t slept in eight years. The boy looks worried. He’s so serious. “Mom?” the boy asks. “Do you think Caleb’s surgery worked?”
About Marigold
Her name is Marigold. And while I’m sad the last face she ever saw was his. I’m thrilled the first face her little eyes will ever see will be God’s.
Happy 2026!
A lot has changed in a year. The entire world has changed. Many will tell you that 2025 has been full of bad stuff—the media, for example.
The Great Generation
Carole’s mother was young. Twenty-two years old. She was married and pregnant with her second child. The year was 1945.
The War was freshly over. The Depression was still a recent memory. Carole’s mother wanted to buy her husband a gift for his birthday. He was turning 25.
December Birthdays
Mama asks if I’m having a good birthday. I nod. But I don’t mean it. I’m quiet. I’m always quiet. Ever since my father died several years ago, I just stay quiet. I don’t know why. Not much to say, I guess.
An Appalachian Winter
Visiting an Appalachian Walmart at 8 o’clock in the evening is unlike any other experience. Rural Appalachian dwellers are unique unto themselves. Cautious of outsiders. Not always friendly. They have trust issues.
Amazing Grace
This church is 115 years old. It’s small. Impossibly small, only able to fit 25 people—30 people if they are scrawny. The church is nestled in Appalachia, and looks like a postcard.