One of my favorite things about growing up around old country preachers is they could tell a story that would have you laughing one minute and under conviction the next. Years ago, my pastor told me one that I've never forgotten. I don't know whether he intended it to become one of my favorite illustrations or not, but it has stayed with me for years. There was a fellow in our area who held a pretty important public position. Because of his job, a few threats had been made ag

So let me leave you with one question. When you open your Bible, when you bow your head to pray, and when you come to Jesus, what are you really looking for? Because if you seek Him, He promises you'll find Him. "My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth." Psalm 121:2

Life has a funny way of getting into your head. Have you ever been mowing the yard, trimming weeds, or walking through the woods when you suddenly spot a copperhead or a rattlesnake? From that moment on, every crooked stick looks coiled up, every vine seems ready to strike, and even an old garden hose lying beside the shed will make a Baptist dance. I remember one day mowing at the cabin when I spotted a big rattlesnake. I pulled my 9mm and emptied the magazine at him. My dad

There are some childhood memories that never leave you. They sit in the corner of your mind like an old faded Polaroid, waiting for somebody to mention county fairs or cocker spaniels before they come rushing back in full color. This one happened sometime in the early 1980s and still has enough embarrassment packed into it to make me grin and cringe at the same time. I've written before about my cocker spaniel named Scotch. Scotch was a handsome dog. He had long, beautiful ha

One thing I have seen about training dogs, is it definitely has to do with teaching them to stay or come. But also when training it has a lot to do with realizing that a dog is constantly reading the person holding the lead. Long before they respond to your commands, they're paying attention to your attitude. They notice when you're calm, sense when you're nervous, and can tell when you're frustrated, anxious, or angry, often before you've spoken more than a few words. You ma

When I was a kid, the fall often involved me grabbing a .22 rifle and heading behind our house in the woods with all the confidence of a kid who thought he could survive indefinitely on bologna sandwiches and Kool-aid. I heard somebody say the other day that letting a young kid head off into the woods by himself nowadays with a 22 would probably get Child Protective Services called on you. Back in the 1980s, we just called that a Monday after school. I'd wander ridges, and ho

The little boy looked up with tired eyes and said, "I'm too tired to be anybody today." I chuckled the first time I heard that story because, if we're honest, we've all had those days. Sometimes we're so mentally tired we don't even know who we are anymore. The smile disappears. The joy dries up. We wake up already exhausted.

Political freedom is a wonderful gift, but freedom from sin is an eternal one. If you've experienced both, you've got two mighty good reasons to celebrate this Fourth of July.

You can learn a lot if you're willing to admit someone knows more than you.

A few minutes later... "Whoooop... whoooop..." The legendary snipe call echoed through the night. We all had our hands over our mouths trying not to laugh. My uncle even gave a return call back. After a few minutes somebody tossed a rock off into the woods to create the sound of movement. Silence. Then... "Whoooop... whoooop..." Another rock.

If I'm swerving all over the road myself, I probably don't need to be giving driving lessons. Jesus asked: "And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?" (Matthew 7:3) Before I start pointing fingers, I need to check the mirror. Before I become a guide, I need to make sure I'm actually following Christ.

If you've read many of my stories, you'd probably assume my dad was some kind of mountain man. You'd think he slept in camouflage pajamas, brushed his teeth with a squirrel tail, and considered deer season a national holiday. The truth is, Dad loved the outdoors about like a cat loves bath time. Dad always preferred a round of golf, a day on a beach, or a day at the lake on a pontoon boat. Now my grandfather was a different story. He was so hard-core outdoorsy that I honestly

Sitting there frustrated one evening, it hit me how much we as Christians and churches can act the exact same way. Some folks get nervous when God starts blessing another ministry in the church. Some get uncomfortable when another church grows. Some start creeping, comparing, competing, and trying to protect territory like kingdom work belongs to them.

I remember thanking the Lord for good friends and the chance to experience something I’d always wanted to do. About forty-five minutes into the trip, I started thinking about the theme song from Gilligan's Island: “The weather started getting rough, the tiny ship was tossed.” Only this wasn’t a tiny ship, and it sure didn’t feel quite as tough at the moment.

Now every road in life doesn’t show up on the map we planned. Some places get lonely. Some valleys get dark. Sometimes you look around and realize you’re a whole lot farther from comfort than you intended to be. Psalm 139:7-10 reminds us there is nowhere we can go beyond God’s presence. Even out in the middle of nowhere… God already has a sign there waiting on you.

So I knew one day I would see them again. 1 Thessalonians 4:13 says: “But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.” Notice Paul didn’t say Christians don’t grieve. He said we grieve differently. Why? Because for the believer, death is not a permanent goodbye. It’s a temporary separation before all believers have a reunion in Christ.

And the goal isn’t just to raise successful children. It’s to raise wise children who know God. Because if all we teach them is baseball, dance recitals, hunting, fishing, and making money, but never teach them how to walk with Jesus, we’ve handed them a toolbox and forgotten to build them a foundation.

Buddy… I got sick. Not “little upset stomach” sick. I’m talking about seeing colors not yet discovered by science sick. I threw up till my eyeballs felt like they were trying to escape and start a new life somewhere safer. Finally I rolled over on my side in the leaves wishing a hungry bear would come use me to feed its cubs and end my misery.

We were expecting magazine cover pups. The kind of dogs folks would line up for carrying cash and stories about “the best dog I ever had.” So we met up, let nature take its course, and before long we got the news: “She took.” Now we just waited. A couple of months later the phone rang. “There’s five pups…” I’m already smiling. Then he said: “But we got a problem.”

Watching dogs want out of the box to hunt is a special thing. Let me tell you about the time one of the best coon dogs I ever owned got himself boxed by what can only be described as a possum on the half shell. A few years back I decided to head down to Alabama and hunt the Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge area with the brothers. My sister and brother-in-law were living around Huntsville at the time, and there ain’t a tighter hunting budget in the world than “free room and bo