In the 1950s, Jim Jones began the People's Temple in Indianapolis. Witnesses said that during one service he made a lady take her clothes off for some sort of insurrection she’d committed. He then proceeded to whip her with his belt. Oddly enough, no one questioned his disturbing behavior or left the building that night in protest. His irrational behavior only intensified and at his leading Jones and over 900 of his parishioners met their fate in the largest mass suicide in history at a place called Jonestown, Guyana, in the fall of 1978. My family and I attended a large church sometime back for about four years. The pastor seemed like a decent person at first, but his behavior grew disturbing with time. He began saying things from the...

In the 1950’s Jim Jones began the People's Temple in Indianapolis.  Witnesses said that during one service he made a lady take her clothes off for some sort of insurrection she’d committed.  He then proceeded to whip her with his belt.  Oddly enough, no one questioned his disturbing behavior or left the building that night in protest.  His irrational behavior only intensified, and at his leading Jones and over 900 of his parishioners met their fate in the largest mass suicide in history at a place called Jonestown, Guyana in the fall of 1978. My family and I attended a large church sometime back for some 4 years.  The pastor seemed like a decent person at first, but his behavior grew disturbing with time.  He began saying things from the...

I've heard that blasphemous claim “Debt’s a tool” for all, too, long!  I've been lectured by college professors, economic court jesters, on supply-side theory and that of trickle down.  In actuality, debt’s a curse.  The borrower’s a slave to the lender - just miss a few payments and see how fictitious that boast really is. The current administration's proposed budget is a staggering $3.7 trillion; a record - a dubious one at that.  Its projected deficit will be in the range of $1.6 trillion, another lonely record. The National Debt is well over $14 trillion as I write.  The estimated population of America is slightly over 310 million.  So that would mean every citizen’s share of the debt is over $45,500.00.  (That’s every man, woman, and...

Life's full of game, vast in resource. Many fare a cast; others venture but dare none. What we seek is sizable, due determination. Destination, be it muddy creek, translucent pond, crystal clear lake, or vast sea of blue, only imagination will apprize. Days, be there a portion, are numbered at best, cast while they last. Faith's castin' that line of expectation. Complicated won't always hook 'em; simplicity will surely do. It'd be boring if all we could hook were trout, oh, the beauty of variety. Set realistic goals won't you; don't fish for whales in a pond full of minnows. Strategy's key, not always productive however. Success and failure go hand in hand, straddle a thin line indeed; it's all about perception. It's important to view the...

Some time back my family and I took a trip to the Creation Museum near Cincinnati, Ohio.  It's a nice place with sprawling Botanical Gardens nearby and exhibits that are top notch at a reasonable price.  Since opening in 2007 they claim to have had over a million visitors.  For some it's a wonderful place, for others who deny its claim it's an abomination. Creationism is defined as a doctrine that’s a true story of the creation of the universe as recounted in the Bible.  God created out of nothing a new human soul for each individual born.  That doctrine conflicts with the evolution theory Darwin envisioned, which in essence states we evolved from apes.  Or the Big Bang theory someone theorized happened when the cosmos came in line and a...

Remember how you used to hang on their every word, reminiscing about how funny they were?  Remember how you couldn't wait to be with them?  The thought of spending time with them was like a dream come true.  Holding hands or staring at ‘em without end, oh, the world was a dance in their eyes.  Talkin’ on the phone for hours was a wonder!  Can’t ya recall how lucky you thought you were? Statistically, though, we seem to forget much of that.  For the average marriage in America won’t last - on average, their duration is only five years.  I've heard a few say the church-going community has to be exempt from those statistics.  That's not so, the numbers hold true across the board.  Sadly enough, dating ends up being nothing more than an...

Life’s a precious thing, you know? I never used to give it much thought when killing deer, rabbits, or a squirrel here and there.  And I never gave it a second thought when I landed a fish and it flopped about on the bank gulping for a breath.  Although I don't hold anything against hunters or fishermen, my interest in such things has waned. When I wrote War of the Heart, my second novel, I interviewed several veterans.  I was quite taken by some of their reactions to my questions.  Oftentimes they would just sit and stare into space, or glare at the floor, when a question dug a little too deep.  One of those brave souls told me: “Although you're in a situation that's hell on earth and you're at war and killing the enemy is justified, you...