Paddy: The camera loves me.Navigating Distance and Devotion in Our Late 50s I have made ten thousand pots of chili in my lifetime and tonight it was a bowl for one. For the first time in more than two decades, Robert is not here to finely chop the peppers, rake...
FFA Sweetheart Legacy: Corduroy, Community, and Coming of Age in Rural America
Linda Frey, Future Farmers Of America Sweetheart, 1982 Sonoma County FairThe FFA Sweetheart Tradition: White Corduroy Meets Rural Royalty In the heart of Rural America, where homecoming courts reign in autum and prom courts in spring, another tradition has long held a...
A brief post about Gen Z and Charlie Kirk following the Conservative Activist’s Assassination
Today, my college-aged son and daughter, along with their older sister, witnessed the horrifying video of Charlie Kirk (b. 1993) being shot — an act of political violence that Americans across the spectrum are condemning. I have not been this shaken since the...
Kayla Gabbard: The Millennial Baptizing People in Muddy Water
Something remarkable is happening in the world of Christian influencers, and it’s playing out on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and most importantly, in the Water. While New York Times bestselling authors in Christian publishing work their way through book tours,...
From Devotionals to Deconstruction: The Rise and Fall of Christian Female Bloggers
From Devotionals to Deconstruction: The Rise and Fall of Christian Female BloggersFrom Devotionals to Deconstruction: The Rise and Fall of Christian Female Bloggers The Rise of the Christian Blogger In the early 2000s, a new genre appeared on the internet: the...
Modern-Day Tent Revival in Oklahoma (Pictures)
Driving through Hughes County, Oklahoma, I passed a tent revival pitched by the side of a two-lane state highway. I whipped a U-ey right there in the middle of the road and circled back to snap a few pictures. It was around 10:30 a.m. and the sun had climbed high...
Monkavel: The Monk in Purple Who Brings Peace Through Piano
In the ambient anxiety of life, it’s rare to encounter someone who is truly ordained by God. Someone whose very presence is a prayer. Monk Abel (also Monkavel or Монах Авель), the Russian Orthodox monk in purple monastic robe and cap, is one of those rare anointed...
KISS Concert T-shirt and A Metal Lunch Box (Daily Photo)
Back in the 1900s, 😆 we carried metal lunch boxes to school that featured our favorite cartoon characters. We also wore KISS concert T-shirts neatly tucked into our jeans. 👖 We liked to look clean-cut while we listened to bands that spit blood 🩸, played flaming 🔥...
1980s Sunday School Pictures
The Fountain from which flows all my blessings will not be outdone by hell.
[A Journal Entry, 6.2.21] I feel the sense of possibilities I feel the wrench of hard realities The focus is sharp in the city The Camera Eye, Rush, 1981 When it comes to my kids' stuff, I'm a hoarder. There are dozens of bins in the basement filled with all their...
Early 1980s First Communion Photo (Saint Teresa of Avila Catholic Church, L.A.)
"And, this has nothing to do with Generation X." The other day I posted a First Communion photo on Facebook and someone left a comment saying, "And, this has nothing to do with Generation X." My page isn't for her. There are LOTS of Gen-X groups and pages on Facebook...
Happy New Year | Manhattan, 1988
Auld Lang Syne was written by Robert Burns in 1788, 100 years before the above picture was taken in Manhattan on New Year's Eve, 1988. Happy New Year! May God hold you in the palm of His hand. Should Auld Acquaintance be forgot and never brought to mind Should...