The Prodigal Son

The story of the prodigal son in the New Testament tells of a foolish young man who insists upon taking all of his inheritance and wasting it on his pleasures. He later finds himself in abject poverty; essentially living with pigs. He decides to return home in hope that his father would at least employ him as a servant. He discovers that his father would joyfully welcome him back as his son. What a picture of mercy, forgiveness, and love.

This painting is in a chapel at Montreat College near Asheville, North Carolina where my son is working. It depicts the son’s return and his father’s embrace. Isn’t it beautiful?

God's glory rises above

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God’s glory is over mankind’s! I love mountains and sunsets. We got both out in North Carolina recently where our youngest son move. I didn’t think about it at the time. But I really like how the human creation of shopping is below the clouds, sunset, and the mountains. Our eyes are drawn to the beauty of God’s creation.

Favorite "Surprises"

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When our sons were involved in Scouting, our troop had a tradition of having our “Christmas campout” at a Boy Scout camp west of Fort Worth. As a volunteer leader, I was making my first trip to this particular campout and had never been on these roads and through the small towns along the way. As we entered a town called Mineral Wells, I noticed a large structure in this small and desolate city. As I drew closer, it appeared as though it had once been a hotel. Indeed it was. This is the Baker Hotel. This was once a destination spot for Hollywood elite and others who wanted to come bathe in mineral baths and drink the “Crazy Water” from this area. People like Spencer Tracey and July Garland, I later found out, frequented this place. As with so many other places and experiences, people found other places to go and things to do and this place closed and has been abandoned.

I love road trips for these kinds of discoveries or surprises. My first thought when I see them is “There has to be some good stories about this.” A little research will produce many stories about the Baker Hotel. One of the best stories that is unfolding right now is that this place is being renovated and will reopen within a few years. Downtown Mineral Wells appears to be regaining some life in expectation of the coming future for this building and community.

A Hodge Podge of "Favorites"

A few miles south of the Red River and the Texas-Oklahoma border is a little town called Nocona. It was named after a Commanche Chief Peta Nocona who was the father of Quanah Parker. Quanah is often called the last great Commanche Chief. His mother, Cynthia Ann Parker, was an anglo who was taken as a young girl after an attack on Fort Parker near present day Mexia, TX. She was later recaptured, after living many years as a Commanche, at the Battle of Pease River when her husband was reported to have been killed.

A few years later, Nocona was in the path of the one of the great cattle trails from south and central Texas all the way up into Kansas and Nebraska where cattle would be loaded on trains to be shipped to places like Chicago. A man named H.J. Justin set up a boot-making business along the trail in nearby Spanish Fort. As cowboys would come up the trail, he would size them for boots and after they had delivered their cattle and received their pay, they would pick up their new boots on the back into Texas. He was the founder of Justin Boots. Justin Boots later grew as a boot-maker in Nocona. While it is no longer there, it is still in business over 100 years later.

However, hand-crafted leatherwork is a retained legacy of the town of Nocona in the company of Nokona (Yes. The spelling is different.) Nokona is the only baseball glove manufacturer remaining in the United States today. The photo is of workers at Nokona making baseball gloves used by Little Leaguers and professionals alike. They have a wonderful little museum and you can tour the factory and try on gloves in various stages of their construction.

The town of Nocona has a classic car museum and a wonderful museum called Tales ‘N’ Trails Museum. This place is worth a visit.

I love baseball, history, musuems, small towns, and travelling. That’s why this photo represents a hodge podge of favorites.

Nokona Glove Factory

Suspension Bridge in Waco

For the longest time I was not a fan of history. It seem to me to be a waste of time to learn about “water under the bridge.” It’s a long story, but in the past 20 -25 years of my life I’ve done a 180 degree turn on my perspective of history and so I’m making up for lost time. I read about history and I love to visit places of some historical event. One of my epiphanies some years ago is that many of our modern roads and highways lay on top of historical paths. For instance, a main artery for the famous, post Civil War era cattle drives was right where interstate 35 comes up from Austin and into Oklahoma.

The bridge in this photo was built in 1870 for the explicit purpose of getting cattle safely over the Brazos River in Waco, TX. As I look at it and think about how many cattle and how many cowboys crossed over this bridge in the approximate 20 years of the cattle drives. I doubt many of those cowboys thought to themselves that people would be writing and reading books about them 150 years later. They would certainly not have expected movies and television shows depict their experience. Yet, they played a role in a historically significant time and event in American history.

I think, “What we do in this relatively short time we have on earth can have a significant impact upon others. Let’s do something good.”

My Favorite "Sky Pictures"

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This week I’m not sharing any particular photo. Instead I’d like to invite you to consider the images of the heavens. I grew up in the country in central Illinois. We had, as they say, “dark skies.” There was very little man-made light pollution. The benefit of this was the number of stars one could see on a clear night. It was breathtaking. I greatly appreciated it as a kid. However, it wasn’t until after I moved to the city of Chicago where very fews stars could be observed at night that I realized what I’d had on the farm.

Today I live thirty miles outside of Dallas. It certainly isn’t dark sky country. But, it’s also not in the middle of large city. I am able to step outside my house at night and observe the moon, planets, shooting stars, man-made satellites, and my favorite constellations. To the north, I love to watch Ursa Major (the Big Dipper) and Cassiopeia rotate around the north star nearly opposite of each other. But, I believe my favorite constellation is to our south. In the northern hemisphere it can be see in the evening/night sky during winter into early spring. It is Orion. Many people learn to identify Orion’s belt. But, if you learn to identify the rest of the constellation, it’s magnificent. One special aspect of this constellation is the star name “Betelgeuse.” It is bright and has a reddish color. It’s hard for your eyes not to be drawn to that star when looking in the southern sky on a clear night.

At the time of this writing it is late August of 2022 and I hadn’t see Orion in months. But, the other morning I woke up extra early to get to work and the sun had not yet come up. As I stepped out the door, there was Orion appearing in the southeastern sky. It may as well have been a friend I hadn’t see in a long time. It stopped me in my tracks and made me smile. It set the tone for the rest of the day. Why? These constellations are a reminder or a testimony rather of something beyond ourselves and our little world. Each of the stars in the constellations are immensely larger than our earth and even our sun (which is a star itself). Each of these stars are millions of light years away from us and each other. Yet, there is an order to the universe and a majesty that is beyond measure or comprehension. And we experience this in constant motion. We are on a spinning globe while rotating around a star and we take it for granted that we’ll get to see Orion again in the evening sky next winter. When we do, it’s so familiar yet so new and awesome.

I can’t help but believe their is a Creator behind it all. If the universe is that awesome, how much more is the One who created it and keeps it in order. These “sky pictures” testify “power, beauty, and faithfulness.”

Favorite Architecture - Wrigley Building, Chicago, Illinois

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In 2018 we were in Chicago for my father-in-law’s 90th birthday. I took a day with Sam and Stephen to go downtown and see things in the city. This building is the famous Wrigley building of chewing gum fame and the name of the home of the Chicago Cubs baseball field. There is a lot of wonderful architecture in Chicago. But, this is my favorite. It stands on the north side of the Chicago River and along the west side of Michigan Avenue which is the main strip through downtown Chicago.

Wrigley Building

Texas 42 - "THE" Domino Game of Texas

I love discovering distinctive and treasured elements of the different places I lived. Sometimes it takes me a long time to discover some things. Texas 42 is a domino game that my native Texas friends got me hooked on. This domino set is in the museum of the ghost town of Medicine Mound. I can just hear these cowboys telling stories and maybe talking a little smack as they enjoy a game of 42.

Greatness remembered

As a young boy I had a Great Aunt Delia. She was like an extra grandma. She lived in a town about 30 miles or so away from my hometown and I always looked forward to the times when I would go spend a day or so with her or for her to come visit us. Often on these occasions “we” would bake sugar cookies. These were so good! She died suddenly when I was in the fourth grade and for years I would recall my memories of her, the things we did, and those sugar cookies. A few years back I was reminiscing with one of my sisters on the phone about Aunt Delia and her sugar cookies and I mentioned how much I wish I had the recipe. She replied, Well, I have it.” I had no idea it had been preserved. These cookies are my “favorites” just like my favorite memories of a great aunt.

Favorite Time of Year

October has become one of my favorite times of the year. The temperatures are more pleasant than they were in August and early September. The State Fair of Texas typically operates from late September through mid-late October and that has been a tradition for our family. I often go camping with Scouts or friends in October. My wife’s birthday is in October. We start to prepare for our annual party we call Tamale Fest. 2020 has impacted our traditions and activities this year. But, life moves on and is good in so many ways that some disappointment cannot impact. Here are some memories from a past State Fair and a camping trip to Palo Duro Canyon in the Texas Panhandle.

Favorite Cultural Icon

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Take a look at this sign and this building. Nothing special, right? Wrong! When I see a place like this, it brings back memories of any number of places like it that I went to as a kid with my mom or day, with friends, or other loved ones. It reminds me of the simple blue collar folks that were always chatting with you and other customers that kind in for a burger and a shake or a root beer. Places like this welcome people of all walks of life But, they represent simple American life, a common meal of the average person.

This place in east Dallas has been around for a long time. I just found out about it in recent months and finally made a point to try it out. I was not disappointed. Even though I have only been there once, I feel like I’ve been there hundreds of times.

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Dairy-Ette in east Dallas ( a drive-in)

Dairy-Ette in east Dallas ( a drive-in)

A favorite tradition

After I graduated from seminary in 2005, we discovered that there were numerous ways to get free or very inexpensive tickets to Texas Ranger baseball games. Furthermore, there were numerous activities at the Ballpark that were kid friendly. So, for a number of years, we’d go to baseball games and make an outing of it. One of the occasional perks was going to the Diamond Club in the Ballpark after about the third inning when the dinner crowd cleared out and we’d order the Diamond Indulgence; a goblet with multiple scoops of ice cream, cookies and other toppings and we’d enjoy it in the comfort of air condition and a wonderful vantage of the game through the glass windows. Times and opportunities change. But, the memories last.

Sam and Stephen after we finished the “Diamond Indulgence.”

Sam and Stephen after we finished the “Diamond Indulgence.”