Janet Chester Bly's Blog, page 7

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Janet Chester Bly in office

Janet Chester Bly

Copyright©2013



This morning I was helping gals from our small church take down the Christmas decorations and do overall cleaning of the building. While mopping the bathrooms, a memory of long ago came to mind.





Aimee Semple McPherson

Back in the early 1970s while hubby attended Fuller Seminary in Pasadena, we also served as youth workers in a northeast Los Angeles church that provided housing. We also helped with part-time church facility housekeeping.



One day when I was dusting an upstairs library room, I felt the strangest sensation and was drawn to one of the books: an autobiography, The Story of My Life by Aimee Semple McPherson. Perhaps because I was in a Foursquare Church (her denomination) not far from Angelus Temple, the church she founded?



I began to read her story right then. This controversial, daring woman of faith fascinated me.

Now, decades later, I thought of her again ... and one of the characters I was writing about in my WIP. Emilene Charpentier ... she's like Aimee ...and I didn't realize it until this moment.




~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



I'm working on an epistolary novel set in the 1800s. Have you ever read an epistolary novel? If so, which one was your favorite? I'd really like to know. Send me a note at janet(at)blybooks(dot)com.

Interview with Stuart Brannon

Stuart Brannon



Janet Chester Bly
Copyright©2012





JCB: Stuart, how come you’re not too fond of Christmas time?




BRANNON: Oh, I enjoy celebrating the birth of Jesus my Savior. It’s
just that Christmas also brings some tough memories … lost my wife
and baby back in 1875 on Christmas Day. Then, after my cattle got wiped
out with the disease, riding through a bitter blizzard to a hard winter
at Broken Arrow Crossing the Christmas of ’76. Tended to a wounded
prospector, an abused, pregnant Indian girl, and faced off with a band
of wild outlaws. All that comes rushing back on a blustery December day.







JCB: Did you ever have any children after that?




BRANNON: I adopted 12-year-old Littlefoot, a Nezperce Indian boy,
back in ’88. He later married and gifted me with a passel of grandkids.
They’re my pride and joy.




JCB: Relate a bit of your background. What have you done in your life?




BRANNON: I trailed several cattle drives to Kansas, scouted for the
U.S. Army, prospected for gold in Colorado. I served as marshal in New
Mexico and Colorado and battled phony Spanish land grants, then drove one of the earliest large herds of Mexican cattle north into Arizona Territory.




JCB: I read somewhere that you twice refused appointment as Arizona Territorial Governor.




BRANNON: Yep. Men with violent pasts make inferior lawmakers.




JCB: So, you consider yourself a violent man?




BRANNON: Nope. Out of necessity, I’ve had to endure many a fierce gunfight.




JCB: In Gearhart, Oregon, in 1905, you’ve still got a full head of
hair, though it’s pure gray, and you still seem a formidable man to
tackle. What’s your biggest challenge these days?




BRANNON: Finding my missing friend, U.S. Marshal Tom Wiseman … and
golf. I suffer the affects of my many injuries over the years. That
hampers long rides on my horse Tres Vientos and driving a ball on a
course.




JCB: I didn’t realize you enjoyed playing golf.




BRANNON: I don’t. As a favor to Lady Harriet Reed-Fletcher, I’m trying to learn to play
the fool game so’s I can participate in her charity celebrity
tournament, on behalf of the Willamette Orphan Farm. The crook of my
arms, the way they work after all these years, I aim straight and the
ball hooks right. If I shoot to the right, the ball flies down the
middle. I guess that’s part of my handicap.




JCB: Ahh, Lady Fletcher, wasn’t she a former lady friend, that is,
wasn’t her husband, Lord Edwin Fletcher, a trail partner of yours in the
old days?




BRANNON: When I first met Edwin Fletcher, he was half-froze and
lookin’ for gold at the Little Yellowjacket. Before that, he told me
he’d been in northern India trying to keep the Monguls and Hindus from
killing each other. The last ten years he’s mostly been sitting around
English gardens sipping tea and managing world affairs. Dreadfully
boring, don’t ya think?




JCB: You miss the old days?




BRANNON: I don’t miss the backbreaking work of single-handed keeping
bad guys under control. But I do miss the sense that we lived in
momentous, history making times.




JCB: Tell me something about your faith.




BRANNON: I talked to God before I knew his name and long before we
were properly introduced. My creed is duty to decency, mankind and God.
That’s why I get involved. Law, decency, the will of God and future
generations demand this country be safe for women, children and
families. That’s who I am.




JCB: You’ve traveled and trailed a lot of places. Where do you consider home to be?




BRANNON: Arizona bears my camp. My ranch. My outfit. And its
citizens, my brothers and sisters. They’re my tribe. The west of the
future belongs to my descendants, my offspring, my legacy. I find myself
almost possessive about the west that is yet to come.




JCB: Stuart Brannon, you’re quite a legend, right up there with Wild
Bill Hickok and the Earp brothers. How does that make you feel?




BRANNON: I don’t see it that way. When they take the great photograph
of mankind’s family reunion, I’ll be the one in the tenth row from the
back, fifth from the end, who is partially blocked by the lady in the
big hat. I’m the one staring down at my scuffed dirt brown boots. But
that doesn’t mean I haven’t had a shining moment or two.




JCB: Any last words you’d like to share?




BRANNON: By the time a man figures out what he is missing, it’s
already gone. This is my daily philosophy: we have the opportunity to
saddle up this day and ride it into our memories. But that means staying
awake.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



Also featured on Ralene Burke's blog: http://www.raleneburke.com/2013/01/character-tour-stuart-brannons-final-shot-by-janet-bly/

Recipes From Author Cheryl Wyatt's New Novel

Doctor to the Rescue


 
















Eagle Point Emergency Recipes:

 

Mountain Dew Apple
Dumplings  

Ingredients:   

2 apples sliced and cored. 

2 sticks butter. 

2 cups sugar. 

2 tsp cinnamon. 

2 cans croissant rolls. 

1 can Mountain Dew.  




Directions: 

Preheat oven to 350. Spray
bottom of 9 by 13 pan. Glass works best but isn’t crucial. 

Peel and core
apples. Slice each into 6-8 pieces depending on how many croissant triangles
per tube. Wrap each apple slice in a croissant triangle. Place in two rows in 9
by 13 baking pan. Melt butter, cinnamon and sugar together then mix and pour
mixture over wrapped dumplings. 

Pour ½ to ¾ can of Mountain Dew around the
perimeter and bake at 350 for 45 minutes. 

For crisper dumplings, bake at 375
for 30 minutes. 

Serve alone or with vanilla ice cream on top. This is a quick
and easy potluck recipe. Enjoy!






Southwestern
Meatloaf  

Ingredients: 

3 pounds ground chuck or turkey. 

1 tall sack of crushed crackers, Saltine-type. 

1 large onion. 

Salt, pepper & garlic to taste. 

1-2 eggs. 

1 small can tomato
sauce. 

1 small can green chilies diced. 




Directions:

Mix together and shape like bread loaf
or leave flat in baking pan. 

Cook at 350-375 for 45 minutes. 

Remove and spread
Ketchup over the top. 

Put back in oven and cook for another hour or until meat
is done. 

Enjoy! 

When you place the pan in oven, be sure to put it on a baking
sheet to catch any grease that bubbles over. No oven fires desired. LOL! 









Enchilada
Pie

Ingredients: 

3
lbs ground chuck or turkey. 

1 lb shredded cheddar cheese. 

Corn tortillas.

2 cans Enchilada sauce (Old El Paso red, mild is best in my
opinion)

Salt.
Pepper. Garlic.







Directions:

Fry or brown meat in skillet. Season with salt, pepper and
garlic. 

Finely chop 1 large onion. 

Drain meat grease off after cooked. 

Layer 6
yellow corn tortillas or white corn in 9 by 13 pan in two rows of three. 

Add a
layer of meat, use about half of it. Then sprinkle on half the diced onion. 

Pour enchilada sauce over that.  

Sprinkle layer of shredded cheddar cheese next. Use about half your
cheese. 

Start the layering process over in lasagna fashion. Tortillas, meat,
onions, sauce, cheese, in that order. 

Cook at 350 to 375 for 45 minutes. 

After
cooked, if desired, garnish with lettuce and tomato. 

Note: Can substitute red meat
with chicken or ground turkey for a healthier meal. Can also use flour
tortillas rather than corn.









Banana
Bars 

 Ingredients: 

½ cup butter or
Margarine softened. 

11/2 cup sugar. 

2 eggs. 

1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream. 

1
teaspoon vanilla extract. 

2 cups flour. 

1 teaspoon baking soda. 

¼ teaspoon
salt. 

2 medium ripe bananas mashed, about 1 cup. 

For frosting : 

1 package 8
ounce cream cheese softened. 

½ cup butter or Margarine softened. 

2 tablespoons
vanilla extract. 

4 cups powdered sugar.  




Process:  

In mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. 

Add eggs, sour cream and vanilla. 

Combine flour, baking soda and salt. 

Gradually add to the creamed mixture. 

Stir
in bananas. 

Spread into greased 15-inch by 10-inch by 1-inch baking pan. 

Bake at
350 for 20-15 minutes until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. 




Frosting: 

in a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, butter and vanilla. 

Gradually
beat in enough powdered sugar to achieve desired consistency. 

Frost bars. 

Store
in refrigerator. 

Yields 3-4 dozen.




~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 




Doctor to the Rescue


ABOUT
THE BOOK:

·                 Combat doctor Ian Shupe returns home from overseas
with his most important mission: to raise his little girl. But Ian's a single
dad, and working at Eagle Point's trauma center means having to find child
care. 

        When bighearted, struggling lodge owner Bri Landis offers babysitting in
exchange for construction work, Ian accepts. He vows to keep his emotional
distance from Bri, yet can't deny that his daughter is blossoming under her
tender care. 

         But is he ready to believe that his heart's deepest prayer may finally
be answered?




From the Eagle
Point Emergency Series:

Saving
lives—and losing their hearts—in a small Illinois town.




~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~





Author Cheryl Wyatt


ABOUT
THE AUTHOR:

Born Valentine’s Day on a Navy base, Cheryl Wyatt writes military
romance. 

Her debuts earned RT Top Picks, a Reviewers Choice Award, a Gayle
Wilson Award of Excellence final and #1 and #4 on Harlequin's Top 10
Most-Blogged-About-Books, lists which included NYT Bestsellers. 




Sign up for her
newsletter for yummy story recipes and other fun stuff exclusive to newsletter
subscribers at www.cherylwyatt.com. 




Cheryl
loves interacting with readers and often plots mayhem with them on her
reader-centric Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/CherylWyattAuthor




~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~




BOOK PURCHASE LINKS:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Doctor-Rescue-Inspired-Cheryl-Wyatt/dp/0373877900#




Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/docto...





Christianbook.com:
http://www.christianbook.com/doctor-t...

December: A Good Month to Cowboy

Stephen Bly (1944-2011)




DECEMBER IS A GOOD
MONTH TO COWBOY

Cowboy Poetry

Stephen Bly

Copyright©2001







December is a good month to cowboy,

   if
you're fond of the wind, snow and cold.

It ain't that I don't like winter, boys,

   it's
just tougher when a man grows old.




Snow whipped down off the Elkhorns,

   drifted
the draws and the ridge.

I turned Sage's rump to the mountain

   and
plodded our way to the bridge.




With my Carhartt yanked up to my ears,

   and my
Resistol screwed down tight,

We pushed them two old stubborn cows

   into the
afternoon's fadin' daylight.



 






The pup was straddlin' my saddle horn,

   his
little legs done tuckered out.

We crossed Rock Creek a crunchin' ice,

   the last
trip of the season, no doubt.




My chaps as stiff as a rawhide tree,

   my toes
I hadn't felt since noon.

A big rock fireplace waited up ahead

   and I
knew we would be there soon.




I got a barn as big as a feed store

   and a
log house I built by hand.

A wood pile to make Dan McGrew smile,

   a lovin'
wife with style and with sand.




There's a star hangin' up on the Beaverslide,

   took
ever' extension cord that I had.

You can see that sucker for sixteen miles,

   as a
symbol it ain't all that bad.






It reminds me of the star at Bethlehem,

   a great
many Decembers ago.

It signaled wise men to the savior's side,

   I doubt
if they plodded in snow.




I reckon He leads every one of us,

   if we
would just follow the light,

Surrender our stone cold stubborn hearts,

   and quit
puttin' up such a fight.




You think about that in December,

   when
there ain't no sound buttin' in.

And you're ridin' down off the mountain

   and
tryin' to sort out your sin.




Ain't only a baby that we're celebratin',

   but a
Savior who died in our stead.

He gives us a good life here on earth,

   and a
forever we don't have to dread.




I don't think those thoughts in the summer,

   the
ranch is too hectic, you know.

Just late in the evenin's come winter,

   and I'm
trailin' along real slow.




My toes is a startin' to warm up,

  
ponderin' the blessin's I've had,

and thankin' the Lord for His kindness,

   askin'
forgiveness for makin' Him sad.




December is a good month to cowboy,

   takin'
time to remember what is true.

Bringin' friends to the Lord as I ride home,

   askin'
Him to take good care of you.






 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

For more cowboy poetry by Stephen Bly, check the Bly Books website store:

http://BlyBooks.com

Mary, Did You Know?

An excellent video with one of my fav Christmas songs, by Ceelo Green, promo for the upcoming Bible Series .... original music by Mark Lowry & Buddy Green.

Introducing The Texas Tenors

Just heard these guys for the first time tonight on "Fox & Friends" show. Wow! They're country. They're Classic. And a bit of Gospel music too. First discovered on "America's Got Talent!" Here's some sample clips ....

6 Meanings of Immanuel "God With Us"

Stephen Bly


Stephen Bly 

Copyright©1996












"The virgin
will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him
Immanuel which means "God With Us" (Matthew 1:23)





Life can be tough,
confusing, scary. But if you have someone to come alongside and go through
stuff with you, it's not as bad.














1.) God is not
against you. 

     Romans 8:31-34







2.) You are not
alone. 

     Hebrews 13:5







3.) You have
instant help, if you'll only ask. 

     John 15:16







4.) You are where
the action is. 

     Mark 2:45







5.) He is close in
tough times. 

     Acts 7:55


6.)
Everything will turn out for good in the end. 

     Revelation 21:4



~~~~~~~~~

Check out these links ....

 http://www.blybooks.com/2012/12/five-ways-to-celebrate/#

5 RESEARCH NUGGETS

Stephen Bly




Stephen Bly

Copyright
©2008

www.BlyBooks.com 







Writers are gold miners at
heart. Any story worth its gems has the sweat of pickax research behind it.




In the historical novel, Cowboy
For A Rainy Afternoon, I discovered these jewels of info that played out in
the plot ...




1.) Personal experience

Set in 1955, with the
narrator as a 10-year-old boy, same as I would have been, I was able to draw on
some past knowledge.


Gary Cooper in High Noon


In the story Tex Ritter
sang, "Do Not Forsake Me, Oh My Darlin'" on a juke box, and I had
known all the words since my youth when I saw High Noon multiple times at the
theater. But I didn't realize that Gary Cooper, who played Will Cane, was a
Montana boy, from Helena.




2.) History of a brand

Part of the story happens
in a Woolworth's store, which was a Five & Dime, sort of like a
"Dollar Store," only it included a soda fountain/lunch bar, better
merchandise, and a friendly clerk behind every counter.




The first Woolworth's store
was founded with a loan of $300 in 1878 by Frank Winfield Woolworth. Despite
growing to be one of the largest retail chains in the world through most of the
20th Century, increased competition led to its decline, beginning in the 1980s.






1950s F.W. Woolworth store


In 1997, F. W. Woolworth
Company converted into a sporting goods retailer, closing its remaining retail
stores that operated under the Woolworth's brand name. They renamed it Venator
Group. By 2001, the company focused on sporting goods and changed its name to
the present Foot Locker Inc.




A classic example of a
company that adapted to the market needs.




3.) Americana



The adventures in Cowboy For A Rainy Afternoon happen on U.S. Route 66. Known as "The Main Street of America" or
the "Mother Road," it was one of the original U.S. highways. Route 66
was established on November 11, 1926 and ran from Chicago, Illinois through
Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California where it
ended at Los Angeles. A total of 2,448 miles. The primary route for those
leaving the "dust bowl" and moving to California during the Great
Depression.




4.) Place names

"Coosie, did you ever'
cowboy up in the Dakotas?" Granddaddy asked.

"I drove some agency
beef to Pine Ridge a couple times. The second time I did it, I was cookin' for
the XIT," he admitted.




This conversation got me
curious about the XIT Ranch. In the 1880s it was the largest ranch in the world
under fence and it all laid in the Texas Panhandle. Three million acres
sprawled from the old Yellow House headquarters, near what is now Lubbock,
Texas, northward to the Oklahoma Panhandle, in an irregular strip roughly 30
miles wide.




It covered portions of ten
counties, which helped perpetuate the misbelief that the brand XIT stands for
"Ten In Texas." Actually, the brand served only as a means to thwart
rustlers.




Later, Coosie says, "I
didn't go much beyond Fort Rob, Nebrasky. Some locals came out and took the
herd from there. It wasn't too many years after that ruckus at Wounded Knee and
we was a little shy of rilin' up the Sioux."




Fort Robinson, in the
extreme northwest corner of Nebraska, was an important military installation
that played crucial roles in the Plains Indian Wars. It's a favorite site of
mine. I love to visit there.






5.) Quirky details.

Shorty cleared his throat.
"We must have got served some bad Mescal, because when me and Half-a-Bill
left a little after midnight we couldn't find our horses."




You got to love the old
cowboy names. Who today would tolerate being called Half-a-Bill?




I'm a tea-totaller myself.
Well, I drink that muddy, boiled coffee. But about the  mescal Shorty mentioned ... it's a Mexican
alcoholic drink made from agave (maguey) plants.




There are many different
types of agave plants and each produces a different flavor of mezcal. The term mezcal
generally refers to all agave-based distilled liquors that are not tequila
(a mezcal variant allowed to be made only from the blue agave plant,
usually in the town of Tequila and the surrounding region of Jalisco).




The mezcal of Sonora is
called bacanora in reference to the municipality where it is made.
Chihuahuan mezcal is called sotol after the plant that is used there.
Now I know more about Mexican liquors than I ever needed to know.

~~~~~~~~~~~

What did you appreciate most about the research done in a novel you read recently?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Cowboy For A Rainy Afternoon






This book and many others by Stephen Bly available on Amazon or the bookstore at http://BlyBooks.com

Stephen BlyStephen BlyCopyright©1992&nbsp...

Stephen Bly




Stephen Bly
Copyright©1992

 



Robert Jack lived right down the road. He called me Butch and I called him Junior. We discovered we agreed on almost everything ... Dwight David Eisenhower and the New York Yankees, Dodge pickup trucks and quetta nectarines, Coca Cola and International Harvester Tractors, Daisey BB guns and High Noon. But Junior never concurred with me about horses or rodeo. He insisted horses were dumb and useless and that folks who did rodeo were too stubborn and stupid to stay safe and healthy.
But rodeo has taught me important truths.



1.) For some folks, life can seem like an 8-second ride. The secret is holding on until you hear the buzzer.
Some of you are riding bad bulls. A rocky marriage. A job that's wearing you down. No job at all. A strange storm of circumstances. If you let go, you get trampled. But one day when you reach eternity's door, your whole life on earth will seem like an 8-second ride. So, hang on.



Saint Paul said it this way: "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith" (2 Timothy 4:7).



2.) If you break the barrier, you pay the penalty.
In steer wrestling, the steer's given a head start. The cowboy can't chase until the animal crosses through the taut string.

God warned of His barriers. He put them there to keep you safe ... and at times to test your loyalty.



Galatians 6:7 states: "Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap."



3.) Tie 'em tight.
Calf roping's my favorite event, mainly because of the beauty of watching well-trained horses. When the calf's feet are tied, the horse holds the rope in place until the cowboy remounts. Sometimes this requires two loops, so the knot doesn't come loose.

Use the same ropes that God does.



"I led them with cords of a man, with bonds of love...." (Hosea 11:4) Tie them tight with bonds of love. No matter what, keep on loving ... through the rebellion and tears, the tests and the years. Who is that someone for you?



4.) The turns are more important than the straightaways.
Barrel racers run a twisting pattern. They gain or lose seconds by how the horse navigates the 8-shape curves around the barrels, without knocking one down. In real life, it's not how you perform when the going's easy, it's how well you do with the trials.



Jesus said, "Love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you. For it you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax-gatherers do the same?" (Matthew 5:44,46)

Loving an enemy -- that's a tough twist. Loving those who love you -- that's a straightaway. Anyone can do that. It's the turns that count most.



5.) The wilder the ride, the better chance of winning.
Bareback riding. Saddle bronc riding. Bull riding. What animal you get is the luck of the draw. The cowboys who want to win celebrate if they get the ones who buck off the most riders. Is that crazy or what? But if they stay on, they get a higher paycheck.



Here's the way James 1:2 puts it: "Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials." Why? Because it's the rough rides, the trials, that demonstrate your discipleship. "Knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing."



6.) There are some things in life you can't do by yourself.
Team ropers require both good headers and heelers. Each member of the team has a unique position and skill in the competition. It takes them all.



"Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor" (Ecclesiastes 4:9).



7.) If you fail to mark, you lose.
Saddle bronc riding, the classic event, is a skill used on every ranch in America. The riding hand and the single rein, attached to the bronc's halter, must be on the same side. A rider is disqualified for bucking down, changing hands, losing a stirrup, touching himself or the horse or equipment with the free hand. The secret is balance and how long a lead to give the rein. If it's too short, you get pulled right over the top of the horse. If it's too long, you can't reach high enough to take up the slack.



 But the most important part of the challenge is to avoid the flag at the gate. That happens if the mark's missed coming out ... the rider must have his spurs over the break of the bronc's shoulders when the bronc's feet touch the ground, first jump out of the chute. If that doesn't happen, he's disqualified. It's the rules.



Jesus said it this way: "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me" (John 14:6).

No matter how well you do in life, no matter how wonderful everyone thinks you are, no matter how many good deeds you accomplish, if you miss the mark, you lose.



"He who has the Son has the life, he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life" (1 John 5:12).

That's God's mark and He is the final Judge.



 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Have you ever been to a rodeo? If so, what is your favorite event and why?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Bury Me With My Boots On

Stephen Bly




Stephen Bly
Copyright©1992

 



The lady seemed restless, like she wanted to ask me something important. The pastor and his well-dressed wife had met me at the airport and she hadn't had a chance to break into the conversation. As we merged into freeway traffic, she cleared her throat. Pointing to my footware, she blurted out, "You don't wear those when you preach ... do you?"
Now I suppose in some parts of the country it might seem strange that my heavy shoes have pointed toes, underslung heels and 13" finely stitched quarters. "Yes, ma'am, I wear cowboy boots to the market, the office, the rodeo, to lunch in New York City, and even in the pulpit."




She sat silent a few minutes, then interrupted once more. "Uh, do you wear that hat when you preach?"



I chuckled. "Oh, no. I usually toss it on the front pew or hang it on the rack when I walk in the church."



She seemed relieved and joined in the laughter.



It's a common reaction. I spend most of my days in ...

 ... Wrangler jeans. Tough denim. Copper rivets softened by hard work and constant wear

... Justin boots that have stretched to the exact size of my feet, so I can throw them into the stirrup, swing into the saddle, ride through the woods or mesquite and sage, listen to the heels slap on a wooden floor

... long-sleeved western shirt with snaps and name on the back of my belt and a big silver buckle fastened at the front.

... wide brimmed, beaver felt or straw Resistol cowboy hat, to keep the water out of my face in the winter, the sun off my neck in the summer and something to tip in respect to the ladies and pull over my eyes for long waits in airport terminals.



Why does a clergyman with several college degrees, summa cum laude in Philosophy, dress like that?
1.) Because I grew up on the land. Roosters woke me with the smell of sizzling bacon and eggs. Open fields and freshly plowed ground with steam rising behind rolling foothills beckoned me to come and play.

2.) Because I live on the western slope of the Bitterroot Mountains, in the middle of the Nez Perce Indian Reservation at 4,000 ft elevation, in the pines on the edge of the Camas Prairie.

3.) Because I like it. It's comfortable. It feels so me. And because the West was never won with Guccis and tanktops.

4.) But, most of all, I dress western to make a statement. I choose to identify with the cowboy, both the history and the myth.



 I read about the adventures of guys like Lewis and Clark, Joseph Walker, the '49ers, Charlie Siringo, Shanghai Pierce, Chief Joseph, and Wild Bill.



I was probably born a hundred years too late.


High Noon

But I'm also a child of the Silver Screen cowboy. Some of life's most important messages were gleaned on Saturday afternoons at the movie house ... such as, you treat all women like ladies (Stagecoach) ... there are some things in life a man must do, even if he has to do them alone (High Noon) ... good always triumphs over evil (Shane) ... vengeance is a weak life focus motive (The Searchers) ... and every tough time goes better with a Roy Rogers song (Under Western Stars).



 I learned to respect the law and lawmen. To be kind and gentle with women and children. That there were absolutes in life that should never be violated. I learned that honesty, truth, and a good reputation were more important than all the gold in Cripple Creek ... and that real men give their word and keep it.



None of these principles redeemed me in a spiritual sense. None told me of God's love or forgiveness or His salvation gift through Jesus Christ. That came much later. But I blame the Old West and western movies for my conversion. They set me up for it. I didn't have a chance when God's grace cut me off at the pass.



Sure, reading western history or watching western movies as a teaching tool may seem out of date. But have we failed to replace them with something equally as effective ... to prepare hearts to receive God's truth?



So, to all those who have questioned me about my chosen wardrobe: yep, I'm going to ride on down the trail just like I am. Look for the guy wearing the cowboy hat. You can bury me with my boots on, partner ... and let the mouth harp wail "Empty Saddles in the Old Corral."



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What have you chosen that signifies something about what you believe and who you are?

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