The immeasurable value of courage
He sat in a chair against the wall in the doctor's colorless waiting room, quietly anticipating a nurse to call his name. Lines only...
Keep the soldiers in your heart
Byron Woodrow Durham kissed his newborn infant, Bobbie Jean, before leaving to combat the enemy in December 1942. Agnes, his wife, and one-month-old daughter...
Extinguish the fires of rage
Webster defines rage as "violent and uncontrolled anger." I characterize it as a disease that spreads like wildfire. And if we don't douse the...
Do good while standing strong
Daddy always said, "The only problem with living long is watching others go away while I still stand strong." He was right about that.
Many...
Through a mother’s heart
Many of us work a myriad of jobs throughout our lives. We build careers, climb up and down ladders, and hopefully accomplish our goals....
Listening to the voices of America
A political writer, I am not. I have avoided diving into such perilous seas filled with sharks, but I will take my chances today...
This Mother’s Day, I shall wear red…
I vividly recall, as a child, attending church on Mother's Day and straining to see who was wearing a white or a red carnation...
The finest athlete I ever knew
Around 1934, a tall, thin fifteen-year-old girl traveled down the mountain to Murfreesboro, Tennessee. The road was curvy and treacherous, as most roads were...
A rose will blossom
"Just remember in the winter
Far beneath the bitter snows
Lies the seed that with the sun’s love
In the spring becomes the rose."
Most of us know...
Meet God’s soldier with a mission
When I moved to LaGrange, Georgia, from Tennessee as a fifteen-year-old, my first Georgia beau was Dan Larry Payne. I possess an old photo...
On the wings of the sparrow
Susan and I were living in the same suburban Atlanta subdivision in 1988. I, along with other mutual friends, would often attend neighborhood parties...
Cling to what is important
In my little office, one will find family photos amid papers, books, disarray, clutter, and chaos. This morning, feeling a bit exhausted, all the...