Before Mother moved in with us in 2014, she and I used to talk on the phone every evening. She always wanted to hear about our day. One night I told her about a walk our daughter, granddaughter, and I had taken to photograph wildflowers. I remember how priceless it was when a story like that one ... View Post

So many people wanted World War II hero General Dwight D. Eisenhower to run for president in 1948 that leaders in both the Democratic Party and the Republican Party tried to talk him into it. President Harry Truman wanted him to run so much that he told Eisenhower that if Ike would run for ... View Post

John Truman, the father of President Harry S. Truman, struggled to find financial success. When John Truman was 63 years old, he sustained an injury. He was ill for a few weeks before he died. During those weeks, he spoke of his failure and he died believing that he had failed. Thirty years later ... View Post

Yesterday Ray and I chatted with one of our children about the impact that popular culture has had on spiritual beliefs at various times in history. The conversation centered on the impact that the modern "I want to do whatever I want to do and you can't tell me otherwise" culture is having on what ... View Post

At dusk last night, the sky around us seemed unusual. All around the horizon, the sky was gray, except in spots like this one. In the midst of that cloudy sky, many bright spots of blue sky and lighted clouds like the one above peeked out. I kept seeing another and another and ... View Post

In the 1930s, Dorothea Lange and other talented photographers took thousands of photographs of everyday people. The caption of this photo on Library of Congress is this: Sunday morning, Kern County, California. Many Texans, Oklahomans, Arkansans are settling in this country. Their cultures and ... View Post