In a few minutes the door opened and a young mozo stood there and he and the rider spoke and the man nodded toward the outside and the mozo looked toward the outer door and at the other rider and at the boy and then withdrew and shut the door. They waited. – Cormac McCarthy. […]

From the Amarillo Daily News, October 30, 1928. Author unknown: …One of these factions is Catholic, the other protestant. I know that Protestants pray, because I have prayed with them. And I know that Catholics pray, – and pray direct to God, – for not long since I passed by a little Catholic graveyard in […]

I took this photo today at my folks’ place; it shows why the conquistadors and vaqueros called the town in which I live “Amarillo” which means yellow in Spanish. We’ve had less than half-an-inch of rain in 2011, and about two weeks worth of 100 degree days. Romans 8:22 – For we know that the […]

The Parody of Human Endeavor.

cwmyers: “All human effort falls short of its intended potential, all human aspirations exist under judgement, and all human achievement is measured by the standards of the coming kingdom. In the present historical context, this means that Christians recognize that all social organizations exist as… The Parody of Human Endeavor.

I’m convinced that bad art derives, like bad literary theory, from bad theology. To know God falsely is to write and paint and sculpt and cook and dance Him falsely. Perhaps it’s not poor artistic skill that yields bad Christian art, in other words, but poor Christianity… …The worst Christian novels seem to forget Oswald […]

So noir exists as the fiction of moral breakdown, the fiction of corruption, and yes, the fiction of reprobation. To its practitioners, this also makes it realistic fiction, because it depicts the world—this side of Christ’s coming—as it truly is: not a realm of Newtonian regularity on the path to an ever brighter future, but […]

This photo was taken in my hometown which was originally founded under the name Bethlehem by a German Catholic priest. His project was to plant parishes in the midst of immigrant farming areas which had no central township. He also founded a town named Nazareth about 30 miles from home: Nazareth and Bethlehem, naturally. When […]

Donate to Joplin Tornado Relief

Our friends at Mystery Church in Joplin have been housing, feeding, and healing victims of the tornado. You can donate by clicking the Title of this Post. Donate to Joplin Tornado Relief

Published in Narrative

I had a story published in Narrative Magazine this week. If you’re interested in literature, follow this link and take a look around the site. They publish some great authors that I attempt to emulate. Maybe you’ll find something there as inspiring as I’ve found. If you’d prefer to just read the story, here’s a […]

An Open Letter of Recommendation for Ryan Culwell

Around this time of the academic year, I am flooded with requests for letters of recommendation. Students need an authority to be witness to their character and aptitude as they apply for scholarships and internships. It’s in this spirit that I write the following, unsolicited recommendation for the songwriter Ryan Culwell. May 13, 2011 To Whom […]