What is a "tiehacker"?

"Tiehacker" is a term originating in the Ozark hills of southern Missouri. It referred to a class of people from WAY back in the hills that made a living cutting trees into ties for the railroad. I first heard the term from my wife shortly after we married. I had been working outside all day and was dirty and stinky. When I came inside, she told me I looked like a "tiehacker" and had to get cleaned up. She had learned the word from her father, and thought it just meant "a bum". Never having heard it before, I looked it up. Although I am not really a bum, I thought it was interesting, and I do have a life-long love affair going with the Ozark hills, so ... there you have it!

Sunday, November 26, 2017

"Resilience - Hard-won Wisdom For Living A Better Life" is a GREAT book!

Purchase it HERE


I haven't quite finished reading this, but so far it is one of the best things I have read that wasn't the Bible. And, it is now marked down to ridiculously low price!

This is not "snowflake" material, but rather a gritty, manly, and highly literate and compassionate encouragement for an old friend. As robust as you would expect from a SEAL, but also as literate and intelligent as you would expect from the Rhodes scholar that Greitens also was.

A few years ago, Eric Greitens heard from an old friend of his, "Zach Walker". Greitens and Walker had gone through U.S. Navy Seal "BUD/S" training back in 2001/2002. Now, Walker was having problems, fighting some personal demons. The ensuing correspondence has been collected into this classic. I'll be writing a full review once I've finished reading and digesting it.

And, just for good measure, Mr. Greitens is a proud native of my hometown St. Louis, and is now the Governor of our great state. Best we've had in a very long time, too!

Please, feel free to comment, and pass this on to your friends!

Wednesday, November 1, 2017

So-called "entertainment" in the life of a Christian

This was inspired by a recent podcast by Tim Challies & Paul Martin, entitled "THE ART OF GODLINESS, Episode 8: ENTERTAINMENT". I highly recommend it to everyone!

Adultery and all forms of immorality are rampant on television. "Soap operas" are almost exclusively about fornication, adultery, and other forms of immorality, with a dose or two of evil business shenanigans.
Almost every major TV show has one or more regular characters that are regularly involved in either fornication or adultery, and often one or more regular characters that are homosexual or transgender. A few shows, such as "Will And Grace", openly showcase and gleefully celebrate homosexuality.
Many other shows also showcase and glorify other evil behavior such as violence and mayhem of all sorts. "Dexter", "Breaking Bad", "The Shield", and "Animal Kingdom" spring to mind. Not to mention all the vampire and zombie shows that are so popular.
  • "Though they know God's righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them." (Rom 1:32)
  • "[love] does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth."(1 Cor 13:6)"
  • "all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness." (2 Thess 2:12)
Even shows that are supposedly good and wholesome, such as "7th Heaven" and "Touched By An Angel" exhibit truly awful, I daresay even Satanically inspired, decidedly anti-Biblical practices and theology.
The Scriptures are quite clear. To allow oneself to watch and be entertained by these behaviors is to "give approval to",, to "[have] pleasure" in them, to "rejoice at wrongdoing". And such things are roundly condemned and point to the possibility that the one that indulges in such "entertainment" needs to "examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!" (2 Cor 13:5)
Bring back shows like "The Waltons" or "Little House On The Prairie", that celebrated wholesome lifestyles while not ignoring the evil in the world. Give us more shows like "When Calls The Heart", which in some ways I consider the best show on TV now.
O Christian! Instead of indulging your flesh is evil doings, choose entertainment that glorifies God and Jesus, that showcases true Biblical love, forgiveness, and other wholesome things.