Maverick Faith

I don't know what prompted me to give Lima Beans a second chance. Maybe because I was told I was being served Butter Beans, not realizing that they were one in the same. But what makes southern Butter Beans so much more tasty than Yankee Lima Beans?

My mom used to serve them steamed and I don't ever remember them being seasoned apart from some butter and maybe some salt. The seasoning of Butter Beans definitely has something to do with the umami. Perhaps its that delicious broth that turns into almost a Butter Bean gravy that you can sop up with a nice rustic crusty bread? It's amazing what the proper seasoning along with low heat and time can do to a much maligned bean. Of course, changing the name helps too.
A few days ago, I made the most delicious pot of Butter Beans in our instapot. It only took seven minutes from frozen to dinner plate. Now, I didn't have all the ingredients I desired...most notably a few slices of bacon or hog jowl. However, they turned out jus…

It was March of 2010 in Georgia and it was particularly cold and wet. I had just started a new on-air job with a non-profit Christian radio station and one of the first major projects I was involved in, outside of the studio, was the building of a new frequency from the ground up. We were literally constructing a radio tower a few hundred feet in height. It takes special skills to construct a FM radio tower and for that we called in an outfit from South Carolina. A rough group of guys. It was funny to watch them try and curb their language when the owner of the station was nearby. After all, he was a Christian man and Christians don't take too kindly to cussing -- so they thought. Me, on the other hand, I struggled with a lifetime exposure to "foul" language. It was pretty much the norm growing up in New England. Often I was excoriated for "corrupt communication" that would slip past my teeth in moments of frustration. A work in progress...that is still me. On…

This might be the only list of films about faith that doesn't include any Kendrick Brothers movies. Don't get me wrong, they make some fantastic films and they even shared their popcorn with my wife and me at one of their premieres. But on this post, I'd like to highlight some obscure movies of faith that will move you.


1. A Man Called Peter

This 1955 film is based on the book written by the wife of Peter Marshall. Born and raised in Scotland, Peter Marshall received his calling into ministry following a near death experience. After seminary, he pastors a rural church in Covington, Georgia. His journey then takes him to a prestigious church in NYC and later preaching to Navy cadets in Annapolis, MD on the morning of December 7th, 1941. Throughout his ministry, he takes an unconventional approach to the gospel and high church and connects well with the youth of his day. He even serves as chaplain of the United States Congress before an untimely death. There is so much pack…

I grew up on classic films in the 1980s and 1990s -- films from the 1930s-1960s.  We had cable growing up and pretty much just watched AMC back when they had classic films (and sometimes I'd sneek some MTV back when they actually had music...lol).
Anyway, I thought I had seen just about any classic film worth watching -- until I was browsing Amazon Prime and stumbled upon the Gary Cooper film -- The Court Martial of Billy Mitchell.

"Friends, haven't you any fish?"  The words of Jesus rang out loud and clear across the Sea of Galilee to the discouraged fishermen who spent all night in the boat catching nothing.
"No!", they replied. Jesus then asked them to throw their nets on the right side of the boat to find the fish. They obliged and soon were hauling in 153 big ones to be quite exact. The apostle John turns to Peter and says, "It is the Lord."
I was coming off a few months of disappointment and like the apostle Peter -- I too said, "I'm going out to fish." Fishing was an activity I had engaged in since I was a young boy growing up in the Vermont mountains. I was decent at the sport, but up until this point in my life I had never landed a fish worthy of a wall mount.
Fishing for me was mostly a way to get alone with God and think. So on this trip I was expecting the usual luck -- a few small bass and some bluegill. I tied a #2 mustad hook to my line with a small …

I'm not a fan of high-energy & low I.Q. fishing and hunting shows. Honestly, I think some of those shows do more harm than good when it comes to PR for their respective sports. I rather enjoy the offbeat fishing and hunting programs that don't get as much exposure as they truly deserve. These shows are truly works of art and are well worth the time spent watching,  I shall share a few of my favorites with you.

1. A River Runs Through It

Yes, I'm just going to go ahead and get this one out of the way. Whenever anybody thinks of fishing films, this movie always makes the list. A true story of faith, fishing, and searching for your soul. The only beef I have with this story is their disdain for worm fishing. As an "all-rounder" myself, I esteem the lowly worm in high regard as a sure bet on landing supper.





2. The Complete Angler

The Compleat Angler was the original treatise on fishing published by Izaak Walton in 1653. It is as much a fascinating look into the s…