Good Wednesday morning, it is cold this morning as our heater gave out last night. Oh boy, what timing! I tried to switch it to emergency heat, but that didn’t work. The downstairs is heated via minisplits so that heat will rise through the floors and help, and we can always sleep in the dungeon! I will call my buddy in the AC business and see if he can help out. We are very blessed that we live in the South. It is 33 degrees now, but headed for 70 this afternoon. So much for spending a fortune a few years ago to make sure we wouldn’t have to worry about our AC and Heat in retirement. It would seem we are losing this economic war against foreign manufacturing through their planned obsolescence! Well, I'd better get off that soapbox before I go way too far!   Let's get to why we are all here: The Daily Bible Challenge! We are reading/listening to 1st Kings 2 today as David’s light fades to death and Solomon undertakes some serious housecleaning as the new king. By requesting...

  Good Tuesday morning, Yesterday was a day of rest for us, after our full day of driving in the crosswinds the day before. We did straighten out a few things around here, but mostly just rested. It was bitterly cold outside, so it was a good day for movies and naps.   I am so excited for you to read/listen to today’s chapter as we start the fascinating book of 1st Kings! I will keep this brief, as this chapter is right at 8 minutes. We will be introduced to the man who becomes the wisest man in history, yet he, too, was fallen and sinful. He took polygamy to a whole new level, so maybe the wisdom was not granted in that one area? As we peel back the layers on Solomon, we can learn so much about life and being satisfied and content in this life. Please click the link below and listen for yourself!   Talk with you soon! https://www.blueletterbible.org/audio_video/popPlayer.cfm?type=nasb_n&b=11&c=1

  Good Monday morning! Well, I hope we will not be held accountable by our community for the stowaway that must have been in the bed of our truck, on the way home from Missouri (this nasty winter weather)! The high winds and cold chased us all the way home, making for an adventure behind the wheel for nine plus hours of driving! So yes, Texas, we are the ones responsible for bringing the cold and wind to Texas yesterday, and we stand corrected for our foolish mistake. Please accept our sincere apologies!   Madeline and I unloaded the truck into the house and then collapsed into bed. But what a great trip that was! We had shirtsleeve weather the whole time, and for us, that is good! I can get chilled to the bone here in the south, and was concerned how I would hold up if they got single-digit weather while we were there! Well, I am rambling on and on about the weather, let’s get to Today’s Daily Bible Challenge in the 24th and final chapter of 2nd Samuel.   I had always w...

  Good Sunday morning! We are starting our travels back to Texas this morning. What a great trip it has been. Our son and DIL started their trip back to Houston at four this morning. We will start ours at seven, as we are much farther north in Texas than they are.   I have enjoyed this time away, but I can’t wait to get back to my computer to write these letters! This laptop is just about worthless—everything is hurry up and wait—but it is not used very often, so it is hard to justify replacing it! Although we have enjoyed spending so much time with our grand dog, we also look forward to seeing our own dogs and cats! Well, I am really rambling way too much here. Let’s get to 2 Samuel 23; we will close out 2 Samuel tomorrow.   As we pick up in chapter 23, we read/listen to King David’s last song. He writes of what it is like to be a king, reflecting back a bit on his past. He also points out some men who needed special recognition for their bravery and warrior spirit. I...

     Good Saturday morning! I stayed back at the cabin yesterday with my son and daughter-in-law. We also had our grand dog with us (a fabulous goldendoodle), and my son and I took her down to the lake for her first lake experience. That dog was so excited and curious about all that water and the slight waves from the occasional boat passing by.   My darling bride Madeline made her homemade, old-world recipe Gumbo, just how her momma made it years ago…well, maybe even better! That sure hit the spot for the whole family here at the cabin. I wanted to tell you young Arthur is doing well after his diagnosis and medicines, thank you for your prayers!   Well, we better get to our chapter for today! We are in chapter 22 of 2nd Samuel for Today’s Daily Bible Challenge. Please click the link below to join us and listen for yourself! We are kind of in the wrap-up of Samuel, and today is a bit of a tribute to David’s time of rule. It is pretty much a verbatim ...

    Good Friday morning! I trust your Christmas Day went well! We had an amazing gathering, and all were so gracious to us! Then the gift exchange was followed by a great feast, all while overlooking the lake down below—what a blessing all this has been. The only downside about this week so far is that one of the relatives, a fine young boy of 19 months of age, has fallen ill with some kind of respiratory virus. He had a rough night last night and is starting out on a rough morning. Please pray for healing for little Arthur this morning as he heads to urgent care! We have a couple more days here in Missouri before heading back to The Little Hundred Acre Wood in Texas. What a blessing it is to unplug and see a new area of God’s great beauty! Well, before I start rambling on and on, let’s get to Today’s Daily Bible Challenge, where we are jumping back into 2 Samuel 21 right where we left off earlier this week. Some see a conflict in the Bible as we hear of another Golia...

      Are you giddy yet? MERRY CHRISTMAS! It is early on Christmas Day 2025, my darling bride and I are away from the Little Hundred Acre Wood for Christmas for the first time in many years! The Wood and all its animals are being tended to by a dear young friend of ours, and we are comfortable being away! It is still about two hours until sunrise, and I am giddy to write to you about the birth of our Lord and Savior, coming to deliver us from death to life eternal. A whole new life lived in harmony with God and His Holy Spirit dwelling within us, in our new heart of flesh!   Yesterday I was shown some real hospitality and taken on a few tours; one was the Nighthawk Firearms manufacturing facility—I even got to meet the owner of the business! Then a little later another tour of a Bible Museum in Arkansas. They had Bibles dating back to the 1500s and even a 1-inch-tall full miniature Bible printed in the 1800s. There was also a 65-foot-tall statue of Jesus outside on a...

  Merry Christmas and Happy Christmas Eve to all of you near and far. My darling bride and I made the trip safely to Golden, Missouri. We are at a fine “cabin” overlooking a grand lake; the company could not be much finer also! We are with our middle son and his wife, their golden-doddle Maxie, and his in-laws. Soon, more family will arrive from all over the USA. I am anxiously awaiting sunrise over the lake from a cliffside view. My heart is exploding with the giddiness of a child awaiting these views as I listened to our chapter for this morning for Today’s Daily Bible Challenge. I find that the excitement of Christmas has already been opened for me these days, as what finer gift could we receive than the gift of salvation from Jesus, our Lord and Savior!   Well, I am starting to ramble; let’s get to our special Christmas Eve edition of The Daily Bible Challenge in Luke 1. If you are new to all this, we are hearing from Luke the Physician, who documented all of Jesus’ life l...

    Good Tuesday morning, I hope this letter finds you and yours well! We are all packed up for our trip, our house/animal sitter will be living here to care for all the critters! I find myself giddy for this long-overdue trip away! We will get an early start with hopes of arriving before dark. Merry Christmas, all, but rest assured, the Christmas story will continue here at The Daily Bible Challenge. I will be posting from our destination, as this is my joy to serve you this way!   We are in Matthew 2, and we read about Jesus’ birth and some of the details we see in nativity scenes. We also read/listen to a part that is usually glanced over as fast as possible. That is that there was a mass murder of male children after Jesus’ earthly parents departed to safety in Egypt. The Evil King Herod ordered all the male children of Bethlehem killed, trying to eradicate Jesus after he was fooled by the Magi. The verse Matthew 2:18 brings great sorrow to my heart, thinking of all t...

  Good morning, and Merry Christmas! We are finally here! Today, we begin our yearly tradition of pausing The Daily Bible Challenge wherever we are and moving on to the New Testament accounts of Jesus and His birth for Christmas. We will pick back up in 2nd Samuel this Friday, the 26th.   There are four chapters in two books that pertain to the accounts of Jesus’ birth. Matthew 1 & 2, and Luke 1 & 2, but today we will also be seeing a video about the prophecy fulfilled in Matthew 1:22-23. The prophecy comes from Isaiah 7:14 and is covered so well in this video by GotQuestions-dot-org/AKA Biblemunch that I thought I would share a link to it directly. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqbgrky8cfI .  It is about seven minutes long, but confirms/prophesies the birth of Jesus some 740 years before His birth. The confirmation of Matthew’s verse is early in the video if you are in a rush this morning. But there are several more great prophecies about Jesus in the video. A...

     Good Sunday morning, I hope you are up soon and plan on going to your church home, “Church Family” as I like to call it. We are made for community; it is part of God’s design in us! No, churches are not perfect, none of them are! After all, we are all fallen, and the church, therefore, is made up of fallen, imperfect people! Our church (StoneWater Church) has a motto, “No Perfect People Allowed!” We hope that new people will learn to live a transparent life that begins with healing from our past and going forward as a New Creation in Christ! We are a safe place for sinners to start a new life in Christ! We have six campuses in North Central and one in West Texas, and of course, online for shut-ins.   If you are on the other side of the world, God has us there, too! We work with churches all over the globe, through our REM program, from Israel to Ireland, Mexico, Costa Rica, Spain, to all over the USA! Please go look it up and see if we can help your local churc...

  Good Saturday morning, Madeline and I did a huge grocery run yesterday in preparation for our travels and our house sitters' needs (at H.E.B., of course). Later in the day, I replaced a bulb in Madeline’s truck’s headlights. What a mess that was. You have to remove the entire light assembly to replace the bulb, and to do that, you need to remove the grill, the splash guard in the fender, and part of the bumper as well. Perhaps there is a trick I haven’t discovered, or maybe it is because the headlights are aftermarket, not OEM.   I am headed out to breakfast with some of my brothers in Christ in a few moments. I look forward to this breakfast meeting every two weeks. We have true brotherhood and accountability in this group. Well, let’s get to the reason for this post: The Daily Bible Challenge in 2nd Samuel 19.   I won’t give too much of a spoiler here, but please know that the behind-the-scenes evil doer, Joab, will get his just due in the end, but it won’t be for a w...

  Good Friday morning, one and all, far and wide! Who would have thought a post with a picture of a man hanging himself in humiliation would be one of the largest readership days of all time for The Daily Bible Challenge? But that is just what happened yesterday, the farther God’s word is spread, the happier I am about fulfilling my purpose! I won’t lie to get you to read it, but I will do just about anything else to get you to click the link below and read and listen all about the chapter!   I know that as a pastor, I am expected to maintain a certain behavioral standard, but I am closer to King David in my approach to serving God. Remember the verse and song “I will become even more undignified than this” as David danced in the streets to worship God! Well, that is way too much about me, let’s get to today’s chapter, 2nd Samuel 18.   David sends his soldiers out to battle the warriors of his son, and by the end of the day, he goes into deep mourning. My former big-city-...

  Thursday has arrived, and we are 75% ready for our trip. We have a pet/house sitter for this journey that we have known for years and feel very comfortable with, as we will be away from The Little Hundred Acre Wood. All the animals will be well-tended. Madeline and I will be headed to HEB today and also making lots more Pralines as gifts in her kitchen. This will be our first traveling Christmas in many, many years, and we are getting pretty excited! We hope your preparations are going very well for your feast/gathering, as well. Let’s get cracking on Today’s Daily Bible Challenge.   In 2nd Samuel 17, we hear of a plan to destroy King David and his devoted followers. With God’s blessing, this plan is foiled at least for now. An advisor to the false king commits suicide by hanging. He did this after his advice was not taken. Could you imagine being so humiliated before the leadership of your town/people that you went home and offed yourself? Absalom really is in over his head...

  Good Wednesday morning! It will be sixty-four degrees here today, and I am ready for it! This cold weather we are having is far earlier than our normal here on the Little Hundred Acre Wood! We put the new tires on our truck yesterday so we can head into the snow next week to see our son and daughter-in-law. That purchase and this trip are pretty much our Christmas present for this year.   Madeline and I started making her mom’s recipe for pralines yesterday and will do a lot more today! These are gifts for everyone when we arrive up north next week. Because of the dangerous nature of that hot caramelized sugar, I insist Madeline bring me in for the final steps. I guess I have thicker skin on my hands and arms from years of work. This is a fun tradition for us, and it brings back great memories of her mom!   Well, there I go again, getting off topic! We are in 2nd Samuel 16 for Today’s Daily Bible Challenge. Please join us here daily by clicking the link below and listen...

        Good Tuesday morning, one and all! This morning’s Daily Bible Challenge in 2nd Samuel 15 is intriguing, but the lack of wisdom, honor, and loyalty frustrates me, especially from a son to his father, when all in all, David was a good man after God’s own heart! Yes, Absalom had a case against his father, David, in not giving swift justice against his half-brother Amnon for raping Absalom’s sister Tamar. But to spend forty years slowly undermining his father’s authority and then taking treasonous action against him, Absalom really shows his true colors here as a shameful son and traitor. But King David is shrewd and leans in on God’s counsel the next few days, even if he does come off a little cowardly in this morning’s chapter, running away. What is your take on the events of this chapter? Shoot us comments/questions via PM/DM, and we would love to discuss them with you!   Soon, we will do our traditional switch to the story of Jesus’ birth for Chris...

  Here we are at the dawn of another fine Monday morning. How will you shine your light today? As I await the warm red glow on the horizon out my little corner office windows, I find myself pondering today's upcoming events. My darling bride and I will be at the doctor’s office this morning for our annual physicals. We try to be a shining light of joy wherever we go, but medical appointments can make it a bit harder to do! We engage people in conversation and ask how their day is going. Sometimes, it works, and people engage back, allowing us to make a connection for Christ.   These days, we care about all the people we meet. This change in our hearts comes from a new life in Christ. In the past, we would have been more concerned about our own health issues, but we now understand that these are temporary things, and our joy is found in showing others the light of our Lord and Savior. Sometimes I wear a shirt or hoodie that says How can I pray for you today? It rarely produces...

  Conspiracy to commit murder, lust, incest, and rape. Yeah, why would you want to read a boring old book like that? Oh, and that is just this morning's chapter in The Daily Bible Challenge as we read 2nd Samuel 13. I will not hide my motives from you. I want you to read the Bible to hear more about God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Three parts but one being/God, referred to as the Triune God. We dig into the Bible daily here, 365 days a year, one chapter, and sometimes two at a time. The real pathway to eternal life and a life worth living here on earth is in the New Testament, but we read the whole Bible in order and in context. So if you are seeking a saving relationship with Christ or have questions about that, please contact us here directly via DM/PM, and we will help you find what you seek.   But let’s get back to our Old Testament account of Ammon raping his half sister and the premeditated murder that will come from it some years later. Oh, one mo...

  Good Saturday morning! We have some long-time readers/friends who insist I give them these updates on the happenings here on The Little Hundred Acre Wood (yes, that means you, Molly & Sandra, etc.). So the rest of you, please humor me on the following two paragraphs; the good stuff is below those, please feel welcome to skip over all this! I had a few things side sidetracked me from finishing the siding repair on the back of our house yesterday. I will finish it today before any real winter weather arrives. We are forecast for another Texas December day in the mid-sixties and sunny! It made it to 73 degrees yesterday; it was a joy to work outside in that! It has been pretty much like this all week.   We also had a contractor repair the lead in to our driveway yesterday, filling in some potholes with hot asphalt. They were doing a large job just up the hill from us, and our work was done with the leftover scrap! This was a special gift to my bride, as it was bad backing o...

  Good Friday morning, wherever this letter finds you! I worked toward finishing up some details on our home siding project yesterday, and oh man, did my back tell me about it last night! It was nothing some Aleve couldn’t take care of, so I hope to finish a bit more on it this morning. I need to get this finished before any real winter weather arrives. I hired this project out, except for one wall at the very back of the house. I am not residing that wall, just making some repairs to two sections of siding and replacing removed trim before I hire out the painting work in the early spring. Well, before I start boring you with rambling on and on about all the details of this eight-year off-and-on-again remodel, let’s get to The Daily Bible Challenge!   Second Samuel 11 is not one of my favorite parts of the Bible; I have no right to burn in anger against David, but somehow I still do! I have no right because I am guilty of lust and, therefore, adultery in my heart. Don’t worry...

  Good morning, I hope you have great plans for today, and with that, great success! Welcome to The Daily Bible Challenge, where we read the whole Bible one or two chapters a day, 365 days a year. I try to pique your interest by writing a little bit about each chapter to make you want to read it, but just a tease! We try hard to only work in-context of the Bible, asking when, who, and to whom? Today is about King David, about 1000 years before Jesus the Christ was born. David is very important because half of Jesus’ lineage was prophesied as being out of the house of David. So if that is enough to make you want to read/listen, then please skip all this and click the link below and listen for yourself! That is far more important than anything I could write here!   Have you ever had a great plan of kindness that went very wrong and was received as an insult or worse, a threat? In 2nd Samuel chapter 10, King David had a great plan after the death of a fellow King. His intentions ...

  We will read/listen to a great act of kindness in chapter 9, but first, many conquests of King David in chapter 8 of 2nd Samuel. Chapter 8 will anger some for the mistreatment of horses, but this was a common thing in warfare back then. I am not condoning it, just recognizing the common warfare tactic.   I do find it interesting how the same man who gave that cruel order also took such good care of his friend's orphaned, crippled son, whom he had no responsibility for! That part is in chapter 9. The more I read of David’s rule, the more I know I would not like to be a king! Just like you couldn’t get me to run for any elected position, no matter what road they take, there is always someone mad at them! I will keep making enough enemies by posting God’s word daily, here at The Daily Bible Challenge. That is enough controversy for me! At least if I stick to God’s plan, there I will be under His protection! Another song comes to mind…” This is how I fight my battles”, here’s a ...

    David was trying to do something honorable for God, but received a hard no from God. At least it was clear and direct, although delayed by a night’s sleep. Have you ever been told no in your prayers? I think all of us have, although sometimes we don’t realize it, we just think He hasn’t heard our prayers yet. We have all heard the out-of-context verses that God will give us anything we want (1st John 5:14). But please know that if you put that in context, God is a loving Father who will provide for us within His will. If it is not for His glory or for our good, He will deny our requests. After all, He is not just some Genie in a bottle waiting to grant us our every whim and desire! These are not wishes but prayers to the Creator of the Universe!   In 2nd Samuel 7 for Today’s Daily Bible Challenge, we read how God told David no, and David accepted it graciously. We can find another account of this in 1st Chronicles 22:8, and in that account, God is gracious enough and ...

  Have you ever been angry at God? King David will be angry at Him in today’s chapter of The Daily Bible Challenge as we read/listen to 2nd Samuel 6. Someone was trying to do the right thing, and God killed him right there on the spot! This has always been a troubling event for me, as I have read about it over the years. We also hear of Saul’s daughter, Michal, starting to despise David for his worship. A modern-day song was written about this event. I found a couple of links for it! Garment Of Praise/Undignified (Live At Passion 2025) The correct song picks up at 4:46 timestamp. This was also produced by David Crowder about 20 years ago, and my kids grew up on this song in Second Baptist Cypress’ youth! Here is Crowder’s link! https://open.spotify.com/track/1kxnk76mn2Ni8ApYBfQDeK , but I must warn you, these two song links will destroy any Monday morning doldrums you have going! Prepare for fun worship!   This is a lot of links, but here is the link to the actual text/audiob...

 Good Sunday morning wherever you are! I hope you will rise soon, get ready, and go to church for the fellowship and worship available to you there! We are in chapters 4 and 5 of 2nd Samuel today. We will read/listen to David killing two more messengers who thought he would be happy with them. We will also see David rise to be king of all of Israel, but not because of his own hands but of God’s doing!  On a side note, we will also see for the second time the errors creeping in that will eventually be David’s downfall. Unfortunately, it has been a common issue with men worldwide throughout time. In modern day, I call it the inability to control their zipper! David is gathering wives and concubines and having sons and daughters everywhere! Yes, he loves God, and yes, he commits to all of these women in one form or another. But why would anyone want more than one spouse, but ego/pride? Pride seems to be the root of all evil and seems to be what takes down many a strong warrior/se...

  Here we go again with some old guy writing about that boring old book, the Bible, and then posting it all over the internet! Geesh, I mean, come on, HOW BORING can you get, there is just murder, secret deals, conspiracy, concubines, rescued wives, polygamy, wars, and treasures? Yeah, why would you click a link and listen to all this?   All kidding aside, all that is really in this one chapter and more! So even if you are not seeking a relationship with God, you can read this book and be intrigued! We do this every morning, and it is called The Daily Bible Challenge. Our sole mission is to read the whole Bible one or sometimes two chapters at a time in context. Did you know that the Bible is sixty-six separate books written by some forty authors, spread over about fifteen hundred years? Then they were joined together as one book around 1500 AD. There is war, betrayal, murder, lots of procreation, prostitution, loyal marriages, great men of valor, and great women of much coura...

  Good Friday morning near and far! We had a full day here yesterday on The Little Hundred Acre Wood. I was tied up for the morning on the paperwork side of ministry (yes, there is such a thing). Madeline had a lot of cleaning and organisation she wanted to accomplish. I then had a lunch meeting with some brothers in Christ and then returned home for a little more church work. I have a bit more of that this morning to be completely caught up after the Thanksgiving rush. Well, that is the boring part; let's get to the Bible, where we have a civil war starting that ends up with 360 men perishing in the battle on the first day.   We are in 2nd Samuel 2 for Today’s Daily Bible Challenge as we listen to civil war breaking out amongst God’s people. David may have thought that with Saul gone, he would rise to full power over Israel, but we will read/listen to how it took a little longer, with civil war breaking out for a time. These were probably difficult times for David, events se...

  Good Thursday morning, after much prayer and then reading/listening to 2nd Samuel 1, I find I am struggling to write very much. This is very rare for me, I am not ill, nor depressed! So I will trust in God and make this very short indeed. Saul and his son Jonathan died in battle in yesterday’s chapters. Today’s Daily Bible Challenge is in a new book, 2nd Samuel 1, but we pick up right where we left off. David is receiving the news of the death of God’s anointed King Saul and his son Jonathan, David’s dear friend. So what does this unique individual do in such a time of sorrow? He writes a song (known as a dirge, a sorrowful, mournful song or poem) and sings it with his people. He also tears his clothing, a sign of beginning a time of sorrow and mourning. This can also be a sign of anger/disgust, and David does have an outburst of anger at the messenger of the news. Click the link below to read/listen for yourself! Talk with you soon! https://www.blueletterbible.org/audio_vid...

      Good Wednesday morning to each of you near and far! Madeline and I have had a full week already, but today I will be in a seminar all day, and I am looking forward to resting my bones and only working my mind! The seminar is for our REM churches at StoneWater church. It is a church to church outreach for the Pastors and their families, but also to help smaller churches share in our knowledge and resources! Here is a link to REM https://remchurches.com/what-we-offer/ . Our biggest struggle with this program is trust; people just don’t believe we are really here to help them and don't have some ulterior motives like controlling them. I love serving in this worldwide project!  Well, I am rambling again! Let’s get to our short and final chapter of 1st Samuel. Saul meets with his destiny, and unfortunately, so does his son Jonathan and his brothers. But this all allows for God’s new anointed king David to begin his reign without harming God’s 1st anointed king ...

  Good morning and Happy Tuesday to each of you. Madeline (my darling bride) and I attended the commencement of a class of men and women from the Re/Generation program at our church last night. I was up late for that and am running a bit late posting this this morning. I am also late, as I was perplexed by a situation in today’s chapters.   It would seem as if David has himself in a precarious situation. If he fights, he will be committing treason against Saul and his own people. But if he doesn't, he will lose the protection from his local king! But given the deception David used against his local king Achish, David was probably just posturing here and counting on God’s deliverance from this situation. After all, how could David become King of Israel if he went out into battle against his own people as a traitor?   This kind of anomaly in the Bible always sends me off into a research binge, trying to gain understanding of what is always my own misunderstanding of the scr...

      Good morning, it is another bitterly cold morning here on The Little Hundred Acre Wood. Yes, I am sure I would die in a winter up north! I used to say that if you dropped me off in Chicago in the winter, I would curl up and die in about ten minutes, LOL! I am sure there are many places I wouldn't even last ten minutes! I used to consider anything north of Dallas as too cold for humans! Madeline and I will be heading into Weatherford this morning for our annual bloodwork before our physicals. We really love our doctor and the technicians there!     Nothing like a fast on a cold Monday morning to lift your spirit… Nah, I am really ok, just wallowing in the frustration of more medical bills, but at least I can have this black coffee. I am not sure this is really allowed, but one of the nurses told me it would be ok, but that was a year ago, and she is no longer with the clinic… But hey, I will take it as the law and go with it! No one should h...