Don Adkisson's Blog (15)

Echoes From the Campfire

March 1, 2018

     "I think there is something here, something more than all you see and feel...it's in the wind.... But you do not know what music is until you have heard the wind in the cedars, or the far-off wind in the pines."

          --Louis L'Amour (Conagher)

     "For the Lord is the one who shaped the mountains, stirs up the winds, and reveals his thoughts to mankind. He turns the light of dawn into darkness and treads on the heights…

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"One does not surrender his conscience, his soul, when he accepts a job. Each of us is still a man, and individually accountable for his sins."

--Elmer Kelton (The Day the Cowboys Quit)

“If righteous people turn away from their righteous behavior and ignore the obstacles I put in their way, they will die. And if you do not warn them, they will die in their sins. None of their righteous acts will be remembered, and I will hold you responsible for their deaths."

--Ezekiel 3:20…

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Echoes From the Campfire

January 30, 2018

"If civilization was to endure, those who believed in it must be prepared to strike back at the dark forces that would destroy it."

--Louis L'Amour (The Cherokee Trail)

"Don’t team up with those who are unbelievers. How can righteousness be a partner with wickedness? How can light live with darkness?"

--2 Corinthians 6:14 (NLT)

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"Reality does not play mind games. What is more, if the mind is…

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"The storm might last for several days. He leaned back and stretched his legs under the table. The coffee was strong, black, and hot."

--Louis L'Amour (The Riders of High Rock)

"“I worked for you through the scorching heat of the day and through cold and sleepless nights."

--Genesis 31:40 (NLT)

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"Why do you run and hide from life, to try it just ain't smart

Why can't I free your doubtful mind and melt your cold, cold heart."

--Hank…

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"But the way must be long, and as there were the thorns and rocks for his feet, so must there be bruises to his spirit."

--Zane Grey (Wanderer of the Wasteland)

"But if you fail to drive out the people who live in the land, those who remain will be like splinters in your eyes and thorns in your sides. They will harass you in the land where you live."

--Proverbs 33:55 (NLT)

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"Any nation at any time--however spiritually alive--is always potentially…

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Echoes From the Campfire

December 11, 2017

"[He] decided that he would never ignore Christmas again, and not just the date on the calendar."

--C.J. Petit (The Second Star)

"All right then, the Lord himself will give you the sign. Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means ‘God is with us’)."

--Isaiah 7:14 (NLT)

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"Then I blew out the candles, one by one, until…

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Echoes From the Campfire

December 11, 2017

"[He] decided that he would never ignore Christmas again, and not just the date on the calendar."

--C.J. Petit (The Second Star)

"All right then, the Lord himself will give you the sign. Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means ‘God is with us’)."

--Isaiah 7:14 (NLT)

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"Then I blew out the candles, one by one, until…

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Check out the book published by Amazon and written by D.C. Adkisson, The True and Unbiased Life of Elias Butler.  It is a novel about the life of a man forced from Tennessee after the Civil War and going to Texas then his first ride up the trail to Abilene.

I've been posting these on Campfire Messages, but was told that it might be better to post them here.  I'll give it a try.

Echoes From the Campfire--May 12

     "You judge a person by his heart, not by his house."                                                                               --Elmer…

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"The fire began to blaze up and I poured him a cup of coffee and handed it across the fire to him--with my left hand."

--Louis L'Amour

Better sit yourself down, as I can see you're a staggerin'. Coffee's ready and I'll get a cup for you. Yep, I heard the rumblin'; it must be time for those horsemen to start ridin'. How much more can this ol' earth take? Sure glad I wasn't born no later than I was. At least the coffee's hot this morning. Yes siree that boy livin' in Washington…

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Often, I have heard is said that character is who a person is when no one else is around.  I tend to disagree as this statement is only partly true.  Character is who a person is all the time.  It is a product of a lifetime.  Someone said that "character is a quality of life.  As such, it affects personality, attitudes, and life standards."

     Who was Peter?  He was a man that you wanted on your side.  If there was a squabble over fishing rights or a heavy catch that needed hauling…

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     "In the country of the open spaces a man must have sand.  Courage is the basis upon which the others virtues are built, the fundamental upon which he is most searchingly judged.  Let a man tell the truth, stick to his pal, and fight when trouble is forced on him, and he will do to ride the river with, in the phrase of the plains."

                                                                                       --William MacLeod Raine

That term fellowship is…

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     Scars, decisions, failures, stumbling, the daily work of the job are all part of life.  The old wounds are there and man must live with them.  At times they still may ache, and the heart still feels it.  A glance in the mirror, the scar is seen, the memory returns.  There may even be once again the thought of remorse.

     The aches come and I take some Advil, reach in the cabinet for the liniment, rub it on the aches, and hobble on, always forward.  Thank the good Lord for that…

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My wife and I were camping a couple of years ago near the Utah/Wyoming border.  The first night a storm came up, the winds blew and the rain came down.  Annie asked if the tent was going to be blown away.  I assured her that it would not blow away since we were in it, but did tell her that if might come down.

     The next morning, ahhh, the air was clear and crisp, the sun shining down, and there was a wonderful freshness.  We sat around the fire before breakfast, drinking coffee and…

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I was looking at some notes I had and noticed the following quotation from a book by Louis L'Amour.  "It was very small--a man could cover that fire with his hat--but it was enough for coffee."  Set me to thinking of how important and soothing little, simple things can be.  I've spent more than twice around a fire like that, and, in fact, I still keep a coffeepot, some coffee, and a cup in the truck just in case of such an "emergency."  Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not always against the… Continue