They thought it couldn't happen to them in their sleepy little insignificant community quietly nestled in our nation's heartland; but it did. Imagine the tranquility of a rural Midwest setting suddenly shattered by the intrusion of Islamic terrorists, with their conscription of illegal alien Mexican forces, as they attempt to launch stolen missiles and carry out a ruthless terrorist plot. In this story, characters of contrasting lifestyles are involved as a former romance is rekindled, a loved one succumbs of cancer, and as the terrorist threat gradually unfolds. There may be a time for...

A religious faith is a fundamental human quality, and many Christians try to relate to it better, but it often seems so dated and detached. Dedicated church leaders look for ways to make it more appealing, but generally have been hesitant about presenting Christ Jesus' humanity and Jewish heritage, and how His original teachings were later affected during those turbulent historic times and by the expanding church. It is natural for Christians to question and refine their religious convictions and to pray that their adopted beliefs are acceptable in His sight. It is assumed that most...

It's conventional to believe that there is a seed planted in all humankind prompting the seeking out of a deity. Therefore, although religion may not be in the forefront of people's lives, it is certainly somewhere in the background or around the corner in everyone's life, and for this reason these pages have relevance. But to better understand the contemporary church and the Christian faith that it represents, it is necessary to first look at the past, study the biblical and extra-biblical evidence, and be willing to venture out beyond the comfort zone of accumulated church orthodoxy to...

This story is about the Westward Expansion Era of our great American heritage as actually experienced by pioneer families spanning several generations. The original European immigrants began arriving on our shores about four hundred years ago and they were the founders of our country, which became a 'melting pot' for all these ethnic groups. These families eventually emerged from colonial times in early America however, and gradually started moving westward displacing the native Indian nations that were here before. The exemplary families of this story were thoroughly immersed in this western...

This story is about two pioneer families that migrated west from North Carolina and Pennsylvania, and then came together in southeastern Kansas Territory just in time to be caught up right in the middle of the Kansas/Missouri Border War and the Civil War campaign that followed. The Border War began in the mid 1850's and actually lasted throughout the Civil War years of 1861 to 1865. The Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 had opened up the land to legal settlement, but it allowed the residents of these territories to decide by popular vote whether the state would be a slave or free state, and that...

This story is about the families of three brother in the following few decades after the turn of the century in 1900. The old Victorian Age was ending and this new century ushered in many new innovations contributing to the rapidly changing lifestyles. These occurred during the eras of WWI, Prohibition, the Roaring Twenties, the Great Depression, and WWII; and what exciting times they were. But it is also the story of hard times and difficult circumstances for some. It reveals the vulnerable victims of these social and economic times, especially as a result of neglectful and estranged...

This story is about the lives of two generations of deep shaft coal miners and their families primarily during the five decades between 1890 and 1940. After immigration from Europe they spent their entire lives working and living in the mines and their associated camps in the southeast Kansas coal belt and the surrounding four-state area. In addition to having much local significance, due to all the local color and familiar scenes of its regional setting, it is definitive of immigrants and coal mining elsewhere. It turns back the clock for us and transports us back for a real taste of the...