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Sample Past Posts
- Remembering the Schoolhouse(s) Known as “Bell Ridge” in the Morrison City area of North Kingsport, Tennessee January 31, 2020
- A Song of Unity from Long Ago August 19, 2019
- Beautiful Hills of Home August 16, 2019
- When Your Family Tree Becomes All Hung Up July 22, 2019
- “The Storms are on the Ocean” as a Metaphor for Homesickness June 15, 2019
- “Excuse Me, May I Look Inside Your Biscuit?” May 3, 2019
Top Posts & Pages
- A Barony in the Mountains of Southwest Virginia
- Remembering Vacation Bible School in the '60s and '70s
- The Flood of 1977
- Disappearing Towns: Morrison City
- Robert Sayers Sheffey, Mountain Preacher and Man of Prayer
- A Sunny Day in Sharon Springs
- A Conversation that didn't Go Well
- History of a Part of Weber City, Virginia
- Places I've Lived: Paint Lick, VA
- Ode to Soup Beans and Corn Bread
Tag Archives: Southwest Virginia
When Your Family Tree Becomes All Hung Up
There are several places up my family tree where I’m completely stuck when it comes to figuring out the preceding generation. Some of these places will continue to be dead ends since documents just don’t exist. Others are possible to … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Appalachian, Clinch River, family, family history, paternity, Scott County, Southwest Virginia, Virginia
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“The Storms are on the Ocean” as a Metaphor for Homesickness
The iconic Carter Family of Country Music origins (A. P., Sarah, and “Mother” Maybelle) were known for their classic songs. “The Storms are on the Ocean” is one of them. I have been dabbling in autoharp playing for a while … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Appalachian, Autoharp, Belfast, Carter Family, Clinch Mountain, Country Music, family, home, loss, love, Mother Maybelle, mountains, Scott County, Southwest Virginia, Virginia
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Places I’ve Lived: Paint Lick, VA
Back in 1989 I was appointed to the Belfast-Midway Charge in the Tazewell District of the Holston Conference. My first appointment out of seminary, it was my first charge as a pastor, and I was given the reigns of two … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Appalachian, Boy Scouts, caramel icing, Church, climbing, family, figures, Fincastle Turnpike, Holston, Indian, Midway, mountain climbing, mountains, Native American, Paint Lick, Paintings, pastor, preacher, religion, Robert Sheffey, Russell County, Sheffey, Southwest Virginia, Tazewell County, United Methodist, Virginia
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Ode to Dr Ralph Stanley
A legend has gone to glory. God was preparing me for this. I’m probably the biggest Ralph Stanley fan there is. Ever. There was just something about the sound of his voice, the ring of his banjo, the humility of … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged appalachia, banjo, Baptist, bluegrass, Clintwood, mountain soul, Ralph Stanley, Southwest Virginia
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How Loving and Leading Can Be a Faithful Response in Today’s Church
I have developed a deep love for southwest Virginia. I am so blessed to have met many exemplary people who have lived faithful lives and died faithful deaths here. There are some wonderful, loving ways people are living their lives here as disciples of Jesus Christ. It isn’t a vast wasteland at all. Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged appalachia, Church, incarnational, Southwest Virginia, Spirituality
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When Frost Falls on the Kudzu
It’s difficult to guard the landscape of our hearts from the invasive vines of time. Continue reading
Posted in Seasons
Tagged Dickensonville, fall, frost, Gate City, grow, holiness, invasive, kudzu, Russell County, Scott County, seasons, southern, Southwest Virginia, thrive, vines, Virginia, vitality
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Gone to Conference
“Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.”–Hebrews 10: 25, (King James Bible) I am not sure who first thought … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Annual Conference, appointments, Church, civil war, day lilies, East Tennessee, Lake Junaluska, license, means of grace, Methodist, ministry, North Carolina, ordination, preacher, preaching, singing, Southwest Virginia, union confederate, United Methodist
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The Model City
I grew up next to Kingsport, Tennessee. Kingsport has had several lives, the most recent being a period of industrialization, growth, expansion, and relative decline. This period was much touted at the beginning as the town became known through the … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged annexation, Bristol, East Tennessee, economic development, Greeneville, holston river, john Nolan, Johnson City, Kingsport, model city, Norton, Southwest Virginia, Weber City
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Appalachian Values: Don’t Get Above Your “Raisin'”
This saying has been said a lot in the beautiful ancient hills and hollows around the Appalachian Region. There are several streams of reality that feed into the mindset that produces such a saying. I’m sure it isn’t unique … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged appalachia, Appalachian Mountains, Appalachian Region, bad times, being humble, coal industry, devil, economics, economy, good times, humble, humility, Job, Lord, loss, Missouri, Southwest Virginia, Tennessee Valley, the book of Job
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