I love showing our mountains off occasionally with others in tow, but I’m often on my own in my forays to the Blue Ridge. Sometimes, that’s because I have many friends who suffer from motion sickness and just can’t take the stress of twisty mountain roads. There are other friends who can handle that, yet slow me down on the trails. Most times, I’m rushing off from one camera subject to the next… and I have no problem with that. It energizes me. For all that, there are places here that literally stop me in my tracks to take it all in. Courthouse Creek, deep in a mountain forest, is one such place.

Here, there was no wind, which allowed for a 6-second exposure at ISO 50… that translates to extreme detail in the image, but it also means I didn’t have to fight conditions for a decent shot. And that means I had time to just enjoy this moment, with only the sound of falling water to accompany me…. It brought a deep sense of peace to me, especially from a Christian standpoint. One verse after another of God’s word came to mind. I wish there were a way for everyone to experience that… sharing this image is as close as I can get to that in this forum.

I have some friends who are humanist/atheist who would take issue with me at this point… and that’s just fine, as they have the freedom of will to choose that. Yet, when they espouse their beliefs as being superior to “religionists”, they have no understanding that their proclivity has moved them squarely into the realm of religion… and it is, as they worship themselves as gods. I’ve had them to tell me that they are “Good, moral people.” While that may be true, from whose goods and morals do they borrow from to make that statement? I can take you to some parts of town where some believe it is good to feed the poor, and other parts of town where some believe it is good to hurt you and take your wallet… which one is truly good? Self-determinant atheists can be all over the map with that question, but “good” can only be determined within the context of reality by a transcendent source… God. So, as for me and my house…

Though, as anyone else, I can neither determine the day nor the hour, as a well-read Christian, I believe we’re living in the last days. Ecclesiastes 5:11 (look it up) comes to mind in this day when so many stand up for peace by being as violent as they can possibly be, who stand against fascism by being the worst of fascists, who stand for freedom by denying freedom for others, who see lawlessness as their rule of law. If you were confronted by ten men in a dark alley, would you prefer them to be of that mindset or that of the mind of Christ? Decisions, decisions.

There’s so much disorder in my country of late, the last two mass shootings (by atheists, no less) notwithstanding. There is an answer for it, one the pundits know so very little about, obviously, as their answers won’t fix anything. British journalist Steve Turner hit the nail on the head with his piece titled Creed:

Creed by Steve Turner

We believe in Marxfreudanddarwin We believe everything is OK as long as you don't hurt anyone to the best of your definition of hurt, and to the best of your knowledge.

We believe in sex before, during, and after marriage. We believe in the therapy of sin. We believe that adultery is fun. We believe that sodomy’s OK. We believe that taboos are taboo.

We believe that everything's getting better despite evidence to the contrary. The evidence must be investigated And you can prove anything with evidence.

We believe there's something in horoscopes UFO's and bent spoons. Jesus was a good man just like Buddha, Mohammed, and ourselves. He was a good moral teacher though we think His good morals were bad.

We believe that all religions are basically the same- at least the one that we read was. They all believe in love and goodness. They only differ on matters of creation, sin, heaven, hell, God, and salvation.

We believe that after death comes the Nothing Because when you ask the dead what happens they say nothing. If death is not the end, if the dead have lied, then its compulsory heaven for all excepting perhaps Hitler, Stalin, and Genghis Kahn

We believe in Masters and Johnson What's selected is average. What's average is normal. What's normal is good.

We believe in total disarmament. We believe there are direct links between warfare and bloodshed. Americans should beat their guns into tractors . And the Russians would be sure to follow.

We believe that man is essentially good. It's only his behavior that lets him down. This is the fault of society. Society is the fault of conditions. Conditions are the fault of society.

We believe that each man must find the truth that is right for him. Reality will adapt accordingly. The universe will readjust. History will alter. We believe that there is no absolute truth excepting the truth that there is no absolute truth.

We believe in the rejection of creeds, And the flowering of individual thought.

If chance be the Father of all flesh, disaster is his rainbow in the sky and when you hear “State of Emergency! Sniper Kills Ten! Troops on Rampage! Youths go Looting! Bomb Blasts School!”

It is but the sound of man worshipping his maker.