What I’m Crunching — October 12, 2025
Books I’m Reading This book was recommended to me by my coach and friend. One of my pastors also went through it and suggested I read it. I’ve followed Jocko Willink’s work for years now, listening to his podcast, Jocko Podcast, off and on. There’s no question about it: the Biblical model of servant leadership […]
What I’m Crunching — October 5, 2025
Andrew Jackson (“Old Hickory”) was a tough cookie. Despite a busted shoulder that caused intense pain, nearly constant diarhea, and many disappointing logistics challenges around supplying his army, he remained optimistic and forged ahead.
I’ve tried to place myself in the shoes of the Tennesseans he led into battle against the Red Sticks in the Creek War. I can’t imagine the anger and rage a massacre like Fort Mims would’ve brought on me, especially if my family was directly impacted.
Then again, the Red Stick warriers were dealing with the constant encroachment of white settlers into lands their families had lived on and hunted for generations. Despite written agreements with the U.S. Federal Government, settlers continued moving in, displacing the Native Americans and, even worse, introducing whiskey into their trade lines. Many Indians become enslaved by the alcohol and it completely wrecked significant parts of their society. If I’d been in their shoes, I would’ve fought back too.
War is never simple.
What I’m Crunching — September 28, 2025
Experiencing God has been around since 1976 but this is my first time going through it. I’m joining a group of 20-30 people at my church and we meet weekly to discuss the unit for the week. I’m thoroughly enjoying the study!
For the last couple of years, God has been gradually removing the idol of productivity from my heart. I have tended to draw my worth and value from my activity, work, and output. Idols are always cruel taskmasters. This leads me to consistently take on too much, which distracts me from what are truly my top priorities.
It’s been refreshing to be reminded of two realities so far through this study:
God is always working around me.
He is pursuing an intimate love relationship with me.
What I’m Crunching — September 21, 2025
Listening to the audiobook version of this one and enjoying it so far. From the Goodreads summary:
“The measure of a man is not the fear he sows in his enemies. It is the hope he gives his friends.”—Virginia au Augustus
The Reaper is a legend, more myth than man: the savior of worlds, the leader of the Rising, the breaker of chains.
But the Reaper is also Darrow, born of the red soil of Mars: a husband, a father, a friend.
The worlds once needed the Reaper. But now they need Darrow. Because after the dark age will come a new age: of light, of victory, of hope.
What I’m Crunching — September 14, 2025
I’m proceeding through this great book. I appreciate the detail and attention given to the intricacies of the dynamics between different factions of the Creek Nation. I had no idea some of the events occurred. One interesting point is how the early Georgians (residents of the U.S. of Georgia) were encroaching more and more upon the lands granted to the Creek Indians by the U.S. Federal Government.
Like in many historical conflicts, many variables exacerbated the conflict and a downward spiral continued (including a civil war among the Creeks) until a larger, full-blown war broke out.