My Most Earthly Desires Fulfilled in Clinton IA 2024
By Dave Layton Readers Advisory: This overlong post is basically a travelogue to nowhere with pictures only of you-know-what. I realize too late that I created it to fulfill my…
Meals With Charlie
By Dave Layton The prayer above is the earliest one that I’ve found so far from the dozens of Charlie’s prayer journals that I inherited. In 1996 Charlie was a…
Hens and Grandkids: A Michigan Visit
When we prepared to go to Michigan in mid-October this year, we were only thinking about all the things we’d be doing with seven grandkids and their parents, Brett and…
Charlie’s Last Prayer; A Prayer for Many Miracles
By Dave Layton C.V. Layton five years old The last day of Charlie’s life was a big day for him and many others in the United Methodist Church (UMC). Each…
My First Visit to the Pacific Northwest
By Dave Layton Note: I wrote this story shortly after our visit in October 2023 hence my referring to Charlie in present tense. My "little" brother Charlie and me above…
Faith and Fungi Revitalized: In Charlie’s Memory, by Dave Layton
My brother Charlie and I created Faith and Fungi (F&F) as an exercise for our mental health during the COVID pandemic. COVID was especially stressful on him as a pastor.…
More Than Morels
More Than Morels Every year morel season becomes an unhealthy two to three weeklong obsession for me. I call it the insanity. I have to find morels no matter the…
A Remnant of Eden
by Dave Layton When no bush of the field was yet in the land and no small plant of the field had yet sprung up – for the Lord God…
Dad’s Love of Electricity
“With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Matthew 19: 26 Dad with Great-granddaughter Hanna When Charlie wrote about our family stoves I remembered Dad’s love…
The True Goodness of Mom’s Soup
By Charles Layton Behold how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity. (Psalm 133:1) Velma Layton 1978 I was reading Tom Valenti’s One-Pot Meals just now, and…