A Bit of Old-Fashioned Preachin’ Old West movies conjure up a lot of images. Fast draw gunfights in the streets. Outlaws with bandannas over their faces robbing banks. Lawmen jumping off horses onto backs of fleeing bad men. Goodhearted women of easy virtue. And the town drunk full of demon liquor. Not all the images […]
One of the loneliest Old West jobs had to be the line rider. In the Old West days before Joseph Glidden’s patented barbed wire invention crossed the prairies, ranchers found it difficult to keep their cattle on the home range. To keep them from wandering to a neighbor’s pasture or getting lost in the wilderness, […]
Old West Saying: Wink As Good As A Nod … Tracks Along The Trail with Stephen Bly An Old West saying went, “A wink is as good as a nod to a blind mule.” In other words, if the mule is blind, no amount of motion whatever is going to motivate him. You could stomp, […]
Calling For A Lead Man or Woman by Stephen Bly On the old cattle drives, the choice position was to get assigned the lead man. Or ride point. This meant the cowboy got to be at the forward tip of the moving herd. He had fresh air to breathe. He didn’t have to ride with […]
Leavin’ Cheyenne Western Slang Out west there’s a big difference between country music and western music. The beat’s not the same. Diverse instruments. Different words. Western music claims a long history. Most songs center around the vast outdoors. Horses and cattle, danger and the girl left behind. Ever since the first drover had to ride night […]
Cowboy Roping and Faith At Work Styles by Stephen Bly Cowboy roping terms vary from one part of the country to another. That 30×60 ft rope the cowboy hooks with thin leather strap to the right of his saddle horn? It might be called a lasso, a reata, or a lariat. In the old days […]
Old West Western Slang Devotional by Stephen Bly An Old West type ladino character, J.W. lives back in the woods along the Salmon River Breaks somewhere. You take the gravel road 18 miles. Turn left at the big buckskin tamarack. Then 15 miles down a dirt and mud rutted trail. Park your rig and hike […]
Ketch My Saddle, Boys No one likes to get bucked off a horse, old cowboys especially. But if his broomtail decided to ‘hop for mama,’ ‘take ya to church,’ ‘chin the moon,’ or ‘wrinkle his spine,’ he plowed the ground with his face. Then he must catch the rude horse and holler, “Ketch my saddle!” […]
What Empty Nest? Parenting Adult Children by Stephen Bly Sometime between the ages of 18 and 20, our kids challenge us with a dramatic turn of events in our parenting. Like an eaglet stumbling from the aerie on its first flight, our child appears as a fully grown adult. Ready to take his or her plunge […]
Ever Heard of a Karimption? Western Slang Devotional by Stephen Bly Old Jack Ferguson had a special role in our church. He counted the folks who attended the worship service. But he didn’t bother with exact numbers. He had three western slang rankings: funeral size, Sunday rodeo comfort, or karimption. A funeral size crowd fills […]
In the frame short story in this anthology, Ben and Marnie Pearson never intended to start a jewelry collection. But when they were given a box of leftover jewelry at an estate sale, they were intrigued by the colorful contents . . .
The sparkling jewels featured in this collection may have been passed down through generations or discovered accidentally, but each has its own unique short story. From diamonds to emeralds, opals to rubies, these stones have witnessed it all.
Here in The Jeweler's Heart are their fascinating tales told by seventeen of the talented novel writers of ChiLibris. For fans of inspirational fiction and heartwarming tales, The Jeweler's Heart is a treasure.
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