by MS Christian Living | Aug 1, 2025 | Columns, Inspiration, Outside In
By Chris Bates Outside: A few years ago, my daughter and I joined a mission group near San Cristobal, Nicaragua. We expected an adventure filled with service opportunities, but the real lessons came from unexpected places. The focus was to help dig water lines for...
by MS Christian Living | May 30, 2025 | Columns, Inspiration, Outside In
By Chris Bates One of the most memorable nights of my youth happened alone on the side of a mountain. I was a teenager at a summer camp in North Carolina and was preparing to complete the final test in a multi-summer journey to earn the rank of “Little Chief.” The...
by MS Christian Living | Apr 4, 2025 | Columns, Inspiration, Outside In
By Chris and Stacy Bates Often, the best thing about travel is immersing in scenes and terrain that are new and different. Individually or together, over the years we have explored the Rockies, Smokies, West Coast mountains, Tetons, Montana mountainscapes, and many of...
by MS Christian Living | Feb 1, 2025 | Columns, Inspiration, Outside In
By Chris Bates We set out early on a beautiful clear fall morning to explore Gunnison National Park in western Colorado, excited about fly fish on the Taylor River. Our group of five decided to split up, each choosing different sections of the river. I opted for a...
by MS Christian Living | Nov 30, 2024 | Columns, Inspiration, Outside In
By Chris Bates There is nothing like a painted dawn in the Mississippi Delta. On a recent hunting trip, I arrived just before sunrise and took in the quiet solitude as I sat against a large oak. Stars stretched across the sky in ways that we cannot see when under city...
by MS Christian Living | Sep 27, 2024 | Columns, Inspiration, Outside In
By Chris Bates We have a new puppy coming. As fun as that will be for us as a family, there is a whole additional element when it is a working dog. In watching the breeder as he takes other retrievers through training, it has reminded me of that same progression that...
