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...
by MS Christian Living | Aug 1, 2024 | Inspiration, Outside In
By Chris Bates We were building a gazebo in July in Mississippi. The heat was oppressive, and it was a cloudless weekend without a wisp of wind. In those conditions, just standing outside can be draining, but we were constructing a slab with no shade while working...
by MS Christian Living | Jun 1, 2024 | Columns, Inspiration, Outside In
By Chris Bates Amazingly, they escaped unscathed, but both of them could have easily been killed. My brother Scott and our friend Brian encountered the power of a swollen river firsthand. The Bitterroot River, nestled in a high valley of Montana, is breathtaking,...
by MS Christian Living | May 1, 2024 | Columns, Inspiration, Outside In
By Chris Bates We rarely if ever consider one primary thing that Jesus’ disciples did perhaps more than anything: They walked. Several of them walked up to Jesus on the shore when He called them. They traversed from city to city, from one home to another. They walked...
by MS Christian Living | Feb 29, 2024 | Columns, Inspiration, Outside In
By Chris Bates The Maroon Bells peaks provide some of the most majestic views in the Rocky Mountain range. At over 14,000 feet, they are truly breathtaking from below, and are daunting and challenging to scale. One July weekend, my cousin and I set out to do just...
