WATCH FOR THE FRAYED CINCH

By Stephen Bly 

Copyright©1993

Pete’s quite a talker, so his friends avoid him if they don’t have hours to spare for a chat. But I made the mistake of asking, “How’s Ernie doing?” 

Pete’s wife’s brother visited for Christmas and never left. Pete hauled him everywhere.

“Well, I’ll tell ya,” Pete began, “I figured his cinch was getting mighty frayed, so I sent him on his way.”

 

That stirred a long diatribe, until I finally made my escape. But my mind got stuck the rest of the day on that old cowboy phrase. 

When a man’s cinch gets frayed, he’s worn out his welcome. In fact, the Old West boasted a whole gunny sack full of phrases to describe an unwanted guest. 

He was “as welcome as a polecat at a picnic.” 

Or she was “as appreciated as a rattler in a prairie dog town.” 

Or “folks go ‘round ‘em like a swamp.”

You might think that smacks against western hospitality. Wasn’t it the practice  to offer a man a meal and a place to sleep?

Yep.

But that included one supper. . .one night’s rest. . .and one breakfast. After that, a man either worked for his keep or rode on over the hill.

That’s not too different from biblical hospitality: “For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule,” said St. Paul, “If a man will not work, he shall not eat” (2 Thessalonians 3:10).

 

This didn’t apply to the truly needy, like widows or orphans. They could most often receive support. But all others -- whether a grown child, your neighbor, a relative or a stranger riding through -- had to gather their own goods. You worked for your room and board.

It was the Code.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Do you find it difficult or easy to offer hospitality to folks you don't know all that well?  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Stuart Brannon: The Final Shot

Coming March 2012 -- hardback & ebook
Stuart Brannon: The Final Shot

by Stephen Bly (1944-2011)

Finishing Dad's novel was a family affair.

It's 1905. 

Two orphans flee Oregon's Tillamook Head. One of them is branded a hero. Do they tell what really happened & risk a dangerous man's wrath?
Meanwhile, Brannon searches for his missing U.S. Marshal friend & grapples with the game of golf on behalf of a charity celebrity tournament.

 

Paperback edition releases August 2012.

 

 

 

  

DELIVER ME

View from hospital window

Janet Chester Bly

Copyright©2008

Days at the hospital melt into a blur.

Every day stirs a hope, then ends in fatigue.

Then the doctor says, “There’s nothing more we can do.”

God thrives in a tense waiting room or crisis clinic. Or when you’re on the run.

Prayer’s the main weapon you possess when you’re fighting for personal peace.

At the moment you say, “There’s a limit to what I can endure,” that’s when God’s power shines best.

Sometimes you need a buddy, a partner who can come alongside and help you stretch your limits, to hang in there until something that makes sense prevails.

But there’s situations when you must crash alone. Hole up in a closet. Curl up in a cocoon.

“Find a quiet, secluded place so you won’t be tempted to role-play before God. Just be there as simply and honestly as you can manage. The focus will shift from you to God, and you will begin to sense his grace” (Matthew 6:6 THE MESSAGE).

Whether with a friend or in a group. Or alone. You can press on. You can steady your determination with total focus on divine help. When you’re faced with pure grim, keep a grip until peace enlightens the dungeon of depression. Or the guillotine of guilt. Or the bastion of bitter gall.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When was your last tense waiting room or crisis clinic experience? How long did it take for the power of prayer to kick in?

~~~~~~~~~~~

Stuart Brannon: The Final Shot

COMING MARCH 2012:

Stuart Brannon: The Final Shot

by Stephen Bly (1944-2011)

Finishing Dad’s novel was a family affair.

Book blurb: 
It's 1905. Two orphans flee Oregon's Tillamook Head. One of them is branded a hero. Do they tell what really happened & risk a dangerous man's wrath? Meanwhile, Brannon searches for his missing U.S. Marshal friend & grapples with the game of golf on behalf of a charity celebrity tournament.

Available in hardback & ebook. 
Paperback edition release August 2012.

GOTTA HIGH-TAIL IT OUTA HERE

Stephen Bly

Copyright©1993,2010

Once when I was in downtown Chicago, I noticed an old boy giving a café cashier a tough time. He refused to pay for his supper. Shouts and curses flew both directions. Then, a police car pulled up front. The man bolted through a swinging door into the kitchen. When the policeman entered, the cook shouted, “He high-tailed it out the back door!” 

I don’t know if they ever caught the man, but I very much doubt if any of those Chicagoans, including the citified cook, ever saw a thousand pound cow who chews her cud in peace one minute, then shoots her tail in the air and takes off on a dead 30mph run down a canyon or draw. 

High-tailing. . .a good cowboy term that’s been loaned out to the world. It means to depart all of a sudden, without ceremony. In the Old West, if you high-tailed away from a band of bushwhackers or out of a swollen arroyo or flash flood, that’s common sense. 

The Bible says certain situations require you to high-tail it outa here. . .when a red flag’s raised or when your very up close and personal selfish greed’s about to get goosed. You can be sure it’s a scam of the enemy. 

“Oh, Timothy,” St. Paul says, “you are God’s man. Run from all these evil things and work instead at what is right and good, learning to trust Him and love others .... ” (I Timothy 6:11 TLB).

Scenes confront you when it's not the moment to dally around, waiting to get roped in or tangled in the brush. Figure out when’s the right time to run.

Stephen Bly's Stetson at Winchester Community Church

Have you ever high-tailed it and saved yourself a whole lot of grief?

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Stuart Brannon: The Final  Shot

Coming soon. . .

March 2012 IN HARDBACK & EBOOK:

Stuart Brannon: The Final Shot

PAPERBACK VERSION AVAILABLE: AUGUST 2012