Shows
High Country CommentaryAscendWritten By: John SommersNarrated By: Kara Lea KennedySeveral years ago, while working in Dallas, I had to fly down to Austin to meet with a customer. Since Southwest Airlines had a BOGO (buying one ticket would get a companion flight for free), I decided to take Jared, my five-year-old son.We drove to DFW airport under a nasty, rainy, and very dark sky. Traffic was backed up, and all drivers seemed to be hunched over their steering wheel, muttering and snarling at the surrounding drivers. We eventually got to the terminal...
2025-09-1803 min
High Country CommentaryLetting Tiger GoOur white cat, Tiger, came to us in 2006 when his previous owner dropped him at our house. Joanne and I instantly saw that the man was abusive. When he opened the cage, Tiger ran fast and far. We later found him crouched and trembling behind the dryer.It took a long time to win his heart; he was so fearful. But over time, he gradually warmed to us. I think he finally realized we would not injure him. In time, he became more vocal, and his personality opened like a flower. He learned to express his needs...
2025-08-2104 min
The Timberline LetterLetting Tiger Go This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit timberlineletter.substack.com/subscribe
2025-08-2004 min
The Timberline LetterDeep Calls to Deep This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit timberlineletter.substack.com/subscribe
2025-07-2404 min
High Country CommentaryA Voice in the NightWritten By: Craig DahlbergNarrated By: Kara Lea KennedyI stood before a small door, hinged within a massive one—both built from gnarled timber. For centuries, the large door had opened to horse-drawn wagons, heavy with farm tools, fresh vegetables, and weary laborers.The smaller door groaned as I leaned into it, inching it open.Inside the cavernous, windowless entry to the farmhouse, I blinked against the darkness. A single, bare bulb hung overhead, its dim light barely breaking the gloom.I’d spent the night in my one...
2025-07-1706 min
The Timberline LetterA Voice in the Night This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit timberlineletter.substack.com/subscribe
2025-07-1606 min
High Country CommentaryBoundariesAfter firing too many personal questions at me, the hospital’s admitting rep asked, “Do you have an Advanced Medical Directive?” When I nodded my affirmation, she barked, “We’re gonna need that.”I love medical science and personnel. But throughout the medical processes of that day, I felt like I was in an auto body shop; people who did not know or care about me banged, slammed, jerked, and hammered my heart into compliance with their needs and preferences.Since that day, I’ve watched our cultural ethos inch ever closer to if we see it and nee...
2025-07-1005 min
The Timberline LetterBoundaries This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit timberlineletter.substack.com/subscribe
2025-07-0905 min
The Timberline LetterWords of Life This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit timberlineletter.substack.com/subscribe
2025-07-0904 min
High Country CommentaryWords of LifeOur one-week trip was coming to an end. We had spent four magical days in a Bulgarian orphanage, loving and playing with the child we would one day call our son. As our week ended, a pit in my stomach and lump in my throat would not go away.The adoption process requires the parents to come for a week, meet their child and sign papers stating their desire to adopt this child. You return home and wait for the results of a process you cannot control. The wait time can vary, but three months—a full tr...
2025-06-2604 min
High Country CommentaryIs the Universe a Friendly Place?Written By: Ed ChinnNarrated By: Kara Lea KennedyIn August 1996, 10-year-old Taylor Touchstone went swimming with his family in a creek in the Florida panhandle. Minutes later, the moderately autistic boy, known for having no sense of fear, vanished. His family members reacted immediately; they knew the creek emptied into a vast and dangerous swamp.A massive search quickly formed. Boats and helicopters with high-tech tracking systems, and more than 200 volunteers, covered the area. Everyone felt they were in a race with death. The swamp was home for alligators, rattlesnakes, and water...
2025-06-1204 min
The Timberline LetterIs the Universe a Friendly Place? This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit timberlineletter.substack.com/subscribe
2025-06-1104 min
High Country CommentaryPrecious YearsA brother and sister, our children’s playmates, were a matched set—like miniature chess pieces—completely out of scale with other children their age. They were aging at a furious pace.Their paper-thin skin stretched over their fragile frames. Tripping over a garden hose could be dangerous. A misdirected softball might shatter their brittle bones.They both suffered from progeria, a rare genetic disorder that occurs in just one out of every four million births. Progeria brings stunted growth, abnormal facial features, and rapid aging. The average life expectancy is just 14.5 years.Yet wh...
2025-06-0504 min
The Timberline LetterPrecious Years This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit timberlineletter.substack.com/subscribe
2025-06-0404 min
High Country CommentaryFail. Fail Big.Written and Narrated By: Kara Lea KennedyI blinked at those instructions on the paper, now trembling in my hands. I thought this new improv class had begun in my favor when the director passed around a worksheet. Yes, step-by-step instructions, I can do. Written words? Fantastic. The smell of paper, I think, quickens my pulse and releases my endorphins. But when my rule-following, people-pleasing-self saw those words, FAIL. FAIL BIG, boldly printed in all caps, my confidence crumbled.The “Safety Net”Though I had lived a fairly adventurous life before taking my firs...
2025-05-2205 min
The Timberline LetterFail. Fail Big. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit timberlineletter.substack.com/subscribe
2025-05-2205 min
High Country CommentaryOfframpsBoth sides had presented compelling arguments. Then, we were bussed to the accident site to examine the gasoline tanker truck’s black tire marks — long, abstract streaks of rubber distorted across the concrete, and a chaotic map of the truck’s doomed path. The twisted metal had shrieked against the concrete guardrail, and the explosion that followed had incinerated the truck.The judge had commissioned the jury to untangle another mess: what caused the horrific accident, and who was at fault? The driver, for driving recklessly? Or the state, for an ill-conceived offramp? The twelve of us...
2025-05-1505 min
The Timberline LetterOfframps This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit timberlineletter.substack.com/subscribe
2025-05-1505 min
High Country CommentaryA Separate CountryWritten by: Ed ChinnNarrated by: Kara Lea KennedyWashington, DC, summer of 1994. From the muggy blanket of city heat, sounds, and odors, I stepped into a new and magical cocoon of coffee aroma, cool air, muted greens and charcoals, and Sinatra crooning “In the Wee Small Hours.”They called the place “Starbucks.”It was more than a coffee shop. I had surely slipped through a hidden door in the cosmos, passing from mess and madness into peace and protection.One day, I noticed the 23rd Psalm reads like David wr...
2025-05-0804 min
The Timberline LetterA Separate Country This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit timberlineletter.substack.com/subscribe
2025-05-0704 min
High Country CommentaryThe Holy Moment of ReleaseI was sitting in a session of occupational therapy, watching the therapist patiently yet persistently coach my son, Caleb.“Release.”The room was small. The air was thick. I was intent, watching Caleb’s face. He was even more focused. He stared at the toy car he had grasped moments before, willing his fingers to open and release the object. Naturally, Caleb wanted the easy way out. He wanted to use his right hand to pry it from his left hand. It was a painstaking moment.The therapist’s calm voice continue...
2025-05-0103 min
The Timberline LetterThe Holy Moment of Release This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit timberlineletter.substack.com/subscribe
2025-04-3003 min
The Timberline LetterFighting for Blessings This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit timberlineletter.substack.com/subscribe
2025-04-3003 min
High Country CommentaryFighting for BlessingsAs a sophomore in high school, a friend once told me I had not landed the role I so desperately wanted in the school play. But my mom refused to believe it. She had seen my work, heard the lines, and even witnessed a miraculous answer to prayer when I could not eke out a New Yorker accent for days. After asking God for help, I woke up speaking with a voice that would make Barbra Streisand proud. Mom just knew I had the part. So, she drove us to the school to look at the list ourselves.
2025-04-2403 min
High Country CommentaryThe Way of a TreeWritten By: Ed ChinnNarrated By: Kara Lea KennedyLouis, an old Basque shepherd, wrote of the night he and Baptista, another shepherd, moved over 200 sheep through a high mountain pass. Suddenly, “…a mountain lion sprung lazily, and likely without threat, across the trail ahead.”That mere sighting of a lion caused most of the sheep to silently plunge off a 300-foot cliff. “Splitting their bellies, breaking legs and backs … Baptista had to clamber down and cut their throats…”[1]People often inflict more damage on themselves than any external threat might bring. Seeing...
2025-04-1704 min
The Timberline LetterThe Way of a TreeNarrated by Kara Lea Kennedy This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit timberlineletter.substack.com/subscribe
2025-04-1604 min
The Timberline LetterFriendship AfloatNarrated by Kara Lea Kennedy This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit timberlineletter.substack.com/subscribe
2025-04-1605 min
High Country CommentaryFriendship AfloatWritten By: Craig DahlbergNarrated By: Kara Lea KennedyThe fight was on. Rick’s fists grazed my head as a giant, feather-engorged pillow collided with my face. Feathers exploded into the air, drifting throughout the cabin. When our pillows finally ran out of feathers, we called a time-out. It was 1958; we had just met aboard the USS United States.Steam billowed from the four turbine engines as we cruised east across the Atlantic. Ford Motor Company was transferring our fathers and moving our families to Germany. We had five days of open se...
2025-04-1005 min
High Country CommentaryMother Antonia’s Great AdventureWritten By: Ed ChinnNarrated By: Kara Lea KennedyMy grandma Chinn probably had Alzheimer’s. But we didn’t have a name for it in those days. Her quirks were just… “Grandma.” We knew her, not a disease. By the time her son, my dad, was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s a decade later, we knew a lot about it. In fact, I grew to despise my knowledge of that disease. I found it too easy to relate to Alzheimer’s, not to Dad.The Bible says that knowledge “puffs up.” Sure does. Knowledge is like...
2025-04-0303 min
The Timberline LetterMother Antonia's Great AdventureMy grandma Chinn probably had Alzheimer’s. But we didn’t have a name for it in those days. Her quirks were just… “Grandma.” We knew her, not a disease. By the time her son, my dad, was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s a decade later, we knew a lot about it. In fact, I grew to despise my knowledge of that disease. I found it too easy to relate to Alzheimer’s, not to Dad.The Bible says that knowledge “puffs up.” Sure does. Knowledge is like vodka; a little of it gives the bluster, the ignorance, and the permission...
2025-04-0303 min
The Timberline LetterSpringing to Life This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit timberlineletter.substack.com/subscribe
2025-04-0305 min
High Country CommentarySpringing to LifeA springtime haze has settled across our property, a mixture of pollen and dust kicked into the atmosphere by my trusty rototiller. The air is alive with birdsong and bees buzzing past me as I sit atop my Massey Ferguson. It’s been several months since I’ve felt the desire to accomplish anything. I’m pregnant. But, in sweet mercy, the morning sickness has faded just as the peak planting season has come into full focus.Last year, my overalls, boots, and ball cap had me dressed like an old man. Now, I walk like o...
2025-03-2705 min
The Timberline LetterWhat I Learned at the Movies This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit timberlineletter.substack.com/subscribe
2025-03-2004 min
High Country CommentaryWhat I Learned at the MoviesWritten By: Darrell HarrisNarrated By: Kara Lea KennedyMy love affair with movies began in 1955. I was six years old, looking up at James Dean on the big screen in East of Eden. I watched his brooding character Cal come to terms with the soiled dove that was his mother, while also destroying the ice that could transport his father’s lettuce crop to market. As the film concludes, we see Cal caring for this aging, ailing, self-righteous patriarch.A six-year-old could not possibly unpack the complexity of all that. But seventy ye...
2025-03-2004 min
The Timberline LetterA Timberline LifeOnce, in a race against famine in Mexico, and having no tractors or oxen, agronomist Norman Borlaug and his associates made harnesses for themselves in order to pull cultivators. They pulled them many miles, knowing they were racing against time to save a nation.Borlaug was not rich, entertaining, or charismatic. So, how did he become one of the most significant people in world history?Because of wheat. Most of the world’s wheat today comes from the disease-resistant, high-yield varieties that Borlaug and his colleagues developed. When he won the 1970 Nobel Peace Prize, the co...
2025-03-1306 min
High Country CommentaryA Timberline LifeOnce, in a race against famine in Mexico, and having no tractors or oxen, agronomist Norman Borlaug and his associates made harnesses for themselves in order to pull cultivators. They pulled them many miles, knowing they were racing against time to save a nation.Borlaug was not rich, entertaining, or charismatic. So, how did he become one of the most significant people in world history?Because of wheat. Most of the world’s wheat today comes from the disease-resistant, high-yield varieties that Borlaug and his colleagues developed. When he won the 1970 Nobel Peace Prize, the co...
2025-03-1306 min
The Timberline LetterSmoke and HeartThe smoke pits are the beating heart of Terry Black’s Barbecue Restaurant. The aroma, thick enough to chew, drifts up over the pits like a fog bank.After dinner, my natural curiosity pulled me to the smoke pits. I stood in the shadows, watching the pit-master, half-concealed by the smoky clouds, systematically lift the heavy pit lids, stoke the orange coals, and meticulously arrange the various meats. Like a conductor, he knew each subtle maneuver to bring each cut to perfection.Fearing I was interrupting a religious rite, I gained his attention with a gu...
2025-03-0605 min
High Country CommentarySmoke and HeartThe smoke pits are the beating heart of Terry Black’s Barbecue Restaurant. The aroma, thick enough to chew, drifts up over the pits like a fog bank.After dinner, my natural curiosity pulled me to the smoke pits. I stood in the shadows, watching the pit-master, half-concealed by the smoky clouds, systematically lift the heavy pit lids, stoke the orange coals, and meticulously arrange the various meats. Like a conductor, he knew each subtle maneuver to bring each cut to perfection.Fearing I was interrupting a religious rite, I gained his attention with a gu...
2025-03-0605 min
The Timberline LetterThe Taste of SilenceIn 1988, Bieke Vandekerckhove, a 19-year-old university student in her native Belgium, was diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease). At that time, the average life span with ALS after diagnoses was two to five years. She lived 27 years with it.Her only book, The Taste of Silence (English translation from Liturgical Press, 2015), is a beautiful, candid, sometimes searing, but wise view of her journey into ALS. Like so many others in history, she found a vast and pure view...in prison. But for Bieke, that prison was her body.What do you do when a li...
2025-02-2704 min
High Country CommentaryThe Taste of SilenceIn 1988, Bieke Vandekerckhove, a 19-year-old university student in her native Belgium, was diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease). At that time, the average life span with ALS after diagnoses was two to five years. She lived 27 years with it.Her only book, The Taste of Silence (English translation from Liturgical Press, 2015), is a beautiful, candid, sometimes searing, but wise view of her journey into ALS. Like so many others in history, she found a vast and pure view...in prison. But for Bieke, that prison was her body.What do you do when a li...
2025-02-2704 min
High Country CommentaryPhotoshop Your DisappointmentsIn my childhood home, it was common to hear my dad laugh until he cried. He inherited that laugh from my grandma. I remember my friend’s face lighting up as my dad’s laughter shook the house. “I love your daddy’s laugh,” she told me. I treasured this effect his joy had on others. I was proud of him, not only for the things he had accomplished, but also for the humor he carried with him. I still am proud of him, for the same reason.Please understand, we didn’t laugh all the time. I remember t...
2025-02-2004 min
The Timberline LetterPhotoshop Your DisappointmentsIn my childhood home, it was common to hear my dad laugh until he cried. He inherited that laugh from my grandma. I remember my friend’s face lighting up as my dad’s laughter shook the house. “I love your daddy’s laugh,” she told me. I treasured this effect his joy had on others. I was proud of him, not only for the things he had accomplished, but also for the humor he carried with him. I still am proud of him, for the same reason.Please understand, we didn’t laugh all the time. I remember t...
2025-02-2004 min
High Country CommentarySailorsIn the summer of 1992, while driving a dirt road near his Pratt, Kansas home, my dad saw a tractor—driverless—rolling across a field, pulling a land leveler.Dad felt a chill. He owned that equipment. His brother Harold had borrowed it and would have been driving it down that very road about that time. Dad soon found Harold lying beside the road. He was fully conscious, but Dad could see he was facing the worst day of his life.Harold’s death brought a hard freeze to our family landscape. But it blew a deep a...
2025-02-1305 min
The Timberline LetterSailorsIn the summer of 1992, while driving a dirt road near his Pratt, Kansas home, my dad saw a tractor—driverless—rolling across a field, pulling a land leveler.Dad felt a chill. He owned that equipment. His brother Harold had borrowed it and would have been driving it down that very road about that time. Dad soon found Harold lying beside the road. He was fully conscious, but Dad could see he was facing the worst day of his life.Harold’s death brought a hard freeze to our family landscape. But it blew a deep a...
2025-02-1305 min
High Country CommentaryThe Fullness of TimeWhen I was nine years old, I wanted a bicycle more than anything. If you had a bike, the world was yours. Anything was possible. But bikes were expensive, and you could outgrow one so quickly.In 1961, my parents bought me a J.C. Higgins 26” Flightliner Bicycle for Christmas. Sears’ top of the line bike was red with whitewall tires, dual headlights, rear luggage rack, and chrome fenders. It was one of the most impressive things I had ever seen.The problem was that even with the seat set in its lowest position, I still coul...
2025-02-0604 min
The Timberline LetterThe Fullness of TimeWhen I was nine years old, I wanted a bicycle more than anything. If you had a bike, the world was yours. Anything was possible. But bikes were expensive, and you could outgrow one so quickly.In 1961, my parents bought me a J.C. Higgins 26” Flightliner Bicycle for Christmas. Sears’ top of the line bike was red with whitewall tires, dual headlights, rear luggage rack, and chrome fenders. It was one of the most impressive things I had ever seen.The problem was that even with the seat set in its lowest position, I still coul...
2025-02-0604 min
The Timberline LetterThrough the FirestormMy neurosurgeon declared my back a disaster zone. “You’ve got major problems in every part of your back, all the way down.” My MRI agreed; weird twists, turns and dead ends. Doc said it best, “Your back looks like a pack mule’s path down into the mine.”As the Los Angeles firestorm raged a few miles from my hospital room, needles had invaded veins in both my hands in preparation for my back surgery. Pain clawed my brain. The world around me—my body, other hospital patients, caregivers, and all those fighting flames—seemed to struggle against...
2025-01-3005 min
High Country CommentaryThrough the FirestormMy neurosurgeon declared my back a disaster zone. “You’ve got major problems in every part of your back, all the way down.” My MRI agreed; weird twists, turns and dead ends. Doc said it best, “Your back looks like a pack mule’s path down into the mine.”As the Los Angeles firestorm raged a few miles from my hospital room, needles had invaded veins in both my hands in preparation for my back surgery. Pain clawed my brain. The world around me—my body, other hospital patients, caregivers, and all those fighting flames—seemed to struggle against...
2025-01-3005 min
The Timberline LetterYou Can Only Keep What You Give AwayAs young Christian leaders, Bruce and Lenore Mitchell took God, life, their marriage, and faith seriously. But then something strange happened. Bruce began to feel they should give their possessions away. Furniture. Appliances. Even wedding gifts. Everything.After a few days, he cautiously shared his feelings with Lenore, only to discover she felt the same thing. She had been struggling with how to tell him! Confident that God was directing them, they began giving things away.Within a few days, everything was gone. Bruce recalls, “Even the original painting my grandmother had painted—a family heir...
2025-01-2302 min
High Country CommentaryYou Can Only Keep What You Give AwayAs young Christian leaders, Bruce and Lenore Mitchell took God, life, their marriage, and faith seriously. But then something strange happened. Bruce began to feel they should give their possessions away. Furniture. Appliances. Even wedding gifts. Everything.After a few days, he cautiously shared his feelings with Lenore, only to discover she felt the same thing. She had been struggling with how to tell him! Confident that God was directing them, they began giving things away.Within a few days, everything was gone. Bruce recalls, “Even the original painting my grandmother had painted—a family heir...
2025-01-2302 min
The Timberline LetterAll I Can DoIn 2011, my husband and I had just moved to Japan when the Tohoku earthquake—a 9.1 on the Richter scale—violently jolted the continent. Though we were four hours north of the epicenter, I thought a semi had slammed into our townhome. Doors slammed shut and open during the 6-minute terror. Had our shipment of household goods not been delayed, the earthquake would have thrown our dishes from the cabinets, toppled the TV, and sent picture frames crashing to the floor. Thankfully, our house was nearly empty.Afterwards, standing on my front steps and calling to neighbors up and...
2025-01-1605 min
High Country CommentaryAll I Can DoIn 2011, my husband and I had just moved to Japan when the Tohoku earthquake—a 9.1 on the Richter scale—violently jolted the continent. Though we were four hours north of the epicenter, I thought a semi had slammed into our townhome. Doors slammed shut and open during the 6-minute terror. Had our shipment of household goods not been delayed, the earthquake would have thrown our dishes from the cabinets, toppled the TV, and sent picture frames crashing to the floor. Thankfully, our house was nearly empty.Afterwards, standing on my front steps and calling to neighbors up and...
2025-01-1605 min
High Country CommentaryLiving Life in all the Ways It Might ComeA dear friend’s wife struggled with multiple sclerosis for over forty years. Then, during emergency surgery, she suffered a heart attack. When that same surgery revealed extensive cancer, they knew the end was near.To read my friend’s email about that grueling trial is to stand at the edge of a deep, wide, and humbling canyon. Yet, he summed it up so simply:“Life has to be lived in all the ways it might come to us.”Those simple words could only roll out of humility, brokenness, and grace. They des...
2025-01-0904 min
The Timberline LetterLiving Life in all the Ways It Might ComeA dear friend’s wife struggled with multiple sclerosis for over forty years. Then, during emergency surgery, she suffered a heart attack. When that same surgery revealed extensive cancer, they knew the end was near.To read my friend’s email about that grueling trial is to stand at the edge of a deep, wide, and humbling canyon. Yet, he summed it up so simply:“Life has to be lived in all the ways it might come to us.”Those simple words could only roll out of humility, brokenness, and grace. They des...
2025-01-0904 min
High Country CommentaryRiding the Rollercoaster TogetherIn 2015, I was cast as Annelle (the Daryl Hannah role) in “Steel Magnolias” at a small Phoenix theater. The theater was located in the corner of a strip mall, but it felt like I was on Broadway. He, my Great Uncle Wiley, was in the audience!Wiley was a giant of a man. A hunter, fisherman, golfer, business leader, and world-class uncle. As a little girl, growing up near them in Colorado, I was far more familiar with Aunt Alberta, his wife. My mom and I regularly went to their house to help her with housework. Afterwards, we s...
2024-12-1905 min
The Timberline LetterRiding the Rollercoaster TogetherIn 2015, I was cast as Annelle (the Daryl Hannah role) in “Steel Magnolias” at a small Phoenix theater. The theater was located in the corner of a strip mall, but it felt like I was on Broadway. He, my Great Uncle Wiley, was in the audience!Wiley was a giant of a man. A hunter, fisherman, golfer, business leader, and world-class uncle. As a little girl, growing up near them in Colorado, I was far more familiar with Aunt Alberta, his wife. My mom and I regularly went to their house to help her with housework. Afterwards, we s...
2024-12-1905 min
High Country CommentaryChristmas 1954Christmas of 1954 came ten years after my dad’s ship, the USS Princeton, was destroyed in the World War II Battle of Leyte Gulf. That hurled Dad into a long struggle with a psychological python. It also pulled him into wrestling with God; he prayed long and loud in our little house. Dad and his God scared me.That’s why my brothers and I grew up in the shadow of The Princeton. Also In 1954, Dad and Mom bought a home on nine acres at the edge of town. The morning after the closing, Dad hate...
2024-12-1203 min
The Timberline LetterChristmas 1954Christmas of 1954 came ten years after my dad’s ship, the USS Princeton, was destroyed in the World War II Battle of Leyte Gulf. That hurled Dad into a long struggle with a psychological python. It also pulled him into wrestling with God; he prayed long and loud in our little house. Dad and his God scared me.That’s why my brothers and I grew up in the shadow of The Princeton. Also In 1954, Dad and Mom bought a home on nine acres at the edge of town. The morning after the closing, Dad hate...
2024-12-1203 min
High Country CommentaryStill TogetherAs I turned into the military cemetery, I was happy to know that Wes Dahlberg, my dad, and my mother, Dee, would finally rest together.Their cremated remains sat side-by-side in my car’s back seat. Dad’s brass and mother- of-pearl cremation urn gleamed like a new sculpture. My mother’s identical urn showed nine years of tarnish as it awaited my father’s remains. All was now ready for their burials.Inside the glass welcoming room, the muted military décor celebrated the service of those buried here. The receptionist sported an irreverent shock of...
2024-12-0505 min
The Timberline LetterStill TogetherAs I turned into the military cemetery, I was happy to know that Wes Dahlberg, my dad, and my mother, Dee, would finally rest together.Their cremated remains sat side-by-side in my car’s back seat. Dad’s brass and mother- of-pearl cremation urn gleamed like a new sculpture. My mother’s identical urn showed nine years of tarnish as it awaited my father’s remains. All was now ready for their burials.Inside the glass welcoming room, the muted military décor celebrated the service of those buried here. The receptionist sported an irreverent shock of...
2024-12-0505 min
High Country CommentaryHow Can We Be So Sure?Astronomers believe the universe is about 93 billion light years in diameter, and that it holds about ten trillion galaxies. That number is likely a big underestimation, but it doesn’t matter. My head cannot grasp that information. In fact, look into any detail, direction, or dimension of anything; the only thing we know is that we don’t know. We don’t even know what we think we know. Apart from certain matters of faith and the heart, we don’t know much about anything.Yet, the great cultural mold of our time demands certitude. On everything. When’s t...
2024-11-2105 min
The Timberline LetterHow Can We Be So Sure?Astronomers believe the universe is about 93 billion light years in diameter, and that it holds about ten trillion galaxies. That number is likely a big underestimation, but it doesn’t matter. My head cannot grasp that information. In fact, look into any detail, direction, or dimension of anything; the only thing we know is that we don’t know. We don’t even know what we think we know. Apart from certain matters of faith and the heart, we don’t know much about anything.Yet, the great cultural mold of our time demands certitude. On everything. When’s t...
2024-11-2105 min
The Timberline LetterThe Good Work BeginsAs a newlywed back in 2008, I had just made myself a luscious bowl of yogurt and apples, garnished with oatmeal and cinnamon. I headed through the kitchen in my robe, cradling my precious breakfast as though it came from Le Cordon Bleu. In my fervor, I nearly collided with my bleary-eyed husband. Rather than his customary “Good morning, beautiful,” he looked down at my bountiful bowl and grumbled, “Wow. That’s a veritable truckload of oatmeal.”The death of a honeymoon.It seems to be a rite of passage for all of us, whether it be in rela...
2024-11-1404 min
High Country CommentaryThe Good Work BeginsAs a newlywed back in 2008, I had just made myself a luscious bowl of yogurt and apples, garnished with oatmeal and cinnamon. I headed through the kitchen in my robe, cradling my precious breakfast as though it came from Le Cordon Bleu. In my fervor, I nearly collided with my bleary-eyed husband. Rather than his customary “Good morning, beautiful,” he looked down at my bountiful bowl and grumbled, “Wow. That’s a veritable truckload of oatmeal.”The death of a honeymoon.It seems to be a rite of passage for all of us, whether it be in rela...
2024-11-1404 min
The Timberline LetterHomeI tried to be invisible as I scoped out the restaurant, a future rendezvous spot with our son’s family. But, as I scanned the menu and the ambiance, the six-foot three, early-30s host spotted me, blowing my cover.“How many, please?”“Uh, none. I’m just checking out your restaurant.”The host’s grin commanded his entire face. I returned an uncomfortable smile.“So, what do you do when you’re not here?” I vainly tried to normalize my peculiar behavior.“I work a lot. Fifty hours a week or more.”
2024-11-0705 min
High Country CommentaryHomeI tried to be invisible as I scoped out the restaurant, a future rendezvous spot with our son’s family. But, as I scanned the menu and the ambiance, the six-foot three, early-30s host spotted me, blowing my cover.“How many, please?”“Uh, none. I’m just checking out your restaurant.”The host’s grin commanded his entire face. I returned an uncomfortable smile.“So, what do you do when you’re not here?” I vainly tried to normalize my peculiar behavior.“I work a lot. Fifty hours a week or more.”
2024-11-0705 min
High Country CommentaryWho Does That Sort of Thing?Written by: Craig DahlbergNarrated by: Kara Lea KennedyHave you ever met a human pilot light, one always ready to ignite the flame of kindness in others? This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit timberlineletter.substack.com/subscribe
2024-10-2405 min
The Timberline LetterWho Does That Sort of Thing?Written by: Craig DahlbergNarrated by: Kara Lea KennedyHave you ever met a human pilot light, one always ready to ignite the flame of kindness in others? Get full access to The Timberline Letter at timberlineletter.substack.com/subscribe This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit timberlineletter.substack.com/subscribe
2024-10-2405 min
High Country CommentaryThe Line WalkersWhen World War II ended, the U.S. Navy released Jack Chinn to return to Kansas and rejoin his own life. Like many veterans, Dad brought the war home. Inevitably, his fatherhood borrowed a military model.I think that's why he was a stranger to me; it was impossible for a child to connect with a battle-scorched warrior. I needed but couldn’t find him; I later learned he looked for me too. But the circumstances of our lives simply booked us on trains bound for different places.But in the late 50s, ou...
2024-10-1706 min
The Timberline LetterThe Line WalkersWhen World War II ended, the U.S. Navy released Jack Chinn to return to Kansas and rejoin his own life. Like many veterans, Dad brought the war home. Inevitably, his fatherhood borrowed a military model.I think that's why he was a stranger to me; it was impossible for a child to connect with a battle-scorched warrior. I needed but couldn’t find him; I later learned he looked for me too. But the circumstances of our lives simply booked us on trains bound for different places.But in the late 50s, ou...
2024-10-1706 min
High Country CommentaryHow Will You Frame the Picture?You can't always control what's in the picture, but with the proper framing of a canvas, all else falls away.Author: Craig DahlbergNarrator: Kara Lea Kennedy This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit timberlineletter.substack.com/subscribe
2024-10-0304 min
The Timberline LetterHow Will You Frame the Picture?You can't always control what's in the picture, but with the proper framing of a canvas, all else falls away.Author: Craig DahlbergNarrator: Kara Lea Kennedy Get full access to The Timberline Letter at timberlineletter.substack.com/subscribe This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit timberlineletter.substack.com/subscribe
2024-10-0304 min
High Country CommentarySpeak to the SignatureWhen I wrote for a conservative journal several years ago, one day my editor asked me to become more combative against “liberals.” When I told him I was not good at that, I heard myself say something I did not know before that moment: “God’s signature is written across every human heart; I’d rather speak to that signature.”To my surprise, he said, “Well, we sure need someone around here who can do that!” The subject never came up again.After a long estrangement from an old friend, I turned a corner...
2024-09-2604 min
The Timberline LetterSpeak to the SignatureWhen I wrote for a conservative journal several years ago, one day my editor asked me to become more combative against “liberals.” When I told him I was not good at that, I heard myself say something I did not know before that moment: “God’s signature is written across every human heart; I’d rather speak to that signature.”To my surprise, he said, “Well, we sure need someone around here who can do that!” The subject never came up again.After a long estrangement from an old friend, I turned a corner...
2024-09-2604 min
The Timberline LetterWhat's Your Hurry?I tore across our field, maxing out the 24 horsepower, zero-turn mowing monster. A day of peaceful yard work quickly turned awry when my husband tromped through the grass, wearing his “I’m a man and I know machines” face. I knew he wasn’t approaching to tell me how pretty I was in my ball cap and tee shirt bearing the image of E.T., so I begrudgingly brought the mower to a stop. He yelled something, cranked the throttle from “happy-go-lucky turtle” to full “rabbit on methamphetamines,” and walked back to his beloved chainsaw.Interpreting the...
2024-09-1904 min
High Country CommentaryWhat's Your Hurry?I tore across our field, maxing out the 24 horsepower, zero-turn mowing monster. A day of peaceful yard work quickly turned awry when my husband tromped through the grass, wearing his “I’m a man and I know machines” face. I knew he wasn’t approaching to tell me how pretty I was in my ball cap and tee shirt bearing the image of E.T., so I begrudgingly brought the mower to a stop. He yelled something, cranked the throttle from “happy-go-lucky turtle” to full “rabbit on methamphetamines,” and walked back to his beloved chainsaw.Interpreting the...
2024-09-1904 min
The Timberline LetterCan We Talk?Twenty-five years ago, The Cluetrain Manifesto published “95 Theses” built around their observance of markets as conversations. Consider the top five of their theses:* Markets are conversations.* Markets consist of human beings, not demographic sectors.* Conversations among human beings sound human. They are conducted in a human voice.* Whether delivering information, opinions, perspectives, dissenting arguments or humorous asides, the human voice is typically open, natural, uncontrived.* People recognize each other as such from the sound of this voice.[1]So, What Happened to Marketplace Conversations?When I recent...
2024-09-1206 min
High Country CommentaryCan We Talk?Twenty-five years ago, The Cluetrain Manifesto published “95 Theses” built around their observance of markets as conversations. Consider the top five of their theses:* Markets are conversations.* Markets consist of human beings, not demographic sectors.* Conversations among human beings sound human. They are conducted in a human voice.* Whether delivering information, opinions, perspectives, dissenting arguments or humorous asides, the human voice is typically open, natural, uncontrived.* People recognize each other as such from the sound of this voice.[1]So, What Happened to Marketplace Conversations?When I recent...
2024-09-1206 min
The Timberline LetterWhat We Leave BehindHumans are carriers. We carry germs, car keys, dirty dishes, and other things. But sometimes we also leave essential things in the atmosphere. Get full access to The Timberline Letter at timberlineletter.substack.com/subscribe Get full access to The Timberline Letter at timberlineletter.substack.com/subscribe This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit timberlineletter.substack.com/subscribe
2024-09-0504 min
High Country CommentaryWhat We Leave BehindHumans are carriers. We carry germs, car keys, dirty dishes, and other things. But sometimes we also leave essential things in the atmosphere. Get full access to The Timberline Letter at timberlineletter.substack.com/subscribe This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit timberlineletter.substack.com/subscribe
2024-09-0504 min
The Timberline LetterWhen We Need New EyesOne of the greatest lines in history—six one-syllable words—comes from the old hymn, Amazing Grace: “Twas blind, but now I see.” That so often inscribes the summation of an act, a relationship, a failure, even a reach for the good. On October 30, 2007, a doctor dropped a diagnosis of cancer on Joanne, my wife. Over the following five months, we lived in a shadowland of sirens screaming through the night, conflicting reports, confusing options, and continuous testing. Her doctor grew increasingly pessimistic. In his darkest pronouncement, he suggested it may be time for “palliative care.”...
2024-08-2905 min
High Country CommentaryWhen We Need New EyesOne of the greatest lines in history—six one-syllable words—comes from the old hymn, Amazing Grace: “Twas blind, but now I see.” That so often inscribes the summation of an act, a relationship, a failure, even a reach for the good. On October 30, 2007, a doctor dropped a diagnosis of cancer on Joanne, my wife. Over the following five months, we lived in a shadowland of sirens screaming through the night, conflicting reports, confusing options, and continuous testing. Her doctor grew increasingly pessimistic. In his darkest pronouncement, he suggested it may be time for “palliative care.”...
2024-08-2905 min
The Timberline LetterThe Vow of StabilityStand, stable, in every season. Like a tree. Get full access to The Timberline Letter at timberlineletter.substack.com/subscribe Get full access to The Timberline Letter at timberlineletter.substack.com/subscribe This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit timberlineletter.substack.com/subscribe
2024-08-2204 min
The Timberline LetterFinding Your VoiceListen to the sounds that move you, the things that breathe inspiration into your bones, the voices that splash sound waves against your ear’s cochlea, the Spirit that breathes sound into your soul.Conversation between father and son:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AY35eXTKVLY Get full access to The Timberline Letter at timberlineletter.substack.com/subscribe Get full access to The Timberline Letter at timberlineletter.substack.com/subscribe This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to...
2024-08-2202 min
High Country CommentaryThe Vow of StabilityStand, stable, in every season. Like a tree. Get full access to The Timberline Letter at timberlineletter.substack.com/subscribe This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit timberlineletter.substack.com/subscribe
2024-08-2204 min
High Country CommentaryFinding Your VoiceListen to the sounds that move you, the things that breathe inspiration into your bones, the voices that splash sound waves against your ear’s cochlea, the Spirit that breathes sound into your soul.Conversation between father and son:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AY35eXTKVLY Get full access to The Timberline Letter at timberlineletter.substack.com/subscribe This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit timberlineletter.substack.com/subscribe
2024-08-2202 min
The Timberline LetterWarriors in the RainWhat I saw the day my dad encountered an old enemy. Get full access to The Timberline Letter at timberlineletter.substack.com/subscribe This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit timberlineletter.substack.com/subscribe
2024-08-1505 min
High Country CommentaryWarriors in the RainWhat I saw the day my dad encountered an old enemy. Get full access to The Timberline Letter at timberlineletter.substack.com/subscribe This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit timberlineletter.substack.com/subscribe
2024-08-1505 min
High Country CommentaryLittle SliversThe little slivers of life can make big differences. Sometimes a mere sliver can even blaze a new trail...to the possible. Get full access to The Timberline Letter at timberlineletter.substack.com/subscribe This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit timberlineletter.substack.com/subscribe
2024-08-0805 min
The Timberline LetterLittle SliversThe little slivers of life can make big differences. Sometimes a mere sliver can even blaze a new trail...to the possible. Get full access to The Timberline Letter at timberlineletter.substack.com/subscribe This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit timberlineletter.substack.com/subscribe
2024-08-0805 min
High Country CommentaryWhere Do You Find Strength?A high-stakes medical drama leads one man to the wellsprings of vigor.By: John SommersNarrated by: Kara Lea Kennedy Get full access to The Timberline Letter at timberlineletter.substack.com/subscribe This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit timberlineletter.substack.com/subscribe
2024-07-2509 min
The Timberline LetterWhere Do You Find Strength?A high-stakes medical drama leads one man to the wellsprings of vigor.By: John SommersNarrated by: Kara Lea Kennedy Get full access to The Timberline Letter at timberlineletter.substack.com/subscribe This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit timberlineletter.substack.com/subscribe
2024-07-2509 min
High Country CommentaryCrooked Old RiverCrooked Old RiverBook ReviewStep away into a book that captures grand adventure in another world. More than that, catch sight of the reality of what action does for and within us.You can find the book at Trapper’s website store or on Amazon. Get full access to The Timberline Letter at timberlineletter.substack.com/subscribe This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit timberlineletter.substack.com/subscribe
2024-07-1804 min
High Country CommentaryThe Gift of SabbathThe Gift of SabbathFather Ron Rohlheiser reminds us of the life-essential practice of Sabbath. This post could save your life.https://ronrolheiser.com/en/ Get full access to The Timberline Letter at timberlineletter.substack.com/subscribe This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit timberlineletter.substack.com/subscribe
2024-07-1802 min
High Country CommentaryThe Glory of KingsThe Glory of KingsWhy are we placed on earth? How do we pay the rent on our planet space? Have we been called...to a purpose, a plan, a person, a people? Let's talk. Get full access to The Timberline Letter at timberlineletter.substack.com/subscribe This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit timberlineletter.substack.com/subscribe
2024-07-1806 min
The Timberline LetterThe Gift of SabbathThe Gift of SabbathFather Ron Rohlheiser reminds us of the life-essential practice of Sabbath. This post could save your life.https://ronrolheiser.com/en/ Get full access to The Timberline Letter at timberlineletter.substack.com/subscribe This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit timberlineletter.substack.com/subscribe
2024-07-1802 min
The Timberline LetterThe Glory of KingsThe Glory of KingsWhy are we placed on earth? How do we pay the rent on our planet space? Have we been called...to a purpose, a plan, a person, a people? Let's talk. Get full access to The Timberline Letter at timberlineletter.substack.com/subscribe This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit timberlineletter.substack.com/subscribe
2024-07-1806 min
The Timberline LetterCrooked Old RiverCrooked Old RiverBook ReviewStep away into a book that captures grand adventure in another world. More than that, catch sight of the reality of what action does for and within us.You can find the book at Trapper’s website store or on Amazon. Get full access to The Timberline Letter at timberlineletter.substack.com/subscribe This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit timberlineletter.substack.com/subscribe
2024-07-1804 min
High Country CommentaryArt + Faith Get full access to The Timberline Letter at timberlineletter.substack.com/subscribe This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit timberlineletter.substack.com/subscribe
2024-06-1705 min
The Timberline LetterArt + Faith Get full access to The Timberline Letter at timberlineletter.substack.com/subscribe This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit timberlineletter.substack.com/subscribe
2024-06-1705 min