The Hornets' Nest was stirred at Shiloh and the blood filled the pond that day. It was not long before the North had control of Missouri and northern Arkansas. And Grant was still after the South's waterways. New Orleans was seized, closing the Mississippi River to southern commerce, Grant's best hopes becoming reality. The Confederacy was slowly deprived of manufacturing capacity. And men. They scrapped for food, clothing, and ammunition. Slowly but surely, they became the ragtags. April 12, 1862 ". . . You watch, Henry, but stay close. I love you, son." "And I love you, Papa." With those sentiments expressed, T.G.'s emotions were stirred again. He was gripped by homesickness to an indescribable degree. He turned his back on his son and went inside the tent. His father had said to stay close, Henry mused. A comforting thought expressed by a faithful father. Henry added some logs to the fire, stoked it good to keep his father warm, and pa

John 14:6 I am the way … Jesus sat with his disciples, giving them the most pleasant of instructions—instructions that concerned the state of the heart, though the human heart, apart from Christ, cannot be trusted.  Jeremiah described it as “… deceitful above all things and desperately wicked …” (17:9). But Jesus told the disciples in John 14:1: “Let not your heart be troubled …” He had spent the better part of three years with these men, and for some reason when He began that day to linger on going away and heaven and things prepared, Thomas just didn’t get it. He doubted and wondered and pondered and questioned:              “How will we get to the Father’s House?” and              “How on earth are we going to know the way?”             Imagine being there yourself as Jesus arrested thoughts concerning His departure, addressing two emotions that plague us even now: doubt and fear. He dealt with Thomas’ doubts that day in the same way He deals with ours. He had alread