Focus on Faith with Curtis Shelburne

I like many songs, but not this one. I would nominate it as "The Theme Song of Hell." See what you think.Support the show

Cats and Dogs, Democrats and Republicans, Conservatives (Classic) and Populists (Not Conservative), Earthly Kingdoms and Powers, and... God's Kingdom. Perspective. Oh, and One Sister.Support the show

An update for your computer can seem more like a downgrade if it fouls things up. But when God says He has something brand new and better for us, we can trust Him!Support the show

Why does it seem like everything is running down? Brand new turns to old, shabby, and scarred in about ten minutes flat. Except . . . for this.Support the show

I love steeples! I love the fact that they point directly toward heaven and remind us of Christ's love and our hope. This is a joyful thing! But when your steeple starts dancing, well, that can be a problem.Support the show

Did you know that January 20 is Penguin Awareness Day? But special days are always available for non-penguins, too! Let's talk about it.Support the show

Would you ever wash just the outside of your dishes and leave the inside dirty? It happens more often than you'd think.Support the show

The sound quality of this episode is not great, but the location is close to Heaven itself for four pastors in need of rejuvenation. Join us at the Key Place!Support the show

Nothing good happens when we spend too much time associating with skunks--animal or human. No amount of perfume will mask the encounter.Support the show

What can you learn from a 12th-century Benedictine monk who manages to do an amazing amount of detective work? Much it seems!Support the show

Want to know why an escalator can never break? This episode is for you. Want to know if God cares about people who often DO break? This episode is for you.Support the show

Freedom is an incredibly precious gift from God, but it must be cherished, or it can be lost. God's people should know that. And nations who care about freedom had better know that.Support the show

When twenty-one precious lives were taken recently in Uvalde, Texas (nineteen of them, kids), a multitude of hearts were broken. What do we do? First, we cry.Support the show

You can probably find a physician specializing in disorders of the left little toe, but what about faith healers? That's a thought-provoking question!Support the show

A "rest mat" was for generations among the required school supplies for little folks. No matter our age, we still need to take some time to rest. Mrs. Carmody thought so; so does our Father.

How many clocks do you have? Twice a year you'll figure out that you have twice as many as you thought! Spring forward, fall back. But our Father holds all our "times" in his hands.

I've just had my cell phone stolen! This is not the first time, and the whole frustrating situation is completely baffling. Mysterious? Yes and no.

When God's enters our world at Bethlehem, He comes in a way we would never expect. A stable. A manger. A baby. THE Baby. And the greatest miracle of all: the Incarnation!

When God sent His Son into this world at Bethlehem, the situation was "normal" in many ways, but after that miraculous birth, nothing would ever be the same.

Left untreated, grinching, grouching, and grumbling will turn a human into a grinch, a grouch, and a grumble.  The antidote--it always works--is gratitude. 

The changing seasons are beautiful and offer a multitude of reasons for gratitude--even the impending seasonal demise of a serious pest. 

Background music: Some songs aren't worth much as dinner music! But some of the very best blessings of God are "background" blessings.

Need a little quiet but strong wisdom? Sit outside for a little while on a dark, clear night and just look upward. Class is in session! The stars have much to teach. 

Time. The passage of time. The way we feel about time. Strange. Surprising. Always. Add in a pandemic, and wow!  Stranger still! But all time is God's, and He loves us all the time. 

If God really wants to give us haloes (which I don't expect), we can be sure he'll do it at exactly the right time. In the meantime, most of us just look silly trying to hang our own. 

After a struggle with COVID-19 (Delta variant), being anywhere near "back in the saddle" is a matter for deep gratitude.

An uninvited guest, COVID-19 (Delta variant) and its accompanying isolation brought with it some lessons and even some blessings--but you do NOT want this pestilence!

Emergencies can come in a lot of forms, but this one was easily handled with love and hugs, giggles and delight.

It's one of the biggest and most difficult questions of all: Why does a good, powerful, and loving God allow suffering?

Have you ever dreamed a weird dream? Who hasn't?! And then you wonder if it means anything important--or should you just have left off the jalapenos? Caution: Strange Dream Ahead! 

Just give me a miracle a day and faith would be easy, right? Wrong.

When you hear a dog talking, you don't waste time criticizing his grammar; you just thank God for such a wonder! Sometimes, our "standards" need to be kept in perspective. 

The "woke" folks we hear from these days have a number of issues with reality, but they have presented us all with some real challenges, not least, grammatically. Would a nap help?

The Apostle Peter would rather swing his sword and draw blood than allow his Lord to be taken by His enemies; Jesus would go peacefully, quietly, to a cross where blood was shed--His own.

Peter the Rock said he'd stay awake and never deny. He did both. Christ does his best work not when we’re fat and sassy and so “spiritual” we have to tie rocks to our feet to keep from ascending prematurely. He lifts us up when we’re broken, and we know it. 

As a new President of the United States takes the oath of office, maybe it's a good time to think about citizenship and what two martyred apostles said about praying for rulers.

It was the greatest and most astounding birth announcement ever sent, and the Father of the Baby dispatched it to shepherds!

Mothers give Christmas gifts all the time, right? Yes, but I got this precious gift eighteen years after my sweet mom passed away.

A Yuletide tragedy was narrowly averted as authorities trace the source of the problem to improper Christmas tree icicling by two little boys in Amarillo, Texas.

Don't you love the delicious smells of Thanksgiving meals and Christmas delights? What smells better than a New Mexico piñon pine fire blazing in the hearth? Listen on . . . and breathe in the sweet smell of . . . Well, listen on!

Have you noticed that the best people to work on serious problems are the ones who don't take themselves too seriously? Being able to laugh, especially at oneself, is a very good sign!

If my call is so important, why am I stuck in "The Nine Circles of Customer Service Hell"? But our "calls," our prayers to our Father, really are precious to Him; they go right to the top.

Old Job was suffering, and his "friends" thought they knew why. Job's friends are still around. They were wrong then, and they are wrong now.

Keep asking, seeking, knocking. It is our Father's deepest joy to open the door for His children anytime. Any time. Any time at all.

If our "identity" is rooted in the One whose love is ever-present and unchanging, we become the very best "selves" we could ever be, the children in whom He delights.

Exactly the right word can be hard to find. That's when words like thingamabob, thingamajig, whatchamacallit, whatsit, and doodah are handy. A good word is a fine thing!

I may order some caps soon. Something like those well-known red MAGA caps. But mine will boast a different acronymn: MAMA. Wherever we are politically, it's a great message.

Making mistakes can carry some serious consequences, but living in fear of making mistakes may be the biggest mistake of all.

Often the world around us seems to crowd in, and, focusing too much on this world, we become soul-sick, tired, and . . . world-weary. Is there anything we can do about that?

Which would you rather smell? A diaper or a rose? Who do you ultimately trust? Yourself or God? The first produces the awful stench of death; the latter, the beautiful aroma of life and joy.

Lives are like quilts. We don't center for long on just one or two "squares" of the quilt; we look at the complete quilt and how the whole mosaic fits together as we consider its beauty.