Articles written by Jim Adkins

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About me - Jim Adkins

I am a former History teacher and youth minister. My wife and I own a lawn service in Southern Indiana. I currently write for a history magazine and a regional newspaper.

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Creative Writing > Short Stories Short stories: Unusual encounters: 7 of 227
The Well It stood in the middle of the small village in a place called Galilee. Every morning dozens of young girls with pots balanced upon their heads would visit the well and draw water for the family's use. Hundreds of tiny footprints bore mute testimony in the dusty street of the popularity of the place. In fact, the we... More..
Religion & Spirituality > Religion & Spirituality (Other) Experiencing divine intervention: 1 of 13
Yellow Jackets A few years ago I was mowing a lawn with an employee who would later become my wife. I own a small lawn service in Tell City, and we were about half way through the mowing season. It was mid-July, hot, humid, and miserable, you know what I'm talking about. I remember looking up and seeing a few puffs of fleec... More..
Creative Writing > Humor Humor: Family: 16 of 169
Close Encounters of the Family Kind Last week my wife and I drove to Tennessee to visit her sister and family. Shanon and Leslie have young children that include three young boys, two in diapers. I was looking forward to the visit because I hadn't been able to spend time with the kids since they were born. One of the boys i... More..
Sciences > Biology (Other) Where have all the honeybees gone?: 2 of 12
The honeybee is a key component to $15 billion worth of U.S. agricultural products. They play an essential function in the world's food supply and something is killing them by the millions. This past autumn, beekeepers along the east coast began reporting large die-offs. It was first called fall-dwindle disease but now has be... More..
Religion & Spirituality > Christian Doctrine & Issues How could a loving God send people to hell: 18 of 99
Not of This World On my way to McDonald's last Sunday morning I eagerly anticipated my morning cup of coffee and reading the paper. This has been a morning ritual of mine for a number of years and fits well into my daily routine. Driving through the darkened streets of Tell City I watched the pink fingers of dawn a... More..
Religion & Spirituality > Thoughts on God What God can do: 13 of 38
Fear We own three minpins. They look like Doberman Pinchers but are much smaller. They are all less than twenty pounds. There's Rocky and Adrian (as in, yo Adrian, I did it!) and Justy. These dogs are what you would call yappers. I don't think that they realize how small they are because they are fearless. If a grizzly bear ... More..
Arts & Humanities > The World Wars The World War I Christmas truce of 1914: 2 of 5
The Christmas Truce World War One began in August of 1914. By December, thousands of young men had died and the war was at a stalemate. Trench warfare had begun and countless German and British boys were cold, scared and homesick. The Christmas season only made matters worse as the soldiers reflected on past holiday seasons... More..
Creative Writing > Short Stories Short stories: Christmas tales: 24 of 59
The Christmas Promise It was cold. That is what I remember when I think of Phil. There was an arctic grip on Tell City the day that I met him. It was just before Christmas. I was driving on Highway 66 when I spotted the sign. Will work for food, it said. I glanced over at the lone figure sitting on the grass and eased my fo... More..
Arts & Humanities > Colonial & Early American History Was America founded as a Christian nation?: 24 of 44
Counsel From the Past It was sticky hot in Philadelphia. An unblinking sun gazed down upon the city as waves of heat whispered up from the stone buildings. The incessant buzzing of horseflies resounded throughout the Pennsylvania State House punctuated by an occasional slap that echoed throughout the chambers of the large s... More..
Arts & Humanities > History (Other) Overview: Leap Year 2008: 5 of 6
Leap Year 2008 is a leap year. This means that instead of the usual 365 days, it will have one extra. The additional day is February 29th and it is called an intercalary day, or leap day. In order to understand why we need to have a leap year one must realize that it takes the Earth 365 days to travel around the sun. This ... More..