Reflections
The untold and often difficult human stories, stark, optimistic, inspiring.
Featured Article
A New England Mother’s Thoughts on Memorial Day: “Don’t fire until you see the whites of their … half-gaiters?” What?! "Don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes!" is more dramatic and poetic than "Don't fire until you see the whites of their half-gaiters!" But the latter is the historically accurate version.
The air was thick with gunpowder and fear as I crouched behind the rough earthen walls we’d scrambled to build atop Breed’s Hill in these last hours of June 17, 1775, and the British were coming — red coats glinting like blood in the summer sun. General Israel Putnam had ridden among us earlier, urging…
All Reflections Articles
A New England Mother’s Thoughts on Memorial Day: “Don’t fire until you see the whites of their … half-gaiters?” What?! "Don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes!" is more dramatic and poetic than "Don't fire until you see the whites of their half-gaiters!" But the latter is the historically accurate version.
The air was thick with gunpowder and fear as I crouched behind the rough earthen walls we’d scrambled to build atop Breed’s Hill in these last hours...
I was in Rome the day the 2025 Papal Conclave convened. It raised thoughts of the “body of Christ.” Where Catholics are one piece of a global faith puzzle, who and what does God truly care about? These questions are not about individual grace or redemption. God says He will gather all His faithful children to Himself. I'm certain that He cares in that way, but ... what else does He care about?
Over my left shoulder is where Cardinal Robert Prevost showed himself to the world as the new pope, Leo XIV, less than 24 hours after this image was...
100 Years on the Road There is no more iconic or romantic section of cross country travel in the USA than the Mother Road, Route 66. Next year, 2026, marks 100 years since the establishment of that first interstate route.
Pontiac, Illinois, motoring along the Route 66 trail in his RAM 1500, Peter Rancie, Co-Founder of Veritas Chronicles has driven hundreds of...
Route 66: The Long Road Out of Depression Into a Century of Optimism Established in 1926, the ensuing Great Depression meant the story of Route 66 became a road from and to despair for some, and a quirky, nostalgic trip for others, depending on era and circumstance.
Route 66 was a major highway of hope and despair, agony and ecstasy, during the Great Depression era. This is the US highway system as proclaimed in...
Route 66: An Unusual “Hero” of WW2 This famous US highway played a direct role in the domestic war effort by facilitating logistics, troop movements, and economic shifts from the US's industrial eastern hubs to the west and south-west.
B24’s in production. Many defense industries relocated westward, particularly aircraft manufacturing in California. Companies like Lockheed and...
Patterns | Whose Handiwork? Recognizable patterns, the handiworks of people and the patterns in nature, offer reliable evidence that the universe and our place in it are not some freakish collection of evolutionary accidents.
Authors’ Note: While both authors confess that they are firm believers in God the Father and Jesus Christ, this article is not denominational, not...
It Is Finished! This is one of the last seven statements Jesus Christ uttered from the cross at Calvary. What does it actually mean? Understanding this phrase is essential to expressing the true Spirit of Christmas.
Verlan, pictured here in his mid-80’s, was a devout Christian. He used art to express his devotion to God. He also used kindness, spending his life...
Pole-vaulting: a Perfect Principle of Godly Power | In God We Trust Trust requires practice, again, and again, and again, always and all ways.
These images are actual photos of my son, Noah, at a high school track & field meet, artistically rendered to suit this story. Thank you to Noah...
The Tumbling Tumbleweed | Icon of the American West Symbol of lonely wandering, robust endurance, and ... reminder of hope. Though no one knows what is on the road ahead, hope endures as determinedly as the iconic, roaming, indestructible tumbleweed.
About a year ago, one of my business colleagues commented that she had never seen a tumbleweed rolling along in real life. To me, it has been a...
The Mayflower Hatter Who Helped Shape History
Today, as families across the United States gather to celebrate Thanksgiving, my thoughts turn to my own connection to this day’s history. As a...
Faith Has Been the Primary Driver of Every Person’s Choices Throughout the Ages | It is no Different in the Present Age | Always, the Difference is in What or Whom Such Faith is Placed C.S. Lewis's "Mere Christianity" is still — and perhaps even more — relevant in this divided and increasingly secular era as a rational starting point for exploration of faith, of all kinds.
Introduction: From Christian cathedral, to mosque, to museum, and now again, a mosque. Originally built in the 4th century AD, the Hagia Sophia in...
The Invasion of the Nothingness A response to militant atheism
The Invasion of the Nothingness. Militant atheism derides and even attacks faith in God or a Supreme Being, but can never offer anything of...
When Art Speaks to You How to travel with meaning!
Editors: We recently caught up with our colleague Marina Bird (right), in Dubai, where she was busy establishing new distribution outlets for ESG...
Wherever you go, there you are. The inescapable problem with escape vacations.
Mount Buffalo, Victoria, Australia. I watched this young man for more than an hour. He was trying to get enough momentum in his run up to carry him...
It’s what happens when the world is not looking that counts the most A look back on events in Indonesia following the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami
The image above is from the photographic collection of Peter Rancie. He was in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, at the beginning of 2005, following the Indian...
Ignore. Renew. Replace. PAUSE. FULL STOP. What do you see?
INITIALLY, I see what everyone sees at first glance … asymmetrical rust on a metal roof ... an abandoned structure becoming increasingly dilapidated...
Our Beautiful Paradoxical Dichotomous World What might we see when we view the artificial intelligence dialogue from a Maasai warrior's point of view?
Cowherders by day. Tourist guards at night. Protecting safari visitors straying too far from their tents and being caught in the maw of grazing...
Who Are the Problem Solvers in this Dichotomous World?
NOWHERE in the modern world is the dichotomy between rich and poor, advantaged and disadvantaged, wealth and impoverishment, juxtaposed more...
Seize the Moment
Midwinter. An ordinary, leafless tree. Nature's beautiful, icy decor. A zero-degree morning. A lifetime lesson. There was every reason not to take...
Flight Plans A Reflection: by Sonja Johnston
Premise: Not every flight plan is the same. Even when the intention of our flight plan is clear, we are constantly veering to the left or right, not...
This Marvelous Dichotomous World This Reflection piece is a companion to another article about artificial intelligence and its possible or distant effects on the life of the Maasai of the Mara.
Pictured above is a young Bedouin wife and mother, and further below in this article is a picture of her father. They live in what most of us would...
The Heartbeat Behind “Give Me Jesus” How a rural children's choir teamed-up with one of America's most notable evangelical singers to produce a stunning arrangement of "Give Me Jesus"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_KuGrM6sNhc&t=113s As a content contributor for Veritas Chronicles, I am deeply committed to our mission of...
Believing Is Seeing: A Physicist Explains How Science Shattered His Atheism And Revealed The Necessity Of Faith
World Renowned Scientist Reasons His Way to Christian Faith: a book review, by David W. Borchers, EdD It is not often one is able to convince...
The Majesty Of Aslan A Testament Of C.S. Lewis’s Jesus Christ
C.S. LEWIS, in The Chronicles of Narnia, meticulously crafts an alternate universe to share his testimony of Jesus Christ through the persona...
Faith, Fate, and a U.S. Presidential Campaign How a Simple Email Took a Frustrated Dad from the Sidelines to the Staff of a U.S. Presidential Campaign, Proving That Even the 'Little Guys' Can Make a Big Difference
Never accept the premise that you’re too small to make a difference in our big world. That’s exactly how I felt, though, last year, when as a...
Beauty for Ashes
Musk thistle is common on the Wyoming landscape. These thistles are usually considered pests by farmers. This one, pictured left, was the only...
Vacuum Sealed
NASA’S VOYAGER SPACECRAFT, launched nearly a half century ago (1977), is still heading away from Earth, at a rate of 38,000 miles per hour. By the...
Be A Light When the kindness of a stranger gave light to my road
1990. Saturday night. Racing for home on my triathlon bike. Zipping downhill, on a long, steep descent of several kilometres, at 70 kilometres...
Turning the Doorknob of Faith A lesson on knowing the Savior from the example of James the Just
James, the brother of Jesus, grew up in the same household as Jesus. He was familiar with Jesus' teachings and even the claims of His miracles. Yet,...
What a Child of the 50’s and 60’s Has Learned About “Freedom in Christ.” How I learned to overcome the chains of daily life.
Life is tense and intense in many ways. There are numerous freedom movements, but there is only one unlimited, one perfect freedom. Dave Borchers...
From Classroom to Boardroom
Editor’s Note: As Veritas Chronicles is committed to sharing good stories of good, it is my pleasure to share the good story of my mentor and...
Tragedy | Pathos | Triumph Reflections on a terrible battle that spawned the ethos of three modern nations
THE WORDING AT THE ANZAC memorial in Gelibolu (Gallipoli), Turkey, reads thus — "Those heroes that shed their blood and lost their lives ... you are...