This book is a compilation of 57 essays on diverse subjects ranging from anthropomorphism to failed batteries. They’re from a portfolio of more than 400 articles I’ve written over the past 40 years which have been published in various newspapers and magazines under the byline Woodshed Wisdom. I named it that because much of the wisdom I’ve attained was imparted to me behind the woodshed. My writing was influenced by my father, Oliver Ross Stevens, who was Outdoor Editor for the Manchester Union Leader and President of New England Outdoor Writers Association. It is rewarding to note that my grandchildren, Jack and Megan Stevens, still young students, are recognized and published authors

Imagine growing up in a clapboard farmhouse without running water, without an inside bathroom, where the sole source of heat was a two-sided fireplace and a wood-burning cookstove in the kitchen, and where air conditioning was non-existent. Now, with all the technological advances of the twenty-first century that allow us to communicate instantly with people all over the world, it's no surprise that we, as the most blessed nation on the face of the earth, are lightyears removed from the simpler time in which people looked to and depended on God's Word for answers to life's questions. Only history will determine if these powerful distractions have led to the extinction of the wisdom of the woodshed. In Woodshed Wisdom, Vol. 1, Freeman Martin gives his personal account of how he experienced God and his word while growing up on a southern farm in the 1950s. While reading, you will be transported to a humbler way of life and will find yourself desiring a simpler daily communion with God over the static of modern life. Freeman Martin is a gifted man of God...You will be blessed by his words of inspiration and homespun humor. —Dr. David Gallamore, Senior Pastor, Rock Springs Baptist Church, Easley, SC Freeman Martin has hit it out of the ballpark with Woodshed Wisdom, Vol. 1! With a healthy dose of humor and rare spiritual insight, Woodshed Wisdom serves up a delightful slice of Americana about a large family surviving and thriving on a farm in the '50s. Every visit to the woodshed will simultaneously tug at your heart and make you want to stand and applaud. This book is a must-read! —J. Gresham Barrett, former U. S. Congressman, South Carolina, Third District Jesus perfected the art of parable telling, earthly stories revealing heavenly truths. In Woodshed Wisdom, Freeman Martin follows that tradition, plucking heavenly truths for today from his well-worn memories of growing up in Appalachia. —Houston T. Hawkins, Colonel USAF (retired)

This sequel to Woodshed Wisdom reflects my conservative thoughts and attitudes on a wide variety of subjects and was written over a period of about twenty years. Most of these essays were published in newspapers or magazines. My writing is not disciplined or ordered in any way. When the spirit moves me and I have the time - I write. These tales reflect whatever was topical in my mind at the time. My writings are only about topics familiar to me. My research was living with the subject and experiencing it without reliance on others to formulate ideas or opinions.

Kassie Samuels had a wonderful childhood in the Ozarks until a fever swept through the valley and her life changed forever. Losing her parents wasn’t easy but marrying the wrong man was worse. In a logging accident, brought on by her husband’s lies, she found herself a widow. She gained some independence, though money was scarce, but at least no one was ordering her about. When she borrows Wade Westby’s stallion and wins the mountain race, her life is going to change again. Whether she likes it or not. Wade grew up with Kassie. They were great friends for a long while, and he thought their future was set, until it wasn’t. When she became a widow and a menace to herself and the town, he got an offer he couldn’t refuse from her grandfather, no less. Now they’re married and life is interesting again. If he has to put her over his knee to keep her safe, so be it. He’s up to the challenge. Can they find their way to mutual love and happiness? Publisher’s Note: This historical western romance is intended for adults only and includes elements of mystery, suspense, action, adventure, sensual scenes and power exchange. If any of these offend you, please do not purchase.

Wisdom's Harvest: East of Smallville is a series of short stories from my life growing up in a family of ten children and a single mother. A continuation of Thoughts from a Treestand, it tells of things learned from living life in a small central Wisconsin hamlet. We had very little, but we did have love . . . and that made all the difference in my life.

In Dreaming about the Divine, Bonnelle Lewis Strickling argues that people dream about the divine in forms that fit their current emotional and spiritual condition. Using Jungian psychology and the philosophy of Karl Jaspers, Strickling contends that dreams about the divine occur in the context of existential issues; psychic and emotional crises which open us to the experience of the divine. She concludes that working with dreams of the divine can be spiritually, psychically, and emotionally helpful both to people who are engaged in a spiritual search and also to people who are already committed to a spiritual tradition.