On Saturday, my wife and I took our eight-year-old grandson, Noah, to visit Stones River National Battlefield here in Murfreesboro. This is the site of the Battle of Stones River, an engagement that lasted from December 31, 1862, to January 2, 1863. The battle is characterized by historians as having the largest percentage of casualties on both sides, a total of 23,515--some 13,600 on the Union side and about 10,600 on the Confederate side. Once inside the Visitors Center, we found ourselves in front of a map showing the initial deployment of forces. This produced Noah's first question: "Which one is our side?" This led to some discussion. His mother's family grew up in the South--Mississippi and Alabama--and she was born in Tennessee. Noah's father is originally from Indiana, and all his family lived in the North. We talked about this for a few minutes, and then he asked, "Who were the bad guys and who were the good guys?" The historian in me tried to k...
Comments from a Christ-follower on things that matter to him