Bill Turner

Child of the One True King, Photographer & Graphic Designer at University of the Cumberlands

[Matt Walsh @MattWalshBlog]

Not to change the subject from burritos but when I was earning poverty wages in my 20s I used to go to Subway nearly every day and get a footlong Italian sub for 5 dollars. It was generally the only big meal I would eat in a day.

If I was hungry later at night, I could always swing by McDonald’s and grab a chicken sandwich for a dollar.

All of these people are screaming about “eating at home” but I basically never made meals at home in those days and I was able to get by. You used to be able to survive on low wages without making meals from scratch. If that’s not possible anymore then it’s a sign that our standard of living is declining. That’s a problem. You should care about that.

Anyway, I went to a Subway recently and that same sandwich was 13 dollars. McDonald’s, of course, doesn’t sell anything for a dollar anymore.

[Thomas Massie @RepThomasMassie]

What a nightmare. By implementing the tariffs illegally, and now having to unwind them, the Trump administration created over $100 billion of profit for corporations selling foreign products, at the expense of American consumers.

Your refund: $0.00
Apple’s profit: $2.2 billion

[Thomas Massie @RepThomasMassie]

The irony of Republicans controlling all branches of government while

bankrupting the country, starting a war, sending money to fraudulent programs, violating the Constitution, giving corporations immunity...

but arguing that the biggest problem we have is “stolen elections.”

[Bill Turner @billcturner]

@TheTrueVanguard I played a lot of Pitfall back in the day

[Chad Bird @birdchadlouis]

There is a man in the Bible most people have never heard of. His name is Mattithiah, which in Hebrew means “gift of Yahweh.”

He appears in only one verse, 1 Chronicles 9:31: “Mattithiah, one of the Levites, the firstborn of Shallum the Korahite, was entrusted with making the flat cakes.”

That is his entire biography.

Who was he? Mattithiah was a Levite, part of the tribe God set apart for service in his house. His father, Shallum, helped guard the temple gates, and Mattithiah was given a different but equally important job: baking the flat cakes used in the temple offerings (Leviticus 2:4–5; 7:9).

That might sound small, but it mattered. His work made worship possible. Every offering required care, purity, and faithfulness, and Mattithiah provided that.

This baker in the temple did not have a glamorous job. He was not a prophet or a king or even a priest. He was not someone who spoke to crowds or led armies. He was a man who quietly served.

Yet the Holy Spirit saw fit to record his name in the Bible for all generations.

That tells us something about how God sees service. In the community of faith, there are no trivial people. Paul reminds us in 1 Corinthians 12:14–18 that every member of the body of Christ is vital. Some serve in visible ways, others serve quietly. Both kinds of service matter equally to God.

When you serve in your congregation, whether by cooking meals, sweeping the floors, teaching children, greeting worshipers, or praying, you are doing holy work.

Like Mattithiah, you are a “gift of Yahweh” to the people of God.

[The Biblical Man @Biblicalman]

Joseph of Arimathea took down a corpse.

Hands still sticky with blood.

Skin already cold.

Touched death. Held it. Wrapped it.

Became ceremonially unclean for Passover.

For a dead man.

Here's what most Christians miss about the burial of Jesus:

Joseph was a wealthy man. A member of the Sanhedrin. A respected Jew.

And Passover was 3 hours away.

The holiest day of the year.

But he climbed Golgotha anyway.

Jewish law was clear:

Touch a dead body = unclean for 7 days.

Can't worship. Can't celebrate. Can't enter the temple.

Joseph knew this.

He'd spent his entire life following these laws.

But Jesus was still hanging on that cross.

Picture it:

The crowds are gone. The soldiers drunk. The women weeping.

Joseph approaches Pilate—the man who just murdered his Lord—and asks permission.

"Can I have the body?"

Pilate grants it.

Now Joseph has to actually DO it.

He walks to Golgotha.

Blood-soaked dirt. The smell of death. Three crosses against the sky.

Jesus in the middle.

Still.

Finally still.

Joseph climbs the ladder.

Grabs the first nail.

Pulls.

Feel the weight of that moment.

God's body in your arms.

The blood isn't dry yet.

It stains his expensive robes.

His hands.

Under his fingernails.

He can taste the iron in the air.

This is what obedience looks like.

Messy. Expensive. Permanent.

Nicodemus shows up.

Another secret disciple. Another Sanhedrin member.

He brings 75 pounds of myrrh and aloes.

That's about $150,000 worth of burial spices in today's money.

Two wealthy men. Two cowards until now.

Finally brave when it's already too late.

They work fast.

Sabbath is coming. They have maybe 3 hours.

Wrap the body. Pour the spices. Seal the tomb.

The sun is setting.

Joseph is now officially unclean.

Can't celebrate Passover tomorrow.

Can't enter the temple for a week.

Think about what he just gave up:

His ceremonial purity.

His Passover celebration.

His reputation (everyone saw him bury a "blasphemer").

His position (the Sanhedrin won't forget this).

His safety (Romans might come for disciples next).

All for a dead man.

But here's what most Christians miss:

Joseph didn't do this expecting resurrection.

He did it expecting NOTHING.

Jesus was dead. Gone. Finished.

This wasn't faith in resurrection.

This was love for a corpse.

That's the part that wrecks me.

Joseph touched death—literally—knowing it meant giving up everything.

Not because Jesus promised him anything.

But because Jesus deserved honor even in death.

Modern Christianity wants clean obedience.

Safe obedience.

Obedience that doesn't cost you Passover.

But Joseph shows us something different:

True discipleship gets your hands dirty.

You want to follow Jesus?

Then stop avoiding the messy parts.

Stop waiting for clean opportunities.

Stop demanding that obedience be convenient.

Joseph climbed Golgotha when everyone else went home.

He wrapped a corpse when he could've stayed clean.

He missed the holiest day of his life to honor a dead "criminal."

He risked everything when there was no visible reward.

That's not religion.

That's worship.

The twist?

Three days later, that tomb was empty.

Joseph gave his grave to Jesus.

Jesus left it empty.

Forever.

Joseph thought he was burying God.

He was actually setting the stage for resurrection.

Your messy obedience?

God's using it too.

Even when you can't see it.

So here's the question:

What are you avoiding because it's too messy?

What obedience are you postponing because it's inconvenient?

What grave are you unwilling to give?

Joseph of Arimathea held death in his arms.

Got blood on his hands.

Missed Passover.

Lost his reputation.

And earned his name in all four Gospels.

Religion says "stay clean."

Discipleship says "get dirty."

Joseph chose discipleship.

What are you choosing?

—TBM

[Travis Akers 🇺🇸 @travisakers]

A message from a Kindergarten teacher:

After forty years in the classroom, my career ended with one small sentence from a six-year-old:

“My dad says people like you don’t matter anymore.”

No sneer. No malice. Just quiet honesty — the kind that cuts deeper because it’s innocent. He blinked, then added, “You don’t even have a TikTok.”

My name is Mrs. Clara Holt, and for four decades, I taught kindergarten in a small Denver suburb. Today, I stacked the last box on my desk and locked the door behind me.

When I started teaching in the early 1980s, it felt like a promise — a shared belief that what we did mattered. We weren’t rich, but we were valued. Parents brought warm cookies to parent nights. Kids gave you handmade cards with hearts that didn’t quite line up. Watching a child sound out their first sentence felt like magic.

But that world slowly slipped away. The job I once knew has been replaced by exhaustion, red tape, and a kind of loneliness I can’t quite describe.

My evenings used to be filled with construction paper, glitter, and glue sticks. Now they’re spent filling out digital reports to protect myself from angry emails or lawsuits. I’ve been yelled at by parents in front of twenty-five children — one filming me with his phone while I tried to calm another child mid-meltdown.

And the kids… they’ve changed too. Not by choice.

They arrive tired, anxious, overstimulated. Their tiny fingers know how to swipe a screen before they can hold a crayon. Some can’t make eye contact or wait in line. We’re expected to fix all of it — to patch the gaps, heal the trauma, teach the curriculum, and document every move — in six hours a day, with resources that barely fill a drawer.

The little reading corner I once built, full of soft beanbags and paper stars, was replaced by data charts and “learning metrics.” A young principal once told me, “Clara, maybe you’re too nurturing. The district wants measurable results.”

As if kindness were a weakness.

Still, I stayed. Because of the small, holy moments that no spreadsheet could measure —
a whisper of, “You remind me of my grandma.”
a shaky note that read, “I feel safe here.”
a quiet boy finally meeting my eyes and saying, “I read the whole page.”

Those tiny sparks were my reason to keep showing up.

But this last year broke something in me.

The aggression grew sharper. The laughter in the staff room turned to silence. The light went out of so many eyes. I watched brilliant teachers — my friends — vanish under the weight of burnout, their joy replaced by survival.

I felt myself fading too, like chalk on a board that’s been wiped one too many times.

So today, I began my goodbye. I pulled faded art off the walls and tucked thirty years of handmade cards into a single box. In the back of a drawer, I found a letter from a student from 1998:

“Thank you for loving me when I was hard to love.”

I sat on the floor and cried.

No party. No applause. Just a handshake from a young principal who called me “Ma’am” while checking his notifications.

I left my rocking chair behind, and my sticker box too. What I carried with me were the memories — the faces of hundreds of children who once trusted me enough to reach out their hands and learn. That can’t be uploaded. It can’t be measured. It can’t be replaced.

I miss when teachers were partners, not targets. When parents and educators worked side by side, not in opposition. When schools cared more about wonder than numbers.

So if you know a teacher — any teacher — thank them. Not with a mug or a gift card, but with your words. With your respect. With your understanding that behind every test score is a heart that cared enough to try.

Because in a world that often overlooks them, teachers are the ones who never forget our children.

[The White House @WhiteHouse]

** Democrats doing anything BUT keeping the government open for the American people. **

[Bill Turner @billcturner]

@Jtsideshots I’m a bifocal shooter. The diopter adjustments through the viewfinder are a must. Reviewing the images on the screen are hit and miss for me being able to see them. Luckily my R3 can review images through the viewfinder so that’s a big help

[ScottW @jswtreeman]

Picture of the Astronomer CEO & the Head of HR at the weekly staff meeting.

[Caden Mountjoy @cadenmountjoy20]

First tournament of the summer.

2 for 7 double and a single
3 rbi, 3 runs scored, 2BB

@PG_Uncommitted @PG_Scouting @CanesKentucky @WCcolonelsBase

[The White House @WhiteHouse]

100 DAYS OF MAKING AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! LFG!!! 🇺🇸

[NewsForce @Newsforce]

Elon Musk: "You get taxed on what you earn, you get taxed on what you buy, and you get taxed on what you own. Taxes, taxes, taxes. And then, what does it get spent on? A bunch of the stuff it gets spent on you don't even agree with."

[UC Baseball @PatsBaseballUC]

Congrats to Head Coach Brad Shelton on earning his 900th win at UC! 👏

#OneBigTeam | #LTL

[Rapid Response 47 @RapidResponse47]

✅ First drop in consumer prices in three years.
✅ 2.4% decrease in energy prices.
✅ 6.3% decrease in gas prices.
✅ 1.4% growth in real average hourly earnings.
✅ 2% decrease in prescription drug prices.
✅ Continued slowing of egg prices.

America is back. Inflation is not.

[Leading Report @LeadingReport]

BREAKING: The Dow Jones just recorded its highest single-day gain in history, up 2,965 points.

[NewsForce @Newsforce]

Just gonna leave this here.

[Eric Daugherty @EricLDaugh]

🚨 JUST IN - VP JD VANCE ON TARIFFS: "What has the globalist economy gotten the USA? Incurring a huge amount of debt to buy things other countries make for us... we borrow money from Chinese peasants, to buy the things they manufacture. That is NOT a recipe for economic prosperity, it's not a recipe for low prices, and it's not a recipe for good jobs in the United States of America."

"For 40 years, we have gone down that pathway. We've seen closing factories. We've seen rising inflation. We've seen the cost of housing so high that most Americans can't afford to buy a home right now. President Trump is taking this economy in a different direction. He ran on that. He promised it. And now he's delivering."

"And yes, this is a big change. I'm not going to shy away from it. But we needed a big change. We cannot keep going down the Joe Biden globalist pathway where we have $2 trillion of peacetime debt and deficits."

"We have manufacturing disappearing. That is not working for Americans. We've got to take this country in different direction."

MASTERCLASS. @JDVance

[NAIA Ball @NAIABall]

🚨 MOVE OVER PETE INCAVIGLIA

The HR king of college baseball now resides in the NAIA as Cumberlands (KY) C Charlie Muniz has passed the legendary Oklahoma State slugger and is now the all-time HR leader in college baseball history with career HR #101

🎥: @UnionBulldogs

@PatsBaseballUC @UC_Patriots @charliemuniz77 @11point7

#NAIABall

[UC Baseball @PatsBaseballUC]

With his last home run, Charlie Muñiz has just passed Pete Incaviglia of Oklahoma State for the most career home runs in collegiate baseball at any level with 1️⃣0️⃣1️⃣!

#OneBigTeam | #LTL