{"id":4685,"date":"2026-02-27T21:32:00","date_gmt":"2026-02-28T03:32:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/afriendoftheking.com\/?p=4685"},"modified":"2026-03-06T16:34:20","modified_gmt":"2026-03-06T22:34:20","slug":"undaunted-courage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/afriendoftheking.com\/?p=4685","title":{"rendered":"Undaunted Courage"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Three Books<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I just finished reading Undaunted Courage<\/a><\/em> by Stephen E Ambrose. Wow! What an interesting book for those curious about American history in the early 1800s! And what a stellar biography of one of the most interesting people of all times, Meriwether Lewis. His story now rests with two others as the best three survival, adventure, and discovery stories of all time for me. The others are Endurance <\/a><\/em>about the Antarctic discovery voyage of Earnest Shackleton and Wager with the Wind<\/em> <\/a>about an early Alaska bush pilot, Don Sheldon.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Reading good books is such a healthy exercise for our minds and hearts \u2014 our souls. It gets us away from the shallow exercise of scrolling on our devices and into deep thought in a quiet place that’s focused, yet enlarged for imagination, thinking and pondering the meaning of life and the better parts of it, instead of just devouring information and mindless entertainment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reading is a spiritual discipline or habit for the enjoyment and development of our souls. It involves solitude and humility. Solitude and silence are almost lost and badly needed in our day for healthy souls to connect with themselves, others, and the spiritual realm. Reading involves humility because you must stop and humble yourself to listen to someone else share their thoughts or stories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I just finished a season where I read three books. Let me recommend them to you and tell you a little about each. Each was mind-expanding and enriching in its own way. All bought joy, peace, and expanded my horizons as I journeyed with the authors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Undaunted Courage<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I attended a high school with a good curriculum and felt like I had a better than average introduction to American history. I graduated from a university with a minor in history. But when I read this book, I felt like I was reading or learning about this period of history for the first time, and it fascinated me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ambrose is obviously a scholar and a good storyteller. But the way he relied on Lewis\u2019 and Clark’s journals and their eyewitness accounts of the Indians they encountered and the descriptions of the terrain and weather conditions on their historic trek, made it a page turner for me. Also the political and relational elements of their lives and times were fascinating. Lewis\u2019 best and closest friends were William Clark and Thomas Jefferson. I\u2019ll share a few highlights at the end of this blog to see if it catches your whimsy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Catching Whimsy<\/p>\n\n\n

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Speaking of Catching Whimsy<\/em>,<\/a> that\u2019s the name of the second book I\u2019ll recommend to you. It\u2019s actually a \u201c365 Days of of Possibility<\/em>\u201d devotional book of sorts by lawyer and best selling author Bob Goff. His short readings and stories each day will take your mind and heart to some interesting and worthwhile places, making a difference in your day, your outlook, and your life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

7 More Men<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An easy-read collection of seven short biographies, 7 More Men<\/a><\/em>, by Eric Metaxas will take your mind away to what\u2019s possible in human history with the stories of ordinary people with flaws and rough starts who became history changers and added to our stories and lives on the planet. It\u2019s inspirational, educational, and will lift your mind and heart out of the mundane and into the free realm of the soul.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Take courage, and read! Then take courage and live a more rewarding life of love and adventure following your dreams, being lifted and perhaps standing, on the shoulders of those who have gone before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Undaunted Courage\u2014Quips & Quotes & Thoughts<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From my journal on February 11, 2026: “Spending the morning in glorious silence and solitude, reading of the Lewis and Clark adventure. Synchronicities abound in God’s helping the USA as a nation to progress. Also in my personal, spiritual, and natural journey I identify with Lewis in many ways–ways you can only understand if you’ve walked some of those paths of resilience and courage. I’ve ridden horses, explored in remote mountains, canoed with friends in ten heavily loaded canoes on a flooding river, and served in the military.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Let me be clear, I do not consider myself in the same league or conversation with Meriwether Lewis for toughness, courage, or intellect. But I can see his greatness and genius and faith from where I stand, and his spiritual journey and circumstances, maybe even more clearly than he did.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“That’s an interesting thought! But such is the nature of revelation and spiritual sight. It seems to be a meeting of the minds, and a spiritual synchronicity for me what Lewis recorded August 18, 1805, on his 31st birthday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“As I and my friends contemplate the brevity of life and the limited time we have left, what shall be our purpose and course in the days ahead? Our characters are mostly formed with the truth we believe, and our thoughts are solidified. But our strength and minds are waining, so it seems a good and timely question to ask. It should be asked all along life’s way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“It seemed poignant to Meriwether Lewis on his 31st birthday, at a time he felt his mission was most in doubt, but also feeling the hand of Providence in the good favor experienced with the Shoshone tribe, Sacagawea there to interpret, and she being discovered to be the chief\u2019s sister, with 3000 miles of amazing, incredible, adventure, and protection behind them. Meriwether Lewis writes, “This day I completed my 31st year\u2026 I reflected that I had as yet done but very little indeed, to further the happiness of the human race, or to advance the information of the succeeding generation\u2026 In the future, I purpose to live for mankind, as I have heretofore lived for myself.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I know he was a son of the Enlightenment and of that generation. But these are major themes of Solomon, philosophers, poets, and thinkers throughout time. There seems to be a strain of “Love your neighbor as yourself” and “He has set eternity in their hearts” in his words, along with faith in God or destiny and the willingness to sacrifice his all for something greater.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I really found myself loving Meriwether Lewis, and hope to see him in heaven. I found myself wondering if he was a Christian. It even occurred to me to ask that question to Grok, my favorite AI engine. The results revealed some churches he might have attended and the beliefs of some people in his life, but it was inconclusive. Besides religious people try to put people in religious boxes so they can evaluate them, compare themselves with them, and maybe control them. So I decided to look at his character and actions. Jesus said, \u201cBy their fruit you shall know them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I looked at how he viewed and treated the Indians, his own men, and how they viewed him. He was honest, kind, fair and very much respected by all. I also looked at his loyalty to his friends William Clark and Thomas Jefferson. He had a respect for authority and practiced obedience to the same. He showed a familiarity with Scripture by some of the things he said, and recorded in his journal. On the Pacific coast, for instance, he spoke of, \u201cEating the whale instead of the whale eating them,\u201da reference to the book of Jonah.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“He was complex. We all are, or can be. But based on the points I’ve mentioned and others from his diary and actions. I believe him to be a man of faith, even though it wasn\u2019t his common confession, and even though his life didn’t end well. He loved his mother, his siblings, and his friends. He didn’t often take into account a wrong suffered. He was a man under authority. He lived in amazing times and accomplished amazing feats \u2014 almost unthinkable, and unfathomable to moderns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“And there were many synchronicities which indicate to me divine intervention on behalf of him and the Corps of Discovery, 31 men and a woman over 28 months and 8000 miles of wilderness adventure on a par with any mission of discovery before or since. It’s interesting to consider what God did for them and what he was doing among the nations to bring about his plan. It’s amazing to view the history of the United States and all nations through that lens \u2014the lens of Scripture, given by the God of Creation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cRemember the former things, those of long ago;\u2028 I am God, and there is no other;\u2028 I am God, and there is none like me. I make known the end from the beginning,\u2028from ancient times, what is still to come.\u2028I say, \u2018My purpose will stand,\u2028 and I will do all that I please.\u2019\u201d<\/em> (Isaiah 46:9-10)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him,\u2028 and he delivers them.\u201d<\/em> (Psalm 34:7)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFor the land has become defiled, therefore I have brought its punishment upon it, so the land has spewed out its inhabitants.\u201d <\/em>(Leviticus 18:25)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Another book selection from the fiction catagory that’s a really good read about kindness and goodness that’s recently burst on the scene and wildly popular is Theo of Golden<\/a><\/em> by Allen Levi. Also a reasonably good book about soul care and spiritual habits is God Stays Near <\/a><\/em>by Yours Truly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Three Books I just finished reading Undaunted Courage by Stephen E Ambrose. Wow! What an interesting book for those curious about American history in the early 1800s! And what a stellar biography of one of the most interesting people of all times, Meriwether Lewis. His story now rests with two others as the best three […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,9,13,11],"tags":[297,32,81,33,207,310],"class_list":["post-4685","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-be-a-leader","category-be-a-man","category-books-worth-a-look","category-understanding-our-times","tag-adventure","tag-christian-life","tag-courage","tag-faith","tag-history","tag-lewis-clark"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/afriendoftheking.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4685","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/afriendoftheking.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/afriendoftheking.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/afriendoftheking.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/afriendoftheking.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4685"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/afriendoftheking.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4685\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4719,"href":"https:\/\/afriendoftheking.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4685\/revisions\/4719"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/afriendoftheking.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4685"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/afriendoftheking.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4685"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/afriendoftheking.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4685"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}