From the Home Place

December 5, 2025

Good morning all. A beautiful 32 degrees at daylight! When the sun gets up, she will add six more degrees to the ‘ol thermometer for today’s high.

Yesterday was kind of a rough day around here. Coffee, our Border collie, ate something she shouldn’t have and is going crazy at both ends. Miss Deb has been running in circles getting products ready for a Christmas Bazaar here in Lusk this weekend and now she has a bum leg that is hurting her. So, as Deb took herself to the doctor, I took Coffee to the vet. Both of them are now on drugs and hopefully improving.

The vet said that Coffee has a case of “garbage gut.” She ate something that she should have left alone, so now she’s on four meds in an effort to get her lined out and back to normal, hopefully soon. Coffee’s tendency to eat things that she shouldn’t reminds me of my tendency to see or say things that I shouldn’t. The reality is, we are all prone to sin.

Why is it that sin is so easy and obedience is so very difficult? Well, the Apostle Paul would say that my flesh (my sin tendency) is my enemy, while the Holy Spirit is my ally. The issue is that I’m accustomed to satisfying my sinful nature, while I have to work at following the lead of the Holy Spirit. Simply stated, I am spiritually lazy. I would rather do that which comes easy: things like judging, criticizing, and gossiping. Rather than listening to the Holy Spirit and not judging others for the methods I use to judge them will be the method used to judge me. Not criticizing but instead building up others. Not gossiping but instead speaking truthfully in all situations. See, I told you, walking by the Spirit is hard work.

The truth is, walking by the flesh has always been an automatic part of my life, while I am still learning how to walk by the Spirit. Each of us will always be a spiritual toddler here on earth. At this point I have to go back to the old Indian chief who stated, “Inside of every person is two dogs, a black dog and a white dog; which one is the strongest? The one you feed the most often.” You see the real problem is that I am way too much like my dog Coffee, I too tend to be a “garbage gut,” when it comes to what I feed on.

On the days that my first food is the word of God, it seems to be easier to walk with Him through the rest of the day. But, on the days that I hit the floor-a-running, my flesh tends to be boss. In Colossians 3:1 we read, “Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.” So, now we have to truthfully answer the question, “What do I spend most of my time “seeking?” The simple truth, that which I seek most is that which I find most. If I spend my day seeking the riches of this world, my flesh is happy, for a season. However, if I spend my day “seeking the things above,” then I am blessed as I walk with the Holy Spirit, finding eternal happiness.

Summary, I get to decide which dog I feed the most. Will I eat the food that is good for me, or will I too be a “garbage gut” and feel sickly? Oh, by the way, you have the to make the same choice as I do.

Choosing to stay away from the garbage, Neal