From the Home Place

December 13, 2025

Good morning, friends. At 5 a.m. it was 21 degrees and extremely quiet here in Lusk. There was no wind, nor any trucks on the highway. The only sound was absolute quiet. So, I just sat in the quiet and listened for the Holy Spirits to speak into my life. He did!

It is now 5:45 a.m., the wind is blowing, trucks are running up and down the highway that goes through our little town and my computer is clicking and clacking. Though each of the sounds that I can hear around me right now are sounds of life, I must admit, I really enjoyed the complete quiet while spending time withnthe Holy Spirit. What an amazing God we serve!

Well anyway, as I mentioned yesterday, Miss Deb and I are trying to spend some time throughout our day and evenings working on jigsaw puzzles. Not only is it relaxing and gives us time together, working on puzzles is also good for our old brains and our arthritic hands. I highly recommend that you consider turning off your TV, dumping a jigsaw puzzle in the middle of a table and enjoy.

However, I would like to make one more suggestion: Purchase a new puzzle of 500 pieces. Invite a friend over to help you with the puzzle and maybe some coffee and pie (cherry is my favorite)! By the way, here’s the twist. Have the friend join you, dump the puzzle out on a table and then ask your friend to take one piece of the puzzle out of the pile, place that piece in their pocket and take it home with them. (Now, if your friend is getting on in years, you might want them to tell you where they put that piece for safe keeping at their house, so that you can help them remember where they put it for later use. 🙂

Then the two of you sit down and start working on the puzzle, visiting about whatever the Spirt leads you to talk about. Remember, no gossip, that’s never of the Lord. Jus visit, enjoy the company and relax with your drink and food of choice. Allow your brain and hands to stay busy while you talk with a friend – perhaps a few words of encouragement would be excellent medicine for that friend.

After they leave, spend some time each day working on your puzzle. As you work, pray! Pray for your friend and their family, pray for your family, pray for those on your prayer list, for your church, for your community and national leaders, pray for the salvation of others, and especially pray for wisdom and discernment as you speak of spiritual matters with those you will come in contact with later this week. Remember to also spend some time praising God for how He is at work in your life.

You see, using this method, not only is the puzzle good for your physical life, but it is also good for your spiritual life. Sometimes, life itself is just a puzzle waiting for God to help you find the right piece for the right place. As He puts the pieces of your life puzzle together, you get to watch the picture of your life come together.

The day before you finish your puzzle, invite that friend to bring back the “missing” piece. They will enjoy seeing what you have completed on the puzzle, and they will also enjoy helping you finish the puzzle with the missing piece. Perhaps it is now time for more coffee and goodies, and then if you are not sure your friend is a Christ-follower, mention how a relationship with Jesus may be the missing piece in their life. For as you know, knowing Jesus puts many of the life-puzzle pieces in place. Be sure to take a couple of minutes and share with your friend how they are a very important piece in the puzzle called your life. Laugh together, cry together if needed, and celebrate your friendship.

Last step: take the puzzle apart, box it up and give it to your friend. Encourage your friend to repeat this process with someone else who is a blessing within their life. Share how you pray during your “puzzling” times and how God has answered many of those prayers. Encourage your friend to do the same as they work on that same puzzle. Using this method, one simple puzzle can be used to spread fellowship, joy and encouragement around your hometown! (Perhaps have everyone who completes this process sign their name on the inside of the box upon completion of the puzzle?)

Working on this puzzling thing called life with you, Neal