From the Home Place

December 8, 2026

At 5:30 this morning the temp is 24 degrees, hoping to raise that to 34 this afternoon, with a possible snow flurry. Right now, the wind is quiet, and it’s not supposed to scream today, we’ll take it!

Yesterday, Miss Deb taught in Guernsey, I studied for Sunday. This next Sunday I get to teach the adult Sunday School at our home church, then we hustle across town, and I get to preach at a neighboring church! Today, Miss Deb is headed back to Guernsey and I’m back to studying.

Last night, we had us a date night – Pizza and a movie. We take turns choosing the movie we watch and last night Miss Deb “hit a home run!” We watched, “Forever My Girl.” You would do well to give it a gander, my eyes leaked most of the night. As we watched, my mind went back to 1966 when I took Miss Deb to our very first movie together at the movie theater in Guernsey.

I was in eighth grade; she was in seventh. I was staying in town with a friend because we had a basketball game earlier that day. I still don’t remember how it happened, but she and I went to the movie and sat together. The next Monday at school she dumped me. I asked her best friend “Why?” and was told that I didn’t talk with Deb enough. Back then I was EXTREMELY bashful and had no idea as how to visit with a girl. I could talk with ladies at a country dance, but to just sit down and talk with one, I was lost in the weeds.

Over the years as a pastor, I have marveled at how many Christians seem to suffer from the same delima when trying to talk with God. Call upon most folks to pray out loud, and they will quickly decline the opportunity.

“Why?” Well, after our first movie night, Miss Deb and I never spoke again until 1970 when I asked her to go to the Homecoming Dance with me. By then, I had spent considerable time visiting with young ladies my age at dances and community events and felt much better about talking with Deb. I must have said close to a dozen words to her when I asked her out!

To my amazement she said “yes,” and we have been yacking with each other ever since. Last night, during our date night, we visited and watched the movie together – together on the sofa and together in spirit. We spent time together.

Friends, if you have trouble visiting with God, may I suggest that you spend more time together with Him. Some of my favorite prayer times are when I ask God for a visit, and then we just sit and listen to each other. (I do most of the listening.) In fact, I try to start every day with such a visit with God. I greet Him with “Morning Lord,” and then I just lay there and listen. After a half-hour of listening, I usually get up and continue with a time of prayer, once again leaving time for Him to speak into my life. Then during the day, I spend several moments in prayer, just visiting with my dear Friend about events of the day.

You see, after 56 years of visiting with Miss Deb, we visit a lot, often without words. We both enjoy just being in each other’s presence. The same is said about visiting with God, we have spent enough time together so that we visit all of the time, sometimes with words.

If you are struggling with your prayer life, pray more. The more time you spend visiting with God in private, the easier it is to visit with Him in public. When Miss Deb and I first dated, I was so self-conscious that I wouldn’t string four words together. But now, I can plumb yack her ear off. So, when you are asked to pray in public, don’t worry about what others will think of your prayer, or what you should say, just visit with your good Friend.

Some of the best prayers I have ever been blessed to listen to, didn’t contain a bunch of flowery words, I was just blessed to listen to two friends visiting. Last night, I was blessed to just set beside my best friend and wipe away the tears – some from the movie, some from the moment.

Oh, by the way, the more you accept the opportunity to pray in public, the easier it gets. Praying in public is just allowing others to listen while two friends visit!

Visiting with God with you, in private and in public, Neal