From the Home Place

January 25, 2026

At 5 a.m. the thermometer reads a solid 0 degrees. The forecast calls for a wee bit of warm-up during the day, and serious cold tonight. Yet as I look at the forecast for next week, it should warm up nicely.

To continue with yesterday’s writing: Remember the outside temp was 35-40 degrees below zero with a stiff westerly wind and still snowing. By the time daylight came around, the snow had let up considerably, and the wind had picked up considerably. We didn’t need any news reporter to tell us that it was going to be a really tough day outside.

We started chores at the first glimpse of daylight. Milk and separate, feed and water, gather all of the wood the wood boxes could hold and then stack extra wood on the porch, just in case dad and I were to get severely stuck and couldn’t get back home for a day! There needed to be enough wood available for mom and my two little sisters to stay warm and to keep the house thawed out.

After chores, mom feed us guys a good breakfast. There wasn’t much chatter around the table because we knew it was going to be a really difficult day from the moment we stepped outside to whenever we were able to get back home. After breakfast, dad and I used our pocketknives and a hatchet to split some fine shavings of wood to start a fire. Not a fire in the wood stoves, they were both chattering right along keeping the house liveable.

Because we didn’t have a shop on our little ranch, the pickup sat outside all of the time. With the temps being extremely cold, we would need to warm the oil pan on the pickup before attempting to start it. That meant that we would get a small fire started in a scoop shovel and then slide the fire under the pickup’s oil pan.

We put some hay bales around the north and the west sides of the pickup, crawled under it, in the snow, and eventually were able to get a fire going in the shovel. The secret was to have enough fire to warm the pickup’s belly without starting it on fire. After 30-40 minutes of inhaling smoke and constantly stoking the fire with little pieces of wood, dad decided to give the ‘ol gal a try. She started.

The ‘ol Chevy sounded more like a thrashing machine than a fine-tuned engine for a bit, but she finally got things lined out and idled nicely. While the pickup was warming up, I went and saddled a horse and dad put extra sacks of cotton cake in the pickup, along with an old quilt mom had made. With a bit of jerky from the freezer, a candy bar and a “Good luck” from mom, we headed out.

We had loaded the pickup with 40 little round bales of hay the night before, so we were set to try to start feeding. By now the wind was out of the north/west at around 35 mph, and guess what direction we had to travel, yep, north/west!

Dad drove the pickup and I rode the horse, usually it was a 30-minute drive to the north pasture, on this day it took about two hours to get there with having to shovel through snow drift after snow drift. While dad would shovel, I would get in the pickup and thaw our for a few minutes, then I would shovel and he would thaw. The horse was incase we got so stuck that we had to abandon the pickup, we could ride the horse back home double.

We finally made it to the north pasture; I rode to the windmill and checked water as dad scattered hay and cake. We would then go to the field that was half-way back home, put on another load of hay and go feed the heifers, and then another load for the bulls and saddle horses. I left my horse on the south side of that haystack while we fed the last two bunches. Man did that heater feel good!

A job that usually took a couple of hours had taken most of the day. We shoveled our way back home, arriving just in time to carry in a batch more wood into the house and start chores. Close to an hour-and-a-half later, we took off our layers of clothes and sat down to enjoy a meal, happy to be back home with everyone safe and sound. Oh yes, my ‘ol horse deserved a night in the barn with extra hay and grain!

Here I am 60+ years later and as a born-again believer I look back and see God’s had of provision and protection all over that day. So many things could have gone seriously wrong, but they didn’t. To me, here are some spiritual applications I learned that day: 1) Starting a fire under the pickup so it would start is like asking the Holy Spirit to start a fire in our lives so we can get started every day. We must never forget that Jesus promised “power” when the Holy Spirit is in our lives, Acts 1:8, and some days require more power than others.

2) Taking a horse along for security was really cold and difficult, but it was worth knowing that we could eventually get back home. Walking with Jesus is also often difficult, but it is worth every moment of struggle, knowing that we will one day get to our heavenly home, safe and secure.

3) The raging storm was nothing in comparison to the amazing power of God! No matter how difficult our lives might be, the power of God is greater by far. As such, we don’t need to worry and fret about the circumstances of life, we truly can do “all things through Christ Jesus who strengthens us!”

4) It is always nice to leave the storm outside and to get to enjoy the peace that only a relationship with Jeus Christ can bring. When we were finally back into the house that evening, with our bellies full and our feet warm, my little sisters were no longer “spoiled brats,” they were a blessing. Sometimes it is difficult to deal with certain folks within our lives, but when we look life-threatening danger in the face, even difficult people become pleasurable. Perhaps that’s why God allows those difficult moments to take place?

So, with today’s cold temps, why not go to church and get warmed up in the presence of the Holy Spirit? Enjoy the folks who are there with you realizing that all relationships have value! And above all, praise God for every blessing you can think of. We truly serve an Amazing God!

Gratefully praising God with you, Neal