From the Home Place

June 1, 2026

Good morning! It looks like we are at 43, headed for 73 with a chance of an afternoon shower.

Allow me to share of the joys of living in a Wyoming community: Yesterday, Miss Deb sang on the praise team of one church while I preached at a different church, we then jumped into our car and drove fifty miles to meet with another church family. It was quite enjoyable to get to visit with several old friends while there. The fun part of old friends is that the conversation just picks up where you left it the last time you saw each other.

When we arrived back home, Miss Deb and Coffee went for a walk while I watered flowers and plants. Along the way we both caught up with text messages and phone calls. We then plugged in the water fountain in and all three of us sat on the front porch, by the fountain, and soaked up some sunshine and fresh air.

Before supper we took Coffee for her daily ride in the “buggy” (Miss Deb’s side-by-side) and ended up at our local hospital where we popped in to visit some very dear friends there. What a blessing to get to encourage them for a few minutes and then back to our place. After supper we watched a movie on the box and relaxed for the first time in the day. Sometime after 9 the Red Head (that’s Coffee) suggested that we go to be, so we all got ready to call it a day.

I worked on a Sudoku puzzle for a few minutes, Miss Deb read a bit of her book, Coffee gave each of us here “good-night” hugs and it wasn’t very long before sleep found each of us – the end of another day, the end of another month. But you see my friends, it wasn’t the activities of the day that made it special, it was the conversations we enjoyed as we traveled through the day that made it a good day.

Today will find us both busy around people again. Miss Deb will be volunteering at the local museum, and I will attend the funeral of an old roping buddy. Today, there will be plenty of conversations for us to enjoy as we go opposite directions. Yep, most all of our days are invested in being a part of the life of other people.

You see my friends, it would be much easier to just stay home and live at a much slower pace, than it is to be constantly on the go, involved in the lives of others. But as I’ve often said, “No contact, No impact.” If we as Christ-followers don’t spend considerable time doing life with others, we really don’t have much opportunity to impact their lives with the joy of Jesus.

I would encourage each of us to see the people we cross paths with this week as opportunities to share the love of Jesus with. Oh, for sure, some of those folks might stretch us a little more than we would like, but then, each of us needs to be stretched every now and then. We all need to learn to be kind and considerate of all people, not just those we enjoy being around. After all, itsn’t that what Jesus did for us?

Long before we loved Jesus, He loved us; perhaps He wants us to do the same for the folks He brings into our lives this week. Some will be old friends, some will become new friends, some will stretch us before we consider each other friends, but every person is a divine appointment from God, and whether we realize it or not, each person will be someone we will impact. We will leave that conversation with the other person being glad that we “bumped” into each other, or glad that they got away from us. You see, I believe that the people we cross paths with today, this week, this month, will actually be divine contacts that we get the opportunity to have positive impact with.

Sometimes, the other person doesn’t really need your contact, but you need theirs. There are people that the Holy Spirit will bring into your life this week as an avenue that He uses to speak into your life. There are times that the Holy Spirit will use someone in my life to remind me that I should not talk or act like the other person does, and yet other times He uses the kindness of another to remind me to be kind and considerate. Yep, even us introverts need other people in our lives.

So, with another week, another month in our sights, may we each be the kind of person we would like to visit with. May we each leave every conversation with the other person feeling blessed that our path’s crossed.

Remember, No Contact, No Impact!

Learning to enjoy people with you, Neal