From the Home Place

July 31, 2026

Good morning. A cool 53 degrees at daylight. Looking to score 91 for a high, with a 60% shot at some rain. With an East wind at 8 mph, it’s just cool enough to put goosie bumps on a feller’s hide. July may be closing down today, but it’s starting to feel a tad bit like Fall in the early mornings. One thing I know for sure, it sure enough makes good sleeping weather!

Yesterday, Miss Deb and I made the 200+ mile round trip to Casper and back. That’s the problem with living in the middle of “Now Where” Wyoming, it’s a long way to Anywhere from here. However, you would never know we live in a remote part of Wyoming by the amount of traffic that goes through this little town every day.

There are four highways that all meet in Lusk. Going north will take you into the Black Hills of South Dakota, going south will send you back to Denver, East drops you into Nebraska toward famous Fort Robinson, and west will let you see a lot of country before reaching Yellowstone National Park, or California if you have any likin’ to go that way. That’s why main street of this little town never sleeps, especially this time of the year.

You see, Sturgis Rally starts this weekend, so we have a steady flow of motorcycles screaming their way through town. Oh, and this is County Fair week, so the village is already full of folks. As busy as things are around town, a person would think that we live close to some big tourist attraction; but we don’t, we just live on the road to several tourist attractions.

That sounds a lot like life in general: This ‘ol ball dirt isn’t the big attraction; it’s just on the road to THE big attraction. You see friends, any time we get frustrated with the circumstances of this life, we should probably remind ourselves that we are just on the road that leads to heaven. Though this world is home to many amazing places, this world should never be considered to be our destination.

Wherever you live, it is just a camping spot where you get to stay for a bit, before you leave there to travel to the real destination. In Matthew, Chapters 3, 4 and 5, we read a common phrase, “the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” It’s not a million, zillion miles away, a portion of “the kingdom of heaven” is right here with you as a Christ follower. Because the Holy Spirit lives within and through you, God’s kingdom is “on earth as it’s in heaven.” Yet, this isn’t the end of the trip.

For each believer in Christ, the presence of the Holy Spirit working around us each day is just a “dim” picture of the joy we will experience in heaven! As enjoyable as it is to fellowship with other Christians at church, that is still a glimpse of what heaven will be like. As amazing as it is to open your Bible and to have the Holy Spirit enlighten your mind to biblical truth, that’s just a little look out the side-window of your vessel as you travel across this world, headed for the most amazing place ever!

So, as you travel through your area today, remember that as a Christ follower, you are on the road to glory; much like the hundreds of vehicles that will pass though Lusk on their way to one of the wonderful places around here. And by the way, don’t allow yourself to get extracted by the other neat places along the road, keep traveling to your eternal destination, using the Bible and the life of Jesus as your roadmap.

For you see my friend, the people traveling through Lusk all travel on wide roads, headed for their destination. How was it that Jesus said it, “For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.” So, as you travel across this ‘ol ball of dirt, enjoy the scenery, enjoy the people you get to ride with, but you are not at your final destination yet. Stay on the “narrow” road that leads to eternity with Jesus. Rejoice and be glad!

Enjoying the trip with you, Neal