From the Home Place

August 11, 2026

Good morning! It’s a hot 61 degrees here at 4 a.m. As the temperature edges toward 96, there is a small possibility of rain this afternoon. Several dry weeks have quickly passed us by, hopefully there is some moisture in the near future?

Like the rest of you, our summer has been extremely busy with house projects, traveling for a variety of reasons, attending funerals and visiting with pastors in several states about new ministry opportunities. We have also enjoyed the many visits from friends and relatives over the last couple of months.

On top of all of the busy, I’ve been in a writer’s slump. With the extreme heat, drought and busy schedule, there just isn’t much of anything exciting to write about around this outfit. We seem to be stuck in the “same ‘ol” pattern at this time.

Yesterday, I did get to take a bit of a break when I went south of town to visit with a young man as we checked windmills. It was very enjoyable to beat around in the cab of an old pickup as we made our way across the pastures. The conversation was pleasant and relaxing, but then it was time to get back to work here at home.

I’m working on a project that requires installing a good-sized fan; but the problem is that I can’t find the mounting brackets for said fan. I guess you could say that makes my situation plum biblical; you know like Luke 15 where Jesus taught about the Lost Sheep, Lost Coin and Lost Son. I’ve been spending a good batch of time chewing upon these parables lately. I’m discovering that loosing stuff must be a really common occurrence, even back in biblical times.

So often, folks will speak of the death of a loved one something like this, “On such-and-such a date, we ‘lost’ my dad.” Now I know this is a common phrase, but it really isn’t very accurate. We didn’t lose the person, they died, plain and simple.

I mean, chew on it for a moment, lost things are looked for, sought after, like my mounting brackets. I’ve spent a right smart amount of time looking for those buggers, and I’ll spend more time today on the search, but as far as dad goes, I know right where to go to find his earthly remains.

When a loved one dies, they are not lost, they have passed from this life into eternal life. However some folks truly are lost, but they are still walking on this ‘ol ball of dirt. And though we no longer have influence in the life of a deceased loved one, we can still have meaningful influence in the life of a lost person by the way we live our remaining days on this earth. As Christ followers we need to be mindful that those who do not know Jesus yet, are watching our lives and listening to our conversations.

So, for today, let’s all make an effort to have positive influence upon the life of a truly “lost” person, and maybe even make a trip to the cemetery to remember when. Oh ya, you could also pray that I find those lost brackets, THANKS!

Reaching the lost with you, Neal