From the Home Place

August 13, 2026

Good morning all, we have rain! Last evening, the drencher that was predicted to come over the top of us, missed and went east, as usual. However, at 4 a.m. today, we are getting a nice little drizzle, and I’m loving it. “Thank you, Heavenly Father!” Along with the moisture, today’s predicted high is 68 degrees. Not 100+, not the high 90’s, but just a sweet 68 degrees.

Well, Miss Deb arrived home safely from getting her great-grandson snuggles in Florida. I made it to Cheyenne and back safely, counting 350+ motorcycles going south as I was headed back north, and almost every group of bikes had a camper or motorhome following them. I sure pray that they all make it to their home safe and sound.

As a kid, I spent a lot of time at my Uncle Clayton’s house. A kinder, gentler man no one has ever met. I’m so very grateful that I was blessed, through some really difficult circumstances by the way, to get to spend so much time with Uncle Clayton. Each morning, he would wake me up right at daylight with the phrase, “She’s coming alive, I reckon we best get our boots on and get to work.” Most evenings would end with another phrase, “I reckon this day is tired of us, we should probably give her some rest, let’s go to bed.” Both are phrases I still mention to the Red Dog on a regular basis.

When I was at home, I usually received the statement, “Get your lazy …… out of bed, more people die in bed than anywhere else, so get up!” and then at night it was always mentioned that we had a lot of work to do tomorrow, so get to bed!

At Uncle Clayton’s it was easy to get up early in the morning and go to bed to find some much needed rest; at home it was just easier to stay in bed. Oh, the difference kind words make. In Proverbs 15:1 we read, “A gentle answer turns away wrath, But a harsh word stirs up anger.” Still to this day, when I use Uncle Clayton’s gentle statements to tell Coffee we need to get to work, or go to bed, there is a gentleness that comes over me that I then pass on to my pooch. Yet when I grumble at her she feels the tension, just like I did as a kid.

Here’s today’s lesson: We not only need to be careful what words we use, but how we express those words is important as well. Both men told me when it was time to get-up or go to bed, but how they said those words made all of the difference in the world.

To all of you that I have spoken to poorly, I apologize. Though I don’t care for it, I tend to be more like my dad than I would prefer to be, and less like Uncle Clayton than I would like to be. As they say, “old habits die hard.” Yet, with the Holy Spirit’s help, each of us can learn from the gentle spirit of Jesus. It seems that His words always carried plenty of weight, but He flavored those words with gentleness and kindness. Once again, we would all do well to follow the example of Jesus! As Mother Nature “comes alive” today, may we each remember that “a gentle answer turns away wrath.”

Still learning from Jesus with you, Neal