Good morning! Right now, we have 28 degrees, headed for 62 with snow on the horizon for Tuesday and Wednesday.
Miss Deb and I were blessed to get away for a couple of days. We went to the Rapid City Stock Show and looked at a lot of high-priced items at the trade show. It always amazes us how many friends we tend to see every time we go there. It was very enjoyable to get to spend time with our beautiful daughter, Mandi, and her husband Mike. We are so grateful for the love those two have for eachother and for Jesus.
On Friday we bumped into some friends from over ten years ago. She and Deb used to work together in Platte, SD. A good visit was had by all. The next day we were grabbing some groceries right quickly, and there we were blessed to visit with a young lady we have known for nearly twenty years. Another good visit, and then we crammed groceries into our little car and returned home. We arrived safely in front of our house with the words, “Thank you, Lord, for giving us a good, safe trip.” For as we all know, “It is always good to be back home!”
As I have mentioned before, it is good to get to see old friends. For all who have committed to follow Jesus, just think of how awesome it will be to get to heaven and to be reunited with people whom you have had contact with here on earth. I suspect there will be some folks there who you didn’t expect to see, and some that won’t be there that you did expect to see?
I’m constantly reminded that God has His standards by which He will determine who is in heaven and who is not. As a professor once told me, “Hell will be full of good ‘ol boys and good ‘ol girls,” because we tend to use our standards of what good is instead of God’s standards. It’s easy to compare our life to those around us here on earth and determine what we are “good.” Yet we forget, God will measure all that we do to the things that Jesus did and from there He will decide if our works were good or not.
After all, “good works” are a result of salvation, not a means to. Yes, good works will have value when we stand before God, but only if our life has been covered with the blood of Jesus Christ. In Acts 4:12, Peter was speaking of the name of “Jesus” when he stated, “And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.”
Believing in the finished work of Jesus, and applying that faith to our individual life, is the only means of entrance to heaven, but when we get there, our good works will be used as the standard of measure towards receiving rewards that we will then present to Jesus as a gift to Him, for His glory!
Bumping into old friends here on earth is fun, but spending eternity with them will be great! And once again, when we get home safely, we will shout, “Thank You LORD for getting us home safely!” “What a day of rejoicing that will be!”
As we go to church today, may we go to celebrate that which Jesus has done, looking for opportunities to do that which God will call good.
Twenty-five degrees at five, headed for 61. Today will find Miss Deb and I, and Coffee, loading up in our car for a road trip. Looks like a great day for a drive.
Please allow me to recap my yesterday for you: Up at 2:15 for a long period of prayer. Before six, Miss Deb was up, getting ready to go to teach fifth and sixth graders here at our school. After a couple of hours of study for Sunday School and sermon, I went outside and cleaned up after Coffee.
I then worked at doing some organizing in the shop and made a quick trip to dump trash. Coffee had to go along as we would find a place for her to run and explore for a few minutes before returning home. I then read another commentary for Sunday and grabbed a snack for lunch.
After a long visit with one of our church planters, I then showered and put on my go to town clothes so I could go renew my driver’s license – I then found out that they are open only on Wednesday. I gathered the mail and returned back home to mix, bake and frost cupcakes for Miss Debs class. My frosting was not nearly as pretty as what Miss Deb makes, but the kids ate them anyway. As soon as Miss Deb arrived home from school, we were off to the local high school to watch middle school boys basketball. Lusk was playing Guernsey, so we knew boys from both teams. Guernsey’s coach is a young lady we consider to be our granddaughter, she led her young fellers to a two-point victory!
Back home by 6:30, a bite of supper and then I went to my office to have a Zoom meeting with my guys. What an amazing group of young men! We spent an hour sharpening each other’s sword for the spiritual battle we all find ourselves in. We looked at Scripture, talked about life and prayed. It is always difficult to say “Good-by” to these amazing young men of God.
A time of visiting with Miss Deb, and Coffee said it was time for bed. A good night’s sleep and back up at 4:30 to pray, study and type this note. Here we go again!
As I have said before, Miss Deb and I are so enjoying where God has placed us and the opportunities He gives us each day. Today should provide several opportunities to visit with folks we know and others we will perhaps get to know. God’s grace is so amazing!
I have no idea what your day will hold, but I do know Who holds your day. May I encourage you to look for the opportunities of this day, not just the things you “have to get done.” As Jesus stated, “each day has enough trouble of its own,” but each day also provides plenty of opportunities as well. A quick run to the store or post office, may provide an opportunity to speak a pleasant word into the life of someone else. A road trip will provide time to visit with a passenger, or time to listen to music or a podcast.
No matter what your day holds, praise the One who holds your day. Perhaps, find a few minutes to sit with Him as if visiting with an old friend. Prayer does not always have to be formal. Watch for the little moments of His provision and protection. When a task is completed, thank the Lord for His assistance. After all, you are not going to do much without His provision of life.
Speaking of life, why not “LIVE” today? I so remember the day that Dr. Hendricks asked us guys to pray for him that “the day I quit living and the day that I die have the same date.” I would really appreciate such a prayer for me as well. For each of us, as long as God gives breath, live! Oh, my friends, do not allow Satan to steal your joy of life, regardless of your circumstances. Always remind yourself Who it is that has given you life, and Who it is that sustains your life. Remember, we serve a mighty God, live like it!
“Heavenly Father, we praise You for the life we get to live with You, looking forward to eternity with You. Holy Spirit, help us live today as the special gift it is, may Your joy be within us and speak loudly through us. Lord Jesus, as You gave your life for us, may we do the same for those You bring across our tracks today. And at the end of this day, may our lips sing Your praise! We ask all in the name of Jesus, our Lord, Amen.”
Please realize, this day will most like be what you make it. May His grace abound upon and through you.
Good morning all! What a day He is preparing for us: It was 32 when I got up at 2:15 a.m. and we are headed for a 65!
Yep, in the wee hours of today, He shook me out of the sack for a season of prayer. I was blessed to pray for many folks who are dealing with serious health problems. Others who have recently lost loved ones. Yet others who are far away from God. And then there was a time of praying for pastor friends scattered all over this nation. I may be old and somewhat crippled, but I can still pray.
Prayer is an amazing ministry that each of us can have a part in. What a blessing it is to get to bring individuals, families and even churches before the King’s throne! Along with the petitions, there are also many items to praise our Lord for; the primary praise is that by His amazing grace, we are allowed to speak directly to the King!
Along with petitions and praises, there is also a sense of purpose. Nothing seems to redirect our attitude quicker than getting to pray for others. The praise time causes one to refocus upon Who our Heavenly Father really is, upon what He has done within your life and the lives of others who are of value within your life, and upon what it is He wanting to do with your individual life. Christ centered focus is always good for a person.
Praying for others helps kick self to the curb. It is very difficult to pray earnestly for others when one’s mind is focused upon self, so you have to put “me” aside and focus upon them. Sometimes the person we need to get away from is self. To focus upon God and others, we cannot be selfish.
May I suggest, if possible, that you take a block of time to praise and pray. Step away from the business of today, find a quiet spot and pray. It is often best to prepare a list of the names and concerns you need to pray for, read a Psalm or two and then shut yourself up to God. This is a serious time, so be sure to start with confession and cleansing – then you will be ready to stand in the gap for those He places upon your spirit. If you are too busy for serious prayer, you are too busy!
There is nothing like a season of prayer to refocus and regenerate your spirit! Perhaps that is why Paul encourages us to “pray without ceasing.” For you see, prayer not only changes the lives of those you are praying for, it also changes the life of the one who is praying. Focused prayer is much like “spring cleaning.” Everything is better when you get up off your knees.
Good morning. It’s a cold, white beast out there right now. The temperature is at 18 degrees this morning, looking to make it to 53 before the day’s end. A WSW breeze will add a bite.
Fifty years ago, today Miss Deb was headed for the hospital. It wasn’t an emergency, but we sure enough needed to make our way there rather quickly because my bride had just declared, “It’s time!”. Before the day was over, Miss Deb would give birth to a beautiful baby girl, who would soon join her big sister at home. Over the next few years these two beautiful girls would spend many hours being an amazing blessing; along with several “incidents” that we haven’t the room, nor the time to get into today. We shall just close this paragraph with the words, “Happy Birthday Sis!”
Yesterday, I spent my day attempting to make a batch of jerky. Because I was unable to harvest an elk this fall, I cleaned every kind of “old” meat out of our freezer, ran it through the grinder, mixed it with a pile of spices and smoked it into jerky. It seems that no matter how many different spices I used, it still tastes old.
In many ways that is an illustration for the faith journey of so many folks. These folks have most likely attended church for years. Over those many years, they have seen a plethora of changes in what their church experience looks like. Changes in the pastorate, changes in music styles, changes in electronics being used and Bibles being left home, changes in those who used to attend their fellowship, and changes in their family structure. Yet, too often, little has changed in their personal belief system.
Most likely this person is still living under the same belief system that they have held for many years. Though they have attended hundreds of hours of Sunday School, sermons, studies and special events, their faith is still the same “old” faith. The newness of life is often crowed out by the oldness of life, and the same can be said of their faith, it too has grown old and stale.
You see my friends, America appears to be full of churches that are full of old people living on old faith that says as long as you go to church each Sunday, you are mature Christians. It would appear that over the last 100 years there hasn’t been significant spiritual maturity within those faithful church attenders, or this nation would not be in the condition that it is in!
Had church attendance been producing mature Christ-followers, biblical Christianity would be the norm instead of the spurned. No matter how we try to spice it up, the faith of most American’s still tastes old!
That is why the Bible clearly states that a person must be “born again,” not just a church attender. Alright, pump the breaks – there are many Bible-based churches today. Churches where the application of the truths learned is strongly encouraged and facilitated. For you see my friends, if our claims of being spiritual don’t play out in our day-to-day lives, we are simply stale tasting religious people.
Just as giving birth to a child changed our family dynamics, spiritual re-birth means that old habits and attitudes will be done away with. No amount of spiritual “spices” (church attendance) can ever make sinners pleasing to the taste.
Oh, but the amazing thing is that a true relationship with Jesus Christ does make the old become new! Grab your Bible and start reading through the Gospels. Discover how often Jesus invited those who had been steeped in religion, to come to Him for newness of faith, resulting in newness of life.
It appears to this writer that coming to Jesus is the difference between putting new meat in my freezer, vs attempting to spice-up the old, stale meat that I have been protecting for too long. Friends, if my belief isn’t changing my life in a positive way, then it’s time to change how I live my faith. On the other side, if my faith is helping me to grow in Christ likeness, pushing me to live a real biblical based life within my community, then just a little salt is all the spice needed to make things very palatable. In Matthew 5:13 Jesus stated, “You are the salt of the earth.” Suggestion, get rid of the old meat of religion and fill your life with the salt of Jesus.
31 degrees, 42 for a high with wind and snow showers, lovely day in the neighborhood.
This is the day that the Lord has made, we shall rejoice and be glad in it! We will ask the Lord to help us stay safe today, looking forward to Thursday with its predicted high of 64 degrees! This weather forecast reminds me of most spiritual lives.
There are days that my flesh pushes against the Spirit of God and my attitude is cold and cloudy, and then three are days when He blesses me with a beautiful warm day full of sunshine and cheer. So is it my spiritual temperature that makes the difference, or the circumstances of my life that makes some days bright and others dark, or a mixture of both temperature and circumstances?
One does not have to read very far into the Bible to find saints of old who were on fire for the Lord one day and then struggled in their walk with Him the next day. I have found that the days that I get to build into the lives of others, or someone builds into my life, are the days that seem to be filled with sunshine. While the days that I am shut up to myself, appear to be the cold and cloudy days.
I know, not long ago I wrote about the great value of spending a day alone with the Holy Spirit. I am still a great fan of solitude. For me, a day of solitude is a day spent visiting with the Spirit about life and faith. Those are glorious days for sure!
When I speak of a cold and cloudy day, I mean a day that my primary focus is upon that what I want to do. You know, the days that I’m just too busy to be bothered with people, or to take time to sit and listen to the Spirit as He speaks into my life. On such days, the temperature outside isn’t nearly as cold and cloudy as the spiritual temperature within.
So, when such a day shows up, what do we do the warm things up again? For me, I have to stop the business of life by taking time to pray, confess and to fix my eyes upon Jesus. On such days, He will often brings someone into my life who needs a blessing. You see friends when I become more concerned about receiving a blessing than giving a blessing, my spiritual temperature takes a dive.
Remember the words of Jesus, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” There comes a time in the life of all of His disciples that the Holy Spirit will help us to realize the value of this statement. Salvation, prayer, worship, fellowship, and even trials are all blessings from our Lord. And just like Abraham, when we receive a blessing, He expects us to pass that blessing on to others.
On the days that I determine that a blessing is for just me, the clouds roll in. Yet when I pass that blessing on to others, then clouds clear and the sunshine breaks through. It is in those moments that our blessings from God become blessings to others, and our spirit rejoices with the Holy Spirit!
Spiritual cloudy days are normal, but when we choose to stay there is when things become abnormal. To be a growing Christian, we must not allow circumstances to dull our walk with the Savior. Allow the Son to be your sun and bask in the Son-shine!
Oh, what a beautiful day He has given us, we shall rejoice and be glad!
At 5 a.m. the thermometer shows 38 degrees, looking for a high of 50 later in the day.
This day is looking for another busy day around here. Miss Deb has a meeting at the grade school this morning and then her ladies Bible study this afternoon. For me, I’m going to attempt to make some jerky out of a little bit of elk meat that a friend gave us.
After asking the Holy Spirit to guide my mind to that which He wishes to visit with us about this morning, I soon recalled February of 1964. We were just getting started lambing and I spent the night in the old sheep wagon we always parked by the lambing lot. On the weekends, I took the night watch so dad could get some much-needed rest. Though we were just a few days into the lambing season, the ‘ol girls were shelling them out in front of a storm front that was due to arrive the next day.
Well, the weather man was partially correct, it was a severe spring storm as predicted, but it came about eight hours earlier than expected. This meant that instead of getting to deal with lambing in the daylight, along with a severe blizzard, I was getting to enjoy the experience in the dark.
The sheep wagon had the usual very small wood stove in it that at best would burn about an hour. I don’t know if you have ever seen a sheep wagon or not, but they are not overly comfortable on a blowing, snowing night. The old wagons had 0 insulation in them, so they tended to be more like living in a walk-in cooler when the temperature dipped.
I spent the night putting another stick of wood in the stove and then running outside to carry any newborns into the shed and getting them situated with their momma. Here in arises another problem; If you have ever been part of lambing you know that ewes tend to “granny” newborn lambs. That is, when one ewe gives birth to lambs, her female friends will quite often attempt to claim those lambs as theirs.
Picture a boy of 10 years, wearing all the clothes I could find, in an effort to stay somewhat warm, walking through two-hundred head of ewes, looking for the one or two who have lambed within the last few minutes. It’s snowing and blowing so hard that I can’t hardly see, and the wind keep blowing the oil lantern out. When that happens, I have to go back to the sheep wagon, relight the lantern and then return to the blizzard looking for lambs.
Cuddling the lantern in an effort to keep the wind from blowing it out, but not so close that it burns my coat, I found a set of twins, shivering in the snow. And just my luck, there are three ewes attempting to claim the two lambs. As such, I have to check the back side of each ewe, looking for the one who is the real mother. Around and around we go, with a flickering lantern, my face frozen with snow, my fingers frozen carrying two wet lambs who are like ice cubes themselves.
We finally made our way through the rest of the herd, moving slow enough that the momma can keep her nose on one of the lambs. By the time we got to the lambing shed, the lantern had long gone out again, and I had three ewes cramming their way through the door to take care of the babies.
Well anyway, after relighting the lantern, I put the lambs into a little pen along with their momma and one of the granny ewes. I figured the extra ewe could help lick and warm up one of the babies. She did, I would return her back to the outside pen in a bit. After checking all of the deliveries from earlier that evening, I returned to the shelter of my ice-cold sheep wagon.
As usual, the fire had consumed the last stick of wood, and I had to start over in my quest to find some kind of warmth before I had to go back outside. It worked, the fire was finally putting out some warmth, so there I sat snuggling the stove, maybe giving it more warm than it was giving me, but we were happily getting to know each other better when I realized – it was once again time to go back outside and check for more newborns.
This was the glorious life of a ten-year-old boy living on a ranch that raised both cattle and sheep. When I think of ten-year-olds today, I tend to think of them sitting in a nice warm house playing video games, never giving any thought of being outside in the blizzard. My, how times have changed.
But you see loved ones, getting to lamb in a blizzard with a “maybe” light, while living in a refrigerator for warmth, all to save a baby lamb from freezing; is probably what gives me a strong desire to help those who cannot help themselves today.
So, let’s spend our last moments together today talking about the “granny” ewes. Though they were a total pain when I was needing to get lambs to shelter, the ‘ol girls were helpful in the effort to get newborns up and going. Shucks, I remember several “grannies” in my life as well. Ladies like Marie, Edna, Maud, Donna and Lolly were not my mother, but they each took a special interest in getting me up and going.
Way back when our children were born; most baby showers were held after the baby was born. One reason being that there was no ultrasound to announce the gender of the baby, so unless you wanted your baby boy to get dresses at the shower, you had to wait until the doctor announced the gender. But I think the main reason that baby showers used to take place after the birth of the baby was so that all of the “grannies” could have an opportunity to cuddle the little one, giving the baby a better chance to get up and going.
Remember the phrase, “It take a community to raise a child?” Well, that’s how life used to be from the time the baby came home to the time they left for college or got married. Way back when, there were always plenty of “grannies” to help the little ones grow up and get ready to go.
Yet not all is lost. Yesterday, I stood in our church building and watched a whole lot of “granny” activity taking place. Every little one who came to church received plenty of extra attention and care from the rest of the ladies present, and quite often a cookie as well. Yep, the “grannies” are still active, helping the little ones to realize that there is plenty of extra love available for as long as it is needed.
I close with one simple statement, “Go granny, go!”
At 3:15 this morning, it is 21 degrees, headed for 53 for a high. Bad weather sure won’t be an excuse for anyone to miss church today!
Yesterday, Miss Deb and I were blessed to get to have lunch and then play cards with my niece and her husband, and a couple who have been a blessing to me for most of my life. My family and friends may be just a tad bit crazy, but that helps them to get along with me.
My oldest sister Lolly’s husband John used to run a sheep shearing crew many years back. Jimmy was one of the men who worked on that crew. When I was a youngster, I started by tying fleece for these guys. I can still hear the hum of four shearing machines running all at the same time. I can smell the stench of sheep enclosed inside of a building, each waiting for their turn to get their annual haircut.
I can see the sweat running off the end of the shearer’s noses as they pushed hard to attempt to shear their one-hundred head of sheep each, each day. Which meant that I would need to tie several hundred fleece of wool each day that I worked with this group of men.
For the most part, they were young men, in the prime of their life. Full of energy and mischievousness. These guys were constantly pulling pranks on each other. Yet, in spite of the constant teasing and the competition to see who could shear the most sheep each day, they were a band of brothers. A brotherhood that would last for the rest of their years.
I have been blessed to work with many different crews of men throughout my years. There is just something about a group of men who labor together to accomplish a job. Whether that be in the military or in every-day work, a band of brothers working for a common goal is great to be a part of.
Yet today, for a variety of reasons, the brotherhood seems to be lost among most men, and women. We have become such individuals, doing our own thing, that many today do not know what it is like to play a part in a group of people accomplishing something together.
Over my years in the pastorate, I’ve noticed the same kind of struggle within many churches. People may draw together to “worship” together, but it is very difficult to get them to “work” together. It doesn’t matter if it’s a church workday, a special event or a Sunday, it seems that the same small group of people do the majority of the work within and through the local church.
It has been proven over and over again that 20% of the people do 80% of the work and also give 80% of the finances to keep the church operating. Why is that? I mean if 100 people call this place their church home, shouldn’t 100 people consistently show up work, give and worship together?
I would suggest the answer lies in understanding a brotherhood, or sisterhood of if you prefer. For so many years, Satan has worked hard to convince people that their faith is a “private” faith. Yes, your salvation is your individual story, but from a biblical point of view, the moment you are born-again, you become a part of a much larger body of believers. A large group that is to have the common purpose of seeing others come to Jesus for salvation, and service.
A group that is to worship and work together to advance the kingdom of God. And there we may have just found the error. Read your Bible. Seldom does an individual accomplish great things for God, all by themself. Even Jesus had His band of brothers, we call them “the disciples.” This group of twelve men accomplished much, under the direction of Jesus. He taught these men, and us, that Christians are to be interdependent instead of independent.
May I suggest that we, the American church, need to get back to a brotherhood working, praying, giving, laughing and crying together to advance God’s life-changing work! For too long we have individually worked to do “my” part to build “my” church, instead of banding together to advance His church.
Remember these words of the Apostle Paul: We are to “encourage one another,” “build up one another,” “spur one another on to good works,” and “love one another.” It is extremely difficult to practice any of the “one anthers” of the Bible if my primary focus in upon the three stooges of my life – “me, myself and I.” Biblical faith needs to get back to being part of a brotherhood!
So, don’t just take yourself or even your family to church today, go there to be reminded that you are a vital part of a larger group. After all, “all of us together can accomplish much more that any of us alone.” God has called you to salvation not just so you can get to heaven, but so that you can be part of a brotherhood advancing His kingdom!
It’s 18 degrees at 4 a.m. reaching for 52 this afternoon. That should soak a bunch of this snow into the ground, a beautiful gift from God.
With the snow and ice on roads this last week, there have been too many multi-car pile ups. It usually begins with one car going out of control, running into another vehicle and the two into others, and then others into others, until there are many cars piled up in one massive wreck! That’s how time goes by as well.
It is amazing how the seconds turn into minutes, minutes into hours, hours into days, days into weeks, weeks into months, months into years, and years into a life lived. Here we are looking at the end of another month, the first month of another year.
Yesterday morning, Miss Deb and I were visiting about her Bible study concerning the end of time. Though neither of us fully understand every detail, we both understand enough of the biblical information to know that there will be a time when time will end.
We humans are rather strange critters. Each of us tends to live as if the Bible isn’t really true, in that we live as if time is going to march on forever. We even live our earthy existence like it will go on forever, but it won’t. Every one of us has a limited amount of time, which goes by way too quickly. This is what we call the cycle of life.
As I wrote yesterday’s article, I thought of the men, and women, who have had significant impact upon my life. Those people whom I once called friends, yet they are no longer involved in my life on a regular basis. Some have passed, some are still alive, but most live in another place, at another time. We were once very close, but now seldom have contact with one another, yet they have left a positive impact upon my life.
I remember many people from when I was a small child. Their cycle of life has been completed, yet the impact of their life upon my life is being lived out. As I live my life, some of their impact upon my life is now impacting the lives of those I live among, until my cycle of life is completed. It is impossible to know how much of that which those past friends of mine will have impact upon future generations, but there will undoubtably be some lasting impact.
As such, today, I encourage each of us to live our lives for the long-lasting impact they will have upon not only today’s generation, but also upon future generations. You see my friends, we do not have to be alive, walking on this ‘ol ball of dirt to have a positive impact upon several generations still before us.
With all of that being said, today does matter. In fact, if we leave a positive impact upon the life of another this day, we could quite possible “live on” for quite some time through their life. And that my friends, is the impact of a life lived on purpose! God has given us one opportunity to string seconds into years, so every second counts. After all, it usually only takes a few seconds to impact another life; either positively or negatively, our choice.
Let’s take our little analogy a little further: A word becomes words, words become a sentence, a sentence becomes a conversation, conversations become impactful statements upon another life. Perhaps we should choose our words wisely? I know I sure could improve in this department!
So, with all of this, I wish to encourage each of us to be mindful that we each have only a few seconds, and only a few words, to leave a generational impact upon someone else. May we each choose our words carefully, investing our seconds into the future, by leaving a positive thumb print upon the life of those around us.
Living forward with you, Neal
Psalm 100: 5 – “For the Lord is good: His mercy is everlasting. And His truth endures to all generations.”
“Therefore encourage one another and build up one another, just as you are also doing.” (1 Thess. 5:11)
January 30, 2026
Five a.m. and it’s 30 degrees, reaching up to 36 for a high. We had snow most of the day yesterday, and we are supposed to get more today. It would appear that January is going out like a lion.
Last night I had the privilege of visiting with five young men, all under the age of 30 from 4 different states that all have ties in Wyoming. We plan to meet weekly to study about what it means to be male and what it looks like to be a man of God. I consider it an immense privilege to visit with these young men about topics they are each wrestling with. As the Bible states, “Iron sharpens Iron.”
One of the five young men has a group of older gentlemen that he meets with on a weekly basis. I asked him to share what that “men’s breakfast” group means to him; I could see the yearning in each of the other guys. I have heard it said that “masculinity is endowed,” and I believe it to be so. As such, we need to give our young men the opportunity to be around older men!
As a young boy, adulthood, and on into adulthood, I was very blessed to have many older men who took me on as a part of their life mission. You see, back then, ranchers neighbored, to the point that I worked with other men almost as often than I worked with my dad.
Men like George, Orman, Eldon, Clayton, Jim, Bebe, Jimmy and several others built into my life on a regular basis. They shared their wisdom on working cattle, breaking horses, fixing fences, pulling wells and doctoring sick critters. More importantly they taught me the value of fighting for a woman, and to never fight over a woman. They each worked at developing my work ethic, my character and my view of humanity, but more importantly they helped me figure out me. These men taught me how to read both animals and humans. They each contributed into my life, and for that, I will forever be grateful.
All of these men except one, no longer walk this ‘ol ball of dirt, so now it is my turn to build into the lives of young men. A job that I cannot accomplish alone. They each need older men to set a clear track for these young fellers to follow.
You see my friends, I strongly believe that none of us live our lives for ourselves. We have been placed here for those around us. It doesn’t matter whether we are male or female, there are those around us who would be blessed if we were to consistently build into their lives.
Ladies, I am of the opinion that each of you possess skills that young ladies would love to learn. You each have wisdom about being a woman in general, and more specifically about being a woman of God. If you have experience of how to be a good wife, a mom and all of the other hats you wear, there is quite likely a young lady, or group thereof, who would be blessed to have you build into their lives.
As older adults, we each have talents and wisdom to share with the younger folks around us. You see, it takes no special abilities to be able to talk with someone else about the valuable lessons you have learned about life, especially a spiritual life. There are young people in your community, in your church, who need who you are.
May I challenge you? We each receive the same twenty-fours each day, we get to choose how we spend those hours. Will we waste time, or will we use time? Do you want to do more with the life you have left? If so, then use some of it to influence those younger than yourself.
I’m of the opinion that one of the major reasons our nation is in the condition that it is in, is because older people have quit building into the lives of others. Let’s face it, if you are over 50, you have seen more sunrises than you will ever see sunsets. Why not use the days that you have left to leave your thumb print upon the life of a younger adult? After all, building into the life of a younger adult is much better than nagging at the older person you live with, or those around you.
Come on friends, one of the things we can still do is help someone build a life worth living!
Good morning. Here in Lusk, Wyoming at 5 a.m. we have 28 degrees, west wind and snow falling. Things should clear up in a bit and get close to 42 for a high.
Yesterday’s ride was great fun. Though it was cloudy and cool all day, we had an easy ride. The horses all behaved well, the cattle gathered quickly and hit a steady walk back to their new pasture. I had a great morning of listening and getting to know three gentlemen better. God is good!
With the country getting ready for the Super Bowl, most of our community is headed for the Black Hills Stock Show in Rapid City, South Dakota, this weekend. When you live in cattle country, most everyone is excited to go spend a day or two at the Stock Show. The problem is, it is snowing right now, with measurable snow coming tomorrow. As such, Miss Deb and I will probably choose to not get out on slick roads.
I suppose our choice is a byproduct of old age? Winter safety is considerably more important right now than it has ever been before. We seem to be more concerned about slick sidewalks and streets when walking; snow packed roads are also a no-no.
I remember a day when I was not so cautious about traveling on bad roads: When Miss Deb was two months away from delivering our second child, we gathered our little girl, Christmas presents, warm clothes and headed out on the 33-mile trip to the home place. We were living in Guernsey at that time and had decided to go out to the ranch to spend Christmas Eve with my family.
The last 12 miles of our trip would be gravel road that would be blown full of snow. When we got to that point, I chained up our 2-wheel drive pickup and said, “Well, here we go!” There were a couple of times that I had to get out and exercise my muscles by shoveling through snow drifts, but we finally made it.
All of my siblings were there, and I happily carried our little girl, and Miss Deb grabbed my arm as we plowed our way to the house. As we trudged through the snow, we could see the dim light on the porch. Anticipating a warm welcome, along with warm fellowship we finally made it to the door. As I opened the door, my dad greeted us with these words. “You get back in that pickup and get out of here! I’m not having my grandchild delivered here!”
Well, so much for the warm welcome. It didn’t take very long to determine that we were not welcome. And here in is the application for today: I fear that there is going to be a lot of people who get excited about going “home” for eternity, only to be greeted with the message of “you are not welcome here.”
Look at Matthew 7:22-23, “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles? And then I will declare to them, “I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.”‘” You see, these folks knew that they had done so many great works in the name of Jesus that their entrance to heaven was guaranteed, yet Jesus did not receive them.
There appears to be two reasons that Jesus refused entrance to heaven: 1) They did not have a personal relationship with Jesus and 2) Though the claimed the name of Jesus, they still practiced “lawlessness.”
To us, Jesus declares, “I am the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father but through Me.” If you want to go to heaven, you MUST have a relationship with Jesus now. Secondly, the name of Jesus carries great power, regardless of who uses it. But if the user continues to habitually sin against God, they will be rejected upon the judgment day.
Walking with Jesus is supposed to change the way we walk and talk, along with how we treat those around us. As Christ followers we are to be notably different from the non-Christians around us. For sure, none of us will ever live a perfect life here on this earth. Perhaps that should be a constant reminder that each day we need to depend upon the Holy Spirit to get most things correct, and that we also need to daily confess our sins to our Heavenly Father. Praising Him for the cleansing blood of Jesus!
You see my friend, God does not grade on a curve; “For ALL have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” We ALL need to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, the Savior; not just good works done in His name. Remember, we are saved for “good works,” not by them. (Eph. 2:8-10)
Cling to Jesus, confess your sins and continue to do that which He calls you to do, for His glory. In such a manner, we shall be welcomed into His presence when we make our trip back home.
Traveling through this thing called life with you, Neal
From the Home Place 