From the Home Place

A blog sharing insights, stories, and reflections on life from a Christian perspective.

recent posts

about

  • It’s a real “fixer-upper”!

    November 8, 2025

    At 4:30 this morning, Coffee and I rolled out of our beds to be greeted with a fresh coat of snow and 30 mph wind out of the north-west. It sure didn’t take the ‘ol pup long to get finished outside, and I’m not looking forward to going out there either.

    As most of you know, last Spring, Miss Deb and I bought a really old house when we moved to Lusk. The first day we looked at this place, I told Miss Deb, “Yep, it’s a real fixer-upper.” After making the purchase, we immediately went to work on some needed repairs on the inside of the house, and then we moved outside to start on a gigantic task. Not only was the roof in desperate need of being replaced, the rest of the house also needed a huge investment in its “curb appeal.”

    After six-months of daily working on the outside, we have vastly improved the curb appeal on the front and sides of the house, yet the back side is still in need of a lot of work. Work that will hopefully be “buttoned-up” this next week for the winter and restarted next spring.

    Here’s the lesson, too often our Christianity is just like this old house – in need of repairs. As previously talked about, to repair our faith-journey, we have to start on the inside, making updates and repairs as needed.

    Then we can start working on our “curb appeal.” That is how folks who are on the outside of our lives see us. Do they see me, taking care of me, concerned primarily about me, or do they see a servant of God whose focus is upon pleasing Him and blessing others? And just like the repairs to our old house, the outside is what folks see first.

    Most people will never really know the remodeled inside of you, but they can easily see any improvements to the outside of your life. How we talk and act in public does really matter. All summer and all fall, folks drive by our house on a very regular basis to “inspect” what we have done to improve the outward appearance. Out of the several hundred eyes that have watched our improvements on the outside, very few eyes have stopped and looked at the improvements on the inside of our house.

    In my opinion, our inside is improved by Bible studies, sermons and personal growth. Yet what is on the inside determines what folks see on the outside. Though we cannot regulate what folks think or say about us, we can do our best to hopefully tip their opinions in a positive way.

    That is why our “testimony,” our outward life, our curb appeal is so very important. As Jesus would have said, our true inside is what people tend to see on the outside. So, do people see me as a hypocrite or as a child of God? Their answer is usually determined by what they see on the outside.

    The tricky part of this reality is that God looks at what is truly on the inside. In my opinion, He examines motives of actions more than the actions themselves. I can do all sorts of “good” things, but if I do them for self-gratification, then those actions are nothing more than straw, easily burned up in the fire of judgment.

    Yes, how folks see our lives on the outside is important, but if the inside is a mess, we most likely are not too pleasing to our Heavenly Father. May I suggest that each of us read Galatians 5:19-23 and honestly answer which of characteristics best describe our lives? This passage is a real simple test of what the inside of my house looks like. But please note, whether we walk by the flesh of by the Spirit, determines what people see as our “curb appeal!”

    It has taken all summer and fall, but the outside of this house looks way different than it did before. I know that there is still more work to do on outside next spring, but for the rest of the winter we will be continuing to work of the inside our house. Perhaps our Spiritual lives require the same focus?

    Add Isaiah 61:10 to today’s reading list; perhaps this cold, windy day would be a great day to work on the inside of this house, and on the inside of our spiritual lives as well?

    Working on home repairs with you, Neal

  • I Declare!

    November 6, 2025

    The thermometer is showing a hearty 53 degrees at 3:45 a.m., but the forecast is that it will be 46 by 7 a.m., with 47 mph wind gust. The fun part is that I need to put 4′ by 8′ sheets of foam on the house today, this ought to be exciting!

    A long time ago, as a preacher and a Bible teacher, I learned the value of words. Psalm 26 holds some extremely valuable words for us to consider. Beginning in verse 6 we read, “I shall wash my hands in innocence, And I will go about Your altar, O Lord.”

    Have you ever covered your hands with something like automotive grease or oil, or how about blood, or maybe roofing tar? When you get any of the above-mentioned products on your hands, it is very difficult to get it off. Fifty years ago, grease covered hands were cleansed with gasoline. Yep, we went from one problem on our hands to another problem. What we get on our hands does matter.

    Shortly after Miss Deb and I were married, she accidently broke a dish that had sentimental value to her. It wasn’t a bad break, just a two-inch chip. So, I purchased this new product called “Super Glue” and commenced to fix her plate. The problem is, being a male, I didn’t read all of the instructions on the package. I had missed the part of being very careful to not get any of the glue on my hands.

    Yep, I glued myself to the plate. It took a month to get all of that glue cleaned off of my hands, once we got me unstuck from the plate. My point is this, it does matter what we get on our hands. In Psalm 26:6 the psalmist is advising us to wash our hands with “innocence.”

    It would appear that when it comes to our standing before God, we will each wash our hands in either innocence, or guilt. All through the Bible, the guilt of sin defiles the rest of our body. Guilt was what caused Adam and Eve to attempt to hide from God. Guilt has the same effect upon your life and mine today.

    Let’s just pretend that one of your children or grandchildren swipes a cookie which you have forbidden for whatever reason. When that child takes said cookie, how often do they walk into your presence to eat it? No, they will find a place to hide and eat their cookie—guilt robs that child of the joy of eating the cookie. When it comes to sins like gossip, we are all cookie monsters!

    David washes his hands with “innocence.” Meaning that he is free to be at God’s altar. Oh my, how many times have I attempted to kneel at the altar of the all-knowing God with guilt in my life? It’s just like Momma knows that her child has eaten the forbidden cookie.

    Verse 7 contains more valuable words, “That I may proclaim with the voice of thanksgiving, And declare all Your wonders.” A “voice of thanksgiving” is tied to hands of “innocence.” Guilty hands proclaim excuses, while hands washed with innocence proclaim “thanksgiving.” Yep, that is the way it should be around our tables on November 27 as we enjoy Thanksgiving. We will find it difficult to be thankful when we are guilty. Yet when we are innocent, thanksgiving flows from our lips before the turkey flows across our lips.

    Verse 7 is home to another important word, “declare.”(NASB) In the Hebrew language this word means to “count, make a written record of, to make known.” When our hands are cleansed by confession, we are found to be innocent before God and as such, we want to declare God’s working in and through our lives. We give testimony of the “wonders” of being in God’s presence. (v.7b)

    And that brings us back to our challenge for this month, to answer the question, “I saw God today when…” With hands washed in “innocence”, it is easy to “declare” God’s “wonders.” Interesting how all of that ties together isn’t it? This Thanksgiving, may we each “make known” the “wonders” of our Heavenly Father as we “declare” how we have seen Him at work in our lives.

    Declaring with you, Neal

  • Being Tiny!

    November 5, 2025

    Yesterday I introduced you to my favorite milk cow – Tiny. Tiny was a short-legged Jersey who looked like a Hereford cow. Because she was built so close to the ground, and because she had really short faucets, it was my job to milk her first each morning and evening. All of the rest of our milk cows were Brown Swiss. As such, they were long legged and possessed really big faucets. To me, the main difference between Tiny and the rest of the cows was that Tiny was super easy to get along with, the Brown Swiss cows could be a bit tough to be around at times.

    The main reason Tiny stayed around our place was that mom preferred to use Tiny’s milk for cooking. The Brown Swiss cows had too much cream content in their milk, making it more difficult to use for cooking, according to mom.

    Besides that, Tiny would let me ride her. We were even at the point where I could steer her with leg pressure, just like a horse. One day when I had a few minutes free, I put a horse halter on Tiny, jumped up on her back and worked her in the round pen, just like riding a green colt. It didn’t take very long before she responded to my leg pressure, and we were soon able to get rid of the halter.

    It was plumb fun to walk out to get the milk cows, jump on Tiny and herd the rest of the cows toward the barn. Over the years, we sure did stop a lot of traffic going down our county road! I mean come on, how often do you see a little kid riding a cow, chasing cows. I guess you could say that I was a real “cow-boy!”

    Because Tiny was so easy to be around and so easy to work with, besides her milk being “special,” she held a place of honor on our outfit. In 2 Timothy 2:20, Paul states this, “Now in a large house there are not only gold and silver vessels, but also vessels of wood and of earthenware, and some to honor and some to dishonor.”

    You see friends, we are not all “gold and silver vessels,” in fact some of us are just plain ‘ol vessels. Here’s the point Paul was making, it doesn’t matter if you are made of gold or silver of wood or clay, you are honored in God’s kingdom when you live according to His commandments, yet we are dishonored when we allow sinful attitudes to rule our lives.

    In verse 19, Paul tells us that all forms of “wickedness” cause defilement. This word “wickedness” implies any kind of injustice but is directly pointed at an attitude of pride. On the other side of this verse, we find that vessels who stay away from such attitudes are considered vessels of honor. and are “useful to the Master, prepared for every good work.”(v.21)

    I hope that each of us desires to be “useful to the Master.” As such, we must constantly watch our attitude, because a rotten attitude usually leads to rotten actions. Pride makes us unclean, while humility keeps us clean and usable for our Master.

    The thing that made Tiny so special was her attitude towards people. She was always calm and pleasant to be around. The Brown Swill cows, who gave more milk by the way, with much richer cream content, were big and pushy. They would just as soon walk over you, rather than around you. They also liked to stick a foot in the milk bucket if given a chance. Oh ya, then there was the green tail across the face trick! The Brown Swiss had plenty of attitude, most of it ornery.

    So today’s question, am I a Jersey or a Brown Swiss? They both give milk, but only one is honored. Attitude really does control altitude!

    Looking at me, with you, Neal

  • God lit the way!

    November 4, 2025

    Wow, it’s 42 degrees at 5:30 a.m. When I let Coffee out the door, the back yard is light up with the full moon. I have so many memories of walking through nights with a full moon.

    I’ll just admit it up right front – I do not like winter! I have a severe dislike of cold and snow, and yes, I know, I live in Wyoming. About the only time I appreciate snow is when I have to do something under a full moon with snow on the gorund.

    I remember one such time: It was right close to Thanksgiving, and the ground was covered with a fresh blanket of snow, probably around six inches. We had been visiting with some relatives in Torrington, and then mom had to do some shopping, and then dad got to visiting with an old friend he saw on the street and …. Well, it was way after dark before we made it home.

    You see, back then, coming from the south, we had to drive on about 25 miles of gravel road. The road wasn’t drifted any, it was just slow going. We finally made it home several hours after regular chore time, so the hustle was on.

    The first order of business was to change into my chore clothes. We were never allowed to wear our “good” clothes while doing chores. After getting everyone and everything into the house and crawling into ice-cold chore clothes, Dad and I got both wood stoves to cooking.

    Coat, hat and overshoes on, I headed for the hen house. Momma wanted the eggs gathered first thing, so she could get started sorting the frozen eggs out. Next, I had to walk around the milk cows that we had put in the south pasture, a half mile south of the home place. As I have said before, we didn’t have a flashlight at this time and dad was using the lantern to get water for the house and to do other chores.

    So, I set off on foot to walk down and get the milk cows. It was an amazing night! The dark was being invaded by the moon light. As I walked, I could see jack rabbits as they jumped out from their protective sage brushes. I remember seeing a pair of coyotes as they ran across in front of me. I yelled and scolded them right strong, as they were not welcome visitors around our place. Yep, it was cold and dark, but hay, I didn’t have to worry about rattle snakes!

    Reaching the gate, I found the ‘ol girls who were wondering where I had been. Each one’s bag was overflowing with milk and so we had to take our time going back home. I had been schooled long ago not to hurry a milk cow with a full bag, seeing that it would be painful for her to walk with such a load.

    I remember the sense of security I felt while walking home with those ‘ol girls. As we all walked north together, there was now the bit of a little breeze that had just come up, but the whole, illuminated countryside lay quietly before us.

    The snow crunched under each footstep of the cows as we journeyed northward. We hadn’t gone too far before Tiny, our only Jersey milk cow, showed up at my side. I had stopped by the grainery before leaving the barns and put a piece of cotton-cake into my pocket. It didn’t take Tiny too long to scout me out and get that cake. As I handed her the cake, I slipped up onto her back, yep she would always let me snitch a free ride!

    Man, the frost on her back was really cold through my Levis, but it gave my cold feet a break. Before long, our caravan reached the milking barn. When we were within about 100-yards of the barn, I could see the red glow of dad’s Prince Albert cigarette. He was waiting on us.

    Milking done, cows hayed and put to bed, we started separating the milk and feeding bucket calves. The last chore of the evening was to split and carry three armloads of firewood to the house. The moon and the snow had things so lit up that I could see to split firewood at night. So with all of my fingers in their natural place and my frozen toes, I finally made it into the nice warm house. A quick bite of supper and off to a very cold bedroom. But snuggled under my layer of quilts, it was just a few quick hours before we were up for a repeat performance.

    God’s word tells us that He has given us the moon and the stars to “guide” us. All I know is that I was really grateful for that beautiful moon-light night as I headed out on my evening stroll. So, here we are today, under a full moon – slip out of your house after dark and enjoy the beauty He has provided for us. Think of all of the folks who journey under the protection of night, yet being able to find their way because of a full moon, even an eight-year-old boy headed to find his milk cows.

    Enjoying God’s gifts with you, Neal

  • She’s coming alive!

    November 3, 2025

    Good morning friends. It was 23 degrees at 4 a.m. and has now dropped to 21 degrees at 6:30 – it’s always coldest just before daylight.

    Could that also be the condition of the American church? We are closing churches at the average of nearly 300 per month, our culture is out of control and the world around us seems to have a real dislike for anything about GOD. All of the analysis people are in agreement that the spiritual climate of America is “very cold” at this time. If really is the coldest just before daylight, it would seem that the light of Christ is just about to shine brightly!

    Growing up on the ranch, we were usually able to see the sunrise and sunset of each day. As such, we were blessed to see the beauty that God would paint in the sky at each of these special times of the day. Still today, we get to see the beautiful sunrises that God continues to paint for us. It is true that it is always the coldest just before daylight, and that is usually the most beautiful time of the day.

    I have always been an early riser, and I can remember many a morning with my favorite uncle. He would warm up some coffee (left-over from the day before), and we would sip a very strong cup while watching the sunrise off to the east. When the painting was complete and the glow of the sun was beginning to show behind the hills, he would comment, “She’s coming alive, I ‘spect we should go milk the cow,” and our day would begin. I sure wish I could tell him how precious those mornings still are in my heart.

    You see, the coffee and the sunrise were the preparation for the rest of the day. In Joshua 3, the nation of Israel is getting ready to cross over the Jordan River and enter into the Promised Land. The day before the big crossing was their preparation day. Joshua told the people, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.”(3:5)

    Joshua challenged each individual in the camp to “consecrate yourselves.” To consecrate is to “set oneself apart holy before God.” It involved personal confession and cleansing, and then fully yielding one’s life to God for His glory. Perhaps we could use some consecration today?

    The Israelites knew that they were about to enter into a war zone, but they also knew that if God was with them, no enemy could stand against them. (Numbers 13-14) You see, a consecrated people focus their energy upon HE, not upon me. In today’s culture, we tend to reverse that equation. Even when we know what God is calling us to be and to do, we are more concerned with me than HE.

    Over my years of walking with God, I have seen many young men with God’s calling clearly upon their lives, refuse to obey His calling because it would be too difficult. You see that is what “consecration” is for. Look at the lives of men like Isaiah, Moses, Abraham, John, Paul and Peter, they were mighty men of God because they had consecrated their lives to His use. Careers are a good thing, until they interfere with the greater thing of God’s calling upon a life that has been consecrated to Him!

    So, here I sit, with a cup of coffee and the sun peeking over the horizon to the east, another beautiful sunrise. Yep, it’s plum cold out there right now, but it is going to be a beautiful day of walking with our Master. And tomorrow, if it comes, will be the day of God doing “wonders” among us, if we consecrate ourselves today. That makes today a day of preparation. You see, this isn’t just another day, “This is the day the LORD has made, rejoice and be glad in it,” and “consecrate yourselves for tomorrow God will do wonders among you.” If we do our part, He will do His part.

    Preparing with you, Neal

  • Blow wind, blow!

    November 2, 2025

    At 4:30 this morning the temperature is 47 degrees with a 24 mph wind gusting to 48. Because it’s a chinook wind it’s really not that bad outside today. The weather forecast is that we will enjoy a high of 72 degrees here in Lusk today. Websters defines chinook as “a warm dry wind that descends the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains.” I wonder, can we get one of those for our churches?

    At 48 mph our wind must be really close to the “violent rushing wind” mentioned at Pentecost. Verse 1 reads, “When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place.” Now, put yourself in that place, at that time. It had been 50 days after the resurrection of Jesus. You and the rest of the disciples are all gathered in “one place,” much like a modern-day church service, and all of a sudden, this gust of wind hits! The Bible doesn’t say that the disciples felt the wind, it reads, “And suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent rushing wind.”

    Sitting here in our house this morning, I can hear the “violent rushing wind” outside. I can hear a piece of house wrap fluttering in the wind; I need to get that stapled down. I can hear a five-gallon plastic bucket blowing across the driveway, I need to get it put away. I can hear a temporary board on the north side of the house banging in the wind, I need to get that nailed down.

    You see, today’s wind reminds me that there are several things I need to take care of on the outside, where I can hear the sound of the “rushing” wind. I imagine that the “violent rushing wind” of Pentecost, is very much like the wind that blew against the disciples when they were trying to get across the Sea of Galilee, and much like the wind blowing here today.

    So here’s the point, we can hear the wind blowing, we can see the effects of the wind blowing, but do we get up and do the things that need to get done, or do we just hunker down and wait for it to quit blowing? You know, like we would probably do in most churches if Acts 2 was to happen again, today, during our worship service.

    Pentecost is defined as, “A Christian feast on the seventh Sunday after Easter commemorating the descent of the Holy Spirt on the apostles.” As Jesus had promised, the “Helper” had arrived with the sound of a “rushing wind.” The word used in Acts 2 for “wind” is the same word used elsewhere for “breath” or “to breathe.” It would appear that on the Day of Pentecost, God breathed His spirit into the disciples. Now go back to Genesis 2:7, speaking of God creating Adam, “when God “breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.”

    You see loved ones, when the Spirit moves, it’s God breathing life into His people! This can happen individually, or corporately. My question is this, “Have we become so accustomed to the wind blowing, that we don’t even notice it anymore? Just like me sitting in my comfortable house listening to the house wrap, a bucket and a board being moved by the wind, but I do nothing about it. I just continue to sit under my nice warm blanket, typing on my computer, ignoring the blowing of the wind.

    Summary, today we have a chinook wind blowing across our area, so it’s going to be a nice, warm day to get some things done. But will I get outside and do the things the wind is reminding me I need to do, or will I just ignore it. If the Spirit of God blows across our congregation today, will we get up and go do what He’s telling us to do, or will we just ignore Him?

    Oh, how I pray that today, the Spirit of God will breathe His life into our congregations. And then I also pray that we will get up and get to work doing that which He is telling us to do!

    Praying for the wind to move us to action with you, Neal

  • I saw God today!

    November 1, 2025

    Good morning! It is 3:45 a.m. and I’m excited to share with you today. At this moment in Lusk, Wyoming the thermometer is showing 17 degrees, but the wind isn’t howling, at least not yet!

    Today, we are going to visit about “Today.” The Lord Jesus tells us to just deal with today and not to worry about tomorrow, for “each day has enough trouble of its own.” When Jesus draws our focus to the “trouble” of today, He is simply reminding us that we tend to focus upon what will go wrong today, instead of praising God for that which will be a blessing today.

    As such, I want to challenge each of us to get a notebook of some kind and write your “God sighting” in it for each day of the month of November. We are told that it takes 28 days to form a new habit, so let’s get started today. Each day you are to write your answer to the statement: “I saw God today when….! You fill in the blank with as many words as you want to write.

    I’ll warn you, for the first few days it may be difficult to answer this question, but by the end of the month you will be able to answer it two or three different ways. You see my friends, our enemy wants us to focus upon what goes wrong each day, but our Heavenly Father wants us to give Him praise for all that goes well each day.

    Some biblical examples can be found in the following passages: Genesis 24:42; Deuteronomy 30:16; Joshua 24:15; Matthew 6:30; Luke 2:6-11; Hebrews 3:7-13. Each of these passages has something to do with the word “today.” Allow the Holy Spirit to speak into your life in such a way that today is a very special day, because “Today, I saw God when………..!

    In Luke 5:26 we read, “They were all struck with astonishment and began glorifying God; and they were filled with fear, saying, ‘We have seen remarkable things today.” I challenge you, each day of November write about the “remarkable things” that the Holy Spirit will reveal to you! Then on November 27, 2025, when you gather to celebrate Thanksgiving, share some of your writings with those gathered around the table with you.

    But each day of this month, tell someone about your experience of seeing God at work in and through your life! Don’t waste one day worrying about trivial details, invest every day as one more moment in your journey of life!

    I remember learning this little adage long ago: “Yesterday is a canceled check, tomorrow is a promissory note, today is the only cash on hand – invest it wisely.” Another day of life is no guarantee from God, if we get to see tomorrow – it is a gift from God.

    Well, it is now 4:45 a.m. and I have already seen God’s hand at work in my life. It has been very difficult to know what to write about in this blog every day, of every month, for the past 20-plus years. I praise my Heavenly Father for gently waking me an hour ago so that I could share with you an exercise that I hope will last the rest of your life, and that is something worth writing about!

    Finding God in each day with you, Neal

  • Education Process

    October 31, 2025

    28 degrees, headed for 46, my ‘ol bones are already cold. With at least one more day of working on the north side of the house, this will be a tough one.

    Let’s talk school for a minute. My education experience started in a one-room county schoolhouse. I and one other boy were the entire student body. He was my cousin by the way. They lived less than a quarter mile from the school, I had to walk over a mile, but at least it wasn’t in the snow, uphill both ways, well not all of the time anyway.

    We started in first grade, no kindergarten out there. Our teacher was an older lady the school district pulled out of retirement. The teacherage, her residence, was about fifty feet from the schoolhouse. As such, she would meet us at the door each morning, do the attendance and the pledge of allegiance. We would then get our assignments for the morning, and she would go back to the teacherage and watch soap operas all morning.

    Us two boys would spend most of our time playing, with a little bit of studying. This went on for three years. Fourth grade, we rode a school bus 26 miles to Sunrise. Wow, their idea of education was a heap different than what we were used to. Not only was I introduced to many firsts – spelling tests, the principal’s office, writing, math, the principal’s office, history and Halloween. I didn’t know much about any of the above subjects they wanted me to work on, but I and Principal Fender became well acquainted.

    Oh yah, like I said, I experienced my first Halloween during my fourth-grade year. By this time, my little sister was in school as well, so our folks loaded us up and we went door-to-door in Sunrise and Hartville. I had never seen so much candy!

    Well, when we got home, mom took the bags of candy and hid them, so we didn’t try to eat all of it. Twice each week, the candy came out, and we were allowed to choose one piece each. It didn’t take very long to notice that all of the chocolate candy had disappeared. I guess it was mom’s storage fee.

    The next year, Sunrise school consolidated with Guernsey school, and we added another seven miles to our bus ride each day, for a grand total of 66 miles round trip. Yep, I loved school! On the bus at 7 a.m. and off the bus at 4:30 p.m. The problem was, there was at least an hour’s worth of chores on each end of that daily journey. At 5:30 every morning we started chores and I had to be in bed by 8:30 each night during the school week.

    Oh, but guess what, during my Junior-High days, we got to add more bus miles. Yep, we would ride the bus to Guernsey, and then we would get on another bus and ride back to Sunrise for classes. I still cringe when I see a school bus.

    It was during my Junior-High days that I really learned how to do Halloween. In seventh grade I wasn’t in the principal’s office quite as much as fourth grade, but thanks to my maturity in the Halloween process, I did get to go to the sheriff’s office. It seems the local law enforcement was convinced that my pals had pushed a tow truck across town and left it at the front door of our school principal. Well, we volunteered to push the truck back across town to its rightful place and give our names to the principal for punishment the next day. And yes, there was still mom’s storage fee on the chocolate candy I had gathered along the way.

    So there you have it, as you can surely understand, I’m none too crazy about school buses, Halloween. or being in the office of those in authority. And on top of that, for the past 53 years of living with Miss Deb, I still have to pay my candy storage fees.

    Enjoy this day, fuss over all of the little critters who come to your door tonight and give thanks to our Heavenly Father for allowing us to see another October come to a close.

    Blessings upon you and yours, Neal

  • Recharging!

    October 30, 2025

    Well, here we go with another day. Yesterday at daylight the temp was 16 degrees, today is 32. Yesterday’s high was 56, today’s forecast is for 50 degrees as a high, with wind gusts to match the temperature – another day in Paradise.

    As I have mentioned before, the ranch I grew up on had zero outside lighting, so when it was dark, it was dark. I can remember of times when we would get home after dark, dad would take the coal oil lantern with him and start milking cows, while I gathered eggs in the dark. It was always exciting to stick my hand into the nests not knowing if there would be a snake curled up with the warm eggs, or a skunk or coon sucking eggs! Yes-sir-ree, chores are much more fun in the dark!

    That same lantern was the only light we had for checking heavies during calving as well. It would have been an o.k. light except on most nights, the wind would blow it out before I could get half-way to the calving lot. It was always a treat stumbling around in the dark, attempting to discern if a cow was starting to calve, or if she was cleaning a chilled little feller that need to get to the barn. If you have ever had the experience of trying to drag a calf to the barn with his angry momma hot on you tailfeathers, you really should try it in the pitch black of night!

    It is also amazing how sounds in the dark are much louder. When a coyote howls or an ‘ol mountain lion growls, it sounds like they are in your hip pocket. Owls and birds tend to sound like small airplanes and then there is the unknown – and an eight-year-old mind can think of a lot of unknowns! I remember when I saved up enough money to buy my first flashlight, that flashlight made me plum popular, well at least until the batteries died.

    As I aged and was able to start going on hunting trips with dad and my brothers, it was amazing to find a fresh pack of flashlight batteries available on the first morning of season. It seemed that we would always leave camp before daylight and the old flashlight would help us with navigating a trail up the mountain.

    One of the things I learned right after purchasing that flashlight, the darker the night, the brighter my light. On nights when the moon was full and there was snow on the ground, the flashlight stayed off unless really needed. But on nights when the moon was dark, the flashlight was always in hand.

    The second lesson I learned about a flashlight was that it was much brighter with new batteries rather than ones that were almost used up. You know, like your faith. Fresh faith is brighter than a faith that seldom recharges. Thus, the value of church attendance, reading Scripture and prayer. It would appear that even Jesus took time to pray as a way of recharging His batteries.

    Remember when the woman with the “issue” touched His robe, Jesus asked, “Who touched Me?” Pete reminded Jesus that they were in the middle of a crushing crowd and that it was impossible to know who had touched Him. Hopefully you will recall Jesus’ response, “But I felt the power go out.” You see my friends, when you allow you light to shine, you have to take time to recharge the battery on a daily basis. Spiritual work will always drain your human batteries. It appears to me that too many of us Christians are attempting to let our spiritual lite shine with batteries that are almost dead, and we are not much more than a dull flicker.

    Dr. Howard Hendricks often reminded his students, “Gentlemen, remember, you cannot give away that which you do not possess.” If my light doesn’t have fresh batteries, it will be of little assistance to anyone. In the words of the Apostle Paul, “Our faith is being renewed day-by-day,” or if we are not following Paul’s advice, our batteries are about to flicker their last ray of dim light.

    I’m really grateful that you have decided to let your light shine, so please, make sure that you recharge the batteries each day. I’m willing to bet that you always remember to recharge you cell phone!

    Staying fully charged with you, Neal

  • A Little Light

    October 29, 2025

    I’m sorry for the late post today, I’ve been praying about what I am to write, and now I believe we are ready to learn from God’s truth.

    Let’s travel back to Genesis 1:2, “The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters.” Please allow me to visit with you about some things the Holy Spirit reminded me of when I was reading at 4:30 a.m. today.

    Our primary focus will be upon the middle of Genesis 1:2, “and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving.” Because sin was introduced into God’s creation in Genesis 3:6b, spiritual “darkness” became the dominate force upon God’s creation! Though His created light would be used for separation from the darkness (1:4), the darkness of sin would pierce the hearts of humanity.

    As a result of the darkness of sin, fear became the ruling emotion.(3:10) Next, Adam and his beautiful wife Eve would enter into the blame game (3:12-13). A game that modern day psychology tends to encourage that we sinful humans continue. Most psychologists would encourage me to blame my parents, or where & how I grew up, the travesties that have been committed against my people, or improper training or teaching as the “cause” for my improper attitudes and actions. I would be encouraged to find whom or what to blame so I can find healing.

    In reality, for all of us, our improper attitudes and actions are the result of allowing sin to have free reign in our lives. Remember, attitude determines altitude and the only person in charge of my attitude is me. I can’t blame others for how I view you and the world around me. Yep, darkness is still alive and well in our world today.

    Yet notice that in 1:2, where we are first introduced to “darkness,” the next portion of the sentence states, “and the Spirit of God was moving.” Look closely at 1:3, God’s first creative decree was “Let there be light.” Now look at v.4, “God saw that the light was good,” implying that the “darkness” was not good!

    So here we are looking full-face into another Halloween – with witches, goblins and lots of darkness. This “holiday” began as a “celebration of the dead,” the opposite of the living. I would suggest that Genesis 1 reveals to us the constant battle between “darkness” and “light.” Look at the end of v.4, “God separated the light from the darkness.”

    Because of the moving of the Holy Spirit, may we each bring the “light” of Christ into this celebration of “darkness.” I’m not speaking of just Halloween; I’m stating that we Christians should be the “light of the world” each and every day. That we need to take a stand against the darkness that our culture desires to push upon us.

    Tonight, in the peak of the darkness, step out your door and turn on a flashlight, or light a match if the wind isn’t blowing – notice how just a little bit of light overpowers the darkness. But also, notice that though the focused light displaces the darkness in its path, the darkness still surrounds the light.

    When Christians walk into the darkness of our culture, we will only displace the darkness directly within our path. That is why, together we all need to shine the light of Jesus Christ. The bigger and the brighter the light, the less the power of the dark.

    Remember, it is not our political stance that is the light of the world, it is the working of the Holy Spirit working within us so that He can then work through us, in love. In Matthew 5, Jesus tells us, “But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”(v.44) I’ll quickly admit, I can’t do that. But if I’m filled with His spirit, we can do it!

    As we prepare for Halloween, let’s pray for those who would persecute us.

    Letting my light shine with yours, Neal