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  • Who’s driving?

    December 5, 2026

    4 a.m. and 42 degrees, our weather is broken. This is January, we should be seeing temps with a minus in front of them and the ground covered with several inches of snow. I’m not complaining about the temps though, I sure enough enjoy wearing a vest rather than a parka, but if this shortage of moisture follows us into the Spring, things could get really tough. Yet, we have to trust that God has this all figured out and whatever He sends our way, He will also give us the strength to endure.

    Today’s cartoon may be just a tab bit to the extreme, but I figure every country kid learned how to drive at a very early age. For me, I learned how to drive a team of horses before I was old enough to ride one. No, I wasn’t allowed to drive them for a long distance at a time, but I sure enough held the lines while Nip and Pollie pulled the hay wagon.

    I would drive and dad would pitch off the hay. I later figured out that he was just keeping me out of the way of his pitchfork as we scattered hay, but I sure didn’t mind holding the lines to the two-horse powered hay wagon. As time went along, I graduated to driving the pickup while dad pitched hay. I have to admit, the pickup was way more difficult to drive than the horses were.

    When your legs are too short to reach the gas pedal easily, it’s difficult to keep a steady speed, and those frozen cow pies sure made the ‘ol Chevy jump sideways. Dad would always have a comment every time I hit one. And learning to bring the pickup to a gentle stop was way more difficult that just saying “whoa” to the team.

    If you were a country kid who had to drive the pickup for feeding, you well remember the pickup jumping like a wounded jackrabbit as you tried to find the sweet spot on the gas pedal. With the team, all I had to do was say “Walk up” and we were going, always at the same speed. Oh, the joys of learning how to drive.

    As I looked back at learning to drive the team or the pickup for feeding, I noticed that they were both comparable to learning to walk with God. You see, though I held the lines, that ‘ol team of Percherons were so well trained that all I had to do was act like I was in control, but the reality was that they knew exactly what to do in every situation we ever encountered. Yep, God allows us to act like we are in control, but He really is. Regardless of the situation, He knows exactly what to do.

    Once again, the team was similar to God in that all I had to do was to give the team permission to “walk up,” and we were moving. Hopefully, we have all experienced the fact that all we have to do is to give God permission to work within our lives and He moves us forward.

    That dumb pickup also reminded me of my walk with God. When I first trusted Jesus, it was once again difficult to run the gas pedal correctly. It seemed like we were either running wide open or standing still. It took a while to learn that slow and steady is usually the best way to travel with God. If I allowed the pickup to get to going too fast, dad invariably ended up getting pitched sideways, or even on the ground. The same is true in our Christian walk, if we don’t allow God to set the speed for moving forward, someone else usually pays the price.

    As I have mentioned before, I loved listening to the sled runners on the feed wagon whistling in the snow, and the sound of the team’s large feet crunching through the snow. Also, as I learned to trust God, I learned to listen to the beauty of His voice as He spoke into my life through the Bible. One sound was pleasing to my ears the other is pleasing to my soul.

    So, whether you are driving a team of horses, or driving a vehicle, or walking with God, learn to listen well. And yes, there will always be some bumps in the road that you have learn to navigate. But much like taking the lines of that big, powerful team into my little hands and telling Nip and Pollie to “walk up,” we each need to give the lines of our lives to the all-powerful God and allow Him to tell us when to move forward, or when to stop and wait. It sure seems like life works better around our outfit when we allow God to drive.

    Handing God the lines with you, Neal

  • Sunday afternoon

    January 3, 2026

    4 a.m., 35 degrees, looking at 55 for a high. I reckon when the sun wakes up, the wind will as well. I’m excited about this first Saturday of a new year because tomorrow is Sunday, my favorite day of the week.

    There was a day when Sunday meant that we would take most of a day away from work. There were always chores that needed done, but barring any serious break downs or sickly critters, Sunday was a day for company around our house. No, back then we sure enough didn’t even think of going to church, but we were guaranteed that someone would be at our place for lunch and the rest of the afternoon. I remember several winter Sundays with snowing and blowing conditions, yet there would still be someone at the porch door before noon.

    There were a couple of single ranch hands who you could count on being at our table for a meal every Sunday. After our meal with two or twenty extra people, I would head for the kitchen sink to start doing dishes. Mom always said that the dish pan kept my hands soft for the girls. The problem was that I was totally scared to death of girls at that stage of my life. Well, except on Saturday night at a dance, then the girls were much fun, as long as I didn’t have to do much talking. Miss Deb often giggles that she remembers when she couldn’t get me to talk, and now she wishes I’d be quiet. I guess I just have years of conversation stored up inside of me.

    After Sunday lunch, there were dishes to do, while the adults had a smoke and a cup of coffee, or a beer. Then after that, the cards would come out, and we would play cards for a couple of hours. By the time I was in junior high, I knew that an hour before dark I would need to start chores. Sometimes one of our guests would help, other times the card party would keep all of the adults tied down. Usually, I was happy to do evening chores by myself, town help was usually more work than help anyway.

    Now days, there are no chores and seldom any company. It seems that most folks are too busy to socialize on Sunday afternoon; they would rather shut themselves up in their homes. It’s funny to me that the thing that pre-Christians desire the most is the thing that Christians seem to give the least. Last week, while I was reading some demographics on Wyoming families, I read that 90+ percent of folks who do not know the Lord yet, desire a “meaningful friendship” with those who do know Him.

    Like I said, the thing unbelievers desire the most, appears to be the thing that believers give the least. According to the stats, most unbelievers would really like to get together with Christians and just enjoy each other’s fellowship. You know, like playing a game of cards and visiting about life. But then there you go, we Christians go to church, wishing our non-Christian friends would join us at church, when all of the time they would like to join us at our table.

    Jesus was fully aware of the value of sharing a meal with those who were far away from Him. Remember Zacheus? Jesus invited Himself over to this man’s home so they could get to know each other. In Luke 19:3 we read, “Zacheus was trying to see who Jesus was.” I’m willing to bet that everyone of us live around folks who are also “trying to see who Jesus” is. But you know what, they most likely are not going to come to our churches to find out who He is. Yet, they would most likely come into our homes for a relaxing meal and visit, to see who Jesus is in our lives. Because, regardless of what we might say, folks still don’t care how much we know, until they know how much we care.

    You see my friends, when we Christians speak of “fellowship” we are usually talking about getting together with other Christians. How about fellowshipping with someone who doesn’t know Jesus yet? No sermons, no long prayers, no lectures on behavior, just sharing an easy meal and allowing them to see who Jesus is. The crazy thing is, that if they get a glimpse of who Jesus is in your life, they most like will join you in church to see if Jesus would live in their life.

    Yep, a Sunday nap makes me feel better, but it seldom does much to advance the kingdom of God. Instead of griping about the folks who don’t go to church, maybe we should be inviting them to come see Jesus at our house, without having to climb a tree to do so.

    Advancing His kingdom with you, Neal

  • The 49er!

    January 2, 2026

    On this date in 1949 the Midwest woke to what would later be termed, “The Blizzard of the Century! In most places the wind roared at a constant 60+ miles per hour. The snow clouds dumped a constant barrage of snow, blotting out the sun, moon and stars for hours upon long hours. The ’49er would leave a path of destruction like no one had ever seen before. Thousands and thousands of dead livestock, hundreds of dead people and entire states paralyzed by the massive snow drifts, some reaching 50-60 feet in height.

    The endless howl of the wind, rattled windows, blew down trees and powerlines. The wind blew so hard that many people had drifts of snow inside their poorly insulated homes. Snow that would soon be melted for drinking water, in kittles on the wood stoves. Wood stoves that seemed to consume the wood supply within the home.

    I’ve heard stories of families burning all of their wooden furniture in an attempt to stay alive. With layers of clothes on, huddled under piles of quilts, many would freeze to death, the entire family! I remember old timers telling of the riding past sod and log homes after the spring thaw, smelling the decay of human flesh inside the shacks that dotted the landscape. I once heard that one of our neighbor ladies, who had not seen her husband for days after he went to the barn to feed the milk cow and the horses, later found him frozen stiff in the outhouse, the only shelter he could find, disorientated by the blinding blizzard.

    As a kid, I remember riding past large draws that had become the graveyard of entire herds of cattle, horses and sheep as they blew under a massive mountain of snow in the freezing cold. Even if an animal survived the blizzard, it was almost impossible to get hay and water to them after the storm broke.

    The snow was so deep that fences and power lines could no longer be see, making travel extremely dangerous, even by foot. To ride a horse across the prairie was equally as dangerous. The traveler had to stay to the tops of hills where the wind had exposed an occasional glimpse of ground, yet, who knew what lie between those occasional glimpses of dry ground. The whole country seemed to be captured under a blanket of snow.

    And yet, as terrible as the ’49 blizzard was, people dug out, climbed up and rebuilt. Though it took months, and even years for some, people came back to build better homes, new cattle and sheep herds, and to tell stories about a terrible time in American history.

    Today, setting here in Wyoming, listening to the wind howl outside, I wonder what would happen in today’s culture if such a blizzard was to happen again? Would we be able to survive with our forced air furnaces, city water and sewer supplies? I fear that many would be found the next spring like those homesteaders after the 49er.

    I marvel at that which God has placed inside of humans, the will to live. The will to not just survive, but to constantly better their living conditions, the unending determination to survive. I sat here thinking of what I would do to keep Miss Deb, myself and our neighbors alive during such a crisis. When it was all said and done, some would live, some would vanish, all according to God’s determination.

    For just as the Bible states that none of us can add a single hair to our head, neither can any of us survive devastation without His help. Perhaps on January 2, 2026, we should each pause and praise our Heavenly Father for His protection and provision up to this date? And then maybe we should ask Him to “give us this day our daily bread,” realizing that each and every day, the storms of life could, and will bring the end to many lives. Yet if He allows us to see today to its completion, and then to see tomorrow, we should shout, “Glory to His name!” For you see dear friends, we are each just trying to survive the storms of life, one day-at-a-time.

    I have no idea what this new year holds for us, yet I do know WHO holds this year for all of us. As such, we pray as our Lord Jesus prayed, “Not my will, but Thy will be done.”

    “Heavenly Father, use your people to fulfill Your plans. Give us strength, and gentleness, beyond ourselves. May our light so shine that those around us will see our good works and glorify our Father who is in Heaven! We seek Your provision, protection and Your power to walk with You in the times before us, Amen. Oh, and may Your Holy Spirit fall upon us like the blizzard of ’49, for Your glory and the good of those around us, for we ask all in the name of Jesus Christ, AMEN!”

    Looking forward with you, Neal

  • Committed!

    January 1, 2026

    Happy New Year! – I hope???

    May I suggest that before reading any further that you “pull your hat down and your boots up.” This could get a tad bit western:

    According to Mr. Webster’s Dictionary, the word “resolution” means, “The act of analyzing a complex notion into simpler ones.” So my New Year’s resolution to lose twenty pounds of weight is a “complex notion.” The way 99% of us will make it “simpler” is to break our resolution within the first three days after making it. It is much simpler to continue to eat like I have been eating, to not exercise like I have not been exercising and to go on with my life like I lived last year when I gained the extra twenty pounds, all of that is much “simpler.” After all, another one of my resolutions was to make my life “simpler.”

    Well so much for making another resolution that I don’t intend to keep. Perhaps instead of a hopeful resolution, I should make an absolute commitment? Have you ever noticed that the Bible doesn’t suggest that we make resolutions; however, the Bible does often use the word “commit.” Our English language would even suggest that the reason I don’t keep my New Year’s resolution is because I am not “committed” to keeping it.

    To be “committed” is to “be determined to carry through, to complete, to finish” that which I have begun. To be committed is to be determined to bring to completion. I know, now we are all more confused than we were at the beginning of this conversation.

    Summary, the best way to fulfill a New Year’s resolution is to commit fully to it. But here’s the catch: As I looked at the word “commit” in the Bible, almost every reference speaks of a negative situation. Here are just a few quick examples of the word commit: “You shall not commit adultery;” “do not commit this act of folly,” “do not commit such sin.” Of the 48 times the Bible mentions the word “commit,” one verse speaks of Jesus’ famous words: “into Your hands I commit My spirit.”(Lk. 23:46) and in Psalm 22:8, David states, “Commit yourself to the Lord.” Otherwise, every mention of the word “commit” is connected to words such as: “adultery; murder; folly; abomination; and lawlessness.”

    So, from a biblical point of view to “commit” tends to be a negative, while the word “commitment” is almost always a positive. Perhaps the reason most of us will fail to keep our New Year’s resolution is because of our lack of “commitment.”

    Once again, Mr. Webster helps us out, “commitment: a pledge to do something in the future.” You see my friends, because of our sin nature, it is easy to “commit” to doing a negative, but it takes great “commitment” to fulfill a positive. Perhaps the reason so few resolutions are fulfilled is because we wish to stop doing a negative that we “commit,” instead of “committing” to fulfill a positive? Once again, it is simply a matter of perspective.

    It all comes back to King David’s words, “Commit yourself to the Lord.” Such a commitment gives strength to that which we pledge to our Lord. Here we go: The sin I “commit” is because of my lack of “commitment” to the Lord; and after reading all of this I should probably be committed!

    When God called Joshua to “be strong and courageous,” God was simply asking Joshua to be fully committed to fulfilling that which God was asking of Him. Here’s praying that each of us will be equally committed to fulfill that which God asks us to do in 2026? More committed to commit less.

    Committing myself to the Lord with you, Neal

  • Changing with the Changes!

    December 31, 2025

    Well, here it is, the last day of 2025. Back in the 1960’s I never gave a thought of living in a year starting with 20. Oh yea, and then there was Y2K, life as we knew it was going to end because all of the computers were going to malfunction. For those of us who remembered life before computers, we thought that Y2K might let life go back to “the way it used to be.” Which in my opinion, would have been probably a better option. But that didn’t happen.

    Twenty-five years later, if someone was to take all of the electronics from our culture, life WOULD end as we know it. I wonder how many people wouldn’t be able to communicate because they couldn’t text, Snap Chat, TikTok or whatever today’s new fad is.

    Come to think of it, without a computer, I wouldn’t be communicating today on this blog. My, the world we have created, or perhaps have allowed to be created around us. I’m my tiny brain, it seems to me that there are two categories of sin, the sins I do and the sins that are done against me. It sure enough could be that this electronic age falls into both categories.

    Over my 70+ years I have seen a fair amount of change: We have gone from just looking at the moon, to a man walking on the moon. We have gone from cheap automobiles that needed fossil fuel to run, to extremely expensive automobiles that run on electricity. From everyone understanding that every person was either male or female, to there supposedly being a plethora of genders. We have gone from large regions of the country not having telephones, to everyone, even little children, having a cell phone, and a world that is totally addicted to the electronic grid.

    And as I was once again reminded of last night, we have gone from every rancher carrying a raggy old grass rope on his saddle or in his pickup, to all of us having three or four nylon ropes behind the seat of our pickup, or in the back window of said vehicle.

    I often chuckle when I see a rope displayed in the back window of a pickup, along with a cowboy hat sitting on the dash. It sure enough makes a feller look like he is a cowboy, but it doesn’t say much about him having a ranch-life background.

    You see, a nylon rope exposed to constant sunshine through a window is most like to fail a feller when he has to rope something with it. Sun eats at the fibers of nylon. Along with that, a western hat setting down on the dash of a pickup will suffer the same effects from the sun. Besides that, if such a hat sits face down on a dash for very long, the brim begins to turn upward, making it look like a Red Skeleton hat. If a ranch hand needs to take his hat off to get into his pickup, he will lay it on the top of its crown on the console or on the back seat.

    Speaking of back seats in pickups, that is another serious change I’ve witnessed over my life span. I remember when all pickups had one seat in them, never two. But I must admit, I sure enough enjoy my two-seater pickup.

    When the two-seater was just getting popular, a car dealer friend was telling me about one of our ‘ol neighbors who had bought a brand-new two-seater Ford pickup. The ‘ol feller had the pickup for about ten days and came in demanding his old pickup back. When asked why, the rancher stated, “Every time I get out to close a gate, some jerk steals my steering wheel.” (Think on it for a minute, it was plumb funny.)

    While I’m ranting about changes I’ve seen, when I first became a Christ-follower many years ago, everyone, even the kids, carried their Bible to church. Today it’s a rare occurrence. If we want unbelievers to believe that the Bible is the absolute word of God, and that it’s the most important book we’ve ever owned, perhaps they ought to see us with one in our hand on Sunday morning.

    I know, I’m just a silly old man, sticking his nose into categories best left alone. But you see, that’s part of the joy of becoming an old man, we get to say what we are thinking instead of worrying about being “politically correct.” Another change that I’m not too high on either.

    Well, anyway, today is the last day of another year. I hope 2025 treated you and yours well. I pray the same for you during the year before us. A year that will bring plenty of more changes to our world, and the cultures in which each of us live. I have no idea what 2026 holds, but I am completely confident in the One who holds 2026. You see my friends, as long a God is on His throne, it’s all going to work out according to His plan to get us to the end of this world and the beginning of eternity. When we get to heaven, I don’t reckon we will be bothered none about all of the changes we saw while on this ‘ol ball of dirt.

    As a feller by the name of Job one said, “For we are only of yesterday and know nothing,
    Because our days on earth are as a shadow.” Enjoy the year before you, ’cause the years sure pile up quickly and then you will be a grumpy old person talking about how it “used to be!”

    Looking upward with you, Neal

  • Headed North!

    December 30, 2025

    The thermometer reads 24 degrees at 4 a.m. We are aiming at 45 for today’s high, with a NW breeze. I hope to leave the house soon to go look for a bugle cow. My tag expires tomorrow evening, so it’s down to the wire.

    The date carried the same date as today, the year was 1982, Miss Deb and I were operating the home ranch. Two of our three kids were in school, but they were on Christmas break. During the night it had started to snow, again. We had close to a foot on the level, but as usual, most of the snow was in frozen drifts, making feeding a real issue.

    We didn’t have a tractor that would start with the constant sub-zero temperatures, so feeding was the job of our very old 1967 Ford pickup. The ‘ol gal did have four-wheel drive and I had her chained up on all four. With 44 little square bales on her back, we headed north to feed the main bunch of cows. Though it was only a two-mile journey, it would take at least that many hours to get there, feed, chop ice and get back home, hopefully without getting stuck.

    I bundled up and headed out. Letting Jenny (the name of the ‘ol Ford) warm up for a little bit while I carried four sacks of cattle cake over and placed them in the cab with me, next to the scoop shovel and axe. We were well loaded and hopefully about to make our way north. It was snowing and blowing so hard that the direction was somewhat questionable at times.

    As we picked our way across the pasture because the two-track road had long disappeared, Jenny was working hard, chewing her way through snowdrift after drift. A bit of shovel work here and there and eventually we found the ‘ol gals waiting for us, behind their windbreak. I began feeding all of the hay we had on board, then scattered the cake on top of the hay. After walking through the old gals who seemed plum froze down and hungry, but healthy, we headed for the windmill.

    There we found a condition that was not at all unusual, the riser pipe was frozen. So I carefully wrapped the four used cake sacks around the pipe from ground level to the discharge pipe. Tying each sack into place with the twine from the bales I had just fed. I then pulled Jenny as close as possible on the north side for a little bit of a windbreak, and then I did something I had never done before in this situation. I prayed.

    You see, just months before, Miss Deb and I had both committed our lives to Jesus. Though we were neither immediately transformed, we were both growing in our new-found faith and were getting comfortable with calling upon the Lord to help us with the constant tough situations around the ranch. So, I prayed, asking the Lord to use my concoction to thaw the frozen pipe.

    Using a handful of hay scraps from the back of the pickup as tinder, it took a couple of farmer matches, before the bottom sacks began to flame. Soon all four sacks were blowing flames in the wind. I remember enjoying the warmth of the fiery tower and continuing to pray that the mill would once again pump water. I did not have the time, and our cows didn’t have the energy for a two-mile hike through knee deep show to move to another pasture.

    When the flames had died out, I used a pair of pliers to turn the sucker rod a little to the left and then a little to the right. I then slowly released the break on the mill and praised God as the sucker rod moved up and down, soon bringing water to the tank!

    It took me a bit to get chopped through the ice in the tank, but as the windmill pumped fresh water and I was able to remove most of the ice, I crawled back into the warm cab of ‘ol Jenny and headed back south toward the house. That was the day I learned to praise Jesus for helping me with what could have been a real difficult situation.

    Yes, I had used the cake sack thaw method before, sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn’t, but today wasn’t about me, it was about my Heavenly Father helping me take care of critters. I must admit; there would be other times it seemed as if the Lord was sitting in heaven, laughing instead of helping, but for the most part, He seemed to be there to help us through tough situations.

    In 1986 we would leave for Phoenix, Arizona so that I could begin my formal education to fulfill His calling me into full-time Christian ministry. Oh, for sure, there have been plenty of difficult times between then and today, but it is always good to visit with Jesus about the situation, even if He chooses to let me plod my way through such times with little help from Himself. Other times, I barely get finished praying before He begins to set thing on an healthy course.

    So today, I will pray before getting into a different pickup but still heading north. And you can count on it that I will wait to see how God answers my prayers. For you see my friends, the answer isn’t of great importance, the conversation with my Heavenly Father is what is of greatest value. For long ago, standing by a frozen windmill I learned the truth of Psalm 50:15, “Call upon Me in the day of trouble, I shall rescue you, and you will honor Me.” Regardless of the hunting success of this day, I will “honor” God with my praise for allowing me to walk across the hills, visiting with my Lord and looking for a bugle cow.

    I hope your day is also filled with times of praising our Lord!

    Honoring Him with you, Neal

  • “FLOOD!”

    December 29, 2025

    Greetings! I trust you and your family enjoyed a great day of worship and fellowship yesterday. Miss Deb and I sure enjoyed the morning with our church family. Then in the afternoon we were blessed to have a great visit with the young couple who are planting a church in Baggs, Wyoming. They could sure use your prayers and support. Planting a new church from scratch is a very difficult task, yet the Taylor’s are attacking it head on.

    As I read the poster below, I was challenged in my spirit to visit with parents, grandparents and “adopted” grandparents about the flood. Put your family in biblical times during the flood; would your family members have been on the ark, or not? Can you imagine what it was like for those parents at that time to watch their children disappear under the flood waters? The horror those parents had to feel as they tried to hold their little ones at a higher point than the parents themselves were, yet to no avail, all were swept away by the flood. All of those parents were just trying to make a living, a living they and their children died for.

    Now, let’s shift to today. Parents, we probably are all guilty of trying to give our children a “better childhood” than we had. However, perhaps it is time to stop and ask, “Was my childhood really all that bad?” Oh, for sure, every generation has troubles of its own, however that does not make your childhood a bad one. You see my friends, every generation of children grow up in their time. The good and the bad of every generation, all mixed together, to make life what it is, or was, during that time.

    So, today’s parents are attempting to give their children “more & better,” just like the parents of past generations did. Yet, we must sooner or later stop and ask the question, “When is enough?” Today’s children are caught in a flood, much like the children of long ago were. Today’s flood consists of information, wealth and availability. Yes, I’m suggesting that many children of today will be swept away with faulty information, while others drown under debt or under having too much, and yet other young people will disappear under the flood by their want for everything that is available. And once again I ask, “When is enough, enough?”

    For many parents it is a constant struggle to get their children shuffled from activity to activity, while other parents struggle with trying to get their young person to show an interest in something other than electronics. Let’s admit it, parenting is difficult, and it always has been.

    Satan and his crew have forever been quick to tempt children to always want more. More activities, more stuff, more attention, more adventure, more… Yet it seems to me that a major part of parenting is to help children learn contentment, the ability of being grateful for what I do have. Yesterday, at church, I had a great visit with a gentleman who grew up on a ranch much like the one I grew up on. During our visit, he reminded me that we were “very blessed” to get to grow up when, where and how we did, including all of the difficulties we had to deal with. You see my friends, we were two grown men visiting about contentment. Help your young people learn to be grateful for what they do have. That means they learn how to take care of what they do have, satisfied with where and how they live.

    Now, let’s back up just a moment. A few paragraphs up the page I mentioned that today’s children are under the flood of information, wealth and availability: much like the generations before them. Yet, from the time of the biblical flood to today’s flood, children naturally want more, and parents feel obligated to provide it – often increasing the flood waters of drowning in debt and business. All of the time, ignoring the one source of salvation for the children and their parents – a genuine relationship with Jesus.

    Back to the biblical flood, it appears that most of the folks who were busy trying to give their children everything needed to survive, failed to make sure their children were on the ark provided by God. Are we really any different today? Let’s admit it, the possibility of your child getting to play pro sports is almost nonexistent. But the probability of your child spending eternity in heaven or hell is an absolute 100% guarantee!

    Parents, grandparents, adopted grandparents, what will make this generation of children different than all of the generations before them? – A majority of today’s parents making sure that their children will be on the ark of redemption provided through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ!

    Working with you to make sure your children will be on the ark, Neal

  • Aiming Arrows!

    December 28, 2025

    We have a whopping 6 degrees at 3:30 a.m., headed for a blazing 20 as today’s high reading. Couple that with a stiff 25 mph wind and you get “Man, it’s cold out there!”

    On this last Sunday of 2025, I would like for us to visit about the power of positive parenting. In Psalm 127:3 we read, “Children are a gift from the Lord.” Today, I would like to remind parents that those gifts are to be enjoyed for the rest of your life, not just for a little while. You as a parent have been entrusted by your Heavenly Father to invest the rest of your days helping every child in your home realize their purpose in Christ Jesus.

    Psalm 127 also reminds that children are “like arrows in the hands of a warrior.” Being someone who enjoys archery, I know that the arrows I release from my compound bow tend to go where I aim them. When one of my arrows misses its target, it isn’t the fault of the arrow. Yet in humanity, godly parents can do their best to accurately launch their arrow, only to discover those human arrows have a free will, often choosing to miss their intended target. God’s first children in the garden, missed their target, or did they?

    I do know that the promises of God’s word are always true. I also know that humans have a free will that tends to follow worldly logic, instead of Godly wisdom. God gives us His truth, and then He allows natural means to take place. Because we live in a broken world, bad things are going to happen. Remember, when our children do bad things, it does not make our children bad. Good often falls to the spear of evil.

    You see my friends, think of what this world would be like if it were not for the godly parents who do point their arrows in a biblical direction. When one is blessed to attend a church like Miss Deb and I get to attend, and you see all of the amazingly beautiful children walking with Jesus because of the examples of their parents, one has to step back and proclaim, “Thank You God for the parents who are launching Christ-centered arrows into this fallen world!”

    Christian parents, continue to aim your arrows well. May I encourage you to train up your child in the way God has made them. Because your child is a “gift” of the Lord, be sure to train your child in the wisdom of the Lord. Help them to recognize the difference between the knowledge of this world and the wisdom of God. Help your children know that they too, will leave their mark upon those around them, making this world a better place to live. Please, train up young men and women of great biblical influence, as those who are different so that they can make a real difference.

    Parents, I commend you for your hard work, and for your dedication to God first and foremost. I commend you for pointing your arrows directly at a Christ centered bullseye!

    So, as you take your little arrows to church this morning, set a straight track form them to follow. And by the way, thank you for allowing us old people to have a few moments of influence with your little ones. Such a kindness is a special gift to us, and we pray that our love will be a special gift to your children.

    Helping you aim your arrows well, Neal

  • Seriously overgrazed!

    December 27, 2025

    Over the last few days, Miss Deb and I have found ourselves on the road. As we traveled across Wyoming and South Dakota I noticed one consistent element of the landscape that concerns me, overgrazing. I know, with the drought conditions of the Midwest, it is difficult to not attempt to get every blade of grass for your livestock. Yet, I do not blame the drought conditions as being the cause of overgrazing, I blame greed.

    With sky-high cattle prices, many producers are keeping every female they can get their hands on to raise more calves. However, the math is quite simple: constant land available + increased cattle numbers = overgrazed pastures.

    Many of the pastures we drove past in the last few days are severely overgrazed, right down to the rocks in the pasture. As I looked out across vast acres of grassland, it was often difficult to see a single tuft of grass waving in the wind. In several locations, there wasn’t even much for sagebrush, for they too had been consumed by hungry ruminants. Experience has taught me this about overgrazing, the producer always ends up paying for it in the end.

    As pastures are overgrazed year after year, cactus soon begin to dominate the landscape. With nothing to hold the topsoil, the ground begins blowing – especially with windy winters like this one! When the ground blows, it sheers off what baby grass that might be attempting to surface. Loss of ground cover, blowing topsoil and more hooves walking to and frow looking for a blade of grass to fill their grumbling rumen adds up to overgrazed pastures. Overgrazing leads to infestations of weeds and cactus, removing more usable acres of quality grasslands.

    As I look at the situation, I see only two possible solutions: 1) more moisture 2) fewer cattle per acre on most pastures. Many years ago, Fram ran a commercial about the quality of their oil filters being worth the higher price of said filters. The closing comment of each commercial was made by a mechanic holding one of their oil filters as he stated, “You can pay me now, or you can pay me later.” I fear that too many of our producers are making lots of money now but will end up paying for it later as more and more acres of grassland suffer from being overgrazed.

    So, what is the correlation to this blog? There are more and more “bigger” churches appearing on the landscape, while the spiritual pasture appears to be overgrazed. This is what I mean, as more and more people gather in fewer places for worship and fellowship, the pressure increases upon the pastor (or pastors), of said fellowships is increased to the point that pretty soon that pastor often becomes more of a manager than a minister.

    Once again, the math is quite simple: more people + more demands upon the ministry = less time for the pastor to invest into the lives of those same people. The days of “pastoral visitation” are rapidly vanishing because many churches just can’t afford enough staff to minister to their increased number of parishioners, resulting in overgrazed pastorates.

    Whether it’s cattle or people, the end result is often the same, the grass is greener on the other side of the fence. Yesterday, we drove past a little pasture that had at least twice as many cattle on it than it could support. One cow was on her knees, with her head under the bottom wire of the fence, eating grass from the road rite-of-way.

    How does that apply to churches? Perhaps like this: as more and more people attend the same understaffed church, the really hungry ones tend to go looking for other pasture. Oh for sure, there will be a gaggle of people who attend a popular church because they love the music, or the fellowship or even the preaching, but are they really growing in their faith? Are their lives being transformed into the likeness of Jesus Christ?

    The simple answer is, “We do not know if they are becoming transformed or are they just entertained?” The reason we don’t know the spiritual condition of church attendees is because we do not have an accurate method to measure maturity nor do we have the time, finances and personnel to administer such a survey even if it existed.

    Just like with cattle on short grass, entertained people constantly consume but tend to produce very little. Let’s face it, we live in a consumer culture. I served at a large church in the 1990’s. As such I was often told by visitors, “We are shopping for a new church for our family.” Yep, we shop for a church that makes us happy much in the same way we go shopping for new clothing to hopefully achieve the same result, to make “me happy.”

    Solomon has revealed to us, the hole inside of each of us cannot be filled by anything or anyone except Jesus. God has created each of us with a hollow feeling that only a real relationship with Jesus can fill. Yet, we humans tend to try to fill that “hunger” with things, instead of searching for a life-changing experience with Jesus Christ.

    For years I have been told that “Healthy things grow and reproduce.” A statement I agree with, yet in today’s culture we are experiencing fewer and fewer true disciples of Jesus Christ. Barna Research recently stated that “From astrology apps to tarot readings, or on TikTok, many Americans are seeking meaning through spiritual experiences that exist outside traditional religion.” There are more people in the pasture, but could it be, we have not produced enough mature disciples to help these hungry ones find the one blade of grass that will fill the hollowness of their life: Jesus Christ!

    Summation, if your church has a pastor who is preaching biblical truth in ways that people can apply said truth to their lives, praise God! If your church offers a music ministry that enhances worship rather than just entertains, praise God! If your church is growing numerically because people are growing in their relationship with Jesus, then praise God! Miss Deb and I are blessed to attend such a church and hopefully so are you.

    Yet I caution, keep an eye on the grass, it can only support a certain number of grazing units. My suggestion is this: The remedy could be: To prevent Christ-centered churches from being overgrazed we must pray for spiritual rain from above; and all mature Christians are responsible to help someone else find spiritual food within the pages of their Bible. After all, hungry cattle and hungry people are always looking for a good meal.

    Helping others learn to feed themselves with you, Neal

  • Traveling together!

    December 25, 2025

    Merry Christmas!

    At 5 a.m. today, I spent some time praising our Lord for all of His kindness to us as a people, as Americans, and as His children. I spent some time thinking back to all of the Christmas Days our family has been allowed to celebrate, and of all of the different locations of those celebrations, I had to weep with joy! When Jesus told those first disciples that He would build His church, He fully meant it.

    As I looked back over the years, I marveled at all of the amazing people Miss Deb and I have been allowed to share life with. As far as ministry it started on our home ranch at Meadowdale, Wyoming. From there we got to know hundreds of people in Phoenix, Arizona. Then to our first official church assignment in the beautiful Sandhills of Nebraska. When we travel back to the Sandhills, we still talk about the Pleasant Point Community as “going back home.” Our Heavenly Father was so very kind to give us the perfect first church.

    After three years near Grand Island, Nebraska, our little family then traveled north to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, where Miss Deb served at Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and I served at Faith Fellowship. Oh my, the connections we were blessed with during our ten years there. Two years ago we were blessed to get to travel back to Sioux Falls and see many of the dear friends who still call that area home.

    Next, we went to Custer, SD to plant a church. An experience that every pastor should be blessed with, in my opinion. It helped me to study the Apostle Paul’s church-planting ministry with a whole different understanding. What an amazing man he really was.

    Upon the transition from a church plant to an official, functioning church, we went to Platte, SD to help a very special church family learn who they are in God’s kingdom. It was a great time of being stretched as a church family and as Pastor and wife.

    Then the Spirit led us back to Wyoming to invest in the lives of many men with A Man and A Mountain Ministries. Just last week we returned to the community of Esterbrook to fellowship with our church family there. After many friends, and several years of fruitful ministry, the Holy Spirit led us to Cutbank, Montana to help a church there find their new pastor. The folks of this community are amazingly tough because of where they live, and extremely gracious because of how they live.

    Then He drew us back to Guernsey, WY to help a very special church family find their new pastor. And from Guernsey, we moved to Lusk, where we presently reside and minister. I get to teach adult Sunday School at our church in Lusk, as well as filling the pulpit in area churches from time-to-time. For many years now, Miss Deb has been a substitute teacher in several of the different communities where we have lived. She is so good with “the littles.” Not only do these little ones have a great teacher to help them learn how to do “school” but they also receive hugs and encouragement.

    Most days, on top of remodeling an old house in Lusk, Miss Deb is always busy sewing different projects. Her ‘ol embroidery machine ends most days panting! We are enjoying seeing our old house slowly being transformed into our home. So, if you are ever in the area, stop in for a cup of coffee, laughter and a hug. Oh yes, the bodies look much older and don’t move quite as easily, nor as quickly as they used to, but we are still two kids on an amazing adventure called life.

    Thank you for being a part of our life, and for allowing us to be a part of your family. We continue to marvel at God’s amazing grace. So, as you and yours celebrate on this Christmas Day, stop for a few moments and tell those around you of your journey.

    Continuing on the journey of life with you, Neal