From the Home Place

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  • 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

  • The day before.

    December 24, 2025

    Good morning friends. I would like to begin today’s post with a THANK YOU! I am amazed, humbled and blessed that so many of you read these daily dribbling’s. I constantly pray that you are receiving some sort of a blessing during our times of fellowship. May our Lord continue to use you for His glory, and for the good of those around you.

    Today is the eve of the birth of the Christ Child. I remember how Miss Deb would behave on the eve of our children’s birth. The day before giving birth, she would clean the whole house, or go for a long walk, or want to have company over. It was as if God was revving her body up to get ready for the amazing event before her.

    I wonder, do you suppose Mary felt the same way? She was able to endure a long ride on a donkey, a journey which I think she may have walked at least half of. I wonder if Mary was overly talkative on the day before giving birth to the King of Kings? I’m sure, like most first-time mothers, she was nervous and somewhat concerned yet filled with anticipation. I have often wondered what the trip from Nazareth to Bethlehem was like for Joseph, Mary and the Lord.

    Yesterday, Miss Deb and I had to travel to Cheyenne. The road was abuzz with constant traffic. I would think that Joseph and Mary had to endure such traffic on their journey as well. They probably even had impatient travelers cut them off too! But just as our Lord allowed us to make our journey safely yesterday, He seemed to be extremely kind to get that young family to their destination.

    We read the Christmas story as if it were somewhat of a tragedy that Jesus had to be born in a stable. However I believe that God introduced His Son to the world exactly as He had planned to do. Lowly, humble Jesus was born in a barn. What an amazing birth! A first-time mom giving birth to the most precious baby this world will ever know, alone, trusting God, right in the middle of a city that was roaring with humanity.

    Our Heavenly Father continues to quietly send us into a very busy world to proclaim the coming of Christ Jesus! Sometimes, that declaration is even somewhat painful for us as well; and is very painful for believers in countries where Christianity is forbidden. Yet, like Mary, those dear saints continue to tell other about the amazing grace of God, even though they are alone and afraid.

    Today, may each of us stop and pray for the persecuted church around this world. Pray for protection, pray for power, and pray for peace as they live their lives to tell the story. While we are celebrating, they are cowering. While we exchange gifts, they will exchange memorized Scripture verses for they do not have a Bible, nor a projection screen, nor a praise team, nor a safe and comfortable building. No, all the persecuted church around the world has is each other and the presence of Almighty God!

    You see, to these dear folks, Jesus is not a baby wrapped in rags. in a manger, surrounded by cattle and sheep. No, their celebration today is that they know the power of the Prince of Peace. That they and perhaps a handful of others have hidden themselves away from those who would try to take their lives, hidden to be heard.

    We American Christians often mention about “the real reason for the season.” I wonder, if we really understand those words, and I especially wonder, how often do we live such a statement? May the eve of the birth of the Christ Child be the eve of a new boldness to proclaim, “the real reason for the season” all year long. May we the American church stop “hiding” and start living with purpose, revealing the power of transformed lives to the glory of God!

    Proclaiming the coming of the King with you, Neal

  • It’s wash day!

    December 23, 2025

    Please allow me to set the record straight, around this outfit, I run things! I run things like the dishwasher, the vacuum cleaner, and the washing machine and dryer. As I was visiting with the Lord around 3 a.m. today, my mind wandered back to helping my mom do laundry for the eight of us. An old ringer machine sat in the porch and each Saturday we would do laundry, starting at daylight with the lighting of mom’s wood burning kitchen stove. That meant lots of extra wood for the stove. When the top of the stove was too hot to touch, we would place three milk pails full of fresh water onto said stove.

    While the water was coming to a boil, we would drag the old wringer machine into the center of the porch. Then we would go outside and carry in the two “rinse” tubs. They were made of galvanized steel and stood on their own legs; one leg was bent and twisted enough that it had to sit up against a wall with a brick underneath the leg, so the tubs were fairly level.

    Those tubs were then filled half full of cold water for rinsing clothes as they came out of the washing machine. By the way, all of the water was carried from the supply tank, out by the corals. I could only carry two half-full pails at a time, so on wash day I would make several trips out to the supply tank, or to the windmill if the wind was blowing. Always watching for rattlesnakes as I walked back and forth through the weeds carrying water.

    Hot water went into the washing machine, two “slivers” of homemade lye soap were added and stirred. The lye soap was made of rendered lard with a bit of lye and some powered soap added to it, making a bar form of laundry soap which would do several loads of laundry. (The soap making process is another story for another day.)

    When the water was ready the machine was started. Underneath the machine was a small gas engine that was used to turn the agitator on the machine. When, and if, the engine was started, then clothes could be slowly added. When the clothes were cleanish’, a wooden broom handle was used to remove them from the machine, allowing the soapy water to return to the machine tub for the next batch of clothes.

    Once the clothes were removed from the wash water, they then went through set of rollers that would remove the excess water. After the clothes were rung out, they had to be shook back into their original form and then added to the rinse tub. Once again the wooden stick was used to agitate the clothes, removing a bit more of the soap from them. Then that batch was wrung by hand and added to the second tub for another rinse. Finally, the clothes were washed, rinsed (twice) and wrung as dry as possible. The next step was to hang the clothes on the clothesline for drying. Hanging was usually blessed by thirsty bees who would be most willing to sting a person if you were not extremely careful.

    A few hours in the sunshine, the clothes were dry and could be gathered, leaving the bees outside, hopefully. (In the summer, we would leave the clothes on the line and take cream and eggs to Lusk.) After getting back from town, changing into chore clothes, I would carry the baskets of clothes into the kitchen, where mom would have the ironing board set up. Three different sizes of irons were heating on the wood stove.

    I would use the ironing board and iron all jeans and work shirts. Mom would use the kitchen table and iron everything else. All together it would take us most of the day to do laundry for our family.

    In the winter, if the sun was shining, mom and I would take the clean clothes to the clothesline and pin them up to dry for a couple of hours. Usually that meant when we went back to retrieve the clothes, they would be frozen stiff. A condition that required great care when removing the clothes pins, so not to break the pins, nor tear the clothes. Then I would carry the frozen clothes into the porch, where the pot-bellied wood stove had heated the room nicely.

    Then mom and I would string pieces of bailer twine onto nails in the walls, rehang the clothes and let them finish drying – hopefully. By the way, while the clothes were drying, there were always dishes to wash, floors to sweep and mop and wood to carry. Oh, I so remember the day we were given a used washing machine with a wringer attached to it. The whole thing ran on electricity and by then we had water in the house too!

    Today, I throw a plastic pod into the washing machine, add clothes, push a couple of buttons and push “start.” In a short time, the clothes are washed and rinsed, ready for me to toss them into the dryer. More buttons pushed, a few minutes later and the clothes are dried, very few of them ever needing ironed. Oh by the way, they all smell nice and fresh because I added softener sheets to the dryer.

    My point, much like doing laundry today, we have become a “soft” people, even in our Christian faith. I marvel when I attend a “Bible Church” how few people carry a Bible in with them. Today, we expect Pastor to project all scriptural references up on the big screen, so we don’t even have to look them up.

    Then we want the pastor to explain said Scripture to us in such a way that it makes sense. In some churches we may scribble a few notes on a sheet of paper, stuff it in the back of our Bible and once a month clean all said note papers out and toss them into the trash.

    How often do we pull those notes out of our Bible on Sunday afternoon and continue to study the passage our pastor worked so hard to share with us on Sunday morning? How often do we dig into our own Bible to find the golden nuggets buried there? In short, how hard do I work at growing “in the grace and the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Chris?” (2 Pt. 3:18)

    You see my friends, someone still has to put the clothes in the washing machine before they can be cleaned. Likewise, we all need to put the Word of God into our lives so that our lives can be cleansed. Faith is an interesting critter: It is easy to be soft and expect someone else to feed me, or I can do the work and feed myself. The first produces soft Christians, the later produces growing Christians.

    Growing with you, Neal

  • Smiling on the inside!

    December 22, 2025

    And just like that, for the next six months our Lord will add a few minutes of daylight to each day. The “dark days of winter” are beginning to be replaced with the “the sunny days of summer!”

    Recently, Miss Deb and I were visiting about Matthew 17:20 where Jesus is talking about the power of faith: “If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you.” At first glance, this verse looks like it promises everyone who has “faith” the ability to literally move mountains, yet I believe that is not quite what Jesus is talking about here.

    In the time of Jesus, it was normal for a king from one land to wish to go visit the king of another land. Often such an excursion was planned well in advance. After all, there would need to be provisions, military support and an ample number of servants required to care for the king during his travels to a foreign land.

    If the expected journey was to take place on land, it was normal for the traveling king to send trusted servants to map-out a roadway for the king’s expected journey. These trusted servants would use slave labor to cut-down mountains and to make the roadway as straight and as level as possible. As such, the king’s faithful servants would literally move mountains on behalf of their king.

    Back to today’s verse, I believe that Jesus may well have been indicating that a person who possesses faith in God, could remove mountains (obstacles) for others, through prayer. Thus, it is a great responsibility to pray, asking our King to remove that which is impeding the journey of others.

    During our study, I mentioned to Miss Deb that it always makes me smile on the inside when someone asks me to pray for them concerning their struggle in obeying a command of Scripture. For you see, if a person is struggling with obedience, it means that the Holy Spirit is at work within that life and that causes me smile on the inside.

    One of the primary responsibilities of the Holy Spirt is to constantly remind a Christ-follower of anything that prevents us from fully obeying our Lord, a mountain if you will. Even though such a situation is seldom pleasurable for the Christian, it is imperative for that person’s spiritual growth. For spiritual growth increases faith, which according to Jesus Christ, is required to prayerfully remove obstacles. Thus, making the journey of the one struggling safer and easier as they travel toward their upward destination. Once again, the King has sent His trusted servant to prepare the way!

    If today you should learn of someone who is finding their spiritual journey to be a difficult one, take a moment to pray with that person. Encourage such a person to allow the Holy Spirit (the trusted Servant of the King) to do that which He needs to do to prepare the way for the King to work within that person’s life.

    Much like there being more daylight in the ensuing days before us, praying with and for others makes every day much brighter as well. So, pray, encourage those around you, while watching God do that which only He can do – move mountains!

    Smiling on the inside with you, Neal

  • Get To!

    December 20, 2025

    Today’s weather is a bit of a change from yesterday: Yesterday we had brown ground at 4 a.m., today it’s white. Though today will be 38 degrees cooler, the wind will be moving at 54 mph less speed; I reckon that’s a good trade. Once the “ol girl comes alive,” I will be able to put the Christmas lights back up and see what else yesterday’s wind rearranged.

    The “ol girl coming alive” is a statement my Uncle Clayton used often. He would look out thier kitchen window just before daylight, when there was just aglow to the east, and comment, “She’s coming alive.” We would then start our day.

    When I was at home, there was no such statement, I was told to get my ….. out of bed becasue, “We have work to do!” At my uncle’s, we started to work each morning because we had been given an opportunity, not just a responsibility. Two different views, but they both had an effect upon my daily attitude toward work. One was a have-to, while the other was a get-to.

    The work tended to be the same at both places: fixing fence, haying, moving cattle, pulling wells, putting out salt, fixing that which needed fixin’, but the attitude with which the work was completed made a heap of difference. Oh the difference between a get-to and a have-to.

    This same difference always shows up on a Sunday morning as well, we either get-to go to church, or we have-to go to church. Which attitude is portrayed around your outfit on Sunday morning? One comes with gentle nudging to get ready and to get loaded up in the vehicle. The other comes with commands and demands to get ready or else! It always seemed that the “have-to” attitude put a damper on everyone’s attitude for the rest of the day.

    Perhaps we should look at the example of our Heavenly Father to determine which method He prefers us to use. Out Heavenly Father never shouts and demands that we mature in our faith but instead is always encouraging us to draw closer to Himself, thus maturing in faith. Oh, the difference between encouraging and demanding.

    The apostle Paul challenged us to, “Therefore encourage one another and build up one another.” So, the question before us today is this, “Do I tend to encourage and build up?” or “Do I tend to discourage and tear down?” One is a “get-to” the other is a “have-to.”

    Just for fun, as Mother Nature begins to wake up this morning, may we each look at this day as a “get-to” instead of a “have-to.” I’m thinking that such an attitude will help our attitude and the attitude of those around us.

    In Philippians 2:5, we are told, “Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself…” If Jesus was willing to lower Himself to help us rise up, perhaps we should do the same for someone else today? The whole process of having a proper attitude seems to begin with humility.

    So as Uncle Clayton daily told me, “I reckon we should get out boots on, she’s comin’ alive,” Today, I say the same to each person reading this article. Will you have a get-to, or a have-to kind of day? It all depends upon your attitude. Just remember, attitude is always contagious.

    Putting on the attitude of Jesus with you, Neal