The Big Sandy Mountaineer -

Today is Ash Wednesday. It is a time when an old, old church tradition takes place in many churches around the world. In our church, Van Orsdel Methodist, in Havre, we save our palm leaves from Palm Sunday, burn them and the ashes of those palm leaves are applied to the foreheads of people participating in Ash Wednesday services in the form of a cross.

That signals that Lent has begun and will continue until Easter Sunday which, this year is April 16. Traditionally in many families, Lent is a time to sacrifice like giving up drinking or smoking or not eating meat on Fridays. Things like...