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I am a great believer in equal opportunity when it comes to animals. People have heard that a particular cat is “ just “ a barn cat. So if we follow that line of thinking, people born poor are just “ poor,” so Because of the circumstances they were born into, they shouldn’t expect anything decent. Hogwash!! We have three barn cats working for a living. We have had them for around six years now. Mom ( Clementine) showed up with a large tummy. She was feral for sure, hiding out under our horse trailer for better than a year. We knew she ate f...
Nothing brings more joy than running into kids who want to share their lives with me. I love the park right next to the Mountaineer and walking on the sidewalk by the library. Of course, I have to know them before I join in their conversations, but that is one of the great opportunities we have in Big Sandy. We are a small community, and we know each other. After recently resigning from the Big Sandy Senior Center Board, I am still looking forward to my involvement with the Senior Center...
This week, I finished reading a biography of C.S. Lewis written by a student and personal friend of his. The book is unique in that it offered a personal account of the life of an author I hold in high esteem. I love Lewis’ writings, both his non-fiction and fiction works. I’ve read most of his books at this point, many of them several times. Even though I have read many of his books and letters, I have never read anything by any of his friends. However, this larger than life man whose work I absolutely love, was human. C.S. Lewis, the mos...
I recently came across a great line: “Every Olympic event should have an average person competing for reference.” I am not sure who said it originally, but it is brilliant. First off, it’s funny. I can only imagine what it would be like to race against world class athletes as an out of shape, middle-aged man. More importantly, there is an edge of truth to the idea. Comparing the elite to the average makes it clear what is really going on in the race. I may brag that I can outrun my neighbor, but only because I am not talking about racing Jesse...
Most people know Daniel in the Bible from the story of the lions’ den. The account of that event takes place in the 6th chapter of the book, when Daniel was around 70-years old. He had spent his entire life up until this point working in the courts of Babylon. When the Medo-Persian empire captured Babylon and took over, they appointed tax collectors/administrators to run their newly acquired territory. Daniel naturally rose to the top of the ranks because he was experienced, hard working, willing to say/do hard things in service of the king, a...
"Summertime and the living is easy," as the song goes. Not for our farmers and ranchers, but maybe for the children of the community. It could be that I'm getting older, but more children are riding bikes this summer. Don't get me wrong; I love that the children and their parents can feel safe in this small town. I love watching them laugh and enjoy each other. There are so many places where children can't play outside without adults present. There are so many places children have to stay in...
The Old Testament history of the Jewish people records a major series of events that changes the religion, how people thought, and in some ways, the course of Western Civilization. This story takes place a few hundred years before the birth of Jesus. Israel was conquered by one of the first great empires in human history: the Babylonians. Their leader, King Nebuchadnezzar, marched his armies all over the known world and made most of it his own. Israel had resisted conquest by lesser empires through God’s protection. Now, God announced that thei...
When I was a kid, my favorite books were the Choose Your Own Adventure series. These books usually told some sort of adventure story about time travel, monsters, knights, detectives, or some other exciting tale. Every few pages, when the main character reached a major decision, you would make the choice for them. Based on the path you decided, the story to take you would jump to a different page and continue on. I loved these books because I got to steer the story. One of the habits I developed was keeping a finger on the page where I made a...
So much has been written about mothers and so much misunderstood. So many topics concerning mothers have not become newsworthy. We, as mothers, know this. It’s only been relatively recent that miscarriages have been acknowledged as the traumatic event they are. That grief can continue no matter how short the pregnancy was. Popular sentiment amongst the medical profession was to “get over it; you can always have another.” Despite the fact, of course, that some would never have a viable pregnancy. Even though this pregnancy represented a son o...
We can complain all we want about gas prices. We can't go places as we want. Our fast pace style of living must slow down. We can't afford to go 100 miles an hour. We can blame it on a wide variety of reasons. Political rhetoric is off the charts. Let's stop. How can we use this for our good? My granddaughter Faith Cator made an idea jar a couple of days ago. It was painted like a strawberry with Summer Ideas across the front. One of the ideas was to camp in their backyard. Everyone family...
I got my first job when I was 16. I worked at a bakery/deli making sandwiches, serving customers, washing dishes, and doing other minimum wage-type restaurant work. Since then (for about 30 years), I have rarely had a stretch of time where I did not work. I’ve unloaded trucks, tracked inventory, made concrete roof tiles, been an exterminator, been a salesperson, done ministry work, and about everything else you can think of. At some point along the way I learned an interesting lesson. Mark Twain once said that “If you find a job you enjoy, you...
This Memorial Day week reminds me of Memorial Day's most powerful lesson learned. I was in Washington DC making the rounds of all the memorials. There is very little talking while you soberly view each monument. My father was in the Navy and served during the Korean War. It was important to me to see the Korean War Memorial. I walked slowly, quietly, thinking of my father and his experience. His job was to watch where the bombs landed. So he saw women and children, besides soldiers, being torn t...
When I was growing up, none of my family swore. The only exception to that rule happened maybe twice a year when I would hear--DAMNIT!!! A hammer usually preceded it on a finger or something similar. I first used that word at the tender age of five. I had been given a dog much against my parent’s wishes, and I loved her dearly. However, that particular Easter Day, she became a damnit dog for the day. I had been thrilled with my Easter basket that morning. I received no candy other than at Easter and Christmas, so it was a very big deal i...
Around 17 years ago I was hired to work as a chaplain at a metal health facility for kids. I had been a youth pastor for a number of years and was decent at working with kids. That was about all I had going for me, apart from interviewing well. I suspect that within the first few months, it became clear that I wasn’t quite ideal for the job, and I am absolutely certain I made a ton of mistakes over the years. The biggest redeeming factor for my time there came in the form of a few men who invested in me. They talked me through my errors and m...
I’m moved to write this letter of appreciation to the local pastoral community for their continued efforts to address suicide by sponsoring the weekly National Suicide Prevention Hotline advertisements in The Mountaineer. It’s important to note their efforts are directed to the entire community, not just their own congregations. They offer help to all, regardless of religious affiliation, church attendance, etc. I’m painfully intimate with the work they do. My brother, Randall Tyler, and I grew up on the family farm on Lonesome Prairie. We gr...
We are all too familiar with the serious, devastating addictions pervading our society. The one happier addiction hardly ever mentioned is that of the bookaholic. The bookaholic draws little interest as they conduct their addiction behind closed doors unless they sally forth to a Book Club. They might as well say, " Hi, my name is ----and I’m a bookaholic." There are some drawbacks to being a bookaholic. Unless you rely on your library for your "fix’" you can tally up some hefty bills at Barnes and Noble and other book stores. Then the...
I have been preaching through the book of Acts at my church for the past 8 months, taking time off for a Lent and Christmas series. This past Sunday, I reached chapter 17 and began delving into Paul’s visit to Athens, in ancient Greece. While reflecting on the text, I had an interesting realization. Paul arrives in Athens with the goal of waiting there for several traveling companions to meet him. Most translations say that he looked around the city and was troubled by the excess of idols. The word in the original Greek would be stronger t...
When I first moved to Big Sandy to a farm out southeast. A huge cottonwood tree greeted everyone at the start of our farm. Over the years, the tree was poisoned by weed spray from airplanes spraying the crops right above it. It finally died and stood for years with its white skin against the blue sky, but ultimately, my husband cut it down. Years later, I saw what I thought was a fantastic picture-a sunflower growing out of a dead tree stump. I've come to understand its message to me. We...
A few times in my life, I’ve read a news story involving someone who was shot by a friend while “testing” their brand new bullet proof vest. I’ve also seen videos of the same stupid stunt. I will say confidently that I would not test out a bulletproof vest if I owned one. This is mainly because every time I read about these “tests” they go wrong. It’s an example of when it’s easy to trust something when it doesn’t matter, than be put in a position where I have to act on that general sense of belief. While studying for the Easter sermon thi...
Yes, I am calling myself a dinosaur, as I’m sure many young mothers will view me as such. The thing is, being a dinosaur has taught me lots of things. Scientists learn many things from studying dinosaurs. Study my dinosaur ideas and see if you learn something new!. In the movie “ A Boy’s Life,” “ I know a thing or two about a thing or two!” I couldn’t have said it better. I will make some things plain at the beginning. I loved raising my children; I had a great time. Of course, there were down days, but I look back on those being the best of da...
I recently read that employees, by a wide margin, prefer recognition for their work and contributions over bonuses or financial incentives. This seems counterintuitive, but there is a strange truth about what motivates humans in life: we want to know our work is meaningful and appreciated. This isn’t to say that money isn’t important. There are limits to this idea. Very few people would go to work every day in order to receive nice words and encouragement. However, one of the areas where employers often fall short in motivating their peo...
The Big Sandy Senior Citizens Center Respected Editor, The State Unit on Aging, housed in the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services, recently became aware of the struggles of the Big Sandy Senior Citizens center. I, along with our Nutrition Program Manager were fortunate to have the opportunity to support your community at the board meeting held on March 22nd at the center. We were warmly welcomed by the Big Sandy community! With the show of attendance, it’s obvious this community deeply cares for their seniors, and the m...
The nation of Ethiopia, which is in Northeastern Africa, was once a lush, fruitful, and green nation. Over the past century, that situation has changed. The nation has seen nearly 40% of its forests cut down and sold off. The result of these actions has been that the once green nation has been turned into a vast desert. The famines of the 80s, which captured the attention of the American media, were a direct result of the ecological disaster that has taken place. Over the weekend, I came across a photo collage of Ethiopian Orthodox Churches...
A person can immediately think of tons of negatives caused by the pandemic. Some are terrible, and others are just irritating. News articles and general talk amongst people have concentrated on the downside. I know I am a constant complainer because I saw my family in Canada twice in the last two years and have not seen them since September 2021. Right now, the risk in Saskatchewan is very high, and so I sit and chafe at the bit, bemoaning all I am missing. However, on reflection, all has not been lost. They talk about absence making the heart...
Dear Editor, I’m writing concerning the article on the front page of the March 2, 2022, edition of the Mountaineer about the Big Sandy Senior Citizen Board seriously considering closing the Big Sandy Senior Center. Like they stated, “closing the Senior Center would be a terrible loss and will continue to look at options. May I respectfully suggest one option may be to encourage people giving memorial donations to a charity of the donor’s choice, to consider giving to the Senior Center. Not only is the Senior Center practically a life line...