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“We have become a nation of thoughtless rushers, intent on doing before thinking, and hoping what we do magically works out. If it doesn’t, we rush to do something else, something also not well thought-out, and then hope for more magic.” Len Holman spoke these words in critique of our culture’s tendency toward staying constantly busy. I think a shorter quote by John Maxwell captures the idea almost perfectly: “The greatest enemy of good thinking is busyness.” The truth is that our culture has...
When I wake up in the morning, there is a sliver of time between when I get out of bed and when my children get up and running. In that time, the house is quiet. The kids aren’t talking, arguing, running around, asking questions, singing songs, or doing any of the other things they do when they are awake. The house is peaceful. Every morning, my youngest gets up first, and I can hear him from the moment his feet hit the floor. He is loud. In fact, he is often loud enough to get the others m...
In his fictional book, The Screwtape Letters, C.S. Lewis wrote a collection of letters from a senior demon to a novice tempter. The book explores the various ways people are led astray, tempted, tricked, and manipulated from their faith in God. The opening chapter describes the most powerful tool the devil uses to keep people from ever asking themselves important questions in life: the ordinary. Everyday life and the boring details that occupy our attention keep us from looking at our lives and...
Throughout my life I have always been able to express my gratitude to others and have never really felt the true meaning of “words cannot express my thankfulness” until recently. Since our accident, I am finding it difficult to find the right words to express the full extent of my appreciation. First off, I want to thank Erica for keeping her calm composure after our accident, driving me to the ER, and never leaving my side. Your loving and patient nursing care and moral support will never be taken for granted. Thanks to Mom and Dad for tak...
During the pandemic lockdowns, I spent part of the summer teaching through the book of Daniel on Zoom. This summer, I am preaching through the book on Sunday mornings because it seems like it speaks directly to some of the fears and anxieties we are facing in our culture today. The book follows the life of Daniel, who was a child of Jewish nobility when the Babylonian empire conquered Judea. The Babylonians took the best and brightest of the population away into captivity and had them serve the...
Last Sunday Evening, I was writing my weekly newspaper column, when I started getting notifications about some bad weather coming our way. My wife sent me out to get the laundry off the line before it hit, but otherwise I thought about the scary looking weather map I spotted online. The wind and hail kicked in not long after that. About the time I finished writing my articles for the week, the power went out. My kids and I watched the hail fall while various odds and ends blew past our house and...
I needed a break. A break from dry brown land. A break for high heat. A break from discouragement and depression. I went and visited my sister, Dena, in Billings. I knew she would have a lush green yard, and she and I would find numerous reasons to laugh and celebrate. With the frustrations we are all having right now because of the grass-hopers, the heat, and the outcome of a horrible storm, the trouble is we sit in our air-conditioned homes and wait for a different outcome. There are oases...
In a few weeks, my family will be moving. We have been living in the parsonage that belongs to the Church of God for over 9 years. We are trying our best to get ready to buy a house here in town. Time and again, I have explained to folks who have asked why we are buying a house: “We can’t retire, and live in a parsonage.” My goal is to work here until I retire and then live in Big Sandy. My family and I love this town. With that background information, I will explain the strange exper...
A couple of weeks ago, I received a message asking me to be a true journalist. It contained a comment about a politician I should be pointing out is not a good representative of the state of Montana. In other words, I would only be a good journalist if I wrote an article according to her opinion. She did say I should represent both sides, but it was obvious to me, for her, truth is only represented by her political persuasion. Freedom of speech is one of our most cherished freedoms, but I was raised to understand that with that freedom comes re...
8 yeas ago, I started my job at the Children’s Home. For 8 years, I worked with abuse victims, sex offenders, drug addicts, violent clients, and almost any other issue you can think of. I learned more in that job than I have in any other work I have ever done. During my first year, I noticed a handful of people who excelled in their work. They could talk clients through any situation, solve any problem, calm down situations that seemed out of control, and were recognized by everyone around t...
The Biblical book of Daniel opens with a pretty dire set of circumstances. Jerusalem is under siege. The armies of Nebuchadnezzar have conquered every other nation in the area, now they are about to sack the capital of Judah. God’s people are facing a threat to their existence. Then the text says: “And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand…” That’s a pretty powerful statement when you think about it. God gave his people over to the Babylonian empire. They had been in rebellion...
“My dad is special because he multi-tasks. He is a pastor, a sub, and a news article writer. He also picks me up and drops me off. He is very good at these things and he still has time to help us when we need it and he also has time for our dog Jedi and our new puppy Tejas” Abby “The three things I like about my Grandpa is: He is funny; he is also caring. The last thing I like about him is he is good at making food. I love my Grandfather so much. He is very special to me in my life. I love you Grandpa. Also my Grandfather is special to me. H...
“I meet millions who tell me that they feel demoralized by the decay around us. Where is the hope? The hope that each of us have is not in who governs us, or what laws are passed, or what great things that we do as a nation. Our hope is in the power of God working through the hearts of people, and that’s where our hope is in this country; that’s where our hope is in life.” This quote is from a sermon I heard this weekend by Chuck Colson. It has been more than a decade since I first heard h...
When I was a kid, my friends and I used to play baseball in the backyard. Along with baseball came tons of talk about how different baseball players swung the bat, made catches, slid into bases, or whatever. Then we would practice to play like them. I remember practicing swinging a bat like Pete Rose and sliding into bases head first during ball games. It seemed like the best way to become a better ball player. When I grew up, I began to do the same thing in my professional life. The first...
It is easy to look at other folks and get the sense that they have it all together. I talk to folks often who tell me about how they wish they were more like other people around them. I once talked to two different moms in a week who pointed at each other while claiming they wish they had their lives together like the other one. I have spent years talking to folks who struggle with depression or anxiety lamenting that their lives are not as orderly or happy as their neighbors. This is a...
There is a thinking error that we see in our world often: “The Fallacy of Change.” It refers to the idea that you can change other people through your efforts. It’s hard to see this as a thinking error, because we don’t like the idea that we cannot change others. However, if you think on it carefully, the idea becomes clear. The most common version of this is the stereotype where a gal will date a “bad boy” because she knows she can change him if she just tries hard enough. This rarely turn...
I like reading autobiographies because I enjoy getting to know people. I find them inspirational. I have never read a movie star's autobiography, and to be honest, I don't care, but I was impressed with his comments on creativity. And have struggled to express them myself. I believe we are created in the image of God; therefore, because he is creative, we are. If we aren't creative, we can't live fulfilled lives. Now I'm not saying that creativity is only in the arts. You can make a mean...
One of my favorite arguments to stoke while hanging out with friends is the “Ford-verses-Dodge-or-Chevy-or-whatever” debate. I don’t have strong opinions on the quality of many vehicles or a loyalty to any brand of car. I jut like teasing folks about things like that. The interesting thing to me is when a person in the argument reaches the point where they make crazy absolute statements, like “Ford has never made a car worth owning.” This would mean that in the entire 118 year history of making...
(Editor’s Note: The follow is the opinion of Ann Denning and should not be considered an endorsement. Please see a doctor before any dieting.) A quote by Lord Tennyson says,” In spring a young man’s fancy lightly turns to love.” I can’t say this is so. I would’ve guessed a new car or truck. I can say with some authority that the coming of spring prompts many a woman to decide to diet. A lot of us are horrified to discover that being sequestered in the winter, not to mention being in during the pandemic, has caused our assets to bloom, as i...
In ancient Israel, the Jewish people followed a very strict set of dietary laws. There are a lot of reasons for these laws, most of them having to do with reminding the Jews that they were separate from other nations and holy. In Acts 10, the apostle Peter has a vision in which he is told that the dietary laws are no longer in effect. There are two huge reasons for this taking place. First, because Jesus fulfilled God’s law and filled the need for holiness a spiritual effort rather than a m...
“If I have a superpower in life, it’s the ability to find almost anything interesting.” My brother told me this last year during a conversation we were having related to how to become a renaissance man. A renaissance man is a well-rounded individual. It really refers to the breed of person who develops abilities and skills in a wide range of areas. It was coined in reference to the type of men who emerged during the Renaissance period who made art, studied philosophy, studied the sciences, and m...
There’s a difficult bit of teaching in the Sermon on the Mount where Jesus talks about picking the sawdust out of your neighbor’s eye. The idea is that anyone who is going to set about cleaning the eyes of their neighbors should check their own eyes to make sure they aren’t in worse shape. Jesus’ humorous description is of a guy with a log hanging off his own face while looking for specks of others. The analogy shouldn’t be too surprising coming from a carpenter, who likely had to deal with...
Maybe you have noticed. After the first of the year, I had a good look at the direction the Mountaineer was taking and realized I needed to do more. It still felt like we were struggling to stay connected, to feel a part of a rural community. It felt like we still separated due to COVID-19 and political rhetoric. I wondered what the Mountaineer’s role was to make sure we were a tool to help heal the division. I decided to create Project Connect. The idea was to make sure I do everything possible to help the small business, including an a...
In the first century, when Jesus lived and taught, the Jewish people were living under the oppressive rule of the Roman Empire. The Jewish people were violently opposed to the Romans, a fact that resulted in more than a few violent uprisings that set out to liberate the nation of Israel. They did not succeed and eventually angered the Romans enough that they destroyed the country completely, exported its citizens all over the empire, and outlawed the Jewish faith in Israel entirely. This desire...
In the ancient world, Jews and Samaritans hated each other. The conflict between the two groups went back hundreds of years and frequently reached levels of venom and spite that we rarely see in our culture. It was common for Jews to kick the dust off their feet before leaving Samaria to make sure they didn’t bring any Samaritan soil with them to their own countries. Jews often crossed the street and spit in the road when they passed Samaritans. Jewish rabbis didn’t even consider Samaritans to...