The Big Sandy Mountaineer -

The gospel of Matthew includes an account where a group of Pharisees approach Jesus in an effort to trap him by posing a no-win question. They asked: “Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar?” Today this seems like a pretty innocuous question. We...

One of the most common debates surrounding Jesus and his ministry revolved around the sabbath. The sabbath refers to the Jewish practice of not working on the last day of the week. It is important enough that it is actually mentioned in the 10 Comman...

Dear Big Sandy Community: I do not typically feel the need to provide public clarification on personal matters; however, recent events have influenced me to do so. I devoted the past 10 years to Big Sandy Medical Center (BSMC) in more ways than is...

In 120 BC, Rabbi Joshua ben Perachiah said, “Judge each person with the scales weighted in their favor.” The phrase ought to sound familiar to the average person because it is striking in its similarity to the words of Jesus: “Do not judge, or...

Vikings-raids and War is a juvenile history book by Louise Spilsbury that I checked out from the library. I have always been fascinated by history, so I wanted to learn more about the Vikings. Who they are, and why they did what they did. The word...

Dear Big Sandy Neighbors, Friends, and Family: I am writing this letter to our community to say, “Thank you.” At the beginning of the summer, my family reached the 10-year mark of our tenure in the Big Sandy community. During my daily prayers, I...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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....

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...

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...

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...

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....

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...