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My wife often teases me that I “collect hobbies.” It’s a weird side effect of having raging ADHD. I develop sudden interests in new topics, spend months obsessed with learning to do the new thing, then lose interest and move on to something else. In college, I taught myself to fix cars after buying a $250 Lincoln Continental that broke down more than it drove. After school, I spent a year learning to built computers. I have taught myself video editing, how to play ocarina, the history of classic...
The first pastor I worked for in my ministry career nearly 20 years ago told me a story about his office job before going to seminary. He was explaining to me that every day he would go out and buy lunch with his coworkers on his lunch break. He explained that it was usually a fun outing and a bit of a treat, easy, and not much of an expense. He kept up this habit through his first few years of employment until one day, while eating his lunch, he spent time calculating how much eating out was...
Shon Tester wrote this poem and read it at Homecoming. We repeat it here to acknowledge the importance of community. The Homecoming Committee is planning a final meeting to discuss the event and invite those who want to work towards the next Homecoming in five years. Because harvest is upon us it will take place after harvest is over. Stay tuned. 'purple haze.' By Shon Tester They dropped us off with love in their hearts, looked us in the eye and said this is where it all starts. With hope in...
I found the following definition for freedom. “Freedom, at its core, is the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrances. It often encompasses both individual liberty and collective rights, and can be understood as the absence of constraints or the ability to make choices without undue restrictions. Ultimately, freedom allows individuals to pursue their own paths, express their beliefs, and shape their destinies.” Our rights are found in the Bill of Rights. “These include freedom of religion, speech, press, assem...
One of the best gifts my father gave me as I was growing up was challenging my thinking about pretty much every topic. He made me explain my reasons and defend my ideas all the time. Sometimes it was frustrating, and I didn’t win all of the arguments, but I learned how to ask hard questions and evaluate my own ideas. A recurring piece of advice he gave me along the way was “never believe your own propaganda.” The idea was simple: every side presents their own position as stronger, better, might...
One of the things I love most about living in Big Sandy is that it is a community-focused town. I love that in this town, I feel welcomed and a part of the community. I could be walking downtown, and people always wave or say hi to me. As human beings, we are meant to be there for one another; communities are built on friendships and mutual respect. Kindness always goes a long way in a person’s day - you never know what someone is going through! Visiting the Big Sandy Library is a great way to connect with the community. The Big Sandy L...
In Men’s Bible Study today, the text we discussed was from Romans 8, where Paul talks about the hardships he faces in the work he is doing preaching the gospel all over the world. For context regarding the hardships he is referring to, he elsewhere lists some of those hardships: going without food, clothes, in danger from bandits and enemies, shipwrecked (spending a night and day on the open sea!), and more. On top of that, there were multiple whippings, beatings with rods, other instances of t...
I would like to acknowledge the Big Sandy Homecoming Committee for the enormous amount of work they have done to make this Homecoming theme of All Roads Lead Home a reality. The Homecoming Committee Members are: Kristen and Brandon Gasvoda, Michelle and Steve Bahnmiller, Brenda and Rick Darlington, and Heather and Scot Pleninger. I want to thank all eight of you for your efforts, but would also like to recognize Brenda Darlington procuring the funds, planting the flower pots for downtown, and for her commitment for watering the pots during the...
Physically besides water and air, humans also need food, shelter, and sleep to survive. These are considered basic needs; without them, survival is impossible.” I have realized that these five components of physical life are the same ones we need for a spiritual life. Therefore, these will be the subject for the following five weeks. In the beginning, after the Lord formed us from clay, he breathed life into us (Genesis 2:7). The Spirit of God gave us life from the beginning! Without him, we cannot breathe spiritually. “In scripture, the Hol...
I’ve been working in churches for over 25 years, and I’m quite certain that it is the most difficult Sunday of the year to preach. As a preacher, you spend between six and eight weeks building up to Good Friday and resurrection Sunday. They are the two events that define the faith, and I always spend a great deal of time digging into why they are such a big deal and how the entire Bible builds up to that handful of days. They are the fulfillment of God’s plan to overcome sin and death, reest...
My mind has been all over the place this week, and I couldn't see what my thoughts had to do with each other until I researched and found this quote from AI (Artificial Intelligence): "Besides water and air, humans also need food, shelter, and sleep to survive. These are considered basic needs; without them, survival is impossible." Finally, I realized that these five components of physical life are the same ones we need for a spiritual life. Therefore, these will be the subject for the...
Shiver Brains, a local children's music group, played in Havre Saturday night with members Henry and Dorothea Merrill, Levon Myers, Liam Simpson, and their mentor, Christ Myers. So yes, I love watching the kids play, but so much more ran through my mind. Saturday was special because every song played had to be ordinary songs written by the musicians themselves. Nathan, my son, has always loved music. On Saturday, he played a song he wrote, and for the first time, his son Henry played the drums...
Hello Pioneers! My name is Shon Tester and I’m one of the many leading you along the roads of our towns past, present, and future. There was an immense sense of pioneer pride when the homecoming committee asked me to be in charge of the homecoming program. It came with some laughter and of course, a cathartic bittersweet. I realize I now fill the shoes of the late Rusty Danreuther (1973), one of the great directors of our past homecoming programs. So the question that now begs to be asked: what type of program will Shon Tester (2004) do? W...
3 years ago, while attending a cousin’s wedding in Chicago, I broke my foot playing basketball with the guys in the wedding party. The doctor who treated me pointed to my two broken toes, said that was the problem, put a cast on me, and sent me on my way. 6 weeks later, the doctors at the military hospital in Northern Virginia took one look at the X-rays the Chicago doctor took and blew a gasket. After a series of meetings and a ton of additional X-rays, they let me know that the previous d...
Medicaid renewal: Thanks for vote to protect rural hospitals HB 245 was passed recently by the Montana Legislature. This important legislation preserves Montana’s Medicaid program and ensures continued access to vital healthcare for thousands of Montanans. I want to thank Sen. Josh Kassmier, Sen. Jonathan Windy Boy, Rep. Russ Miner, and Rep. Mike Fox for their support of HB 245. Not only does it help protect healthcare coverage for close to 80,000 low-income Montana adults, but it is also very important to protecting access to local h...
Black and White Psalm 139:23 says, “Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.24 See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” The Lord knows I struggle with negative people and people who judge other people, which simply means I’m guilty of both. In our times, people can say whatever they are thinking and criticize anyone who is different from them. They use offensive words that are meant to be! They want their words to be damaging. I struggle to love even my friends who write...
A man and a woman are walking down the street towards each other. When they get close to each other, both turn to walk into the same building. The man, realizing they share the same destination, runs ahead and holds the door for the woman. Somewhat offended by the gesture, she asks him: “Are you doing that because I am a woman?” Without missing a beat, he replies simply: “No. I am doing it because I am a gentleman.” The story is simple, but the point is important. The fellow did not choose...
Dear Editor, Some months ago, I had the honor of meeting Ruth Merrill at the Big Sandy Methodist Church. I had driven to Big Sandy from Havre, as I wanted to attend services where Marty Demarest was leading the service. I have since come back, numerous times to hear Marty’s services and visit with Ruth. She was such a delight, with her joyful smile, and beautiful fluffy white hair. It was overwhelming to see Ruth’s faith, strength, and energy when she spoke, or took part in several of the events of the services. One could definitely sense the...
My brother-in-law is a marine, and he served in Iraq and Afghanistan. He once told me that they would sometimes face an odd challenge when they would experience their first time in firefights. Some soldiers would collect their spent brass in the middle of combat. It seems weird, until you recognize that, in the intensity of those situations, fight-or-flight kicks in and folks replay what they did in training. This includes collecting their spent brass after they finished shooting. It’s a c...
I have been dealing with intense headaches for years and have experimented with all sorts of cures and solutions for dealing with the strange ailment. While Christmas shopping with my wife last December, she noticed that the florescent lights in stores like Sam’s Club or Walmart seem to trigger my headache symptoms. I researched the phenomena and found that it isn’t uncommon for light to cause headaches, particularly florescent lights. I quickly picked up various types of filtering glasses, inc...
This is a correction to the Letter to the Editor. Well, the talking heads on MSNBC and FOX have given me a few chuckles. The former says the Democrats have a mandate to change because they didn’t win the popular vote and the latter says the Republicans have an overwhelming mandate to-do whatever they want. The numbers don’t support either claim. The 2024 elections had almost 245 million eligible voters. Of these Harris got 30.46 %, Trump got 31.47%. There were nearly 4 million voters that didn’t vote for either of these candidates. Natio...
Over the weekend, I was talking with a friend of mine who has an upper management job in a large international organization. He was telling me about a documentary he watched on happiness that featured the story of a Vietnamese rickshaw cab operator. In the interviews, the man talked about his life and was surprisingly positive given the level of poverty he experienced. He spoke of how much he enjoyed his job because he got to work outside and be active. At the end of the day, he had enough...
A new congress assembled today (Jan 3, 2024) and it’s the first time since 2007 my schoolmate of yesteryear and dear friend of today won’t be there. It’s a new era. I’m referring, of course, to Big Sandy’s own Jon Tester, former teacher and school board member, former President of the Montana Senate, former senior US Montana Senator , and current farmer and neighbor to Big Sandy residents. He’s gone from Congress, and Montana lost a powerful ally and advocate; it’s the nature of our political system. Tenure brings with it more influence--po...
A 2019 study looking at the work habits of 1000 employees found that nearly half of all employees believe that they could perform better at work if they were not worried about making mistakes. The study found that employees were hampered as much as 40% of the time by fear of failure. As a pastor and counselor, I have spent no small amount of time talking through past mistakes with those who lament their errors in judgement, missteps, wrong moves, and outright mistakes. It seems like the easiest...
Well, the talking heads on MSNBC and FOX have given me a few chuckles. The former says the Democrats have a mandate to change because they didn’t win the popular vote and the latter says the Republicans have an overwhelming mandate to-do whatever they want. The numbers don’t support either claim. The 2024 elections had almost 245 million eligible voters. Of these Harris got 30.46 %, Trump got 31.47%. There were nearly 4 million voters that didn’t vote for either of these candidates. Nation wide 36% of eligible voters --- didn’t vote! Neither...