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As a child, I lived near the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico at different ages. One of my favorite things to do at the beach was building sandcastles. On many occasions, I remember hurrying to finish our sand fortresses in the afternoon as the high tide moved closer and closer to its walls. With the high tide came the knowledge that the waves would threaten to tear down our hard work and leave the sand exactly the same as it was before we started building. We tried all sorts of strategies to defeat the dreaded tides, from digging deep...
Have you ever gone into a town and felt at home right away, even before you met a soul? More than that, have you felt captured and fascinated? It has happened to me twice, the second time I entered Sintaluta, Saskatchewan, for the first time. I had moved from Arizona to relocate near my children and was searching for a house. I happened to see an ad for a house in a town called Sintaluta. Even though I had visited its neighboring towns, I had never been in it. As I drove down the main street in search of my house, the magic hit me. How do you...
A few months ago, during our church’s family camp event at Beaver Creek State Park, I had the opportunity to spend a large amount of time studying and reading in preparation for my sermon. Because we were in the mountains, I had no access to email, social media, texts, calls, or anything else that might distract me. I spent 7 or 8 hours a day reading, thinking, writing, and reflecting. It was a unique experience for me, because I rarely have large chunks of time to spend working in a focused way without any huge distractions. This is e...
While researching the history of the home my family bought this summer, I came across a series of articles by Pastor John Bruington. Pastor John worked in Havre and wrote for our local paper for several years. One article in particular jumped out at me, and I’ve been considering it for weeks. I’d like to take a moment to share my thoughts. ‘The ‘Magnificent Failure’ was the title of his reflection, which detailed his career before moving to pastor a small town church. In the piece, he talks about his past struggle pastoring a larger church be...
Dear Big Sandy, I am encouraging everyone to get vaccinated. In reflecting on the past, it has been over 35 years since I came to Big Sandy and was given a chance as a young man to lead the saving and rebuilding of the Medical complex. But the credit goes to the community who came out and provide their time, leadership, funding and labor so that there would be health services in Big Sandy. I was absolutely amazed at the grassroots effort that went into the construction of the facility. I was told by an elder that “it has something to do with th...
“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 adopted the mistaken idea that being busy is a v...
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 moving. Within a short window of time, my peaceful h...
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 dealing with issues that matter in the long term....
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 Babylonian empire, which is far from their...
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 down the road. When the world outside finally set...
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 experience I have had in the last few months. On multiple occas...
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 them to be superior employees. I remember watching m...
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 and disobeying God for many years, now they are being...
“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 him speak these words, and they still give me chills....
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 pastor I ever worked for had a mix of strengths that I...
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 tendency that is growing more common with the increased...
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 turns out well for the young lady who hopes of reforming h...
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 cars, they never made one vehicle that wasn’t a...
(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 matter of washings and diets. (This is a really s...
