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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...
“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 mastered anything else they could access. I’ve spen...
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 sawdust in his vision pretty regularly. The cool thin...
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 to be liberated seeped into the popular...
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 be a class of neighbor when discussing the “Lo...
Targeted COVID Package Will Reopen Our Economy One year into this pandemic, Montanans are finally starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Our vaccines are safe and effective, COVID cases are falling thanks to the tireless efforts of our frontline health care workers, and Spring is on the horizon. But even with this good news, we still have work to do before we get through the worst public health and economic crisis in generations. Over the past year I’ve had hundreds of conversations with families, workers, doctors, educators, v...
I find it strange myself. So it's ok if you do too. Easter is only a few days away, and writing a movie review as a way to celebrate Easter just isn't done. I clearly know that Walt Disney movies are not spiritual truth personified, but this one, "Raya and The Last Dragon," speaks truth to me nonetheless. When is the right time to say hope is possible and trust, although it may be challenging to find, possible to practice. I have had too many discussions with community members in person and...
A few weeks ago, I made a peanut butter sandwich for my son for lunch. He took his sandwich with him to his room, where he ate and played. Because he’s a typical four year old, it didn’t take long before he forgot about the sandwich and wandered off to do something else. When he remembered his lunch, he returned to it and found that the dog had eaten his lunch, which he had left on the floor in his room. Frustrated, he came to me crying over his lost meal. I made another sandwich, which he took with him to his room. Sure enough, 30 minutes lat...
For me, the adventure began in the late 80s. My first memory of going to Andy’s Supper Club is with my grandpa and grandma Ron and Betty Bitz and my grandfather’s uncle, Reinholt, and his wife, Lucille Bitz. Reinholt was a hoot, and Lucille, “his girlfriend,” was always smiling. Golly, those old Bitz boys were fun to be around! Andy’s was so much fun. Its aquariums delighted the eyes, and as a child, my personal fishing goals became outrageous. It wasn’t unusual for a random child to slowly walk by your table, glossed over in amazement and curi...
I deal with a handful of hard deadlines every week. By Sunday morning, I have to have a sermon written. By Monday morning, I need to complete two articles and a column. Monday through Thursday I have to have the kids out of bed, dressed, fed, and out the door by 7:30 AM. There are a few others, but I suspect most people deal with similar hard deadlines and goals. The thing is that these deadlines don’t necessarily coincide with the larger objectives of my work and personal life. They are important, but I have to do lots of other things in o...
When the British first introduced the game of golf to India, after building their first golf course, they discovered a problem with the natural environment. The indigenous monkeys around the course were fascinated by the little white balls. They began to steal the balls, disrupting the games. The British tried all manner of methods to solve the problem of monkeys interfering with play. They built fences, but the monkeys simply climbed over them. They made loud noises, but they eventually learned to ignore them. Finally, after all else failed, t...
