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For the last few years, I have found myself in a loop of grayness, same after same after same. I could blame it on COVID, but honestly, it started before that. But it's Easter, a great time to reflect on rebirth, new beginnings, or a fresh breeze. I've wanted to experience God again, to feel his presence. Don't get me wrong. The fact that I lived a gray life wasn't because of my pastor or my church. It was because I wasn't looking for the miracles God gives daily. I wasn't celebrating the miraculous. I didn't laugh enough, sing enough, or...
Over the weekend, my wife and I went to Great Falls to run errands. While we were there, we stopped at Goodwill to look for a few odds and ends. Before we stepped out my wife started looking through the books. She came across 4 volumes of “The Great Books of the Western World.” The Great Books is a little like an encyclopedia, only it includes all of the major books of literature, history, philosophy, and science produced by the western world. What makes the set especially useful is the index books that identify important ideas at dif...
Recently, the testing scores for Intelligence Quotient (more commonly known as IQ) have been observed to be in decline. Specifically, scores related to abilities in verbal reasoning (logic, vocabulary), visual problem solving/analogies, computation/mathematics, and spatial reasoning have gone down. For context, scientists have observed the opposite trend for nearly a century. It’s called the Flynn Effect, and it involves various factors influencing the rise of IQ points. Better nutrition, increased availability of education, children being r...
During the first few centuries that the church existed, it face a handful of internal struggles on top of persecution from the Roman Empire and hostile neighbors. Most of the struggle, both internally and externally, came about because the gospel was intellectually/culturally unacceptable throughout the ancient world. One of the first internal struggles the church faced was a movement called “Gnosticism.” Gnosticism was an attempt to take Christianity and mix it with Roman mystery religions. These mystery religions were very popular thr...
An ad in the paper got me thinking about what a great school board member would look like. Someone whose goal is to serve the children of the community by working with others to provide the best learning experience for each and every one of them? Or someone more interested in a broader political agenda? Someone who is capable of explaining their position on an issue in a rational way and listening to other points of view? Or someone who can only screech"woke" and start a fight when encountering a person with an opinion different from their...
One of the neat features of Facebook that turns up in my timeline every day is the flashback from the same day in past years. Last week, an 11 year old picture popped up. It was my wife in a borrowed coat, holding our 1 year old daughter, in a corral. It was early March, much colder than we expected, and we were at the Bitz’s home. The picture was taken when we came to Big Sandy to interview for the pastor job. My wife and I had looked at a handful of churches, but we fell in love with the people at Big Sandy Church of God. We also loved the t...
Your time is like water. Water naturally flows from higher places to lower ones. In the same way, everyone has both strengths (higher places) and weaknesses (lower places). We tend to spend less time in our areas of natural talent and more in areas where we struggle. I came across this strange law of time management recently in a lecture from a gifted preacher. He explained that public speaking has always been easy for him due to an abundance of natural talent. He didn’t have to try hard, train, or prep to preach above-average sermons. So, h...
The 18th century Danish Philosopher Søren Kierkegaard once wrote a story about a circus performance. With a large crowd out front, the performers were preparing to a start the show, when suddenly a fire broke out backstage. Knowing that the huge crowd was in great danger, one of the circus clowns ran out on stage to warn the audience. However, the crowd saw the clown and assumed it was a gag. They laughed and applauded. Frustrated, the clown repeated his warning louder and more frantic. The crowd laughed and applauded even more at the joke....
While doing sermon prep this week, I came across an obscure quote from a book from the period between the end of the Old Testament and the birth of Jesus. The book of Sirach was written by a Jew who was watching his country struggle to remain distinctly Jewish while most of the world was adopting Greek philosophy and culture. The author was encouraging Jews to return to their culture and intellectual roots. The quote is simple: “The scribe’s wisdom increases wisdom; whoever is free from toil can become wise. How can one become learned who gui...
Dear Big Sandy Community, I want to take this opportunity to first thank this community for welcoming me in with open arms. Over the past year and four months, I have drove back and forth from Fort Benton to work as your Patient Account Representative at Big Sandy Medical Center (BSMC) and Athletic Trainer for Big Sandy High School during the state championship season of the Pioneers. I thoroughly enjoyed meeting and working with all of you. I especially enjoyed the opportunity building relationships with the residents of BSMC Long Term Care...
Coach Bob Wooden led the UCLA basketball program to 10 national championships in 12 years. His success as a college basketball coach is legendary. The philosophy that he implemented in his record breaking tenure at UCLA has come to be known as the Golden Pyramid. Because I am not a basketball fan, I learned about the coach from a TV show recently. I picked up his book, explaining the principles behind the Golden Pyramid. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that it is actually a collection of Bible studies explaining the various character qua...
I’m sure everyone remembers parents and grandparents talking about " making do." I have used that expression also. Out of any beef, you might turn to using cans of tuna in a recipe. Sometimes that making do is due to not wanting to make another trip to the store, but it can also be because you can’t afford the beef right now. My mother made a great casserole with cans of mixed vegetables and a biscuit topping. I liked it as a child and didn’t realize she was " making do" till she could afford meat. My maternal grandmother was a wizard stretchin...
1. Detox yourself from social media. Are there benefits to social media? Absolutely! You can share information about your job and get your information out there to the world. You can discuss game times with your school, teachers, and coaches. You can share pictures of your loved ones with other family members who live far away—all great things mentioned above. But let’s talk about the realistic part of social media…it can be addicting. You also may become someone you’re not, hiding behind a screen. Do you let it bother you when someone says or...
Lately, I have been having an overwhelming feeling (in a good way) to praise God. I want you to feel this feeling of joy and peace too! So keep reading! So let's talk about what people do for a "new year." We talk about getting in shape, losing weight, and eating healthy. We make goals to spend less time on our electronic devices. We make goals to spend more time with our spouses or children. We try to reconnect with someone. What about our relationship with God? Do we tend to seek Him only when we feel down or need help or when we need Him to...
It all started with Mary. Since then, the expectation has been that women do everything central to Xmas. The men may bring gifts, I say may, but that’s pretty much it. Oh yes, I hear a man yelling as he sets up the Xmas tree. Well, sometimes you don’t. I know. My experience and a lifetime of hearing other women, older and younger, tell me the Xmas story. The Xmas story is carried on from woman to woman. She is the one to send cards, bake numerous goodies, get in groceries to feed the hungry armies, decorate, buy and wrap gifts, and vol...
If you have watched any of the Hallmark Christmas movies, as I have, you will notice a pattern very quickly. The story begins with a problem, be it a person’s job, boyfriend/girlfriend/ lack of money, etc. The movie then slowly twists and turns until you get the perfect Christmas ending. Good people get rewards and live happily ever after, along with perfect Christmas decorations and gifts. I have read about why we watch. It awakens the hopeful child in all of us that wish for a happy ending in life. The story I am about to tell is like a H...
With the end of the year fast approaching, there is still time to make those tax-deductible donations. Donating to a worthy nonprofit organization or group is a great way to give back and support them for doing good work for our community. One local and worthy nonprofit organization is Big Sandy Medical Services Foundation. It was established in 1989 to foster better healthcare in the Big Sandy community and to support Big Sandy Medical Center. They sponsor scholarships to encourage and assist young people who are pursuing training in the...
I spent the majority of last week studying the history of Christmas and the Bible’s account of the angels announcing Jesus’ coming to Mary and Joseph. Every time I drill deep into the story of Mary and Joseph, I find myself taken aback by what was taking place. First, the story of Christmas itself is the story of God looking at us and realizing that we will never manage to climb the ladder of perfection that is required to reach Him. So, He chose to come down to us. Many people find Christianity difficult, because they assume that it req...
Many times over the last couple of decades, I have encountered a strange argument about Christian Christmas observances. The argument is that Christians adopted pagan customs for their own religious observations. One example that is frequently cited is the Christmas tree. Folks will say that Christmas trees were associated Druids or Egyptians or Roman cultic groups and that the church simply co-opted them. This morning, out of curiosity, I began researching the origin of the Christmas tree. I learned some surprising things. It is true that...
Last weekend my children and I were blessed with the opportunity to participate in the Big Sandy Community Theater play: “It’s a Madhouse.” One of the coolest moments for me took place when my daughter came out in her lawyer outfit for the first time. She looked so very mature and grown up. As a dad, it was a moment of mixed feelings. I am always so proud of her as she grows up, but also kind of sad that her childhood years are rushing past so quickly. Then on opening night, near the end of the show, my little girl and I were standing on stage...
You don’t know him. You don’t need to know him. His name is Dean Moen, my cousin. Dean was born with an intellectual disability, and when he was 15 years old, he was also in a car accident, which caused a brain stem bruise resulting in a coma for weeks. He was in the hospital for a month. He spent the rest of his life with both an intellectual and a physical disability. This summer I was at his graveside service in Glasgow. I couldn’t help thinking of my brother Jim, who we lost to cancer, and Dean. He left three sisters, and Jim left three sib...
Joking with a friend recently, I commented that the Montana state tree is, in fact, a fence post. Though the Ponderosa Pine is the actual state tree, the prairie boasts far more fence posts than trees any day. When I first came to the area, the thousands of miles of fencing often made me wonder about their purpose. I know fences are there to divide property and keep animals/people in or out. Still, there are many pieces of land surrounded by barbed wire that don’t seem to need it. Though it is not my place to do so, it would be easy to c...
I have never been able to catch the person who removes the snow in front of the Mountaineer until recently. I know several different individuals who do this service, and I've never been able to catch anyone. This time it was Raymond Courtnage. I asked if I could take his picture, and he said, "Sure, no one will know it's me anyway." Thank you, Raymond. I watched as the volunteer crew removed all the snow from the football field. I'm not sure I got everyone, and there is always the chance when...
Thanksgiving is a great time to thank friends. Real friends, not Facebook kind of friends. The type of friends that have lasted through trials, temptations, and disagreements. Nona Danreuther and I have been friends for more than 46 years. At first, we had a lot in common. Now we just know each other. She knows my shortcomings, my failures, how I think, and what I like. Mainly after so many years, I know I could call her anytime, and she would be there. And she tells me the truth, not some...
It is once again that time of year when we take time to be thankful for what we have. This year instead of having just one day, one week, where we have an "attitude of gratitude," we will be talking about what we can be thankful for in November. At Thanksgiving time, when we are asked and go around the table saying what we are thankful for, we will say the same things. We are grateful for our families and friends. We are thankful for our home. Some are even thankful for their jobs. My first...
