Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
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While traveling back from Albuquerque recently and knowing we’d get home in time for supper for a change, I asked the family whether we should stop along the way or pick something up for supper in Tucumcari. The teenage grandson immediately said he was hungry, which is his typical response, even shortly after lunch. So, we opened the package of beef jerky we keep in the car for such purposes. After finishing the package, I noticed my wife reading the label and asked, “What does it say, ‘Best if used by yesterday’?” After a momentary pause, sh...
Question: Why did the cat change its mind about crossing the road? I actually saw that happen while driving down Tucumcari’s Lake Street recently. My first thought was the cat had tried crossing unsuccessfully eight times before and decided not to take any more chances when a car was approaching. In this case, the cat had plenty of time before I’d get to the crossing point. Still, perhaps the cat realized it had only one life left to live. That’s all any of us have, for there’s a (singular) time to be born and a (singular) time to die after whi...
Most have likely heard the phrase, “In like a lion, out like a lamb; in like a lamb, out like a lion,” regarding March weather. There’s much discussion about meanings, with some relating lion weather to harshness because lions are fierce, while others relate it more to the lion’s coat as giving a sunny or warm feeling. For the lamb, the harsh weather is related to the whiteness of snow indicated by the lamb’s wool, while the fair weather is related to the gentleness generally attributed to a lamblike disposition. Generally, the concept i...
Probably every child heard their parents say something like, “If I told you once, I’ve told you a thousand times!” — usually because the child keeps repeating the same mistakes or outright acts of disobedience. As I heard John 1:1-3 read at church recently, I realized the Bible has a lot of repetitions. John 1:1-3 includes two repetitive concepts: 1) The Word (Jesus) was in the beginning with God, and 2) Everything was made through him and without him, nothing was made. Since all Scripture is God-breathed, originating from the Word himself...
During my junior high school years, we lived in south-central Kentucky about 15 miles south of the Dogpatch Trading Post, a tourist trap based upon the “Li’l Abner” newspaper cartoon series. The cartoon included a character named Sadie Hawkins, the homeliest girl on earth for whom Sadie Hawkins Day is named. To get her a husband, Sadie’s father initiated a race in which bachelors got a head start on being chased by spinsters. Like running from a lion, you needn’t be the fastest, but you wanted to be faster than spinsters in pursuit. Originall...
Today is Valentine’s Day, but I have a question for you that’s not “Will you be my valentine?” Rather, it’s “What do Valentine’s Day, Cupid and the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre have in common?” The answer is love, even for the massacre. The massacre was based in the love of money, leading to all kinds of evil that pierces with many griefs (1 Timothy 6:9-10; Ecclesiastes 5:10). It took place during Prohibition when, to satisfy love of money, many took advantage of people’s inappropriate love for alcohol. Those slain that day were riddled with b...
My wife related a recent incident to me involving her and our youngest grandson. She reviewed and approved of this article. Several of the grandchildren were outside in two separate areas of our yard, and some were oblivious to the situation. One of the older ones was playing with a toy she wouldn’t let the youngest grandson play with. So, when he came inside complaining, my wife came up with the wise idea of telling him to get a cheese stick and ask his cousin if she wanted to go inside and get one. After thinking for a moment, his c...
While reading through the Bible last year, I came across an “I am” statement by Jesus I hadn’t previously recognized as being one of his well-known statements (John 6:35; 8:12; 10:7-14; 11:25; 14:6; 15:1-5). But it struck me as one of the best “I am” statements, encompassing all those and more. I searched for “I am in the Bible,” finding a website (bible.knowing-jesus.com/topics/I-Am-The-Lord) listing 62 Old Testament occurrences of “I am the Lord.” Space prevents me from listing all those or their references, but you can check the website for...
Well, another new year has begun! It seems the years are flying by and, now, even generations, because I can recall my childhood and also have over 10 grandchildren. I remember during high school that teachers having their first child looked old, but now, even some teachers whose children are grown look like kids to me. A generation is considered to be 20-30 years, the average time from birth to child-bearing. But that doesn’t fit Bible times because Abraham was 100 years when Isaac was born, and Isaac was 60 when Esau and Jacob were born (...
My little sister, Margaret Grace, succumbed to COVID on Dec. 22, 2020, while in a nursing home in Hazard, Kentucky, near where we spent most of my childhood and she spent nearly all her life. While I knew her first name came from a longtime family friend, I never knew where she got her middle name. My father’s sister passed away right before Thanksgiving. I don’t recall ever meeting her because she and my father were estranged over her husband, which is really sad, but I learned her middle name was “Grace” when I read her obituary. So, I email...
’Tis the season to be joyful! Having just celebrated Thanksgiving, we’re now reminded we should be most thankful and joyful because of the good news of great joy that the Savior had been born (Luke 2:8-14). Jesus, the Savior, was/is the greatest gift to humankind for all eternity (James 1:16-17; Romans 3:23; 6:23; John 3:16-17). Because the Christmas season is the giving season, pleas to help the needy have increased. Also for about 10 years, we’ve had Giving Tuesday that comes right after Thanksgiving and soon enough before Christmas to not in...
America celebrates Thanksgiving this week, but things have seemed pretty bleak for some time with all the evil that’s happening in our nation and around the world. While evil will increase over time, there’s still hope that life will get better (2 Timothy 3:12-13; Matthew 24:4-13, 21-22). But this article isn’t about the present evils. It’s about our blessings and how we should still be thankful despite all that’s going on around us and that we shouldn’t let ourselves get so distracted by evil that we forget about God because he’s our on...
Well, over the past two weeks, we’ve had Halloween’s spookiness, the idiocy of falling back to end daylight savings time and local elections. While, as I write this, the outcome of the election is unknown, our state and national elections are becoming scarier all the time and our country seems to be falling apart at the seams. Halloween isn’t so bad, and our local elections give us the opportunity to personally represent ourselves regarding taxation for local improvements. Falling back to standard time, on the other hand, mainly just throws our...
Many people have put up decorations, told creepy stories, watched spooky movies and selected costumes during this Halloween season. Although not particularly Halloween-related, while going to church recently, one of our 3-year-old granddaughters sang the “Itsy, Bitsy Spider” nursery rhyme song. You’ve probably heard it, “The itsy bitsy spider crawled up the water spout. Down came the rain, and washed the spider out. Out came the sun, and dried up all the rain, and the itsy bitsy spider went up the spout again.” Often, children repeat songs ove...
Besides specific holidays, October is designated as the month of remembrance for many things. Likely, we all have special memories in October; some glad, some sad. For me, the month includes several special events – starting my first job after college, quitting smoking before my first child’s birth, my first date with Lisa, going to the Balloon Fiesta, and the births of Lisa’s mother and daughter (on the same day of the month) and my first granddaughter. Some memories should be kept; others are best forgotten. For example, because love keeps...
My wife approves my church attire. Recently, having picked out everything but a shirt, I asked what shirt to wear, to which she replied, “Cream.” As we loaded to go to church, she said my shirt was white instead of cream. I held something white against it and it certainly looked white. Shortly after we turned east into the sun, I noticed that the shirt was clearly cream-colored. So, I exclaimed, “Hey, when light is shed on any subject, the truth comes out!” Light is critical for many things. Light was the second act of creation after the ear...
This past Monday was Patriot Day. Like Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, Sept. 11, 2001, is a day to remember attacks on U.S. soil that led to a massive loss of American lives (2,403 at Pearl Harbor and 2,977 on 9/11) and got us into a war. Unlike World War II, after which we made real peace with our attackers, we never should consider peace with terrorists such as those behind the 9/11 attack. Rather, we must protect ourselves even to the point of personal inconvenience for the good of all and always be on the alert for more attacks. Terrorism is...
This year’s flying by, with Labor Day being next Monday. While shopping recently, I saw the store I was in already had Halloween candy for sale, which made me wonder when the Christmas candy and ads would be out. Then, I thought again about Labor Day and wondered if Santa Claus and Labor Day had anything in common. We usually only hear about Santa doing anything, like work, when he delivers presents overnight before Christmas morning. Completely encompassing the globe north, south, east and west is a pretty big job. So, he and his reindeer prob...
While traveling back from Albuquerque recently, our grandson reached into the backseat for something. Upon turning back forward, he bumped his covered insulated drink container. Because the container didn’t fit the cup holder snuggly, it made a loud clank and some drink spewed out through the straw at which time the automatic windshield wiper came on as if it were sprinkling outside. While that seems eerie, it’s likely when clank startled me, I bumped the turn signal indicator, which has the wiper control mounted on its end. I’d call that a col...
As with my last Quay County Sun column on July 19, this article is based on readings with complementary themes from books used for my daily devotion. One article was titled “The Holy Spirit: The Power of the Highest,” from “365 Ways to Know God” (Elmer Towns, Regal Books, 2004), and the other was from “The Best of the Bible” (Tyndale House Publishers, 1996) titled “Daily Life in the Early Church.” I’ve added some of my thoughts. The Towns article, based on Luke 1:35, emphasized that God is the highest authority/power. However, Jesus and the Hol...
For my daily devotional, I read through the Bible every other year using some reading plan and in the intervening years, I combine various devotional books to fit the same time allocated daily for my devotions. Occasionally, readings on the same day click, working together to make an excellent combined message. Last year, I used “Daily Discipleship” (Leroy Eims, NavPress, 1998) and “Devotional Talks for People Who Do God’s Business” (Warren W. and David W. Wiersbe, Baker House Books, 1986).” On one occasion, the devotion from “Daily Disc...
Happy day after Independence Day! With the de-emphasizing of the facts of our American history and heritage these days and that our nation’s greatest holiday falls during summer when most schools are closed, I wonder how many young people actually know why we celebrate with fireworks and why July 4 is a holiday (we should never have started calling it by the date instead of “Independence Day,” which states its purpose)? It’s sad but true that those who don’t learn from their history (or, worse yet, don’t even know it) are doomed to repeat it....
It’s June 21, the longest day of the year, although God made one or two days longer (Joshua 10:12-14; 2 Kings 20:1-11; Isaiah 38:1-8). In both cases, God looked to his people’s best interests and, in Joshua’s case, he increased torment for his people’s enemies. I’d bet the Israelites thought, “When will this day ever end!” after the all-night march and despite the fact they, or actually God, was winning, although I suspect God gave them sufficient energy to finish the battle. God’s battle for Israel against evil was part of a war started in...
First, my wife approved of this article. We attend church in Logan, and typical of many happy couples, I drive while my wife applies her makeup. Probably everyone traveling regularly between Tucumcari and Logan on U.S. 54 knows about the perpetual bumpy spot. I learned early in our marriage that to have fewer hiccups in the harmony, it’s my job to warn my wife about upcoming bumps so whatever makeup she’s applying goes where she wants it. The eyeliner pencil poke in her eye was more traumatic for me than her. Hence, when I noticed there’s a sin...
Monday is Memorial Day, when we remember those who’ve gone on leaving precious memories. We erect tombstones and statues to remember the great people in our lives and history, and since there’s little, if any new knowledge about history, we should respect history for what it is, learn from it and thereby move on to a brighter future. God is big on memorials for us to remember the good and the bad, and that bad can and will be overcome, so those who turn to the good will have the brightest of futures (Jeremiah 29:13-14, I love this passage as...
