The Blackfoot Valley's News Source Since 1980
The Blackfoot Valley's News Source Since 1980
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Q: No wonder Christmas is a more favored holiday than Easter. Christmas speaks of a new life [the infant Jesus] that brought joy. Easter brings thoughts of death [His gruesome death], yet there is the new life found in resurrection, which is curious. What does the Bible verse mean when it says that death is swallowed up in victory? - B.I. A: Think about the holes children make when they dig in the sand on the seashore. When the waves come in, the holes are swallowed up by the...
On the choppy waters of the Bay of Bengal, somewhere between Rangoon and the northeast coast of India, a ship packed with migrant workers returns to Andhra Pradesh. One of the workers stares out at the waves and has a dream about the 2-year-old son he hasn’t seen since birth. The dream is filled with colors—and promise. When he returns to his village, the man requests a meeting with the elders. Although he is low in the caste system, the father declares his son to be the chosen one of the village. After much time in the sma...
In the pantheon of political attacks on sitting legislators, probably none is more damaging than the charge that they've lost touch with the people back home. If they're in Congress, it's usually couched as having caught "Potomac Fever"; in a state legislature, that they don't care about the views of the people who put them in office. The ranks of ex-legislators are filled with people who faced this. Even Abe Lincoln, who served a single term in Congress, was accused as a fres...
Q: I read a lot about blending various faiths from around the world and many support a one-world religion. Years ago, this was frightening to some, but now people from all faiths are coming on board as "people of faith." We're told that we should concentrate only on the common ground of our beliefs, which is to be the best we can, do the best we can, and love others. The world says this is what can bring humanity together. Is there room in Christianity for this kind of...
Is it just me, or has the world - and by world I mean everything - seemed really heavy? I'm not just talking about lately, I'm talking about in general for the last several years? I think I've noticed it before, but it's really hitting home for me even more lately. There always seems to be some sort of controversy, some tragedy or some new threat being thrown at us. When I visit with close friends and family, it continually feels like there is more illness, death and...
Q: It's surprising to see young people fighting for social action and at the same time completely steeped in the pursuit of self-pleasure. It doesn't seem that these two lifestyles can work together. – S.A. A: Human nature seeks to please itself. When something brings pleasure, we are inclined to call evil good, even if we know that down deep it is dead wrong. To make ourselves feel better when things go wrong, we blame others. Evil cleverly disguises itself as good, and human...
Q: My teenagers think their mother is quite old-fashioned because of my warnings about pornography. The culture has done a very bad thing by teaching young people that there is nothing wrong with obsessing about sensual images, cleverly changing the meaning of words to take the sting away. - P.P. A: Pornography is both a symptom and a cause of the widespread immorality and corruption of modern society. It reaches people of all age levels through a multibillion-dollar industry...
In 1841, a physically imposing, twenty-three year-old Frederick Douglass leaned against the rail of a ferry headed for Nantucket. He contemplated the wake widening out behind him and second-guessed his decision to travel after three years of trying to remain inconspicuous as a runaway. But he had been invited by a group of abolitionists to attend a rally on Nantucket Island. The Fugitive Slave Act was still in force and Frederick risked being captured and a sure return to...
Q: I've had a lot of sorrow in my life and it seems my friends are weary of my troubles. I suppose others have problems equal to mine but for me it can't get worse. My family tells me that I shouldn't share my troubles because it drives people away. How does one go about as though nothing is wrong? Isn't that dishonest? - N.F. A: There are anguishing scenarios of human suffering. All one has to do to hear the cries of the hurting is to listen to the news for just a few...
Brad's idea of a good time is to swim across the lake at the base of the Grand Tetons, then hike to the top peak and back again on the same day. Sometimes his wife Sheila will join him for the hike portion. He's also summited with his two daughters, ages 19 and 15. They climb frozen waterfalls in the winter and ski the backcountry. In the summer they do 100-mile bike races together and afterward hold family pull-up contests on an abandoned trellis 30 feet above a sandy river....
This week I'll be traveling, and for the first time in a very long time (three years to be exact), I'll be "heading home." I'm excited for the trip and the opportunity to spend some quality time with my mom, and in the sunshine. She says it's been cool there but let's be honest, her cool is Lincoln's spring, heading towards summer. I was going to bring my swimsuit, but instead she said I should bring a sweater. I'll bring both, just in case... This trip will take me back to...
One of the most often used behavioral descriptors today is Attention Deficit Disorder, which basically means unable to sit still or focus for longer than a few minutes. All parents know that ADD worsens when chores or homework are involved. And if we're honest with ourselves we all suffer from Attention Deficit if the task at hand is something we are not interested in, like say counting the stars in the universe. Most of us would drift off into somnambulism in less than a few...
Well, we’re a week into 2023. I’m happy to report I haven’t broken any New Year’s resolutions, but that’s mostly because I didn’t make any this year. Instead, I opted to follow the quote I found on Facebook from Victoria Erickson, author of Rhythms & Roads. It reads: “Just a reminder that you don’t have to make resolutions. Or huge decisions. Or big proclamations. You can just set some sweet intentions and take each day as it comes.” I like this approach to the new year much...
Q: How troubling to hear talking points about social justice standards defined by identity, diversity, and social action. This is causing confusion in areas of education, public service, and even in churches, saying that all people are basically good and deserve to live as they like regardless if it hurts anyone else; and that preaching against sin is robbing people of their individual rights to live free from any imposed standard. Is there an answer? - T.S. A: Many people who...
In May 1869, John Wesley Powell, a former Union Army major who had lost most of his right arm in the Battle of Shiloh, led 10 explorers in launching four heavy wooden boats loaded to the gunwales with 10 months of supplies. Three of the boats were made of oak, more suitable for cruising lakes than busting through rapids. None of the men were experienced boatmen. The one-armed captain of the crew had maps with gaps in them. Still, it was the grandest expedition since Lewis and...
It’s been almost a month since I’ve written a column. I’ve had a lot come at me in these last few weeks. Some good, some bad, a lot scary, some that’s tested me and I know there is more coming with the new year. Some of the things over the last couple of weeks have made me realize there are things we need to be strong and do on our own, and then there are the things that, if we’re lucky, we can rely on the strength of others to help us through. Sometimes that strength...
Q: I hear more news commentators proclaim that the world's in a real mess with no answers on the horizon, completely dismissing that Jesus is the answer. Yet much of the world still celebrates the birth of Jesus while denying who He really is. - C.C. A: The human race continues to rush from crisis to crisis as war clouds hover. One editorial asked, ""What shall we do to be saved?" -- almost the very question the jailer at Philippi asked the Apostle Paul. Sir James Orr, one of...
There are jokes about it everywhere. There are memes on social media, conversations at the bars, and everywhere in-between. Wonder what I'm talking about this time? Well, it's decorating for Christmas too early and the timelines we "should" be following when it comes to this sort of thing....thing. There seem to be very strong opinions one way or the other. There are those decorators who love this time of year and can't wait for the Christmas lights, trees, and hoopla. Then,...
It's October, almost November, and what that means for most of the country is fall, autumn. Pretty leaves changing colors and a briskness in the air. For those of us in Lincoln, Montana, and surrounding areas, what it really means is that Old Man Winter is knocking at our door. We were all reminded of it last week when we had our first "official" snowfall of the season. I happened to be traveling for my annual North Carolina trip and teaching at the Southeastern Animal Fiber...
Q: I believe that if all of our politicians could get on the same page we could reach world peace. With the scientific advances and expanded knowledge that have been made in the last 100 years, why is this so hard? It's frightening to stand by and watch our nation die. - W.A. A: Our hope is not in a political party. It's not in social improvement, for we have some of the greatest social institutions in the world, yet the world becomes more lawless. Education is not the answer...
As I’ve been talking and reconnecting with people these past two weeks, there seems to be a common theme among the conversations. Things are changing. Well, of course things are changing. It’s the way life works, and everything is always changing. But what I find interesting about this change that’s been coming up in conversation is that we’re bouncing back. We’re coming back to things we knew. We’re choosing differently and many are starting to come together, rather than...
Q: Will a person who dies ever live again? - L.D. A: When we've been to a funeral, for a few moments we're solemn and thoughtful. Perhaps we ask, "Is this the end?" Someday we'll be taken out to the cemetery, and someone will say a few words over us. No matter how final it seems, we're prone to ask, "If a man dies, shall he live again?" The answer from the Bible is a resounding yes. The cross and the resurrection of Christ offers everyone eternal life with Him. This brings us...
We all have this notion that things are black and white, right or wrong, or ‘my way is better and your way can’t possibly be right.’ But, what if I told you just because your way works, doesn’t make it, or you, right or wrong? Simply put, it’s what has and does work for you. People have ways of cooking, parenting, cleaning house and even stacking wood. Everyone believes their way is right, the be-all-end-all. And it might be - for them. But not everyone’s way is the right w...
Q: My dear mother is lamenting her life away as she battles with two of her three children about the importance of choosing the right mate for life. She pleads with them the importance of establishing homes that will be centered on the Lord. My brother and sister think her views are too old-fashioned. How can something this important become "out-of-date"? - M.O. A: The home is the foundation of any society. But something is wrong with many of our homes. We've never had more...
Q: What does the Christian message mean to say that there is a cost to following Jesus? Didn't Jesus pay the price? - C.F. A: God has paid the greatest debt we will ever incur, and once we understand the incredible sacrifice He has made for us, we will be compelled to turn to Him in obedience and love. Many people want the benefits of their faith, but they hesitate at the cost of discipleship. To be a disciple of Jesus means to learn from Him, to follow Him. The cost may be...
