Fr. Stu

    In December of 2007 I went to my first ever priestly ordination at the Cathedral of St. Helena in Helena Montana. The two men getting ordained were Eric Gilbaugh and Stuart Long. I had never seen anything like this before. It was like a wedding, the most beautiful wedding I had ever seen. 

    Afterwards I hung around down stairs visiting with folks and wanting to get a priestly blessing. Fr. Stu's line was long and I was probably the last one in it. I told him that a month prior I heard God call me to the priesthood. He encouraged me and blessed me, and that fall I entered the seminary.

    In the years that followed, I like many folks would stop by Blue Sky Nursing Home and visit him. He always encouraged me to keep going. Though he suffered greatly, he remained joyful and super charitable to those who took care of him. I'll be honest, I don't remember a single piece of advice he gave me, but his example spoke volumes to my heart.

    In 2014, I was at the last Easter Vigil Mass he attended. There, I watched Fr. Stu, from his wheelchair, stand behind his Dad as he was received into the Catholic Church. Something inside me said that it was for this moment he had become a priest. At that Mass were workers from the nursing home who also joined the Church. That spring Stu died. 

    His funeral was beautiful and packed. Nothing too remarkable as I recall. Except on the ride to the cemetery, I remember his ordination comrade Fr. Eric saying, I'm not sure where he's at now, but wherever it is, that place is a lot more interesting.

    In 2018 I was ordained a priest at the Cathedral of St. Mary's in Cheyenne Wyoming. Attending that Mass were members of the Helena 4th degree Knights of Columbus council 844 who supported me while in seminary. There, they presented me with a chalice and paten in memory of Fr. Stuart Long.

    Fr. Stu's role in my life didn't seem too influential until I watched the movie Father Stu today. His faith had dirt on it. It was dyed in the blood of suffering. No doubt, his prayers and example helped me to the Altar. My hat goes off to Bishop George Leo Thomas, who took a chance and ordained him to the priesthood.

    I am forever grateful for Fr. Stu's continual encouragement in my priestly vocation. The way he lived his priesthood continues to be inspiring. It was raw and real, to say the least. With little doubt, the Church could use a few more faithful with the perseverance of Fr. Stuart Long. 

    

Final Countdown

Nothing happens outside God's will.

           https://youtu.be/HbyZ01Cpa9E         

I Wonder

How did Jesus feel?

           https://youtu.be/u_loi3SqLNA         

 

Intimacy

Our Lord want an intimate relationship with us all.

           https://youtu.be/tt3rUQ7IG6M         

Stand Back

Don't get sucked into the fear. Ride with faith. 

           https://youtu.be/VGVLrVvLFS4         

 

Pipeline

Moving the pivot was easy compared to plumbing it back in. Plan your work and work your plan, though. The wind has been crazy all week, but the Lord gave us one perfect day to get all the work we had to do done. Heck, it was even fun. 

Dad's place is like a mine field. You don't dare plant a potato without calling for a line locate. There was a 2" natural gas line in our way so they wanted to be on site when we crossed it. We ain't scared. 

I think the guy that buried the main line the first time thought we were going to be irrigating in the winter. 3' deep in a field is plenty partner. Once we found it then we could stick with it and find a good place for our new splice. 

I feel like I did most of the shoveling.  

John came over for the important work. We cut the old line and 45'd it to lead to the new pivot point. 

Looks good to me.

Dad brought out his cute dozer for the back filling. 

Alls well that ends well.

Once the power is hooked up and the field is plowed, we'll be ready to plant corn. This was a pretty big project for a few farm boys to tackle. We moved it in our minds first. Then the actual carrying out of the task was no problem. With God, all things are possible. 

So it Begins

With Ernie back in town we can finally get to some serious ranching. My old buddy went south for the winter and things got a bit boring. No better way to catchup than a trip to the sale barn in Buffalo. 

It's not often that a muleskinner and a cowboy get along, but we seem to manage.

The dinner alone was worth the trip.

Herefords! Oh man, I was nervous about bidding on the right thing, but when these two girls crossed the scale I knew it was meant to be. They came off the Sheeley Ranch outside of Ranchester WY. Weighing in at 950lbs they went for $20cwt cheaper than their black counterparts. I love them. Think I'll name them Marg and Jan after Mom and her sister. 

Welcome home girls.

Thanks grandpa for tagging along and manning the gate. It's no fun to ranch solo. How great to start off the year's herd with a couple of Hereford beauties. I smell a good summer on the horizon. 

Word

Whoever listens to my word is my disciple. The word is God's voice.

           https://youtu.be/Zo6p7EU2rWE         

 

Grumpy old Men

Bring everything to the light of truth.

           https://youtu.be/Yt0Nsla_sGA         

Live and Learn

Only back up as far as you need to.

           https://youtu.be/Adb0JgqT-v0         

Girl Power

With summer on it's way, the girls and I decided to build a picnic table to raffle off at this year's school fundraiser. Not sure who learned more, them or I. But we sure did have fun and we definitely got the job done.

This year's crew: Aryanah Miller, Fr. Bryce, Jada Cisneros, Elyse Neph, Alexa Miller, Avery McReynolds.

You have to start somewhere, and if you start square you'll end square. 

Progress is not hard to obtain when you get after it. 

Being an octagon, accurate angles are important. Avery kept us on target. 

We pointed to Jada with all our math questions. 

The first step of building the table top was a breeze.

The undercarriage, which is the most important part, took a bit more time and effort. 

Eventually a table began to emerge. Alexa and Aryanah put on some final touches. 

Elyse made sure we always cleaned up after ourselves. 

This year we chose boiled linseed oil for the top coat. Gives a nice finish and easy to reapply. 

No problem. 

Congratulations to Jada's parents Stacey & Richard Cisneros who were the top bidders. I hope it brings you as much joy as it did us. 

Begin with the end in mind is a good life lesson. Everyday before we began our work we prayed for the family who would receive this table. Such purpose and vision gives drive to our efforts. It also takes the labor out work. This project was a win-win on many levels. I learned a lot about teenage girls and hopefully they learned a bit about carpentry. We had fun and the school raised some money. But most importantly, a nice family got a nice table. 

Intercession

You can tell a tree by its fruit.

           https://youtu.be/-RzyvCNmQBc