The purpose of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving is deeper intimacy with God.
Wednesday, February 22, 2023
Tuesday, February 21, 2023
The Catholic Cowboy Way
Back in the fall of 2021 I received a call from Bear Woznick asking if I ever thought of writing a book. I told him, "I don't think I have enough grey in my mustache to write a book." He said, "I'm putting you in touch with my publisher, Sophia." It caused me to think, "What would I write a book about?" So I just shot from the hip and said, "The Catholic Cowboy Way."
Not long after that I received an email from Charlie McKinney, the president of Sophia Institute Press stating that if I felt called to write a book to let him know. So I shot him my basic theme, which he was interested in. That night I woke up with the entire outline. I reached over and grabbed my phone and wrote it down. I never veered from it.
So with my trusty 2013 MacBook Pro, I set out. I do like to write, but I have never tackled a project of this magnitude. I figured if I wanted to write about a 150 page book in 12 chapters I'd have to be about 3,000 words a chapter. 90% of this book was written in front of the Blessed Sacrament. My prayer before writing was always: "Lord help me to write from my heart, to touch men's hearts, to draw them closer to Your Heart."
I learned so much from this journey. First, you have to be careful not to exhaust a topic too soon; detail is necessary if you want to get to 3,000 words. Also, what a gift digital technology is. I could only imagine how hard it would be to do this by hand, making corrections as you went. I was able to go back and fine tune sentences and change words with no effort. Third, putting your thoughts into concrete sentences is a good exercise. Even if this book never got published it would have been a great gift.
It took about 9 months of 20 to 30 minutes a day, four or five days a week to write. I just went to bed a half hour early and got up a half hour sooner. I'd write about three paragraphs and then chew on it the rest of the day. Once the manuscript was complete, I had my buddy William do some general proof reading. Then we sent it to the publisher.
Editing was the greatest chore. I told Sophia, "I wrote a book for guys that don't read books.” They were good to work with. It was interesting to get pushed on theological points. There was a temptation to back down and just delete the point. But I found myself cowboying up and making the point even stronger. The only other rub we had is with my cowboy lingo. In the end, we were able to come up with a fine product.
Chief and I received our first shipment of books in late January 2023. It was fun to read through. We chose the subtitle: "Finding Peace and Purpose on the Bronc called Life." During a recent radio interview I was asked what the philosophy of the Catholic Cowboy was? To which I responded, "To have fun and get the job done." The Catholic Cowboy Way is to help cowboys practice the Catholic Faith and to help Catholics discover their inner cowboy.
Probably my favorite part is the dedication.
February 21st was the official release date. So in good Catholic Cowboy fashion we threw a party. After the 9:00 morning Mass we had a little book signing reception. A good 80 people or so showed up to show their support.
The ladies of the Church provided some delicious cookies and coffee.
Then we got busy signing. We sold probably 150 books today. And I received a compliment from two people that I have never heard before: "You have beautiful penmanship."
Giddy up!
I may have had funner projects in my life, but I couldn't tell you what they were. I like to write. And when it's about my two favorite things in life, God and ranching, all the better. But what I figured out is that I love meaning. And words contain meaning. My hope for this book is that it inspires people to boldly follow Christ. Jesus shows us how to be joyful. He shows us how to live life and complete our mission. And ultimately, He leads us home to Heaven. All for the greater glory of God!
If you'd like to order the book go to:
https://sophiainstitute.com/product/catholic-cowboy-way/
Monday, February 20, 2023
Sunday, February 19, 2023
Thursday, February 16, 2023
Wednesday, February 15, 2023
Monday, February 13, 2023
Sunday, February 12, 2023
Hog Leg
Nothing says America like shooting guns and watching the Super Bowl. A nice sunny afternoon was the perfect time to try out my newly borrowed six shooter.
I didn't know I needed a .45 long colt until I was running around with my brother Matt. I've always liked this hog leg of his so I asked if I could bring it home for awhile. Like a good big brother, he agreed.
So I called my buddy Ryan up and we took a little time to plink around. She sure does shoot nice.
We pulled out his AR-556 while we were at it.
The ole Silver Bullet didn't stand a chance.
Guns are fun. I know they get a bad rap from a lot of people, but it's hard to imagine life out west without one or two. Part of survival. American freedom comes with responsibility. We use the gifts God has given us to support human flourishing and the common good of all. In this neck of the woods, guns are an essential part of that equation.
Saturday, February 11, 2023
Shearing Sheep
Ranching sheep runs deep within the Neiber decedents. Mom and Dad's place is on part of my great-great grandfather Neiber's homestead. Uncle Chris is on another part of it. While we went more cowboy, they stuck with the sheep. Today was sheep shearing day on the Schmeltzer Ranch.
The ole Reverse C bar C
Uncle Chris is no stranger to shearing sheep.
This sheep wagon was Grandpa Murdoch's, Uncle Chris's grandfather and my great grandfather. He married Adeline Neiber after homesteading up the Owl Creek. Among other pastures around the area, he continued to run sheep out at Neiber.
Shearers are not easy to come by these days. Michael came down from the Belfry MT area.
Not much has changed in the sheep shearing business.
It's all about technique. If you put yourself in a good posture, you can run though a decent amount of sheep without much back trouble.
Some guys will use suspension belts, especially when tackling a couple thousand head.
Once the wool is sheared, it's collected and bagged. Stuffing measures have changed over the years.
Back in the day, they'd throw a bundle of wool up to a platform.
Where Grandpa would stand inside a bag and stuff it.
Hard to beat today's hydraulics though.
All cleaned up and ready for lambing in a month or so.
Sheep are cool, but they are a different ballgame to run. If you're not set up for them, they'll be a pain in the rear. However, if your ranch is ready like Uncle Chris's, shearing sheep is just another day in the office. Nice work partner. Thanks for supplying the world with Wyoming wool.
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