Big Sky Writer

In a world flooded with half-truths and political spin, are we settling for what just sounds right instead of what is right?

This short reflection asks a pointed question: how many times do you need to be lied to before you stop trusting the source?

Featuring a sobering quote from George Whitefield and a look back at 2020’s “mostly peaceful protests,” this piece is a challenge to seek truth—not a version of it that’s convenient, but the real thing.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit clintmorey.substack.com

The young Vietnamese woman lay on the treatment table in our small clinic in DaNang. I studied her bleeding foot, surgical needle in hand, my heart pounding.

Just a few weeks earlier, I’d never even held such a needle.

Now I was going to be responsible for stitching up her wound.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit clintmorey.substack.com

Let’s admit it: we all follow rules.

It might be an organization we work for.

I remember when I was in the Army, they told me when I would get up, when I would take a shower, how I would make my bed, when I would eat, when I would go to bed, when I would get a haircut and how that haircut would look, just to name a few of the rules.

They had rules for just about everything, and those rules better be obeyed or else.

Now after I left the Army, that wasn’t the end of rules in my life.

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Since the politicians in the government today are working so very hard figuring out how to spend the money they take from us, I thought you might enjoy a little trip back in time.

Let’s go back about sixty years and see what another politician said about how the government deals with money.

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Calvin Coolidge, the 30th President of the United States, wrote a letter in 1917 that should resonate with us today.

“The foundations of our society and our government rest so much on the teachings of the Bible that it would be difficult to support them if faith in these teachings would cease to be practically universal in our country.”

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"Our world faces storms of wars, moral collapse, and looming threats—do we need a lifeboat to rescue us? Inspired by Dwight L. Moody's call to share Jesus with people."

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After the Marines left, we turned their base into our own, setting up an aid station to care for our soldiers. From organizing the pharmacy to handling a fainting soldier during a blood draw, to a long day of conducting malaria tests in the field, these anecdotes capture the humor, challenges, and lessons of military life.

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Click the player above to watch the video or read the transcript below.

Thank you, Mark. And thank you for dropping by to listen.

Time for another history lesson.

I have always been fascinated by how people developed things throughout history.

Think about it.

The very first people on earth had to eat. But there were no stores—no supermarkets, no Walmarts, no Costcos, no McDonalds or Burger Kings. And no DoorDash to bring the food right to their door.

Yet people still had to eat.

They had to look around the world they lived in and try to figure out how they would survive.

Check out the image of the field of wheat below.

If you saw that field of wheat and you were really hungry, you might grab a stalk, pull it out of the ground and start gnawing on it.

If you did that, I don’t think you would enjoy what you were eating.

But I guess if you were desperately hungry, you might grab anything that growing out of the ground and eat it, hoping that you would satisfy your hunger without making you sick.

Historically, what fascinates me is that people figured out that the field of wheat in front of them was food.

Good food.

But they had to do some things first.

They could take that stalk of wheat, remove the heads from the stalk, clean the kernels from the head, get rid of the outer husk of the kernels, and then take a couple of rocks to smash the kernels into flour.

With that flour, they could add some ingredients, heat it in a fire, and create a tasty loaf of bread.

Would you have ever thought of doing something like that?

I don’t think I would have.

Which means that even if I was surrounded by a field of wheat, I just might starve to death. I certainly wouldn’t have a loaf of bread, or an English muffin, or a cinnamon roll.

The Family Millstone

Archaeologists have discovered that people learned to process wheat thousands of years ago.

Initially, a family might get a couple of rocks to crush the grain into flour. Probably something like a mortar and pestle.

Over time, however, things became a little more sophisticated. People made two circular stones: one stationary stone was placed on the ground, and the other was set on top of it. The kernels were placed between the stones and the top stone was rotated by hand, crushing the kernels into flour.

The stones were small, 12 to 18 inches in diameter, weighed between 20 to 30 pounds, and they worked for a single household.

The Donkey Millstone

But for a larger farm, of if a group of farmers got together, they needed something bigger to handle turning their wheat into flour.

They created what was called a “mýlos onikós” which means “donkey millstone.”

The mylos onikos was a very large millstone. It could be 3 to 5 feet in diameter, 6 to 12 inches thick, and weigh hundreds of pounds. Some have even been found that weigh over 1,000 pounds.

The millstones were so big and heavy, they needed an animal such as a donkey to turn them.

Hence their name.

Jesus and Children

Which brings me to the point of today’s history lesson.

About 2,000 years ago Jesus was teaching his disciples an important lesson. He had a child brought to him and he explained:

“… whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.” — Matthew 18:6 (ESV)

Jesus didn’t mince words when he described what someone deserves if they cause a child to sin.

He used the term “mylos onikos”, which his listeners understood to mean a massive stone that weighed hundreds of pounds.

The image is brutal.

If you play a role in causing a child to sin, Jesus says you deserve far worse than having a millstone weighing hundreds of pounds tied around your neck, being taken out on a boat into the ocean, and being dumped overboard.

It’s a serious warning.

Are We Leading Children Astray?

As we look at our world today, are the influences bombarding our children leading them to sin?

Streaming videos, social media, movies, TV, video games, smart phones—even our schools and some of our churches.

Our children are spending hours every day marinating in a culture that seems determined to keep them from the God who loves them while encouraging them to embrace sin as a way of life.

Ask God to show you how to be a light to the people, especially children, that He brings into your world today.

Before I go, I’d like to share a blessing with you from the Old Testament.

“May the Lord bless and protect you; may the Lord’s face radiate with joy because of you; may he be gracious to you, show you his favor, and give you his peace.”

Numbers 6:24-26 (The Living Bible)

Until next time … be the reason someone smiles today

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit clintmorey.substack.com

Justice is a big deal to God.

In fact, God had a warning for people who thought just doing “religious” acts would give them a free ride to heaven.

“He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”Micah 6:8 (ESV)

To do justice.

God requires it of people who want to please him.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit clintmorey.substack.com

Our local mall isn’t what it used to be. Another store just closed, leaving yet another empty storefront in its wake. During a recent visit, I had an unexpected conversation with a store clerk facing an uncertain future—and it reminded me how important it is to offer encouragement.

In this post, I reflect on the decline of brick-and-mortar retail, lingering Christmas displays in mid-March, and a couple of books worth reading if you’re curious about the people shaping our government. Plus, I leave you with a blessing from the Old Testament.

Until next time … be the reason someone smiles today!

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit clintmorey.substack.com