December 30, 2025 Jason Bonnicksen COMFREY’S SNOW CREW 365 DAYS OF THANKSLIVING — DAY 30 For the last 48 hours, the Comfrey Snow Crew has been working tirelessly to keep our roads maintained. Day and night, they’ve been scraping, pushing, scooping and clearing our roads from mounds of the white stuff. I gotta say, in all the places we’ve ever lived, Comfrey’s crew does it the best. (And nope, I’m not blowing smoke because we live here. They really do care more than most). Jus

December 29, 2025 Jason Bonnicksen NATURE’S ARTISTRY 365 DAYS OF THANKSLIVING — DAY 29 I often gaze upon the heavens and the landscapes that surround us and marvel at God’s creation. I find it hard to believe that any aspect of creation is purely accident, coincidence, or sculpted by natural processes only. In all this, my mind often drifts to ask the unanswerable: what level of artistic expression does the Lord employ to affect nature’s artistry? Case in point, the snow. Twe

December 28, 2025 Jason Bonnicksen THAT HAPPY PLACE 365 DAYS OF THANKSLIVING — DAY 28 Today felt weird, like totally, abysmally strange. Honestly, I felt beside myself for a while this morning—like a super-duper long while. For the past 245 Sundays (minus once last year for being quite sick, like totally gross you don’t wanna hear about it sick) I’ve not missed worship… that is until this morning. I’ve gotta be about dying before I don’t show up to lead worship, (an aspect of

December 27, 2025 Jason Bonnicksen Ciabatta, Cheese, and Chuck 365 DAYS OF THANKSLIVING — DAY 27 Saturdays sometimes call for simplicity and taking things easy. No alarm clock; no real agenda; just giving the mind and body rest. That’s what was in store for this 361 st day of the year. We all need days like that, don’t you think? I had in mind to make a nice breakfast for my wife and me; but beyond that, I really didn’t want to make a big meal, especially on the heels of Chr

As I kept my eye on the road, a spiritual analogy moved through my mind: Christ is the light of God that cuts through the fog of life. And although the roads of life can sometimes be disorienting, with Christ shining out, we can safely go about our way.

December 24, 2025 Jason Bonnicksen THE FAMILY OF GOD 365 DAYS OF THANKSLIVING — DAY 24 Merry Christmas Eve everyone! Today’s one of those few special days in the year where the worldwide body of Christ comes together as the family of faith to celebrate our dear Savior’s birth. Tonight’s Christmas story is told through by the gospel writer Matthew, one of Christ’s apostles and closest friends. Matthew wrote of those days when God declared that He was coming to this earth to li

I disregarded the overhead lights; turned on the backlit stained glass and lit the candles to illuminate the room. For more than an hour, I screamed and yelled at God like a 3-year-old throwing a tantrum in Target for not getting his way. And then, God intervened.

December 22, 2025 Jason Bonnicksen A LIFETIME AGO 365 DAYS OF THANKSLIVING — DAY 22 “Bah-lingk.” I’d just fired up my PC when the notification rang. There were no words, just a picture from my old friend Jim. The luster photo, probably pulled from some old box, was a blast from the past, taken by Jim or Cindy on New Years Eve 1992. The old photo showed a young petty officer second class, his new bride, and his boss & boss’ wife. That photo was certainly a lifetime ago. I wish

December 21, 2025 Jason Bonnicksen THAT LITTLE OLD DATE 365 DAYS OF THANKSLIVING — DAY 21 “BLECHHHH! Jeez-o-petes, that’s gross!” One nibble was all it took, and I quickly expelled that morsel outta my mouth. “Something’s not right. Why does this taste so bad?” I questioned with a bit of pause. Truly, I was confounded; because, in my mind, those heavenly desserts are supposed to be decadent, delicious and downright delightful. But instead, it was worse than a platter of Lutef

Dad! Mom! Get up! You gotta come see what Santa brought. It’s just what I wanted dad. I… I… How did Santa know it’s all I ever wanted?

December 19, 2025 Jason Bonnicksen THE GIFT OF GRANDCHILDREN 365 DAYS OF THANKSLIVING — DAY 19 365 days ago today, my wife and I were blessed to hold our grandson for the very first time. The memory of that wonderful day popped up on my Facebook page this morning. Honestly, just looking at the picture of Danielle cradling Bishop put tears in my eye. That grin from ear-to-ear — a picture is worth a thousand words, isn’t it! I know I’ve said this before (perhaps not in this for

As I dashed to my car from the comforts of the church, I quickly wondered: How did the native populations survive in conditions like this? I mean, truly, how in all creation did they not freeze to death? Obviously, the Great Plains people were more robust and resourceful than me, probably than most of us alive today. As I zoomed into the garage (and thank goodness for automatic garage doors), I whisked my shivering body into the warmth of our home. Ahh, I thought, there’s not