Opinion

Dear editor:
I travel quite a bit. My two notable trips this year have been to Tokyo and Greybull. I have been to Asia many times and to northern Wyoming many more. My travels to each area are planned and looked forward to each winter, particularly with the cold snaps of Minnesota. On the face of it, Tokyo and Greybull have little in common. They are not alike in population, culture, language or number of horses. Yet, what draws me back every year is the same.
I love to fish in small mountain streams and the Oshino river below Mt. Fuji is amazing. The historic hotel I stay at outside of Tokyo has owners and staff that treat me like family. Even with its large size, I’m never fearful of crime and enjoy just sitting outside with a cup of coffee.

As August rolls on, we are getting prepared to send kids back to school. Give your kids the best opportunity to succeed with some simple tips.
Adequate sleep is very important to their success in school. The average school age kid needs 9-12 hours of sleep, while the average teenager needs 8-10 hours of sleep. Make sure your kids are in bed early enough to ensure they have the opportunity to achieve this amount of sleep. Additionally, limit screens to outside of the bedroom. The blue light from television, computers and cell phones disrupts the bodies’ ability to fall asleep. Try to make sure that they are not eating or exercising heavily for an hour prior to bedtime to help them fall asleep quickly and rest well. Furthermore, a bedtime routine can help prepare the body for sleep, this is good advice for parents as well!

Dear editor:
My wife and I devoured every televised moment of the 2024 Paris Olympics that we could. To us, the Olympics is the ultimate “feel-good” moment, where people, representing diversity of gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion and economic standing come together in the spirit of inclusive, peaceful, and respectful competition. The varied back stories of the athletes are heartwarming, and their accomplishments awe-inspiring. But I also recognize that these moments are fragile.

When David stayed home while his men went to war (2 Samuel 11:26 – 12:13), he found himself idle.  Although he had many wives and concubines to satisfy his fleshly desires, he bedded the wife of Uriah the Hittite who became pregnant.  He tried to hide his sin by getting Uriah called back to Jerusalem and giving him leave to go home to be with his wife but it was unconscionable to him to enjoy his family while his friends were laying down their lives for their country and king.  David then had Uriah killed by