Jennie came out and joined me in the tub so I was relating to her what I had been thinking and she said its like the verse in Proverbs that talks about the many plans that a man has but it’s the purpose of God that prevails or something close to that and we talked about many of the different ideas we have had how we have ended up where we are today. We went down to the gynm worked out and headed out to the store. The reason that Jennie couldn’t sleep was that this mantle was my Christmas present and they had to install it Wednesday night as Jason was leaving town for Christmas. As I looked at the Mantle and read the verse realizing that it wasn’t an accident that we had had the conversation in the hot tub that morning. As I look at the mantle and read that verse in Proverbs I realized that that verse probably exemplifies our lives.

“Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the Lords purpose that prevails.”
Proverbs 19:21

I wasn’t a particularly good student, and my grades reflected that, but I  knew that my grades did not affect the pride and love that my parents had for me as one of their children.  I always thought that I was my Dad’s favorite child and I was married with grown children when I discovered that my brother thought that HE was Dad’s favorite.  I think that all six of us kids had that opinion.  Wow.  What a positive thing that error was (my siblings could have been wrong, though.  I bet I was his favorite!)  My Dad would pull his welder from one end of the valley to the other end, welding up equipment for our neighbors and I never once saw him take a dime, even for gas.

One late fall day when I was about 8 and my brother Doug was 10, a neighbor’s daughter hiked up to our house because her car quit her on the 22 mile drive from town, and we were the nearest neighbors at home.  Doug and I bundled her up, put her in our open-air jeep and drove her the ten, chilly miles to her home.  She was so grateful that she went into her house and came out with a five dollar bill for each of us.  That was the most money I had ever held in my hand, and it was all mine!  When our folks got home, Doug and I couldn’t wait to show them the money and tell them what we had done.  They were proud of us for helping our neighbor, but then proceeded to tell us that we should  never take money for helping someone who needed help.  They then made us get back into the Jeep, take the money back and apologize for taking it!  What a lesson for us!  To this day, hopefully, I would never take money for helping someone, and if they insisted, I would ask them to pass it on and explain that If I did accept anything for helping someone in need, my Father would roll over in his grave!

With my Dad passing in 1995 at the age of 83 and my Mom passing last month at the age of 97, I realize what a good name and great legacy my siblings and I were left by them, and pray that I will do as much for our children..

As I got older and my reading material changed, so did the people who became my heroes, and as I began to read the Bible, there were people in this Book who encouraged me.  Like Moses, who with God’s hand, parted the Red Sea so the Israelites could cross on dry land.  Joshua and Caleb who were willing to take on the Promised Land even though there were giants in that land.  Boaz who chose to marry Ruth because of how she treated her mother-in-law, and Ezra who chose to go to Jerusalem without the king’s guard even though he was carrying the gold vessels for the temple, because Ezra chose to trust God rather than the king’s guard for his protection (Ezra 8:22).  If only I could walk with the faith and courage these men showed!  My favorite hero, I think, is Phinehas the grandson of Aaron the Priest.  He couldn’t have been that old and was kind of a nobody, yet God was able to use him, which gave me hope that God could use me as well.  It was because of Phinehas’s zeal for God that God checked the plague that Moses, who spoke face to face with God, could not do. Phinehas had such a zeal for God that it affected his actions in life and therefore he was able to stop the plague.

As I have entered the older generation and reflect on my life as to why I am the person that I am, it boils down to a lot of people with whom I have rubbed shoulders, those I have read about and especially the woman God gave me as my wife.  My Mom and Dad have probably influenced me as much as anyone else, but you know that wife God gave me?  She says that’s the subject for another blog, so we’ll get to them later.

You know how a hot dog is better over a campfire than it is in your kitchen?  Well that is how a fresh from the oven cinnamon roll and Pumpkin Spice Latte is when the thermometer presents a minus sign and the snow creaks underfoot.  Luscious.

We here at Mountain Arts Pottery and The Coffee Pot Bakery are all a buzz preparing for our Holiday Open House this Friday, November 18^th and Saturday, November 19^th from 8 am – 5 pm.  The to-do list is long but we’re tackling it with patience, wit and a sense of humor.  How would we survive otherwise?

We hope you’ll join us for a fun and festive holiday gathering. Enjoy dulcimer music with Becky McCotter while you sample our fresh from the oven holiday cookies.  Warm up with a complimentary cup of our signature Mountain Arts blend coffee or hot cider.

Browse our display of holiday gift ideas – made in Montana by our favorite local artisans. Sign up to win a raffle drawing of a set of 4 hand thrown pottery place settings.

Family and friends, a crackling woodstove, beautiful handcrafted holiday gifts, signature coffee and fresh from the oven goodies.  Is there a better way to start the holiday season?  We think not.  See you this Thursday and Friday!

I came to your shop while I was on vacation in July and not only did I thoroughly enjoy my visit (and the slice of apple pie that I had), but I also purchased some pottery. Over this weekend, I decided it was time to put it to good use. I had SO many people comment on what a beautiful pie pan I had. I was able to tell them all about Mountain Arts Pottery and give out your website as well. In reminiscing over my trip, I can honestly say that my visit to your store was one of the highlights and I just wanted to say thank you for that! I hope to visit again sometime.

I realized  that we are using a combination of management skills 2.0 and 3.0.  I think that the end result is that that I have the most rewarding job around.  My favorite part of my day is when I give tours and show what God has done in our little company over the years.  We are presently closed as we are enlarging our bakery which was a room 8′ x 18′.  The new addition is an 32′x 25′.  This past Saturday, three ladies stopped in even though all of the pottery displays are in the front lawn, and I gave them a tour.   During these tours, God reminds me of so many things that He has done that have kept us afloat and I  share them with those who are interested.  I think that we have made three more close friends.  If you are ever in our area please stop in and see what we are all about.
Sent from my iPad

Every year we receive two shipments of about 20,000 pounds of clay during the year.  Towards the beginning of December we were running out of clay, so I ordered our second load for the year.  This always involves some careful timing as I need a full crew to handle that much clay, especially during this time of the year when we are under full production.  On top of that, I don’t want to mess up a firing that needs to be loaded!

So I get the call that the nine pallets of clay is in and the driver wants to know if we want it delivered today or tomorrow.  The driver says that he can be there in 45 minutes, so we take the clay today.  We drop six pallets out back along with the pallet of glazing chemicals and drop three pallets up front next to the studio.  By 5PM the clay was unloaded, the chemicals were carried inside and the three pallets of clay were moved inside the studio.  (Amazingly the truck driver even helped carry that clay inside of the studio!)

There are times you see people go beyond the aspects of their job as was witnessed with the story of moving this clay inside ahead of an impending winter storm.  The real amazing part of this event was that the next morning I woke up to that 8”-10” of wet snow on the ground.  Having 20,000 pounds of clay to deal with would have been incredibly hard, but as the Lord would have it the clay and chemicals were all stored away.

Earlier, I was having breakfast with my wife Jennie, our routine where we usually talk about the day’s upcoming events.  I then picked up my brother Jim and brought him out to the store to help in the studio.  As I went in to get myself a cup of coffee I saw a lady who was in looking at mugs.

I went over and greeted her and found out that she’s been in before.  She then went on to relate how much she enjoys coming in and how she has bought so many mugs, never giving any of them away.  As we talked she commented on how cozy and warm it is to come into the store and enjoy a great latte as she walks around looking at the pottery.

She talked about the warmth and great feeling she got when she came into our store.  I told her that we had some people helping us try and communicate more of the ambiance of our store using social media, and how some people are beginning to follow our blogs.  She admitted she didn’t do much over the internet except work, but if we could ever communicate that feeling of warmth and hospitality while letting people know it was a God-centered thing it would be amazing!

She also said with sadness that her work territory had changed and that she would not be coming to the area any longer for work.  However, she has picked up fly fishing so she does plan to be back!  Towards the end she commented that she feared with all the flights full she might not make it out until after Thanksgiving.  Before she left I made sure she walked away with our cell phone number and an invitation to Thanksgiving.  No one should go without a place to be for fellowship and some turkey on Thanksgiving!