Little Concho Land & Cattle

Little Concho Land & Cattle Owens

08/24/2026

Today’s Fractional Reflections & Ramblings from the Ranch to the Boardroom | Monday

“For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’”
Galatians 5:14 LSB

Monday morning. New week. New problems to solve, decisions to make, people depending on us, and probably a few emails waiting that were written with a little more attitude than necessary.

Then Paul gives us this.

Love your neighbor as yourself.

Paul was writing to churches in Galatia wrestling with something deeper than simply being nice. Jewish and Gentile believers were being divided over the Law, circumcision, identity, and what was required to belong to God’s family.

Paul’s answer wasn’t that God’s standard no longer mattered. It was that Christ had fulfilled what the Law pointed toward, and those who belong to Christ are called to walk in freedom through the Spirit. That freedom isn’t permission to become self-centered. Paul says in the verse immediately before this one, “through love serve one another.” (BibleProject)

That’s what catches me this Monday.

Biblical love isn’t sentiment. It’s action.

Papa probably wouldn’t have called it servant leadership. He would’ve just called it doing what you’re supposed to do.

If a neighbor’s cattle were out, you helped get them back in.

If somebody was broke down, you stopped.

If a gate needed closing, you closed it.

You didn’t need a committee, policy, workflow, ticket number, or meeting to decide whether helping somebody was your responsibility.

Somewhere between the ranch and the boardroom, we’ve made simple things complicated.

Today our world has AI, cyber threats, fraud, economic uncertainty, regulation, technology projects, deadlines and more information before breakfast than Papa probably encountered in a week. Texas banking even woke up this Monday following news of another small bank failure and allegations of a $40 million fraud scheme involving 16 banks. (American Banker)

The tools changed.

Human nature didn’t.

And neither did God’s instruction.

Whether I’m talking with my wife, one of my kids, an employee, another department, a customer, a vendor, a board member, or the person who got my coffee order wrong this morning, that person is my neighbor before they’re my problem.

That changes leadership.

It means I can identify risk without becoming an obstacle. I can disagree without disrespecting someone. I can hold people accountable and still care about them. I can replace a quick “no” with “let’s figure out how.”

Not because every answer should be yes, but because serving people requires us to care enough to find the right answer.

Papa taught me plenty without ever putting it on a PowerPoint slide.

Scripture tells me where that wisdom came from.

So my challenge for this Monday, including to myself:

Before responding to the next person who interrupts your plan for the day, remember Galatians 5:14.

They aren’t the interruption.

They may be today’s opportunity to live out the Gospel.

That’s something worth carrying from the ranch gate straight into the boardroom.

08/23/2026

Today’s Fractional Reflections & Ramblings from the Ranch to the Boardroom | Sunday

“You shall love Yahweh your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.”
Deuteronomy 6:5 LSB

Before Israel entered the Promised Land, Moses wasn’t giving them another item for a religious checklist. He was reminding a new generation who they belonged to.

Deuteronomy 6 begins with a command to hear. Then comes this verse. Love Yahweh with the heart, the center of thought and will; with the soul, your whole life and being; and with your might, everything God has placed within your strength, ability, and resources.

In other words, God wasn’t asking Israel for a piece of their lives.

He wanted all of it.

Jesus would later point directly back to these words when asked about the greatest commandment. That makes this ancient instruction pretty relevant on a Sunday morning in 2026.

Because we’re still pretty good at compartmentalizing God.

Sunday gets God. Monday gets business.
Family gets what’s left after work.
Prayer comes after the inbox.
Faith gets consulted after we’ve exhausted our own answers.

That order is backwards.

I’ve spent much of my life around complicated things. Networks, cybersecurity, banking systems, risk, projects, budgets, vendors, boardrooms and decisions where getting something wrong matters.

Yet some of the most important lessons I learned came from a man born in 1917 who didn’t need a dashboard to understand priorities.

Papa worked cattle, cleared mesquite, stretched fence, raised a family, served his country and kept his books at a desk where he’d occasionally fall asleep after a long day’s work. His world looked simpler than mine, but his responsibilities weren’t.

There was always another fence needing attention.

The difference was knowing what came first.

That’s what I’m carrying with me this Sunday.

God first doesn’t mean God somewhere near the top of an already crowded priority list. It means He shapes the list.

How I love my wife.
How I raise and encourage my children.
How I treat someone serving my breakfast.
How I respond when I’m frustrated.
How I lead people.
How I handle money, responsibility and influence.
How I act when nobody is watching.

And tomorrow morning, how I walk back into the noise.

Technology keeps getting faster. AI keeps getting smarter. Cyber threats keep changing. Banking and business keep evolving. Even back on the ranch, cattle markets and the challenges facing producers don’t stand still.

But the foundation hasn’t changed.

Love Yahweh with all of it.

Heart. Soul. Strength.

Not leftovers.

Maybe that’s the Sunday reset somebody else needs too. Before another week starts asking for everything you’ve got, remember Who everything you’ve got belongs to.

Papa’s generation called that putting first things first.

Scripture has been saying it much longer.

08/22/2026

Today’s Fractional Reflections & Ramblings from the Ranch to the Boardroom | Saturday

“And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory…full of grace and truth.” John 1:14 LSB

John didn’t open his Gospel with Bethlehem. He went further back.

“The Word,” the Logos, was already there in the beginning, with God and fully God. Then John says something staggering: He became flesh.

The Creator entered His creation.

When John writes that Christ “dwelt among us,” the word carries the picture of pitching a tent or tabernacling among His people. To a first-century Jewish reader, that pointed straight back to God’s presence dwelling with Israel. “Grace and truth” also echoes the language of God revealing His own character in Exodus.

John wasn’t offering a nice Christmas thought. He was making a claim about who Jesus is. God came near. John says, in effect, we saw Him.

That lands differently with me on a Saturday.

This week the business world has talked about bank mergers, AI, cyber risk, fraud, new technology and how fast everything keeps changing. Those things matter. I live in that world. But none of them change the foundation.

Papa wouldn’t have called it “operational resilience.” He probably would’ve said you better build the fence right the first time, keep your word, take care of your livestock, your family and your neighbor, and know Who provided the rain.

Different vocabulary. Same lesson about foundations.

In the boardroom, at the ranch, around the kitchen table, or trying to help somebody solve a problem at work, Christ doesn’t belong in a separate compartment marked “faith.” If the Word truly became flesh and walked among us, then following Him ought to become visible in how we live among others.

Grace and truth.

Not truth without kindness. Not grace without conviction.

Both.

Today I’m reminded that leadership isn’t just what I approve, build, secure, invest in, or accomplish. It’s how I treat the person standing in front of me while I’m doing it. Husband. Dad. Friend. Coworker. Neighbor. Leader.

Saturday gives us a little room to turn the noise down.

Before another week starts, open John 1 and read it slowly. Ask the simple question John spends his whole Gospel answering:

Who is Jesus?

John tells us why he wrote it, “so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.”

That answer changes everything that comes after.

08/21/2026

Today’s Fractional Reflections & Ramblings from the Ranch to the Boardroom | Friday

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.”
Matthew 6:19 LSB

It’s Friday. Another week of meetings, projects, problems, decisions, deadlines, wins, and probably a few things still sitting on Monday’s list.

And Jesus asks a pretty uncomfortable question this morning:

What are you actually building?

Matthew 6:19 comes from the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus was speaking to ordinary people living in a world where wealth was far less secure than ours. Clothing itself represented wealth, but moths could destroy it. Grain and possessions could deteriorate. Homes weren’t protected by alarms, cameras, cybersecurity, insurance, or a bank vault. A thief could literally dig through a mud-brick wall.

Jesus wasn’t condemning work, success, ownership, planning, or providing for our families. Scripture teaches responsibility and stewardship.

He was confronting where we place our security and our heart.

That one will preach from the ranch to the boardroom.

I spend my days around technology, banking, cybersecurity, AI, budgets, contracts, projects, risk and people. This week alone, the technology world has been reminded again how quickly yesterday’s breakthrough can become tomorrow’s risk. Even some of the biggest names in AI are slowing certain work to strengthen safeguards as capabilities advance.

There’s wisdom in that.

Not everything we can build needs to be built faster. Not everything we acquire makes us richer. And not everything we protect deserves first place in our heart.

Papa understood something about that without ever needing a cybersecurity framework.

He owned land and livestock. He worked hard, kept his books, maintained fences and took care of what God had entrusted to him. But the most valuable things he left me weren’t cattle, acreage, equipment or money.

They were things moth, rust, inflation, markets, thieves and time couldn’t take.

Faith. Work ethic. His word. Responsibility. Marriage. Family. Showing up. Knowing when enough was enough.

I’m understanding that lesson more as I get older.

I want to build successful businesses. I want to be a good CIO and leader. I want the ranch to prosper. I want to leave something substantial for my children, grandchildren and, Lord willing, generations I’ll never meet.

But if all I leave them is stuff, I will have missed the assignment.

The better inheritance is showing them Who provided it.

So heading into this Friday, I’m asking myself:

Am I spending more effort protecting what I own, or cultivating who God has called me to become?

Build the company. Fix the network. Finish the project. Feed the cattle. Make the investment. Serve the customer. Love your spouse. Teach your children. Help your neighbor.

Just remember which treasures make the trip.

That’s the part of the story I hope Papa passed to me, and the part I pray I’m passing forward.

Have a blessed Friday. Open your Bible today, even if it’s only for five quiet minutes. Start with Matthew 6:19-21. Jesus finishes the thought better than I ever could.

08/20/2026

Today’s Fractional Reflections & Ramblings from the Ranch to the Boardroom | Thursday

“From the rising of the sun to its setting
The name of Yahweh is to be praised.”
Psalm 113:3 LSB

I read that this morning and caught myself thinking about how much can happen between sunrise and sunset.

Psalm 113 was written as a call for God’s people to praise Yahweh. The Hebrew language paints a bigger picture than simply saying, “Praise God in the morning and again tonight.” From east to west, sunrise to sunset, His name is worthy everywhere and at all times.

That mattered in the ancient world. Nations had their own kings, territories and gods. Israel was declaring something radically different: Yahweh wasn’t a local god confined by geography, circumstance or political power. He is Lord over all of it.

Thousands of years later, I need that reminder.

By 7:00 AM the phone starts buzzing. Projects, budgets, people, vendors, cybersecurity, AI, regulators, deadlines, decisions and problems nobody scheduled. The financial world is wrestling right now with AI moving deeper into banking while the same technology increases cyber risk, fraud and operational complexity.

Technology changes incredibly fast.

God doesn’t.

And Psalm 113 reminds me that worship isn’t something reserved for Sunday morning. It’s reflected in how I speak to my wife before leaving home, how I treat the person handing me coffee, how patiently I handle a frustrated employee, how I lead a team through a problem, and whether my integrity survives when pressure enters the room.

Papa probably wouldn’t have understood agentic AI, cloud architecture or half the things crossing a CIO’s desk today.

But he understood responsibility.

Sunup meant there was work to do. Livestock depended on you. Fences didn’t repair themselves. Your family depended on your word meaning something. And somewhere between feeding cattle, clearing mesquite and listening to the ag report on AM radio, there was an understanding that God had provided the land, the rain, the family and another day to work it.

That lesson still works in a boardroom.

Leadership isn’t having every answer. Sometimes it’s having enough humility to listen, enough wisdom to recognize the risk, enough courage to make the decision and enough patience to help somebody find a better way forward.

And sometimes the most important thing a leader can remember is that we aren’t actually in control of nearly as much as we convince ourselves we are.

Thursday will get busy soon enough.

Before it does, Psalm 113 gives me a better starting point:

Before the first meeting, praise Him.
When something breaks, trust Him.
When somebody tests your patience, represent Him.
When something goes right, thank Him.
When the sun finally sets, remember Who carried you through the day.

From a West Texas pasture to a Texas bank boardroom, that part hasn’t changed.

Maybe that’s today’s challenge: Don’t just give God the beginning or end of your day. Let people see Him in what happens between them.

08/19/2026

Today’s Fractional Reflections & Ramblings from the Ranch to the Boardroom | Wednesday

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.”
John 13:34 LSB

There’s a part of this verse that’s easy to read past: “as I have loved you.”

Jesus spoke these words to His disciples during the Last Supper, knowing the cross was directly ahead. Judas was already moving toward betrayal. Peter would soon deny Him. The disciples themselves still had plenty of pride, fear and misunderstanding to work through.

Yet Jesus didn’t tell them to love people when they deserved it, when they agreed, or when relationships were easy.

He made Himself the standard.

That changes this verse from a nice thought about kindness into something much harder.

Wednesday feels like a good day for that reminder.

By midweek, patience can get thin. At home, somebody may need more grace than we feel like giving. At work, projects stall, systems break, vendors disappoint, meetings pile up and somebody brings you a problem you thought was already solved.

Technology hasn’t changed human nature either. AI is accelerating, fraud is becoming more sophisticated, and financial institutions are trying to balance innovation, security and trust. The tools keep getting smarter. The question is whether the people using them are becoming wiser.

For me, John 13:34 brings leadership right back to people.

Being right isn’t enough.

Having authority isn’t enough.

Having the smartest person in the room isn’t enough.

How we treat the person across the table matters to Christ.

Papa probably would’ve understood that without needing a leadership seminar. On a ranch, you learn pretty quickly that yelling at a busted gate doesn’t fix it. You grab the tools, figure out what failed, help whoever is beside you, and get back to work.

There’s something worth carrying from that pasture into the boardroom.

Maybe the better question today isn’t, “Who caused this?”

Maybe it’s, “How can I help make this better?”

That applies to marriage, parenting, friendship, leadership, customer service and the coworker who’s having a rough day.

Love doesn’t mean ignoring truth, lowering standards or pretending risk doesn’t exist. Jesus never separated love from truth.

Sometimes love corrects.

Sometimes it listens.

Sometimes it holds the line.

Sometimes it forgives.

And sometimes it simply helps somebody carry a load they shouldn’t have to carry alone.

So that’s my Wednesday challenge, starting with myself:

Before the next email, meeting, ticket, phone call or difficult conversation, remember Who set the standard.

Love them as Christ loved us.

That’s a pretty high bar.

And a lifetime of work.

08/18/2026

Today’s Fractional Reflections & Ramblings from the Ranch to the Boardroom | Tuesday

“For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection.”
Romans 6:5 LSB

Tuesday morning, and this one has me thinking about what we carry forward and what we’re supposed to leave behind.

Paul wrote Romans to believers in Rome living at the center of an empire built around power, status, politics and competing gods. In Romans 6, he’s answering a serious question: if we’re saved by grace, does grace give us permission to keep living exactly as we did before?

His answer is an emphatic no.

The word translated “united” carries the idea of being joined or grown together. Paul connects that union with Christ’s death and resurrection. The old life doesn’t get polished up and rebranded. In Christ, something dies, and something new begins. Baptism is the picture Paul is using, but Christ’s resurrection is the foundation of the promise.

That’ll preach on Sunday, but it ought to work on Tuesday too.

I can walk into a day full of projects, budgets, risk decisions, vendor issues, broken processes, employees needing answers and people expecting leadership. The world keeps getting faster. AI is reshaping business while leaders wrestle with governance, cybersecurity and how to use these tools responsibly.

But Romans 6 reminds me that following Christ isn’t another item on that list.

It’s supposed to change the man carrying the list.

Less pride. More patience.

Less need to win every argument. More willingness to listen.

Less “that’s not my problem.” More “how can I help?”

That applies before I ever reach the office. It starts with how I treat my wife and kids, the stranger in traffic, the person behind the counter, my coworkers, my staff and anyone God puts across my path.

Papa never used words like digital transformation or organizational culture. He understood something simpler. If a fence was bad, you didn’t paint the post and call it fixed. You tore out what was rotten, set something solid and stretched the wire right.

There’s something in Romans 6 that feels a lot like that.

Christ didn’t come to make the old Erick more presentable. He came to make me new.

And I’m still learning what living like that looks like.

So today I’m asking myself a pretty simple Tuesday question:

What am I still carrying that should’ve stayed buried?

Pride? Anger? Impatience? An old grudge? The need to control everything?

The empty tomb reminds us that Christianity isn’t built merely around becoming better people. It rests on a risen Savior who gives His people new life.

Boardroom or back pasture, that changes everything.

Carry the new life into somebody else’s Tuesday today.

08/17/2026

Today’s Fractional Reflections & Ramblings from the Ranch to the Boardroom | Monday

“with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love,”
Ephesians 4:2 LSB

Monday morning. Back to work. Back to schedules, projects, meetings, problems, decisions, family responsibilities and people.

And people can test every word in this verse before breakfast.

Paul wrote Ephesians from imprisonment, urging believers to “walk worthy” of the calling they had received. Then he gets very practical. Humility. Gentleness. Patience. Love.

The Greek behind “gentleness” carries more strength than our English word sometimes suggests. This isn’t weakness. It is strength restrained and properly directed. “Bearing with” means exactly what it sounds like: staying beside imperfect people because love is more important than winning every disagreement. Paul connects it directly to preserving unity and peace. (Bible Gateway)

That’s a leadership lesson I need as much on Monday morning as I need it on Sunday.

Technology teaches us to troubleshoot systems. Leadership requires us to remember we’re working with people.

Sometimes the problem isn’t the network, application, vendor, process or ticket. Sometimes two people simply need enough humility to listen before answering.

That applies in the boardroom, at the helpdesk and around the kitchen table.

I think Papa understood that without ever needing a leadership seminar. Working cattle, stretching fence or training horses teaches you pretty quickly that being stronger doesn’t mean pulling harder all the time. Sometimes pressure makes the situation worse. You learn when to push, when to ease up and when patience is the only thing that’s going to finish the job.

There’s some Ephesians 4 wisdom in that.

As a husband, father, friend, coworker and leader, I’m reminded this morning that my first responsibility isn’t getting everyone else straightened out.

It’s making sure Erick is walking straight.

Am I humble when I know I’m right?

Gentle when I have the authority not to be?

Patient when somebody isn’t moving at my speed?

Willing to bear with someone instead of writing them off?

That’s where faith leaves the page and starts showing up in our leadership.

The world doesn’t need Christians who simply quote Scripture well. It needs Christians whose families, coworkers, employees, customers and neighbors can see evidence that we’ve been reading it.

So here’s my Monday challenge, starting with myself:

Before the first frustrated response today, wait a few seconds. Listen again. Ask one more question. Look for the person behind the problem.

Then find the way forward without sacrificing truth, accountability or kindness.

Strength under control.

Papa would’ve understood that.

More importantly, Paul tells us Christ expects it.

08/16/2026

Today’s Fractional Reflections & Ramblings from the Ranch to the Boardroom | Sunday

“Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy.”
Psalm 126:5 LSB

There’s a lot packed into that one sentence.

Psalm 126 is a Song of Ascents, sung by God’s people with the memory of restoration behind them and unfinished hardship still in front of them. Israel had experienced exile and the remarkable return to Zion, yet life wasn’t suddenly easy. They remembered what God had already done while praying for Him to restore what remained broken.

Then comes an illustration an old rancher could understand.

Seed is valuable when the cupboard is thin. Putting it into dry ground takes faith because once it leaves your hand, you can’t control what happens beneath the soil.

You work. You wait. You trust God for the rain.

“Those who sow in tears” isn’t a promise that Christians won’t hurt. Scripture says almost the opposite. Faithfulness can hurt. Raising children right can hurt. Marriage takes work. Leadership carries weight. Building something worthwhile takes sacrifice. Following Christ can cost us something.

But tears don’t cancel God’s faithfulness.

I think Papa understood that without needing to put a fancy name on it. A man who lived through the Depression era, served during WWII, raised a family, worked cattle and spent decades improving land knew you don’t judge a harvest the morning after planting.

That’s a lesson I need today.

My world has a lot more screens, meetings, cybersecurity risks, projects, budgets and decisions than his did. We can build AI that processes mountains of information in seconds, yet we’re still powerless to manufacture tomorrow.

That’s humbling.

Whether I’m thinking about my marriage, my kids, people I lead, businesses I’m building, communities I’m serving or someday carrying forward the ranch Papa built, I have to remember my responsibility is faithfulness with today’s seed.

God handles the harvest.

Maybe you’re sowing through some tears right now and nobody knows it.

Keep planting.

Keep praying.

Keep loving your spouse.

Keep raising those kids.

Keep treating people right when nobody is watching.

Keep doing the work with integrity.

And above everything else, keep Christ where He belongs, first, not squeezed into whatever time remains.

Sunday gives us a good opportunity to remember that before another busy week starts.

Papa taught me plenty about working the ground. Scripture keeps teaching me Who owns it.

Plant faithfully. Trust completely. Leave the harvest to God.

And if you’ve been running hard without opening your Bible lately, Psalm 126 is only six verses. Start there today. You might find you’ve been trying to carry something God never asked you to carry alone.

08/15/2026

Today’s Fractional Reflections & Ramblings from the Ranch to the Boardroom | Saturday

“You too be patient; strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.”
James 5:8 LSB

Saturday feels like a fitting day for this verse.

James wasn’t writing about patience as sitting around doing nothing. He was writing to believers facing hardship, injustice and uncertainty. Just before this, he gives them a picture they understood well: a farmer waiting on the rains and the harvest.

The Greek behind “be patient” carries the idea of being long-tempered. Don’t let pressure, people or circumstances shorten your fuse. And when James says “strengthen your hearts,” he’s telling believers to become firmly established inside. Hold your ground because Christ is coming.

That’s active patience.

A rancher understands that better than most.

Papa could mend fence, clear mesquite, work cattle, plant something or repair what was broken, but he couldn’t order the rain. He handled what belonged to him and trusted God with what didn’t.

I’m still learning that lesson.

My world today has more screens, alerts, projects, meetings, risk reports and deadlines than anything Papa dealt with. This week alone reminded me how quickly technology, AI, cybersecurity and business can change. AI is becoming more capable on both sides of cybersecurity, while businesses and banks are wrestling with how to govern technology that keeps moving faster. (American Banker)

But technology really hasn’t changed the human condition much.

We still get impatient.
We still want answers now.
We still get frustrated with people.
We still try to control things that belong to God.

James says: steady yourself.

That applies in the boardroom, at home with Shauna and our kids, working beside an employee who’s struggling, dealing with a frustrated customer, or standing at a gate on the ranch wondering when the rain is finally going to come.

Patience doesn’t mean lowering the standard. It means refusing to let pressure determine our character.

Do the work.
Fix what you can.
Help somebody.
Speak with kindness.
Give people room to grow.
Keep your word.
Pray.
Then trust God with the harvest.

Papa taught me plenty about cattle, fences and hard work, but I think one of the bigger lessons was simpler: you don’t have to control tomorrow to be faithful today.

James reminds me why.

Christ is coming. Strengthen your heart and live today like you believe it.

Maybe that’s worth carrying into this Saturday, and into Monday when the phones start ringing again.

Today’s challenge: Before reacting to the first person or problem that tests your patience, stop long enough to ask, “What would faithfulness look like here?”

Then do that.

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2721 Lisa Maria Street
Burleson, TX
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