Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
Sorted by date Results 26 - 50 of 52
We have learned since childhood about the blessings of being protected. Remember when wewere in the arms of our mom and dad, it seemed the dangers of the world could not reach us. Now that we are grown, we appreciate our home that gives us shelter from the elements and provides us security against whatever that might want to harm us? But of all the things in this world that can provide a sense of safety and defense, there is nothing that can compare to the power and authority of God. Psalm 23:4...
Difficult times are not something we enjoy going through, in fact, we usually try to avoid even talking about them. When trouble comes, the first thing we ask is why is this happening and if we are not cautious, we can easily be drawn into a full-blown mental, emotional and spiritual breakdown. You would think as many of these storms that we have experienced, we would be learning how to handle them, but for the most part, we are just as shocked and confused as all the times before....
Life is filled with thoughts and ideas. Many spend their time trying to keep busy because they do not want to think about what God expects from them. The strategy is to live in a state of distraction so their conscience will never have the occasion to pause and ponder about the true meaning of life. Everyone is unique and that's what makes life interesting, but I was thinking the other day about how many are always on the go and never sit still for a moment unless they are forced to stop. Somewh...
A brand-new year is here and I’m excited to see what the Lord has for us! Keeping Christ at the center of our thoughts takes a great deal of discipline and determination, but so does everything else we really care about. It comes down to how serious we are about knowing God and how willing we are to give him total control of our life. Whatever we become involved with, he simply wants us to listen and obey his instructions which is the reason we are here. If we abide under the shadow of his w...
Christ is called Emanuel, which means, “God is with us” and we are so grateful that he came to save us. Yes, we enjoy the nativity and he was once a baby, but he’s not a baby today. He was born, lived, and was willing to be crucified because he loved us more than anything in the world. Whatever you are going through today, be encouraged to know that God wants to be with you and is more than able to take care of you. He is El Shaddai, God Almighty, The All Sufficient One! Here are seven attri...
I’m sure that most of us have dreamed about accomplishing something but discovered that our goal was not going to be easy. Some individuals, maybe yourself, became so determined to succeed that nothing could prevent them from achieving their vision. So, what causes a person to be so passionate and excited about what they love and where do we find this ability to focus and the internal drive to persevere even in the face of incredible resistance and seemingly impossible challenges? Can anyone d...
Growing older is like a train rolling down the track, and no matter how many botox injections, vitamins, or hair plugs, we cannot stop the reality of our mortality. There is nothing wrong with trying to look young and we agree that dieting and exercise would surely be a healthy and positive lifestyle but the hourglass only contains so much sand. As the days keep ticking away, we are reminded to not put off until tomorrow what we can do today because we are not sure how many tomorrows we will...
Imagine if you were the creator of the earth with all of its breathtaking beauty and gave each living creature the gift of life. For every human, you provided a book of your promises which gives a detailed description of how they are to live. And then, you sent your only son to sacrifice his life and raised him from the dead to redeem the souls of all who would believe. Your invitation to deliver those who would believe from the bondage of sin and welcome them to live with you in heaven forever...
It seems like yesterday that my son and daughter-in-law announced they were going to have a baby, and today I am declaring to the world what a wonderful miracle has happened. The joy of this news was beyond words and the anticipation grew every week until our grandson finally entered the world. I remember seeing him for the first time and must admit, this little man has absolutely captured my heart. He’s not even six weeks old yet, and I am thinking about him all the time. We love to buy him t...
As we are noticing in our ever-changing world, when one person is offended over something, the new social acceptance solution is to stop what we are planning and allow that individual to change or prevent the desires of many. It now appears that new rules of order are being established with the supposed intention of not offending anyone. I understand the idea to try and accommodate everyone with whatever they believe but since we are trending toward a puzzling destination, I’m troubled that our...
Sometimes life is so difficult that we can barely keep it together. All of us have faced serious trials and for those who are Christians, we have appreciated the comfort and peace of God’s presence. As wonderful as this is, we are still often left with unanswered questions and painful wounds that live in the secret depths of our soul. Yes, we have friends and family members who try to encourage us, and we listen to suggestions that try to explain why things happen, but in the back of our mind w...
Have you noticed lately that conflict and disagreement are more abundant than unity? Though the average person would give peace as the answer to what they would like to have more of, we are bombarded with an environment that is filled with arguing, strife and criticism. It seems that some people actually enjoy fighting and bickering as a challenge to see how many disputes and quarrels they can instigate and win. Wouldn’t the world be such a happier place if we could all just get along and try t...
As much as we would like to avoid worry and anxiety, these feelings are just a normal part of our natural emotions. When I say “normal” I’m referring to the everyday aggravations and frustrations that are a part of this journey. Some people seem to be more controlled by these feelings than others, but we will all have our share of difficult times. I’ve thought about whether the world we live in today is more hectic and stressful than the times of our parents and grandparents, but is it the ext...
I had a serious conversation the other day with a middle-aged man and we talked for a couple of hours about God. I've known him for years and we've had these discussions before but I noticed he has become stronger in his opinions which by the way are based on atheism. He is a likeable person, hard worker, great husband and popular. He is also a very talented artist and sculptor and concentrates much of his artwork on the dark world of the supernatural. He has studied Greek mythology and loves...
Memories can be a wonderful place to visit when they are pleasant and filled with peace and joy. On the other hand, not all of our experiences have been good and can be more like a haunted house on a dark and stormy night. We all have our collections of thoughts and our own task of trying to figure out a way to deal with them. As most of us know, there are positive ways and negative ways to handle our past experiences. We can look around and see that many people are not doing such a good job...
It’s no secret there are many different ideas about religion and spirituality. I’ve studied different religions, and even within my own faith of Christianity I have discovered there are many conflicting opinions concerning what God wants us to be and how we are to live. At this time I will limit my views to the Christian faith because that is where I have spent more time in research and also declare my allegiance. I must add that I have not “arrived” at some type of wisdom plateau or to be cons...
We do not have to look very far to find someone that needs a miracle. Many are suffering some type of crisis like health problems, their children, and grieving over a loss, finances, marriage issues, and on and on. When difficult situations are presented, we become sympathetic, but how often do we consider that God may have brought these individuals to our attention so that we can not only pray but to actually intervene and help meet their needs? Instead of just discussing the situation and...
I’ve heard the old saying that “life is not a bed of roses” for as long as I can remember. I understand what it’s trying to convey, but I’ve also thought that it would not really be all that great to lie down on a bed of sharp thorns. Nevertheless, it’s safe to say our journey will have its ups and downs and unfortunately, most of us will experience our share of hard times. Whether it’s a financial worry, a medical situation, family problems, a concern for the world, or just being discouraged fr...
I am sure that many of you can remember when life was not so demanding and filled with anxiety or at least it seemed that way. I was raised in the city so when I had a chance to go to my grandparent’s house out in the country it was like going on vacation. They lived on a quiet overgrown road that came to a dead-end at the Kentucky River and their farm was so remote that when an occasional car would pass by we would stop and stare at it like it was entertainment. I will never forget helping i...
Children are a wonderful blessing! How exciting it is to hold a little baby and imagine the person they will become along with all the great things they will experience and accomplish. These feelings of expectation and happiness are amazing and hopefully will continue as we watch them grow throughout our lifetime, however, as children develop beyond their formative years and into their teens, our excitement often turns to confusion and discouragement. No one is perfect or has all the answers,...
We know that people pray for all types of things and many times I wonder if God takes every request seriously or if he considers some of them unreasonable. For example, I’m sure that at sporting events both sides are praying for victory over the opposing team but I’ve always thought these types of prayers generally fall into the category of the non-spiritual variety. The Bible actually mentions unsuitable attitudes behind our prayers and uses the word, “amiss” which means, flawed, incorre...
I’m sure that many of you remember the man who portrayed the friendly neighbor in the popular children’s program known all over the world as Mister Rogers. Who can forget the childlike song that asked the question, “Won’t you be my neighbor?” With the macho crowd, he was labeled a sissy and downright creepy but to children, he was always a nice, polite and comforting role model. There have been many false accusations about him through the years like the rumors about him having to wear long slee...
Memorial means to “remember” and every year on the last Monday in May, we honor those who sacrificed their lives in the line of active military service. On Memorial Day we stop and pay our respect to the ones who were willing to stand in the gap between freedom and tyranny. The First Amendment was not only signed into existence with ink but with the blood of over 1.1 million Americans that have died in U.S. wars, along with many more that have suffered from physical and mental difficulties. Over...
To be honest, I probably spend too much time watching and reading the news. I feel the need to keep up with the latest developments so that I can at least be aware about current events. However, many times I find myself being absorbed in an ocean of information that is not only meaningless but is also negatively affecting my mental and emotional state of being. I’m reminded that I have no power or influence to change the decisions that are being made including the declining direction of the w...
Success is a popular subject and an exciting attitude that fuels the imagination and drives our motivation. The fervent desire to succeed seems to be embedded within our DNA and I see nothing wrong with an honest inspiration to accomplish certain goals. Even the Bible talks about “pressing toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” and refers to winning and being victorious as a spiritual blessing in accordance with God’s perfect will. Yes, success can be satis...
