Columns

This past week my two sons, Cole and Jacob, attended a wakeboard camp in Florida. For those not familiar with the sport, wakeboarding is a type of water sport such as skiing or kneeboarding. [Full Story »] 

When we arrived in Clarksville to spend Spring Break with our three youngest grandsons, I handed Trey, Jakey, and Will bags of Easter candy since we had not been there for their Easter activities. Their faces plummeted. [Full Story »] 

Last spring, I was feeding the fish from my dock and saw a small gator come up and begin eating the floating fish food. I started grunting like a baby gator to see if another one would pop up. It did. Scared the crap out of me when I turned around and there he was. I don’t have a witness but I am sure I made it off this fifty-foot dock in about 4 steps. After catching my breath and calming down, rather than shoot the creature, I called the erstwhile gator trapper extraordinaire, “Gator” Preston. They say Gator can trap or snare anything from a bullfrog to a buffalo so I figured he was the man for the job. [Full Story »] 

Last Tuesday, Larry and I drove to Brunswick for a doctor’s appointment. Despite the fact that the calendar says Spring is here, the temperatures were nippy and the wind blustery. We were nearly to the car when a blast of icy wind stopped us cold. We decided we’d better run back in for coats—just in case. Arriving a tad early for the appointment, we parked on a side street downtown and settled in to wait. Larry pulled out his ubiquitous novel and started to read. [Full Story »] 

I got to thinking about what makes or breaks a President and have decided it’s nothing more than dumb luck because it’s the last year of a man’s term is all that counts. It doesn’t really matter what you are or do as President. You can be a drunk, a philanderer, get us into a war, (right here it is always best if you win it), it really doesn’t matter what you are or what you do, if the economy is good. People look in their pocket and if there is anything there they keep the man they’ve got, or if their pockets are empty, will vote for whoever promises to fill it the fullest. That’s the long and short of it. [Full Story »] 

I walked into the church on that Easter Sunday in my yellow seersucker dress that Mama had made for me. My sister wore one just like it and I fumed. First of all, I hated the Easter dress custom because Mama never let me pick out what I wanted. She decided what I would wear, and at the mature age of 8 years, I knew very well that I was plenty old enough to make my own decisions about clothes. She did concede some issues to my better judgment. For example, I tolerated no lace and no ribbons on my dresses—not even one. A sash hung down in the back, but it was plain, not frilly, and besides, I couldn’t see it behind me. And just because the whole world thought females should adorn themselves in pink didn’t mean I would wear that horrid color. I had agreed under duress to the yellow fabric. [Full Story »] 

The pear and wild plum have bloomed just in time to draw back a nub because as I write this it is supposed to freeze tomorrow. I just smoked my country cured hams. The collards are blooming and I will soon gather their seed and keep them for next year. No, I don’t have to buy all my garden seed. I’ve also got dry peas, rice and honey stored, honey because it never spoils. I heard some honey was found in a tomb somewhere that was hundreds of years old and was still good. I don’t expect to be here another hundred years, so when I go you are welcome to it if you can find it. I guess I was a doomsday prepper long before the television series. [Full Story »] 

Diane Feine is our able, efficient, slim, trim, and vivacious administrator at St. Marys Magnolia Manor. There is never a dull moment with Diane. Sporting a Master’s Degree in Education and loaded with a world of experience, she keeps Magnolia Manor in tune and humming. Diane sees to it that the place is kept immaculate and that the residents are carefully cared for. Nevertheless, Diane has a keen sense of humor and loves to pick on her Chaplain--that’s your’s truly. [Full Story »] 

Over the last few months, talks of budget cuts in general and Sequestration in particular have filled the news. I agree with many of the cuts. I’m opposed to waste in government since it involves our tax dollars. Even some of the proposed military cuts are logical. For example, the grounding of the Navy’s Blue Angels and the Air Force’s Thunderbirds is a reasonable cut and won’t do much harm. I enjoy watching their shows, but will not be harmed in any way if I never see another one. Other cuts, however, could very well threaten military readiness. The Defense Department predicts that the slashing of ship and aircraft maintenance and the curtailing of training will occur with the currently proposed budget cuts. [Full Story »] 

(Editor’s note: Every week we receive articles penned by guest columnists. The following was so moving that I would like to devote my normal space this week to this powerful message with hope this will encourage others facing a difficult situation at this very moment. Thank you Pastor Steve for sharing. - Jamie Gardner)

By Steve Statum

John 11:4-6 - 4 - When he heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” 5 - Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 6 - Yet when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days. - NIV [Full Story »]