Reigniting hope

Many of the blessings we use in the church are from scriptures that offer hope.  The apostle Paul closed the letter of Romans with a word of hope, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope” (Romans 15:13).

Building a bridge for the future

I served in a community where families lived on the other side of a large creek. There was an old bridge built by the families that crossed the creek. The bridge had seen better days and needed to be replaced.  They shared with me the story of how the new bridge was built.

Ghost stories provided early entertainment

Telling scary ghost stories was a form of entertainment for early rural families and might also have served as a behavior tool for rowdy children.  Some of the stories might not have been about ghosts, but scary just the same.

Bear with the necessities

Today, I woke up in my bed with relatively new sheets and a roof over my head. The room was heated, as the crisp October weather has driven my home thermostat crazy over the last couple of weeks.

Can a Christian vote for a Democrat?

There was a time when Republican and Democratic parties were similar enough that one’s religion didn’t play a role in which to vote for; just Google platforms of both parties from the 1950s-1970s to see for yourself.

Stealing lies

I would have hoped that our high school-educated, young adults would have known to stand up against a recent blatant lie by the former president.  Being able to properly identify this lie as a lie requires very basic knowledge of our Constitution and our government.

Autumn life

Autumn life is beautiful, many colors to behold. We watch with great expectancy for each color to unfold. We stand in awe of its beauty and linger while we can, And thank our Heavenly Father for his goodness toward man.

‘The Dragon’ has always been dangerous

The section of U.S. Highway 129 across the Tennessee mountains and into North Carolina – now known for some time as the “Tail of the Dragon” – has made a name for itself. This is mainly due to the number of motorcycle accidents, including several fatal ones each year.

County responds to Helene relief efforts

The good folks of Graham County have done it again.  A call was sent out for help – and the response came back loud and clear: help the people affected by Hurricane Helene in Western North Carolina. The destruction from Helene is massive and I am still trying to understand the devastation.

The sky is falling! The sky is falling!

In 1918, H.L. Mencken wrote, “The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary.” Doomsday hysteria permeates religious and political history.