"Florida Libraries as …" is the Florida Department of State's year-long campaign to ensure Florida libraries are recognized as fulfilling vital roles in their communities. 

The Crestview Public Library was featured on the October Florida Libraries as Galleries web page.  See the whole story at http://dos.myflorida.com/library-archives/services-for-libraries/florida-libraries-as/gallery/crestview/.

Our September/October art gallery wall has featured local artist Peggy Hollingshead's abstract acrylics while the lobby display cases are filled with items and information celebrating Noirmoutier, France, our sister city. 

If you have not been into the library to see either of these exhibits, you have one week left!

Our November/December featured artists will be Sarah Hawkins on the gallery wall with her abstract and realism assorted media while the Playground Gem & Mineral Society will fill lobby display cases with rocks and minerals from raw specimens to finished wire jewelry.

The library seeks artists for its 2016 lineup for the gallery wall and lobby display cases.

Exhibits run for 60 days, with preference given to North Okaloosa County artists. 

Please call me at 682-4432 if you would like your work to be considered.

Sandra Dreaden is the Crestview Public Library's reference librarian.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: DREADEN: Crestview library seeks local artists for gallery exhibitions

Never sneak into your dark house after a late-night fishing trip. 

No matter how nice you may be about not waking your wife, you never know when she has decided to move the furniture around.

Speaking from experience here: When your big toe hits one of the now moved objects, you will fall in dreadful pain, and it will seem that your whole body is hurt. You cannot walk, cannot function properly, and you suffer until the injury heals. 

This same thing happens in churches. We may take the lead on a project, or decide just to help, and we share our feelings just a little bit more than usual. 

Suddenly, we discover that someone — a pastor or other leader in the church; a friend and co-worker, or even God himself — has changed things up. 

We feel hurt and shrink away from that type of pain. 

But until you deal with that pain, and allow it to heal, the entire body of Christ will not function as it should.  If one is hurt, we all hurt, in some way or another. 

I will not attempt to tell you what to do to be healed, but forgiveness and seeking God first are the best places to begin. 

You may have to go to another person to talk, openly and honestly. They may not even be aware that they have caused you hurt.

Until we learn to recognize and assist someone else, the body of Christ cannot and will not operate to full potential. 

Granted, God does not have to have us to accomplish what He has purposed, but we need Him, and that purpose may include helping someone to heal.

Are you a "big toe" in need of a loving touch? 

Perhaps you know of someone that is. God still loves those toes, and gave them prominence and a role of protecting so many others. 

Seek the healing. Pursue the ministry of reconciliation. Let God help you to help others to rejoin the body of Christ.

My friend, God is looking for "big toes" that He can love and heal. Won't you allow Him back in today?

Be restored, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

The Rev. Richard Helms serves at Miracle Acres Ministries, 3187 E. James Lee Blvd., in Crestview.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: HELMS: Face pain head on, seek healing

Sometimes, the scariest thing about celebrating Halloween can be the expense of it all.

But scoring the coolest costumes doesn’t mean you have to spend a lot of money.

Rather than spending hard-earned money on a new costly costume, why not make one yourself?

Homemade costumes can save you money and keep items from ending up in a landfill. Repurposing and restyling old clothes for a new look is a great way to use your resources.

A little bit of imagination and creativity — and maybe some fabric paint — can turn an old T-shirt into a one-of-a-kind costume.

Don’t know where to start?

You can find great examples and directions for inexpensive, creative costuming at www.Americasaves.org.

Here are two ideas:

●Identity Thief: Write different names on a number of name tags and tape them to your body. You now have the identity of each of those people, and you are officially a — make believe — identity thief.

●Website Error: This one simply requires a white shirt, marker and a snarky attitude.

Draw the words: "Error 404: costume not found" on the shirt, and you immediately become a website error. See more at http://bit.ly/1Pxohrr.

Having children make up their costume can inspire creativity and pride. For a child, the ability to complete and show off a project can boost self-esteem. Getting the family involved is a must.

Parents can help with things like hot glue and scissors, all while spending time with each other completing a fun, memorable project, instead of sitting silently in front of the television.

For more tips or help saving money, contact me at the extension office, 689-5850 or jbreslawski@ufl.edu; take the America Saves Pledge at www.okaloosasaves.org; and follow Okaloosa Saves on Facebook and Twitter.

Jill Breslawski is an agent at the University of Florida's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Extension office in Crestview.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: BRESLAWSKI: Save money — make your Halloween costume

Ireland radio and television broadcaster Gay Byrne once interviewed comedian and self-proclaimed atheist Stephen Fry.

Bryne asked Fry to imagine, for a moment, that God exists. Next, he asked Fry to tell him what he would ask God if he could ask one question.

Fry said he would ask why God allows all the world's unfairness and injustice — especially the suffering of those who have done nothing wrong. He said he refuses to believe in a God who does not make everyone’s life perfect.

Fry wanted to know why God doesn’t make everyone perfectly happy and content; why God allows suffering; why God doesn’t prevent inhumanity.

God created a perfect world. He created humanity in his own image. God also gave people the ability to make choices. To keep the world a paradise would have meant living in the manner God intended.

People used free choice to disobey God, succumb to temptation and seek personal gratification — so paradise crumbled.

That was not God's fault.

If we couldn't choose, God would simply be a heavenly dictator or tyrant. But in love, God allows us to make our own decisions.

Those decisions have consequences — for good or ill.

We are not forced to make the harmful or ill-conceived choices we do, but we do have to live with their results. And at times, we are forced to live with the consequences of others' decisions.

It is easy to celebrate choices' joyful results. The challenge, however, is, knowing what to do with the consequences of others’ harmful actions.

That we live in an imperfect world is not God’s fault. It is the fault of how humanity — each person on the face of the earth — exercises their God-given gift of free choice. And that freedom of choice even allows for persons to choose to not believe in the God who created them.

For many people, God is their enemy — to be battled, conquered and defeated. They do not realize the depth of love God has for them. The Bible is full of account after account showing how, in spite of people turning their backs on God, God continuously pursues humanity to win them — us — back.

It all comes down to choices.

People choose to believe or not, to obey or not, to seek something positive in every situation or not, to be joyful or not.

We each need to choose wisely.

The Rev. Mark Broadhead is pastor at Laurel Hill Presbyterian Church and First Presbyterian Church of Crestview.

http://bit.ly/1INQzwN

Link to the Stephen Fry interview

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: BROADHEAD: Make wise decisions or accept the consequences

Have you looked at the calendar lately? It's just more than 10 weeks until Christmas.  

Have you started, or even finished, shopping?

A friend who works in retail said she heard during a sales seminar that the average adult spends $740 on Christmas. For Jim, my husband, and me, that amounts to $1,480.

Fortunately, we don't spend near that amount. 

Like many others, I shop all year long. If I see something I know a certain person would like, or needs, I buy it and put it into a closet. I occasionally end up with too many gifts for one person and not enough for another, but it works for us.

Spreading our Christmas spending over the year ensures we don't take a huge financial hit in November and December.

Then there's the do-it-yourself gift-giving approach, which has become a family tradition.

My mother — a professional seamstress who taught sewing for many years — makes gorgeous quilts, table runners, placemats and pillow cases. No one has any idea of the time and money that she puts into these gifts, but people enjoy receiving them.

Some years, I make lighted Christmas baskets or other hand-crafted items. It doesn't save money, but it is fun.

This year, we have cut down our Christmas list. Most of our family and friends have everything they need, so we will donate more money to church and missions such as Samaritan's Purse.

There are many choices; we can help churches here in Okaloosa County or help those in other countries who are struggling.

Our church has a weekly soup kitchen, a cold night homeless shelter and numerous other missions.

In other countries, think of the joy an entire village receives when a well is dug and villagers finally have clean water, or the family who receives a goat that can provide milk as well as income.

It seems many causes are more beneficial than another tie, sweater or DVD. 

Janice Lynn Crose lives in Crestview with her husband, Jim; her two rescue collies, Shane and Jasmine; and two cats, Kathryn and Prince Valiant.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: CROSE: Cutting down Christmas shopping lists, thinking of others

October is National Seafood Month, a time to highlight smart seafood choices, sustainable fisheries, and health benefits of eating a seafood-rich diet.

Today, let's hit the highlights:

You may need to eat more seafood. While Americans eat an average of one seafood meal per week, the USDA recommends doubling that to two meals.

According to a 2013 annual report by the National Marine Fisheries Service, the average American ate just 14.5 pounds of fish and shellfish in 2013.

Floridians consumed seafood more frequently than the national averages, according to a 2007 Florida Seafood Study conducted by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, or DACS.

Shrimp and sushi dishes remain among the most popular seafood dishes with American diners.

Preparing seafood is easy. Many people prefer to eat seafood when they eat out. This may be because some people do not feel comfortable buying or preparing fresh seafood.

Well, have no fear — seafood is actually easy to prepare. Fresh From Florida's website, http://www.freshfromflorida.com, has tips, recipes and videos that can help.

This month at the seafood counter, look for alligator, blue crab, clams, flounder, grouper, mullet, oysters, shrimp, snapper, spiny lobster, stone crab, swordfish, tilapia and tilefish.

Seafood is healthy to eat. Perhaps you're OK with preparing seafood, but eating it is another story.

You might have heard that fish are mislabeled or fish are contaminated from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

However, recent studies have shown that the benefits of eating seafood far outweigh risks.

The Florida Department of Health states that whether you are healthy, have a medical complication or are pregnant, it’s time to cast your misconceptions aside and reel in reputable advice instead.

DACS has confirmed through consistent laboratory testing and screening analysis that Florida seafood products are plentiful, safe and unaffected by the oil spill.

In other words: get fresh with Florida fish!

Laura Tiu is an agent at the University of Florida's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Extension office in Crestview.

This list of the most consumed seafood in the U.S. covers almost 97 percent of all seafood Americans eat. The list for 2013, the latest year with available data, is as follows:

 1. Shrimp – 3.6 pounds

2. Salmon – 2.7 pounds

3. Tuna – 2.3 pounds

4. Tilapia – 1.43 pounds

5. Alaska pollock – 1.15 pounds

6. Pangasius – .77 pounds

7. Cod – .60 pounds

8. Catfish – .56 pounds

9. Crab – .54 pounds

10. Clams – .35 pounds

Source: National Marine Fisheries Service

BY THE NUMBERS

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: TIU: Get fresh with Florida fish