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

Soon, witches, zombies and vampires will converge on your house, asking for candy.

As is the case every Halloween, you’ll likely be merely amused by the sight of these costumed characters.

But in other areas of life, such as the investment world, you may need to watch for some seemingly scary entities.

Here are a few of them:

The Horrendous Headline — Big, glaring headlines rarely offer any comfort to investors.

Whether it’s political squabbles at home, conflicts in the Middle East or the debt crisis in the euro zone, there’s always something happening that’s perceived as jeopardizing financial markets' stability.

Yet these threats are often overblown, and the markets have proven quite resilient for decades.

Here in the United States, the most powerful economic engine in the history of the world has offered investment opportunities as crises have come and gone.

The Terrible Tipster — He or she could be anyone: your neighbor, friend or relative. But whatever their origins, Terrible Tipsters have one thing in common: They tout “hot” stocks or “can’t miss” opportunities.

The problem is that by the time you actually hear about a hot stock, it may already be cooling off. And the “can’t miss” opportunities often do indeed miss.

Don’t waste time, effort and money seeking a shortcut to investment success; there isn’t one. Instead, stick with an investment strategy that’s suitable for your goals, risk tolerance and time horizon.

The Scary Statement — When the market is down, you probably dread seeing your investment statements.

But don’t let a few bad months, or even a bad year, cause you to stuff your money under your mattress.

The financial markets can turn around pretty quickly, and if you’re out of the market when the next rally begins, you’ll miss out on some potentially big gains.

So, put those negative statements aside and look back at your investment results over a period of many years — the big picture might look a lot less frightening than you’d imagine.

The Fearsome Forecast — The financial markets' performance is notoriously hard to predict, but that doesn’t stop a slew of fortune-tellers from trying.

And the same is true of the economy — predictions abound, but many prove far off base. You can always adjust your portfolio, as needed, in response to changing market or economic conditions, but don’t act on these possible circumstances just because someone, somewhere, has predicted them.

Instead, follow tried-and-true principles such as diversification, which can help reduce the impact of volatility on your holdings. (However, diversification can’t guarantee a profit or protect against loss.)

The ghouls and goblins you see on Halloween are unlikely to cause you nightmares. And various phantoms of the investment world may prove just as illusory.

Don’t let them scare you away from investing.

This article was written by Edward Jones for use by your local Edward Jones financial adviser.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: SHANKLIN: Beware of scary inhabitants of the investment world