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HAPPENINGS: Making practical resolutions for 2015

Written by archive on December 24, 2014. Posted in columns, lifestyle.

The New Year is upon us — time to make resolutions!

But too many resolutions made are never put into practice. Here is my list. I believe that it is practical, and that I can keep these resolutions all year long.

I resolve to:

•Spend more time with loved ones. Day-to-day responsibilities keep me from spending the time I want with others, and one never knows what tomorrow may bring. I want to make the most of my relationships with loved ones and friends while I can.

•Spend more time walking with my adorable collies. All three of us need the exercise, and I love spending time with them and sharing them with the neighborhood.

•Spend more time in prayer and reading my Bible. When I study the Bible, I grow in my relationship with the Lord, and praying for others is a unique privilege. Prayer also strengthens my relationship with the Lord, molds me into His likeness and keeps me in tune with His will.

•Write more notes to relatives and friends, especially the elderly. We have elderly aunts and uncles that are homebound; when I call them, they tell me how much they love getting a handwritten note or letter.

•Smile and laugh often. According to health experts, this helps relieve stress.

•Talk more with strangers — they may turn into friends.

•Sing more, using my musical gifts to glorify the Lord.

•Take more photographs and get them into scrapbooks.

•Eat as healthy as possible. I love vegetables but need to add more fruits to my diet. I will try to have a rainbow of colors at every meal — not just my beloved raw carrots and salads. I will avoid processed foods, and add more lean protein.

I wanted resolutions that I would actually put into practice and follow through. My prayer is that the kindness displayed throughout the Christmas season will continue into the new year and that we will go out of our way to be helpful and patient with one another.

Life would be more pleasant if we all treated each other the way we want to be treated. A little kindness and patience go a long way.

With that said here are some North Okaloosa happenings:

•Crestview's Sister City, Noirmoutier, France, will celebrate 20 years of friendship May 6-13, 2015. The two cities will commemorate the 70th Anniversary of Noirmoutier's liberation at the end of World War II. Participants pay just for transportation to and from Noirmoutier and membership dues in the Sister City group.

Contact Pam Coffield, 682-8437, or Brian Hughes, 603-2584, for details. Reservations for the trip must be made before Dec 31.

This is a chance for a vacation on a beautiful French island and to make some new friends.

•New Year's Eve activities: 6 p.m. Dec. 31, Central Baptist Church, 951 S. Ferdon Blvd., Crestview.

•Watchnight Service: 7 p.m. to midnight, Dec. 31, Live Oak Baptist Church, 4565 Live Oak Church Road, Crestview. Worship service will be at 11 p.m.

Wow, look at all that's happening in our community!

So back to New Year's resolutions: What is on your list? Share your vows for 2015 in the box below!

Have a Happy, Healthy New Year full of blessings.

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

Email listings of upcoming events and activities of public interest>>

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: HAPPENINGS: Making practical resolutions for 2015

CROSE: Christmas season brings joy to humankind

Written by archive on December 17, 2014. Posted in columns, lifestyle.

Joy is in the air. Every place I go in our fair town, people are happy, smiling, and kindness prevails.

I was at the post office and the line was horrendous, yet people were chatting with one another, happy and helping each other.

The Christmas season seems to bring out the good in humankind.

I hope that you are experiencing the joy of this season and sharing goodwill with others. I have attended lovely cantatas, living nativities, choir and band programs, and have been dazzled by this town's talent.

I am also enjoying the wonderful aromas from the baking that gets done this time of year. We will be having ham with all the trimmings, sweet potatoes and green bean casserole, as well as pumpkin and cranberry nut breads.

However, while all those things are good, the true meaning of Christmas is summed up in these passages:

•Matthew 1:21, "And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus; for he shall save his people from their sins."

•Luke 2:11 "For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord."

With that said, here's what's coming up in our area:

•Live Nativity: 5-8 p.m. Dec. 19, 20 and 21, Central Baptist Church, 951 S. Ferdon Blvd., Crestview. Freewill offering.

CRESTVIEW AREA CHRISTMASTIME SERVICES:

•6 p.m. Dec. 21, St. Mark United Methodist, 2250 PJ Adams Parkway, Children & Family Candlelight (also at 1:30 p.m. Dec. 24 and 3 p.m. Dec. 24)

•4 p.m. Dec. 24, Emmanuel Baptist, 3252 E. James Lee Blvd., Family Contemporary

•4 p.m. Dec. 24, First United Methodist, 599 Eighth Ave, Family, Candlelight & Communion

•4:30 p.m. Dec. 24, St. Mark United Methodist, 2250 PJ Adams Parkway, Contemporary Candlelight

•5 p.m. Dec. 24, Emmanuel Baptist, 3252 E. James Lee Blvd., Family Contemporary

•5 p.m. Dec. 24, Our Lady of Victory Catholic, 550 Adams Drive, Christmas Eve Mass

•5:30 p.m. Dec. 24, Church of the Epiphany Episcopal, 424 Garden St., Carol Sing

•6 p.m. Dec. 24, Church of the Epiphany Episcopal, 424 Garden St., Candlelight, Eucharist

•6 p.m. Dec. 24, Central Baptist, 951 S. Ferdon Blvd., Traditional, Candlelight

•6 p.m. Dec. 24, First Baptist, 850 N. Pearl, Traditional Christmas Eve

•6 p.m. Dec. 24, First Presbyterian, 492 N. Ferdon Blvd., Family Candlelight

•6 p.m. Dec. 24, First United Methodist, 599 Eighth Ave., Traditional Candlelight & Communion

•6 p.m. Dec. 24, Lifepoint, 400 S. Ferdon Blvd., Family Contemporary, Candlelight

•6 p.m. Dec. 24, Live Oak Baptist, 4565 Live Oak Church Road, Candlelight

•6 p.m. Dec. 24, St. Mark United Methodist, 2250 PJ Adams, Traditional, Candlelight & Communion

•6 p.m. Dec. 24, Woodlawn Baptist, 824 N. Ferdon Blvd., Traditional Christmas Eve

•7 p.m. Dec. 24, Our Savior Lutheran, 171 W. North Ave., Traditional, Candlelight

•7:30 p.m. Dec. 24, Our Lady of Victory Catholic, 550 Adams Drive, Christmas Eve Mass

•11 p.m. Dec. 24, First Presbyterian, 492 N. Ferdon Blvd., Reflective Candlelight

Midnight, Our Lady of Victory Catholic, 550 Adams Drive, Christmas Eve Mass

•10 a.m. Dec. 25, Our Lady of Victory Catholic, 550 Adams Drive, Christmas Day Mass

•10 a.m. Dec. 25, Our Savior Lutheran, 171 W. North Ave., Christmas Day Service

•New Year's Eve activities: 6 p.m. Dec. 31, Central Baptist Church, 951 S. Ferdon Blvd., Crestview.

•Watchnight Service: 7 p.m. to midnight, Dec. 31, Live Oak Baptist Church, 4565 Live Oak Church Road, Crestview. Worship service will be at 11 p.m.

If you see me on my jaunts around town, please wish me a "Merry Christmas."

I wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas full of the Lord's abundant blessings. Enjoy this time with your family and friends.

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

Email listings of upcoming events and activities of public interest to NorthOkaloosaHappenings@gmail.com.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: CROSE: Christmas season brings joy to humankind

Annual Laurel Hill Living Nativity ‘a blessing’ to 150 residents

Written by archive on December 17, 2014. Posted in Faith, lifestyle.

LAUREL HILL — Softly lit by 600 luminaria lining their paths and the glow of seven campfires, 150 area residents made “journeys to Bethlehem” at the fifth annual Living Nativity hosted by the Laurel Hill Presbyterian Church.

Several attendees said attending the Nativity and sharing refreshments and fellowship after their journeys has become an annual tradition for their families.

Ellie Emerson said her grandchildren always look forward to the event. "Are we going to go see Jesus, Maw-Maw?’ they always ask me.”

Even political rivals laid aside differences to attend. Laurel Hill City Council rivals Mary Bradberry and Scott Moneypenny made the journey in the same group.

“Now that was a blessing to see,” the Rev. Mark Broadhead said, partially jokingly.

More than two dozen volunteers from the church, its sister church in Crestview, and friends spent Friday evening and all of Saturday preparing for the two-and-a-half hour event.

Three volunteers wrangled a pair of goats from the Allie Lee Campbell farm to give shepherds Kerra Beasley of Crestview and Jessianne Fortune of Laurel Hill a flock — albeit small — to watch by night.

Performers represented students and adults from multiple area churches. The Three Kings, for example, were an elder in the Laurel Hill Presbyterian Church, a member of Live Oak Baptist Church in Crestview, and a member of the Laurel Hill First Baptist Church. King Herod was an elder at the First Presbyterian Church of Crestview.

Email News Bulletin Staff Writer Brian Hughes, follow him on Twitter or call 850-682-6524.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Annual Laurel Hill Living Nativity ‘a blessing’ to 150 residents

EXTENSION CONNECTION: Christmas gift ideas for the gardener

Written by archive on December 15, 2014. Posted in lifestyle.

Does someone on your Christmas shopping list enjoy gardening, landscaping or the outdoors?

The University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Extension Bookstore offers a wealth of books, DVDs and ID decks, as well as shirts, caps and other products.

Our resources include gardening, lawn and landscaping, as well as agriculture, wildlife, boating, fishing, health, nutrition, family and community subject matter. And they are specific for Florida.

Consider these:

•"Simply Florida: A Taste of Flavors from the Sunshine State": This isn’t simply a cookbook — it’s a celebration of food in the sunshine state: sun-ripened fruits, fabulous beef, the freshest seafood and farm-fresh vegetables. Some of its recipes include grouper parmesan, spicy mango and avocado salad and citrus-marinated tomato salad over steak. $25.

•"Florida Wildflowers": This field guide categorizes Florida wildflowers, not just by their color or family group but by the natural habitats in which they're found. Over 500 color photos and detailed descriptions outline the major ecosystems of Florida and the wildflowers unique to each. It also includes a guide to identifying wildflowers, places to visit, a glossary and much more. Gardeners and naturalists or those interested in Florida's ecology will find this guide indispensable. $29.95.

•"Florida Gardener's Handbook": Whether you're new to the state or just new to gardening, let expert gardeners introduce you to over 300 Florida plants in an information-packed guide that's almost as beautiful as the plants it features. Includes proven plant species, tips for water-wise gardening and to-do calendars to keep your garden lush and vibrant all year long. $24.99.

•"Organic Methods for Vegetable Gardening in Florida": Expertbotanist Ginny Stibolt and Master Gardener Melissa Contreras provide simple and accessible advice for successful, pesticide-free vegetable gardening. This fully illustrated book is an invaluable guide for everyday gardeners, as well as small farmers who wish to expand their operations to participate in farmers markets. $24.95.

•"Florida's Birds: A Field Guide and Reference": Birders will love this handsomely illustrated guide to Florida’s birds. Each of the state’s 348 bird species is represented with full accounts and three color illustrations. The book also includes information about breeding months, best habitats and times for birding, and a state map of 25 birding hotspots. Learn how to attract and feed wild birds and to care for sick, injured and orphaned birds. $21.95.

For more information, go to IFASbooks.ifas.ufl.edu or call 1-800-226-1764.

Larry Williams is an agent at the University of Florida's Extension office in Crestview.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: EXTENSION CONNECTION: Christmas gift ideas for the gardener

Southern gospel concert with Down East Boys is in January

Written by archive on December 15, 2014. Posted in Faith, lifestyle.

CRESTVIEW — A concert featuring The Down East Boys is planned Jan. 10 in Crestview.

The Southern gospel quartet, from Reidsville, N.C., has been singing together for more than 25 years.

The 6 p.m. concert is at Central Baptist Church, 951 S. Ferdon Blvd., Crestview. A $10 donation is requested at the door.

Love offering donations will be accepted during the event.

For details, visit www.libbyandfriendsgospelconcerts.com or call Libby White, 850-496-7106.

For more about the Down East Boys, visit http://www.downeastboys.com/.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Southern gospel concert with Down East Boys is in January

FINANCIAL FOCUS: Seek to balance 'risk tolerance' and 'required risk'

Written by archive on December 15, 2014. Posted in lifestyle.

Like everyone else, you have financial goals. To help achieve these goals, you may need to invest — and when you invest, you’ll need to take on some risk.

But the more you understand this risk, and the better you are at managing it, the greater your potential for staying invested for the long term.

To begin, then, take a look at these terms:

• Risk tolerance — Your risk tolerance is essentially your comfort level with taking risk.

For example, if you have a high tolerance for risk, you may be comfortable investing aggressively. Conversely, if you tend to be risk-averse, you might lean toward more conservative investment vehicles that offer greater protection of principal.

• Required risk — While the term “required risk” may sound odd, it is actually an integral component of your ability to invest successfully.

Basically, your required risk is the level of risk necessary to help you achieve your investment goals. The higher the return necessary to reach those goals, the more potential risk you’ll need to assume.

As you invest, you’ll need to balance these two aspects of risk.

For example, what might happen if you have a low risk tolerance, leading you toward “safer,” low-growth investments, but your goal is to retire early? For most people, this goal requires them to invest in vehicles that offer significant growth potential, such as stocks. And, as you know, investing in stocks entails risk — specifically, the risk that your stocks will lose value. So in this situation, your risk tolerance — the fact that you are risk-averse — is going to collide with your required risk level, the amount of risk you are going to need to take (by investing in stocks) to achieve your goal of early retirement.

When such a collision occurs, you have two choices. First, you could “stretch” your risk tolerance and accept the need to take on riskier investments in exchange for the growth potential you will require. Your other choice is to stay within your risk tolerance and adjust your ultimate goal — which, in this example, may mean accepting a later retirement date.

Obviously, this is a personal decision. However, you may have more flexibility than you might have imagined.

For instance, you might feel that you should be risk-averse because you have seen so many fluctuations in the financial markets. But if you have many decades to go until you retire, you actually do have time to recover from short-term losses, which means you may be able to reasonably handle more volatility.

On the other hand, once you’re retired, you won’t have as many years to bounce back from market downturns, so you’ll have less “risk capacity” than you did when you were younger.

In any case, by balancing your risk tolerance and your required risk level — and by understanding your risk capacity — you can be better prepared to take the emotion out of investing.

When investors let their emotions get the better of them, they can make mistakes such as chasing “hot” stocks or selling quality investments due to temporary price drops.

By having a clear sense of what risk really entails, however, you may be able to avoid costly detours — and stick with your long-term investment strategy.

This article was written by Edward Jones on behalf of your Edward Jones financial adviser.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: FINANCIAL FOCUS: Seek to balance 'risk tolerance' and 'required risk'

Missing jewelry has historic attachment to Crestview forefather

Written by archive on December 12, 2014. Posted in lifestyle.

CRESTVIEW — Like many people's most treasured belongings, it’s not the object's value but sentimental attachment that makes it dear.

In the case of Barbara Adams’ pendant, which she lost Tuesday, it’s also the history behind the piece. It was formed from rings once owned by the mother of one of Crestview’s most prominent early residents and mayors.

The late Purl Adams served many offices in Crestview’s earliest years, but his mother, Alma Elizabeth Moore Adams, never had the chance to watch her son’s rise to regional importance. She died of pneumonia when he was just 6 weeks old.

“Mr. Purl had kept all of his mother’s rings,” Barbara Adams said. “When Purl Junior and I were going to get married, Mr. Purl took all those rings — there were about five of them — and gave them to me. They just fit my fingers.”

RINGS TO PENDANT

Barbara Adams wore her late grandmother-in-law’s rings for many years, but over the decades, they grew brittle. Not wishing to have one break and get lost, she found a way to preserve the treasures.

“I said, ‘I know what I’ll do: I’ll have all these rings melted down and I’ll make a pendant out of it, and put one of the diamonds in the center of it,’” Adams said.

The rings' gold yielded about an inch wide — “not huge, just kind of medium sized” — round pendant, with a “beautiful diamond in the middle,” Adams said.

“People in the store or in church would say, ‘That’s the prettiest necklace,’” she said.

When she returned home from running Tuesday errands in town, she realized the pendant was no longer hanging from the necklace.

“I’ve hunted all through the house and all the places I went to Tuesday — the different little stores and the parking lots I stopped in,” Adams said.

“That was one of my most special pieces of jewelry,” she said. “I know things happen in life that we have to stand, but I hope somebody might find it somewhere.”

HOW TO HELP

Anyone who finds a pendant around the First United Methodist Church area on Texas Parkway and Eighth Avenue, in the downtown area near FAMU's College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Woodruff Avenue, or in Northwood Plaza shopping center's north section, can contact Barbara Adams at 682-0739.

Email News Bulletin Staff Writer Brian Hughes, follow him on Twitter or call 850-682-6524.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Missing jewelry has historic attachment to Crestview forefather

Schola Cantorum's Christmas performance draws largest audience

Written by archive on December 11, 2014. Posted in lifestyle.

CRESTVIEW — Schola Cantorum's Christmas concert on Wednesday drew 50 people, its largest Crestview area audience to date.

Over the years, the Northwest Florida State College-based Schola Cantorum has stayed faithful to its north county audience, playing even when audience members could be counted on one’s own digits.

The group's performances have plenty of variety.

“Some of it's very old and some of it is very new, and some of it that’s very new is based on very old text,” Schola director John Leatherwood said of the concert’s selections.

Highlights from Wednesday's concert included the traditional “Masters In This Hall,” Uma Jolly’s solo on Robert Farrell’s “Oh, Sleep Now, Holy Baby,” and J. William Greene’s contemporary “Gates and Doors,” featuring soloist Sara Florence.

Robert Lehman performed the traditional Irish “Wexford Carol," and "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” included the evening’s oldest text “but probably the most current setting,” Leatherwood said.

The concert concluded with two American spirituals, “Glory to the Newborn King,” featuring a solo by Greg Parry, and “Go, Tell it on the Mountain."

Carolyn Schlatter provided piano accompaniment, with Carole Hayes on violin and Robin Horne on flute.

Email News Bulletin Arts Editor Brian Hughes, follow him on Twitter or call 850-682-6524.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Schola Cantorum's Christmas performance draws largest audience

HAPPENINGS: Reflecting on our blessings

Written by archive on December 11, 2014. Posted in columns, lifestyle.

Pumpkin bread is baking in the oven and Christmas cards have been ordered, but I still need to run the labels and finish our Christmas letter.

OK, and a few more gifts need to be wrapped and purchased. Then we'll be set for Christmas.

Each year, I wonder what joy and blessings I miss from rushing around. Am I so busy making sure everything gets taken care of that I have missed the joy this season brings?

Hopefully that's not the case this year. I am making time to enjoy cantatas at churches, Living Nativities in our area, the high school choral and band Christmas programs, and Christmas Eve services.

All these wonderful things keep me focused on what the season is truly about: the gift God sent in the form of His son, Jesus Christ.

I am also going to enjoy a cup of coffee or tea with friends and catch up, even if it is just by phone.

Our family will reflect on the blessings we have received from the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

The baking might get put off to another day, and some of the cards may get mailed late, but our enjoyment of Christmas will rise and we will have real joy.

December Happenings

•KIWANIS BREAKFAST & AUCTION WITH SANTA: 7-10 a.m. Dec. 13, Coach-N-Four restaurant, John King Road, Crestview. Includes workshop where children can shop for their parents, along with pancake breakfast and pictures with Santa. Tickets: $5 per person; free for kids age 6 and younger. Proceeds benefit the Crestview club's scholarships and community projects.

•YULE OF YESTERYEAR: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Dec. 13, Heritage Museum, 115 Westview Ave., Valparaiso. Details: 678-2615 or info@heritage-museum.org.

•CONCERNED CITIZENS OF CRESTVIEW'S OUTREACH CHRISTMAS DINNER: 4 p.m. Dec. 16 at Carver-Hill School Center, 461 W. School Ave., Crestview.

•Crestview High School Band Christmas Program: 7 p.m. Dec. 16, Pearl Tyner Auditorium, 1250 N. Ferdon Blvd. No charge.

•Advent service: 7 p.m. Dec. 17, Our Savior Lutheran Church, 171 W. North Ave., Crestview.

•Live Nativity: 5-8 p.m. Dec 19, 20 and 21, Central Baptist Church, 951 S. Ferdon Blvd., Crestview. Freewill offering.

•ST. MARK UMC CHRISTMAS SERVICES: United Methodist Church, 2250 PJ Adams Parkway, Crestview, plans five Christmas services.

•6 p.m. Dec. 21, “early bird” communion and candle lighting service.

•1:30 and 3 p.m. Dec. 24, children/family candle lighting services.

•4:30 p.m. Dec. 24, contemporary candle lighting service.

•6 p.m. Dec. 24, traditional communion and candle lighting service.

Details: 682-5280 or www.stmarkcrestview.com.

•Crestview High School Choir in Epcot's Candlelit Processional: 6:45 p.m. and 8:15 p.m. Dec. 27, 200 Epcot Center Drive, Lake Buena Vista. Admission to Epcot required.

•CHS Chanticleer and Destiny choirs perform at Universal City Walk: 10 a.m. Dec 28, 1000 Universal Studios Plaza, Orlando. Parking: $17

•New Year's Eve activities: 6 p.m. Dec 31, Central Baptist Church, 951 S. Ferdon Blvd., Crestview.

•Watchnight Service: 7 p.m. to midnight, Dec. 31, Live Oak Baptist Church, 4565 Live Oak Church Road, Crestview. Worship service will be at 11 p.m.

If you see me on my jaunts around town, please wish me a "Merry Christmas." I hope that you have a wonderful week.

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

The former music teacher enjoys scrapbooking, sewing, playing the piano and studying the Bible.

Email listings of upcoming events and activities of public interest>>

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: HAPPENINGS: Reflecting on our blessings

Boston butt benefit scheduled in Crestview

Written by archive on December 11, 2014. Posted in health-fitness, lifestyle.

CRESTVIEW — Duke it Out's American Cancer Society Relay For Life team has scheduled a Boston butt fundraiser for Christmas and New Year's Eve.

Fully cooked butts will be available for pick-up 4-5 p.m. Dec. 24 and Dec. 31 in the Crestview Publix parking lot. The cost is a $25 donation.

Contact Loney Whitley, 603-3500 or 537-4654, to place your order.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Boston butt benefit scheduled in Crestview

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