There is the story about a young man who was walking home on a very dark and moonless night and decided to take a shortcut. This shortcut took him directly through the local cemetery. As he crept through the graveyard, he fell into a deep open grave. It was so dark in the grave he couldn’t see his hand in front of his face.
The Baker community mourned the loss of Kadence Fredericksen,18, this weekend and celebrated her life and legacy. The hundreds of attendees poured into the Baker School multipurpose building Saturday, Feb. 22. Kadence died in a car accident in Santa Rosa County Feb. 17.
I was raised in a devout Roman Catholic family and have fond memories of the tactile “smells and bells” of the mass, the priest lifting the censer, rocking it back and forth, the pungent scent of incense, the jangle of bells. But there was one tactile experience I dreaded every year – the application of ashes on Ash Wednesday.
It was the end of a workday and, as is our custom, my wife and I were “debriefing” one another. I initiated, “How was your day?” My wife’s workdays of late have been exceedingly busy but today was less so. “It was okay,” she answered, “I only had about 40 phone calls.” Yes, that is a less busy day for her. She reciprocated, “And how was your day?” As I answered, I began to do something that I have done for my entire life. Leaning on my right elbow, my head cradled in my right hand, the fingers of my right hand were tugging on the flesh under my right eye. Yeah, it’s weird, but I do it unconsciously.
What is freedom of the press? The definition (Merrian-Webster) is the right to publish and disseminate information, thoughts, and opinions without restraint or censorship as guaranteed under the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
Many people search for happiness in their lives. If you don’t mind a little “reverse psychology” today, keep reading. You will find a prescription for attaining unhappiness.
1. We operate on a set of core values that includes truth – straight down the middle truth. Truth stands on its own and doesn’t lean one way or the other. It isn’t your truth, my truth, his truth. It is the truth. To that effort, we interview all sides of a story. It also includes personal accountability, passion for what we do, and being part of something much bigger than ourselves.
In thirty-five years of ministry, I have had several speaking engagements, some at conferences, and many at churches. That is not remarkable for a preacher. What is remarkable is that many of those engagements were in Spanish-speaking countries, and I do not speak Spanish; to be understood, I had to speak through an interpreter.
I am not a fan of snow. I have occasionally purposefully travelled to areas where I know there is a good possibility I will encounter snow, and I am OK with that because I know it is very temporary. I’m also prepared mentally, and I bring proper attire and equipment.
