Sorted by date Results 351 - 375 of 1215
On the road again, but unlike Willie, we aren’t having much fun. Another trip to Omaha to see George’s doctor this time. Ever since his surgery, he has felt like he had a lump in his throat, so it was decided he needed to visit his surgeon again. They stuck the camera up his nose and looked down his throat and everything seems to be healing just fine, so it was decided to wait it out a bit and see if the problem corrects itself. We go back in December. We got over whatever ick we had. Fingers crossed that being sick for a week means we will sta...
Q: How are farmers supposed to take comfort in a God that let their entire year of effort burn up? A: I sympathize with the frustration behind this question. When we put so much work and heart into something we expect it to pay off and work out. Our natural sense of justice tells us that hard work ought to be rewarded and, in a year like this, when reality falls far below our hopes and expectations, it is normal to feel disappointed. I want to reassure you God’s Word does offer comfort and reassurance to Christians in circumstances like t...
Sept. 11, 2001! It’s hard to believe it was 22 years ago that the United States was blatantly and willfully attacked by terrorists. The horrible scenes of the Twin Towers in New York as they were hit and fell to the ground were shown by the media. Many innocent people were killed. Then the Pentagon was hit miles away in Washington D.C. It was unbelievable. How could this be happening? Later it was learned an airplane hijacked by more terrorists and was headed for more destruction but crashed to the ground when brave heroes decided to take c...
Mike Combs, a Superior High School classmate of mine, shares my interest in history. Over the years, we have had many a conversation about the history of this area. I have questions about who were the Light Guards of Superior and why. I’ve asked Google those questions and not gotten a satisfactory response but it appears Superior wasn’t the only community to have similar organizations. The Sept. 7, 1903, issue of The Nuckolls County Herald Newspaper published at Nelson refers to what may have been a similar group of young men who held tar...
I use shredded paper as bedding for my livestock in particular my pig. It takes quite a lot of paper to keep a pig happy; much more than an average household can produce. To have enough paper to shred I get the old newspapers and magazines from convenience stores and a newspaper office. Often, I like to read the old newspapers from other towns but sometimes my stack of my want-to-reads gets quite large and I find myself reading “news” that is over a year old. Reading a year old, Kansas paper I found a front page article talking about that pap...
Q: If I disapprove of someone’s lifestyle aren’t I being judgmental? A: Properly responding to the sins of other people is a delicate balancing act, particularly in today’s atmosphere of hypersensitivity. While Christians are sometimes required to share the truth about sin with others, the sins we ought to be the most aware of and concerned about are our own (I Timothy 1:15)! If we are going to avoid the pitfalls of hypocrisy, condemnation and self-righteousness we must examine ourselves carefully in three areas. First, we must have the right...
Ok folks . . . just what did we do to Canada that they had to send all that smoke down here to us last week. We’ve seen smoke from different areas before, but nothing like last week. It makes me think of past events when even worse things happened. Like in Pompeii, Italy when more than 2,000 years ago an entire town was covered with volcanic ash from a nearby volcano. Like, even in Nebraska where the historic site at Ash Fall State Park in Royal is located. A mere 10 to 12 million years ago a volcano in Idaho sent enough ash and smoke to n...
What a wonderful weekend we had. George and I were both down with the flu. To be honest, I still feel pretty crummy. George wasn’t feeling well on Saturday and it hit him hard on Sunday, I wasn’t feeling at my best Saturday, but was hopeful I wouldn’t get anything too bad, but it caught up to me Sunday evening and the last two days have been miserable. Thankfully, Julia came and got the puppy yesterday. I was having enough trouble taking care of myself and was afraid I would lose her. Once I’m feeling better, I know I will be missing my shad...
Communicating with people, other than in person, has come a long way. Earlier forms of communication included scratching pictures on rocks and trees for others to read, body language, smoke signals, shooting of firearms and tapping on something. Code languages were used especially during war. Horse back message deliverers were counted on. Then came the telegraph system for faster delivery. The mailing system used the Pony Express and later the railroads to carry mail faster. Radio and television opened doors of communicating. News and weather...
Q: I know that the Bible says that idolatry is wrong, does that include wearing a cross necklace or things like that? What is Idolatry? A: Oftentimes moral questions of this sort boil down to the heart attitude rather than the act itself. In other words, idolatry isn’t so much what we do as why we do it and who or what we do it to. Idolatry is fundamentally about worship, and worship is about what we focus on and hope-trust in. God knows that He is the only true and wise God, and that placing absolute trust in anything or anyone besides Him i...
Puffs “Labor Day.” It’s interesting . . . a day set aside to “not labor.” But so many people actually put in a lot of hours of work in spite of the day being a holiday. I never really thought the day was intended to just give people a day off of work, but that it was intended to “Honor” those who do the manual labor in our country. Remember the year 1882 and consider the following: “Rooted in the labor movement of the 19th century, the holiday originated during a dismal time for America’s workers, who faced long hours, low wages and unsafe...
I can’t remember much of last week, all I know was that Friday was a busy day. Jacob loaded up the truck and headed out for North Carolina. He had planned to drive straight through but thankfully stopped for the night about halfway. He arrived late Saturday evening and was moved into his new barracks by Sunday evening. He was reunited with two of his buddies, and they spent Labor Day on the beach. George spent Friday afternoon running after his boys. Both boys had the weekend off, so he went to get them for our regular visit. Nicky was hired t...
Last month’s illegal raid by law enforcement officers on a Kansas newspaper has made national news and will long have repercussions. I expect a steep price will be extracted from those who caused the raid. In Nuckolls County, a visit to a Nelson newspaper office with illegal intentions was treated as a joke by the operator of the newspaper and his crew. But that doesn’t mean the participants didn’t have a price to pay. Before sharing the story, I should perhaps share a bit of background. In 1903, aspiring teachers were not required to have...
After six days of more than 100 degree daytime weather, relief came at the end of the week with a much needed rain and cooler temperatures. A drive along the country back roads showed a display of native sunflowers and how showy they are now. Sunflowers are bright and cheery. Every year I look forward to seeing them show up. After all, sunflowers are Kansas’ state flower and I can see why they were chosen for that honor. Sunflowers have become popular in interior decorating, featured on clothing and included by professional florists in many o...
My father was born in Rhode Island in 1915. Like most youth of his time, he was always tinkering with automobiles alongside his father, brother and friends. These vehicles were somewhat different from today’s vehicles. If you have ever watched Walt Disney’s movies “The Shaggy Dog,” “The Absentminded Professor” or “Flubber,” you are familiar with the cars of my father’s childhood. These cars needed to be driven to be acceptable. My father and a friend even took a camping trip from Rhode Island to Yellowstone National Park in a Model T Ford they...
My grandfather told me "It's an ill wind that blows no good" And that concept appears to be true with the vultures migrating into this area each spring. This year's drought has provided them with a feast. With ponds and streams drying up, the vultures have been enjoying a regular smorgasbord with the dead fish to supplement their normal road kill diet. Officially vultures are an endangered species but judging from the number of birds I've been seeing this year, they certainly aren't on the...
Q: Is abortion acceptable to save the life of the mother? A: This is not an easy question to answer. Oh, I can spout off Bible verses sitting in a comfortable office chair easily enough, but I know that the doctors and nurses who serve us in the medical community have to face the realities that come from these choices, and so do families who are facing a wide variety of heart-breaking situations. My heart and prayers go out to each one of you (Matthew 7:13-14). Under what circumstances is the taking of human life acceptable? The Bible does...
One of the more interesting career fields I can think of is that of being a “weather man.” (Or woman as well.) It seems most of the time, those weathermen on TV forecast for at least a week ahead, maybe two weeks. They got the hot, dry conditions correct for most of August, but that wonderful rain of last weekend was not in the forecast almost until it got here. I really appreciate surprises like that. We thank God for that inch and a half, and pray for additional rain to get us back to some sort of normal condition. I am constantly amazed as...
I am loving this weather! I wish it was like this year-round. Cool mornings and warm afternoons. I know it’s not likely to stay this way for long, so I plan to enjoy as much of it as I can. I almost wish I had the energy and inclination to get back to painting the house, but I don’t. We celebrated our wedding anniversary this past week by breaking the bank and purchasing a few things that we need to start the renovations at the house on First Street. We have been married for eight years now, and a couple for almost 12. We haven’t killed each ot...
After the last heat wave broke and we had several days of pleasant weather, I was certain the hot summer days were behind us for this year. I was wrong. The last few days have been even hotter. Manhattan, Kansas, had the nation’s high, 114 degrees on Saturday. Had I been attending school there, I would have wanted to visit the state park located below the dam, When I was a KSU student we called it Tuttle Puddle and it was high on the students lists of favorite summertime places. However, this year the park is closed because of blue-green a...
Q: What does Jesus mean in Matthew 8:18-22 when He tells his disciple to follow Him and let the dead bury their own dead? A: Great job finding and listing the context surrounding the verse you’re asking about! Jesus’ words to a would-be disciple to “let the dead bury their own dead” are included in a set of responses to those who expressed a willingness to follow Him (Luke lists a third interaction in his account; Luke 9:57-62). Taken together, these conversations present information to the reader about where Christ expects to be placed upon ou...
I’ve heard over the years that trying to tell the future of anything can be an inexact science. For this year of 2023, when talking about the weather, trying to forecast the weather is almost impossible. For some time now, we in southcentral Nebraska have come to know that most all “rain forecasts” are anything but true. How many of you are now familiar with the National Weather Service’s radar, and take the time to watch it? I have, at times, watched and followed it. The forecast is for rain to come to Nuckolls and Webster counties and the...
I had to wear a dress yesterday. I never wear dresses, I buy them and they hang in the closet. I needed to get the wash done, and it was a last resort. Not going to lie, it was comfortable. So comfortable that I may just wear one more often. I typically avoid wearing them because I am not the most ladylike. Jacob is home. We haven’t done much but I think that is all right by him. He’s been lying in bed late into the morning and going to see Jess in the evening. I think the slower pace is a welcome change. He is even enjoying the heat wave, he...
A perfect Sunday afternoon was enjoyed. There was no boating on the lake, or a big family picnic going on. It was a simple Sunday following Sunday School and the church worship service in the morning, a nice lunch at a local cafe with a cousin, and then it was back home. It was a warm August afternoon, with promising weather reports of rain arriving later in the afternoon. The rain would certainly be welcomed as on a farm a rain arriving in August is always needed and welcomed. Spotty rains have come and gone recently, and for some the rain...
