Sorted by date Results 751 - 775 of 1215
Doug Anderson, a former Superior resident, has written at least six books and scores of academic articles and papers. His latest book, “A Lifetime of Remembrances,” resulted from a suggestion made by his wife, Claudia. It was written as a memoir for their daughters and granddaughters. While Anderson is younger than this writer, we have similar memories of growing up in Superior and attending Superior High School. I don’t own a copy of the book but a friend graciously let met browse her copy I suspect the author’s family will long enjoy reading...
Ask a Pastor Column Presenting biblical answers to tough questions Q: Were there biblical laws before the 10 commandments? A: I guess it depends on what you mean by biblical laws. God designed the universe to function according to certain fundamental laws; whether they be physical laws like gravity, motion and thermodynamics, or moral laws like family, faith and character. Living with a proper respect for these laws (i.e. not jumping off a cliff or changing God’s design for family) has always resulted in blessings and fulfillment in life. T...
History . . . Does the Human Race really learn anything from history? I’ve always contended that we do. However, from the actions of Russia in the past few weeks, I’m beginning to change my mind. I’ve read much about the results of World War One and World War Two, along with those other conflicts (like Vietnam and Korea) that didn’t get categorized as “World Wars.” Reading about all the suffering, killings, and destruction that takes place in such event, I was about convinced we might just never see such events again. I was almost convinced w...
By The past two weeks have been rough. It all started two weeks ago today when George woke feeling crummy. After a visit to the doc and some tests, it turned out he had COVID again. Thankfully, Jacob had been busy with Jacob things, and neither of us had been around him since the Friday before. So I told Jacob to stay away from the two of us. Jacob and I communicated by phone from across the hall when he was home in the evening, but for the most part, he would stay with friends until bedtime. I feel like I don’t see enough of that child r...
History . . . Does the Human Race really learn anything from history? I’ve always contended that we do. However, from the actions of Russia in the past few weeks, I’m beginning to change my mind. I’ve read much about the results of World War One and World War Two, along with those other conflicts (like Vietnam and Korea) that didn’t get categorized as “World Wars.” Reading about all the suffering, killings, and destruction that takes place in such event, I was about convinced we might just never see such events again. I was almost convinced w...
The past two weeks have been rough. It all started two weeks ago today when George woke feeling crummy. After a visit to the doc and some tests, it turned out he had COVID again. Thankfully, Jacob had been busy with Jacob things, and neither of us had been around him since the Friday before. So I told Jacob to stay away from the two of us. Jacob and I communicated by phone from across the hall when he was home in the evening, but for the most part, he would stay with friends until bedtime. I feel like I don’t see enough of that child regularly,...
I can’t understand when someone says music doesn’t mean much to them. Music has been a must in my life. I believe it was instilled in me before I was born. My mother loved country music. Her favorite singer through the years was Ernest Tubbs. She would listen to his singing on the radio show, The Grand Ole Opry. Her favorite song to sing to me as a baby was “Sioux City Sue.” It was made popular by Gene Autry in 1946. My father, who also loved music, often sang with his brothers forming a quartet in their early years. One of my father...
A recent story in/ the Council Grove Republican newspaper by Marcus Hernandez and Diane Wolfe reminded me of a nearly forgotten chapter in local history that involved the Ground Observer Corps. I suspect this area’s proximity to the Naval Ammunition Depot at Hastings, the SAC base near Omaha and Wichita’s aircraft manufacturing facilities all influenced the location of the Ground Observer Corps facility. It was here about the same time that a field hospital was stored in the city auditorium and local buildings were surveyed to determine whi...
Presenting Biblical answers to tough questions Q: If God is sovereign, he could have chosen to let history play out in any way He wanted; why did he allow the human race to get into such a mess and then die to save it? What was the point? A: Christian thinkers have fairly consistently held the perspective that God’s fundamental purpose in creating the universe was self-expression. Like many human artists, God wanted to express Himself and reveal His character and nature through His works. God’s work in Creation reveals His power and authority (...
Have you noticed . . . things don’t always turn out the way you hope? About a year or so ago, my trusty, old, $12.98 Timex watch quit. Just didn’t want to run any more. So I went looking for another. This time I had to pay a little more ($24.98), but I attributed the increase cost to inflation. Little did I know that included in the package of the watch was a nice shinny money clip. Now, I don’t ever remember having a money clip before, so I thought this was great. I always thought people using a money clip were cool, so I started to use it. I...
Where is the snow we had years ago? It seems when we do get snow, it is described as being a “dusting” of snow. I remember as a young child having it snow for days. Finally when it quit, my sister and I would run outside in our snowsuits, gloves, and snow boots to make our snow creations of forts, snow angels, and the ever creative snowmen and his family. The drifts were so high the country roads were blocked for at least a couple of days. That meant no school. When the Oak Creek School doors opened again, there was lots of snow on the gro...
I’m glad to have attended school when I did. I didn’t have to attend kindergarten and, had my folks not insisted, I might not have attended school. When asked if I was starting the first grade in September, my response was no. I might start in October but September was a busy month at the gasoline station and consequently, I wouldn’t be starting school that month. Today is Kindergarten Roundup at the Superior Elementary School. When enrolling to attend kindergarten next year, the prospective pupils are to have an immunization record, socia...
Q: Does God ever exercise judgment on Christians, or does his grace mean that we can live however we want to? A: The grace of God means a great deal for Christians: forgiveness of sins, cleansing of impurity and a whole range of new blessings for life (Ephesians 1:3-14). God goes from being our judge to becoming our Father. This change in relationship means we no longer need to fear the eternal penalties for sin (John 10:28); we are forgiven in Christ (Colossians 2:13) and will not come into judgement (John 5:24). However, it is not God’s i...
The “Liberal Left” whom I often equate with the “Democratic Party” has been on quite a run for some time condemning state legislatures for making changes in voting laws. (I don’t know if it is fair to list only Democrats as equals to the Liberal Left as I know there are many others, like Socialist, Communist, Atheists, etc.) However, I bring this up this week for two reasons. The first reason is short and sweet: our 2022 primary election is getting very close now. Secondly, I have heard of the Democrats objecting to state changes in election...
I woke up to the birds chirping this morning; that was a nice change of pace. Usually, it’s my alarm clock squawking after I’ve hit snooze for the fifteenth time. When I came downstairs to get my morning cup of joe, I could have sworn I heard them in the wall! I suppose birds in the wall are better than bats in the belfry or basement, for that matter. I had a busy weekend of patching plaster while George worked to piece our second-hand countertops together. There might be more patch than plaster at this point. The countertops are looking nic...
When I joined The Express staff in 1970, I wanted to be part of a newspaper that showed this to be a good area in which to live and raise a family. I wanted to proved the folks who thought there was nothing to do in a rural community to be wrong. While the activities may be different than those in the city, I knew there are lots of fun things to do in a rural community. This week Wallet Hub ranked all 50 U.S. states from best to worst for raising a family by scoring each according to 50 metrics spread across five categories which include...
Where is the snow we had years ago? It seems when we do get snow, it is described as being a “dusting” of snow. I remember as a young child having it snow for days. Finally when it quit, my sister and I would run outside in our snowsuits, gloves, and snow boots to make our snow creations of forts, snow angels, and the ever creative snowmen and his family. The drifts were so high the country roads were blocked for at least a couple of days. That meant no school. When the Oak Creek School doors opened again, there was lots of snow on the gro...
Presenting Biblical answers to tough questions Q: Does God decide who goes to heaven and who goes to hell? A: While I do not claim to have all of the answers when it comes to God’s sovereign will and our own responsibility, there are certain truths from Scripture I can state with confidence. First, Christ died for the sins of the world and this provides everyone with the opportunity to go to heaven (John 3:16). While God knows who will accept this gift and who will not, this does not prevent Him from showing truly unconditional love by o...
Let’s cover several topics of conversation this week and in no special order. CONVENTION: Let’s have a party. Nebraska made national news last week. Many, or even most, folks didn’t have knowledge of it. You see, Nebraska became the 17th state to authorize the state to take part in a Convention to propose amendments to the United States Constitution. Doesn’t sound terribly exciting does it, and maybe that’s why there was little media coverage of the event. You see, back in the late 1700s when the U. S. Constitution was written, they realized...
There is nothing new to report this week. Everyone is healthy, the house is messy, we haven’t won the lottery, so same story, different week. I turned 44, so I guess that’s new. I had a good birthday, didn’t do anything special. It was a cold day for deliveries and grocery-getting, but I had coffee from two of my favorite places to keep me warm. Everywhere I went, folks wished me a happy birthday. I suppose social media is to blame for that; it made my day, though. This weekend, I realized we are just four short months away from gradu...
I was a grade school student when /Aunt Viola gave me a point and shoot camera. After receiving the box camera with a flash attachment, I started sharing family photography assignments with my father. Until then, my father was the family photographer. He used a box camera he won about 20 years earlier by guessing the number of jelly beans in a Fisher Drug Store jar. His camera took good photos provided the subjects were outside on a bright, sunny day. As these entries are made in the notebook, i...
Presenting Biblical answers to tough questions Q: How do I know if I’m sinning or not? Is there a list of sins that I can look at? A: If I were speaking to this person face to face, I would ask them why they want to know if they are sinning or not. If they are thinking they need to fill out a checklist of righteous behavior in order to avoid being punished or earn God’s favor, then it’s important to know God doesn’t work like that. He has forgiven believers all trespasses in Christ (Colossians 2:14) and we will not come into judgment for sin...
This article was written by a college student by the name of Alyssa Ahlgren, who’s in grad school for her MBA. It’s a short article but definitely worth a read. “My Generation Is Blind to the Prosperity Around Us! I’m sitting in a small coffee shop near Lake Nokomis (Mpls) trying to think of what to write about. I scroll through my newsfeed on my phone looking at the latest headlines of Democratic candidates calling for policies to “fix” the so-called injustices of capitalism. I put my phone down and continue to look around. I see people talk...
Writer’s block, ugh! I got it, and it is not good! I have been staring at this computer screen for hours, and the words just aren’t coming. I can almost feel my editor breathing down the back of my neck as my deadline is fast approaching. I sat down to write Saturday and nothing, Sunday was more of the same, and here I am Monday evening, with Tuesday morning fast approaching. I think there is just too much on my mind, and making light of that is not something I can do at this time. For months we have all watched the prices of literally everythi...
There are some creatures God created that I often wonder why? Mice are one of those creations. To me, they have no purpose except to be an unwanted rodent. There are those lovable cartoon character mice such as Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse but they never won me over. There is even the hero cartoon mouse, Mighty Mouse, but a mouse could never be a hero in my thinking. I never felt sorry for the children’s song characters, Three Blind Mice, and I approved of their demise. There is even a computer “mouse” but I never could figure out why. Living...