Every new year, I find myself taking inventory. Usually, I take inventory of the previous year, my goals, my accomplishments, even my physical and spiritual health. Sometimes, it’s an opportunity to give thanks and even rest in a sense of accomplishment. More often than not, there are opportunities for growth and chances to get back on track.
I realize that my thoughts are not that important, but what God has to say contains the power to change what man cannot change. May we choose faith over fear and allow our hope to be larger than our doubt! Did you notice that I said we have the choice to decide which side we are going to believe. Yes, but brother Billy how can I choose life? Well, Deuteronomy chapter thirty is an amazing place to start when trying to comprehend God’s plans for our lives. Verse 19, “This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live.”
It seems to me that in today’s society we do not hear much about the Holy Spirit. So my next few columns will be about the Holy Spirit and the BIG part this plays in the church and us. I have been ministering spiritual gifts inventories for about 15 years. Some of the names of the gifts are misunderstood. Take the gift of prophecy; most people think that this is about foretelling the future. Well yes it can be that sometimes, but it really is the God-given ability to receive and communicate an immediate message of God to a certain church or person on a certain day or period of time. This is a gift that a pastor and teacher of the church needs to fulfill their calling. This differs from a teacher in the school system. In the school system we have a curriculum that teachers are hired to teach. In the church God has a message for each church or class for a certain day. But the church has mostly done away with that and went with a planned lesson book and a series of sermons. This often limits the power and scope of the Holy Spirit moving among us, those who are listening.
I’ve told the stories of finding out I was adopted at the age of 16 and meeting my birth family later in life before, but like all of life, sometimes there is more to the story than is apparent at the start.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – American Humane, the country’s first national humane organization, has announced the official start of the 2022 American Humane Hero Dog Awards campaign. The twelfth annual, year-long campaign seeks to identify and honor the best of our best friends and will culminate this fall with the star-studded “American Humane Hero Dog Awards” gala on November 11 in Palm Beach. The event reaches and is eagerly followed by millions of animal lovers around the world every year.
Open House at the Barron Jan. 21 - Come to the Barron and see what a community can do.
Caleb Powell of Pratt is selling fried rice bowls customized with a variety of options for $5 a bowl on Saturday, Feb. 5, part of an Asian Culture Event at the Pratt Municipal Building. The Pratt Public Library is sponsoring the event which will include aspects of Asian culture with entertainers, vendors, food, crafts and more. Powell said his participation in the event is a fundraiser to help him explore a call to mission work.
The USD 382 Board of Education met in a regular session on January 10 to discuss various news and business. The meeting was kicked off with a motion that appointed Bill Bergner to serve as the Board President. Donna Hoener-Queal was also elected Vice President. Both motions were passed 6-0.
At the January 10 meeting of the Pratt County Commission, Heather Morgan, Pratt County Economic Development Consultant, discussed the potential for Federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to be used for the purchase of a new communication tower to be placed at the site of the new Pratt County Public Safety Center. The estimate for the tower itself, exclusive of delivery, concrete, and labor is $34,855. Commissioners unanimously approved using ARPA funds to cover the purchase.
MANHATTAN, Kan. — Most would agree that watching a new life enter the world is a pretty amazing experience — whether that is a human or an animal.