I was pastor of FCCC in Burlington, IA, for six plus years On my last Sunday, near the end of my last morning service, I asked the congregation for feedback. Most of the comments were affirmative, but an elderly lady raised her hand, which I acknowledged. "I want the next precher to get back behind the pulpit where he belongs," she exclaimed loudly and clearly. The pulpit and communion area was raised n ar about 10 inches above the sanctuary floor; and it formes a pointed V

#1 Danger in Over-Sleeping A.B. was from my hometown and we attended UT Austin for three of the same years. It was during final exams fort the fall semester, 1958-1959 that I ran into her outside a classroom building She was in tears and terribly distraught. I asked her abpit her problem "I stayed up all night studying for myvFrench final.," A.B. explqined. "You'll be okay," I told her. "We've all done that, and we recovered every time." "But that's not all," she responde

A A major lesson being taught in the current political a world is how to evade, be asked question, that is, then succeeding in not answering it (a clearcut evasio m). : - "It's out of my territory; I'm not able to comment on that"--is one of the major evasions we're seeing on a regular basis. Another is--"Only the President can answer that"=often said in full awareness of the fact that the President cannot be forced to answer anything. He's entitled. Yet another form of "be

Obviously, in current usage, when Donald Trump says so. For it was he who defined the conflict in Iran as an excursion But Trump also said that the excursion would last only three to four weeks Thus, if it continues for, say, another 10 days, by April 1 it will have become a real war. Needless to say, "excursion" created a lot of confusion among the nations involved in the Iranian conflict, but even more, in the people who are keeping up with the conflict in a serious effor

When Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth recently uttered those four words in comment on the deaths of six US servicemen while their plane was engaging in a "refueling' , he likely did not understand the grieveous implications Where in the four words was there event even a hint of regret or sorrow for how the six deaths may have undoubtedly negatively their their familiies and friends? Let there be no misunderstanding: sadly, there IS a time for war, mainly in self=defense o

Often, when dealing with a headache, we try to ease the symptoms, rather than getting at the headache's real cause. We can do better. Here's how. First, of course, we must identify the real problem, which is not as difficult as we may have first thought. For example, a bad headache may have as its root cause an issue with someone to whom we wise to relate, like to a spouse, son, daughter, or another acqua intance. The relative or acquaintance may be unaware of our desire to

Of course they do. When they are in error in the USA, the nation is in deep trouble, but so is the rest of the world. Our ideology or, if you will, our way of looking at life and the world; that is much more basic, and, therefore, most important. Without a sound ideology underlying and directing our politics, what we do will inevitably lead to disaster. How important do we think life itself is? We must place the highest value on life itself, wherever it exists, wherever the

The Real Church is centered in Jesus the Christ and is not at all like most of the places that call themselves such. For one, the Real Church has no boundaries. It is open to all of every race, sexual orientation or nationality. It can be a place of worship at any time and in any location. Secondly, the Real Church is not concerned with numbers, such as how many belong or attend or have been baptized and converted. The Real Church has no budget, thus, no annual budget of a

I begin with me and my fellow heteros. I must have absolute respect for mysef, every other male and for all females. For healthy relationships between the sexes are the very foundation of human society. I am worthy, so is she. We know we can do great things together. And we are physically attracted to one another. We are in love. In love, we begin a family. In the process, we learn how to please one another as well as how to overcome any differences we may have. Don't m

At times, we use "hope" regarding things or events we wish to cease or avoid, like "I hope that's not the case." B iblically speaking (Jesus speaking, if you will) uses "Hope" in a much broader and deeper way, mainly, tha t is, we "Hope" in order to avoid the consequences of evil For Jesus, there was One Great Hope, to enter into heaven and live there forever. Indeed, many among us need to make effective use of Jesus' Hope. When life becomes perilous for us, Jesus would ha

USA in Dire Need of Winter Olympic Team Made Up of Native Americans The USA has way too many immigrants performing for it in the 2026 Winter Olympics. The names speak for themselves, such as Haugjaa, Santos=Griswald and Lehman. Clearly, we need Olympians with names like Tonto, Pronto, Sitting Bull and War Eagle. Sitting Bull would have no problem with the figure skating and War Eagle would likely set a new world record every time he competes. Indeed, we need to end this craz

Probably more than we thinFk. but not enough (there never is). Fsome people the words simply come too easily' they say they really care, but their actions say differently. If we really cared about people, as we claim, we would be much more sympathetic toward immigrants, who are as human as we but without as much as we have' they just desire a better life than what they've had to date. If we really cared about people, we would not spend so much of our time trying to add to

Can We Recover our Personal Allegiance to Integrity? ? Is it possible for our world of the 21st century to have people in high (and low) places who are dedicated to living as honestly as they possibly can? Perhaps not. It may be that we humans of the 2020's have immersed ourselves so deeply into ",alomg money" that we have lost contact with our better selves. We are not at all surprised when some well-known person is revealed to be a pedophile, or someone just as self-cente

Hell and Heaven Are Real The two major post-this-life destinations humans have believed in for centuries, they are, indeed, very real, but they are also very unlike what we humans have traditionally thought. Hell is full of people from all nations, races, and religions, though most are probably former USA residents, Disagreements for everyone among them occur all the time, regardless of the weather, which changes repeatedly so as to make their environment always uncomforta

THE BEST ADVICE YOU WILL EVER GET Pay no attention to what you read here. Stop. That is all we have to say regarding you and your problems. You don't need us, or anyone else. The person you most need is.. . .yes, is: YOU! Of course, I'm saying nothing new. It's the same point made repeatedly by our best psychologists. Ultimately, you must figure out how to deal with your problems. Not I. Not Dr. Frankl (he's deceased) and certainly not Dr. Freud, the master interpre

Resolved Not to Resolve December 26, 2025.- Why should we ever make New Year's resolutions?? We know in advance that we will never be able to keep them. They're a waste of time, so let's do the obvious: make none but one: Resolve not to resolve means that any success we might enjoy comes as a great blessing; in 2026, we may even encounter a multitude of welcomed surprises, like a big raise in our salaries, along with public recognition of our outstanding personal qualities

The people we should most admire are not on the screens of our TV or local cinemas. They're nearby, perhaps even in the same room, or next door, or just down the street. We know them, but we do not acknowledge their goodness, the traits, that is. that they possess and do well with, but which, for the most part, we take for granted, failing to realize that we should be emulating them. Who are they? Let me give you some hints: #1, they are not troubled with the problems of t

2A Division 1 Joaquin (11-4) ca Stinnett West Texas (15-0), Wednesday, 7:00 pm 2A Divisioin 2 Muenster (11-2) vs. Shiner (15-0), Thursday, 11:00 am 3A Division 1 Grandview (13-2) vs. Yoakum ((13-2), Thursday. 2:00 pm 3A Division 2 Newton (14-1) vs. Wall (15-0), Thursday, 7:00 pm West Texas, Shiner and Wall are undefeated for 2025 All games ae played in Cowboy Stadium, Arlington. Clown of the Sea:

The Rams of Joaquin (11-4) trailed the Refugio Bobcats (13-1) most of the game but never gave up and took the lead with 6:25 minutes remaining at 29-28. They then added seven points to win the contest 37-28 and advance to the state final where they'll go against Stinnett West Texas (15-0), a clear winner over Hamilton, 35-0, in their semi-final. West Texas enters the title contest undefeated for the year. Quarterback Trenton Runnels, a junior, led the Rams masterfully. Se

Who can deliver a good sermon every Sunday (and at other times)? I just may be the one. \ I've had years of experience, mostly in my native state of Texas. Since my wife passed, I've been living temporarily with a daughter in South Florida (Palm Beach Gardens). I can preach! I can relate! I love ministry, in particular preaching. I have no blemishes on my record, as a college teacher/administrator and several years as a local church pastor/ Andy Pate, 361-543-6448; drandy