Columns

Resurrection Sunday Now What?

Resurrection Sunday (Easter) is one of the most attended church services each year. It is the only day, other than Mother’s Day, many people will attend a church service. Many of these people call themselves a Christian, a Believer of God and even will say a Follower of Jesus. However, the only service they will attend is Sunrise service or Resurrection Sunday service and won’t be seen in any Christian fellowship until the next year. That got me thinking, most will only attend church again if there is a funeral ora wedding in the family.

“Know you not that you are the Temple of God, and that the spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy, for the temple of God is Holy, which temple you are.” (1 Corinthians 3:116-17) Oh the things of this world that we allow to come into our minds and bodies! Shameful things, filthy things…alcohol and tobacco! “Know you not that your body is the Temple of God! (vs.16) If any one defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy, for the temple of God is Holy, which temple you are.” (Vs. 17) I was pastor of the Baptist church in Barberton, Ohio. It was a beautiful church inside and out. I had not been there too long when one day I needed to step out for a few minutes, so I left the door unlocked when I left. I had an errand to run but I would be right back. When I came back someone had written filthy words all over the walls of this beautiful church, had overturned furniture and files in the office.

Cute, compact and classic: It’s Teddy Bear magnolia

With a name that calls to mind cuddly childhood toys, it’s hard not to love the Teddy Bear magnolia.

This Southern magnolia cultivar, which was found as a chance seedling, derives its moniker from the deep rusty brown, fuzzy undersides of its glossy, green leaves. But there’s a lot more to like about this tree than its adorable name and teddy bear-esque leaf texture.

One of its most delightful attributes is its compact form — offering a perfect solution for those of us who enjoy Southern magnolias but don’t have the yard space to accommodate traditional, sprawling cultivars.

Classic Southern magnolias can eventually grow to 40 to 50 feet tall and 20 to 30 feet wide. In some urban developments, the spread of a mature magnolia tree would take up nearly the entire width of the lot!

There’s a song that I love to hear people sing and the chorus is: “He knew me, yet He loved me, He whose glory makes the heavens shine So unworthy of such mercy, Yet when He was on the cross I was on His mind.”

Jesus had all of humanity on His mind when He was on the Cross. Last week I wrote about Jesus’ Forgiveness and Compassion spoken from the Cross. There are two additional phrases spoken from the Cross that have an impact on my personal relationship with Jesus. These phrases express the unconditional Love and Commitment that Jesus always has for each one of us.

There stood in Buna, Texas for many years a lone, bent pine tree. It was where our horse had been tied to in earlier days (as I remember as a lad), and in later days our hunting dog, Trigger, spent his last seventeen years attached to that tree when he wasn’t hunting with us.

The lone pine stood there many years until it was taken down by the new owners of our place after my dad and mother were gone, but I have many memories of it. I grew up with the memory of that tree as I reminisce about various incidents and the animals attached to it.

If you are a faithful reader of this column you will know that one of the main objectives is to keep alive the history and culture of DeSoto Parish. Today’s article is devoted primarily to a historical fact that will be new to some — World War II German Concentration Camps in Mansfield!

Buttered Croutons

Some recipes don’t arrive with ceremony. They don’t get passed down on handwritten cards or debated over holidays. They simply exist — used, practical, and dependable. Buttered croutons fall squarely into that category.

They’re not fancy. They’re not trying to impress anyone. They’re what happens when you refuse to waste good bread and believe butter can improve just about anything. There’s also no measuring cup anxiety and nothing delicate about it. You’re working with what you have, paying attention, and letting the butter do its job.

Croutons are almost accidental. Bread gets a little too firm. A loaf doesn’t disappear fast enough. Someone looks at it and says, “We can still do something with this.” That sentence alone could probably carry most kitchens through hard times.

There are many things that define a small town — the way everyone knows who your grandparents were, the way the grocery store doubles as a community bulletin board, the way a single train can stop traffic and conversation at the same time. But if you really want to understand the soul of a small town, you have to pay attention to the wave.

Not the kind that rolls across a football stadium, and not the kind that crashes on a beach. I’m talking about the small town wave — that subtle, almost instinctive gesture that passes between neighbors, strangers, and everyone in between. It’s a language all its own, and once you learn it, you never forget it.

From a donkey’s mouth came a rebuke for one of God’s servants. Numbers 22:20-35 Has God told you what to do and how to live? Then why don’t we do what He says?

In the scriptures listed above is the story of a so-called prophet of God by the name of Balaam. The King of the Moabites was afraid of the Israelites coming into the land of Canaan that they would destroy them. Also as Israel had defeated Jericho so he tried to hire a so-called prophet by the name of Balaam to curse them.

As we approach Easter week I wonder if that name accurately explains the true reason Christians celebrate the greatest sacrifice made by a man for humanity. When you ask a kid about Easter, what is the first thing they talk about? What is the focus of their attention during this holiday? I am sad the reality is that the first thing most kids today think about is about the bunny and the candy eggs they will receive. To me this is very wrong.