Opinion

Life is full of ups and downs, but unless you are willing to face it head-on and learn how to solve your own problems, rather than finding answers in the bottom of a bottle, “aging gracefully,” is not in your future. Being healthy has nothing to do with how rich or poor you are, but more about the decisions you make from the time you come into this world to the time you leave, and those decisions do not affect only you, but they affect everyone around you. ...

In last week’s column I touched on the fact that we need to clean up our own backyard. A friend of mine sent me this article and I believe it details what I was writing about. I found it very enlightening. It was written by Charley Reese. He worked as a journalist for 49 years...

Some weeks ago, wanting something to ease my brain before bedtime, I channel-surfed for something easy and came across a televangelist with whom I’ve had little in common theologically. But it had been years since I had heard him preach and was startled and pleased that his sermon was not only Biblical, but his suggested application of God’s Word was spot-on. ...

A few weeks ago, I chatted with a pal from my college days about books. As my friend and I discussed current novels and authors, we also mentioned authors unknown to one another. My friend had never heard of the “Miss Julia” series by Ann B. Ross, which is a personal favorite for many reasons. ...

I’m sure that you have seen public service ads before certain television programs which warn parents of some material that is not suitable for children. A parent’s job is to watch out for their children and be concerned about how what they view on television might affect them. Who is watching out for parents? Parents need to be advised to be discreet about what they watch...

Here it is—2019, and nearly everyone has a New Year’s Resolution planned. The most popular is weight loss, and for those Americans sixty years and over, it is especially important. However, with every weight-loss program offered from Dexatrim to the Mediterranean Diet, the fine print always reads, “this product is designed to be used in conjunction with a healthy diet and exercise.”...

At the beginning of a new year I like to look back on issues that confronted our country and see where we made progress or what issues need more attention from our leaders. I found the statistics in the following poll interesting. According to a Gallup poll immigration has risen to the top of the list when Americans are asked to name the most important problem facing the nation...

In the 1990s television show “Seinfeld”, character George defended his twisted view of reality by professing what then was supposed to be a laugh-line: “It’s true, if you believe it.” Today, just twenty years later, that “philosophy”—that says reality is born and lives between one’s ears—is current thought, alive inside pornography, a staple to the universities, and now in neighborhoods everywhere in the West. ...

January 2019 offers a “tabula rasa” or fresh start! The pleasure of putting up a new calendar, writing in my new floral planner, and setting new goals have been enjoyed; and now the real work of creating activities, challenges, and missions begins. A new year is like a Monday: an opportunity for a new beginning. For this new year of 2019, I challenge myself to read more!...

Why is it that people today must reluctantly settle for poor and inferior service? Products, property, food, and service are far from superior and excellent as in the past but have deteriorated because of carelessness and apathy! Is there something missing inside people today that previous generations possessed?...

Another year has come and gone in the Bootheel and it’s time to reflect on the events of last year and prepare for 2019. Once again I’d like to thank all the people that allowed me the opportunity to interview them and share their stories. I’ve met some wonderful people this year...

According to some of my friends and people I over hear in the library, a creative person could make a fortune on “I Survived 2018!” t-shirts. Several individuals have commented how difficult this year has been in family dynamics, finances, health concerns, work issues, and more. Pondering 2019, many of us consider making New Year’s resolutions to improve our surroundings or ourselves...

“Go to now, ye that say, Today or tomorrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain. Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.” (James 4:13-15)...

There are many things I can do. I can speak well. I make a pretty good lasagna and folks say I sing fairly well. There is one thing, however that I absolutely cannot do. I can’t wrap a gift. The ability to wrap has eluded me my whole life. It’s not just gifts actually...

Julie Orf Dunklin County Library “Christmas: that magic blanket that wraps itself about us, that something so intangible that it is like a fragrance. It may weave a spell of nostalgia. Christmas may be a day of feasting, or of prayer, but always it will be a day of remembrance: a day in which we think of everything we have ever loved.” – Augusta E. Rundel...

Imagine a young boy entering the house a few days before Christmas and as he’s passing by the tree, he notices a bicycle. Standing next to the tree is also his parents, with glowing smiles on their faces. The boy’s first thoughts are why did they buy him another bicycle? He got one for his birthday this year. A second look at the bicycle really brought confusion to him: it’s the same bicycle, just cleaned up and parked next to the tree...

“… Thus saith the Lord GOD; Every man of the house of Israel that setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumbling-block of his iniquity before his face…” (Ezekiel 14:4) Later, verse 7 says, “For everyone of the house of Israel … which separateth himself from me, and setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumbling-block of his iniquity before his face…”...

On Thursday I attended a retirement party for Susan Luce at the Dunklin County Courthouse. Luce, is retiring as the Dunklin County Recorder of Deeds, a position she has held since 1980. As I witnessed her family, friends, and co-workers congratulating her and sharing memories of her time in office I thought, here is a person who well served her county...

There was a popular chef whose face was on many magazine covers, had television shows on the Food Network, and whose pots and pans bearing her signature were found on the shelves of many department stores. Then, a former employer revealed that years before the chef had used a racial slur off-camera, for which the chef did admit and profusely apologize, even crying during an interview. ...

Julie Orf Dunklin County Library Curled up on my sofa Sunday afternoon with my warm peppermint tea and my doggie by my side, I began to read last year’s Christmas novel by Richard Paul Evans. Evans writes a Christmas novel each year. The one that I am currently reading is The Noelle Diary, and most all of Evans’ novels begin with a troubled main character who is searching to redeem the past. ...

The reason I believe in hell is simple. The Bible teaches it! “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God”. (Romans 10:17) Consider these passages about hell (Matthew 5:22, 29-30; 10:28; 18:9; 23:15, 33; Mark 9:43-47; Luke 12:5), and eternal punishment. (Matthew 25:46; 2 Thessalonians 1:8-9; Hebrews 10:29; 2 Peter 2:9)...

Any family who suffers with an alcoholic in their clan, may be familiar with a common side effect brought on by the drink, which is cirrhosis (scarring) of the liver, a painful and deadly condition. Throughout the years, research has found that alcoholism can be passed down through generations, and because of that genetic disposition, some realize it and will not touch a drop. ...

Do you know what I hold most precious? Time. My time and how I choose to spend it. There’s time for work and time for play. There’s time for family and friends. There’s time for planning and dreaming. Time for prayer and meditation. For me its always been so important...

“For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment.” (James 2:13) We need to be more like God who is great in mercy. (Numbers 14:18) The fact that God chooses to be merciful and offers forgiveness to all is just and fair. ...

My late grandfather, G.T. Smith was a wise man born in the late 1890s, and he passed during the late 1990s. He buried his parents and an expectant wife during the influenza epidemic of 1917, he lived through two world wars, he owned one of the first Model A cars, watched man take his first step on the moon, and experienced the first of just about everything. ...