Unless there is urgent and pertinent information that needs to be passed on to the citizens of Franklin County, the page will be silent until Tuesday.
Each and everyone of you, have a Merry Christmas and remember the reason for the season.
Merry Christmas !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
December 24, 2017 By Leave a Comment
Max Lucado: Las Vegas shooting – After this tragedy, can we still find calm in chaos?
October 3, 2017 By Leave a Comment
http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2017/10/02/max-lucado-las-vegas-shooting-after-this-tragedy-can-still-find-calm-in-chaos.html
(Max Lucado – Fox News. Please click on the link for the full story. Here is an excerpt below.
Our nation is reeling from yet another national crisis. On Sunday more than 50 innocent lives were taken and thousands were put in danger while attending a country music concert in Las Vegas.
As we watch the horrifying images on television news reports with our hearts breaking, what if we stopped and asked ourselves a question? What can I do to make a difference? So many of these situations are out of my control, but are they out of God’s control? Does he want me to panic or ask me to pray? Is there a way to find calm in the chaos, strength in the strife?
One thing is sure: It is not God’s will that you lead a life of perpetual anxiety. It is not his will that you face every day with dread and trepidation. He made you for more than a life of breath-stealing angst and mind-splitting fear. And he made you to be a voice of peace in a wild, worry-wart world.
How Laughter Benefits Us Spiritually
September 27, 2017 By Leave a Comment
A good belly laugh goes a long way toward making most of us feel better, but is there a spiritual benefit to it?
(Alikay Wood, Guideposts Magazine. Please click on the link above for the full article. Here is an excerpt below.)
It was 45 minutes to my cousin’s wedding reception in Nashville, Tennessee, and my mom was driving. I had my cousin’s vanilla-frosted, two-tier wedding cake on my lap. My mom made a sharp left turn, and the box went flying. The cake was smashed against the dashboard. Frosting was smeared all over the inside of the rental car.
I glared at my mom, ready to let her have it. Then burst out laughing. Not just a few giggles. More like gut-busting laughter. Pretty soon, my mom was laughing too. Tears streamed down our cheeks; we couldn’t have stopped if we tried.
We made it to the reception and even managed to make the cake look somewhat presentable. Weeks later, though, I was still scratching my head over the incident. Why on earth had I laughed? The moment had been freeing, cathartic. Almost spiritual. As if the laughter was coming from deep within my soul. Could it be that my laughter wasn’t just a senseless reaction to a potential disaster? But, rather, some sort of gift from God
Why this Muslim-turned-Christian speaker resonated with so many before his death at 34
September 20, 2017 By Leave a Comment
(Ravi Zacharias- Guest Columnist, Washington Post. Please click on the link above for the full story. Here is an excerpt below.)
The first time I saw him, he sat at a table across from me, one of his legs constantly moving almost subconsciously, as though he was warming up for a run. It was a habit of his restless disposition to stand and gallop. I asked if we could talk about his mission in life. He joined me in the back seat of the car, that leg still moving.
That was Nabeel Qureshi. He hated sitting still. He was a man with a mission, ready to run. Sadly, for us, he died Saturday at a young age of 34 after a year of battling stomach cancer. Nabeel, who was raised in a Muslim-American family and converted to Christianity after a fellow college student sparked his interest in Christianity, worked with me in Christian apologetics.
Nabeel held dear the gospel of Jesus Christ as revealed in the Old and New Testaments and carried the message of salvation. He said that for years as a young man, he labored and struggled to gain “righteousness before God” only to find out that righteousness was already found in the cross through Jesus. That was his message in his best-selling book, “Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus.”
God’s awesome light show
August 21, 2017 By Leave a Comment
by Steve Dunford
The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork. (Psalms 19:1, KJV)
Picture of totality in West Frankfort
WEST FRANKFORT, IL – From 11:45 a.m. until 12:45 P.M I monitored the sun every few minutes. It was incredible to see the sun disappear by increments.
For the first time in all of our lifetimes, we were able to experience a total eclipse.
Again, there will be one on April 8,2024 crossing Southern Illinois
At 1:00 p.m. I was honestly surprised how much daylight there was. The wind was starting to pick up.
Over the next few minutes by 1:10 p.m. the temperature began to drop by ten degrees. The crickets started to chirp, and there was a dusk feel.
In the next ten minutes it was pitch black. I was able to take a quick shot in totality without missing the show. There was more of a spherical look than I expected. It was one of the most incredible things I have witnessed in my life.
Images like we witnessed today, scream the majesty and power of an almighty God.
Feel free to share your experiences in your own words.
An Inward Inventory
July 17, 2017 By Leave a Comment
http://www.davidjeremiah.org/site/magazine/article.aspx?article_id=157
by Dr. David Jeremiah
Here is an excerpt from an article from Turning Points magazine. Please click on the link above for the full article.
If we could play a video of our waking hours over a single day, how happy would we be with our personal inventory management?
A century ago, rural America shopped at crossroads grocery stores or small-town general stores. The shelves of those stores were not always full; you couldn’t depend on what you needed being in stock. Inventory was managed with paper and pencil. Orders to suppliers might be called in by telephone or given in person to a traveling sales representative who stopped by periodically.
And then a man named Sam Walton came along. He had some retail store experience working for J.C. Penney, but opened his own retail store in Bentonville, Arkansas, in 1950. Walton’s Five and Dime is the store that gave birth to Wal-Mart (now Walmart) in 1962.
Sam Walton revolutionized retailing with one primary innovation: inventory and supply-chain management. He implemented the world’s first retail satellite communication system which connected all his expanding stores by voice and video. His stores were the first to make company-wide use of Universal Product Codes on products.
Plane crash survivor talks about accident a year later
June 10, 2017 By Leave a Comment
http://www.wsiltv.com/story/35632452/plane-crash-survivor-talks-about-accident-almost-a-year-later
CARTERVILLE, IL – (Evie Allen – WSIL -TV. Please click on link to read the full story. Here is an excerpt)
WSIL Photo
A Williamson County plane crash survivor recalls a terrifying day.
A flight instructor explains how he survived a deadly plane crash at the Williamson County Airport.
“The Lord has done absolute miracles. It was a miracle from the very beginning.” says Todd Greiner.
One year ago Saturday, Greiner took off with student John Alleman on a fateful flight.
“People don’t appreciate what the Lord has done unless they appreciate how bad things were,” says Greiner.
On June 10, 2016, around 4:30 p.m., fight instructor Todd Greiner took off for a training flight with long-time pilot and friend, John Alleman.
The two performed what he calls an “engine out” maneuver, when he says something went wrong.
Deacon Michael Rowland Ministers at Parishes in Christopher, Sesser and Benton
April 24, 2017 By Leave a Comment
FRANKLIN COUNTY, IL (Liz Quirin, Belleville Messenger – Please click on the link to leave the full story. Here is an excerpt) Deacon Michael Rowland wears many hats as he ministers at St. Andrew Parish in Christopher and the partner parishes of St. Mary in Sesser and St. Joseph in Benton. Not a cradle Catholic, he said people suggested Catholics were, to say the least, unusual in their beliefs. When he went to high school, he began to meet some of these “unusual” people, and he found them to be “completely normal.” Intrigued, he said he bought a copy of the “Catechism of the Catholic Church,” and began investigating the faith.Fighting hunger one plate at a time
April 20, 2017 By Leave a Comment
BENTON, IL (Holly Kee, Benton Evening News- Please click to read the full story. Here is an excerpt) Good nutrition is one of the most important building blocks for a solid foundation that has far-reaching implications for a child’s future physical and mental well-being. However, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, more than 13 million children under the age of 18 live in households where they are unable to consistently access enough healthy food necessary for a healthy life. While the school breakfast and lunch program helps with that, when school is not in session, many of these children go without. The consequences of malnutrition can be severe, affecting cognitive development in young children and school performance in older children. In addition, research shows that with hunger also comes more frequent illness and higher health care costs.
