Columnists

By Rosie Preston After Phil’s brother, Ronald Rigsby, passed away recently, a most informative letter was sent to our family from Legacy of Hope, Alabama’s Organ and Tissue Donation Alliance out of Birmingham. My brother-in-law, who was 64, made the decision years ago to be an organ donor and the family honored his wishes. It

By Robert Halsey Pine “The seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, in your name even the demons submit to us!” He said to them, “I watched Satan fall from heaven like a flash of lightning. See, I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy;

By Toni Ford Have you ever read something and realized you might not know all there is to that particular subject, and yet deep in your soul you know that if you broadened your vision on the subject, you would gain so much more wisdom, understanding, perspective on life, and even to some degree a

By John Larkins In the remaining months we have as a Christian nation, it is well to remind ourselves that our personal abundance is a gift from God. He insists on our involvement but responds so lovingly to our prayers and striving. If you saw any sign in store advertisements or media announcements about a

By Vicki Scott Thanksgiving is a time to count blessings, share fellowship and eat. When I first began thinking of what to share this year, I thought of my mother’s sister, Aunt Lynell. Upon my mother’s recent passing, it became more important than ever for Aunt Lynell to keep the family together. I saw my

By Andy Bedwell In the South, and especially in Alabama, food is an important part of celebrating the holiday season. We begin with Halloween candy and the huge spreads during Thanksgiving and Christmas and into the New Year. It’s a variety of yummy treats and a series of parties and family gatherings. Cindy Brewer’s Meatballs

By Rosie Preston Being the first child born to my parents, I decided years ago that my parents liked me so much because I have three younger sisters. Because of the birthing order, I took it upon myself to take care of them. Often, one of my sisters will call on me for one reason

By Toni Ford The holiday season is upon us, and although our holidays might look a bit different this year due to COVID-19, it is my prayer that we would not allow our circumstances to keep us from having a thankful heart. Of all the holidays, Thanksgiving is my favorite, so I am excited to

By Robert Halsey Pine As they were going along the road, someone said to Jesus, “I will follow you wherever you go.” And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” To another, Jesus said, “Follow me.” But

By John Larkins On Friday the 13 of last week, 3,000 Alabamians were diagnosed with COVID-19 virus. The great majority of these cases will probably only require a short quarantine and experience mild symptoms. But, unfortunately, some people will die. So far in the pandemic, Alabama has recorded a little over 3,000 deaths. Many government

My family enjoys a good meal, but we all save room for dessert when these sweets are part of the menu. Mother’s Pecan Pies 6 eggs, beaten 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour 2 tablespoons vinegar 1 ½ cups sugar 1 ½ cups white Karo syrup 1 stick margarine 2 cups pecans, chopped 1 tablespoon vanilla 2

By Vicki Scott About the middle of November is when I feel like I am still a teacher. Living through November to December is like going down a high waterfall while riding the rapids – you cannot stop because of all the activities going on. It seems to be over in five seconds then dead

By Rosie Preston Is there anyone in the world, at least the United States, who will buy – or at least think about – turkeys during the Thanksgiving holiday? I know my mom could cook a great tasting turkey. I’ll never forget the first time I cooked a turkey. Even though I made a huge mistake,

By Danny Crownover From the day in 1879 when the Sells Brothers Circus exhibited an electric light in Gadsden as a feature attraction to the present electricity has played an important role in the region’s growth. In 1887, the first steam powered electric plant was built in this area when such things were still in

By Vicki Scott Even with this pandemic, time is flying by. I thought I was ready to get this year over with, but I was wrong. The year ends with Christmas, and I always try to do something that requires a lot of thought and meaning. Not everything I do has meaning, but when it

By Andy Bedwell “We thank you, God, for all that You give: The lives we live, the food we eat, and for our loved ones. Lord, help us all to live our days with thankful hearts and loving ways.” – Ephesians 5:20  (NIV) Cherished recipes usually come out at the holidays. Here are a few of my favorites. Mary Virginia’s Chicken and

By Toni Ford I have been reading in 2 Kings lately, and I must say that the first seven chapters of this book have rocked my world! Although this book of the Bible was written over 3,000 years ago, the lessons and life principles from even these first few chapters are applicable to where we

By John Larkins In an international address, former U.S. President Barak Obama assured the world that America was no longer a Christian country. He did his best to convince Americans and persons in other countries that this was a true statement. Many Americans discounted what Obama said, but he proceeded to prove that so far

By Robert Halsey Pine “Sing to God, sing praises to his name; exalt him who rides upon the heavens…” (Psalm 68:1-20 NRSV) “My little secret is this God of mine,” we sometimes think. Give it up. Rejoice! We must praise Him in every step we take. This is how we show our appreciation for all

By Rosie Preston It’s true; I forget a lot more nowadays than when I was younger. My grandchildren often ask me to do errands for them or remind me – of all things – to remind them of something they have told me. I’m almost positive that they’re holding an intervention meeting now to list

By Robert Halsey Pine John said to Jesus, “Master, we saw someone using your name to cast out demons, but we told him to stop because he isn’t in our group.” But Jesus said, “Do not stop him; for whoever is not against you is for you.” (Luke 9:49-50 NRSV). We need the whole body

By John Larkins There is some doubt about whether or not readers may be actually interested in saving their souls. In fact, there seems to be an opinion in the air that there is no God, especially one who is actually the beginning and the end of our existence. Just for the record, it is

By Toni Ford As I write this devotional, at the present moment, our country is in the third day of this election process and we still do not know who the next President of the United States will be.  I am not here to discuss politics, and regardless of whether the person I voted for

By Andy Bedwell I love homemade soups during the winter and I am always willing to experiment with what I have on hand. Soup recipes are so different from most because the exact measurements are not needed as much as the ingredients. I like to tweak recipes to my own specifications by trying this and

By Vicki Scott Time with God in the morning is so important to me, and I pray I never stop getting up early for it. Early in the morning is when my mind is not going in a thousand different directions, and most of the time I remember things that have slipped my mind in

By Andy Bedwell Some of my favorite memories as a child were the weekend visits to my Grandmother Icy’s house. I would awaken to a sense of light coming from the kitchen. The smells and noises of pots and pans would draw me to the kitchen to spend some precious time alone with my grandmother

By Vicki Scott Delbert McClinton is one of my husband Alan’s favorite singers. Last Sunday, he popped in one of Delbert’s CD’s on our way to eat lunch after church. The song “I Ain’t Old but I Been Around a Long Time” played, which reminded me of my weekend with Faye Moore. Faye is one

By Toni Ford As I was thinking about what to write for this week’s column, I immediately knew what has been heavy on my heart. The focus of my prayer over the past few months has been our nation. If there was ever a time when we as a nation needed God and His direction,

By Robert Halsey Pine “Since, then, we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens …” (Hebrews 4:14 NRSV). How simple yet so hard for us to see Christ’s life and example, to make an application to our own lives that which we see in Him. Jesus came to us not as

By John Larkins The above headline should be an important question, seeing as how you’ve likely never been given a detailed answer. Think about what you have been told and let us explore the possibilities. In the beginning, Adam and Eve would not have thought of this idea of salvation because they presumably were already