Shelby County Today

June 19, 2017 - Sunday was the 2nd Sunday after Pentecost, denoting major religious and festival celebrations being over until fall. We had our usual crowd at Paxton this morning. Cynthia graciously came by and played the piano for us on the way to her own church. Joy and Gene brought produce from their garden, set up two long tables full of delicious looking vegetables, and even brought plastic bags to hold what we wanted. They also had their canned pickles and hot sauce. It was a real farmers’ market right there at church! I know everyone appreciated the veggies and the effort Joy and Gene made.

Our Sunday school lesson was from Judges, “Jephthah Answers the Call.” The twelve tribes came together only when they were under attack. In normal conditions they were unwilling to surrender power or authority to one or two powerful tribes or leaders. But the Ammonites were making life miserable for the twelve tribes, so they once again united, calling on Jephthah to raise an army to defeat the enemy. Jephthah appealed to the Lord for help and promised he would make a sacrifice to the Lord. He was victorious, but the sacrifice he promised would be far greater than he could imagine.

Our Gospel Lesson for Sunday was Matthew 9:35-42. Matthew’s Gospel was written for a Jewish audience. There are five major discourses in Matthew, just like there are five books in the Torah. In today’s lesson Jesus warns about empty words. There are two Greek words for “good” used in the earliest New Testaments. One means “to do good things,” and the other means “to be of good character.” We need to strive for both. I read a quote this week: “I would much prefer to see a good sermon lived than a good sermon spoken.” A helpful reminder for us all.

Sunday was Father’s Day, which has been a national holiday since 1924. Paxton Methodist wishes all good and loving fathers—including those men who are role models for others—a Happy Father’s Day. This week Sam Watson celebrates his 20th birthday, and Liz and Mike celebrate their anniversary. All during the month of June, Paxton Methodist is collecting paper towels and toilet paper for Community Christian Services. Tuesday we will head to Holiday Nursing Center for our monthly program, which begins at 2:00.

“Whoever you are, in whatever faith you were born, whatever creed you profess; if you come to this house to find God you are welcome here.” Paxton United Methodist Church is an inviting church that takes to heart the idea of “Open Doors, Open Hearts, Open Minds.” Sunday School starts at 9:30 and Worship begins at 10:00. Our email address is paxtonumc@yahoo.com. If you would like the weekly email newsletter about Paxton Methodist you can send me your email address to the Paxton email address and I will add you to the list. Godspeed.

June 19, 2017 - You're invited to the Mt Zion CME 141st Church Anniversary on Sunday, June 25th at 3pm. Special guest speaker will be Pastor Marlin Cloudy, Sr. of Abundant Love Ministries. Rev. Elgena Weaver pastor.

June 19, 2017 - My nephew Dale Fincher has Eastern Screech Owls nesting in a water bucket on the porch of his shack near Ironosa Creek. We went out last week to photograph the mother and her babies. The mother is about 8 1/2 inches tall and her babies are white and fuzzy.

Dale called again yesterday saying he had been attacked by the mother owl that afternoon…an attack that left him bleeding in two places on his face and scalp. "I am keeping my hat on for protection and have to carefully sneak when going in and out of my shack", he said. (Dale had picked up one of the baby owls and as he put it back in the bucket, the attack occurred.) It was late in the evening and Pam and I hurried to get to his place before dark. We examined his head and saw that his wounds were as he had described.

We spotted the male owl in dogwood tree about twenty yards from the porch and could hear the female "screeching" from a tree behind us. "Yall just sit here on the porch and you'll see them feeding the babies before long", Dale said. Pam didn't have a cap on so she laid on the floor to avoid an attack. About fifteen minutes later the mother flew to the bucket rim carrying a large moth in her beak. Pam suddenly hollered, "She got me!" and when she stood up we saw two attack marks on the back of her head. Since we had gotten a number of good shots, we decided to go home but couldn't figure how Pam could safely get back to the car. "Here…wear my hat", Dale insisted…"I've got another cap here on the porch". With the hat on, she slowly eased to the car with no further incident.

Our visit to Dale's turned particularly nostalgic when we heard the coyotes, owls and "Chuck will Widows" blending in their nighttime harmony … but when we go out to visit the owls the next time … even if we forget to bring our cameras next time …

…. we definitely won't forget our hats.

June 15, 2017 - In 1997 one of the largest earthquakes to ever hit Russia occurred. There was massive damage to buildings as well as many lives lost. There was a story that came out of that tragedy however that I have never forgotten. It is the story of a young preschool girl named Anna who was dropped off at daycare by her Dad that day just like every other day.

Every day when he dropped her off she would begin to cry and he would promise her that no matter what happened he would come back for her. She would stop crying and he would leave making sure that he was there to pick her up every day after school. The day of the earthquake the building where the daycare was, collapsed. The local authorities began searching for survivors. The father was there as well, digging day and night, he would not stop.      

The officials stopped the search after 3 days concluding there were no survivors, but the father refused to leave. Day and night he continued to dig through the rubble with his bare hands. Officials tried to get him to leave, but he refused saying, "I have never left my daughter and I will not stop until I bring her home." After another 3 days of searching he heard a weak voice in the rubble and began to cry out his daughters name. He heard a weak reply. The authorities were summoned and an area about the size of a small office was uncovered with several adults and yes, little Anna was still alive. When the dad picked the girl up she said, "I knew you would come for me. You have never left me."  The adult survivors stated that when they lost hope that Anna  would encourage them, never giving up hope her Dad would come for her. They commented she repeatedly encouraged them with the words. My father would never leave me here.

You see,  that's what daddies do. Any man can father a child but only real men are "daddies." Real dads never leave their families alone and protect them with their lives. Real dads always provide for, always participate in, and are always quick to praise their wives and children. Real Dads try to leave a legacy for their sons and daughters to follow.

Know matter how your father on this earth has treated you, remember you have a Heavenly Father that loves you that way. He is not a distant father but one that is with us day and night. He's a real father. In Romans 8:14-15 Paul says, "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out "Abba (meaning daddy) Father."

This means we have a God that has brought us into His family as children and loves us just as we are. So no matter what situation you may find yourself, know that your Heavenly Father has your back. He says, "I will never leave you or forsake you." (Hebrews 13.5). He will not leave you when you need Him most.

He does that, not because He has to, but because its just what daddies do!
                                         
                                              Just Sayin,
                                          Mike Belgard