Friday Tidings

The awards ceremony was in the high school library and even though it was against library policy, the hosts had platters of delicious cookies and cider. As a volunteer grant writer for a K-12 school, I was there to collect funds to help our small school. Stacks of white envelopes were on a table in front and as God’s providence would have it, the award for my organization was announced first. I rose and went to shake hands with the chairman of the board, who was bestowing thousands of dollars to all the non-profit organizations in the large room. I shared briefly about the impact this money would have for needy students. Sitting down, I then listened to the words of acceptance for fifty other small non-profits in our county. But there was one issue that we all were dealing with—and it wasn’t just poverty, abuse, or homelessness. It was hunger. Of the $250,000 given away that day—money that needed to be stretched over lean budgets for all of the coming year, ...

Regis Giles, gun-rights activist and creator of Girls Just Wanna Have Guns.com, is a Millennial voice for Second Amendment rights and self-defense. In her view, women need guns for their own protection.  If not guns, then a taser, knife, or some form of martial arts to go from being prey to being a formidable defender. Concerned with gun control and its potential to disarm Americans, Giles is trying to raise awareness.  On her fundraising website she states: Guns save more lives than they take. Almost 7000 times every day, law-abiding citizens use guns to defend themselves. Each year, 200,000 women use a gun to defend themselves against sexual attacks. Giles believes that a gun in a woman’s hand is her best chance at survival. She has partnered with some experienced filmmakers in hopes to produce a 90-minute documentary about our American gun rights. We saw the horror in France—when the ...

Opal had worked the front desk of the elementary school for nearly five decades. Long past retirement age, this was not work; it was her life. Fresh out of secretarial school back in the early-sixties, she found a position at a brand new school in the quiet community she loved. Having been the school secretary for such a span had given Opal the chance to enroll kids in Kindergarten and watch them throughout their early schooling—and then have some of them bring their own kids to enroll years later. In the last of couple decades she’d seen a darker side too—child custody issues, abuse, and drugs. But for Opal, it was still her life and even though she saw the brokenness, the pieces were real children, and they were precious to her. Yet, one thing was an enigma to her—why were the girls seemingly getting older so much faster?   She remembered in the early years how the school district nurse would gather the 6 th grade girls, mostly 12 year olds, and ...

AP Player of the Year Marcus Mariota There’s something special about the Oregon Duck’s quarterbacks. Five exceptional players are on the starting rotation, but Marcus Mariota has claimed the fame and spotlight. Yet Mariota says that he shares something with his fellow quarterbacks—something more important than football or fame. Scott Frost, the Duck’s quarterback coach describes the five athletes as good players, but great people. They support and encourage one another and aren’t concerned with who has the starting spot. He says that it “stems from the fact that they have faith in Christ.” In December, Mariota was honored as the 2014 Heisman winner—the first time in Oregon’s history. With that honor comes a future in football, but Mariota brings more than talent to the game. According to Les Steckel, President of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes,  “Marcus is a force on the football field and a force for Jesus Christ. His passion for the game matches...

Let’s begin 2015 with some encouraging news. We’ve all heard about the slow economic recovery, the disappearing middle class, and stagnate incomes—but compared to fifty years ago, we have it incredibly good. Back when I was a youngster thumbing through the annual Sears Christmas Catalog, the most desired offerings were real budget busters. For instance, the Sears Silvertone entertainment center sold for $750.00. If we use the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) inflation calculator, that would be $5700.00 in 2014 dollars. American shoppers in the mid-sixties who bought this state-of-the-art entertainment center could never compete with today’s buyers. Using those BLS inflation adjusted dollars, look what we can get for $5700.00: How about an iPad for $500.00? Or an iPhone 6 with 128 GB for about $500.00? TV? How about a 60” LED High Definition television for $800.00? Need some updated appliances in the kitchen? You can have a Fren...