We don't write papers, we build scrapbooks
We don't write papers, we build scrapbooks
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There was a moment when Moses had the nerve to ask God what His name is. God was gracious enough to answer, and the name He gave is recorded in the original Hebrew as YHWH. In order to pronounce it we added the vowels A and an E to get YAHWEH, presumably because we have a preference for vowels but scholars and rabbis have noted that the letters YHWH represent breathing sounds or aspirated consonants. When pronounced without intervening vowels, it actually sounds like breathing. YH (inhale) WH...
People ask me why I love going to all of the High School sports contests all the time. When taken as a whole, it does seem rather exhausting. Driving to the four corners of our region to watch a battle between Scales Mound and Warren, then staying up late at night making sure the story is written on the internet, then getting up the next day knowing that I will repeat the process yet again once the sun begins to go down. Friday nights in the Fall are the most hectic - I try and get to at least...
I’ve been doing some marriage counseling via Zoom for a couple who live out of state who are getting married soon. It’s kind of a unique situation. I am not officiating at their wedding, but they still wanted me to give them premarital counseling (the groom is a member of Martintown Church, but they are getting married in the South). After they are married, they will be living in Pennsylvania where they both have jobs waiting. One of the questions they asked me during a session was what advice c...
Many years ago, after I first got married, I needed a new car and ended up buying a Buick LeSabre from Confer Chevrolet in Lena (So, you know we’re talking MANY years ago). I liked the car for one main reason – I fit into it. With big fabric bench seats in the front and back, I was never having my hips pinched, and it had plenty of head room. And the engine in it had a little “pick-up” too so … I thought I was set. Until I told my Dad. “Why’d you buy an ‘Old man’ car?” “A what?” “An old man ca...
A popular question around the office recently has been, ‘will there be peaches?’ I am so excited to say yes, we will have peaches. We are still finalizing details with the orchard we work with in southern Illinois. We hope to have details ready to share with you all by Father’s Day. Once details have been finalized, we will share the information on both county’s Facebook pages and websites as well as in this column. If you would like an email when we begin accepting orders, please email either...
Hello again, Dan. This note and donation is to encourage you to continue the All-Star Volleyball game well beyond the third year of existence. The ll-Star Volleyball game is a great way to showcase the fantastic talent this area has to offer. You have answered my wishes, and I greatly appreciate your efforts. Watching from the stands last year, I could tell the crowd was in agreement with me. Listening to Nicole (Brinker) provide the fun commentary was an exceptional surprise! She was great! It was a great showcase and a lot of fun to watch....
Someone has aptly said, “There are people who make things happen, there are people who watch things happen, and there are people who don’t know what’s happening.” I’d like you to meet some people in the Bible who made things happen. In Hebrews 11, we are introduced to a man named Moses where it says: “By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter.” As a prince, Moses had all kinds of wealth and prestige and everything else. But he had a choice to mak...
What is a dog? I mean, can you describe a dog? Some might say, “A four-legged carnivorous mammal with floppy ears and a tail.” But that doesn’t fit because not all dogs have floppy ears, and I swear my family once had a dog who loved grapefruit! You can try to look up “dog” in the dictionary, but even they can’t lock it down in spite of multiple paragraphs all trying to answer one simple question – What is a dog? If you think about it, the question is nearly impossible to define. And yet, I co...
Dear Editor; It seems to me that the word ‘community’ has been left out of HCC’s men’s athletic teams. The basketball and baseball teams only have players from out of district, out of state, and possibly out of country. Why are local high school athletes not recruited for these teams? We have many good players within the Highland District. I am sure that parents, grandparents and friends would love to see these young people have a chance to participate. I just got my property tax bill and that makes me think that someday HCC may want to put...
Disclaimer: Today’s column may emote strong emotions from friend and foe alike. Read at your own discretion. The other day I saw a news clip where our President was making fun of pro-lifers and mocking the Bible. According to Yahoo.com, “President Joe Biden on Tuesday tore into Donald Trump for his role in getting abortion rights overturned … referring to the Supreme Court case that overturned Roe v. Wade. ‘Maybe it’s coming from that Bible he’s trying to sell,’ Biden said as the crowd laughed...
There was a wedding ceremony last Saturday. And while the days of being a participant are well and gone for me, I was still caught off guard when my loving wife began to present her list of things I needed to do leading up to it. “Get a haircut.” Now, being told on Saturday that I needed a haircut before the following Saturday seemed like a relatively easy task. But when I still hadn’t done it by Tuesday, I could tell she was getting a little flustered. She never said anything, but … trust m...
Those of us who grew up in stable homes with solid role models are very fortunate. While most of us probably did not know or appreciate it at the time, we were taught from an early age the difference between right and wrong, the proper way to treat people, respect toward others, and the importance of telling the truth and obeying the law. We were told that school was important, homework was to be done, and curfews were to be met. We had siblings that looked out for us. When we broke the rules, o...
One always meets some very interesting characters when traveling. My wife and I do our fair share of traveling at this stage of our lives. We have family that live in all parts of the United States. Besides Wisconsin, we have family in Tennessee, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Wyoming, Kansas, Colorado, Alabama, Louisiana, and Montana. We’ve been to most or all of those places to visit at one time or another. Sometimes we drive. And other times we fly. It just depends on the situation and t...
“Why do I have to learn this stuff? I’m never going to use it.” You hear that question in almost every Algebra and high level math class across the country, and students have been asking it for decades. I was no different. When I was a student, I never asked that question - but I thought about it - A LOT. I’m sure we all did at one time or another. In our teenage years, when we’re trying to assert your adulthood, rebellion is natural, and if we didn’t see the value in something ... why were we...
Some of the people closest to me are involved in the agriculture industry. When my husband and I got married, over half of our bridal party was involved in the agriculture industry. That might explain why we got married in December. It is simple to say that many of the people that are near and dear to me are involved in agriculture in one way or the other. This means I worry about them during planting and harvesting season, when they are putting in longer hours and are moving from field to...
Someone called the other day asking if I had time to come over and chat for a while. We worked out a time and before we hung up I asked him if there was anything in particular he wanted to talk about. He hesitated for a moment and then said, “Yes, my funeral.” I get those kinds of calls every once in a while. People want to get their affairs in order and they figure the best person to talk to is the preacher. When I talked to the gentleman mentioned above, we had a grand old time going back ove...
My brother's a (beep). For some reason, Dan made me the subject of his column – complaining about having to live with me for the past year, and talking about how happy he was that my wife and I now have our own home. Well, in the words of Paul Harvey ... "And now, the rest of the story." Living with Dan is no picnic. Yes, I have a habit of coming home after work and taking a nap on the couch. And while, he says I snore, there's no proof of that – but more on that later. The point is, I act...
As your Senator of the 45th District, I am privileged to be the legislative voice of about 220,000 citizens in Northwest Illinois. I gauge opinions and priorities by reaching out to the public through mailed surveys, town hall meetings, telephone town hall events, conversations at coffee shops and other places where people gather, or by simply stopping by your door for a quick chat. The results of these efforts are three-fold. First, they ensure my constituency is appropriately represented in...
Hi Dan, I have been getting Village Voices for several years now, and enjoy the local sports and columns. I decided to get into the NCAA Tournament pool this year just for the heck of it. I could not believe it when I opened the paper Wednesday and read that I came in first. I was hopeful for a pizza, and thought that would be a long shot. Thanks for doing this, and thanks for the headline. I like the ‘Bourne Supremacy.’ William Bourne Freeport Dan, I just want to compliment you on your articles in Voices weekly paper. I will first explain tha...
I keep busy all week long being a shepherd for my church flock. I have always loved people and God has really blessed us with people from our church. In my spare time, I like to be a farmer. I have a skid loader that is about 20 years old but is still in pretty good shape. My dad gave it to me when he no longer needed it. When he had it, it burned up in a fire but he bought it back from the insurance company and fixed it all up. I’ve had a few problems with it over the years, but mostly m...
Show me an arrogant man, and I’ll show you a bachelor. Now, I’m not saying that cocky men can never get married. No, I am simply uttering one of the universal truths that all married men find out the hard way – a wife strips a man of his ego. I tend to sleep later than my wife – but I also stay up much later, so it all evens out. Still, I can’t afford to be a slug – especially on Sundays, because I need to finish that week’s paper. Anyway, I heard my wife come into the room while I was still i...
“Volunteers do not necessarily have the time; they have the heart”, Elizabeth Andrew. This past week was National Volunteer Week. I would like to take a moment to thank the many volunteers who help make Farm Bureau and our programing possible. We have a wide variety of individuals who dedicate their time and talents to our organizations; some serve on our boards and help guide the organizations, some serve as presenters for Ag in the Classroom Programs. Others host tours at their farms and bus...
One Sunday a grandma came to church with two of her grandsons who were about 13 and 15 years old. We hit it off right away and invited them all over for Sunday dinner and football. Grandma liked Westerns better than football, so she passed on the invitation and went home and watched John Wayne movies instead, but the boys were happy to come over. They were good kids but had no farm experience so when 5 o’clock rolled around and we told them we had to go out and do chores, they were very c...
Nobody ever likes being sick, but … on occasion … there are some benefits. Big bought with the flu? You end up losing a few pounds. Stuffed up nose? You miss out on some of the uglier smells our world has to offer. Anyway, For almost a month I had been dealing with what – at this point – my wife and I are convinced was probably Covid. Massive chest congestion, that has improved a great deal, but is still not totally gone. Part of the “illness” was a massive amount of nasal congestion,...
I don’t remember March 5, 1944. I am sure my late mother Katherine would have. It is the day I entered this world. It doesn’t take a mathematician to realize that was 80 years ago. I’m now operating completely by the late Toby Keith song “Don’t Let The Old Man In.” Apparently, his inspiration for that song was from Clint Eastwood, age 93, and still a favorite Hollywood actor and director. I truly recognize how blessed I am. So many contemporaries have passed to the “great beyond” and m...
