By NANCY PATRICK As a young mother with a thirteen-month-old baby boy, I lived in northern Illinois with my pastor-husband and our infant son. Other than the first five years of my life spent in my birthplace of Arkansas, I had never lived outside Texas, my adopted home state. Adjusting to my role as a new mother, a first-time pastor’s
Read moreBy JIM NICHOLS That question was implied in a devotional item I was reading, and it caused me to wonder how I would answer it. My first connection was an ecology illustration that I have mentioned before. Ecology considers how forms of life relate to and interact with their environment. Their environment consists of the other organisms plus the physical
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Editor’s Note: The following column first was published at dougmendenhall.com and is reposted here with permission. By DOUG MENDENHALL Early last May, I wrote about the abduction of one of our two frilly, raspberry-colored dianthus plants from just outside the picket fence. It was tiny but beautiful, and I mourned its kidnapping. I wondered if the hole left in the
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The pre-recorded Sunday Mass from Bishop Michael Sis of the Catholic Diocese of San Angelo has a new look–everyone is wearing a mask. The diocese sent the following email explaining the new look: When your parish is able to return to offering public Mass in the coming weeks, you’ll notice a few changes. Among other safety precautions, all clergy, staff,
Read moreBy DANNY MINTON It was the middle of September 1973, and I had just left the principal’s office and a discussion on a class problem when the school receptionist told me I had a call waiting. When I picked up the phone, it was Kathy, and she was obviously upset and in tears. I informed the principal that I had
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TakeMeOuttotheBallgame.mov Click on the link above to watch Abilenian Dustin Tatro playing “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” and other baseball favorites. By LORETTA FULTON “I’m the Texas Rangers organist!” Please excuse Dustin Tatro if he can’t help saying that over and over. The St. Paul United Methodist Church organist and EMT for Citizens Emergency Medical Service has added
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By LORETTA FULTON Sometimes, it’s the simplest of things that sparks an attraction between to people. For Big Mama, it was simply responding to a request. Big Mama was at a Fourth of July biker rally near Coronado’s Camp and two bands were schedule to play. She asked the first band to play a Lynyrd Skynyrd song, but they couldn’t.
Read moreBy DANNY MINTON Jake Deshazer walked through the door of the community center in Nagoya, Japan, in the spring of 1950. As he passed through the entrance, a young Japanese woman wearing a yellow kimono greeted him. Amayo bowed before Jake with a warm welcome and a smile. He was met by 50 or 60 more people who then wanted
Read moreBy JIM NICHOLS The newspaper, radio, and television headlines speak about returning to normal when this pandemic wanes. It is worth asking what this means. What is the definition of “normal”? One of the curious aspects of the early Genesis stories is that God tells Adam to “name” all the other creatures. A reasonable explanation is to understand this was
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Spirit Of Abilene 