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Contributing Writers: David Mathis | Tim Perkins
Past Contributing Writers: Mike Mills, Spring Hill Church | Doug Fincher | Pastor Randy and Sue Smith | Mike Belgard
Faith
January 5, 2026 - Good Morning! It’s Monday, January 5.
Welcome to the first Monday of 2025. We’re barely five days into the new year and already the news is surprising and concerning. I’m going to go out on a limb here and make a prediction - it’s not the last time this year we’ll be surprised and concerned. That’s the world we live in.
The world of the Bible was also a place of conflict and challenge. There was war. There was abuse of power. There was injustice. But there was also the strength of family, the power of prayer, the legacy of love. My namesake, David, was part of all of these things. Sometimes he was a good king, sometimes a bad one. At times he was far from God, and at times he was “a man after God’s own heart”. And David was one more thing - he was a poet. These famous words are a comfort, as we stand at the threshold of a new year in this uncertain world.
The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures
He leadeth me beside the still waters
He restoreth my soul
He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death
I will fear no evil
For Thou art with me, Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort me
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies
Thou anointest my head with oil, my cup runneth over
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life
And I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever
Meet you back here tomorrow,
David
cindertex50@yahoo.com
January 5, 2025 - Rose and the Bahia Boys will be in concert Saturday, January 17th at 3pm at Old Home Baptist Church. Come out and enjoy the Bluegrass Gospel Music. Refreshments and fellowship following. Call or text for more details 936-332-9293.
January 2, 2026 - Good Morning! It’s Friday, January 2.
On January 2, 1902, a man applied for a patent on his brand new invention, an invention that would change America, an invention that would change the world. The man’s name was Willis Carrier, and he called his invention air conditioning. The Carrier Company still exists today, and it’s worth over 40 billion dollars.
It’s a bit ironic that the man who cooled us off, grew up in a little town near Buffalo, New York, an area where temperatures, in the summer, sometimes rise to a “blistering” 80 degrees! (They also get 95 inches of snow every year.) But Carrier’s original motivation wasn’t to cool people, but to cool machines. He built his first machine for a printing plant in Brooklyn. Only the very wealthy had air conditioning in their homes - until the 1950’s. My parents grew up in East Texas and the only time they cooled off was inside a movie theater. My house, a hundred years old, has ten-foot ceilings, large windows, an attic fan, and a big front porch - that’s what passed for air conditioning back in the day.
But in the second half of the 20th century, Carrier’s new machine was available to everyone, and opened the door to suburbs, skyscrapers, electronics, the industrialization of the South, and huge cities in the desert. An invention that changed everything. On this first business day of 2026, is there some guy out there with a new invention that will change everything? Probably. For the better? Perhaps not. As we step into this new year, as we open the door to the future, we remember this comforting word from God.
Jeremiah 29:11 - I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope . . .
Meet you back here on Monday,
David
cindertex50@yahoo.com
December 31, 2025 - Pastor Marlin Cloudy Sr. and Abundant Love Ministries will host our Annual “Watch Night” services, Wednesday night, December 31, 2025, beginning at 10’oclock pm.
Everyone is welcome and invited.
Abundant Love Ministries is located at 1426 Shelbyville St. Center, TX 75935.
December 31, 2025 - Good Morning! It’s Wednesday, December 31.
As the year comes to an end, we end our brief series on the subject of time. The Bible has much to say about this subject, and no passage is more famous, more eloquent, more beautiful, than Ecclesiastes 3. I reprint it here.
To everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven; a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; a time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; a time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.
Wishing you love and peace in 2026. Happy New Year!
Meet you back here on Friday,
David
cindertex50@yahoo.com
December 29, 2025 - St. John Baptist Church is hosting a Watch Night Wednesday, December 31, 2025, beginning at 9pm.
The Church is located in Africa Community in Center at 2308 County Road 2050.
Pastor Richard Edwards will be offering encouraging words and Sister Jacklyn Cartwright will be the evening's motivational speaker.
"It's Our Time." - Joshua 3:7-11.
December 29, 2025 - Good Morning! It’s Monday, December 29.
I hope you had a blessed and merry Christmas, and enjoyed time with family and friends. As we begin this final week of the year, and approach the new year, we focus on a timely subject . . . time.
As a teenager, I began to listen to a lot of different styles of music - classical, jazz, rock, country. And one of my favorites styles was Broadway musicals. Classics like “Oklahoma” and “The Sound off Music”, and newer shows like a little musical called “Godspell”, that premiered in 1971, when I was fifteen. It was written by a Jewish composer, and took as its theme, the teachings of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount - an unlikely subject for a piece of popular entertainment.
The little musical was a hit on Broadway, and then Hollywood turned it into a hit movie. It was full of singable, inspiring songs, but the most famous one was based on the prayer of a bishop, from a thousand years ago. As we prepare for a new year, with all its challenges, these ancient words, and this simple little song, speak to us again.
Day by day, day by day
O dear Lord, three things I pray
To see Thee more clearly
Love Thee more dearly
Follow Thee more nearly
Day by day
Here’s some more ancient words - “We do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.” 2 Corinthians 4:16
Meet you back here tomorrow,
David
cindertex50@yahoo.com
December 19, 2025 — The holiday season is a time for community, reflection, and celebration. The entire community is invited to come together for the annual “Christmas Eve on the Square” Candlelight Gathering, beginning at 6pm on the downtown square in front of the historic Shelby County Courthouse.
Now in its sixth year, this beloved Christmas Eve tradition brings friends, families, and neighbors together for an evening of fellowship, familiar Christmas carols, and shared joy as the community celebrates the birth of Jesus.
The event is designed for all ages and features the singing of classic Christmas carols that capture the true spirit of the season. Attendees are encouraged to bring their own candles to light during the service. Hot apple cider will be available for everyone prior to the gathering.
The evening will conclude with a moving, candlelit rendition of “Silent Night,” creating a peaceful and memorable moment for all in attendance.
In the event of inclement weather, the gathering will be canceled, with no alternative service planned.
While Santa Claus won’t be making an appearance (he’ll be busy delivering toys to children around the world), this event still promises plenty of holiday cheer for the whole family.
For more information about the event or the First Methodist Church of Center, please contact Rev. Malcolm Monroe at the church office at (936) 598-2707 or visit www.CenterFirst.org.
December 18, 2025 - A Christmas Winter Wonderland Mix and Mingle hosted by A Call to Help Ministries on Monday, December 22, 2025 at 5pm to 6pm the The Burning Bush Venue, 1229 Southview Circle, Center, Texas 75935.
Entry fee is donation of mittens, gloves, socks, blankets, and hats. If anyone has any gently used coats or hoodies for all ages, please bring them or if you would like to purchase a new one, feel free.
There will be free food and drinks as well as 'musical chairs' fun to win cakes or pies for Christmas!
For more information or to give donations, contact Connie Brinson (936)427-2255 or Carmellia Cartwright (936)332-1805.
Everyone is invited to come out for good fellowship and refreshments.
December 22, 2025 - Good Morning! It’s Monday, December 22.
As a student of the Bible, wouldn’t you be thrilled to have the chance to sit down with a Bible character and interview them? What would you ask Moses? What questions would you have for Paul? This morning we focus on a man who may very well have had just such an opportunity. Today we look at Luke.
Luke was a physician and was highly educated for his time. He was a man of details, an historian of sorts. Luke was a valued associate of the Apostle Paul, and travelled with him on several of his missionary journeys. One of those journeys was to the city of Ephesus, and here’s where our story gets interesting. It is thought, by many Bible scholars, that one of the residents of Ephesus was none other than Mary, the mother of Jesus.
Did Luke have the chance to interview Mary? If so, it would explain why Luke’s gospel contains the most information about the birth of Christ. It would explain how he could write phrases like, “but Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart”.
Take a moment during this week of Christmas to reread the Christmas Story in Luke. And, as you do, try to imagine that those beautiful words are coming . . . from Mary.
Meet you back here tomorrow,
David
cindertex50@yahoo.com
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