Shelby County Today

May 26, 2025 - Good Morning. It’s Monday, May 26.

It’s called The Wall. The official name is the Vietnam Memorial. It’s located beside the National Mall, a long V shape, made of black granite, one side pointing to the Lincoln Memorial, the other to the Washington Monument. Created in 1982, it attracts over three million visitors each year. 

I have had the privilege, the honor, the blessing of visiting it several times. I love Washington D.C., and I enjoy all the monuments and museums. But the Vietnam Memorial is a singular, unique experience. The other attractions, although commemorating important American events and people, often have a “touristy” feel. But as visitors walk down into The Wall, they grow quiet - like coming into a cathedral. They see the 58,000 names of those who lost their lives in the war, etched into the black granite. And because the surface is polished, they also see a reflection of themselves. It is a sacred place.

It’s a rainy Memorial Day at my house in Tenaha, Texas. I don’t know what the weather’s like in our nation’s capital, but I know that, rain or shine, thousands will visit The Wall, remembering the true purpose of this day, remembering the fallen. Wherever you may be, take a moment to remember those who, as Abraham Lincoln put it, “gave the last full measure of devotion.”

Meet you back here tomorrow,
David
cindertex50@yahoo.com

May 23, 2025 - On Saturday, May 24, 2025 at 10am First Pentecostal Church of Jesus Christ in Center Tx will be having a bake sale fundraiser to help with the second phase of the building project, our Sunday school class rooms! We will be there at 10am at the Napa parking lot corner, come see us or for more information call 936-955-4314! Thank You & GodBless!!

May 22, 2025 - St. John Cemetery in the Africa Community is hosting their annual fundraiser on Sunday, May 25, 2025 immediately following church services. If you have a loved one resting here you are expected to help with upkeep of the cemetery. Donations can be dropped off. Questions can be directed to Jacklyn Moton-Cartwright at 936-332-8804.

The cemetery is located at 2308 CR 2050, Center, Texas.

May 22, 2025 - I remember once reading a story of a man who owned and operated a small, independent grocery store. He was telling a friend in the store one day that the preacher had delivered a really good sermon the previous Sunday.

Well, the friend asked the title of the sermon, but the grocery man couldn’t remember. He then asked him what text the preacher had chosen for the sermon. He had to confess that he had forgotten that also. At this point, the friend was giving him one of those smirking smiles and thinking to himself that it must not have been much of a sermon after all.

Yet, the man wasn’t finished. He said, “You know, after the sermon, I came to the store and got rid of my short-weight scales, and then I went to the magazine rack and pulled all the magazines that were suggestive or vulgar or would have a bad influence on someone. You see, that’s shy the sermon was so wonderful to me.”

When you think about it, any lesson that move people to live on a higher plane is a wonderful lesson. It doesn’t matter if you remember the title of the sermon or the text it came from. It only matters that it helps you in some way come closer to living your life within the will of God. That ought to be the desire of every child of God, to live our lives on the “Higher Ground” where the Lord wants us to live.

It’s something to think about... tbp

Come join us for worship at Center Church of Christ or online at www.centerchurchofchrist.com.