Viewpoints

by Dick Schilling, "Editor Emeritus"

... that spring has arrived on the calendar at least. There are signs elsewhere, too. I saw a robin. And a noisy flock of geese passed southwest to northeast, I suspect some of them complaining because there was still some snow on the ground this far north.

In past years, I would be thinking about gardening and golfing, but that’s in the past at my advanced age.

Instead, I spent time over the weekend watching the PGA event in Florida which featured the return to significance of Tiger Woods. I know how significant it was because the announcers on the Golf channel and NBC kept telling me how great it was that he was back.

And telling me.

And telling me.

Ad nauseam.

Tiger didn’t win, but played well enough to tie for second.

I will bet more than 75% of those who watched could not tell you today who won, because the announcers didn’t talk about anybody else.

Lent + Holy Week = sackcloth-n-ashes, deprivation/sacrifice/abstinence/fasting, prayer, prayer-n-more prayer, additional Bible reading/study, service/alms-giving, dirgey music, foreboding/darkness… Sound like ‘fun’ to you?

The way some people view Lent you might think they’re headed for a severe depression but that’s not the goal at all! The goal is to follow the proverbial “light at the end of the tunnel” to a new and better ‘you’ in a deeper and better relationship with God. And of course the ‘light’ we’re to be following is “The Light of the World” i.e. Jesus the Christ.

To the Editor:

Just over a month ago we had a tremendously sad happening. February 15, there were 17 people shot dead in Florida. The entire nation is deeply concerned for that great loss. Just imagine having one of your family shot down while at school.

Now the politicians are talking, some want gun control. Those gun haters are the same people that wanted the Bible and all Christian principles out of our schools - I say thereby lowering the moral standard.

Our public schools promote sports on Sunday morning, that means our young people miss Sunday school, Bible study and church service. How sad! Our young people need Christian training when they are highly impressionable; even if they fall away from Christian living in later years, they would have a Christian knowledge to fall back on.

I’ll guarantee you that we all will be knocked to our knees sometime in our life. That’s when we will look to Jesus for help and strength.

To the Editor:

Why does a town of 952 inhabitants (Lansing) need a two million dollar enhancement to the public boat ramp?

Who is going to pay for this? I sure hope it is Cabela’s and the out-of-state promoters of the fishing tournaments utilizing the facility every weekend.

Currently, the parking lot is crushed rock and the majority of the vehicles that pull boats are pick-up trucks, and they are OK with gravel. The ability to launch three boats at once seems to be enough. Who would think it’s a good idea to pave and build a building in a flood plain?

Mike Ryan
Harpers Ferry
 

To the Editor:

This year, Passover starts Sunday evening, March 31 and ends April 1, the same days as Easter. That rarely happens.

Passover is the first of three feast days that our Heavenly Father requires us to honor Him by commemorating them. They are holy days and no work is to be done on those Sabbath days of rest. The twenty-third chapter tells how to spend those days. Passover is not a Sabbath day, but the next day and the seventh day are holy Sabbaths and are called feast of unleavened bread. Bread or anything else with yeast in it is not to be eaten on those seven days because of what happened during Passover back in the Book of Exodus, chapters 1-13. Leaven represents sin.

To the Editor:

Hello! I am a third grade student in Northern Virginia. In third-grade, we do state reports, and I have chosen your state! I am very excited to learn more about the great state of Iowa as I work on my report.
Information that I gather for my report will mainly be from books and websites, but I would also like to get information from the people who live in the state. This is why I am writing to you. I was hoping that you would be willing to send me some items to help me learn more about the best things in your state. It could be things like postcards, maps, pictures, souvenirs, general information, this newspaper article, or any other items that would be useful. You can mail items to the address below. I really appreciate your help!

Sincerely,

Kadyn
Mrs. Robinson’s Class
The Langley School
1411 Balls Hill Road
McLean, Virginia 22101
 

by Dick Schilling, "Editor Emeritus"

... that those who write about old age as the Golden Years either have been very lucky health-wise or have not reached old age.

As if I needed one, I encountered another health problem in which age and life style might be involved.

After a fruitless three day effort to secure medical help from my customary source, I was forced to look elsewhere, and a new physician prescribed a med that took care of the problem in a day!

The problem was serious because it denied this right-handed person the use of his right hand! I could not even open a pill bottle or lift a coffee cup without pain, and trying to shave with the left hand resulted in several scrapes that bled. There were a couple other more embarrassing chores which were difficult, but I shan’t go into those!

But even with that new health problem solved, the instructions about how to deal with it raised more questions. About diet.

Why Good Friday and Easter?

Why Good Friday and Easter? It all goes back to one moment in time, a moment that corrupted the human race. Moses tells us about that moment in the Book of Genesis: “When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it” (Genesis 3:6).

The Fall into sin is not only the reason for Christianity but also all other religions.

All religions hearken back to the Fall and propose a remedy for it. And it is either God or man that provides the remedy.

by Dick Schilling, "Editor Emeritus"

... that I get up at about the same time every day, winter and summer, and so walk into the east facing living room around 7 a.m. Today (Feb. 26) I was greeted by blinding sunshine streaming in the window, the first time I had noticed that since last fall.

So the days are getting longer, by as much as five minutes every two days.

For some reason, I thought incorrectly that this was a Leap Year, but it isn’t, so we are into March.

March is the battlefield between seasons.

We had thunder with freezing rain one night.

And yesterday morning, when I went to get the morning papers, a male cardinal was loudly proclaiming his territory with vociferous song.

To All Church Attenders: “The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person. For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil” (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14, NASB).

Two years ago, I was introduced to a retired evangelical minister who oversees a food shelf ministry to Hispanics near the Gulf of Mexico in the southern part of Texas. We discussed the spiritual condition and challenges in our respective denominations. He knew about mine so I asked him about his denomination. He was quick to reply,

“There’s no fear of God.” This struck a fire in me as I realized I have been seeing the same issue - it lived with me for days and I have never forgotten that conversation.