Musings

By Rick Moore Buying presents for others is easier when you know what they like to collect. When someone asks me what they can buy for my mom, I let them know she collects teapots, which makes selecting a gift for her simple. My dad used to collect rare and...

By Pastor Doug Stauffer I joined the Air Force midway through my senior year and arrived at Eglin Air Force Base one year later. After two years on the base, I moved to Okaloosa Island, where I lived “the life” in one of two top-floor apartments of a four-plex at...

By Sean Dietrich I‘m sitting with my Methodist mother-in-law in the living room. We are replaying old memories like worn out records. There is a ballgame playing in the background. Braves are winning. She sits in her wheelchair, nursing a nightly glass of Metamucil. I am sitting in a fold-up rollator...

By Myrna Conrad There are so many discrepancies in our world today that it is hard to know who or what to trust. Trust is a “firm belief in the reliability, truth, ability or strength of someone or something.” I do believe that it is harder to trust today than it...

By Myrna Conrad Webster defines responsibility as “the quality or state of being responsible: such as a moral or mental accountability; reliability, trustworthiness; something for which one is responsible. There seems to be a trend today of people looking for ways to avoid responsibility and blame others for their mistakes...

By Pastor Doug Stauffer America has proven to be the most blessed nation on earth for about the last two and a half centuries. As is generally the case, the few selflessly sacrifice for the many. Some sacrifice by enlisting with the military for love of country (or serving on...

By Sean Dietrich Morning on an American interstate. A caravan of large bucket trucks travels southward. There must be a hundred of them. Maybe more. These are utility workers. Hurricane Ida plowed into Louisiana like a Peterbilt semi yesterday. These trucks are heading to ground zero to join the 25,000 other...

By Pastor Doug Stauffer This region has long been rightfully considered a premier military assignment—well-known for its pristine beaches, top-tier schools and friendly communities. Military families transfer in and out. But, I want to tell you about a transfer authority far superior to Uncle Sam. Here is the story of...

By Sean Dietrich Today at the store I watched a young guy hold the door open for a mother of three. He trotted ahead and threw open the door with a grand flourish as if to say, “After you, mademoiselle.” The woman stopped cold in her steps. She had a baby on...

By Myrna Conrad Many people mistake humility for weakness, passivity or insecurity. However, a humble person is anything but weak, passive or insecure. It takes a person with tremendous inner strength to realize and admit his or her limitations and to live free from the ever-present pull of pride and...