Twas the day before Christmas when I got a splinter in my eye that nearly ruined everything. I was 7 years old and all set to be Wise Man No. 1 in the annual church Christmas play the next day.
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By Gwen Rockwood
Syndicated Columnist
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12/19/24
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One of the things I like about Christmas is the plethora of movies that help get me in the spirit. We start with “Die Hard,” which has joined the ranks of Christmas movies – tongue in cheek, of course – and move to “Love, Actually,” which hasn’t lost a step in the last 20 or so years, hit “The Bishop’s Wife” (the old one in black and white with Cary Grant, Loretta Young, and David Niven), see two “Christmas Carols” (George C. Scott in color and Alistair Sim in black and white), laugh a while with “We’re No Angels” (Bogart, Peter Ustinov, and Aldo Ray) and “White Christmas,” and finish with the moving “It’s a Wonderful Life.”
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By Deborah Mitchell
Contributing Columnist
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12/19/24
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The days between Thanksgiving and Christmas could be called the dark zone as it is the time when we realize how much we have spent on Christmas gifts.
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By Bennet Bodenstein
Contributing Columnist
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12/19/24
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It is December, and the countdown to Christmas is real.
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By Kayla Meredith
Senior Pastor, First United Methodist Church
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12/16/24
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If you’re not feeling delightful this December -- often called “the most wonderful time of the year” – you’re not alone. It’s been a hard year for millions of people in many ways. You’re not required to fall in line with the holly jolly hustle of the season.
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By Gwen Rockwood
Syndicated Columnist
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12/12/24
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I think I know every verse of every Christmas carol ever written. The day after Thanksgiving, mother started playing the Mario Lanza Christmas album over and over on our Philco cabinet stereo, and he sang all the verses of each song.
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By Deborah Mitchell
Contributing Columnist
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12/12/24
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The Christmas and New Year's festivities are approaching and we are all looking forward to it, however for some, with a bit of apprehension.
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By Bennet Bodenstein
Contributing Columnist
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12/12/24
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A treasured book I pull off my shelf every December is The Good Shepherd, by the celebrated Icelandic writer Gunnar Gunnarsson (1889-1975).
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By Joel R. Kurz
Pastor, Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Warrensburg
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12/9/24
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I really do love words. For me, they've always been like magic. As a shy kid, I felt so fenced in by fear of nearly everything, but putting words on paper set me free. No pressure, no time limits, no judgment.
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By Gwen Rockwood
Syndicated Columnist
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12/5/24
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I was once asked, “if I were on a spaceship to Mars, what wine would I take?" Without any hesitation I answered Chianti.
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By Bennet Bodenstein
Contributing Columnist
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12/5/24
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With the latest freeze most everything is dormant in the garden with the exception of evergreens. What can gardeners do in the winter? There are plenty of gardening tasks that can be completed or continued over the winter months.
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By Susan Burch
Contributing Columnist
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12/5/24
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In the whirlwind of life’s busyness — whether the hectic holiday season or the endless cycle of work, school, and responsibilities — we can get caught up in the hustle and bustle of life and forget to appreciate our present circumstances.
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By Kelsey Snowden
Warrensburg First Baptist Church
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12/2/24
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I'm good at some things — like making a paper projectile out of a straw's wrapper, swatting a fly with one targeted strike, and quoting lines from reruns of sitcoms. Thanks to excellent teachers, I also have a few academic skills, like knowing when to use "who" or "whom" in any given sentence and where apostrophes should and shouldn't be.
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By Gwen Rockwood
Syndicated Columnist
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11/28/24
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By the time you read this, Hue the Cat will have had a rude awakening. Hordes of people will have descended on the house, disrupting her calm and predictable life. She will have had to hide from tiny people, all of whom will want to touch her silky, black coat, and (horror of horrors) will want to pick her up, holding her close to their hot little bodies.
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By Deborah Mitchell
Contributing Columnist
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11/28/24
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The foods and the order of food served at a Thanksgiving dinner or a Christmas dinner has been rewritten in stone and are almost as religiously observed.
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By Bennet Bodenstein
Contributing Columnist
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11/27/24
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For years, I said the thing all busy parents say when we’re wading through the drama of raising humans – the feeding and cleaning, the last-minute science projects, and the after-school activities that swallow up evenings and whole weekends. On days when I felt outnumbered by kids, errands and messes, I’d mentally reassure myself with this one hopeful phrase: “When the kids are in college, I’ll have time to take care of myself.”
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By Gwen Rockwood
Syndicated Columnist
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11/21/24
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There are people in each of our lives who make an earth-shaking change in paths that we will follow.
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By Bennet Bodenstein
Contributing Columnist
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11/21/24
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On our property stands a bur oak tree with a trunk measuring over sixteen feet in circumference, allowing an estimated age of more than 300 years.
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By Angela Palmer
Contributing Columnist
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11/21/24
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There is no peace with the wicked.
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By Robin Dale
Pastor, Elm Spring Baptist Church
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11/18/24
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Let's be very honest, planning to prepare a Thanksgiving dinner can be, to say the best for it, daunting.
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By Bennet Bodenstein
Contributing Columnist
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11/14/24
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