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Jan 2, 2024

The State of Our Nation

I just returned from and enjoyable trip to Italy. I was struck by the lack of homeless people and beggars as compared to our country. I did encounter a few homeless people but not like it is here at home. The opposite used to be true.

Jan 2, 2024

Water conservation costs you more

We have been taught that clean water, fresh water is a valuable and limited resource. We use it in our everyday lives to drink, shower, brush our teeth, cook, clean, do laundry, run the dishwasher, wash the cars – and it all adds up. Our lifestyles can produce a lot of water waste, and the world is not producing new water sources. What we have is what we have.

Dec 21, 2023

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus

VIRGINIA, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except (what) they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, Virginia, whether they be men’s or children’s, are little. In this great universe of ours man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect, as compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge.

Dec 21, 2023

For God’s Sake: receive His gift

It is December, and our neighborhoods have exploded with strings of sparkling lights spilling off roofs and hugging hedges. The colder, crisper nights, like the pathetic fallacy of a Shakespearean play, have lent a modicum of credibility to the artificial icicles dripping off the eaves. Chubby inflatable snowmen, Santas, and cartoon characters sway gently in the chilly breeze in improvised choreography to some unheard night song. Nativity scenes softly lit offer a quiet counterpoint to the eclectic spectacle, reminding those who dare to ponder that there is a Christ whose quiet incarnation in Bethlehem brought hope to the world.

Dec 21, 2023

Out and About

I recently heard a sermon from my home church, First Baptist Orlando, that 100% inspired this column. I love Christmas for many reasons, but first and foremost because we are celebrating and recognizing the significance of the birth of Jesus. How does the world celebrate Christmas? By giving gifts and acts of kindness to one another to demonstrate our love for others.

Dec 18, 2023

Brian Out Loud

Dear Santa, the FHSAA could use a clue.
I know it’s a big ask. Perhaps a bigger ask than that time when I was 8 and I circled every toy in one of those old department store catalogs hoping for the best on Christmas morning.

Dec 14, 2023

Parker’s plan will streamline meetings without reducing public input

Santa Rosa County is fortunate to have a committed group of citizen advocates, small but vocal, who monitor local government to protect the interests of “We the People.”

Dec 14, 2023

Out and About

If you are still looking for that perfect Christmas gift, you should check out all our photos at www.yourcommunityphotos.com. We have tons of photos that covered sports, local events, naturalization ceremonies and beautiful shots of Navarre, the beach, and sunsets. All of them are frame-worthy. You can order the photo on metal, canvas or print.

Dec 14, 2023

For God’s Sake: Hope, love, peace and joy

Over four of the five weeks of December, many churches will, in some fashion, observe the season of Advent. By most liturgical calendars, Advent began the last Sunday in November, but the church I pastor, like some other churches, has opted to begin its observance on the first Sunday of December and ending on Sunday morning, December 24.

Dec 12, 2023

Brian Out Loud

It starts with Dear Argos, Dear Bulldogs, Dear Gators or Dear whatever other school nickname you want to fill in the blank with.
And then in it goes into thanking teammates, thanking coaches, thanking fans and, heck, maybe sometimes they even thank the training staff or the water boy.
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