The Press-Dispatch

Wednesday, April 19, 2023 The Press-Dispatch D-5 CHURCH Submit church items: Call: 812-766 -1611 Email: news@pressdispatch.net WE ARE LOOKING FOR SPONSORS! Ramblings of my mind By Lowell Thomas God is working By Pastor Mike Miller First Baptist Church of Petersburg PAWS WEEK PAWS WEEK Pet of the MISSY On a warm and sunny afternoon, a cat saunters through the garden just to see what she can see. Not everything has to have a reason with cats nor with her human com- panions, who often find that hard to believe. This week PAWS is featuring an independent young fe- line named Missy. Missy likes a great adventure and she would love to find a home to enjoy some outside time as the warm weather sets in. Missy is a short haired tabby with black and white fur and long white whiskers. Mis- sy is very agile and would make a good mouser as she is not quite a year old. To adopt Missy please call 354-9894. PAWS is located at 4224 N. Meridan Road, Petersburg. Commercial & Residential Financing Available Office: 812-630-8391 www.bandbextermination.com Fully Licensed & Insured • Locally Owned & Operated Praise and Worship Service April 23, 2023 Jeffrey Bryant will be our guest for Praise and Worship service at Gentle Shepherd Church of God, located at 8350 East 350 North (just west of Oatsville on the Oatsville/ Wheeling Road) in Gibson County on Sunday, April 23 at 6:00 p.m. (CDT). Jeff is a perennial favorite guest of Gentle Shepherd! He ministers by his songs and testimonies in praise and worship of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Food and fellowship will follow. The public is invited. The public is invited. "Jesus answered, 'It was not that this man sinned or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him.'" John 9:3 "Why me, Lord?" It's a common phrase we hear— or maybe even have said ourselves—when some- thing goes wrong. Maybe it's a cancer diagnosis or, if you're anything like me, a car issue. Those are two extremes of human suffer- ing. On one end, a devas- tating catastrophe and on the other a minor annoy- ance in the grand scheme of life. Either way, we ask the question. However, that question reveals something about the way we view ourselves. We typically see ourselves as innocent. When bad things happen, we're the victims. When good things happen, we rarely ask that ques- tion. We assume we deserved it. Now, I'm not naïve enough to believe that many would actually ar- ticulate these feelings, but they are there nonetheless. So, when one of Jesus's disci- ples asked him about a man who had been born blind, wondering whether it was the man or the parents who had sinned that he would be punished with lifelong sight impairment, it shouldn't sur- prise us. It's just our question, "Why me, Lord?" turned out- ward; "Why him, Lord?" The assumption is that bad things al- ways happen in response to bad behav- ior and blessings are always the reward for good behavior and we forget that those correlations are not always made in reality. Jesus gave his disciple an answer, and it may not be immediately comforting, but hopefully—if we pay close atten- tion—it ultimately will give us peace in every situation. The man was born blind, not due to sin, but because God is at work in the world and this man's life was part of that work. Jesus heals the man and demonstrates the glory of God. Sometimes, it's that simple. What we go through is an opportunity to be a dis- play of God's work in His world. Even— often especially—our weaknesses are there to bring attention to God, who gets the glory for all that is done in and through our lives. It's easy to see God's work and praise him when things are going well, but so much more difficult when life is full of danger and toil. This story in John 9 exists to demonstrate to us that nothing is random. God is working. Greetings. It has been a another week of hurting for my wife and anticipation of Friday at 11 a.m. when she should have surgery on her back. The insurance company has yet to certify payment for her surgery but we had just the same in hopes of her pain relenting. The surgery was in her upper back and it has lessened her pain to a less debilitating pain. It looks like she has been bitten by Dracula because on both sides of her spine is a puncture wound which resembles fang marks. We are hoping and praying for her to be pain free soon. I've been trying to pick my chores outside to work on each day after I have caught up with the chores I have been trying to take from my wife as she has been down. I certainly have a renewed appreciation for how busy she is during a day. Just the few that I have tried to keep up with has me hopping especially if I try to do any of my work outside. My wife has always said a woman's work is never done. Pike Central High School held a Career Fair last Tuesday and there were several companies represented explaining what their companies had to offer and how to approach em- ployment with them. Guidance counselor Caren Richeson was good to show me around some and guide me to a great story about the Arc of Southwest Indiana. If you truly watch your children closely you can see their likes and their dislikes as well as their talents and strengths. Our grandson really enjoys art and has a very active imagina- tion for constructing things from paper. We try to steer him toward using his imagination and we try make sure he has plenty of things to work with as well as having his imagination challenged. He is like his Papa and doesn't always display a lot of smarts but likes to have things in an orderly fashion so if you can channel your kiddos toward their likes and dislikes you will better prepare them for their future. I asked the editor of the Press Dispatch if I could help them in any way and I was asked if I thought I could write news stories so I told them I would like to try. I have written two stories for them and both have been published. I didn't notice a lot of corrections when I read them in the paper. I must admit I was concerned that I might have jumped into something I wasn't going to be much good at but with a few corrections my stories looked fairly good. It has been fun and challenging but you know the stories just come to you. My gift of gab doesn't hurt anything either because I usually write like I talk and that is a mile a minute and I can ramble on and on so we'll just see how I do. Steve and I were fortunate enough to play and sing at Amber Manor last Tuesday evening and we did okay but we haven't been that busy performing since COVID has been such a con- cern. This past Sunday afternoon we played and sang as well as brought a message to them about purpose and how they still had purpose as they were now prayer warriors. Brother Rich Russell provided and served communion to the residents at Lakewood Assisted Living Facility. Well it is time to remind us all to get out there and be bless- ing and to accept all blessings we receive. To sponsor our Church Notes and Facts About the Bible Please contact Pam 812-766-1611 plemond@ pressdispatch.net Advertise Here! Call Pam at 812-766-1611

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