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HOUSTON DAILY JOURNAL
Sacrificing
solely for
a career
Question: I’ve always
thought a man should be
willing to work and sac
rifice to reach his goals.
I’ve heard you say “cool
the passion and postpone
the dream.” That isn’t
the way I was taught.
Dr. Dobson: There’s noth
ing wrong with having pas
sion and a dream. It should,
however, be kept in balance
with other valuable compo
nents of your life - your
family and your relationship
with God being chief among
them.
Let me
illustrate
that need
to keep
the vari
ous com
ponents of
our lives
in perspec
tive. I read
an article
in the Los
Angeles
Times
St - i
Dr. James
Dobson
Focus on the Family
about a man named J.R.
Buffington. His goal in life
was to produce lemons of
record-breaking size from
the tree in his back yard.
He came up with a formula
to do just that. He fertilized
the tree with ashes from the
fireplace, some rabbit-goat
manure, a few rusty nails
and plenty of water. That
spring, the scrawny little
tree produced two gigantic
lemons, one .veighing more
than 5 pounds. But every
other lemon on the tree was
shriveled and misshapen.
Mr. Buffington is still work
ing on his formula.
Isn’t that the way it is in
life? Great investments in
a particular endeavor tend
to rob others of their poten
tial. I’d rather have a tree
covered with juicy lemons
than a record-breaking but
freakish crop. Wouldn’t you?
Balance is the word. It is the
key to successful living ...
and parenting.
Husbands and wives who
fill their days with never
ending volumes of work are
too exhausted to take walks
together, to share their deep
er feelings, to understand
and meet each other’s needs.
This breathless pace predom
inates in millions of house
holds, leaving every mem
ber of the family frazzled
and irritable. Husbands are
moonlighting to bring home
more money. Wives are on
their own busy career track.
Their children are often
ignored, and life goes speed
ing by in a deadly routine.
Even some grandparents are
too busy to keep the grand
kids. I see this kind of over
commitment as the quickest
route to the destruction of
the family. And there simply
must be a better way.
Some friends of mine
recently sold their house and
moved into a smaller and
less expensive place just so
they could lower their pay
ments and reduce the hours
required in the workplace.
See DOBSON, page 6B
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Serving Houston County
Perry • Warner Robins
Member FDIC
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Bank of Middle Georgia
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Grovania UMC Church in Grovania.
Elko, Snow and Grovania UMC -
Rural churches keeping the faith
Shining the ught
By NANCY HAWK
Journal Sta ff Writer
One of the main blocks in
the foundations of a com
munity’s faith is the brick or
wooden structure it calls the
church home.
This series will shine a
light on the places of faith in
our community The church
es chosen also represent the
past, present and future of
the Houston County faith
community. The series does
not seek to tell you what to
believe, where you need to
go, but to demonstrate that
hope lives in many corners
of Houston County.
A group of three United
Methodist churches have
kept the faith by sticking
together, and their leader
ship has come from one
minister, working like the
circuit riders of old.
Known as charge church
es, each of these institu
tions has been on watch
for their rural communities
for over 150 years in the
same locations. Through
social and economic change,
with families leaving and
new families arriving, these
churches have managed to
keep their doors open.
The Reverend Thomas
Teate and his wife, Myra
Teate are the clergy team for
the churches known as the
Elko, Snow and Grovania
Charge of the Amecicus
District, South Georgia
Conference. The family,
living in Cordele, has been
steadfast in their ministry
to these churches for nearly
16 years, providing services
four Sundays a month, and
when necessary, on a fifth
Sunday as well.
Pastor Tom Teate is a full
time Branch Manager at
the Ag Georgia Farm Credit
here in Perry. The respon
sibility of serving three
churches is a fulltime job
Perry
Drug Company
friendly. Professional Service
Ben Bartlett & Hubert Bennett,
RKiISTERED PHARMACISTS
M*tt /WWWNW Ww AcctptfV
1036 MACON RD. • PERRY, GA I
00040090
988-1144
Iff 1
•Journal Nancy Hawk
Elko UMC Church in Elko.
that can’t be taken lightl.
“While Elko, Snow and
Grovania are served by
one pastor, the congrega
tions meet as one church,
every Sunday of the month.
There are many worldly
hurdles to this type of cir
cuit church but the unity of
spirit through this charge
has enabled many to share
their gifts and keep the
doors open,” Pastor Teate
explains.
Rev. Ronnie Wills,
Superintendent of the
Americus District of South
GA. Conference saud, “ Rev.
Tom Teate does an excellent
job of serving this charge.
He and the people of the
charge are to be commend
ed for the wonderful way
they work together to serve
each of the communities. It
has been a pleasure for me
to be associated with them
1812 D.S. 41 N.l
Perry, GA
987-1112
09&tCXS
FlooringAMßHCA
'Hecv ‘Pewuf
&tea*ten&
736 Main Street
Perry, Georgia 31069
Jackie & Terry Mullis
987*1965 „„„ 4W 7
100040099
RELIGION
over the past three years.”
The charge did have
a fourth church on its
route. Henderson United
Methodist church closed in
1997/
This was a difficult
loss. This small church in
Henderson had been first
organized in the 1830 s. The
congregation grew older,
despite the attendance by
other charge members the
church was unable to keep
its doors open. The church
has since been torn down.
A historical cemetery has
been maintained in this
area.
Elko United Methodist
Church is less than one
hundred yards from its sis
ter church, Elko Baptist. A
long history between the
two churches has brought
them into a mutual
See THREE, page 6B
Perry
Antique Mall
631 Courtney Hodges Blvd.
Perry, GA 31069
rtsvl io Perry Hospital
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Please worship at the
church of your choice
1006 Main St. • Perry
987-2552
Member FDIC
•Journal Nancy Hawk
because
Your
love in
genu
ine and
leaves
no one
out. We
can get
along
with
dear old
Santa,
but there is no getting
through life without God.
God IS life!
Even more than Santa,
You were an important
Being in my childhood
days. You were not just an
annual visitor but were
&m6%tu.drt<t •
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740 Main Street
Perry GA 31069
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www.sewingbees.com
00040101
00041036
Arnold's Auto Service
1202 Main St.
Perry, Ga. 31069
Complete Car Maintenance
Pick-up & Delivery **Road Service
Call Thomas or Shelby
987-9439
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Christmas reunion
beyond imagination
Anew pastor and his
wife reopened a
church in Brooklyn.
The church was dilapi
dated and needed repairs.
They worked hard to
hold their first service on
Christmas Eve. A week
before Christmas, a driv
ing rainstorm hit the area
and lasted for two days.
The roof leaked, loosening
a large section of plaster
that fell from the sanctu
ary wall behind the pulpit.
The pastor seriously
contemplated postponing
the Christmas Eve service;
however, he found a solu
tion at a nearby flea mar
ket. There he spotted a
beautiful, handmade table
cloth with a cross embroi
dered in the center. It was
the right size to cover the
hole in the wall, so he pur
chased it.
As he departed, He spot
ted an older woman stand
ing in the snow who had
missed her bus. The pastor
invited her to wait in his
warm church for the next
bus, which she agreed to
do. While the pastor posi
tioned the tablecloth over
the hole in the wall, the
lady sat in the pew and
watched.
Suddenly, the woman
walked down the aisle.
“Pastor,” sheasked, “Where
did you get that tablecloth?
Please see if my initials,
EBG, are crocheted in the
lower right corner.” The
pastor checked and indeed
they were. The woman
stated she had made this
tablecloth 35 years ago and
had inscribed her initials.
She and her husband had
lived in Austria before the
war. When the Nazis invad
ed, she was forced to leave.
Her husband promised to
follow her shortly.
However, she was cap
tured, sent to prison and
never saw her husband
An open letter to God
Dear God, This special
love letter comes to
expound on my let
ter to “Santa.” The pur
pose is to lift up the great
est love ever known.
Some folks disbelieve
Your existence, just as they
disbelieve the existence
of “Santa.” This is so sad
Earline Cole
Reflections
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2006 ♦
again. The pastor offered to
give her the tablecloth; but
she refused. Rather than
have the lady take the bus,
the pastor drove her to her
Staten Island residence.
On Christmas Eve, the
church was filled. Following
a glorious service, the pas
tor and his wife greeted
everyone. After the church
emptied, they noticed an
older man still sitting in the
pew and wondered why.
G
Billy Powell
Columnist
to one his wife had made
35 years ago in Austria.
He related how the Nazis
forced his wife to flee for
her safety, and that he was
supposed to follow her, but
he was arrested and put in
a concentration camp. He
never saw his wife again.
The pastor asked the
man to take a ride with
him. They drove to Staten
Island, to the same house
the pastor had taken the
woman days earlier. He
helped the man climb
the stairs to the woman’s
apartment and knocked on
the door. When she opened
the door, the pastor wit
nessed one of the great
est Christmas reunions in
human history.
Christmas is a time to
enjoy our families and to
thank the Lord for His
blessings. We especially
praise Him for sending His
Son whose mission to earth
makes it possible for us
one day to reunite with our
precious loved ones who
have gone on before.
present at all times. Your
gifts were not limited to
Christmas morning. You
generously provided from
day to day - not waiting
for a “want list.” So often,
your generosity was not
acknowledged.
When time is taken to
concentrate on Your being
conceived by the Virgin
Mary and the journey of
Mary and Joseph from
Galilee to Bethlehem, I
visualize a journey of faith
on the long tiresome travel.
Your birth in a stable with
only a manger for a bed ...
the threat upon your young
life ... So much transpired
during the adventure. Later
in life, a chain of events
followed the last supper
with the twelve disciples.
You were denied by Peter
- arrested, condemned,
sentenced and crucified.
But, there was the glorious
moment of Your return . . .
The Resurrection!
See COLE, page 6B
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734 Main Street
Perry, Georgia 31069
987-1656
800-516-1004
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3B
The
old man
asked
the
pastor
where
he got
the
table
cloth
because
it was
identical
40094
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