Newspaper Page Text
PAGE 6A
BARROW NEWS-JOURNAL
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2016
Random Rants in Rhyme
Consider the
massive improbability
Consider the massive improbability
and the reasoned absolute impossibility
that all things that exist could possibly be
formed without a Sovereign Deity.
Let's begin with our extensive universe,
whose end we can't see though we constantly traverse
all of its horizons with our strongest radar telescopes.
Formed without intelligent design?? Are you smoking dope?
Consider the order of the millions of planets in space -
arranged in constellations, with each one assigned its place.
How often do you hear of interplanetary collisions?
It appears their orbits were designed with intelligence and vision.
Next, let’s look through the electron microscope.
Not even its huge magnification can cope
with sub-atomic particles, smaller than protons and neutrons.
But we’ve given them names. We call them quarks and leptons.
Are these the base from which all matter is made?
Our knowledge of them is certainly not top grade;
but could such order exist with no intelligent aid?
Then let's consider the magical process of birth;
repeated to produce more than seven billion people on earth.
Two half cells join in a process called fertilization
and, without known cause, cell groups join in specialization.
Some make a brain, an eye, some fingers, some toes;
some make a tongue, a liver, and so it goes.
Since man’s creation, the process remains unchanged.
To deny divine guidance, to this writer sounds very strange.
Millions of items seem to scream of intelligent design.
Listed above are a few from the top of my mind,
but the one that speaks loudest and is hardest to brush away
is the double helix, chromosome bearing, DNA.
Each and every person has his own identifiable kind.
You can search the world, and no duplicates will you find
except in the case of identical twins, and then
some triplets, quadruplets, quintuplets, sextuplets which descend
at times from a single fertilized ovum. It depends
on factors that doctors to date cannot comprehend.
The Bible says God knows every person by name,
and the number of hairs on each head He can proclaim.
This writer doubted that as he bowed his head in worship
until man developed the tiny silicone chip,
and could store and retrieve many millions of facts from them.
Then he thought to himself, That should be easy for Him.
With every person marked with his own DNA,
it appears to me it would be foolish to say
that this universe and its contents all came on line
without a Sovereign Being and intelligent design.
God has a record of every person’s DNA,
and wants us all to live with Him in Heaven, someday.
© 2016, cbs
Jon Appleton: A Baptist preacher
with a sense of humor
There is hardly anything more
refreshing than a Baptist preacher with
a sense of humor which was clear
ly evidenced in the life of Jon
Appleton, former pastor of the
First Baptist Church of Athens.
He was a popular local person
ality who could cross social lines
with the dexterity of a high wire
walker, maintaining friendships
with those of other faiths without
losing rapport with his own con
stituency.
Jon was never at a loss for
words — even when the joke was
on him.
As a raconteur, he ranked with
the best.
He was resourceful and clever.
He enjoyed making people
laugh.
While he appreciated the fundamen
tal tenets of the scriptures, he was not
so rigid that he became narrow and
unforgiving.
His sermons were laced with humor
and carried the most telling feature-
they were brief.
Nothing worse than a minister who
drones on past 20 minutes.
With some preachers you could read
half of “War and Peace,” by the time
they call for the benediction.
That trait of brevity, alone, made our
friend Jon an unorthodox Baptist.
The following story would have elic
ited, from him, a generous laugh.
In a small Southern town, a Baptist
kid and a Catholic kid became close
friends.
They decided to trade visits to the
other’s church.
They visited the Catholic church first.
The Catholic kid, as the service
moved along, would whisper to his
Baptist friend the meaning of the many
rituals which take place at Mass.
The next Sunday they visited the
Baptist Church.
Soon after the preliminaries had taken
place, the Baptist preacher approached
the podium and took off his wrist watch
and placed it on the ledge of the pulpit.
Immediately the Catholic kid leaned
over to his Baptist friend and said,
“What does that mean?”
The Baptist kid replied, “It don’t
mean a thing!”
The Jon Appleton style was like the
music of Bing Crosby and Frank Sina
tra (both Catholics, by the way)—easy
listening. There were salient points and
insightful commentary in the makeup
of his sermons.
He had as much distaste
for fire and brimstone rhet
oric as the editor of the
New York Times.
He was uncomfortable
with the far right Christian
movement, but he was very
much in step with the prin
ciples of the Golden Rule
and believed that we all are
our brother’s keeper.
He was also keen on
Crimson prevailing the
annual Iron Bowl.
Jon Appleton could be
unconventional.
For example, if a Sunday School
teacher at his church address wanted
to allow a discussion of evolution. Jon
would not have called for him to be
sacked or to have his head served on
a platter.
He believed healthy dissent had its
place at church.
He was particularly accomplished at
creative eulogies.
He had a nice touch for remembering
the departed for something that had set
him/her apart, bringing about generous
laugher in a sanctuary where grief usu
ally holds sway.
Nobody was ever better from the pul
pit when came time to bringing about
a sendoff cloaked in humor and insight
fulness that left family and friends with
feel good emotions at a forgettable
point in their lives.
When it came time last week for his
friends to gather for Jon Appleton's
final service, I. as we all do at solemn
and regrettable times, thought of how I
will remember this warm and delightful
friend.
It will be his sense of humor, his sly
smile and his poignant cynicism.
You saw him coming and you felt
good. When one of his flock needed
comforting, he was always there.
He was a good man and a good min
ister.
Lest we forget, he was seasoned at
good naturedly applying the needle.
What set him apart - he was never
offended when you reciprocated.
A story to which he always gave his
See Smith on Page 12A
Letter continued from 5A
Home for Christmas
First United Methodist
Church, Barrow County
Clerk’s Office. Bank of the
Ozarks-Winder, Statham,
Auburn Branches, MAC
Fundraising Solutions,
Bethlehem Church, Brand
Bank, Stansell & Petree
Family Dentistry, BCSS
Partner In Education Coor
dinators at each school,
Nelson Sanders Photog
raphy, Perfect 10 Nails
& Spa Salon, Southern
Roots, Forge RX, Dunkin
Donuts, Dog Grooming of
Dacula & Winder. Long
horn Steakhouse, Curves
of Winder, Corkies, Corner
Bookstore. MVP Jewelers,
Sweet Jasmine Antiques,
Sims Academy Wood
working Students. Wayne
& Pam Sharpton, Elise
Binder for her handcrafted
pottery, and Gwen Hill for
her two homemade pound
cakes.
We’ve already begun
planning for next year’s
Fill the Bowl event, so be
watching for additional
information about dates,
times and locations. Thank
you to our community for
being part of an answer
to childhood hunger and
food insecurity in Barrow
County!
For additional informa
tion please like us on Face-
book at Barrow County
Food 2 Kids. Online dona
tions can be made by going
to http://www.foodbankne-
ga.org/donate . Clicking on
Hunger Programs and then
clicking on Food 2 Kids
Barrow.
We’re also available for
future speaking engage
ments or to answer ques
tions at the BCSS Cen
tral Office - 770-867-4527
at 179 W. Athens Street.
Winder. GA. 30680.
Sincerely yours,
•Ellen E. Petree. Bar-
row County School Sys
tem school and community
relations specialist
•Shannon Derrick. BCSS
Food2KidsB arrow Coor
dinator
PUBLIC NOTICE
The City of Statham has received loans and grants
from the United States Department of Agriculture,
Rural Development for water and sewer system
improvements. As a recipient of these funds the City
is required to publish the following annual notice:
In Accordance with federal law and U.S. Department
of Agriculture Policy, this institution is prohibited
from discriminating on the basis of race, color,
national origin, sex, age, or disability. (Not all
prohibited bases apply to all programs).
To file a complaint of discrimination, write USDA,
Director, Office of Civil Rights, 1400 Independence
Avenue, S. W„ Washington, D.C. 20250-9410, or call
(800) 795-3272 (voice), or (202) 720-6382 (TDD).
“I’ll Be Home For Christ
mas.”
One of my favorite songs
of the season! I've been home
every Christmas of my life. I
can't imagine it any other way.
After I was married, Randy
and I would spend Christmas
Eve day with his folks, having
lunch and family time.
Boy, oh boy, could his mom
set a mean table with some
delicious food!
Early evening, we’d pack
up and take the fifteen-minute drive
to my mom and dad’s house, where
we’d enjoy more delicious food
and fellowship around the table
with my family. The first couple
of years, we even spent the night
with them, and spent
Christmas morning in
our jammies drinking
coffee before the hus
tle and bustle of the
day began.
At some point
around year three or
four, we decided to
spend the night in our
own home, and start
our own Christmas
morning routine.
A couple of years
later, Whitney came along, and was
still a teeny tiny thing that first
Christmas, having been born on
Dec. 4.
I was still recovering from sur
gery, so my sister-in-law and hus
band did all the decorating around
the house while I healed and nursed
the baby.
The real Christmas fun began the
next year, when she was old enough
to get excited about all the pretty
lights and activity around her.
We still did our Christmas Eve
routine, and went “home” to our
parents’ celebrations, and we still
went to my mom and dad's on
Christmas day.
Home for the holidays. It’s one
of the iconic concepts of Christmas.
Yet... there are so many who, for
whatever the reason, are not home
with family.
Or for whom the definition of
See Bennett on Page 12A
cathy
watkins
bennett
Northeast Georgia
PHYSICIANS GROUP
Surgical Associates
r' **
k
Name
Welcome to the Group!
Northeast Georgia Physicians Group (NGPG)
Surgical Associates welcomes J. Christopher Brandys,
MD, FRCS, FACS, to the practice.
NGPG Surgical Associates Braselton
Medical Plaza B
1404 River Place
Braselton, GA 30517
Call 770-219-9200 to schedule appointments.
Monday - Friday: 8:30 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Dr. Brandys received his medical degree and
completed his general and cardiovascular surgery
residency at Dalhousie University School of Medicine
in Nova Scotia. He is a fellow of the American
College of Surgeons and the Canadian Royal College s '& n *turc
of Surgeons.
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