Newspaper Page Text
Commentary
www.starnewsgaonline.com StarNews October 15, 2023 Page 27
the light
Leslie
VAUGHN
Millennials Christian
Ministry (MCM)
Have you ever felt like you were invisible?
Like people didn’t notice you unless you were
like them. Has it been easy for you to hide in
the shadows or just blend in? God did not call
you to hide out in the comfort zone. He created
you to shine. You are the light. Matthew 5:14-
16- “Ye are the light of the world. A city that is
set on an hill cannot be hid. 15 Neither do men
RIVER RAMBLES from page 24
wide, the man-made lake is fed by the conflu
ence of the mighty Chattahoochee with the
equally-impressive Flint River (a 8,460 square-
mile watershed) for a dual catchment area of
17,280 square miles. (Forgive all these num
bers, but in this instance I know of no other
way to summon in words the sheer amount of
water we’re talking about here, billions upon
billions of gallons!)
The Chattahoochee and Flint Rivers emerge
from Lake Seminole in Florida as the formida
ble Apalachicola, and this new river with a new
TRAVIS PITTMAN from page 23
in a criminal charge assuming a party line vote
and the current political justice system. The
first step to stem the corruption is a fair elec
tion, and then hope the other side does not
adopt the same criteria in governing.
First Amendment rights and political speech
are highlighted in most of the dialogue by poli
ticians on these issues when they are trying
argue their position. The current indictments
from Fulton County, Georgia will be interesting
to follow since they depart from the usual sce
nario in the Federal system.
Many of our politicians have amassed a for
tune during their political tenure, it is hard to
believe they did not use their position for finan
cial gain (18th century “Misdemeanor”). The
only solution for this graft has to start at the
local level. The constituents of the official can
limit a representative’s tenn or make him dis
close his personal monetary gain in office
through their votes and/or political action.
Political speech usually circumvents libel
laws and with a compliant media to carry the
“misinformation”, the public rarely gets an
unbiased explanation of the subject. Currently,
the impeachments involving Trump have
stretched the boundaries of political ‘mis- or
disinfonnation’ identified as the abuse of
power and election interference.
The involvement of three letter agencies is
starting to be exposed for their deceitfulness.
Kash Patel’s latest book “Government
Gangsters” estimates 15% of the administrative
state would have to be fired to get it under con
trol and ultimately return our agencies and
departments to work for the American People.
Trump has already vowed to cut 50,000 gov
ernment jobs, which would be a good start. In
his first tenn, he cut around 10%.
Once again, the broad and open-ended lan
guage of the Constitution is playing “hell” with
our politics. The meaning of words and the cul
tural practices in place during the 18th century
political justice system have to be used to
understand the context. Can you picture our
politicians impeaching an official for jaywalk
ing when using our modem tenn for misde
meanor? I can.
You are
light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on
a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that
are in the house. 16 Let your light so shine
before men, that they may see your good
works, and glorify your Father which is in
heaven.“
I was comfortable in the back of the church,
not the front. But I couldn’t hide anymore.
When I looked back over my life, I found I
wasn’t very good at hiding. Someone would
pick me to do something out of my comfort
zone. One person who asked me to do
something was my Aunt Sybil. She wanted me
to help her start a children’s choir. I knew
nothing about children. I was still a teenager
myself. Yet she saw something in me and
believed I could do it. I found a hymnal and
went to the children’s song parts. I taught them
name has a journey of only 160 miles in which
to empty her 19,500 square miles of combined
watersheds, fanning out in broad webs of
swamps, bayous, and wetlands to reach finally
(and I feel sure without trembling) the Gulf of
Mexico.
I wasn’t with Mary B when she died. I’m
told by those who were that her going was gen
tle and fearless. Which brings to mind two
other goings I was present for: first, my
mother’s more than twenty years ago. Her
slow, almost-imperceptible last breaths were
like the flattening of the waves on a beach at
low ebb. As silence descended and her breath
unfurled to nothing, I had the sensation that my
mother and those of us around her, in fact the
entire ICU, had become a vast calm sea into
which she had apparently vanished.
The other death happened right in this room
where I sit writing these words. Almost ten
years ago, my husband Glyn died here beside
the river he had known intimately for over 45
years. Was he drawing on her fearlessness
when he left us with grace and a glimmer of
mystery?
His eyes were closed, his face turned toward
the river.
“It’s like a tide going out,” I whispered to
him as he glided effortlessly from his own river
of letting go into that endless ocean.
the words. They had fun. A choir was bom.
God used me here and there to do other
things. Hiding was just not an option. Using the
gifts God gave me was one way I let my light
shine. 1 Peter 4:10 “As every man hath
received the gift, even so
minister the same one to
another, as good stewards
of the manifold grace of
God.”
It didn’t matter how
young or old I was. I was
that light. You are that light.
You can’t hide anymore
than I could. Can you relate? Matthew 5:14-
“Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set
on an hill cannot be hid.”
You’re called to give light to those around
you. You’re called to let your light shine. Men
are to see your good works and glorify God.
No matter how old you are, God has called you
to be light. You are the light. Sometimes, even
now as an older person, I find it is still so easy
to hide in the background. It’s so easy to blend
in and be like everyone else.
The goal of your life is to glorify God. You
are the light. You can’t do that by hiding in the
comfort zone. It’s time to find your sweet spot
in the kingdom.
Once I did a summit with someone, she said
she was an introvert. She said being an
introvert doesn’t mean you can’t do it. You can
do it because God helps you. Philippians 4:13-
“I can do all things through Christ which
strengtheneth me.” Under His anointing and
guidance, she was an amazing speaker. After
her speech, she went to be alone to recharge.
ED WILSON from page 24
Year 1919: the Spanish flu and WWI killed
about 40 million people.
Year 1945: two atomic bombs dropped on
Japan resulted in some 400,000 deaths and
casualties. Additionally, the U.S. dropped
some 2000 tons of incendiary bombs that killed
about 100,000 civilians. The Holocaust killed
some 6 million Jews and the WWII combat
reduced the global population by some 3%. In
total, the world lost about 70 to 85 million peo-
Here, I thought I was an introvert. I can’t do
that. I can’t talk in front of a bunch of people. I
can’t do Facebook lives. What would I say?
What would I do? As an introvert, I thought I
could hide behind the scenes. Can you relate?
Have you been hiding in
an area of your life where
God wants you to shine?I
believe this is the time to do
it. This is the time to stop
hiding and do those things
God has for you. It doesn’t
have to be a big thing, but
you can do it.
Someone needs you to shine your light.
Someone needs you to stop hiding and being in
the background. Someone needs you to stop
blending in.
Where are you hiding in life? Where are you
shining? God created you in His image. God
made you for more. You are special. God has a
good plan for your life that goes far above your
wildest dreams. Ephesians 3:20 “Now to him
who is able to do far more abundantly than all
that we ask or think, according to the power at
work within us”
Jeremiah 29:1 l”For I know the thoughts that
I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of
peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected
end.”
I didn’t think I could do half the things I
have done. I didn’t think I mattered or what I
said mattered. So for a long time, I stayed
silent. I hid in the background. Little by little, I
am gaining ground and stepping out on God’s
plan for my life. If I can do it, so can you. You
are the light. Yes, I can. Yes, you can.
pie. I guess God has a way of cleaning up the
population problems man seems to create.
In reality, all of the current self-serving and
incompetent politicians are really just a passing
aggravation.
So, who will you vote for? The nominees of
stupid party or the evil party? Anybody really
look good? If you do not vote, no problem,
other likely incompetents will select your lead
ers. You just pay the bills.
cedwilson587@yahoo.com
The goal of your life is to
glorify God. You are the
light. You can’t do that by
hiding in the comfort zone.
It’s time to find your sweet
spot in the kingdom.
Please Join Us!
Saturday, October 21, 2023
10:00 AM to 11:00 AM
We will be setting up on the sidewalk on Highway 27 South, in
front of the Walmart in Carrollton.
For more information, please contact:
Duane Hack
West Georgia Right to Life
470-370-2452
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Shan Gatewood
Douglas County Right To Life
901-646-0811
WEST GEORGIA RIGHT TO LIFE
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Facebook.com/wgrtl Twitter.com/wgrtl www.wgrtl.org
• Sponsored by West Georgia Right to Life, the local chapter of Georgia Right to Life.
• This makes for a great Ministry Outreach for Teens and Young Adult youth Groups! Each
church from Carroll, Douglas, Heard, Haralson or Paulding counties that has a youth group with
10 or more in attendance, ages 12-19, at the “Stand for Life” will receive $100 from WGRTL.
• Show your concern by joining us at this important Stand for Life function!