Newspaper Page Text
THURSDAY. JANUARY 7. 2021 PICKENS COUNTY PROGRESS PAGE 4B
Church News
Minister’s Column - Continued from Church Page
In spite of the nice
weather outside, she had al
lowed what she had just
watched on TV to cause her
to momentarily lose sight of
reality.
It reminds me of an inci
dent that took place on
Christmas Day as we were
together with family. My
teenage grandson was letting
his two-year-old cousin wear
his new headphones while
the sound of falling rain was
being played on that device.
After listening for a moment,
the little guy ran to a nearby
window to look outside as if
expecting to see the rain he
was hearing.
Hopefully we’re not quite
that susceptible to being de
ceived by what we listen to
or see. However, those sto
ries remind us how we can
be influenced by what we
allow to enter our minds. If
we’re not careful, we can
find ourselves losing our grip
on reality while giving cre
dence to lies, fantasies, or
half-truths. In some cases we
get caught up in false narra
tives because they are so
widely received or so well-
packaged. Other times we
accept truth alternatives be
cause what they suggest may
be more pleasant or easier
for us to deal with than the
hard truth of reality.
As we progress into this
new year I believe one of our
big needs as followers of
Jesus is for discernment. We
need to pray for the Lord to
help us in being able to rec
ognize the true from the false
and the real from the fake.
While His Spirit working in
us and guiding us can cer
tainly play a major role in
that endeavor, we have a part
to play, too. We need to be
wise about what information
we are constantly allowing
to bombard our minds, as
well as to whom we’re
choosing to listen. Unfortu
nately I’m finding that some
of the sources I once relied
on for valid information
aren’t as trustworthy as they
once were. That can apply to
news services, internet
sights, radio personalities,
and preachers. So what do
we do? To whom do we lis
ten? Where do we go to find
truth and reality?
Jesus declared, “I am the
way, the truth, and the life”
(John 14:6). We should look
to the Lord as our main and
most reliable source for
truth. Other purveyors of in
formation may stray off
course or be unduly influ
enced by societal pressure to
change their views. How
ever, the truth of God is eter
nal. “Jesus Christ is the same
yesterday, today, and for
ever” (Hebrews 13:8). Who
He is, His teachings, and His
commandments for us don’t
change.
So I would encourage us
to make it a priority to spend
more time in God’s Word
this year. The Bible is still
our main source of truth.
And in spite of what many
teach today, it’s still our most
reliable source. God can re
veal truth in other ways, but
those all need to align with
what He says in His written
Word. And don’t just depend
on others, not even preach
ers, to faithfully convey its
truths to you. Read it and
discover it for yourself.
Know what is going on in
the world, but don’t get
caught up in its sometimes
false view of reality. Study
God’s Word and cling to
what is eternally true and
real.
[Rev. Tony Elder is a
North Georgia native who
serves as a pastor and au
thor of the daily devotional
book, Everyday Encounters
with the Lord” and serves as
the Executive Director of the
National Association of Wes
leyan Evangelicals. He may
be reached at
revtelder@aol. com.]
Continued from Page IB
Sports
History
victory. Kansas City's de
fense logged four sacks and
four interceptions, including
two by hall of fame safety,
Emmitt Thomas. The
turnovers eventually pro
duced points as running
backs, Wendell Hayes and
Robert Holmes, each found
the end zone. Oakland
owned the league's top
ranked offense in both scor
ing and yards produced dur
ing the regular season.
Despite their ridiculous num
bers, the Raiders were held
scoreless over the final three
periods. The Chiefs' story
book season concluded with
a victory over Minnesota in
Super Bowl IV.
January 5th:
On this day in 1963, the
San Diego Chargers claimed
their first American Football
League championship fol
lowing a 51-10 bombing of
the Boston Patriots. After
falling short to the Houston
Oilers in consecutive title
games in 1960 and 1961, the
Chargers finally got over the
hump. San Diego's league
leading offense lived up to its
reputation and used all of its
weapons to overwhelm the
Pats. Let's begin with Charg
ers' halfback, Keith Lincoln,
who had a record-setting per
formance. Lincoln carried 13
times for 206 yards, caught
seven passes for 123 more
and scored twice on rushing
and receiving touchdowns.
He set the postseason rush
ing record for a single game
and his 329 scrimmage yards
remained a playoff-high until
1971. Paul Lowe, San
Diego's 1,000-yard rasher,
also chipped in 94 yards and
a touchdown on 12 carries.
Tobin Rote got the start at
quarterback and responded
by completing 10 of 15
passes for 173 yards and two
scores. Rote also ran for a
touchdown before becoming
the first quarterback to win
championships in both
leagues, previously winning
a title with the NFL's Detroit
Lions in 1957. John Hadl
came off the bench and
capped the rout with two
scores of his own, one pass
ing and one rushing. By
games' end, the Chargers to
taled 610 yards while their
defense logged two intercep
tions with six sacks.
January 6th:
On this day in 1985, the
Miami Dolphins and San
Francisco 49ers punched
their tickets to Super Bowl
XIX. The Dolphins became
the first team to win five
AFC championships by de
molishing the Pittsburgh
Steelers, 45-28, at the Or
ange Bowl. Pittsburgh na
tive, Dan Marino, torched his
hometown team for five
scoring strikes, including
two to Mark Duper, who fin
ished with five catches for
148 yards. Marino com
pleted the day 21 of 32 for
421 yards while Tony
Nathan made eight catches
for 114 yards before racking
up 178 from scrimmage.
Nathan also added a rushing
touchdown while Miami's
defense forced four
turnovers, including three in
terceptions. In the NFC title
game, the Niners blanked
Mike Ditka and Buddy
Ryan's vaunted Chicago
Bears, 23-0. Joe Montana
overcame a pair of intercep
tions by throwing a touch
down pass to Freddie
Solomon. Running back,
Wendell Tyler, scored on a
nine-yard ran and San Fran
cisco's defense recorded nine
sacks. Fred Dean and Gary
Johnson, who were team
mates on the "Air Coryell"
San Diego Chargers, had two
apiece. Chicago's offense,
who was without quarter
back, Jim McMahon, man
aged just 13 first downs and
186 total yards.
January 7th:
On this day in 2019, the
Clemson Tigers became col
lege football national cham
pions for the third time in
school history. This was
Clemson's second title in
three seasons and for the sec
ond time in three years, the
Tigers defeated Nick Saban's
Alabama Crimson Tide. Two
years earlier, Clemson
needed a last-second De-
shaun Watson touchdown
pass to vanquish the defend
ing champs. Two years later,
against another reigning
champion Bama team, the
Tigers ran off 30 unanswered
points behind freshman quar
terback, Trevor Lawrence, en
route to a 44-16 bombing.
Lawrence won offensive
player honors by completing
20 of 32 passes for 347 yards
and three touchdowns. One
of his scoring passes went to
wide receiver, Justyn Ross,
who logged six receptions
for 153 yards. Another went
to running back, Travis Eti
enne, who added two more
touchdowns on the ground.
Clemson cornerback,
Trayvon Mullen, recorded
six tackles, a sack and inter
ception while being named
defensive player of the game.
The Tigers also capped a per
fect 15-0 campaign with this
victory, giving the program
its first undefeated and un
tied season since 1981.
January 8th:
On this day in 1983, the
Washington Redskins hosted
the Detroit Lions in a first
round NFC playoff game at
RFK Stadium. This contest
marked the first of an NFL
record six consecutive 100-
yard postseason games for
Redskins' running back, John
Riggins. Despite averaging
just 3.1 yards per carry dur
ing the strike-shortened reg
ular season, Riggins
convinced head coach, Joe
Gibbs, to "give him the ball"
once the playoffs began.
Gibbs gave the 33-year-old
Riggins his word and "The
Diesel" gashed Detroit for
119 yards on 25 carries. Rig
gins' running opened up the
passing game for quarter
back, Joe Theismann, who
threw three touchdown
passes. All three went to the
5 7" Alvin Garrett, who fin
ished the day with six
catches for 110 yards. Mean
while, Washington's defense
registered four sacks and five
takeaways, including two in
terceptions. One of those
picks was returned for a 77-
yard score by cornerback,
Jeris White and these per
formances helped the Red
skins win easily, 31-7.
January 9th:
On this day in 1977, the
Oakland Raiders won their
first world championship in
franchise history following a
32-14 mauling of the Min
nesota Vikings in Super
Bowl XI. Raiders' quarter
back, Ken Stabler, led a mis
take-free offense by
completing 12 of 19 passes
for 180 yards. Stabler also
found tight end, Dave
Casper, for a second quarter
touchdown pass as Oakland
opened the contest with 19
unanswered points. Running
back, Clarence Davis,
sparked the Raiders' running
game with 137 yards on 16
carries while Pete Banaszak
scored twice. Oakland's de
fense limited the lethal
Chuck Foreman to 44 yards
on 17 carries as Minnesota
managed just 71 on the
ground. The Raiders also
forced three turnovers, in
cluding an interception that
was returned for a 75-yard
touchdown by Willie Brown
in the fourth quarter. Brown's
score turned out the lights on
the Vikings, who became the
first team in NFL history to
lose four Super Bowls. Oak
land wide receiver, Fred
Biletnikoff, was named the
Most Valuable Player after
catching four passes for 79
yards. Three of Biletnikoff s
receptions came right on the
goal line and set up easy
scores.
Continued from Page IB
Nettes continue solid play
holiday tournament. The
Nettes previously defeated
the Lady Lions 54-49 at Gor
don Lee with a shorthanded
squad. On Dec 30th, they
were almost back to full
strength and the Nettes came
to play.
They outscored Christian
Heritage in all four quarters
and enjoyed a 36-18 lead at
the half. The final would be
72-50 Nettes, improving
their record to 8-2.
Nine Nettes got on the
scoreboard in this one with
Madison Powell and
Amanda Nelson pacing the
Nettes with 14 each. Cassidy
Richards added 12 and
Carmyn Mullins 10. The
Nettes connected on 8 three’s
in the first half and added 2
more for a total of 10.
It’s the second game this
season with at least 10 three
point makes and the 6th
game with 9 or more. Kealy
Hillhouse led the team with 4
assists. Emma Gleason led
with 4 steals. The Nettes
cracked 70 points for the
fourth time this season.
They were back to region
play on January 5th with a
trip to SE Whitfield and Jan
uary 8th with a long ride to
Cedartown.
Kealy Hillhouse, 10, and Amanda Nelson, 21, break
down the court. Nelson would score 14 in the game against
Christian Heritage. Hillhouse had 4 assists.
Continued from Page IB
State fishing guide includes tips and more
The 2021 Georgia Sport
Fishing Regulations Guide
provides information such as
a color fish identification
chart for both freshwater and
saltwater fish, license pur
chasing information, contact
information for Wildlife Re
sources Division and Coastal
Resources Division fisheries
management offices and
DNR Law Enforcement of
fices, trout stream listings,
public fishing area informa
tion, state record fish listings,
fishing regulations for Geor
gia and more.
The 2021 Georgia Sport
Fishing Regulations may be
found online at
http://www.eregulations.com
/georgia/fishing/, or through
the Outdoors GA app (free
app for iPhone or Android
users). Anglers also can pick
up a printed copy at any
Wildlife Resources Division
fisheries management or
DNR Law Enforcement of
fice, or at fishing license
vendors throughout Georgia.
Where else can you find
fishing information? The An
gler Resources page on the
WRD website, http://geor-
giawildlife.com/fishing/an-
gler-resources, is a great
place for new or experienced
anglers and includes infor
mation about taking kids
fishing, reservoir and river
fishing tips, fish ID info and
much more. If you are look
ing for the latest fishing tips,
check out the weekly Geor
gia Fishing Report
(https://georgiawildlife.blog)
#1 Plastics
#2 Plastics
Paper Products
Wafer bottles,
drinking bottles,
soda bottles,
mayo jars,
peanut buffer
detergent jugs
bleach bottles,
etc.
junk mail,
newspapers
etc.
Steel Cans
Bottles Only:
Styrofoam, Plastic
Plastics not
No window panels
or car
windshields
or rigid Plastics.
Help us recycle the correct products.
Director Waste/Recyclins, Kenny Woodard
390 Appalachian Court, Jasper, GA