In a well-known verse in the Bible, Jeremiah 29:11, God tells the Babylonian exiles, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Did you know that God has a plan for your life too? And, it is a plan just for you, not for anyone else, unique and special.

WRONG. We live in a world of sagging morality. Ponder this. Some teach children not to use 'those words' yet mom and dad use 'those words' all the time. The old saying is, 'What's good for the goose is good for the gander.' If it's 'good' and 'right' for adults, then why would it be 'bad' or 'wrong' for young people? E.g., if it's 'right' for adults to take God's name in vain, then why would it be 'wrong' for children? Have you ever heard the saying, 'The end justifies the means'? That was Joseph Fletcher's moral mindset. He was a man who had religion but clearly had neither a relationship with the Lord nor belief in God's Word. He founded situational ethics which basically purports that right and wrong depends on the situation. In short, he believed that wrong is not always wrong. That's convenient. BTW, this 'religious' philosopher sadly became, and apparently died, an atheist. Well, the true truth is that God's truth teaches wrong is always wrong. Wrong IS wrong even though we think the end justifies the means. People in the time of the Judges were condemned because, 'everyone did what was right in his own eyes' (17:6). But, as Solomon said, 'There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death' (i.e. judgment) (Prov. 16:25). Wrong IS wrong, even though our wrong is never found out. That's because God sees our wrong. Job said, 'For His eyes are on the ways of man, And He sees all his steps' (34:22). Or, as Solomon said, 'The eyes of the LORD are in every place, beholding the evil and the good' (Prov. 15:3). Wrong IS wrong even though everyone else is doing it. God told Israel, 'You shall not follow a crowd to do evil' (Exodus 23:2). Did not God show in the time of Noah that following the crowd was disastrous for all who refused to get in the ark? God's Word is truth. His morality is right. Therefore, God says, 'he who does wrong will be repaid for what he has done' (Col. 3:25).

.

Did you know that phrases like “fear not” or “do not be afraid” are mentioned 365 times in the Bible? Do you suppose there is a reason this number is equivalent to the same number of days in a year? God is telling us to remember daily that He loves us and cares for us and we need to trust him.

LABOR DAY. In John 6, Jesus travelled with His disciples by boat across the Sea of Galilee. After landing in a deserted area, the Lord led them up a hillside. Having seen recent miracles that the Lord had done, a huge crowd followed him across the sea. Seeing the huge crowd coming toward Him, He asks Philip, 'Where shall we buy bread, that these may eat?' Of course, there was no place to buy anything. Jesus knew that He alone would feed the people supernaturally. He ended up feeding 5,000 men plus women and children. The whole crowd could easily have been over 20,000 people. After spending the night in prayer, the Lord goes back across to Capernaum where some of the crowd finally finds Him and He tells them, 'Most assuredly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you' (John 6:26-27). As the Labor Day Weekend is upon us, we would all do well to ask ourselves, 'For what am I laboring?' There's certainly nothing wrong with a nice house, vehicle, etc. but things of earth can never satisfy the soul. It was a rich, young ruler who loved his 'things of earth' whom the Lord told, 'If you want to be perfect (i.e. go to heaven), go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me' (Matt. 19:21). Sadly, that young man walked away sorrowful because he loved his earthly treasure more than heavenly treasure. In Mark 8:36-37, Jesus asked a group of people, 'For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?' We feverishly labor for the 'toys' of this life, but are we also laboring to lay up treasure in heaven? More importantly, are we teaching our children the importance of heavenly treasure?

The 2022 4-H Fashion Revue was held at the Nova Theatre on Thursday, July 21st. The theme for this year’s event was “Adventures of the Great Outdoors.” Several members of the County’s 4-H groups participated and showed off their outfits to family and friends from the theatre’s stage.

that can improve our conditioning and give us that accountability as well. Ask your provider to order PT for you, if you don’t know where to start.

The Hobart Homemakers FCE group met Monday, August 22, 2022 at the United Methodist Church at 7 p.m. Susan G. opened with the flag salute and Vicki read the FCE Motto. Roll call was “What is one of your memorable events from this summer?” It was answered by five members. We ran the popcorn/ cotton candy trailer at the fair on Monday, Aug. 8 and earned $125 for our club from the Chamber. We need to contact our scholarship winners to make sure they are enrolled in college and give them their $300 scholarship from our club. We had lots of discussion on our involvement with the community-wide Pumpkin Patch Oct. 1-2. The Chamber asked if we were going to do a pumpkin baking contest again, so we discussed times for that to be held. They also asked us to consider being in charge of a pumpkin decorating/carving/ painting contest. We discussed that and will take on the challenge but think we will offer to do that on Sunday and the baking on Saturday. Janie will check with Raven. Vicki made a motion to buy a banner to advertise our club. She will check into it and get one ordered. We also decided to sell Sherwood Forest Greenery again as it is the main money-maker for our club for scholarships. Janie and Susan G. are on the committee to plan the state FCE convention in Hays Oct. 2-4, 2023. They will go to Newton for this year’s state convention to advertise next year’s theme, “Caught Up in the New Frontier.” We enjoyed watermelon and fruit/vegetable kabobs. Our next meeting is Sept. 26, 2022. — Sent in

Come in and check us out!!! New books for adults are: • “Bayou Sweetheart” by Lexi Blake • “Weddings in Orchard Valley” by Debbie Macomber • “The Best is Yet to Come” by Debbie Macomber • “Sparring Partners” by John Grisham • “Grace Under Fire” by Julie Garwood • “The It Girl” by Ruth Ware • “Reckoning” by Catherine Coulter • “Escape” by James Patterson • “Shattered” by James Patterson • “Nothing But The Truth” by Holly James • “Edge of Dusk” by Colleen Coble • “The Edge of Summer” by Viola Shipman • “We Lie Here” by Rachel Howzell Hall • “The Italian Ballerina” by Kristy Cambron • “Portrait of an Unknown Woman” by Daniel Silva Stop by for a nice warm cup of Joe. Your library staff, Chris Sander, Crystal Dunlap, Beth Hazen, & Jaxon Dunlap.