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Senate Democratic Leader Kay Floyd, D-Oklahoma City, released the following statement Thursday on behalf of the Senate Democratic Caucus after the Senate passed SB 210, legislation to impose new requirements on absentee voting in Oklahoma:
Read moreOne of the saddest things I’ve ever seen in a department store is a parent that has lost control of their child. I have seen children that have thrown some phenomenal fits in stores that would have blown your mind if you had seen them. The most shocking part of that situation was the looks of despair on the parents faces as they tried to barter a deal with their little angel. I never really had that problem because I learned early on that discipline and structure begin in the confines of ones home and not in that moment when a child decides to act out in public. My mother was a single parent who was abandoned to raise seven children on her own. My mom had the uncanny ability to look at us in public with a look that said, keep on doing what youare doing and you will learn when we get home to never do it again. My mom did not tolerate disrespect or bad behavior. People were amazed at how my mom could go out in public with her seven children and never have to worry about how we would act or act out. My mom was a very strong woman and strict disciplinarian but she was never abusive and always showered us with love. I remember one time when I was about twelve years old mom started to hit me with the belt for smarting off to her and so I grabbed her wrist and took the belt out of her hand. I was a lot bigger and heavier than she was and I figured I was to big to be spanked any longer. Believe me when I say that I never did that again and paid a severe price for my presumptuousness. To this day my mother is a woman that I hold in high regard as she has shown to me what it is to be a person of honor and dignity. In honor and dignity the Apostle Paul endured some things that you and I could probably never even imagine but he kept the course and never abandoned the call on his life. The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 12: 6-9, “For though I would desire to glory, I shall not be a fool; for I will say the truth: but now I forbear, lest any man should think of me above that which he seeth me to be, or that he heareth of me. And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” In this passage of scripture Paul is sharing with us how it was that God kept him humble. Though I don’t know what Paul’s bane was God gave him something that would keep his ego in check. Most of us, when we surrender to serve God then we think that everything will be simple and easy. When things don’t go the way that we think that they should then we are ready to throw a tantrum, quit and sometimes even turn tail and run. Paul could have very easily done this considering all of the things that he went through to spread the message of God’s saving grace. Not only did Satan attack his ministry but he was forced to fend off attacks on his character. Paul not only wrote a major part of the New Testament under the auspices of the Holy Spirit but he was also preaching the gospel and seeing multitudes converted to the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul’s ministry was on fire and Satan was trying to shut him down. Paul cried out to God for deliverance when God told him, “My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.” When I began preaching I started preaching in Spanish at a Hispanic Church in Oklahoma City. I preached this passage several times in Spanish and so I studied it on more than one occasion. When I started preaching in English and the first time that I preached this passage I noticed that there was a word missing. In Spanish before God answers Paul He uses the word, “Bastate.” this word is a word that you use when addressing an infant, a child. It is a word that means something like, “behave or be still.” You don’t use this word for adults it is used for a child. I don’t know why it doesn’t appear in the English but it does appear in the Spanish version of the Bible. All that I can do is guess that it is implied in the text. Nevertheless, God is telling Paul here as if speaking to an infant or child, “Behave, be still Paul, my grace is sufficient for you. If you will step back in your weakness I will help you because when you are weak I am able to be strong for you.” What a thought! When I am too weak to stand God steps in on my behalf. Maybe that is why God says in Zechariah 4:6, “Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, saith the Lordof hosts.” Sometimes I think that like a child in a tantrum if we would just step back and let God have control over our circumstance we would not only get the help that we need but we would certainly have less frustration in life to deal with.
Read moreDEAR ABBY: I had this friend that I met eight months ago at a local boxing gym here in Chicago. We got along extremely well and even hung out a couple of times. However, she left her job at the gym two months later and things started falling apart.
Read moreFamilies spend more time staring at screens than ever before. Thanks to smartphones, tablets, laptops, televisions, and video games, the average person is exposed to various media throughout a typical day. It can be easy to get swept away and spend much more time staring at screens than is healthy.
Read moreStaff Photo by Casady Fletcher Oklahoma Blood Institute (OBI) employee Adalia B. prepares Sarah Stewart for a blood donation at the OBI blood drive, hosted by the Seminole Fire Department Thursday. Enhanced precautions, including keeping beds at least six feet apart, have been implemented due to the pandemic.
Read moreSeminole Public Schools has released plans for a summer meal program to include each student in the district.
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