I have never been a fan of scary movies. Part of the reason is that I still vividly remember images from one I saw in my younger and more foolish days. The premise was that a terrible virus was ravaging humanity – one bite from another infected human being and you turned into a walking…
Posts by Kurt Jones (Page 5)
Bread, in one form or another, has been one of mankind’s principal forms of food since the earliest times. The trade of the baker is one of the oldest crafts in the world. Loaves and rolls have been found in ancient Egyptian tombs. Before that, people made solid cakes from stone-crushed barley and wheat. A…
As a senior in college I had the opportunity to live with a retired gentleman and his wife named Vaugh and Helen Terrell. Mr. Terrell had grown up in Alabama, been educated as a lawyer, passed the state bar exam, practiced law for many years, and then served as a distinguished judge in his home…
As a child growing up in the ‘60s I watched my fair share of afternoon shows on our four channel black and white TV. One of them was “Dragnet” featuring Sergeant Joe Friday who would solve complex crimes every week in just 30 minutes (minus commercial breaks). His now famous line, “Just the facts, Ma’am” embodied his no-nonsense approach…
“Who is my neighbor?” It’s a legitimate question that is not quite as easy to answer as it might seem. In the past, your neighbors were simply those who lived around you. It probably included most of your family, friends, and co-workers. Remember, daily travel was limited to the back of a donkey or to…
Although historians disagree on the details, most agree that President Abraham Lincoln tried to buy slaves during the Civil War in order to set them free. In one case, Lincoln personally offered to buy a slave from an owner. Kentucky was on the Union side but was unwilling to emancipate the slaves that lived there. In late…
Have you ever said, “When I win the lottery…” It has become an idiom, even for people like me who do not play, for a financial windfall that solves every problem and guarantees a happy life. This is why millions of people continue to buy their tickets, despite the fact that the odds of winning…
Dear Valley Church Family, Can you believe Summer is almost over? I hope you’ve had a chance to relax, take some vacation, and maybe even watch a baseball game! You’ve probably head of Babe Ruth, but have you heard of Ralph “Babe” Pinelli? He was a professional player for Cincinnati and then highly-regarded baseball umpire in the…
How would you fill in the following sentences? Don’t bite the hand that… Where there’s smoke, there’s… A penny saved is… Even if you don’t know these particular sayings of wisdom, no doubt you grew up hearing things that were like them — practical knowledge summarized in succinct sayings, designed to be helpful and memorable.…
Do you know the difference between a “need” and a “want”? Are you sure? Most of us have read “And my God will supply every need of yours…” in Philippians 4:19 and had a certain set of circumstances in mind. Webster defines “need” as, “a lack of something requisite, desirable, or useful; a condition requiring…