The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.
IT'S OUR CHOICE!
By Elaine Slater Reese
Today we live in a country where we all want, expect, and demand the right to make our own choices.
I AM INTELLIGENT, EDUCATED, AND KNOW WHAT IS BEST FOR ME! So as we enter the welcomed new season of Spring, we again celebrate Easter. For some it may be just another holiday - time off from work - time with family - a great meal.
Others enjoy the decorating - the Easter eggs, Easter bunnies and baskets, candy. And still others celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.
As the years pass, it seems fewer and fewer know or are taught the old but still valid message - how God the Father chose to sacrifice His son Jesus for you and for me.
The one who created us loves us so much that His son was crucified on an old wooden cross. There Christ paid the ultimate price for the sins of mankind. He was crucified, dead, and buried. But it doesn't end there.
HE AROSE ON THE THIRD DAY AND FOREVER REIGNS. THE BLOOD HE SHED ON THAT CROSS PAYS IN FULL THE DEBT FOR OUR SINS. THEY ARE TOTALLY WASHED AWAY - IF WE CHOOSE TO ACCEPT THAT GIFT AND ACKNOWLEDGE HIM AS OUR SAVIOR.
Note the importance of the word CHOOSE. God did not make us puppets. He loves us so much that he gives us the right to choose whether to accept or reject Him and His plan for our lives. We think we accept or reject.
Perhaps we forget that not choosing is in itself a choice. Our time on this earth seems like one small grain of sand as compared to a huge beach where we can't possibly have numbers to count the grains of sand there.
ETERNITY IS NEVER ENDING. Even though that seems beyond our comprehension, I know that I want to be sure where I spend it.
God's word, the Bible, promises us that if we accept Christ as our Savior, we will spend ETERNITY IN HEAVEN.God has given us a choice - the most important one we will ever make.
No one else can make it for us. We need to study God's word and make a wise decision. WE WILL LIVE WITH OUR CHOICE FOREVER.
Dear Editor:
I'm privileged to be one of the volunteers at the Oquawka Food Pantry and right now the economy is such that we have a greater need each and every month.
We serve people from all over Henderson County and on any given day that we're open, we get people who need help; some with five or six children, sometimes a lone couple, or maybe just one elderly person, all with low incomes or no income and all in need of supplies.
Over the last two weeks the local Cub Scout and Boy Scout Troop #61 had a food drive and we received over 920 items of either food or paper products.
These young people and their scout leaders worked hard at collecting donations for us and this drive couldn't have come at a better time.
Also, on behalf of all the pantry volunteers and the many needful recipients of our service we want to say how much we appreciate the generosity of the people of Oquawka. I know this is just one of the many events that Troop #61 holds during the year and you're always right there to support them.
Our scout leaders are all dedicated individuals with their hearts in the right places who help teach our younger generation the art of doing for others who may not have as much as we do. A helping hand is something we all need now and then.
In this day and age of reading so much news about how our youth have gone wrong, it's nice to know that we can still depend on so many "good kids"!
Kay Stevenson
Oquawka