Why do they volunteer? by Linda Brendle

Published in the Rains County Leader on September 27, 2016:

If you drove north on Highway 19 last week, you probably noticed some unusual commotion going on around Believers’ Baptist Church. Actually, the activity started several weeks ago when ground was broken and a foundation was prepared for a new building dedicated to our youth and children’s ministries. Last Monday, however, the work began in earnest when a crew from Volunteer Christian Builders arrived.

Book Review: Letting Go: A Novel by Maria Thompson Corley

Blurb: Even though she lives hundreds of miles away, when Langston, who dreams of being a chef, meets Cecile, a Juilliard-trained pianist, he is sure that his history of being a sidekick, instead of a love interest, is finally over. Their connection is real and full of potential for a deeper bond, but the obstacles between them turn out to be greater than distance. Can these busy, complicated people be ready for each other at the same time? Does it even matter? Before they can answer these questions, each must do battle with the ultimate demon–fear. 

Kitty – our fickle feline! by Linda Brendle

Published in the Rains County Leader on September 20, 2016:

Roget’s thesaurus shows a number of synonyms for the word fickle: inconsistent, changeable, unpredictable, picky, and choosy among others. Any of these words describes Kitty, especially the last week when we’ve been away a lot playing with Spike. For new readers who don’t know who that is, Spike is a Great Pyrenees mix who likes for us to come over for a visit when his people are out of town.

Kitty has become so domesticated that we feel comfortable leaving her on her own while we house sit. We are close enough to drop in a couple of times a day, and as long as her food, water, and litter box are in good shape, she seems perfectly happy to be mistress of the manor in our absence.

Pee Wee Football – It’s not just a game! by Linda Brendle

Published in the Rains County Leader on September 13, 2016:

Sunday was 1^st Down and a Season to Go at my church this week. Pastor Jason is one of the coaches of the 5^th and 6^th Grade Rains County Wildcat Pee Wee Football Team, and he invited his players, coaches, and their families to come to Believers’ Baptist for a Continental breakfast before joining us in the morning worship service. In honor of the day, the boys wore their team jerseys, and everyone else who had a t-shirt from a favorite sports team wore it.

There was a festive air in the church along with lots of smiles as twenty plus young men filed in and took their places on the front rows of the section where our youth usually sit. Lots of proud parents and siblings filled seats around the sanctuary, and the ushers brought in extra chairs to accommodate the overflow crowd. The morning proceeded much as I had expected, but what I didn’t expected was to be totally impressed by the way the team members conducted themselves and by the obvious connection between the team and the coaching staff.

Change | by Linda Brendle

Published in the Rains County Leader on August 30, 2016:

I don’t do change very well. I don’t know if that’s a result of nature or nurture – in other words, I don’t know if I was simply born with a natural aversion to change or if I have developed that aversion because very little changed in my world when I was growing up.

Not that my childhood was boring, but it didn’t involve a lot of variation. When Mom placed furniture in a room, that’s where it stayed. Dinner meant one of a few familiar menus, and family vacations usually included a week in a cabin on Lake Ouachita in Arkansas. That kind of lifestyle gives a solid sense of stability and security, but it doesn’t offer much opportunity to learn to deal with change.