FEBRUARY Photo of the Month

MY HONORABLE MENTION

The ground is level at the Cross.

Picture was inappropriate

To the Editor:

It was nice to see the community of Troy come together and support the new Hobart Community Kitchen at the recent ground breaking ceremony. I would like to thank all who were involved in this project.

Thank you to ITW, all the contributors and the Soup Kitchen Board, who are investing in the future of our city. Their contributions and hard work will improve the lives of those in need at this time of their lives.

It was very unfortunate that the Troy Daily News decided to publish on the front page people protesting this new kitchen and not showing the people inside the tent who were focused on helping our community.

It could have used the space to show a picture of the new building, which would have been a positive thing.

I hope the people against the Hobart Community Kitchen never need a helping hand, but if they do, they will then realize what a great job Troy is doing for the less fortunate.

– Carolyn Taylor, Troy

(As it was printed – February 14, 2013)

Ms. International

Congratulations to Iris Kyle for winning the 2013 Ms. International. This is her seventh title in the Ms. International contest.

Happy Ever After – To All Couples

Remember this:
Affection, Conversation, Honesty and Openness, Financial Support and Family Commitment

We should honor our wives when we are with them and when our backs are turned! Always!

Matthew 19 NLT

4 "Haven’t you read," he replied, "that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ 5 and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’? 6 So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate."

1 Peter 3 MSG

Be good wives to your husbands, responsive to their needs. There are husbands who, indifferent as they are to any words about God, will be captivated by your life of holy beauty. What matters is not your outer appearance—the styling of your hair, the jewelry you wear, the cut of your clothes—but your inner disposition. 5–6 Cultivate inner beauty, the gentle, gracious kind that God delights in. The holy women of old were beautiful before God that way, and were good, loyal wives to their husbands. Sarah, for instance, taking care of Abraham, would address him as "my dear husband." You'll be true daughters of Sarah if you do the same, unanxious and unintimidated. 7 The same goes for you husbands: Be good husbands to your wives. Honor them, delight in them. As women they lack some of your advantages. But in the new life of God's grace, you're equals. Treat your wives, then, as equals so your prayers don't run aground.

JANUARY Photo of the Month

Be ready – even if it may take a while – be ready to capture emotion, reaction or feeling of some sort.

Best Photograph from Christmas past

Favorite memories in 2012

My favorite memory:

It wasn’t the person who would rather not hear about my faith or the one who suggested I pray to myself so the person across from me at a restaurant did not begin to feel uncomfortable that made my most memorable moment list. No — they are the ones who are a part of what boosted my most memorable moments throughout the year. They are the people who I’ll be praying for and wish they could experience God and have as much a joyful lifestyle.

Those moments I’ll remember, but they are not as memorable as talking to a homeless woman about God near the Market Street bridge or the police officer who was nearly crushed by a falling tree during a recent storm. Just a few words can ignite a conversation about God and His spirit – and you can usually gauge quickly if a person is a believer or unsure of where he or she may stand in their beliefs. It’s that sort of assertive approach that’s made my most memorable moments throughout my daily walk in 2012 stand out and worthy of sharing. Discussions reflecting our Lord, with so many throughout the year, including Pastor Ric Barnes — or the Fairbands in the middle of the fairgrounds during the fair or chatting in a back yard of a stranger’s home with Dave Denoyer while on assignment — will not fade.

All of these have lifted me up, but a memory that I consider a sign, or rather a kite in the form of a sign, was with Jeff Sabins, who was flying his (kite board) kite uncontrollably on the street where I live. I had to swerve recklessly out of its way so that I didn’t plow over it. Truth is, I have a strong desire to learn to kite board. I am sure He wanted me to stop and talk to Jeff about his faith that day and I feel Jeff’s relationship with God is deeper since then.

Then when my grandfather was suffering from congestive heart failure in October, I was able to find out whether or not he was a believer. Although I knew he was not a church-goer and didn’t spend time in prayer, I boldly discussed Jesus with him, and since I brought it up, we talked about our favorite God moments. He is no longer with us, but I am confident in his opportunity for eternity. It’s reality and I can no longer hold back, especially from what is real.

If I am told I should not pray aloud it will only make me more bold.

In Galatians 2:20, it reads “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”

His spirit is everywhere, we just need to recognize it. Each memory has made me richer than I was a year ago.

These memories will help me start a legacy with my children for years to come.

Enjoy yourself it's later than you think – Merry CHRISTmas!

OCTOBER Photo of the Month

JESUS in disguise

Psalms 19

1 The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

We should be Thankful everyday

We owe people an encounter with God and a joyful lifestyle. Be thankful to Him and bless His name.

Psalms 100

A Psalm of Thanksgiving.

1 Make a joyful shout to the Lord, all you lands! 2 Serve the Lord with gladness; Come before His presence with singing. 3 Know that the Lord, He is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;

We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. 4 Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. 5 For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, And His truth endures to all generations.