An Arkies Musings

An Arkie's Faith column from the December 24, 2019, issue of The Mena Star. In most houses, Christmas gifts are appearing around the tree. We focus on giving good gifts. We spend a lot of money and time finding the right gifts for people that are important in our life. Sometimes we stress out about getting the right gifts. For most people, money is an issue. We are limited in the gifts that we give by how much we can spend. But there is a gift that we can give that doesn’t cost us anything. It is the gift of encouragement. In Ephesians 4:29 (NOG), Paul writes, "Don’t say anything that would hurt another person. Instead, speak only what is good so that you can give help wherever it is needed. That way, what you say will help those who hear you.” If we want to help someone, we need to encourage them. Do you know someone who needs your care and compassion today? Is there someone who would benefit from your kindness and encouragement? As we go through life, one of the ...

An Arkie's Faith column from the December 5, 2019, issue of The Mena Star. Mrs. Langford stood in front of the class lecturing on whatever poem we were studying that day. But my mind was miles away. I was interested in space, science, sports, and that one particular beautiful blonde girl. “Old poetry was boring,” I thought. My grade in the class reflected my interest level. Even though I didn’t enjoy the class, I still remember a few of the poems we studied. “The fair breeze blew, the white foam flew, The furrow followed free; We were the first that ever burst into that silent sea.” For some reason, those lines from The Rime of the Ancient Mariner have always stuck with me. I was recently reading an article that brought another poem from that class back to my mind. The most romantic poem, according to a survey of the magazine’s readers, was a poem from 1850. I remembered the poem from Mrs. Langford’s English class. "How do I love thee? Let me count the ways. I love...