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Donation hold only temporary

By now you probably have heard that the Mifflin County Library is no longer accepting books for the annual book sales. Don’t worry! This is only temporary. But I know some of you are concerned that we’ll never have a book sale ever again. Because at this last book sale in September, some customers were surprised that we had books for sale that were published before the year 2000. I heard people saying, “I thought you didn’t take donations of books before 2000.” And I admit, I didn’t have a clue what they were talking about at first. Then I remembered. When we ...

10 pro tips for using the library

We constantly hear our visitors say upon entering the library “Wow, you have a beautiful library, I didn’t know about you guys!” We have so much to offer and it’s helpful to know a thing or two about us before you step through our doors. Here are some tips for how to find your way around our library: Get a library card – A library card here is free to any Pennsylvania resident. Was your child born last week? Sign them up for a card. Did you just move here? Sign up for a card (just bring a form of ID). You do not need a library card to use everything here, but it unlocks so ...

God’s word is about God. We are secondary

For whom He foreknew, He also predestined — Romans 8:29 We finished the last article by quoting Romans 8:29-30. This week we want to start by looking at a few of the keywords found in that verse. It says in verse 29, “For whom He foreknew He also predestined.” Exactly what does the word foreknew mean? It is made up of two words, fore and knew. The word fore can mean: before in order, time, place, rank, or beforehand, reference Webster’s Dictionary. According to Thayer’s Lexicon, foreknew can mean: to have knowledge beforehand, to foreknow. The word know means: “being ...

How to be freed from the curse of fear

Romans 8:15-17 On May 26, 1986, People Express flight number 14 from San Francisco to Newark was ready to depart. Suddenly a wild-eyed man who “looked Iranian” bolted from his seat and ran out the door. Knocking aside startled security officers, he frantically tried to escape through the locked doors of the terminal before an airport police officer finally tackled and subdued him. Was he a terrorist? No. He was just a very average American who was afraid to fly. Unfortunately, he was so frightened of being locked into the confines of the Boeing 707 that he made a fool of ...

Thanksgiving truly time to give thanks

Thanksgiving. Thankfulness. It’s the thankful season, right? It’s not just about the big turkey dinner, football game and parades. I’ve got so much to be thankful for and this holiday gets me to stop and think about it. To prioritize what’s important and what’s trivial. Besides being thankful for my faith, family and friends, it’s the ability and desire to help people. To serve people. To listen to people. When I was a child, I used to take leftover dinner to my elderly neighbor because in my 10-year-old mind, she needed some food. I’ve been doing that ever since. I’m ...

MCL moved to brand new location in ’55

In 1955, the Mifflin County Library moved into its new home with 16,396 books in the library collection. The librarians and everyone else thought the new library was wonderful with more than adequate space. In fact, the shelving units that they had were capable of housing 20,000 volumes of books. The number of books in the library could grow by 4,000 books. Everyone must have been in heaven. But library patrons who used the Brown Street Library during the 1960s have told me that the books were stacked everywhere. Books were stacked on the steps down to the children’s story ...