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What Jesus meant by ‘rest for our soul’

Matthew 11 Have you ever felt overwhelmed with stress or know someone who has? Just about everyone has felt overwhelmed from time to time. How has stress affected you? Responding to a poll on the effects of stress run by a mental health foundation in the United Kingdom, many said overwhelming feelings of stress led them to overeat, drink and smoke. Stress made them feel depressed, anxious, alone, even suicidal. Unrelieved stress is a serious condition, so we all need healthy ways to deal with it. Some find temporary relief by watching videos on YouTube. That’s not surprising. ...

Time for a restful summer vacation

Many take time off for summer vacation. The goal is to rest. Whether that happens or not depends on kids’ behavior, how long sandwiches last on the road trip, and the weather at the beach. I vividly recall the camping trip to Florida at age 10. My dad had 13 weeks of vacation that year. He bought a huge tent and off we went with our green station wagon. Starting with budget friendly tuna sandwiches, 5¢ chicken wings, and bargain burgers, we first had the exhaust fall off on the DC Beltway. One day, our clothes and tents got wet, so we stayed in a $15 motel for two nights. We ...

Readers’ opinions

Only God is most trustworthy, not man To the Editor: We enter this world at the time appointed by God for our birth. We enter life knowing nothing. We have to learn everything: how to eat, how to talk, how to walk, etc. We learn from those God has placed in our lives to teach us. Our primary learning comes from our parents, and we learn other things from others we have contact with. One very important thing we needed to learn is to trust and who we could put our trust in. Not all of those who become involved in our learning of knowledge teach us what is true and right. So we had ...

America does not succeed by accident

Consider this my belated birthday celebration announcement — much like the card that arrives a few days late from your great aunt with a handwritten note explaining, “I’m sorry I missed the day, but I was thinking of you.” In my case, the delay wasn’t because I forgot; it was because I represented the U.S. Small Business Administration through a series of regional outreach events focused on promoting administration programs and services. During this time, I spoke at a regional planning luncheon in West Virginia, met with local lenders and partners, launched a Matchmaker Prep ...

The craziest lure: The Coike baits

Match the hatch. Almost any expert will tell you the key to catching more fish is to offer a bait or lure that matches what they are naturally eating. It makes sense, after all, that a hungry fish is more likely to be enticed by something that they are already searching for. But one of the most popular lures to hit the market is ignoring all the rules. The Coike baits, also known as an urchin or dice bait, do not look like anything bass eat or even see in freshwater. Yet they are catching fish and reeling in a lot of anglers. So, what is the Coike bait? Basically, it is a plastic ...

Progress should not come at the expense of Mifflin County’s future

Few decisions shape a community more than how it chooses to use its land. The proposed hyperscale data center in Granville Township is one of the most significant economic development proposals ever considered in Mifflin County. It promises billions of dollars in investment and has generated excitement among those who see it as an opportunity to place our county at the forefront of America’s growing technology economy. I understand that enthusiasm. The United States is in a global race to develop artificial intelligence and advanced computing technologies. Data centers are ...