Breaking News

Local Columns

Youth summer reading programs offered at JCL

Summer Reading 2024 is here and we have some fun youth programs being offered from June 10-Aug. 2. Register your child age birth - age 18 for the reading/prize part of the program on our website or by following this link: https://forms.gle/owzovne4qT7NAtp26”https://forms.gle/owzovne4qT7NAtp26. Visit the Summer Reading page of our website (https://www.juniatalibrary.org/youth/sr2) for more info and to register for some of the other programs we have offered this summer. Youth in Grades 4 and up - Join our book club for June. Grades 4-6 are reading The Vanderbeekers of 141st ...

Don’t worry, be happy, seek God’s kingdom

A passage in the book of Job reads, “Man is born for trouble, as sparks fly upward.” Trouble is certain and trouble is relentless. Life is dangerous. The only certain thing about life is that we are all going to die. Life is a terminal illness. Life is a fatal disease. Life is a deadly disease. One hundred years from now, none of us will be around; that’s inevitable. But there are other things beside impending death that can frighten us in life, such as terrorist attacks, mass shootings and escalating tensions. Do you know that over a billion people have died in wars? Sixty ...

Proper, God-glorifying worship is important

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord Colossians 3:16 The apostle Paul tells us to sing and encourage other Christians through psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. Now if you have read many of the psalms, you know they can be weighty, full of substance, doctrine, and revelation about the Creator God of the Universe. Psalm 33 is full of praise and adoration as it informs us that “by the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and all the ...

Recipes from Bev’s Kitchen to help you cool off

Hello from the kitchen! Hope you are enjoying the summer weather. The old phrase, "When life throws you lemons you make lemonade," is just what I do on a hot June day. Along with coldcut sandwiches and a plate of deviled eggs. No need to heat up the oven for this meal. As a child, we had our own chickens, so there were lots of deviled eggs, pickled eggs, dippy eggs and chicken corn soup with eggs. Keep cool this summer and drink a lot of water. Reminds me of the days of drinking from the garden hose. We always had fresh cold water from the mountain. Good memories. Now, on to the ...

Recapping history of Mifflin Co Library

I receive many compliments about my library history columns. Thank you so much to all of you who let me know that you like my columns. I’ve been writing about library history for some time now, since April 2023. During this past year, I’ve learned a lot about how the library came to be and the various librarians and library locations. I thought I’d give you a recap. In 1731, Benjamin Franklin started the Library Company of Philadelphia. By paying a fee and annual dues, members had access to books, which were very expensive to buy. Franklin’s idea of a member library ...

Should adults read children’s books?

Genres are a strange construct. We create them for music and books, but do they place us at a disadvantage? When it comes to music, I’ve heard songs that sound more like rap or pop but are labeled country. How many listeners who do not prefer country will simply skip that song without even listening to it? How much do we miss out by placing labels on things? I see this happening with adults and children’s books. Children’s books have lessons for adults. Thanks to reading children’s books as an adult, I felt a jolt that transported me out of my jaded attitude. I started to ...