Our fall equinox arrived to announce the beginning of the new season, but someone forgot to pass on the news! It appears summer is not about to give up its hold on this poor country. It makes me sad to see so many cows at the auctions and even worse to see them headed out of town after the sale. I feel as if this area is bleeding cows. The life is being sucked out of the area because of the drought. We are thankful for the rains we received, but we need many more inches. Mind you, on the optimistic side, if we got some good rains and the weather stayed warm; we could have a winter crop of grass. That’s my optimistic, not practical side.

My brother-in-law asked us to send a picture of Scott and Heather. It seems they are going to make a Warrior Wall. I mentioned it to Bro. Barry and he thought it was a great idea. If you want your local child on the Warrior Wall, then please see that it gets to either Bro. Barry or me. Once the wall is complete, people can physically see the heroes that are fighting for our way of life. Prayers can be offered up every time someone looks at the wall. We have at least 16 on our prayer list, but there may be more in the community that are not associated directly with the church. If they belong to a family in the area, we want to pray for them.

We said good-bye to two of our older citizens last week. Long time supporter of our school and this community, Annie Granados and James Freddie Adams will be missed by their loved ones. We lost a very special friend last week also. Ken Kemery went to be with the Lord.

It was good to see the Carrolls in church on Sunday. We miss our dear friends, but Woody has to be near medical help. Ginger Skelton was off singing with her gospel group this Sunday. I’m pleased to report that Susan Luna had a great report from her doctors. She appreciates all the prayers that went up on her behalf. We need to keep Alfred Garrett, Paul Gibson and Robin Crisp in our prayers. If you haven’t seen pictures of the devastation caused by the fires you may not realize how much those folks need our prayers and help. Disaster relief organizations are having great difficulty meeting the needs of so many people in so many areas around the country.

Our youth groups are doing well. With the new van purchased by the church, we are able to gather more elementary kids to come to Monday church. Bro. Barry was informed by coach that of the 25-30 kids meeting with Coyotes for Christ many have turned their life over to Christ. That is an exciting thought! Louise Hyman told me there were around 40 ladies present at the dinner on Thursday. Unfortunately there were no singers available to sing special music, but the guest speaker delighted and entertained everyone with her missionary stories. Quilting and Bible study is meeting on Wednesday. Typically we have between 12 and 20 ladies studying and sewing. You are more than welcome to come and either study or sew. You can even do both if you feel so inclined.

There are changes going on around town. The Lodge has been purchased by the Hucksteins. I’m not sure what they plan to do with the building, but I know that Marilyn will have to find a new place to cut hair. I hate to see that. I know Marilyn will look after her customers, but I for one have enjoyed running over to get my hair cut. I guess everything must change. I wish Marilyn and the Hucksteins the best of good luck.

I hope everyone made it to Open House on Tuesday, and if you haven’t been by the library to buy books that support our library, why not do so before Friday. Mrs. Gossett is still looking for box tops. My class has been very good this year about bringing them in to school. The holiday season is fast approaching. It holds a kaleidoscope of meanings for everyone. To some it will mean a holiday job. To others it will mean the loss of a job and to still others it will mean the movement of troops around the world. Please pray for our jobless, our precious military men and women and their families and for our dry land. We still need to pray for our leaders, our President and these wonderful but boring election campaigns. May God please bless America and keep us safe.