Benton, West Frankfort, Illinois News | Franklin County News
Newspaper covering Franklin County, Illinois
On Tuesday Illinois lost out on a share of up to 50,000 new, high-paying jobs. After considering 20 finalist cities, Amazon skipped past Chicago and chose two other locations, in New York City and northern Virginia, for a major expansion. Amazon also announced plans to open an operations center with up to 5,000 jobs in Nashville, another finalist city.
Here’s a link to the story at the Chicago Tribune.
Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., had the best line when it comes to the latest Florida election in which contests for governor and the U.S. Senate are still undecided.
Here’s a link to the editorial at Fox News.
By Rick Warren
“Crowds of people were coming and going so that Jesus and his followers did not even have time to eat. He said to them, ‘Come away by yourselves, and we will go to a lonely place to get some rest’” (Mark 6:31 NCV).
That’s too bad because it’s one of the reasons Jesus was able to live stress-free despite all the demands upon his life.
Over the last few days, I’ve been sharing with you principles of how Jesus managed stress. The first six were:
The seventh and final one is the Principle of Recreation.
Even though Jesus had more important work to do than we do, he still took time to relax, go to parties, and just have fun.
The Bible says, “Crowds of people were coming and going so that Jesus and his followers did not even have time to eat. He said to them, ‘Come away by yourselves, and we will go to a lonely place to get some rest’” (Mark 6:31 NCV).
In Mark 6, Jesus and the disciples didn’t even have time to eat because they were so busy. But Jesus looks at his small group and says, “Guys, you deserve a break today. So let’s get away.”
If Jesus can rest and relax, so can we.
In fact, God thought rest and relaxation was so important he put it in the Ten Commandments. Right along with commands to not murder, commit adultery, or steal, God tells us to take one out of every seven days to worship and rest.
If you’re too busy to take time off, you’re simply too busy—and likely too stressed.
A Prayer for When You Don’t Understand Your Circumstances
By Dr. James MacDonald
“His disciples did not understand these things at first, but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written about him and had been done to him” (John 12:16, ESV).
We can all attest to the 20/20 nature of hindsight; that moment of looking back on a complicated, confusing situation and realizing exactly what we should have done or been aware of at the time.
But can we somehow turn this expectation into an advantage in the moment, as it’s playing out? Can we live in light of the reality that a time is coming when we’ll see God’s hand in all of this?
Have you ever been in a situation like that—where you didn’t understand what was happening? Where you couldn’t seem to feel anything but disappointment or confusion? Where you seemed to be more questions than answers?
Knowing why is not part of the skillset God expects from us as His followers. Answers to all the usual questions—Why is this happening? What on earth is God doing?—are not required, most likely not even available, during the heat of life’s most mystifying moments.
All you need to know in times like these is the confident assurance that afterward, when you look back, you will see His hand at work in it. And knowing you’ll see it from a distance means it’s already here in the present—perhaps not to be recognized immediately, but to be trusted implicitly.
Even when it’s difficult now, remember that one day you’ll see with clarity what God has been doing. And that it was always, only, for your good and His glory.
Pray:
Lord God, I know You are here. I trust in Your presence, Your power, Your goodness, and Your complete control over everything I’m facing. Help me walk through the questions, assured of Your answers, even though they’re still unclear to me. I know one day King Jesus will appear as the “Faithful and True” (Revelation 19:11), riding a powerful horse and fully revealing His authority. And I know that even now, when I don’t understand all the answers, I have You with me, and that is all that matters. Please give me increasing eyes of faith to trust what You are doing, even—and especially—when I don’t understand. I love You and I trust You, and I pray these things in Jesus’ Worthy Name, Amen.
W I S D O M
http://devotions4competitors.blogspot.com/2012/11/w-i-s-d-o-m-proverbs-313-14-do-you-have.html
Proverbs 3:3-14
Do you have some precious metals at home in your jewelry box? How valuable are your rings, watches or necklaces? What could be worth more than silver, gold, or platinum?
In Proverbs chapter 3 and verses 13 and 14, Solomon (a very rich guy) tells about something with surpassing value, “Blessed is the man who finds wisdom, the man who gains understanding, for she is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold.”
We would feel blessed if we had pounds of gold necklaces around our necks and looked like Mr. T. Solomon says a person is really blessed if he finds wisdom and gains understanding. To be blessed is to be contentedly happy with life. Silver and gold can’t buy that.
Wisdom is something to be found. It won’t sneak up on you. It takes pursuit and tenacity to find. Understanding is a commodity to be gained, like strength gained in the weight room. The exciting thing is that wisdom and understanding pay greater dividends and yield more benefits than silver and gold could ever do.
In preparing for today’s competition, seek wisdom from every source available and gain understanding with every passing moment of the event. In the end, you’ll be blessed with the greatest returns possible in athletic competition.
by Rick Warren —
“[Jesus] said to them, ‘My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me’” (Matthew 26:38 NIV).
It reveals one of the seven stress-management principles of Jesus. Here are five we’ve already discussed:
The sixth principle is collaboration. If you want to reduce your stress, you need to get in a small group.
You were never intended to handle the stress of life by yourself. God wants you to share it with others.
You’ve probably heard this statement: If you need to get something done right, do it yourself.
That’s a recipe for stress—not success!
It’s not what Jesus did. The very first thing Jesus did in his ministry was to form a small group. He knew God intended we live in community, so he lived out that truth.
Jesus turned to his small group during the most stressful night of his life. When Jesus knew he’d be arrested in Garden of Gethsemane, the night before he went to the cross, he didn’t go alone. He took his small group with him.
The Bible says, “[Jesus] said to them, ‘My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me’” (Matthew 26:38 NIV).
Jesus didn’t need his small group’s advice. He didn’t need their words of comfort. He just needed their presence.
If Jesus benefited from a small group, imagine all the ways you can benefit, too!
A Prayer for When You’re Stressed Out
By Emily Massey
I struggled with anxiety and panic attacks for many years in high school and college, even as a believer. Stress and worry were just a part of my life, and I allowed them to move into my mind and become my permanent mental roommates. From money problems to relationship issues, if it became too much, you would find me curled up in a ball in the fetal position on the floor, hyperventilating until parts of my body went numb and crying until there were no more tears left.
After I graduated college, I began to walk closer with the Lord and study His Word like I never had before in my life. My mind was being renewed and over time, I began to trust the Lord with every care and worry and cast them upon Him like 1 Peter 5:7 tells us to do.
Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. (1 Peter 5:7 NIV)
The other night when I experienced the panic attack, there was a brief moment where I was given the opportunity to resist the negative thoughts and take them captive and begin to talk to God like I had learned to do so many times before, but this time, I chose to let my mind run in circles. I was so familiar with the experience of a panic attack that I could literally feel it try to overtake me right before it happened. The dark cloud of what I believe was demonic oppression then blanketed my mind and then my whole body. If I would have remembered Philippians 4:6-7 or even 1 Peter 5:7, I would have realized that God offered me a solution to my anxious thoughts. A simple conversation with the Lord would have helped me centered my thoughts and would have brought immediate peace to the whirlwind in my mind.
If this describes your life at all, here is a prayer you can pray for when stress hits hard.
A Prayer for Stress
Lord, thank you that you want us to cast our cares on you. Thank you that there is nowhere I can go that you are not there with me. Thank you for having a hold of my life, even as I feel like everything is crumbling around me.
Lord, I confess that I have let stress take a hold of my life, rather than You. I have let stress control my mood, my attitudes and my actions. Lord, I repent of this! Please Father, help me see what is stressful in my life and hand it over to You. Help me not let the stress win out. Help me actively think on Your goodness to me.
I am so hopeful for my eternity with you, Lord, where there will be NO more stress! Help me look back on all the ways You have rescued me from my stressful moments, and look in hope to the future where You will one day rid all stress, forever.
Help me live boldly in the truth of Your goodness and power today. Thank You, Lord. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
After years of dismissing concerns about election integrity, the mainstream media now has to grapple with a recount meltdown in Florida’s races for governor and U.S. Senate. Both races could go to an arduous recount of ballots by hand if the machine recount that will conclude this Thursday has either or both races ending with a margin of victory below 0.25 percent.
Here’s a link to the editorial at Fox News.
The light at the end of the budget tunnel is a train that’s picking up speed.
Here’s a link to the editorial at the Southern Illinoisan.
The smoke is clearing tonight for the most expensive mid-term election in American history. The outlines are just becoming visible. The results, it turns out, are confusing.
Here’s a link to the story at Fox News.
