When I was younger, we sang a song in church about the foolish man who built his house upon the sand and the wise man who built his upon the rock. We must realize that the foundation makes a big difference in whether something lasts or crumbles. Without a strong and stable foundation we could not withstand all the storms that we face each and every day. Having a firm foundation is very hard work, but building on God’s truth is worth building on, so when the threatening storms of life attack your foundation you can rest assured you can rely on God to be your strength in your storms. Matthew 7:25: and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the wind blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.

Christian love and sympathy is extended to the family and friends of Mildred W. Pettit Blankenship Schrimsher.

I recently had the opportunity to attend the 15th Annual Ladies Celebration at Camp o’ the Pines in Pensacola, Fla., with several ladies from my church. We had the opportunity to hear celebration speakers Mrs. Mina Oglesby of Chattanooga, Tenn. and Mrs. Denise Shoemaker, wife of Pensacola Christian College president, Troy Shoemaker. Those attending were Joy Lewis, Linda Smith, Whitney Chevuront, Cara Southern, Vona Keeling, Aubrei Parker, Jackie Teague, Dee Dee Hendrix, Sarah Synder, Linda Barr, Kim Grubbs and myself. We had a wonderful time and enjoyed the fellowship with other ladies attending. This year there were ladies attending from nine different states.

Happy anniversary wishes to Daniel and Solita Matthews and Tim and Marsha Smith, on Oct. 28, Steve and Christie Holsomback on Oct. 29, James and Connie Hillis on Oct. 31, Huey and Becky Shelton on Nov. 1, Von and Margaret Yeager on Nov. 3, Bruce and Angela Boswell and Jeremy and Aubrei Parker on Nov. 8, Richard and Jennifer Herbert on Nov. 9, Harold and Karen Plemons on Nov. 10, Greg and Michelle Clark on Nov. 11, James and Cyndi Lemmend on Nov. 11, Alex and Stephanie Estes on Nov. 11.

Happy birthday wishes to Tim Dodd on Oct. 30, Gina Aguado, Tammy Whitten, Emma Cook and Drew Johns, all on Oct. 31, Eldora Maples and Ethan Cobbs, both on Nov. 1, Susie Blankenship and Kylea Cerutti, both on Nov. 2, Blake Garrett on Nov. 3, Cayden Berry on Nov. 5, Katie Barton and Larry Culp, both on Nov. 6, Brooks Brown, Vince Lambertti, Sierra Free, Evelyn Matthews, Lewis Fichter, Royce Goree, all on Nov. 7, Pat Creel, Dewayne Holmes and Regina Morgan, all on Nov. 8, Robbie Chandler, Roxanne Chisgar, Sarah Robinson and Charley Yeager, all on Nov. 10, Phillip Fitcher, Becky Shelton, Josiah Synder and Stephanie Jansen, all on Nov. 11, Stan Finley and Andrew Fitcher and Patsy Sharp, all on Nov. 12.