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B4 I SEPTEMBER 2,2021 Faith BERTIE LEDGER-ADVANCE The fabric of Bertie County since 1832 I am a future focused per son. As Steven Covey recom mends, 1 try to begin with the end in mind. I daydream about my last words or what my final piece of influence will be. 1 do all 1 can to make sure that my family will know ex actly how 1 feel about them. 1 hate for the sun to go down on my anger or regrets. 1 really don’t like looking back, so 1 try to keep every thing tidied up back there. All of these thoughts fuel my desire to make sure 1 place my mark on this world every day. 1 want people to know exactly what I’m about. There are plenty of things that I love. If we’re friends, you may learn of my love of football or music. 1 enjoy verbal skir If tomorrow never comes... "This is the day the Lord has made." -PSAIM 118:24 THE REV. EMMANUEL WEBB HOGGARD Grace & Truth mishes. I like know ing that people think deeply and so I do all 1 can to move con versations toward less trivial talks. This is not my best quality, or so my friends tell me. However, I am convinced that what happens tomor row matters more than to day. Much like Jesus told us to see others’ needs more important than our own, I try to use this day to set to morrow up right. I think this is the essence of hope: tomorrow is coming and it’s better than today. r Now, I don’t want you to think I’m encour aging any of us to waste time in one day worry ing about the next. No, you don’t have the grace to day to endure the worries that will catch up to you to morrow. But, if you don’t prepare for tomorrow, the battles that we face tomorrow may be lost. Hope isn’t a feeling. Hope is working together to cre ate what we know must be true in the future. If faith is evidence of things not seen, hope is the energy we spend bringing it to pass. I hope you live keeping the end in mind. Despite where you are today, one day your life will come to an end. There will be tears and words spoken over a box. What do you hope will be said of you? Wishing and hoping are not the same. Wishing is wanting, but not doing what is necessary to see it come to pass. Hope is working to ward the outcome you want to see. So, today I wanted to tell every reader what 1 am hoping for my future. I hope that every person I meet knows 1 completely be lieve Jesus is real and loves us passionately. I hope Bertie County will embrace the power of Je sus Christ and be changed through forgiveness and then working together to build a bigger. picture. I hope my family knows I have worked hard to give a good life full of the richness that comes in relationship with the Holy Spirit. As I wrote this today, 1 received an encouraging text telling me that a family member had really enjoyed a recent service. She said, “I can tell he has a passion and loves Jesus.” Well, hopefully tomorrow is still coming for me, but those words make me think, maybe I’m on the right path. I want to see Jesus. I hope I help you see Him, too. Pastor Emanuel Webb Hag gard is Pastor at Askewville Assembly of God. He can be reached via email at pastor- webb@hotmail.com. Lonely places... Today as I write, I am sit ting near a window in the beautiful Lancaster County of the State of Pennsylvania; a place that has been dear to Joy and 1 for some forty years now. We had the occa sion to travel here right after we were married and enjoy the life of the Plain People. The Amish have always intrigued me; simple life, simple choices, simple ap proaches in the midst of a complex world. They seem to know how to make the main thing the main thing. I studied the Amish life while I was in Bible College as it related to theological studies. (That’s another col umn!) Today I simply want to convey to you my purpose for being here - to rest. I’m love because he first loved us." lJOHN'4:19 DR. WALLACE PHILLIPS Carpenter's Tools here to refresh myself. Joy and I were sitting together watch ing a Netflix series and I turned to her and inquired - “Would you like to take a lit tle two or three day journey to the Amish country?” She affirmed my suggestion and we made the plans. So here we are in a $59 per night spot with an Amish family. We don’t do hotels up here. We simply like to remove ourselves from the busyness of what we do and who we are and be refreshed. Jesus did that. He didn’t make it to Lancast er, but Luke writes of his removal to lonely places. One such event was the aftermath of one of the greatest mir acles he performed. He had just healed a man with soci ety’s most dreaded disease - leprosy.After he cleansed the leper the Bible is clear that the response was in credible. In fact, it teaches us that “crowds came to hear Him and be healed of their diseases.” It seems that the popularity of the Master had taken a huge jump as people came out of the woodwork from all around the Gali lee. They, too, wanted to be healed. They wanted to hear what the Master was teach ing as welLJesus’ response, however, was quite surpris ing to the many. Luke 5:16 declares, “But Jesus often removed himself to lonely places to pray.” Jesus set the standard here for leaders today. He found time to spend with the Father to replenish himself. He felt it far more important than making the headlines with another healing. I would say he handled the popular ity far better than we. So Lancaster it is! We will quietly refresh. We will re turn to the busy place of life and leadership. But for now... horse drawn car riages, shoo fly pie, scratch made cookies and the Plain folk. It’s simply a time to reflect; to pray; to refresh. Thank you Jesus for showing us the way! Maybe my sentiments to you will cause you to do the same. You can’t keep going and going and going and never pause to change the course of your life. Do something different for you. Spend time with the Father in a simple place. Hey...write me today! Love to hear from you - walla- cephillips@barnabas21 .com. Dr. Wallace Phillips serves as the Sr. Pastor of Carpen ter’s Shop Church in Ahoskie, N.C. He is a published author, conference speaker and life coach with the Church Multi plication Network. Call on God in times of fear... “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego an swered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnez zar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fi ery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold im age which you have set up. ” - Daniel 3:16-18 These three young men stood up to the king God said was the greatest of all Gentile leaders. He was the head of gold in the great statue of his dream and all kingdoms to come after would be inferior. The Bible tells us, “wherever the children of men dwell, or the beasts of the field and the birds of the heav en, He (God) has given them into your (Nebu chadnezzar) hand, and has made you ruler over them all — you are this head of gold. He was a ruler with com plete authority over everything in his king dom. Knowing all of this and being officials for the these king, three with God." -JOHN 1:2 "The word was nien were not beginning afraid of the ^ ^ king. Where did they get their courage? Did it come in this moment when their lives were on the line? No. Their SYLVIA HUGHES Meditating on his Word decision was made before this trial ever came. Back in Chapter 1 of Dan iel, we find these three men and Daniel being groomed by the orders of Nebuchadnezzar to become Babylonian. But these four men had already determined in their heart that they would follow the King’s dictates only as long as it did not go against the law of their God. The dictionary defines determined as having made a firm decision and being resolved not to change it. These men were resolved and it was firmly established in their heart. Daniel was the one who spoke up and got them permission to eat the food and drink of their choice, not the king’s food or drink. Daniel was the one who brought them all together to pray when the king was going to kill all of them. It was Daniel who faced the king and then asked to share his reward with Shadrac, Meshach and Abed-Nego. They were the quiet ones in the background, but their determination was just as great. Their decision having been already determined in their heart, they were not afraid of anything King Nebuchadnezzar could do to them. Trials will come. Persecutions will come. The Bible is very clear on this. You cannot wait until that moment to determine whether you will stand. It must be already de termined in your heart and you must trust God completely to give you the strength to stand whatever the conse quences. It is said that the most often repeated command in the Bible is - do not be afraid, fear not or some varia tion of these words. So what is God saying? Do not be afraid! Trust only in me. Everyone has times when something hap pens that causes fear to rise up inside. When those times come, let faith drive the fear away. Reach out to Him and feel His encour agement. When fear comes, remember God knows how to do what we do not and He has the power to do it. He is all powerful - omnip otent - El Shaddai - the Almighty. Isaiah 12:2 says, “See, God has come to save me. 1 will trust in him and not be afraid. The Lord God is my strength and my song; He has given me vic tory.” When fear threatens to consume you, quote this verse: “When I am afraid, I will trust in you.” - Psalm 56:3 Sylvia Hughes is a longtime Sunday School and women’s Bible study teacher, and a retired newspaper edi tor. She can be reached via email at blamedita- tions@gmail. com. I *«:rr* AMicrriCA REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS For Update of Region Q Comprehensive Economic Deveiopment Strategy (CEDS) About Mid-East Commission Councii of Governments The Mid-East Commission Council of Governments is one of 16 multi-county planning and development regions in North Carolina. The Mid-East Commission delivers programs and services to member governments on a local and regional level encompassing Beaufort, Bertie, Hertford, Martin, and Pitt counties. Furthermore, the Mid-East Commission is a Lead Regional Organization responsible for administering and coordinating state and federal programs and an Economic Development District as certified by the US Economic Development Administration (EDA). Each Economic Development District is required to have a CEDS to be eligible for Federal funding through EDA. Background and Purpose of Update The COVID-19 pandemic and ensuing federal and state response has prompted a review of existing plans and programs with a renewed focus on developing and enhancing the resilience of economic and social systems. The social disruptions and economic turmoil of the past few months have impacted everyday ways of life across the country. The purpose of this update of the CEDS is to identify previously unforeseen threats and relative opportunities while improving the resilience of local systems and institutions in response to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. A Steering Committee will be formed consisting of public, private, and non-governmental organizations from all five counties. Workshops will be held via webinar to solicit input from the Steering Committee. Workshops will highlight the capabilities of state, county, regional, and local organizations to respond to, prevent, and recover from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and strengthen regional relationships, foster enhanced local coordination, and encourage information sharing for planning and disaster and emergency response actions. Update Objectives: • Facilitate conversations to identify gaps in current disaster and public health response plans, specifically as they relate to business recruitment, retention & marketing, physical infrastructure, healthy & safe communities, and small business & workforce development, all within the framework of regional cooperation in responding to, preventing, or recovering from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. • Examine organizational roles and responsibilities, especially within authorities and actions during a regional disaster event or public health emergency, to validate policies and procedures as well as identifying gaps therein. • Gather meaningful input from Steering Committee members that will inform the development of the CEDS pandemic response update, using the existing CEDS as the framework and maintaining a focus on the Mid-East Commission region. Update Deliverables The update to the CEDS will include: •Addition of a Pandemic Recovery Section • Update to Resiliency Section • Minor data updates as needed Proposed Project Schedule The project will occur between October 2021- February 2022. Format of Proposals: Submit: Company information (including information of principals); resume(s) or CV(s) of project participants(s), prior experience with CEDS, a proposed scope of work, and hourly rate schedule to Director of Planning, Economic Development, and Community Services, Kevin Richards, at krichards@mideastcom.org or mail to 1502 N. Market Street, Suite A, Washington, NC 27889 Attn. Kevin Richards by September 20,2021. A copy of the current CEDS is available on the Mid-East Commission website at: http://www.mideastcom.org/wp-content/ uploads/2020/12/Final2020CEDS.pdf
Bertie Ledger-Advance (Windsor, N.C.)
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Sept. 2, 2021, edition 1
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