The fundraiser for Linda T and John ‘Killer’ Williams rebuild of the burned barn was a big success. Chilly weather meant warm chili tasted really great. Thanks to all the friends and neighbors who drove in and donated, and enjoyed the food. All the donations go directly to the rebuild thanks to the incredible generosity of several including Bubba Conran at Bubba’s Smokehouse who prepared the chili meat free of charge, the many who donated meat and supplies listed below, the outstanding cooks and dishwashers of First Baptist Church and those who worked Friday evening in the cold to make sure each donor was served fresh hot chili. Blessings to all of you who helped and those who donated. Linda and Killer want you to know how much they appreciate you and count it a joy to be a part of a community like this.

Thanks especially to: David Walker, Noral McCauley, Julie and Chase Thomas, Donnie Klesel, Weslie Mollere and Eric Chance, Kirk and Joanie Morgan, Jim and Diane Cooley, those amazing FBC Women, Josie’s Cantina and others surely missed. Your kind-heartedness made the evening possible. -Kelly Gee

In 2017, BSA Troop 106 of Seadrift, Texas started off small with campouts at Camp Mauritz and what was Sunday Beach. Council Camporee in April saw Craig Lopez tapped out for the Order of the Arrow. He went through the Ordeal Ceremony in May.

Summer Camp at Camp Karankawa saw three boys and three adults attend. They were Craig Lopez, Marshall Arlitt, and Mitchel Arlitt and Leaders Patrick Henley, Ron arlitt, and Carson Recher. Later this summer, Mitchell Arlitt completed his Eagle Scout project of painting the old POC Jail for Precinct 4 of Calhoun County. Marshall Arlitt completed his Eagle Scout project of painting the exterior walls for Fisherman’s Chapel.

After the Solar Eclipse of 2017 and Hurricane Harvey, the troop saw some new Scouts join. We went to the La Salle District Camporee at Presidio La Bahia in Goliad. Scouts attending were Sam Thumann, Gavin Gosnell, Nick Brigger, Mitchell Arlitt, Marshall Arlitt, Jordan Blevins, and Ethan Spencer. Webelos attending were Dwight Beaver, Jeremiah Mayorga and John Jacobs. Adults attending were Patrick Henley, Ray and Joseph Mayorga, Louis Warren, and Russell Cady. The boys won First Place Overall with First Place wins in Plank Walk, First Aid, String Burning and Compsite Inspection. Also, they took 3rd place in Patrol Flag and Knot Tying relay.

The boys have earned merit badges in Communications, Personal Fitness, Citizenship in the Community, Basketry and Electronics. Craig Lopez advanced to Star Rank. Sam Thumann, Nick Burgger, and Gavin Gosnell advanced to Second Class.

Our next campout is scheduled for December 15 & 16. The year 2018 will have us at Lost Pines Scout Reservation in Bastrop, Texas during the month of July. A fund raiser will be held in March.

We meet Monday nights at the Scout Hall on Main St. in Seadrift, 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. For more information or questions answered, call or text Patrick H. Henley at (361) 489-1259.

Seadrift Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts delivered Christmas ornaments they made, and sang at Port Lavaca Nursing Home.

The end of any year is always more about fresh starts and hope more than anything else. Many are coming off the joy of the holiday season and are also thinking ahead to the future.

Of course, the tales of New Year’s resolutions that are broken are pure social comedy fodder, they are the punch lines for jokes told on the stages of many a water cooler or work site till next Christmas.

2017 also brought an old friend of mine from when I was away to some parts of Texas…snow. Sadly, I too have seen this cold white substance from the sky this year, but in Illinois, it is more the coming attractions before the feature presentation.

I was delighted to see Texas get to get in on some of the action though this year as it brought back memories of being in High School in El Paso in January of 1993 or so when a light ‘dusting’ of snow fell on the city. I recall many small accidents along I-10 and cars and trucks (this being Texas, that meant lots of trucks), sliding around the roads.

Of course, I was a veteran of Chicago winters and thought it was crazy to see my friends shivering and complaining about a day where conditions were what we might, during some Chicago winters  call a nice day of relief from the season of ice.

‘Drifting’ away from the weather a bit, personally for me the year was one of learning and closer to the time I am writing this, a time of some loss and some changes, but that is all right, Winter is the time when things sleep or grow tired only to awaken in the Spring, growing even further with the lessons learned in the Winter and the accumulated experience of all of the seasons that preceded it.

Even though in the Western world Thanksgiving is the time for gratitude and thankfulness, I also cannot help as the year draws to a close to express how lucky I feel to be able to speak with all of you for almost six years via this column.

Through it I feel we have explored topics that hopefully not only entertained but enlightened in some fashion or another or at the very least expressed my thoughts to all of you in an enjoyable and digestible manner.

So in the spirit of the above I will leave you with this and see all of you next year:

As we usher the new year in and usher the old man out,
Blank canvases await on the other side of the celebration.
New dreams will be forged without a doubt,
Filled with both hope and anticipation.

Constant cycle of measurement that stretches throughout our lives,
Cold to warmth to cold again before each year’s dawn.
Eternally grateful for each new year we see as it arrives,
As much as we are grateful for the past year that has gone.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
-TomSpy

In spite of Harvey, it has been a wonderful year for the Friends of the Port O’Connor Library, Inc.

If you have not done so, please drive by the new library being built on Main between 5th and 6th. Since our ground breaking on October 27th, Phase 1 of the building has gotten well underway. The delivery date for the front doors has been delayed until January so do not be alarmed if the front entries are boarded up until then. The project is certainly not being abandoned. In fact, in January, we plan to kick off another major effort to raise the remaining funds needed for the final phase.

Once again, our heartfelt thanks to the businesses and individuals of our community who have worked so hard to assist the Friends in achieving our goal for a wonderful new addition to an already great place to live and visit.

We wish you a very Merry Christmas and Happy and Healthy New Year!

Ursula Price,
President, Friends of the Port O’Connor Library, Inc.

P.S. If you are looking for a last minute gift, engraved brick pavers are an excellent gift idea. Visit our website www.friendsofportoconnorlibrary.org for more information.

I believe I have been blessed this Christmas season with a few new revelations from the Christmas story. I preached on of these recently and wanted to share it with those who missed our services. I trust that you know that you are always welcomed at the Chapel, but when you don’t show, I will occasionally try to keep you informed as to what I believe the Lord is speaking to our community.

I would encourage you to read the Christmas Story from the Gospel of Luke, Chapter 2. The new revelation I received is recorded in verses 25 through 38.

Since childhood, we all know the agony of waiting for Christmas to arrive. I am not sure how much that changes with maturity! I saw some letters to Santa recently:
From a 4 year old – “Dear Santa, I’ll tkae anything because I have not been that good.”

“Dear Santa, I want a puppy. I want a playhouse. Thank you. I’ve been good most of the time, but sometimes Mom calls me her ‘Wild Child’!”

“Dear Santa, When you come to my house there will be cookies for you. But if you are real hungry, you can use our phone and order pizza to go.”

“Dear Santa, I’m not going to ask for a lot. Here’s my list: the Etch-A-Sketch animator, 2 packs of #2 pencils, Crayola fat markers, flat screen smart T.V. (at least 60 inch), and a lap-top computer. Well, maybe you could drop the pencils, I don’t want to be selfish.”

What are we anticipating this Christmas? A new house? A new car? A new job? A new relationship? What do we truly want for Christmas?

In our Bible story, we find two characters who make their appearance in the final acts of the Christmas drama – Simeon and Anna. They are not a part of any nativity scene, but they are significant players in the first Christmas pageant. Both were waiting for something or Someone. Dr. Luke, who wrote this story, used a Greek word of anticipation that identifies them as waiting with expectation for the coming of the Messiah, their promise as a part of the nation of Israel. The word literally means that they were “alert to His appearance, and ready to welcome Him.”

Simeon was an old man – we do not know just how old, but served God in the Temple. The nation of Israel had not heard from God in about 400 years and was under the rule of the Roman Government. They had lost their political independence and were living in fear under the cruel King Herod. In spite of Simeon’s situation, he was a man who did right in the eyes of man and was right in the eyes of God – both “righteous and devout.”

Simeon’s expectation and desire was focused on the comfort Christ would bring. Comfort is a universal human need. Have we ever witnessed such loneliness, emptiness, insecurity, and even desperation as we are seeing today? Most know that Christmas is a major crisis time for depression and suicides happen in this season than at any other time of the year.

The Lord prompted Simeon to go to church, just at the right time. When Simeon looked at the six week old baby Jesus; he knew God had kept His promise – Emmanuel, “God with us,” had arrived.

Anna was older than Simeon. After her husband had died, she had dedicated herself to fasting and praying in the church for some 80 years. She was looking for the same person as Simeon, but with a different orientation – she was looking for forgiveness. When one studies out her anticipation, they will find the word “redemption,” which relates to the idea of being released from captivity. Since the beginning of time, after the fall in the Garden of Eden by Adam and Eve, God has required those wanting a relationship with Him to offer a yearly sacrifice. Anna was looking forward to the day when she would no longer have to face her sins every year, but would have them forgiven – taken totally away – forever!

The temple message was that there was one coming – the Messiah – Who would remove the nation from captivity and make it possible for one’s sins to be forgiven, not just rolled ahead to be faced year after year.

Christmas is the celebration that brought us Jesus. He came providing the very things that Simeon and Anna were anticipating – God’s comfort and His forgiveness! Now, please do not allow the kids to read this, but we truly know “there is no Santa Claus”! But, there is a Comforter and a Forgiver.

Where are you today? Do you identify with Simeon? Are you feeling lonely, empty, afraid, and maxed out? Do you need some comfort – some consoling? Do you need a fresh sense of God’s presence? If so, you can find what you are looking for in Jesus. He came to console us right where we are!

Or, do you identify more with Anna? Are you plagued with guilt this Christmas because of something you have done or what you should have done, or the way you have been living? Do you feel trapped in a pattern of sin that you cannot break free from? Then, if that is you, Jesus can bring forgiveness to you right now!

In Jesus Christ, we can find everything we are looking for! Once we know the Christ of Christmas, we have what will truly satisfy! No longer will the trinkets under the Christmas Tree bring us much delight for we will find our Answer in the One who died on a tree for us!

Find the Christ of Christmas!