Seadrift Community Church had its first service in its new building October 1. The service was well attended and the excitement was evident!

Everyone is most welcome to come and visit at 305 W. Broadway. Service hour is Sunday at 10:30. If you show up at 10, there is a meet and greet with donuts!

Writer George Grant wrote: “At the end of the thirteenth century when the Norman English bowmen began to pioneer the powerful new military technology of the long bow, they discovered that the very best precaution that a bowman could take for his weapon was simply to unstring the bow when it was not in use. To release the tension, relax the pressure, and relieve the strain allowed the bow to last longer, snap back faster, and set arrows to flight further. A bow that was never unstrung would quickly lose its effectiveness. A bow that was never relaxed became useless as an offensive weapon.”

Jesus said to His followers: “Come with me by ourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.”

Maybe it is just me, but I surely have been under a lot of pressure lately! Some have called in “Harvey Heaviness”! We have such schedule-demanding work that we must not underestimate our need to periodically relax, laugh, have fun, engage in activities that renew us emotionally, and in general, decompress.

I read recently that most of us have an idol of exhaustion. The only time we know we have done enough is when we are running on empty and when the ones we love most are the ones we see the least. When we fall down in bed to sleep at night, we offer our full appointment calendars to God, instead of praying, believing that God – Who surely must be as busy as we are – will truly understand!

Symptoms of exhaustion look a lot like discouragement, which manifests itself like this: an inability to enjoy simple pleasures; a lack of motivation; tormenting thoughts that tear away at our sense of identity and accomplishment; relationships that are not working; high levels of internalized anger; vulnerability to temptation; and a general sense of living under a cloud. Our enemy (the devil) intentionally exploits unregulated exhaustion to gain a new foothold in our lives. He wants to take us out physically, emotionally, and spiritually while God is working to keep us in the race for the long run. Rest is much more than a selfish indulgence; it is a part of our battle strategy.

I learned this principle first hand, which was taught to me by some volunteers at the Warrior’s Weekend. We all had cracked “thousands” of eggs the evening before, and had arrived at the Community Center before 3:00 a.m. All of us were working tired. We needed someone to drive my pickup to H.E.B. in Port Lavaca to retrieve the milk, chocolate milk, orange juice, etc., the things we could not refrigerate locally. I was asking for a special volunteer who would stop what they were doing and run this errand. Someone said, “Pastor, go yourself!” I protested that I had too many things to accomplish to make sure those breakfast tacos were ready to 7:15. “Go, it will give you an hour break and provide you with much needed rest.”

At first, I was incensed – did anyone think I needed a break or rest! Others had been working right alongside me and needed just as much rest as I. Protesting did no good, so I went, had people load the products in the pickup, drove them back, and others unloaded. AND, I felt much better!

Recently, a pastor called saying they needed some of our help for their event to help with hurricane relief. I told him that I would gladly share, but he would personally have to come and retrieve it! Then I told him my experience at the Warrior’s Weekend. He came and said it was the most restful time of the week!
Some have said that we think we are too important to allow others to help us and to personally take a break – and in my case I might admit to being guilty! It could be a bit of pride or super ego! It could be that we want to feel needed so we push ourselves to the limits of our endurance – maybe a bit of lack in our self-image. Most of us need to trust God and allow Him to take care of things for a while!

One has said that we also might be fighting a false guilt when we rest. That is me too much of the time! But guilt is like cholesterol – there is the good kind and the bad kind. There is “Godly sorrow” and “worldly sorrow.” Separating true conviction from the Holy Spirit from the false guilt that has been so familiar to most of us is probably a lifetime journey. Yet pacing ourselves, replenishing physically and emotionally, and doing what it takes to be healthy and durable is worth the battle against false guilt. I truly need to remember that self-denial and self-neglect are two very different things.

It is not just the preachers who need this lesson, but all of us need to learn to follow the words of Jesus, “Get some rest!” Decompress!

My neighbors Parker and Patty are always telling me how proud they are to be a part of Port O’Connor, Texas. They say it is a great community and so friendly. For many years Patty would hide the kids Halloween Candy after trick-or-treating to protect their teeth from too many cavities. One year, her young teen son found several jars of candy tucked away in a high cabinet. He recognized it from 2 years earlier as his from the last year he was young enough to trick-or-treat. He questioned his mom who had told him it was mostly eaten and the rest thrown out, and she finally admitted to him that she hid it for his own good. Now, every year on Halloween, Patty’s son mails her a good-sized bag of his children’s trick-or-treat candy with a card that says, “Want to say thanks mom for my good teeth. I am now investing in good teeth for my own children. Happy Halloween.” Patty laughs and adds to her candy bowl on the coffee table. Often when the grandkids visit in November they enjoy some of their own candy, but they never know the difference.
Happy Halloween!

To All Concerned:

I would like to start by Personally saying, “Thank You” to Lydia & Marvin Strakos for putting together a benefit/raffle fund-raiser for me and my medical expenses. Also, “Thank You” to everyone who donated items and/or purchased tickets. This will help in ways you wouldn’t believe possible.

I would also like to thank my family & friends (many I never have met) for their support through everything. There are too many people to individually list, so “Thank You” to all.

God bless you all.

Love,
Nancy Harborth

Editor, Dolphin Talk,

It seems part of the news is dominated by the “protests” by NFL players, who have decided to kneel, sit or not even show up for the playing of the National Anthem before their games. Because some of our children look up to these athletes, we see this disrespect of the flag and Anthem trickling down to them. Most often these “protesters” cite the racial inequality in our country as their cause. That might be noble, but it is the wrong way to make your point.

If these athletes would do their research, they would understand exactly why Francis Scott Key penned those specific words to the “Star Spangled Banner”. Those words came to him through the night in September, 1812, as he watched British warships pound the American stronghold with cannons throughout the night. This young country was once again fighting hard to preserve the vision of freedom that had inspired the Revolution only 30 years before. He was deeply moved by the brave defenders who were willing to give their very lives to make sure “that our flag was still there”, which signaled to all that our cause was still alive.

Since that night . . . time and again, our military and other heroes have fought valiantly to protect that vision of building the United States of America into a shining beacon of freedom and opportunity. Our flag and our National Anthem have become our unified recognition . . . and thank you . . . for the kind of heroism which allowed this country to be formed in the first place, and that has allowed it to remain the most broadly successful example of “people’s rule” to ever shine on the Earth.

Are we perfect? Far from it, but standing tall when the anthem is played and the flag raised is not our blind agreement that all is well. Rather, it is our opportunity to pause for a few minutes and stand together in respect for those who gave their lives so that we could continue to try to get better as a nation, and as individuals.

Yes, we are flawed, but all those brave fighters over the past 200+ years didn’t turn back because of those flaws. They charged into battle, gave their lives and limbs in protection of a purpose larger than themselves.

Those 2-3 minutes are not for you, or me, or any of us. They are dedicated to those who served and those who died to give you that right.

You don’t have to agree with everything that is going on to be a true American. But it is not asking much for you . . . and all of us . . . to set aside our grievances and disagreements for 2-3 minutes and stand together to honor those who died so we could live free.

Terry Koehler

Attention, POC U.S.P.O. Mailbox Holders:

A postal worker in our local post office lectured me about how to put a box number somewhere in an address; she would not listen as I tried to explain those options are not always available online. Plus, I have had companies favor the physical address even when the box number was entered in the mailing address option. That is what just happened when FEMA sent us our benefit check for Hurricane Harvey. My husband received a phone call from FEMA saying they sent us our check, but it kept coming back!

We had previous problems of lost and delayed bills and a package having been sent back. My husband complained to the postmaster in Victoria. The postmaster said that they look up the recipient to find out their box number and deliver the mail. He could do nothing about our P.O.’s choice to refuse to deliver mail without a box number because it is not technically illegal.

Your money and everything else may be out there – it’s just going to take a while for you to receive it.

A Dissatisfied Customer

Working Together

Seeing our friends and neighbors pitch in to clean up and rebuild our area and surrounding communities following Hurricane Harvey came as no surprise to the Friends of the Library. This same spirit and can-do attitude has resulted in our ability to announce the ground breaking for the new library.

Thanks to our volunteers and generous donors, ground breaking for Phase 1 of the new Port O’Connor Library will be held October 27, 2017. This first phase will include all site work, foundation work and erection of the building.

The Friends will continue to work diligently to raise the funds needed for the second and final phase of the project which is estimated to be $150,000. It will be with our generous community’s support, as well as grants and in-kind donations, that we will complete this project and provide a new and improved library for Port O’Connor.

We look forward to this exciting event for Port O’Connor and sincerely hope that you will join us on FRIDAY, OCTOBER 27, 10 AM at 506 West Main, Port O’Connor, Texas.

Sincerely,

Ursula Price, President
Friends of the Port O’Connor Library
www.friendsofportoconnorlibrary.org
libraryfriendspoc@gmail.com

We Need RO System

The letter to the Dolphin Talk from the POC ID made it  sound like that all of the directors were out in the field working, that is not true.  There was only one and that was Nathan ONeill who did a good job of helping get the system up and running.  One of the directors told one of the workers that he needed his sewer fixed first and that he was a director.  I say that I am sorry Mr. Director you get waited on last because you are a public servant.  El Presidente was not even in town and where was the other two, who knows.  U S Water would have done a great job if they were allowed to bring a crew, but instead they were told to stand down.  What are the plans for the next emergency and what will it be?  Do the directors know what effect the highways: 59, 35,185, 1289, and 238 could have on the people of Port O’Connor?  All these highways cross our water supply at some point.  If an 18 wheeler carrying chemicals has a wreck and spills their load on certain parts of these highways we could be without water for quite a while, just look at what just happened to Corpus Christi not long age.

If we had an Reverse Osmosis (RO) system in place all we would have to do is close the valve from GBRA and we would still have safe water.  Also our water supply from GBRA runs right through the Dow Chemical Plant, if they have a spill in the right spot we are out of water.  It runs through a lot of farm land.  We need to make sure we have safe water.

Our water is safe at this time but accidents can happen.  We need the RO system that the voters voted for in the tax bonds issue.  It seems that 3 of the directors are not even thinking about this issue at this time.

You can’t just put an RO system in overnight.  The quicker it is put in the quicker we can make sure that we will have a safe water supply.  A safe water supply should b a top priority at this time.  I don’t want to gamble when it comes to having safe drinking water.  If you don’t want to gamble either then you need to let your directors know now.

Teddy Hawes

The Dolphin welcomes letters from our readers on any subject that is of general interest to our audience. Letters should be 300 words or less (with exceptions at the Dolphin’s discretion). Letters reflect the opinion of the writer, and not that of Dolphin Talk staff, and we retain the right to determine suitability for publication. It is the policy of this newspaper to promote area interests: therefore, complaints against local businesses should be directed elsewhere. Letters must be signed and include day and evening phone numbers, which will not be published. Your name will be withheld upon request, but anonymous material will not be considered for publication.
Letters to the Dolphin:
Dolphin Talk, PO Box 777 Port O’Connor, TX 77982 dolphin1@tisd.net

“The Way I See It” is an attempt by the columnist to enlighten readers on a subject as he views it,
and does not necessarily reflect the views of this publication.

Political Lies And Definitions

The Radical Leftists that now run the once “Democratic Party” have been changing the definitions since the early 1900s. Once “Progressives”, they dropped that as they began to take over the Democrats and called themselves “Liberals”; but since they are anti-Liberty, “Liberal” had to be changed to a ‘Liberal’ interpretation of the Constitution, and now they are back to “Progressives”. They like that word, because anyone that dares to disagree with them can be labeled “Regressive” or “Reactionary”, and “everyone likes the idea of ‘Progress’, right?”.

To understand the labels of “Left” and “Right” we must go back to 1789, the French Revolution – The Revolutionaries’ delegates sat on the LEFT side of the National Assembly in Paris, while the “Conservatives” sat on the Right side. The Conservatives then were Monarchists and Catholics, but mostly represented Law and Order, Christian values, and Property Rights. We have no King or State Religion in America, we Conservatives only want to “Conserve” the Principles of our American Revolution and our Constitutional Republic, and the God-given Rights guaranteed by our Bill of Rights. The LEFT are still Ideological Marxist Revolutionaries dedicated to their Holy Theories from their “Prophet” Karl Marx.

In the mid-1800s, a self-described ‘Social Scientist’ named Karl Marx predicted the World Revolution of the ‘Workers’ against the ‘Capitalists’ and the establishment of “socialism” that would lead to International Communism, Dictatorship of the Proletariat (for the good of all), and a Utopian Society where all the needs of the People will be met fairly – “From each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs”. By the beginning of WW I, 1914, there had been some failed Marxist Revolutions and there were many recognized Marxist Leaders including Vladimir Lenin of Russia, Rosa Luxembourg of Germany. and Benito Mussolini of Italy, as well as many others like the Anglo-American “Fabian Socialists”, and various “Progressives” that avoided the “Marxist” & “Communist” labels. The Marxists embraced violent revolution and all wanted “Collectivism” and a strong Central Govt (even totalitarian) to bring about their Utopian Society.

Mussolini observed during WW I, ‘workers’ of different countries were loyal to and fought for their Nations, rather than recognizing the “Class War” of Karl Marx. He changed from being an Internationalist who abhorred ‘Nationalism’ into a pro-military Italian Patriot as a practical means of bringing Marxist principles into Italy. This was called “Fascism”, a word based on the Italian word for “groupism”. He took all of Marx’s theories and principles and modified them to ‘benefit’ the Italian people rather than an International Workers Movement. After the defeat of Germany, Adolf Hitler used Mussolini’s ideas to create the National Socialist German Workers Party (Nazis), and added the military expansion policy against his neighbors and the anti-Semitic racism. The “Fascists” were the direct descendants of the Marxist Communists, only nationalistic – to unite their countries rather than concentrate on the Class War between Worker vs Capitalist. Both Mussolini and Hitler hated “Capitalism”, especially Investment Capitalism, but recognized the necessity of Production Capitalism to fulfill their materialist and military goals.

Lenin’s Communist Revolution in Russia was the first successful one, but was marked with continuing violence – the Bolsheviks against the Menshevics and later the Leninists vs the Trotskyites over application of Marxist Theories, and the Revolutionary Conquest of all the different people of Russia took years. The “pure” Marxist Communists hated the schism of groups like the Fascists, but tried to cooperate with the Fabians and various Progressive groups and use them as “useful political idiots” and spies. WW II saw the Soviet Russian Communists allied with “Democracies” of Great Britain, France, the USA, and others to defeat the military expansionist ‘Axis’ of Fascist Italy, Nazi Germany, and Imperial Japan. After the war, the Liberals, Socialists, and Progressives had to separate the Fascist Dictatorships from their common Marxist roots, so they started a huge ongoing propaganda campaign to convince the Sheeple that the “Fascists” were somehow “Right-wing”. Also it became popular for Left-wing “Socialists” of any stripe to accuse anyone that disagreed with their Collectivist and Big Govt theories as “Fascists” or Nazis. All political lies to push Their Political Agenda.

This is Argumentum ad Ignorantium – an argument based on the ignorance of their audience, another BIG LIE, but 72 years (since the end of WW II) of constant repetition by the Lib/Prog Media, Academia, and the Permanent Political Class has made many believe it. Our “Govt Education System” refuses to teach true history, but that is common with both Communist and Fascist systems. Antifa, Black Lies Matter, & By Any Means Necessary ARE the REAL “FASCISTS”! They will enforce THEIR “Policies” with violence, revolution, riot, and assassination if allowed to get away with anything by civilized people. They also manipulate “Democracy” by destructive “Immigration Policies”, a Welfare State to increase dependency on the strong Central Govt, and giving the vote to ignorant and greedy “dependents”. “One Man, One Vote, … One Time”, is the proven road to a Totalitarian Socialist/Marxist/Communist/Fascist State. Those that refuse to study and understand history are doomed to repeat it. It CAN happen here! Only the strong core of “AMERICANISM”- belief in our core Constitutional, Christian, and individual Capitalism values, National courage, and our American Individuality separates us from becoming little different from just another failed Marxist State like Soviet Russia. Our big “Hole Card” is the Second Amendment, an armed population, and millions of Citizen-Soldiers. The “Hoplite Society” can never be defeated because America is the “Land of the Free as long as we are The Home of the Brave”. And smart enough to understand the History and Goals of “Socialism”!

For more detailed explanation on this subject and many other ways the Marxist Progressives have lied to us for over a hundred years, please read THE BIG LIE, Exposing the Nazi Roots of the American Left by Dinesh D’Souza. This is a book every American needs to read. It is highly detailed, but very interesting reading, easy to understand a very difficult subject. I don’t necessary agree with everything he says, but he presents proven info to support his points. Socialism, Communism, Fascism, Nazism, and the current Globalist Progessivism are all interconnected, ‘fruit of the same vine’, dedicated to “Their” Collectivist, Big Govt, Totalitarian vision of a “Utopian” society. Utopian at least for ‘The Powers That Be’, the Permanent Political Class, and their Appratchiki – the Bureaucratic Aristocracy that enforce their bidding. Not so much for Constitutionalists, Christians, Capitalists, or anyone else THEY decide might be their “Enemies”. Or even ‘Doubters’ or ‘Questioners’, or anything other than a lock-step Politically Correct worshiper of Their Current Truth and Group-Think. He details the political defense of slavery, the KKK as the terrorist “Brownshirts” of the Democrat Party, and the Jim Crow Laws were a product of the Democrat Party, not the Republicans, Constitutionalists, or Conservatives; and the Nazis copied the Democrat Party’s Jim Crow Laws to create their Nuremburg Laws that oppressed the German Jews and led to Hitler’s “Final Solution” of exterminating European Jews wherever the Nazis could catch them. Socialists always need someone to blame for their systemic failures!

There is a copy of The Big Lie in the Seadrift Library. As always, I welcome comments and questions on the Website.