By Emily Agee

“The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel; To know wisdom and instruction; to perceive the words of understanding; to receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and equity; to give subtilty to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion.  A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels: To understand a proverb, and the interpretation; the words of the wise, and their dark sayings. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother. For they shall be an ornament of grace unto thy head, and chains about thy neck. My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not. If they say, come with us, let us lay wait for blood, let us lurk privily for the innocent without cause. Let us swallow them up alive as the grave; and whole, as those that go down into the pit: we shall find all precious substance, we shall fill our houses with spoils: Cast in thy lot among us; let us all have one purse. My son, walk not thou in the way with them; refrain thy foot from their path” (Proverbs 1: 1-15).

Thought for the week: The Gift of Sight

“I made a list of precious gifts that God has granted me; among them is the gift of sight, that beauty I might see. The rolling hills, the meadowland, lemoned with dandelion; the greening trees, the blooming shrubs, the sun that sends its shine. The springtime showers with droplets small, a rainbow on its heels; flowers peeping through the sod, the season’s seeded fields. The songbirds with their lilting tunes when Summer fills the land; the crimson sunsets in the west, designed by God’s own land. The autumn splashed with vibrant hues of russet, orange, red, gold; the winter with its flakes of snow as a wonderland unfolds. I made a list of cherished gifts which God has given me. Lord, thank You for the gift of life and, too, for eyes to see.”

Announcements

Our sympathy goes out to the family of Mr. Robert Cunningham in their time of bereavement. Funeral arrangements are incomplete at this time. Agee Brothers Funeral Home directing.

On our sick list this week, we ask you to remember in your prayers: Jerry Wilson, Lee Anna Worthey, Michelle Austin, Danny Frazier, Sam and Vivian Hicks, Harold Frazier, Rena Dickerson and Eliza Stewart. May God heal, strengthen and keep them in His care is our prayer.

—Emily Agee is a religion columnist for The Clanton Advertiser. Her column appears each Thursday.