Keys to the Kingdom by Carolyn Tucker

On a hot morning in August, I stepped onto the front porch and noticed all the dead fallen leaves from my poplar tree. It was obvious the tree was in distress — more than any of the others in my yard. Although it’s a huge mature tree, perhaps its root system doesn’t go down as deep as the maple and oak trees do. It was such a disturbing sight that I spontaneously prayed, “Lord, please don’t let me dry up spiritually like this tree.” For two summers I have  faithfully watered the Jane Magnolia tree that Aaron and I planted in memory of my husband. This baby tree has a weak root system, so without consistent watering it would succumb to the draught. Because of the tree’s significance, I purposely nurture and care for it so it can thrive and become strong.

With all the incoming missiles of the evil one and the bombarding distractions of the world, it takes determined effort to abide in Christ. Believers simply won’t thrive  spiritually without living in Him. Here’s what Jesus had to say about it: “I am the True Vine, and My Father is the Vinedresser. Dwell in Me, and I will dwell in you. [Live in Me, and I will live in you.] Just as no branch can bear fruit of itself without abiding in (being vitally united to) the vine, neither can you bear fruit unless you abide in Me. I am the Vine; you are the branches. Whoever lives in Me and I in him bears much (abundant) fruit. However, apart from Me [cut off from vital union with Me] you can do nothing“ (John 15:1,4,5 AMP). I don’t want to be doing my own thing and be fruitless to boot!

In recent years, binging has become rampant in the lives of both believers and unbelievers. The definition of binge is excessive unrestrained activity; uncontrolled indulgence. Binge-watching (to watch many or all episodes of a TV series in rapid succession) has become an acceptable thing. But Jesus wants us to shut every door that offers the enemy access, so we need to be well balanced in all that we do. “And He [Jesus] said to them, ’Keep watch, and pray that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak’” (Mark 14:38 GNT). I’ll just go out on a limb and say the flesh is stupid too. Our born-again spirit is willing and desires vital union with God, but our flesh is brainless, lazy, and hell-bent on godless and fruitless desires.

It’s high-time for Christians to train our flesh and let it know that it’s not in charge! The apostle Paul wrote, “But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified” (1 Corinthians 9:27 ESV). God gives His people a new heart and a new spirit to live according to His will (God‘s Word). We have what He says we have, so let’s stop whining and acting like we’re not strong enough to take authority over our stupid flesh. Paul wrote to the believers in Corinth, “For the love of Christ controls and urges and impels us….(2 Corinthians 5:14 AMP). There’s enabling power in the love of Christ and the blood of the Lamb. “Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us” (Romans 8:37 NKJV).

It’s easy to be overcome by life’s trials and temptations when our spiritual root system is dry as a bone. When (not if) the bottom falls out of your world, all those hours of binge-watching won’t do you a lick of good. The only way to stand up under the heat and not wilt is to be consistently and intimately connected to the Vine so you can thrive in all kinds of adverse situations. You can be as close to God as you want to be — it’s your call.

The Key: Live every day with Jesus’ soaker hose wrapped around your spirit.

The population decline in every Southeast Kansas (“SEK”) county is a disturbing trend and represents our biggest threat.  As a result, there is a shortage of labor in the region, which is a serious hurdle when recruiting employers.

What can we do to attract new labor to SEK?  We have to play both offense and defense at the same time, solving problems while working on the plus side.  Here are some observations.

The biggest problem rural America has is the mass exodus of our young people to cities for education, better jobs, and entertainment.  Study after study shows that our young people are far more experiential than we are, preferring the memories of an exotic vacation over the down payment on a home or the security of a vehicle without a monthly payment.  Does it makes sense to go to herculean efforts to attract new people when the natives are not staying?  Perhaps we should spend some of our resources on how to slow this dynamic.

Bourbon County REDI hosted the first ever county-wide strategic planning meeting this month, and the group was virtually unanimous as to the biggest barrier to attracting new labor: housing.  A close second is our high taxes, which is part of the cause of our housing issues.  Every government in the county is aware of this and many are focused on solutions.  For example, the City of Fort Scott recently formed a Land Bank to give consideration to vacant properties and those that are in need of attention, and formulate creative solutions.  It is a beginning, and other efforts like this are percolating.  It will take all of us, every government, every civic organization and every citizen working together to make progress.

Third, we have to make our communities more attractive to outsiders.  This includes previously mentioned issues such as entertainment amenities, cleaning up blighted properties, holding the line or lowering property tax rates and encouraging collaborative efforts.  Additionally, we must pay attention to our infrastructure, which paints a rather daunting picture of our community to outsiders.  Out-of-town realtors representing prospective buyers are aware of our sewer issues and warn their clients, which has a chilling effect on holding time and prices.  Also, I consider the social media environment in a community as “soft” infrastructure; certainly ours could be kinder.

Lastly, we have to think outside the box to opportunities such as immigration.  I am not talking about an uncontrolled mass migration of people; rather, a thoughtful, measured approach such as what has been executed with the three Afghan families in our community.  They have been solid, productive citizens.  We are, after all, a nation of immigrants.

These issues represent mega trends that we cannot completely overcome, but perhaps we can differentiate ourselves from other small communities by being the best we can be.  Many of us are committed to working on solutions for this community in which we have chosen to make our permanent homes.  I encourage you to get involved as well.