“Jenn,” I spoke with urgency to my daughter-in-law, “there’s a terrible storm headed our way. It will be here in the next 30 minutes. Large hail is expected, so people and animals are to find protection.”

It was evening, and Dave and I had returned from Jenn’s house and were watching television when the alarm trailed across the bottom of our screen. There were no phone notifications and no rain in the area, but Bourbon and Vernon County clearly were listed as areas of potential damage. I hustled outside to anchor our deck furniture.

Soon, Jenn called me back, questioning why her television gave no warning. “I don’t know, but I’m reading it right now,” I said. Without delay, I made plans to go to the basement to safety, reminding Dave to grab shoes with solid soles in case a tornado lifted our house from its footings and we had to walk through glass and debris. Dave, also without delay, made no attempt to leave his easy chair where he was watching football replays.

Clearly, my southern California-raised husband had no respect for the death sentence a storm warning could be. One more look at the television caused concern. “Dave, it says this warning is good until 7:00 P.M. But it’s 9:15. How can that be?”

By now, you’ve probably figured out what I had not. Dave and I were watching a DVR of a football game we had taped from a week before. It was an embarrassing retraction to explain my goof to my daughter-in-law who, of course, found it hysterical.

Let’s face it. In this age, warning systems are common. We in the Midwest are not unaware of tornado sirens. Waterfront countries have Tsunami Warning Systems. Amber Alerts and Silver Alerts awaken us in the middle of the night. Irons caution that they are hot, and plastic bags inform that they can suffocate. Never have there been as many warning signs as today.

Starting with the Old Testament, warnings have been common. Prophets such as Ezekiel, Isaiah and Daniel provided writings calling the Israelites to repentance. Noah begged his neighbors to board the ark. Moses gave the Israelites a kajillion warnings to stay true to the one, true God. Jesus admonished his followers against sin and evil by saying, “Watch out! Be on guard.” (Luke 12:15).  John 8:24 cautions everyone: “If you do not believe (Jesus is the Savior), you will die in your sins.”

More recently, Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, wrote of a danger to our times: “On another level, a tsunami of sin is rising in our world. Old convictions and standards are being swept away right before our very eyes. Behavior that was once considered immoral is now openly flaunted and widely accepted. The winds of change are blowing all around us, and alarming things lie just over the horizon…It is time for us to take our stand, face what is approaching and open our mouths to sound the warning.”

Unlike my false DVR warning, some need to be taken seriously.

Jesus is coming back. Either we are ready or not, and this, dear readers, will be no respecter of the time or day.

Keys to the Kingdom

By Carolyn Tucker

When I was about seven years old, my Dad borrowed our neighbor’s Shetland pony for the evening.

When I mounted that thing, he was totally uncontrollable and headed for every low-lying branch on our place. He dragged me off his back and I landed hard on the ground seven times. That Shetland had a mean streak a mile long and by the end of the night I pretty-much hated him.

I can’t say exactly what the point of this episode was but, because Dad was a horse lover, I think it was to see if I’d be interested in riding horses. I’m happy to say he never borrowed that crazy little hairy varmint again.

That Shetland pony was a really bad representation of what a good horse is like. I’m glad I didn’t give up on all horses, thinking they were all alike. If I would have had that wrong mindset, I would have never ridden a horse again, and I would’ve missed out on wonderful times with my father.

We enjoyed riding around the Hayward Rancho where I learned the difference between a running walk and a foxtrot. We were members of the Stockton Saddle Club and trailered our horses to the arena to ride with our friends on Monday nights. We rode together in the Stockton Walnut Festival parade and went on trail rides. Spending time with my Dad was a very special benefit for me. I wouldn’t trade those experiences and memories for a farm in Texas or all the gold in California.

Not all Christians are alike either. I’m very saddened when I hear this scenario: Q: “Where do you go to church?” A: “I don’t go to church. I used to, but someone offended me and I’ve never been back. All Christians are just a bunch of hypocrites.”

Unfortunately, this similar conversation is repeated by people all over the world.

It’s true that Christians are not perfect in everything we do or say all the time. But serious Christ followers have a perfect heart toward pleasing their heavenly Father. “But God removed Saul and replaced him with David, a man about whom God said,’ I have found David son of Jesse, a man after My own heart. He will do everything I want him to do’” (Acts 13:22 NLT). King David loved God with all his heart. However, there were a few times he didn‘t do everything right. But because his heart was tender toward his heavenly Father, David repented, practiced obedience, and did mighty exploits for God’s Kingdom.

If I’ve got a box of truffles and one piece is messed up, it’s not going to keep me from enjoying the rest of the chocolates. If Mom burned the biscuits once, that’s not going to stop me from eating future mouth-watering biscuits that are baked to perfection. Give the devil a black eye and do yourself a favor — receive the imperfect and loving people that God has placed on your trail to lead you home.

Don’t miss out on the wonderfully- blessed life you were designed to have with your heavenly Father.

If you’ve been thrown for a loop, get back in the saddle again and ride into a personal relationship with Jesus. You can grow and enjoy the trail ride with other like-minded and like-hearted believers.

When your horse throws a shoe, you don’t shoot the horse! You make the necessary repairs and replace the shoe. You keep on riding the trail with all the others. When you’ve got the best Trail Boss and a lot of friendly imperfect riders to help you along, you’ll eventually get to your destination even if you’re riding drag.

The Key: Genuine representations of Christ are everywhere and they’re in the church too.

In the news and on social media, one often hears phrases such as “tax the rich” and “the rich should pay their fair share.” It seems fair that the wealthy pay most of the taxes because they don’t need all that extra money. Is it good to have a large number of high income and high net worth Americans? How much do the rich pay? Is taxing the rich the answer to our deficit?

Let me start with the last question first; if every American who made over $1 million per year paid 100% of their income in taxes, the IRS would take in about $612 billion. This number represents about one-third of our deficit; the Federal government could not even balance the budget with a 100% tax on high earners. By itself, the “tax the rich” approach is not the answer.

How much do the rich pay? According to an August 2021 report by the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center, the top 1% of earners pay 40% of all taxes collected, the next 38% of earners pay 60% of all taxes, and the bottom 61% of American households paid zero taxes in 2020. That means that over 100 million Americans paid no income tax in 2020.

The new proposal by the majority party in Congress this year is to tax the accumulated wealth of Americans. For example, when the stock price of Tesla goes up, Elon Musk becomes wealthier, but does not pay taxes on the growth because he has not sold the stock. Accordingly, when your 401K goes up in value, the IRS will expect you to send a percentage of this unrealized gain in with your income tax due. Conversely, can you imagine the government sending out large refund checks to millions of Americans when stock prices fall like they did in 2008?

Why is accumulated wealth a good thing for all Americans? Because that is where the bulk of the investment capital comes from to grow existing businesses and start new ones. Without the investment of cash by a handful of Bourbon County residents who had accumulated wealth, we would not have the Sleep Inn. Some of our large businesses like Ward-Kraft, Extrusions, and Peerless would not have had the capital to expand and diversify their product offerings as they have done in recent years. Noble Health would not be in a position to reopen our hospital without the accumulated wealth of the company and its owners. Excess cash by the rich puts the capital in capitalism.

For economic development to occur in Bourbon County, we need people with accumulated wealth to invest in us. Yes, we can apply for grants, and we have. However, sustained economic growth is accomplished by those with accumulated wealth who believe in our communities and want to invest in who we are and what we can be. We over-tax the rich to our peril.

Dave, my husband, is struggling with Alexa, our know-it-all internet gadget given to us by one of our sons. When Alexa hears her name, a white light spins around her top, letting us know that she is ready to respond. Last night, Dave and I were trying to recall the name of the new movie about Serena and Venus Williams’ upbringing. “Alexa,” Dave said, “What new movie will soon be released that is about Serena Williams and her family?”
“Too many words,” I told him. Alexa: “I don’t understand your question.” Me: “That’s because you used too many words,” I offered. Dave: “Alexa, what new movie will be coming out soon that is about the Williams’ tennis sisters and their family?” Me: “Much better,” I said, trying not to laugh. Alexa muttered something about Serena Williams’ most recent tennis tournament. Dave: “Could you hear her?” (I could not.) “How do I tell her that I can’t hear her?” Me: “Tell her that you can’t hear her. Or maybe you could just Google your question and get a faster answer.” Dave was not about to lose this competition. “Serena, please speak louder. No, I don’t mean Serena. I mean Alexa. Alexa, please speak louder.” Me: “Definitely improving. Much shorter sentences.” At this point, I cracked up. After two more attempts, Alexa admitted that she did not have an answer for us. Dave thanked her anyway, and she responded, “No problem.” “You thanked her for trying?” I asked. “She’s a machine. She’s not your friend.” “You never know,” Dave muttered, texting his question to Google. Alexa, like the rest of us, has her limitations. Sometimes she interrupts our conversations, even when she’s not invited. She doesn’t hear all. She doesn’t see all. She doesn’t know all. Most of the time she tries to help, but often, she can’t. As one of my friends said, “Well, she isn’t God, you know.” And my friend is right, even though it’s hard to fathom that God knows everything. He knows how many hairs are on our heads, the number of days of our lives, what we are thinking, how we will die and where we will spend eternity. No one has ever lived who understands life as He, our Creator, does. I love the (yes, over-told) story of the group of scientists who decided that man no longer needed God. So, they picked one scientist to go and tell Him so. The scientist walked up to God and said, “God, we’re at the point that we can clone people and do miraculous things; we don’t need you here anymore, so you can go your way. ” God listened patiently to the man and then responded, “Very well, but how about this? Let’s say we have a man-making contest just like we did in the old days with Adam.” The scientist replied, “Okay, great!” and then bent down and grabbed himself a handful of dirt. God looked at him and said, “There’s just one slight problem here. Get your own dirt!” This morning, Dave Googled his tennis question and learned the Williams’ movie is King Richard. While he was figuring out how to word his question, I asked Alexa to “play contemporary Christian music.” Four words. That’s all. Alexa obliged. Sometimes you just have to know how to ask.

Keys to the Kingdom by Carolyn Tucker

I had drastically overused my left shoulder awhile back, so I made an appointment for a therapeutic massage. During my “first-time-ever” session, I could tell the massage therapist/friend knew exactly what she was doing. She had the proper training and several years of experience under her belt. The massage kinda hurt but helped my shoulder all at the same time, so I scheduled another appointment because I’m not a wimp!

God’s Word can also help and hurt all at the same time. “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip His people to do every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16,17 NLT).

Forty years ago, you possibly heard this statement during the sermon, “Say ouch or amen!” In the 1980s, I remember my pastor often saying, “You’ve got to love me enough to get to heaven,” when he would preach a hard truth. And then there would be times when some parishioners would shake the pastor’s hand and say, “You stepped on my toes today!” Not every message from the pulpit is easy to swallow, or what you want to hear, but it’s what you need to hear in order to become a mature Christ follower.

It’s not just apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers that deliver messages. My current pastor recently reminded us, “You are preaching a gospel — I hope it’s the right thing.“ That one adage should give all believers something to chew on until our last day on earth. Our attitudes, actions, reactions, habits, hobbies, and casual conversations are sending messages to everyone we’re around. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out where people place their loyalties.

Do we believers have enough of Jesus to rub off on anybody? As a teen in high school, I worked in the kitchen at a restaurant. When I got off work, I smelled like I’d had a hamburger-grease massage because I was completely saturated in it. Honestly, Christians should have enough Jesus in them to affect everyone they’re around. We should be so overflowing with Jesus that His love permeates the very space we’re occupying.

The Word of God is a bit like pouring antiseptic on an owie. It’s necessary to clean the wound (which stings), but it begins the crucial healing process. Believers should never shy away from the conviction of the Holy Spirit. Conviction is simply God’s mercy speaking to our heart when we need to make a change in our life. It’s important to respond quickly by obeying God in whatever He‘s telling us to do or not do.

My shoulder and spiritual muscles need to be in first-rate condition, so I‘m willing to go through some discomfort in order to be whole and strong. The Word of God shows us the right way to navigate life. As we read and study the scriptures, we may sometimes think, “Ouch!“ But we should be thankful God is showing us how to come up higher and get in tip-top shape to do His good work.

The Key: God’s Word is beneficial for teaching, conviction, correction, and instruction. Amen.

Our community created a land bank earlier this year, but few know about it and even fewer know what it is and why we did it. I agreed serve on the board when it was organized because I believe it is a valuable tool to help us address some of our challenges in residential real estate and commercial buildings in the county’s downtown areas.

Why a land bank?

Land banks can play a number of different roles including, (a) providing a mechanism for assembling parcels of tax-delinquent or abandoned properties for redevelopment, (b) acquiring and holding historic properties until the community can develop them, and (c) acquiring properties to convert to other uses such as retail, parks, or housing.

In addition to acquiring and holding land, land banks can maintain, rehabilitate, demolish, and lease or sell property.

Land banks are most commonly established in localities like Bourbon County with low housing costs and an inventory of tax-delinquent properties that the community wants to repurpose to support community goals.

Additionally, a land bank is great vehicle to create public/private/charitable partnerships in order to address difficult issues such as the market value gap between costs to construct and appraised value after the improvements are completed.

It is a great way to involve real estate expertise that might not be possessed by local governments.

It can also be an entity under which a community land trust is formed for the purpose of providing a community with a permanent and increasing level of affordable housing.

The Eagle Block buildings were the original motivation to initiate this drawing board idea that had been discussed for a few years.

Unfortunately, we were too late to save that historical structure, having been formed just a few weeks before the building collapsed. That building might still be standing, along with its neighbor, if we would have formed the land bank a few years ago; I am thankful that our current commissions had the vision to act, even though it was too late for the Eagle Block.

How could a land bank have saved the Eagle Block buildings? By working closely with the city to enforce codes and hold owners of buildings in the historical district to their responsibility to preserve and protect these irreplaceable memorials to our community’s history.

We have just started and it will take some time to create effective processes. These are the kinds of initiatives that we need to help Bourbon County be all that we can be. Look for the land bank to do good things in the years to come.

Keys to the Kingdom

By Carolyn Tucker

Recently, I was sitting at the computer in my quiet office/utility room when I heard an extremely-loud banging on my glass front door. I was both startled and annoyed at the unnecessary intensity of the knocking. When I answered the door, there stood someone I knew. I guess the individual was just excited or ate too many bowls of Wheaties for breakfast.

The classic painting of “Christ at Heart’s Door” hung on the wall of my parent’s living room for most of my life. Since the 1940s, this beloved painting by Warner Sallman has been a long-standing favorite in the home of many believers. It depicts a loving and patient Savior willing to come into a person’s heart and life, but the individual has to open the door because there’s no handle on the outside.

Jesus says, “Look! I have been standing at the door and I am constantly knocking. If anyone hears me calling him and opens the door, I will come in and fellowship with him and he with Me” (Revelation 3:20 TLB). No doubt, this was the scripture that inspired Mr. Sallman to paint the beautiful picture of Christ Jesus standing at a door. The Son of God described Himself as gentle and humble in spirit (Matthew 11:29). His knocking is not abrasive because it reflects who He is. I appreciate the fact that He knocks constantly because He’s not willing that any should perish but that everyone would welcome and accept Him as their personal Savior.

The choices we make with the doors in our life will determine our final outcome. The first and most important door must be opened by us so Jesus can come in, cleanse us, and make us right with God. When Jesus was crucified and died, the thick curtain (which represented a door) in the temple was ripped from top to bottom signifying that we could come directly to God now. “And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. By His death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place. And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God’s house, let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting Him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water” (Hebrews 10:19-22 NLT).

Back to our resurrected Lord standing at the door, I also like this translation: “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in and eat with you, and you will eat with Me” (Revelation 3:20 NCV). “Here I am” indicates that Jesus is as close as the mention of His name. He has to be very close in order to knock on your heart’s door and tenderly speak to you. But in this contemporary age, most people don’t like to be quiet. But quiet is a necessity in order to hear a gentle voice. “God says, ‘Be quiet and know that I am God…’” (Psalm 46:10 NCV). If you refuse to be quiet you might not hear the knock on the door or the voice of the Good Shepherd.

The Key: If you’re an unbeliever, Jesus is knock, knock, knockin’ on your heart’s door.

Crime

Before my wife and I moved to Bourbon County, we reviewed the crime statistics to make sure it was safe. After moving, we were surprised to hear rumors about the high crime rate in the county. What are the latest crime statistics in the county? Are the rumors true? Let’s take a look.

The most populous county in SEK, Crawford, had the highest crime index at 39.8 crimes per 1,000 people in 2019. Bourbon County compares favorably with a crime index of almost one-third of the county to the south, but our violent crime rate was higher than Crawford County.

In 2019, Montgomery County had the highest violent crime rate in the region at 5.6, followed by Labette at 4.4. Who had the lowest violent crime rate in SEK? Neosho County at 0.7; in fact, Neosho County was by far the safest county in SEK in 2019 with a crime index of just 3.5, down from 6.5 in 2018. Bourbon County had a dramatic drop in the property crime rate between 2018 and 2019.

Property crimes were down for the whole state, falling to 25.0 in 2019 from 27.2 the previous year; however, violent crime was up one decimal point to 4.3, yielding a state crime index of 29.3. The lowest crime county in Kansas? Wallace County reported zero crimes in 2019. Wyandotte County had the highest crime index at 47.0.

I have been a part of welcoming two new families to the area in 2021, both of whom have experienced property crimes in their short tenure here; one of which has had three occasions to call the police already. As one might expect, they are questioning their decision to move here. Continued investment in public safety is critical if we want to continue welcoming newcomers here. If we want to save money in policing, look at efficiencies by sharing services, not reducing our commitment to public safety. Ask yourself, “Would I rather drive to work on a bumpy street, or have a greater risk of experiencing a crime while I am there?”

Rumors to the contrary, crime statistics are not a major deterrent to those considering relocating to Bourbon County; however, we need to maintain our commitment to public safety. This factor is critical to our ongoing economic development efforts.

I delight in sports fans. Well, most of them.

Not the ones who boo, but the ones who dress up in goofy outfits, paint their faces in team colors, scream until they are hoarse, hug strangers in celebration and embarrass their dates.

When the NFL or MLB cameras pan the audience and zero in on one of those crazy devotees, I have to smile. Gosh, they love their teams. And I think that’s cool!

Arriving hours before the game, they schmooze with strangers while waiting for the turn-styles to open. They join like-minded buddies and tail-gate in the parking lot, grilling hotdogs and betting on who will win

. It can be 20-degrees below zero, and there they are, sometimes shirtless with painted chests, reinforcing just what a wimp I am. They stay long after the game has ended, trying to catch a glimpse of their favorite players as they leave the park, desperate for an autograph.

That life is not for me. I, instead, will cheer from my couch, buttered popcorn in hand (with no concession stand delay), rooting for my favorite teams (Go, Chiefs and Royals!), second-guessing coach’s choices (You called WHAT play?) and appreciating replays.

Sometimes my comment precedes the television analysts’, making me question aloud if I missed my calling. When Dave hears that, he begins talking under his breath. I take that as an affirmative.

I am not a true fan. True fans will do whatever it takes to support their team. Some have faces of football players or club logos inked on their bodies. They sacrifice time, money, ego, travel, jobs, family get togethers, their vocal cords and their newborn’s names in honor of the team they support, and conversation about their favorite team dominates their talk.

Oh, that we would be that loyal to Jesus! After all, the day will come when his true “fans”–those who sacrifice everything to share him with whomever they meet, who risk ridicule to be “fools” for Jesus–will be given Heavenly crowns to celebrate their loyalty.

Are you a fool for Jesus? Do you awaken to check the box score of blessings from the day before? Does he dominate your conversation and your time? Are you willing to travel from house to house (or town to town) to share your passion for him? Or are you a wimp? Does potential ridicule or inconvenience prevent you from showing your unwavering love for the one who gave his life for you?

Think about it. Professional athletes will not die for you, no matter how much you idolize them or their performances. And even if they did, there would be no eternal gains from their death.

Oh Christians, we cannot be content to watch from our couches, unwilling to be bothered, keeping our faith to ourselves.

Maybe it’s time to be a little embarrassed.