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By Rylee Freeman I have never been a person who is okay with the unknown. I like to be prepared for every scenario that could come next. I could probably live the exact same day over and over again and never go crazy. Recently, I was praying over a situation that’s going on in my personal life, and I just repeatedly said to God that I trusted him and I knew he was in control. So why did I still have a pit in my stomach? Life is not a series of

By Melissa Motes Have you ever stopped to think about why you’re here? Not just what you do, where you work, or what role you fill—but why did God put you here? I remember being a little girl lying on my slide outside and looking up at the heavens and asking God this very question. I certainly didn’t have the answer then. But even as a little girl, I think I understood that there had to be more to life than just being born and dying. We were created for something. When Jesus

Can you feel it? That twinge of electricity that makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up and that sense of unbridled excitement that only happens during one time of the year? Can you hear it? The echo of that roar that only comes from one place and rings loud with the sounds of fanaticism and pride. That twinge and that roar only come from one place and that is the local football stadium on a fall Friday night in Texas. And folks, it is back! Those proverbial Friday

Over the last week or so it has again come to my attention a fact that everyone should know, and that is, you just can’t please everyone. You can try…but you will fail. Doing what we do here at this newspaper, and other community newspapers all across the country, you learn to have a pretty thick skin. We are never going to make every reader happy, and will often be the focus of criticism and ridicule. In my more than 25 years in this industry, that is a fact that just can’t

By Connie Pinkham At the time of this writing, I am waiting for my two youngest grandchildren to wake up. Their parents both work very early today. I came to their house and made myself comfy on their couch. I didn’t want the children pulled out of bed and brought to me in the wee hours of the morning. Not a great way to start a day…for them or for me! I’ve spent a lot of time waiting. Even as a child, I remember waiting. Waiting with raised arm for my turn in the school

By Pam Kumpe Some days, our wandering feels a little more like wondering. We take steps that leave us confused or tired, or that end up leaving us with calluses in places nobody can see. But even there, the Lord is working—within us, around us, and often beyond what we realize. He reminded me of that again after I had spent time with a few homeless friends, dropping off Gatorade and little nuggets of friendship. I had emptied my trunk and was driving away when I rounded the b

By Melissa Motes “In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Ephesians 6:16-17). Don’t give up. Don’t ever give up. These powerful words were immortalized by one of my favorite coaches when I was growing up. Coach Jimmy Valvano, was one of the greatest NCAA basketball coaches of all time. I was glued to the telev

We all have things that some call core memories. Memories that stay with you forever. Memories that leave a mark on your subconscious and often guide us through life. One of those memories for me is the very first time the steep trek was made up to the DeKalb Bears press box. Call me silly, but the memory of that first step into that tiny press box really did leave an indelible impression. It is a memory that runs the gamut from thinking what a small space it was, to the utte

Amidst all of the cares and issues of everyday life in this world, some days, the lemonade pours out like a fountain of youth, reviving the weariest of souls and quenching the thirst of those near dehydrated from simply living. We here at the West Bowie Post had one of those days last week, with that sweet lemonade being poured out from one sweet reader, who showed us by her kindness that what we are doing here…matters. Now, I doubt that this sweet lady would want me to use h

By Rylee Freeman Growing up in a small town, one of the most common phrases sounds something like, “I hate how everyone knows all of my business!” I said it plenty of times myself. When I went to college, I was excited for a blank slate. New friends. New beginnings. So orientation weekend began- my first opportunity to meet new people. And what did I do? I sat in my dorm room, alone, organizing my closet and desk while calling my parents every hour. I told myself that I’d jus

By Connie Pinkham Several times in scripture a council is spoken of. The Sanhedrin in our New Testament was the Jewish council made up of chief priests, scribes, and elders. This council handled the religious governance of the Jewish population. That council was involved in the trials of Jesus. (Matthew 26:57 ff) Acts 15 tells about a council meeting in Jerusalem. The apostles met with leaders of the Christian community to resolve some disputes about Gentile believers expe

By Pam Kumpe Across from the shelter, a weathered van sat with both side doors rolled open. A black dog stood at the entrance like a faithful guard, though his open mouth and wagging tail made him look more like he was welcoming visitors than warning them away. Inside, a short, stocky older man covered in faded tattoos looked up at me. “Hi, I’m Pam.” I smiled. “Would you like a cold Gatorade?” He shook his head. “Nah. I don’t drink those sports drinks.” I held one up, beads o

By Kenny Mitchell kenny@westbowiepost.com A chance visitor at the office last week spurred a conversation with an old friend and it was nice to just sit and talk for a few minutes with someone else who truly cares about the community of Bowie County. People are so busy these days just trying to keep paddling that it is a rare thing to have a few minutes in the still to just sit and talk, but it was definitely a surprise pleasure for yours truly when my buddy Tommy Crouch came

By Kenny Mitchell kenny@westbowiepost.com A 6th grade student at Hooks Junior High has made it her mission this year to make the world a better place with simple acts of kindness. Katelyn McElroy was crowned earlier this year as Young Miss Hooks and she has decided to use her platform as a member of the Miss Hooks court to help her community and bring it together by simply being kind. Katelyn says, “When I became Young Miss Hooks, I wanted to do something to help people by sp

By Rylee Freeman Welcoming an exchange student into the family can create lifelong relationships while introducing new cultures to both the student and the host family. Foreign Links Around the Globe (FLAG) was founded by former Brazilian exchange student Mazi Cunha and his American host mother. Local coordinator Laura Shaw recruits host families willing to welcome an exchange student during the school year and treat them as part of the family. Shaw ma

By Allyson Pebsworth allyson@westbowiepost.com There’s no crying in baseball, a quote most people are familiar with. However for some people it’s more than just a quote the way playing ball is more than just a game, regardless of age. Harper Hankins, daughter of Jacey and Michael, has been playing ball since she was 5 years old, starting with t-ball and quickly jumping up to play on teams with kids much older than herself. Watching the Women's College World Series with her m

By Connie Pinkham It has become a job description in the age of social media. The word regularly finds its way into conversations. People speak about an influencer they follow like we used to talk about our favorite weather man or news commentator. They operate through Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and probably others I’m too old and out of touch to know about. I remember when my mother-in-law talked about Ron Young like he was a personal acquaintance. She called him Ron. D

By Betty Simpkins Have you ever seen any of the paintings by Norman Rockwell? His artwork is synonymous with Americana because he knew how to put average people in the limelight. One of my all time favorites is the scene depicting a ridge along a seashore upon which stands an old sea captain and his very young protégé. I’m sure you’ve seen it a time or two on a calendar or in a magazine. But there is more to the picture than the immediately pleasing spectacle of a wind-ruffl

By Ken Esten Cooke Guest Columnist The World Cup — that “other” football event played every four years — has returned to North America. And the world’s most popular sport has brought the world’s most joyful fan bases with it. The Scottish Tartan Army is bringing laughs — and a huge economic boost — to the greater Boston region. Those Scot fans talked of running out of beer on the flight over, then proceeded to drain many a local watering hole of their supplies as well. On gam

By Kenny Mitchell It comes to mind that there are some days that life makes it extremely hard to make lemonade. Life has a tendency to throw things at us that will even not want to even think of drinking lemonade of any kind, and it is those days when we need it most. I play around with the word lemonade a lot here in this weekly spot, with the hopes that you will understand the real meaning behind the words. Obviously, lemonade has a hodgepodge of meanings, but in most cases