You’re probably wondering why I called you all here today.

Intimacy with God is so far above what the world or anything in it can offer us! We can find out for ourselves what close fellowship with God means! We then can attest to the fact of what a difference in our lives it makes being in close fellowship with Him!

Now that we’ve all taken our fill of cookies, pies and hopefully even vegetables over the holidays, and are still full of good intentions about healthy living, I’d like to continue our journey through our “simple living in these end-times.”

We have a little wood stove in our living room and enjoy it very much when the weather is cold. My wife’s dog’s bed is right next to the stove and she loves to get real close to it when it is warm.

Les saludo con gusto Pueblo, y como de costumbre pasemos al comentario de hoy: En este día quiero platicar entre amigos, pues hay confianza para decirte que mi interés personal, es hablarte de las grandes promesas que Dios tiene para ti.

Democrats are working to remove “Are you an American citizen” from the 2020 census, while California and New York are openly allowing all comers the right to vote. Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck have been voting in some precincts for years, and now to win at any cost, Karl Marx will be added to the list.

The globalized economy of countries around the world, a tendency that boomed in the late 1990s and 2000s, and seems to be receding to a more pro-national approach, made big headlines in North America recently, with the passage of the United States, Mexico and Canada (USMCA) trade agreement.

On Sunday morning, I headed out to see how the areas along the creek had fared after our much-needed rainfall last week.

Trump fights, she wrote. Don’t be silly. Trump was talked into bombing the Iranian General Soleimani by his war hawks like Mike Pompeo and Secretary of Defense Esper who were looking to make Trump the president who is doing much better than Obama at killing killer Iranian generals like Soleimani, who allegedly had his finger on the button ready to blow up several sites in Iraq where Americans are concentrated.

On Monday, I took some time out to watch the Martin Luther King Jr. Day parade and listen to local people talk about what King meant to them and why they honor him today.

I have been reading “The Good Neighbor: The Life and Work of Fred Rogers” by Maxwell King for the past few weeks. There are 363 pages of narrative, and I’m on page 204 right now. I wonder if I’m reading it so slowly just because I don’t want it to end. I want to live in Mr. Rogers’ neighborhood.

Fake News – the deliberate dissemination of falsehoods posing as legitimate news items – is on everyone’s lips these days, but there has been precious little comment from admitted Fake Newsmen.

Before the dust even began to settle from Gov. Greg Abbott’s attacks on Austin about its policies toward homelessness, he stirred up more controversy by announcing he’s not going to allow resettlement of refugees in Texas.

If you didn’t know Ryan Treviño, you didn’t truly know Del Rio Rams football.

What shape is the church of the Lord in today? Have we continued on the narrow pathway leading unto salvation? Or, have we crossed over to the broad way that leads to destruction by imitating the world and taking part in her sinfulness once again? Many in the Church in Corinth were found much in compromise by the Apostle Paul in the time of his letters unto the church there.

When browsing in a bookstore, I’m sure certain titles grab your attention and you read the back cover because you want to know more about what the book is about. The same is true for most people who research their direction before they begin traveling on a journey because they want to know more about where they are going.

Les saludo con gusto Pueblo, y como siempre pasemos al comentario de hoy: Al paso del tiempo no nos damos cuenta que la vida de amarguras y sufrimientos, no es la vida que Dios ha proyectado para nosotros.

One day it is hot and the next day cold and yes terrible storms and uncontrollable fires. Why are things this way?

One can call Trump anything, but be careful when addressing President Obama. I want always to speak with a wholesome tongue to educate good people to understand that hatred in identity name calling politics never solves any problem, only further divides in feel good division.

The ballots are in, people have spoken, and the 2020 Best of Del Rio annual people’s choice awards is entering a new phase. Starting today, you will find a new ballot in the paper with the same categories as before, but now the options to choose from are limited to three — sometimes four.

Michael G. and I spent the day after our Del Rio Christmas Bird Count – Dec. 24, Christmas Eve – going back over our territory and trying to find bird species we had missed on Count Day.

There is no question that the Iranian general wiped out by a U.S. drone was a sneaky murder czar who made it his hobby to kill Americans, and its good riddance.

Any time I move to a new place, one of the first things I like to do is look at the local best of publications by the local newspaper.

Have you noticed the increase in hate speech? Are you concerned about how folks are just not being nice to each other lately? When talking about a particular issue, have you goaded others to anger or reacted with self-righteous indignation? On the other hand, has anyone ever tried to kill you with kindness – being nice to you even though you are acting like an enemy?

In my imagination, readers of this column never tire of asking me where I get the material for my weekly meanderings. “Where do you get this stuff, Bill?” I pretend they ask, adoringly.

Democrats in Texas, and elsewhere, have been ramping up for years for election year 2020.

Maybe we do not realize just how well off or blessed we are until we lose it. It could be health, marriage, raising children, finances, jobs, housing, food, safe neighborhoods and these are just a few from a long list.

Les saludo con gusto Pueblo, y como siempre pasemos al comentario de hoy. Muchas personas se afanan por buscar: Felicidad, amor, paz, y seguridad, y una gran mayoría permanecen con luto en su alma.

To be further clothed in Christ, is not supposed to be a heavy burden. Jesus helps us always to pick up our crosses, to deny ourselves, and to follow Him. Some people, especially those involved in cultish practices, go to the most extreme measures to prove themselves to God.

Richard Wurmbrand wrote in 1967 “America is the last dam holding back rampaging floodwaters of militant communism. If it crumples, there is no other dam, no other line of defense to fall back upon. America is the last hope for millions of enslaved people.”

Brian Argabright is the sports editor at the Del Rio News-Herald, where he has worked for the last 22 years.

I am sure that many of you have embarked on your New Years’ resolution to lose weight. This is not an easy task. Changing our eating habits plays havoc on us, physically, mentally and spiritually. In other words, it’s a great battle. Even the thought of giving up our favorite delicacies can be painful! Some of you may have chosen to eliminate refined sugar, caffeine, nicotine and the list goes on… As you may have already experienced, every fiber in your body and mind screams for whatever you have restricted it from. Due to past efforts, you maybe doubting your ability to succeed with your weight loss goal.

I look forward to the annual Audubon Society Christmas Bird Count in Del Rio every year.

Like the preacher said, praise the Lord, and pass the ammunition. I’m not one to complain about too many guns in people’s hands, and if people could carry cannons, they would. And that would be their right.

I received an email earlier today from Newspapers & Technology Magazine. The magazine sends out the emails occasionally to update those of us who work in newspapers about what is going on in our industry.

Did you know you can actually see a copy of the 2020 census form online right now? Just go to https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census/technical-documentation/questionnaires/2020.html to see the form for yourself.

DREAMS ARE FUNNY - Researchers tell us dreams are often sexually arousing for men and women equally, even when they have no overt sexual content. Cumulatively, we dream an hour or hour-and-a-half each night, with the longest dreams of 45 minutes or more coming in the early morning. Negative emotions, such as anxiety or fear, are more common in dreams than pleasant ones, possibly because we use dreams to work out stressful situations in waking life. The Raramuri people of northern Mexico believe that dreams are the result of one’s soul “waking” or “sobering,” and seeing the world more clearly than usual. Raramuri families often wake up and discuss their dreams during the night.

There’s an old adage that says the most dangerous phrase in business is, “That’s how we’ve always done it.”

State Sen. Kirk Watson sent out a fundraising email Friday, Dec. 27, asking for campaign funds – but not for himself.

It seems that this year more than the previous one, the Christmas cards had a verse on them that should make us all pause. It is from Psalm 46:10, and says “Be still, and know that I am God.”

Peace, love, and joy! Isn’t it strange we can search the world over, we can have so much, and yet we can still be empty without true lasting peace, love and joy!

Feliz y próspero año nuevo, lleno de ricas bendiciones del Dios de gloria, y que la dicha y la paz de Dios no falten, y que su amor y su buena voluntad te cubran todo el 2020, estas son mis oraciones para ti, y toda tu familia.

I remember the time I was on a special trip to deliver clothes and food to needy people in a foreign county. Their needs were great, large amounts of poverty, few jobs, little housing and bad water.

Michael G. and I look forward every year to the two days of the Audubon Society Christmas Bird Counts in Val Verde County: on the first day, the Comstock Count, and on the second, the Del Rio Count.

A recent News-Herald article has the city manager laying it on thick, addressing the Del Rio Chamber of Commerce telling them of his love for buzzard.

So, here we are coming to the beginning of a new year – 2020 – the year with perfect vision. Let’s try using our hindsight and look forward to remembering the past, shall we?

If health care wasn’t already a top issue in the 2020 elections, a Dec. 18 federal appellate court ruling over whether the Affordable Care Act is unconstitutional has teed it up again.

Christmas has come and gone, and perhaps so has a bit of the Christmas spirit.

Embrace God with a kiss! No we cannot physically kiss God at this time. However, God shows us that it is our true worship that is our embracing of the Lord. Jesus said, that the Father is seeking the true worshippers, who would worship Him in spirit and in truth.