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Columns

Gardens offer feast of lights on holiday season

Returning this holiday season to Windrush Gardens at Burden Museum & Gardens in Baton Rouge, Louisiana Lights will captivate visitors of all ages and take them on a journey through illuminated garden rooms, past a sparkling lake and a shimmering tunnel of light on the grounds of the former Burden family home.

Our children need our attention

There is an epidemic created by our electronics that has caught my attention more and more lately. I see families in my clinic, on ball fields, at church events, and in the aisles of the grocery store all caught by it.

Gratitude can become a gift in lives of others

My brother started on the first day of November writing on Facebook something he is thankful for. He has done it every day since. I could do that. It would be easy. I don’t think I would ever run out of things I am thankful for, especially with the size of my family, work families (I have more than one), and my church family – if I started naming names.

Being in the presence of women

In the last week, I’ve been with women crying over a parent’s illness, women worrying about her children, women dancing, women grieving, women holding babies, playing mahjong and women holding each other’s hands. All looking to each other for kinship and help and comfort and understanding, and I cannot miss this one, fun.

The curse of loving sweets

Hello, my name is Debra, and I am a sugarholic. I know I am because I googled it and the internet said I am. Here are the symptoms, and to be a sugarholic, you only need to be able to identify with one. Food Addicts in Recovery Anonymous (FA) addresses the symptoms of sugar addiction: craving sweets, inability to cope with feelings of hunger, frequent mood swings, forgoing healthy choices to eat sweet foods, and feeling like you can't live without sugar. Guess what? I have all of these symptoms.

Patience can get us through the small stuff

You ever have one of those moments where something small just sends you spinning? That was me last week — standing out in front of my little shop, staring at my ferns, and realizing my big red-and-white holiday peppermints were gone.

LETTER TO THE EDITORS

DEAR EDITORS: We’re writing to update you on Delta Interfaith’s work to bring fast, reliable fiber internet to every home in East Carroll Parish. Over the past five years, Delta Interfaith has led the effort to connect our parish.

The Earth is our boat

One of my favorite Christian writers once said that the Earth is not our home, but it is our boat. I have always loved that image. It reminds us that while we live, work, and love here on Earth, we are on a journey toward our true home— Heaven. The good things of this world—our families, friendships, and even the beauty of nature—are not ends in themselves but gifts that help carry us closer to God. In that sense, life truly becomes our boat: the vessel that leads us home rejoicing.