Written by
Dee Loflin, SMT Manager/Editor

Bernie, Missouri – The Bernie Church of Christ would like to invite you to meet James Franklin on Sunday, April 6^th.  James was the University of Missouri starting quarterback from 2011 to 2013.  He is a talented you man, but more importantly he is dedicated to God. 

In a 2012 interview with The Christian Chronicle, James talked about the faith of his parents, Willie and Pam Franklin.  “I have been blessed with two strong and great Christian parents who instilled Christian values in me as I was growing up under their roof.  Because of this, I am able to remain strong with my beliefs by reading any Bible frequently and being around Christians.  Those are the things that help me keep and maintain my spiritual beliefs.  No matter what stage I am on, I always put God first,” stated Franklin.

James grew up in Corinth, Texas.  He is the son of well-known minister and former NFL-er Willie Franklin, who played for the Baltimore Colts.  His father is black, his mother white.  He celebrates that fact and the fact he is not just an athlete, but also a Christian athlete.  He makes Christianity the cornerstone of his life.

He chose to attend the University of Missouri – Columbia and play for the fighting Mizzou Tigers.  In his freshman year he was a back-up quarterback to Blain Gabbert.  He ran for 116 yards on 23 carries with two touchdowns.  When Gabbert entered the NFL Draft he became the starting quarterback. 

As a sophomore, he started all 13 games for Mizzou, leading them to an 8 – 5 record.  He completed 63.3% of his passes for 2,865 yards, and 21 touchdowns.  Franklin also rushed 217 times for just under 1,000 yards and 15 touchdowns.  Once of his best games game against the Texas Longhorns when he led Missouri to their first win since 1997 over Texas.

Franklin was named MVP of the Independence Bowl after leading Missouri to a 41-24 victory over the Tar Heels of North Carolina.  In 2012, James had to have surgery on his throwing shoulder; however he was able to appear in nine games that season.  As a senior in 2013, he appeared in 10 games, missing four due to injury.  He finished the season with 2,429 passing yards, 19 touchdowns and in his final college game, he helped lead the Mizzou Tigers to a victory in the 2014 Cotton Bowl over the Oklahoma State Cowboys in his home state of Texas.

Please join the Bernie Church of Christ on Sunday for The Youth Emphasis evening worship.  It will begin at 5:00 p.m. with a light meal being served following the evening service.

If you would like more information call 573-293-5620.

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Dexter, Missouri – Looking for an exciting night of fun and trivia?  The Knights of Columbus are hosting a Trivia Night on Friday, February 21, 2014 at the Sacred Heart Parish Hall.  Trivia begins at 7:00 p.m., but the doors open at 6:30 p.m.

The cost is only $10 per person with a maximum of 8 participants per team.  The price includes soda, lemonade, tea, coffee and light snacks, but feel free to bring any other snacks or drinks for your table.

Cash prizes will be awarded to the top three teams!  Attendance prizes will also be given out.  50/50 drawings will be held throughout the night and an exciting St. Louis Getaway raffle worth over $400 will be available. 

Tickets for the St. Louis Getaway are just $10 each.  This wonderful mini-vacation includes a room at the Drury Inns and Suites, $100 gift certificate at Lombardo’s Restaurant and 2 box seat tickets to see the St. Louis Cardinals!!

If you would like to reserve a table for the Knights of Columbus Trivia Night please call the parish at 624-7333.  Proceeds will go to help those in need in our local area.

Submitted by

Dee Loflin, SMT Manager/Editor

Dexter, Missouri – While push-up bras, sexy dolls, and hip hop dance lessons seem to be the normal currency for ten-year-old girls, best-selling author Dannah Gresh continues to sound an alarm for moms to avoid such sexualization. Gresh’s fun, age-appropriate Secret Keeper Girl mom/daughter connecting resources moved to the stage several years ago with over 150,000 around the country attending.  An all-new event, the Secret Keeper Girl Crazy Hair Tour, refuels moms with conviction to train their daughters to embrace modesty, purity & true beauty.  

The tour will appear in approximately 80 cities during its debut year, with forty-eight stops completed in the Fall 2013 season. Over 50,000 attended last year’s Secret Keeper Girl Tour. Cities we’ll be visiting in 2014 include Richmond (VA), Chattanooga (TN), San Antonio (TX) and Syracuse (NY).  A complete list of tour dates can be found online at www.secretkeepergirl.com.

Dannah Gresh has sold nearly a million and a half copies of her books – including Six Ways To Keep The Little In Your Girl and Six Ways To Keep The Good In Your Boy. As the new Secret Keeper Girl Crazy Hair tour debuts, she has released three new titles. In the popular Secret Keeper Girl 8 Great Dates series, Dannah is re-releasing Talking To Your Daughter About Best Friend’s and Mean

Girls which gives moms eight creative bonding dates on friendship to do with her girl, and A Girl’s Guide To Best Friend’s & Mean Girls which she co-wrote with beloved Secret Keeper Girl lead teacher Suzy Weibel.  Gresh and Weibel also joined forces to write a One Year Devos for Teen Girls.

The First Baptist Church of Dexter will host this event on February 13th.  If you would like more information click HERE.

Written by

Beth Farrah, SMT Writer

Dexter, Missouri – Churches from all over the Stoddard County Area are putting on an event at Dexter High School that you won’t want to miss! The new event is called Resolution 2014 and it will be held on New Year’s Eve in the Dexter High School Auditorium.

The coordinators of this event want a completely free place where students and kids of all ages (though the event is designed mostly for middle schoolers and high schoolers) have a safe environment to spend New Years in. There will be games, door prizes, a devotion, and Christian bands playing throughout the night including a local band led by Preston Owens, Burnin’ Bush, and DPB & Crew.

To create such a big event, there will need to be a lot of participants but also a lot of helpers. The coordinators wish to have the concession stand up and running throughout the night since it is such a long event, but they will need quite a few helping hands to make that happen. Since the event is completely free of charge, the hosts are beginning to look for sponsors to help them stay within their budgets. They are hoping to get t-shirts for the event from BA Promotions and list the sponsors on the back so that they are recognized. Any businesses or individuals that would like to donate or volunteer as chaperones or helpers would be greatly appreciated!

Resolution 2014 is open to the public, but there are currently a lot of youth groups participating from all over Stoddard County including: Dudley Church of God, Lighthouse, Risen, Liberty Hill, First Baptist Church, First Methodist Church in Dexter, and possibly St. Joe. Any other youth groups or individuals that would like to participate are welcome to do so. Be sure to spread the word!

The event is once again for all ages but will mainly be directed to junior high and high school students. It will be held in the Dexter High School Auditorium, which will seat four hundred and forty eight students but the facility can actually hold up to five hundred kids for this event. There will be games to play, prizes to win, and food to eat.

For safety reasons, there will be chaperones and security on the campus. The sound system, bands, and facility are already scheduled so it will be a fantastic event!

You can contact Pastor Josh Hester at (573)241-0959 or by email at pastorjoshhester@gmail.com if you have any questions.

Written by

Beth Farrah, SMT Writer

Dexter, Missouri - Every year, the FBC Dexter Women’s Ministry sponsors a dinner to promote the true meaning of Christmas called “Advent By Candlelight”. The group recently held this dinner which required great preparation. This year, the group had a total of forty hostesses to help decorate the Christmas-themed dinner. The hostesses invited friends to fill their dinner tables, which resulted in nearly two hundred and eighty ladies in attendance. The church provided the meat and the bread, which Dennis Rowland cooked for them, and the ladies brought side dishes for their meal. Several of the men volunteered to serve the women on the night of the dinner.

In honor of the Advent By Candlelight and the true meaning of Christmas, the ladies in attendance were treated to a wonderful and meaningful play written and directed by John Stevens. The play was written about a family who was consumed by the commercialism and worldly issues, like many people are today during the holiday season, but this family had a grandfather who reminded them about the true meaning of Christmas: the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ.

After the great play, Lois Debold came forward and shared her testimony and Lisa Britton contributed by sharing special music for the night. The ladies in attendance enjoyed the inspiring drama, lovely music, the great company of friends, and the reminder about what Christmas and the holiday season is all about. “The delightful evening is a great beginning of this blessed season!” Cheryl Easterwood, the Women’s Ministry Director at FBC in Dexter, stated.