By Brenda Cannon Henley
Many of our well intentioned New Year’s resolutions go by way of triple Grammy winner, K T Oslin’s popular lyrics. We honestly intend to put these high powered goals into effect, and really stick to them, but we’ll begin in earnest, come next Monday. I liked Oslin the first time I ever heard her sing 80’s Ladies. She was different. She didn’t really fit

By Brenda Cannon Henley
Canton, located in the heart of Cherokee County, Georgia, is just about 40 miles from the big city of Atlanta and about 90 miles from Chattanooga in neighboring Tennessee. According to statistics found in the 2010 census, more than 30,000 people call Canton home. Its location, at the southern end of the Blue Ridge Mountains, is a beacon

By Brenda Cannon Henley
Christmas 2020 will always be remembered by me as a Christmas of will. I found at a time that I usually found delightful, energizing, and fun from beginning to end, had become a heavy, chore laden endeavor, and one for which I had little excitement. Being so non enthused about the holidays from my birthday (December 23rd) to

By Brenda Cannon Henley
Recently I wrote about rescuing my little metal tub from surely going to the garbage dump at the hands of “She Who Must Be Obeyed.” My daughter was dead set on the goal of reducing clutter and extra things in our home before moving to our new location. I admit the tub is not in pristine condition and has a few Knicks and dents from

By Brenda Cannon Henley
In preparing to move into my new home about a year ago, I chanced to find a small, old galvanized tub stored high on a shelf in my outdoor utility room. Under my daughter’s (She Who Must Be Obeyed) watchful eye, I was getting a yes or a no on each object. Her question, “Why in the world would you want to keep that old tub? It is old and has a couple

By Brenda Cannon Henley
People watching is always fun to me. I can do it for hours and don’t usually mind waiting in hospitals, doctor’s offices, or airports. My entertainment comes from simply watching those around me, wondering to myself, and imagining what their lives are like, where they might be going, or what they are really feeling. I ask questions like,

“Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, worn, or consumed. Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace, and gratitude in our heart and life.” – Author unknown.

By Brenda Cannon Henley
I happened to read this quote from many years ago today as I was thinking about thanksgiving and what it

By Brenda Cannon Henley
Some of you may have heard or read that I have undergone two eye surgeries in the past two weeks and have undertaken the recovery process. I have decided that this entire medical and surgical adventure is a direct result of my celebrating my 78th birthday at Christmas. I have honestly found that human things break, things that once worked way above

By Brenda Cannon Henley
“…The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance.” (Galatians 5:22,23)
Many of us could quote from memory the list of the fruits of the Spirit that every Christian should desire to have in their lives. These fruits are listed in the Book

By Brenda Cannon Henley
On September 22, in 1871, an elderly British lady, 82 years young, was ushered into her heavenly reward. Earlier in her life, in 1835, her frustration at being an invalid left her feeling useless and questioning her very salvation. What she did next would echo through history. As a young woman, Charlotte Elliot was not sure of her relationship

By Brenda Cannon Henley
A funny thing happened to me about ten days ago and I have been considering the incident since. I was being driven to an appointment by a friend and the sky darkened quickly and fairly heavy clouds began to fill the sky. The wind kicked up suddenly and drops starting falling. The driver turned on the windshield wipers and they began making a steady rhythm

By Brenda Cannon Henley
Encouragement is defined as an expression of support or approval, or is words or actions that assist or inspire someone or something. Discouragement is to deprive of courage, hope, or confidence by word or deed. It can also mean to dishearten; dispirit, to dissuade (usually followed by from) or to obstruct by opposition or

By Brenda Cannon Henley
“For you see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty. And base things of the world, and things which are

By Brenda Cannon Henley
I am leaving the state of Mississippi in the morning after visiting, as best I could, with two precious women that I love very much. Both are widows now, but were very active and giving citizens through their long professional lives. Both held jobs of importance, worked hard while rearing a family, suffered loss, and learned to deal with

By Brenda Cannon Henley
“Great peace have them that love thy law, and nothing shall offend them.” This verse was one of Mrs. John R. Rice’s favorites, and she used it often in her Bible teaching.
Many people today have little to no peace and their lives are filled with turmoil. A key word found in the verse is “nothing.” Twice today, I have found two “nothings” I had to

By Brenda Cannon Henley
No doubt about it, we are living in turbulent times. There is unrest on many fronts – In our families, in our homes, in our communities, and in our nation. If we do not remain focused and alert, the worst unrest of all is in our own heart and mind. How can we keep calm and create within ourselves a peaceful environment in which to function? How do we

By Brenda Cannon Henley
When my son, Senior Pastor Brent Stancil, of Community Bible Baptist Church, announced his morning text from the big flat bed of a huge truck a few months ago, I was surprised. The big truck was faced by 51 beautiful Easter lilies and the sound system was perfection. I had been thinking about the troubles of Job and how he reacted

By Brenda Cannon Henley
I remember my Mama Cole telling me many years ago, “One thing is certain. There will always be change.” She went on to add in one of those conversations that some changes will make us very happy. They will bring joy into our lives. Others changes, such as the death of love ones, extreme sickness, homes destroyed, and hurtful misunderstandings

By Brenda Cannon Henley
Many things cause us to wonder how we got where we are at times in our lives. We look at our job or profession and say, “Is this what I am going to be doing the rest of my life?” We sometimes consider a relationship that we feel “just sort of happened,” and ask ourselves, “Is this what I really want?” “Am I truly committed to this person for better or

By Brenda Cannon Henley
Recently I wrote about the life lessons I have learned from my exceptionally bright and creative five year old granddaughter. I have come to the conclusion that each of us adults should plan to spend some time with a four or five year old to help us better understand the issues of life these days. Maya Grace Stancil doesn’t worry about much. She loves her

By Brenda Cannon Henley
“Sometimes we only see the results of change and do not remember the brave path it took to get there.”
There have been three things that have converged in my mind over the past few days that brought me to this column. I write in my thoughts much of the time and several times every few days, I type those thoughts out for

By Brenda Cannon Henley
Flexible – “The ability to bend without breaking.”
Things I have learned from my extremely intelligent five year old granddaughter now include a very valuable lesson on flexibility. This lesson came on a super busy weekend recently when I had nine guests in my home for the better part of a week. I loved every single one of them and

By Brenda Cannon Henley
In doing research on material for another lesson I am to teach, I found an interesting batch of material and statistics on stress and what it does to the human body. In this day and age in which we live, stress related illnesses are all too common. More than 40 per cent of the American population admit to hosting stress in their life and women

By Brenda Cannon Henley
The following little story teaches so many things. If it causes one single reader to think of leaving the way better than he found it, I will have done my job.

Once upon a time, a king had a great highway built for the people who lived in his kingdom. After it was completed, but before it was opened to the public, the king decided

By Brenda Cannon Henley
“People continually amaze me by their own choices and inability to see beyond their own nose.

“Don’t walk open eyed into a terrible mistake. If God is giving you direction and encouragement, be willing to accept it. Otherwise, you’ll be picking up the keys to Heartbreak Hotel over and over again.”

By Brenda Cannon Henley
In our walk with God, He leads us and guides us. God shows us where to go and how to go, but He does not make us go. We choose to follow Him and we choose how to follow Him. As we walk on the path that the Lord sets out for us, the devil is constantly trying to get us to step off the path. He offers distractions and

By Brenda Cannon Henley
This world has so much going on in these days that folks are feeling confused, embattled, and fearful. Many are asking the question, “What am I do?” “Which way am I to go?” “What might happen to me, or to my family?” The most honest answer is that no one knows for certain exactly what will unfold for any of us. A Christian in the right

By Brenda Cannon Henley
I am not a prophet nor a daughter of a prophet, but one of my ladies that I teach in our group, The Broken Pots, every Thursday asked me a question this morning, and the attached is my answer. Thought it might encourage you, and others that I love. And, I am well aware that people of many different faiths read and discuss our