The Chatter Box
By Deborah Bennett

We're back, maybe not "bright-eyed and bushy tailed", but we are present and accounted for after having a week off for vacation.

I cannot believe it is July already. School just dismissed for the summer, and now we're looking at it starting again in just a few weeks! Where does time go?

I am reminded of the "time in a bottle" song that was such a big hit. There are days when I do wish I could put time in a bottle to save and enjoy it over and over again. Then, there are days like today - MONDAY - when I wish I could uncork the bottle and just let the time slip away - fast.

Fortunately, I can do neither. Time is not mine to control, but to use. I hope that one day I can look back and determine that I have done so wisely.

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I received the following from an e-mail buddy. It is a prayer by the Rev. Billy Graham that Paul Harvey aired on his "Rest of the Story" radio broadcast. I think it is powerful and worthy of sharing.

"Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask your forgiveness and to seek your direction and guidance. We know Your Word says, 'Woe to those who call evil good,' but that is exactly what we have done. We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed our values. We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery. We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare. We have killed our unborn and called it choice. We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable. We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self esteem. We have abused power and called it politics. We have coveted our neighbor's possessions and called it ambition. We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression. We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment. Search us, oh God, and know our hearts today; cleanse us from every sin and set us free. Amen!"

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The poll question on our website last week was "Would you support consolidation of city and county governments?" The responses were: 11 - yes; 4 - no; and 1 undecided.

Check it out at http://www.themillennews.com for this week's poll.

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Happy birthday this week to: Barbara Davis, Emily Williams, Bradley Black, Harriett D. Cato, Alvin Burke, Bill Jones Jr., Sarah Griffin and Neida Mae Hopkins.

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Celebrating wedding anniversaries this week are: Mr. and Mrs. George Dudley, Mr. and Mrs. Wayne Bennett, Mr. and Mrs. Rodney Collins and Mr. and Mrs. Andy Dudley.

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Military Active Duty List: Lance Cpl. Patrick Barnette, U.S. Marines, Twenty Nine Palms, CA; Sgt. Adam Demshar, 44th Signal Battalion, Baghdad, Iraq; Lance Cpl. Lee Ogden, U.S. Marines, Radio and Communications, Bahria, Iraq; Petty Officer 3rd Class Eric B. Kelsey, U.S. Navy, NSA Bahrain; Airman First Class Charles F. Woods, Moody Air Force Base, Valdosta, GA; Capt. Andrew P. Thomas, U.S. Marines, F.A.S.T. Company, Yorktown, VA; Stuart Burrus, U.S. Air Force, Bossier AFB, Bossier, LA; SPC 4 Travis D. Motes, 1st Calvary Division, T. Hood, Texas; Capt. Donald Slade Burke, Travis Air Force Base, Fairfield, Calif.; Staff Sgt. Gilbert C. Sheppard III, 48th Brigade, 118th Field Artillery, Iraq; Petty Officer 3rd Class Jamie A. Yager, U.S. Navy, Marine Corps Base Hawaii; Petty Chief Officer Andy D. Crosby, U.S. Navy, Elroy Destroyer, Norfolk, Va.; Stephanie Crosby, R.N., U.S. Navy, Lafayette Destroyer; Jimmy Cooper, U.S. Army National Guard, 878th Engineering Battalion Augusta, Persian Gulf ; 1st Lt. J.R. Taylor, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, Iraq; SPC. Daniel Stuart, 18th MEDCOM, 121 General Hospital, Seoul, Korea; Jeffrey Sweat, U.S. Navy, USS Kauffman, MM3 59/E-Division, A-Gang, Norfolk, Va.; Cpl. Larry Lamont Clark, U.S. Marine Corp, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C. Bagdad, Iraq; Khan Young, U.S. Navy, U.S.S. Kitty Hawk, Persian Gulf; Robert Milton Jr., E-3, U.S. Army, Ft. Stewart, Hinesville, Ga., Mission Kuwait; Arnold R. Mosley, 2nd Lt., U.S. Air Force, Randolph AFB, Texas; and Debra A. Mosley, Tech. Sgt., U.S. Air Force, Randolph AFB, Texas.