By Jennifer Webb “‘Then David said to Goliath, you come at me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord God almighty...’ - this is the mentality that we have to have as we go out there and attack our opponent today. Together, with your brothers, with passion, with great love for one another.” — Coach Paul Simmons, Head Coach, Harding Bison Football “Yes, SIR!” the team enthusiastically chorused back. Honor God. Brotherhood. Warrior Mentality. Loyalty. Finish. Each young man felt it in his heart. Their goal was not to win, but to go out and fight for their brothers, on their field, in front of their people. Each had the heart of a fierce warrior and the gentle soul of a child of God. They were tough and driven but also tender in their love for God and in the love that comes with the brotherhood that defines the Harding University Bisons. “The biggest thing for us is that we’re going to continue to honor God. That’s been our goal every season and it will be our goal this upcoming season.” – Jhalen Spicer, Runningback Harding Bison Football Player This attitude begins on the first day of fall camp when they define their goals. Most football programs talk about winning games. They talk about winning in life. They spend the entire first day simply addressing the question, “ How can we do everything in our power to have the very best culture in all of college football?” What does that mean? How do we measure it? The answer starts and ends with trying to honor God in all things. “As Coaches, how do we Honor God with the way that we treat our young men and speak life into them?” – Coach Paul Simmons, Head Coach, Harding Bison Football What do they believe Honors God? Toughness, accountability, work ethic, loyalty, humility, passion, love for one another – the message is that all of these things Honor God and they have control over how they do all of these things. This makes for a culture of young men who can be counted on to consistently come through and the mentality is that coming through for their brothers today will help prepare them to come through as Christian husbands and fathers in the days to come. It looks like being loyal. In a sport where loyalty tends to be fickle - players “move up” or switch schools for a better position or scholarship, coaches take promotions and bigger paychecks, the players and coaches at Harding are committed to staying for the long haul. After winning a national championship and having an undefeated 15-0 season, the Bisons did not lose a single player or coach. Passion also honors God, especially when it’s done with a humble spirit. Humility and college athletics do not often go together, but doing things with a grateful spirit honors God. Humility and gratitude are very powerful themes within this special brotherhood. When players walk in the locker room, they do so not thinking about their own goals or stats. They walk in thinking about what they can do today to make the guys around them better. Their idea of leadership is that “Leaders eat last.” Leaders should lead by serving others and by putting the needs of others before themselves. The term “washing feet” is a very familiar term surrounding Harding football. “The beautiful part of that is when you do all those things well - when you lead, serve, wash feet, emphasize humbleness and you let love dictate the way you carry yourself, the scoreboard tends to takes care of itself. The wins come as a great by product of that special culture.” – Paul Simmons, Head Coach, Harding Bison Football In order to love your brother, you have to know who he is. You need to spend time with him, talk with him, get to know him, find out what he deals with, and what makes him the person he is. “Harding football has blessed my life tremendously, just in the way of being around guys who push me to be better more than anything. The best friends in my life that I’ve made have come from Harding football. It’s special to be able to do something with this culture.” – Will Fitzhugh, Fullback, Harding Football Player Coach Simmons very intentionally encourages his players to get to know one another. Going over to Coach and Kimberly Simmons’s house is a common occurrence. Kimberly prepares a meal, and the guys gather around the table eating and visiting with one another. They lounge in their living room, and lift their voices in song for player-led devotionals. This snapshot of the culture of Bison football culture is consistent with all of the football coaches that serve on this staff. The coaches are very aware that many of the young men under their leadership have never really seen what a Christ-focused home really looks like. The responsibility to model that well is taken extremely seriously by the entire staff and the role of the coaches’ wives as they love on these young men is crucial to the mission of Harding football. When you attend practice, the coaches’ wives and kids are often there. Harding Bison football is a whole family affair. They take an annual lake trip where they all go to Heber and jump off the cliffs into the lake. The guys overcome their fears of jumping in from high rocks, and they get the opportunity to support and encourage one another. They also just hang out - playing volleyball, and being silly. The whole team goes camping together and on float trips, making memories that last a lifetime. “If we fail when modeling authentic Christian manhood, then the rest of it was a waste of time. If our players win a national championship, and they graduate with a 4.0 GPA but as coaches, we failed to model how a Christian man is supposed to treat his wife and raise his children, then we have greatly failed indeed.” – Coach Paul Simmons, Head Coach, Harding Bison Football The guys come from diverse backgrounds. Some come from single-parent homes, some come from intact homes, some come from homes that are broken in many ways. They come from different states and in some cases, different countries. But what matters in this brotherhood is what’s inside. They are all brothers in Christ no matter the color of their skin or their backgrounds. They find a place where they belong with strong male Christian role models who care about them and are not afraid to tell them that they love them. “The greatest motivator in the world is not anger, fear, or hate, it is love. We want to be love-driven. I want my players to hear that I love them a ridiculous amount of times.” – Coach Paul Simmons, Head Coach, Harding Bison Football For Coach Simmons, the ultimate success is not a championship title, perfect score, or any game-related stat. Ultimate success is a knock on the door ten years later and finding a former player at his door with his wife and kids, wanting to let him know that his coaching had a lasting impact on their lives – wanting to tell him that they are a better husband, father and Christian servant because of the time that they spent with Harding football. If the coaching staff can have this lifelong impact and because of Harding football many more people can come to know the Lord, that’s the real win! For the Harding Bisons that’s their real secret to success - it starts and ends with honoring God and with loving others. “One of the best things about this place is that it goes outside of football. Every couple of weeks we go over to the coach’s house to eat. We share a meal and play with his kid, watch a game on TV, and just hang out together. It’s so cool to be together outside of football and the relationships grow. Every Wednesday night we have football church together. We meet in Coach Simmons’ house a lot of times. His wife fixes snacks and we open up the Bible and get into it and each other’s lives. Those things more than anything have been special.” – Will Fitzhugh, Fullback, Harding Bison Football Player “We care about winning and losing, but what we care about more than anything is having the best culture we can possibly have. When you’re part of a group that does things the right way, winning comes with that. Our focus is on being the best teammates and leaders that we can possibly be. What’s so special about Harding is that we just want to play together, work together, and encourage one another. We love seeing each other succeed. One of the biggest things about what makes our culture so special is that selflessness comes with it.” – Will Fitzhugh, Fullback, Harding Bison Football Player “A lot of cultures have the brotherhood as part of their mantra, but with Harding it’s real; it’s not something to sell to recruits. When you’re a part of this team you’re a part of a family. That comes with everything that being a part of a family entails. We rejoice together and celebrate our successes together but we also fail together. We are one with each other. That’s what a brotherhood really is. It shows throughout the season because when we are facing the best defense in the nation and the offense is having a hard time moving the ball, a family is going to pull together. They are going to hunker down and do the things it takes to pull out a win. It’s a blessing to be a part of a culture where entitlement is the last thing you see. Each player has a deeper role from the best player on the team to the guy that only walks on during practice.” – Jhalen Spicer, Runningback, Harding Bison Football Player “These guys are pushing me to be better in every aspect of life. I know these guys I came in here with are going to be my friends for the rest of my life. If I need something or if they need something from me, it doesn’t matter what time period of our lives it is, we’re going to be there for one another. I know that my teammates have my back and they know that I have their back. That’s more than just the football field. The football field is just a small time period of our lives. We know that we’re going to be there for each other throughout our lives.” – Will Fitzhugh, Fullback, Harding Bison Football Player “The coaches have us over all the time. Their wives are always cooking for us and making us desserts. On some of the games the moms get together and bake all types of cookies. The coaches are just as invested in the brotherhood as the players.” – Jhalen Spicer, Runningback, Harding Bison Football Player “We’ll remember games and moments of games, but the times that will stick with us and impact us the most are when we are together in the coaches’ homes or in the dorms. Those are the things that have impacted me most and really helped shape me into the man that I am today.” – Will Fitzhugh, Fullback, Harding Bison Football Player Read the full issue below.

By Jennifer Webb “Her passion for serving people and cooking fabulous food makes Daisy’s Lunchbox an unforgettable dining experience.” Daisy had known all along, Suzanne realized, with a sinking feeling in her stomach and an ache in her heart, like she had never felt before. She looked at her two-year-old son, Alex, lying in the hospital bed. His leg was in a cast because he had broken it a few weeks before. Now, back in the hospital, the doctor told her that he had brain cancer, he was legally blind, and he probably only had six months to live. Legally blind? She and her husband, Mark, had no idea. They thought he was a bit accident-prone, but part of that came from being a two-year-old boy. Brain cancer? Six months to live? It was a lot for a mom to take in, but she knew that God would see them through. Thinking back to how, Daisy, her mother’s collie dog behaved, it all made sense now. Daisy was very protective of young Alex. If someone new came, Daisy would get between the new person and Alex. She even dragged him back by his diaper once when he almost wandered off the large porch. Suzanne and Mark both had well-paying jobs, but Suzanne promptly quit when Alex got sick. She dedicated herself to taking him to the doctor and caring for him. She and Mark both prayed fervently for healing of their small son. He went into remission but faced his first brain surgery at the age of four. “We can operate,” the surgeon told her, “but there’s a 50/50 chance that he might end up like a vegetable.” Their plan was to cut open a hole in his skull and cut out all the cancerous tumors that they could. To seal it up, they would use a titanium plate and screws. Suzanne and Mark took a step of faith and agreed to the surgery. It would give their son a fighting chance. They prayed over the surgeon before he took Alex back to begin the eight-hour surgery. It was a fight, but after the surgery and rounds of chemo, Alex was pronounced in remission. They warned them that it could come back at any time. Alex grew and attended preschool at the School for the Blind in Little Rock. Then the cancer came back with a vengeance when he was six. It played out much the same as before. They prayed over the surgeon, he removed the metal plate in Alex’s skull and cut out all the cancer they could. Doctors told them that Alex would likely be in ICU for a week, but by the third day, he was in the playroom at Children’s Hospital. Suzanne and Mark discussed options after Alex was declared in remission again at the age of seven. They decided to move to Searcy and enter him into Westside Elementary for first grade. Suzanne was a basket case, but the teacher told her that he would be fine and called her every day with a report. Alex learned to be quite independent and thrived in public school. They had all sorts of goals for their little boy who they were originally told had only six months to live. First, it was to see him through elementary school. He passed with flying colors. But there was sadness along with celebration. When Alex was seven and declared in remission for the last time, faithful Daisy died. The whole family was there. “Someday,” Suzanne thought, “when I get my restaurant, I’m going to call it Daisy’s Lunchbox.” She didn’t know how she knew that she would eventually have a restaurant; it was just a dream that she and Mark shared. They didn’t know if it would be a cafe or bed and breakfast, but they both knew it was a dream that God laid on their hearts. Now she had a name. Suzanne continued to stay home, first with Alex and then with his younger brother, Ben. She always loved to cook. Sometimes she would bake cinnamon rolls or bread and sell it on the side. Cooking filled her with memories of her own childhood, sitting on the counter or standing on a stool helping her grandmother cook. She loved coming up with her own kitchen creations and sharing them with people. The boys grew, Alex graduated not only from high school but from Harding University. He developed a love of travel, cooking, and people, making friends easily wherever he went. Ben thrived as well. While at church one day in 2014, the pastor played a movie clip from the movie “Frozen” as part of his message, and she and Mark looked at each other and said, “It’s time.” She had helped a friend open and run a restaurant in Cabot and was confident that she had the knowledge and the skills to run a restaurant. Daisy’s Lunchbox first opened in a tiny corner of a warehouse by the Bee’s Knees. The inspector said it was the smallest commercial kitchen he had ever inspected. They poured their life savings into the restaurant, buying equipment and tools. They made it work for eleven months. But cramped quarters proved too much and after 11 months, Suzanne made the hard choice to shut down. It may have felt like God was pulling the plug on their dream of a restaurant, but he was opening a bigger door. They started looking for a building . . . and found one in downtown Searcy just two weeks later. They leased it for two years before making the leap to purchase it. She took all her equipment with her and began Daisy’s Lunchbox at its present location. Daisy’s Lunchbox features homemade food; many featured items are family favorites. The meatloaf is Mark’s recipe; the poppyseed chicken is like her grandmother used to make. The cornbread stuffing that everyone says tastes like their grandmother’s is Suzanne’s own recipe that she perfected herself. She makes all the bread and her famous cinnamon rolls from scratch. If you order a sandwich, it’s served on Suzannes’ homemade bread. If you order a cake with buttercream icing, there’s not a drop of Crisco in the icing. All these “from scratch with no shortcuts” recipes have earned her five “Best of the Best” awards. “The Lord keeps bringing new people in and continues to bless us.” - Suzanne Raiford, Owner, Daisy’s Lunchbox She and her 12 employees start every morning early with a huddle and a shared scripture. She tries to bring joy and encouragement to them, like our Lord does for us. She is quick to extort their talents. Among her employees, she has a cake decorator, a couple of bakers, and two trained chefs. Though she has tried to update the restaurant, her customers are adamant that they want to keep their favorites on the menu. They don’t want “fancy,” but they love the welcoming environment and delicious food. Some regulars come in daily or weekly, and Suzanne loves getting to know them and their families. Her passion for serving people and cooking fabulous food makes Daisy’s Lunchbox an unforgettable dining experience. Read the full issue below.

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Augusta In The House By Dana House In April of 2010, I had a dream. In this dream, a herd of baby animals were trying to come into my room. I told them I did not have time for them—I was too busy—and drove them out of the house. Each time I moved them outside, they would find a way to come back inside. Again, I would gently herd them outside and shut the door. The last time they came inside, a baby—similar to a raccoon—looked at me and said, “Who are you to think that you can say you are too busy to do something? If a need presents itself to you, maybe you are the one meant to meet the need.” I wrote the dream down as soon as I woke up. I knew it was a message to keep, even though I didn’t know what it meant just yet. At this time, I was working at a pipeline supply company—that I dearly loved. I loved the people I worked with and the job I was doing. It was the most peaceful, fun atmosphere I had ever experienced at a workplace. Did I mention that I loved my job? About four years prior, I had been a long-term substitute teacher in the Family & Consumer Sciences classroom at Bald Knob while their teacher was on maternity leave. She and I had graduated from the Harding University FCS Department together. She asked if I could teach her classes during the three months while she was gone. I had not taken a public school job in that field because it was not in “my plans,” but I did take her temporary offer. When I was 19, I started teaching True Love Waits classes that continued for 17 years and led to my master’s degree in Family Life Education. My desire was to continue leading community ministry programs, conferences, and school assemblies with my degree but not teach full-time in the public schools. In 2010 I began to feel that I should prepare to go into the school system; I had the dream with the herd of animals during this time, as well. Shortly after this notion, I began updating forms and courses to get ready. When I received a call that my friend was leaving her position in Bald Knob—without a doubt—I could see how all of the pieces had come together. I was supposed to be ready to take that job! I was a shoo-in; I had already worked in her room and built great relationships while there. Plus, she could encourage them to hire me to take her place. I filled out the application and marched into the intense interview with all of the confidence in the world; I knew it was meant to be! So when I got the call that they had chosen someone else, it knocked the wind out of me. Never in my life had I walked into something with this much confidence. I knew I had the job. It all lined up. I had no doubts. What just happened? Did I miss it? Did I not hear from God like I thought I did? How could I have been so wrong when everything fell into my lap with such precision? “I just didn’t see the entire picture yet. The pieces were still sliding together behind the scenes.” But I hadn’t missed a thing. I just didn’t see the entire picture yet. The pieces were still sliding together behind the scenes. Had I not interviewed for the Bald Knob position, I never would’ve known that Augusta was available. I came to find out, the FCS teacher that Bald Knob hired instead of me, left the position at the Augusta Public School District open—for me. My friend from Bald Knob called to let me know, “Augusta is open now. You should apply!” I did. A week after my devastating blow, I walked into an interview at Augusta; at least, it was called an interview. The principal had been hired two weeks previously. I sat down, and we began to chat. He was impressed that I had worked with Upward Bound; he had, too. The only question I can remember him asking, “We are failing FCS state exams. What would you do to change that?” I looked at him—as if it were a trick question—and replied with a questioning, unsure tone, “Teach the standards?” That seemed so blatantly obvious, right? He said, “That’s what we need.” He reached into his desk, pulled out a set of keys, and said, “Do you want to go see your room?” I thought, “Was that an interview? He didn’t even say that I got the job or ask if I really wanted it.” And just like that, he and I were walking down the high school hallway in a community that would become my home, for 15 years of our lives. As we walked the long hallway, he said, “Are you excited?” I’m really not one to hide my honest feelings, so I replied, “Not really. I love my job. I know how hard this job is going to be, but I believe I’m right where I’m supposed to be, so I’m here to do it!” I was right. I worked non-stop day and night to prepare a classroom that was ready for learning. Because I had six different subjects to teach each day, I created 30 lessons every weekend for the next week; there were no days off for rest or leisurely activities. Sleep was brief. But did we pass every FCS state exam at the end of that year and every year thereafter? Oh, yes we did! But better yet, we built relationships in that classroom with roots that went heart-deep. Students came to life as they talked, cried, created, matured, and laughed . . . a lot! Near the end of that year, we gained Fabien to our home and family. He was the senior the students dubbed as my Golden-Child; that still hasn’t changed. By the next year, my husband joined me in Augusta as the football coach and math teacher. It was incredible to have him with me all of the time. On a Friday night during a basketball game, Matt said, “I believe God wants us to buy a house here and open it up for ministry. We will know when we have found the right house because it will have a big room where we will have church.“ By Sunday, we had found the house with the big room. One of our students said his neighbor’s house was available, but it wasn’t on the market yet. When we walked into the house, there was a very large room that became known as the “Jesus Room.” It was the room where the students in Augusta came to meet Jesus. Not only did we find the perfect house, once people heard what we were doing, everyone began donating furniture and instruments that fully furnished our home and ministry! After our first semester of holding teen services in the house, we began having an influx of elementary students, too. After Christmas break, we opened the garage for a children’s church service. Matt held youth services inside the house with 50-60 teens, and I had 30 elementary students in the cold/hot garage. For Thanksgiving meals, we had a little over 100 each year, and somehow we all managed to fit inside the house together. On the first day of school in August of 2016, five young kids climbed onto Matt’s bus. After school that day, he told me that the five sweetest kids had moved to Augusta and rode his bus. He said, “I would bring them home with me today!” But of course, the time was not right at that moment. In December our son was born with undiagnosed heart defects that we found three weeks after birth. We lived in the hospital for six months while he had multiple heart and bowel surgeries. We made a decision that I would not return to the classroom full-time. While staying home with Bauer, I continued speaking in classes at Augusta and leading the community ministries. However, this decision cut our income in half. In 2020, through a series of events, the five teens were given an opportunity to choose to live with us. They had been in our home for ministry since their arrival four years prior and spent a lot of time in our home during different circumstances throughout those years. It was the easiest transition for them that could have existed. I was at speech therapy with Bauer when I called my husband to get a simple answer to a question. He answered his phone to let me know that he was with DHS and had taken permanent guardianship of all five teens. He said, “The lady with DHS asked if I should call my wife, but I let her know that you would be fine with it, too.” I, laughingly, say that some husbands bring flowers, chocolates, or puppies home to their wives for surprises. My husband brings home teenagers. We were in the middle of the COVID-shutdown and food and finances were scarce. Frankly, it felt like we were still recovering from our hospital lives and all of the changes, too. On my drive home that evening, I prayed, “God, we are going to need money and food,” There was no financial help or assistance available for people like us. We depended on friends, family, the Augusta School District, and Imagine and Believe to thrive. The next morning, we had bags of groceries from the Augusta school food pantry on our porch. Soon after, Farm to Table boxes came, and Christine called to say, “Someone told me about your situation. Please, come to Imagine & Believe and get whatever you need.” Through God’s grace and the generosity of the people around us, we never went without. “Through God’s grace and the generosity of the people around us, we never went without.” During COVID, by God’s design, Matt and I spent the time off from work remodeling an RV. Honestly, it felt selfish. Multiple times, I asked Matt if we should be doing something to help others during the pandemic instead of spending all of that time working on an RV; he insisted that we were doing what we were supposed to be doing, so we continued. During the quarantines of 2020, we spent a lot of time in our RV on the farm. If we hadn’t gotten it ready right before we got the teens, we would not have fit anywhere at the farm. We were ready, just in time. In that RV, I saw the girls start to laugh and talk more. It was a wonderful, unique bonding time for us. One night as we were falling asleep in the darkness, Julia—who had just turned 14 shortly before moving in with us—said, “All of our lives, it’s been chaos. And in one moment, everything became peaceful. It’s just like a movie!” While the challenges were there with COVID craziness and instantly having a house full of teens with a 3 year-old, the Lord met every need that we had, including peace. “One night as we were falling asleep in the darkness, Julia—who had just turned 14 shortly before moving in with us—said, ‘All of our lives, it’s been chaos. And in one moment, everything became peaceful. It’s just like a movie!’” Once the COVID shutdown ended, we were given the opportunity to hold FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes) services in the new multipurpose building on the Augusta campus, instead of having services in our home and garage. Our teens became an integral part of our ministry team. They began leading praise & worship dances with our elementary students and became puppeteers. For high school, they became the skit crew, speakers, and game creators, then took star roles in our Christmas plays. They have learned what it means to seek God first, serve others, speak with kindness, study their Bibles, and live like Jesus. For the three that remained after high school graduation, Shalom worked various jobs before taking a position with His Kids Daycare. Malachi went to Harding University for a year before joining the National Guard. Julia finished high school at CrossPointe Preparatory School before following in Matt’s footsteps to Oral Roberts University where she is a freshman. In 2004, I wrote a poem. I had been leading several ministries while attending college and working at Colton’s Steakhouse. Michael Redfield, one of the students from the White County Central School District that had visited my youth events, was tragically killed in an accident after school. Our small town was reeling from the loss. After a long day of college classes and a waitressing shift that night, I was driving home exhausted. My days were filled with college and evenings with ministry or waitressing. Now, I was trying to encourage grieving teens, too. The load was heavy on my heart. On that quiet drive home, I was talking to God. I said, “Why do I keep myself this busy or carry such a heavy emotional load? Why didn’t I just become a college kid like the others?” At that moment, I started hearing every word of this poem, “You could have stayed in the pasture with those that didn’t decide to go, but when you decided to walk with Me, you got to know Me by many different names.” Even though I simply wanted to go to sleep when I got home, I knew if I didn’t start typing the words that I was hearing, they’d be gone by morning. At midnight, I sat down at my desktop computer and typed until 3 am. I couldn’t wait for morning so I could read it to my parents. I knew I had written something special. It was like I had been handed a treasure to keep forever. For years, I talked to publishers because I felt like it should be a book but never found someone that I trusted or could afford, and there was no “Googling” for options and reviews back then. So, I bought decorative printer paper and framed copies for gifts—some of you probably still have one of those framed poems. Last summer, I talked with two publishers that I didn’t choose. By late June, I decided that if I couldn’t publish my book yet, the next step would be using my poem as a short skit or reader’s theater dialogue. One night while everyone was sleeping—when moms can work—I created a slideshow of the pictures for each scene that had always been in my mind. Then, I took my poem and divided it into speaking parts. Quickly, it was finished and ready for a performance. Little did I know, I had just created all of the illustrations for the publishing company I would meet in two short months. In August, while dropping Julia off at ORU, Matt and I talked with one of his best friends from college. Ryan Bush, the ORU guy’s soccer coach, had a few minutes to see us that day. In our passing conversation, he introduced me to Spirit Media. Within two weeks, I was in the publishing process. When they asked if I had any illustrations in mind, I said, “Actually, two months ago, I created a slideshow of them all. I can share it with you.” With the use of AI, they were able to take the images I had in my mind over the last 21 years and create the most beautiful illustrations. Once again, I was ready just in time! Jesus Had a Little Lamb is the story for all of us that choose to leave the pasture and walk with the Good Shepherd. There are valleys, deserts, lonely nights, battles, and waves. But you will also experience the peaceful shores, strength when you are weak, lilies in the valley, and the undeniable assurance that you have never been left alone. With every “Yes, I’ll go.” or “Yes, I’ll do it,” you will find another name for Jesus. If you never leave the comfortable pasture, you will never know what it’s like for the Shepherd to meet every need that you know you couldn’t have met by yourself. Now, I know my Shepherd in many new ways. I have called Him something new every single day. He has been my Jehovah Shalom—peace in the storm. He has been my Jehovah Rapha—healer after the storm. He has been my Jehovah Jireh—from filling a house with furniture and students to filling our refrigerator and cabinets with food. Given the chance once more, I’d leave the familiar pasture all over again. The journey is long. The desert times are dry, but He will come to your rescue every time He hears your cry. To know Him as your peace, provider, strength, and shield, is worth the journey—every single step of the way. Be ready. Be willing. "For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me (Jesus) will find it." Matthew 16:25 Jesus Had A Little Lamb is available on Amazon . “You could have stayed in the pasture with those that didn’t decide to go, but when you decided to walk with Me, you got to know Me by many different names.” Read the full issue below.

By Brandi Crossen Photo by Tomi Brown with TM Photography, Jacksonville “Declare His glory among the nations, His marvelous works among all the peoples.” Psalm 96:3 In February was our daughter Charleigh’s fourth birthday. She and her brother both had been diagnosed with Flu A. We had to reschedule her birthday party, cancel our original plans for her birthday, and were trying to make it as fun as possible, given the situation. For her birthday, her grandparents bought her a hoverboard and brought it to our house. After trying it out, we realized the one we had originally told them to get was probably too fast for her, so my husband went to Walmart and returned it. While there, he traded it for one that had a max speed of 6 mph, as well as an attachable seat so she could sit and ride versus stand and ride. She’s had bicycles, skates, scooters, battery-powered cars, four wheelers, motorcycles; you name it, the kid has had it. She’s ridden them all with zero issues. We never thought twice about the speed of the hoverboard and thought the seat attachment would make it safer for her, seeing as she could sit and ride instead of standing with the high probability of falling off. On the seat, you push the handles down and it accelerates, and when you release the handles, it’s supposed to stop/slow. Josh, my husband, was in the garage putting together the hoverboard, attaching the seat, and figuring out the ins/outs of how it functioned. I was inside cooking dinner when Charleigh ran inside and asked for me to come outside and watch her try it out really quick before dinner/dark. I walked outside into the garage, and the three of us went to the end of our driveway. We live in a subdivision, and our house is at the very end of the street opposite of the end that connects to a main busy road. We purchased this house from my parents; my dad built it, and I’ve lived in it my entire life. I’ve ridden up and down this same street for 25 years, as has my daughter numerous times over her four years of life. This was supposed to be like all of the other times we’ve stood at the end of our driveway and watched her ride, but it wasn’t. She sat down and slowly started going forward. Once she was halfway between our driveway and the driveway next door, we started yelling for her to turn around. Between the hat she was wearing, the wind, the flu congestion, and the tiny bit of distance between us, she couldn’t hear. She then started accelerating faster, at this point my husband has already taken off as fast as he could after her. She just kept going faster and getting farther and farther. Once I started realizing she truly couldn’t hear us and wasn’t stopping, I took off dead sprint as well. As I saw her getting closer and closer to the end of our street and the main busy road, pure panic and fear took over. I was screaming, Josh was screaming, and we were both running as fast as we could. I then noticed Josh (He was a bit ahead of me.) was screaming, waving his arms, and saying, “NO, PLEASE, STOP!” I looked to my right at the main busy road, and I saw the vehicle coming. At this point my heart was out of my chest, and I ran on pure adrenaline. Right as the car was about to pass the end of our street, my beautiful four-year-old shot onto the busy road on the hoverboard. I immediately shut my eyes out of instinct because there was no doubt in my mind the inevitable was coming, and if my daughter was about to get run over, I couldn’t watch it happen. BUT GOD! Prior to shooting out onto the main road, Charleigh ran up on the curb and into the yard of the last house on our street; it slowed her down a mere five to ten seconds, BUT that mere five to ten seconds saved her life. The car passed; she passed right behind it (so close she probably could have reached out and touched the back bumper), ran up on the sidewalk, into the field across from the end of our street, and fell off . . . unharmed, untouched. Had she not hit the curb or had the vehicle been going any slower, the outcome would have been my worst nightmare. “Had she not hit the curb or had the vehicle been going any slower, the outcome would have been my worst nightmare.” When I say I have never felt that feeling in my entire life, I mean it. I would rather be buried alive than EVER feel that feeling again. BUT, I have also never felt God like I felt Him in that moment, either. Josh and I both were bawling when we got to her and have cried several times since, even weeks later. We had neighbors running up behind us shortly after because they heard our screams. There were two more cars that stopped to check on her and us because they watched the entire scene play out farther down the main road. I even came inside and vomited from fear, adrenaline, and the overwhelming feelings that were running through my body. I got to tuck my four-year-old into bed on her birthday only because God is merciful. God was there. He was on the hoverboard, completely in control. God intervened with the curb. God pushed us to return the faster hoverboard for a slower one. God made the vehicle and Charleigh pass each other right where it goes from a two-lane to a two-lane with a turning lane to give her more space to miss the car. God timed everything up to where our baby would be okay. If you have ever had any doubts about God, I hope this story reaches you. Trust His goodness, trust His timing, trust in Him, trust in me when I say God is real. I went back and forth on sharing this story, but God says to praise Him aloud, to talk about His goodness, to share in His glory. This story was something I had to praise Him for. “I got to tuck my four-year-old into bed on her birthday only because God is merciful. God was there.” Read the full issue below.

By Jennifer Webb Photos by Searcy Living Photography There’s something special about a dog, and Austin Cullum had always dreamed of being able to take his dog to work with him. “Who doesn’t want to go to work with your dog every day? I’m a dog person. I love dogs and have always had a dog. I want to get outside and serve the community in whatever way I can. To do that with my best friend by my side, what gets better than that?” -Patrolman Austin Cullum, 2024 Officer of the Year & Searcy’s First K-9 Officer He asked about it when he started with the Searcy Police Department in 2021 but was told that the city did not have a K-9 unit at that time. So, he set that dream aside and concentrated on what was in front of him. Austin graduated from White County Central High School in 2017. After working in fast food, he landed a job at Land O’Frost in the maintenance division. He took classes at ASU-Searcy through their technical program and got a technical certification to add to his associate degree in powersports, which concentrates on repairing small engines. He worked 2nd shift in the maintenance division, but by 2020, he longed to be outside and see the sun while he worked. Austin had some friends who worked with the Arkansas State Police and other areas of law enforcement; he had tremendous respect for them. Maybe a career change to law enforcement was what he needed. He put his first application in at Searcy in 2020 but did not hear anything back. When 2021 rolled around, he felt the call even more strongly. He learned that he could put applications in more frequently, so in the first half of 2021, he put in four or five applications. Still, he did not hear back. Austin talked to everyone he could think of; he made phone calls and stubbornly kept putting in applications. He didn’t hear anything until October. When he went in for the interview, the department hired him on the spot after the post-interview drug test and physical evaluation. It was just in time, too! Austin married his wife, Sarah Cullum, on October 23, 2021. He had time for a honeymoon before he started to work as a Searcy Police Officer. During his interview, he asked about two things - SRT (Special Response Team - much like the Searcy Police’s version of a SWAT Team) and becoming a K-9 officer. Since he was told that Searcy did not have K-9 officers, he decided to focus on learning all he could with the goal of becoming an SRT officer. Austin had a few months of training on the job with Searcy Police Department before he went to the Police Academy at Camp Robinson from January 2022-April 2022. Then he began his field training to become a police officer. He discovered that he had a passion for helping with drug addiction. “If someone is battling an addiction, you can be there for them, but at the end of the day, it’s up to time. They have to have the drive and the desire to help themselves. The one thing I can do for them is eliminate the availability of drugs on the streets.” -Patrolman Austin Cullum, 2024 Officer of the Year & Searcy’s First K-9 Officer His drive and focus on getting drugs off the streets continued, and he achieved his first goal of joining SRT in the summer of 2023. Then he took another step toward the goal that he thought might never happen. Chief Hernandez called Officer Cullum to his office, telling him to put together a proposal for a K-9 team. Austin was thrilled and poured time and effort into crafting his proposal. He knew the Chief would have to go before the city council and get the K-9 team approved. Officer Cullum did not hear anything else on the proposed K-9 Team until mid 2024 when he and the Chief spoke about it again. The Searcy City Council approved the K-9 team in late 2024, making Officer Austin Cullum the first Searcy police officer to have a trained K-9. Officer Cullum’s K-9 will be the 6th trained police dog in White County. “Dogs can do things that I can’t and can help in ways that no human can. With their superior sense of smell, they can track a person by smelling the disturbances and scents on the ground. When it comes to drugs, they can track those better than any human. He will also be trained in defense.” -Patrolman Austin Cullum, 2024 Officer of the Year & Searcy’s First K-9 Officer Officer Cullum’s K-9 companion will be an approximately one-year-old male German Shepard from Czechia. Both Officer Cullum and his K-9 partner will have to undergo training, both separately and together. Officer Cullum is excited to start the K-9 program at the Searcy Police Department with his dog, Havoc. He hopes the K-9 program will expand, and he can merge his roles with the K-9 Unit and the SRT. Ideally, he would like to see the program grow to the point where they can have a K-9 for each shift, meaning a dog available 24/7. Havoc will be 100% Officer Culllum’s responsibility and will go home with him. The dog will be trained in multiple areas, including advanced obedience and manners for public relations, as well as defense, tracking, drug recognition, and criminal apprehension. “God continues to open doors for me and allows me to go down certain paths. I’m very excited to see where that goes!” - Patrolman Austin Cullum, 2024 Officer of the Year & Searcy’s First K-9 Officer “Each day, millions of police officers do the selfless work of putting their lives on the line to protect civilians, frequently responding to or preventing crises completely with no recognition.” ~ L. James Read the full issue below.

Across 2. CULLUM 3. FOOD 4. MAKEUP 6. TRUST 7. WITHOUT Down 1. SLIDESHOW 5. EIGHTY Riddles 1. Once Upon A Time 2. Once In My Life 3. Discount

By Jennifer Webb Photos by Searcy Living Photography Matt Easley hung up the phone as a thrill shot through him. His dream job at the Searcy Police Department had openings! He loved his patrol job at the Newport police department, but the hours left him little time to spend with his wife, Breanne, and their newborn twin girls. He went to work for the Newport Police Department in 2013 after graduating from ASU with his Bachelor of Arts in Criminology and had been there for 4 years. But lately, stress had been getting to him and it was time for a change. With the new additions to his family, the timing was perfect. He had always wanted to work at the Searcy Police Department. He was already very familiar with Searcy, having worked in town since he was 16. He started in December 2017 with 12-hour shifts that allowed him to spend more time with his family. He stopped worrying about promotions and shifted his focus to what he needed to do to be the best officer possible. “Searcy is a very community-oriented Police department.” - Cpl. Matt Easley The job became fun again. He started going to training and soaking up the knowledge like a sponge. Each new thing he learned gave him a different perspective and helped him to be a better officer. Most years, he logs over 100 hours in continuing education and has been a training officer for over four years. When his girls were around four, one of his twins had just been diagnosed with autism. It shifted how he and Breanne viewed the world as they learned what strategies to use to nurture and educate her. She always wanted to know why before she complied with directions. Both of his grandparents had been diagnosed with dementia. What might happen in a different situation if one of them was not in a nursing home, but instead out wandering the streets and a police officer started demanding answers to questions they were currently incapable of answering? Could the situation potentially escalate or would it be better to slow down and take time? What about someone with autism, that has to know why before they comply with directions? He knew from his time on the small police force at Newport that it was way easier to talk someone into handcuffs than to restrain them by force. Was there a better way to respond to people who react differently? Talking people down and intervening in crisis situations could lead to people getting life-changing help and escaping the cycle of going in and out of jail. It also fit with the basics of his jujutsu training - restraining someone with the least amount of force without hurting them. Talking people down was the least possible amount of force. “If you can talk someone into handcuffs instead of having to fight or chase them, it’s a lot easier on everybody and they are a lot more likely to talk to you later on. If you tase people or throw them down they are not very fond of talking to you.” -Cpl. Matt Easley He took his training out on patrol and the more he approached being a patrol officer with compassion, listening, and respect, the more positive results he saw. For example, if he had to arrest someone at a business his approach had a drastic impact on how it went and the willingness of the people to interact with him again. He could go in, abruptly serve the arrest warrant, haul the subject out the front door, and put them in his police car. Or, he could discreetly walk in, talk to the suspect, tell him he was there to serve the arrest warrant, explain the situation to their boss, then peacefully put handcuffs on and discreetly walk them out the back door. His approach had a huge impact on the suspect’s willingness and cooperation. He also started building a positive relationship with the suspect and the business owner. In one scenario, the suspect likely ends up fired. In the other, the suspect may end up promoted when showing maturity, responsibility, and dignity in dealing with the arrest warrant. Cpl. Easley is now certified to teach crisis intervention and de-escalation. He was also instrumental in starting the Searcy Police Department crisis negotiation team, which springs into action in hostage situations or a threat to human life. A new crisis intervention team is in the works for the near future. Crisis intervention addresses mental health or behavioral crises. A team is currently undergoing training and Cpl. Easley and Sgt. Tillett will be instructors for training in this area of the state with the Arkansas Academy. Though he has held the rank of corporal for some time, Cpl. Easley recently moved from patrol to criminal investigation squad. He is excited to rise to the challenges of learning to approach his job from a detective’s perspective. He greets each challenge as an opportunity to better himself and to become the best officer he can be. In his home life, his twin girls are rapidly growing elementary students and he gives himself wholly to being Dad to them and husband to Breanne. He likes to unwind with fishing, with competitive ju-jitsu training, and relaxing with his family. In the summer, they can often be found swimming both at the Searcy Swim Center and in the lake at Heber. The girls are fascinated by aquariums, so they make it a point to put an aquarium on their vacation lists when possible. They often visit one of Searcy’s many parks or take turns singing on their karaoke machine at home. For Cpl. Matt Easley, it’s time well spent. They are his ultimate reason for doing everything he does to help keep the City of Searcy safe. “He greets each challenge as an opportunity to better himself and to become the best officer he can be.” Read the full issue below.

Across 4 AESTHETICS 7 RESTAURANT Down 1 RESTORE 2 NAME 3 STOTTS 5 HOME 6 RING Riddles 1 Three Square Meals Per Day 2 Working Overtime 3 Center Of Gravity

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By Jennifer Webb “Habitat for Humanity is an organization that tries to take care of the community. This was the community’s chance to give something back to Habitat.” It was supposed to be another scorcher - A high of 97 with a heat index of 113 F. Even though it was early morning, Rick could already feel the humidity. It was so thick you could almost swim through it. He watched as the volunteers arrived, many carrying their own personal fans. Many of them were retired, but they were tough. They weren’t going to let the heat get in the way. The Habitat for Humanity ReStore would open early again today and close an hour earlier - a concession for the heat. By afternoon, Rick knew that sweat would be pouring off everyone and those fans would blow 100-degree air on their owners. Some days were hotter in the store than outside. “I’d donate a kidney if we could get some air conditioning in here!” one spunky volunteer joked with him. That started him and the Habitat for Humanity board thinking; they had just signed another five year lease on the building. Blessed with such a fantastic location, perhaps it was time to consider upgrading the building that houses the Habitat for Humanity ReStore. One section of the building already had central heat and air, but the other, more warehouse-type part where the cash register is located, did not. The tall ceilings, big garage doors, skylights, and poor insulation meant that installing central heat and air would be a massive undertaking. It was also likely to be quite cost-prohibitive. With Habitat, all the funds raised in the ReStore support their mission - to provide low-cost housing to low-income families. With a space as big as they had, they were looking at nearly the cost of building a house to get the central heat and air installed. Still, as hot as it was getting, something had to give. Rick gave in and called Adam Hart for advice. Adam has supported Habitat For Humanity for almost 20 years and seems to always have a good solution to a challenge or issue they’re facing. After reviewing the situation, Adam connected Habitat with Justin Dodson of Dodson Heat and Air. Justin came to take a look and then he got busy calling his suppliers. Clairday Electric agreed to wire the HVAC units. Habitat for Humanity is an organization that tries to take care of the community. This was the community’s chance to give something back to Habitat. Rick and the Habitat for Humanity Board were shocked when they got the quote, in the best possible way! With everyone donating and pitching in, the estimated cost was only one-third of what they thought it would be. Habitat did what they could themselves - sealing off skylights, insulating the huge garage doors, and the community filled in the gaps. The warehouse section lost a lot of illumination after the skylights were closed off, giving it a cave-like feel. Stokes Electric took care of that; their electricians contacted a local electrical supply house to obtain nine new light fixtures and other materials. I-DO Rental provided scissor lifts so the workers could safely access the high ceiling on the HVAC and lighting installations. The extra insulation on the seven large garage doors added about 50 extra pounds to each, but Andy Sills and his technicians at Garage Door Services made all the necessary adjustments to ensure they were safe. The Habitat ReStore stayed open the entire time during the process. Now when you go in, you are met with a blast of cool air in the summertime instead of hot. It’s a much more pleasant experience for shoppers, donors, and volunteers. Shoppers can linger and look to their hearts’ content. Volunteers can spend comfortable hours supporting a mission they believe in, that gives back to the community. Habitat’s official mission - to provide affordable housing to low-income families - is only the beginning of what they do. Consider this hypothetical situation: A single Mom who has two kids and makes $15/hour applies for a Habitat house. They accept her application on the condition that she will put in 300 hours of “sweat equity” and agree to make a monthly 0% interest mortgage payment until the cost of building the house is repaid. Friends and family can work 10% of those sweat equity hours for her, but the rest, she must spend working on her own house or volunteering in the Habitat ReStore. She sees all the volunteers that come and work on the house. She works alongside the people who have donated their time and materials to make this seemingly impossible dream happen for her. She makes connections and builds relationships with them. Now she has other people who become friends, and her support network enlarges. Now, she has people to call when she needs a hand with the kids and grandmotherly influences who give her much-needed advice and encouragement. She meets other families who have children the same age as hers. They tell her how someone can get a two-year nursing degree to earn double her current wage. Right now, that’s not possible, because so much of her money is going to rent and simply surviving. But she’s also going to classes that teach her how to care for her house with basic maintenance and money management classes, and she starts to see hope for a better life. When the house is completed and she moves in, the people and the relationships stay in her life. Now that she’s not paying almost half of her salary for rent and utilities, she can afford to go back to school and get that nursing degree. The kids are doing well in school because of the newfound stability, and she has a renewed sense of confidence and self-worth. In providing affordable housing, Habitat for Humanity helps her take the steps to improve the lives of her family. The focus of Habitat’s mission is not simply the construction of homes, but the development and empowerment of people and communities. Habitat has an interest in the people involved in its ministry, both the owners of Habitat fir Humanity homes and those involved with homeowners in the construction of those homes. The organization seeks to break down barriers and form partnerships among people from all walks of life; relationships are the most important thing Habitat builds. Every time you donate, volunteer, or shop at the Habitat for Humanity ReStore, that’s what you’re supporting. Along with the new central heat and air unit, that’s what makes Habitat for Humanity ReStore such a cool place to support. To find out more about White County’s Habitat for Humanity, please visit www.habitatwhiteco.org/restore.html . Read the full issue below.