Birthday wishes to J.D. Wilmouth, July 13, Drakes Branch; Doris Hill, July 13, Saxe; Henry Reid, July 14, Charlotte Court House; Jamond Seymore, July 14, Chase City; Ma’Khiyah Nelson, July 16, Chase City; Ryan Skipper, July 16, Saxe; Alicia Mosley, July 18, Chesterfield; Jerry Foster, July 19, Saxe; and Patrick Morton, July 19, Richmond.

I wish each of you many more happy birthdays!

Get well wishes to all of the sick and shut-in. I hope you are up and well soon. You are in our prayers for a speedy recovery.

Sympathy to all of the families who have lost a loved one recently. Our heartfelt prayers and good wishes go out to each family. May God comfort each heart and each home. You have our deepest sympathies.

Anniversary wishes to Randy and Shavon Wilson, July 15, Saxe, 10 years. They have two children. May the closeness that you share bring many more years of happiness to your life and marriage. Happy anniversary!

The Singing Stars Gospel Singers, of Saxe, will celebrate their 26th anniversary on July 31 at Central Middle School at 3 p.m. There is a $5 donation at the door and everyone is invited to attend.

Thought for the Week: Life is full of fake people. Before you decide to judge them, make sure you are not one of them.

BLESSINGS

Blessed is the season which engages the whole world in a conspiracy of love. There are no mistakes, no coincidences; all events are blessings given to us to learn from.

When I started counting my blessings, my whole life turned around. We need deliberately to call to mind the joys of our journey. Perhaps we should try to write down the blessings of one day. We might begin, and we could never end the list. There are not enough pens or paper in all the world.

The blessings that are the sweetest are won with prayers and thanks. Not what we say about our blessings, but how we use them is the true measure of our thanksgiving.

News is due by 1 p.m. on Saturday. News can be submitted by calling Virginia Freeman at (434) 568-0596.

Virginia Freeman is a community columnist for The Charlotte Gazette. She can be reached at vstars@pure.net.