Wally Decker
Tuesday News for January 06, 2026
The 12 Days (after) Christmas…
Today (January 6) is known as Epiphany (or Three Kings day).
Epiphany in Greek means to ‘reveal’. In Matthew 2:11, the Magi (or Wise Men from the East) finally arrive to worship the Christ-child (or ‘paidion’ meaning ‘young child’ in the Greek) bringing gifts of Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh. *Jesus was likely 2 years old at the arrival.
“And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshipped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh”
-Matthew 2:11 www.lwf.org/questions-and-answers/how-old-was-jesus-when-the-wise-men-came
Doctor visits for flu-like symptoms have reached the highest levels in nearly 30-years nationwide, according to the CDC.
Wash your hands frequently. *If you do feel sick, stay home if at all possible.
Visitor Restrictions at all of our area hospitals due to a surge of Flu and RSV cases. Children 12 and under will not be allowed to visit patients. *There are some exceptions. Restrictions do not apply to children seeking medical care. Face coverings are recommended, but not required. *Press release(s)
Engage, Equip, and Empower. The Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) distributed over 244,000 Bibles in 2025 – a record for the organization.
Distribution occurred through FCA chapters in the U.S. and 68 other countries, according to Christian Post.
https://www.christianpost.com/news/fca-celebrates-over-244000-bibles-distributed-in-2025.html
Change is coming this week. Elkin Chick-Fil-A is now rounding DOWN cash transactions to the nearest nickel. In response to the US Mint suspending production of new pennies in late 2025. Source: Facebook posting
Get moving for the New Year! New research suggests walking just 7,000 steps (roughly 3 to 3.5 miles) per day is a more achievable target for most people. Walking significantly reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease, dementia and diabetes.
Even walking 5,000 steps daily gives measurable health benefits. BTW: The common 10,000-steps-a-day “rule” came from a marketing campaign in Japan back in the 1960s, not by science. https://stories.uq.edu.au/contact-magazine/uq-mythbusters-step-count/index.html
Congrats to CCM artist Michael Cochren and his wife, Leah, on the birth of their first child – a girl – born just after the New Year (1:40am) January 1st!
The couple is calling their healthy baby girl a miracle, after nearly 8 years of trying.
“My 97-year-old grandmother told me at Christmas that she wanted our baby to be one of the first born in 2026. I guess she called it. All glory to God for this answer to our prayers.” – Michael Cochren
https://www.wevv.com/news/indiana/first-baby-of-the-new-year-born-at-the-women-s-hospital/article
American Red Cross: Local blood drives for Tuesday, January 6, 2026
Becks Lutheran Church in Lexington = 2pm – 6:30pm
Central Baptist Church in Oak Ridge = 2:30pm – 7pm
Mount Pisgah Church in Greensboro = 2:30pm – 7pm
Schedule your blood donation appointment TODAY at https://www.redcrossblood.org/give.html/
Download the Red Cross Blood Donor App or call 1-800-RED CROSS
Our scripture focus for Tuesday is 2 Corinthians 1:3-4…
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God”
The word “comfort” appears around 130 times in the Bible (KJV), with variations appearing many more times. Our Heavenly Father comforts believers in our suffering, so we can then offer that same comfort, strength, and compassion to others – creating a cycle of comfort and compassion.
Today is a sad day, it’s Take Your Christmas Tree DOWN day????
Reminder from the City of Winston-Salem
DO NOT toss those tangled or broken string lights into the recycling bin.
Instead, carefully bag and place them in your curbside garbage cart.
If you have old lights that still work, consider donating them.
Snow in Hawaii? Yes. As much as 10-inches of snow fell late Monday in the highest elevations of the Big Island (above 11,000 feet) from a winter storm. Wind chills were in the 20s. Yikes. *National Weather Service
https://www.khon2.com/local-news/winter-storm-brings-snow-to-mauna-loa-mauna-kea-summits/
Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools’ new superintendent Don Phipps shared his vision for the district earlier today (noon), part of the education-focused series called Faith in the City at Knollwood Baptist Church. https://www.knollwood.org/events/faith-in-the-city-jan26
January 6, 2021: What happened 5 years ago in our nation’s capital?
Check out this timeline… https://apps.npr.org/jan-6-archive/?utm
“By God’s grace I did my duty that day (January 6, 2021) to support the peaceful transfer of power under the Constitution of the United States of America. Jan. 6 was a tragic day but it became a triumph of freedom. History will record that our institutions held. Leaders in both chambers, in both political parties reconvened the very same day and finished democracy’s work under the Constitution.”
-Mike Pence, former Vice President of the United States, a true American patriot
