Podcasts about Abilene

Only we can unite ourselves to Christ in His Great Self-Offering for the salvation of the world.

Message - Pastor Preston Humphries - Sunday, September 11, 2022 - Champions Church, Abilene, Texas

Message - Pastor Preston Humphries - Sunday, September 18, 2022 - Champions Church, Abilene, Texas

Proper 20 First Psalm: Psalm 80 Psalm 80 (Listen) Restore Us, O God To the choirmaster: according to Lilies. A Testimony. Of Asaph, a Psalm. 80   Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel,    you who lead Joseph like a flock.  You who are enthroned upon the cherubim, shine forth.2     Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh,  stir up your might    and come to save us! 3   Restore us,1 O God;    let your face shine, that we may be saved! 4   O LORD God of hosts,    how long will you be angry with your people's prayers?5   You have fed them with the bread of tears    and given them tears to drink in full measure.6   You make us an object of contention for our neighbors,    and our enemies laugh among themselves. 7   Restore us, O God of hosts;    let your face shine, that we may be saved! 8   You brought a vine out of Egypt;    you drove out the nations and planted it.9   You cleared the ground for it;    it took deep root and filled the land.10   The mountains were covered with its shade,    the mighty cedars with its branches.11   It sent out its branches to the sea    and its shoots to the River.212   Why then have you broken down its walls,    so that all who pass along the way pluck its fruit?13   The boar from the forest ravages it,    and all that move in the field feed on it. 14   Turn again, O God of hosts!    Look down from heaven, and see;  have regard for this vine,15     the stock that your right hand planted,    and for the son whom you made strong for yourself.16   They have burned it with fire; they have cut it down;    may they perish at the rebuke of your face!17   But let your hand be on the man of your right hand,    the son of man whom you have made strong for yourself!18   Then we shall not turn back from you;    give us life, and we will call upon your name! 19   Restore us, O LORD God of hosts!    Let your face shine, that we may be saved! Footnotes [1] 80:3 Or Turn us again; also verses 7, 19 [2] 80:11 That is, the Euphrates (ESV) Second Psalm: Psalm 77; Psalm 79 Psalm 77 (Listen) In the Day of Trouble I Seek the Lord To the choirmaster: according to Jeduthun. A Psalm of Asaph. 77   I cry aloud to God,    aloud to God, and he will hear me.2   In the day of my trouble I seek the Lord;    in the night my hand is stretched out without wearying;    my soul refuses to be comforted.3   When I remember God, I moan;    when I meditate, my spirit faints. Selah 4   You hold my eyelids open;    I am so troubled that I cannot speak.5   I consider the days of old,    the years long ago.6   I said,1 “Let me remember my song in the night;    let me meditate in my heart.”    Then my spirit made a diligent search:7   “Will the Lord spurn forever,    and never again be favorable?8   Has his steadfast love forever ceased?    Are his promises at an end for all time?9   Has God forgotten to be gracious?    Has he in anger shut up his compassion?” Selah 10   Then I said, “I will appeal to this,    to the years of the right hand of the Most High.”2 11   I will remember the deeds of the LORD;    yes, I will remember your wonders of old.12   I will ponder all your work,    and meditate on your mighty deeds.13   Your way, O God, is holy.    What god is great like our God?14   You are the God who works wonders;    you have made known your might among the peoples.15   You with your arm redeemed your people,    the children of Jacob and Joseph. Selah 16   When the waters saw you, O God,    when the waters saw you, they were afraid;    indeed, the deep trembled.17   The clouds poured out water;    the skies gave forth thunder;    your arrows flashed on every side.18   The crash of your thunder was in the whirlwind;    your lightnings lighted up the world;    the earth trembled and shook.19   Your way was through the sea,    your path through the great waters;    yet your footprints were unseen.320   You led your people like a flock    by the hand of Moses and Aaron. Footnotes [1] 77:6 Hebrew lacks I said [2] 77:10 Or This is my grief: that the right hand of the Most High has changed [3] 77:19 Hebrew unknown (ESV) Psalm 79 (Listen) How Long, O Lord? A Psalm of Asaph. 79   O God, the nations have come into your inheritance;    they have defiled your holy temple;    they have laid Jerusalem in ruins.2   They have given the bodies of your servants    to the birds of the heavens for food,    the flesh of your faithful to the beasts of the earth.3   They have poured out their blood like water    all around Jerusalem,    and there was no one to bury them.4   We have become a taunt to our neighbors,    mocked and derided by those around us. 5   How long, O LORD? Will you be angry forever?    Will your jealousy burn like fire?6   Pour out your anger on the nations    that do not know you,  and on the kingdoms    that do not call upon your name!7   For they have devoured Jacob    and laid waste his habitation. 8   Do not remember against us our former iniquities;1    let your compassion come speedily to meet us,    for we are brought very low.9   Help us, O God of our salvation,    for the glory of your name;  deliver us, and atone for our sins,    for your name's sake!10   Why should the nations say,    “Where is their God?”  Let the avenging of the outpoured blood of your servants    be known among the nations before our eyes! 11   Let the groans of the prisoners come before you;    according to your great power, preserve those doomed to die!12   Return sevenfold into the lap of our neighbors    the taunts with which they have taunted you, O Lord!13   But we your people, the sheep of your pasture,    will give thanks to you forever;    from generation to generation we will recount your praise. Footnotes [1] 79:8 Or the iniquities of former generations (ESV) Old Testament: Esther 4:4–17 Esther 4:4–17 (Listen) 4 When Esther's young women and her eunuchs came and told her, the queen was deeply distressed. She sent garments to clothe Mordecai, so that he might take off his sackcloth, but he would not accept them. 5 Then Esther called for Hathach, one of the king's eunuchs, who had been appointed to attend her, and ordered him to go to Mordecai to learn what this was and why it was. 6 Hathach went out to Mordecai in the open square of the city in front of the king's gate, 7 and Mordecai told him all that had happened to him, and the exact sum of money that Haman had promised to pay into the king's treasuries for the destruction of the Jews. 8 Mordecai also gave him a copy of the written decree issued in Susa for their destruction,1 that he might show it to Esther and explain it to her and command her to go to the king to beg his favor and plead with him2 on behalf of her people. 9 And Hathach went and told Esther what Mordecai had said. 10 Then Esther spoke to Hathach and commanded him to go to Mordecai and say, 11 “All the king's servants and the people of the king's provinces know that if any man or woman goes to the king inside the inner court without being called, there is but one law—to be put to death, except the one to whom the king holds out the golden scepter so that he may live. But as for me, I have not been called to come in to the king these thirty days.” 12 And they told Mordecai what Esther had said. 13 Then Mordecai told them to reply to Esther, “Do not think to yourself that in the king's palace you will escape any more than all the other Jews. 14 For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father's house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” 15 Then Esther told them to reply to Mordecai, 16 “Go, gather all the Jews to be found in Susa, and hold a fast on my behalf, and do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my young women will also fast as you do. Then I will go to the king, though it is against the law, and if I perish, I perish.”3 17 Mordecai then went away and did everything as Esther had ordered him. Footnotes [1] 4:8 Or annihilation [2] 4:8 Hebrew and seek from before his face [3] 4:16 Hebrew if I am destroyed, then I will be destroyed (ESV) New Testament: Acts 18:1–11 Acts 18:1–11 (Listen) Paul in Corinth 18 After this Paul1 left Athens and went to Corinth. 2 And he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to leave Rome. And he went to see them, 3 and because he was of the same trade he stayed with them and worked, for they were tentmakers by trade. 4 And he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, and tried to persuade Jews and Greeks. 5 When Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia, Paul was occupied with the word, testifying to the Jews that the Christ was Jesus. 6 And when they opposed and reviled him, he shook out his garments and said to them, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am innocent. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.” 7 And he left there and went to the house of a man named Titius Justus, a worshiper of God. His house was next door to the synagogue. 8 Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed in the Lord, together with his entire household. And many of the Corinthians hearing Paul believed and were baptized. 9 And the Lord said to Paul one night in a vision, “Do not be afraid, but go on speaking and do not be silent, 10 for I am with you, and no one will attack you to harm you, for I have many in this city who are my people.” 11 And he stayed a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them. Footnotes [1] 18:1 Greek he (ESV) Gospel: Luke 1:1–4; Luke 3:1–14 Luke 1:1–4 (Listen) Dedication to Theophilus 1 Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that have been accomplished among us, 2 just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word have delivered them to us, 3 it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, 4 that you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught. (ESV) Luke 3:1–14 (Listen) John the Baptist Prepares the Way 3 In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, 2 during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness. 3 And he went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 4 As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet,   “The voice of one crying in the wilderness:  ‘Prepare the way of the Lord,1    make his paths straight.5   Every valley shall be filled,    and every mountain and hill shall be made low,  and the crooked shall become straight,    and the rough places shall become level ways,6   and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.'” 7 He said therefore to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Bear fruits in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.' For I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. 9 Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.” 10 And the crowds asked him, “What then shall we do?” 11 And he answered them, “Whoever has two tunics2 is to share with him who has none, and whoever has food is to do likewise.” 12 Tax collectors also came to be baptized and said to him, “Teacher, what shall we do?” 13 And he said to them, “Collect no more than you are authorized to do.” 14 Soldiers also asked him, “And we, what shall we do?” And he said to them, “Do not extort money from anyone by threats or by false accusation, and be content with your wages.” Footnotes [1] 3:4 Or crying, Prepare in the wilderness the way of the Lord [2] 3:11 Greek chiton, a long garment worn under the cloak next to the skin (ESV)

Welcome back to SA Voices from the Field for Season 7. This is season seven, public policy in action, where we will explore public policy issues impacting higher education today and how this will impact the work that you do on a daily basis. This week on SA Voices From the Field we interviewed Dr. Brent Marsh and Dr. Jeanna Mastrodicasa, the current and past chair of NASPA's Public Policy Division. We explore public policy and important topics that are currently impacting all of our work! Brent arrived at the University of Mississippi in August 2019, being honored to join the UM community as Assistant Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs and Dean of Students. Prior to his arrival at UM, Dr. Marsh served for five years as Vice President for Student Affairs at Rogers State University, overseeing numerous programs and services that promoted student engagement and success. Before his time at RSU, Marsh served for 10 years at Howard Payne University in central Texas in three successive student affairs leadership roles, culminating his time there as Vice President for Student Life and Dean of Students. Marsh earned bachelors and masters degrees at Kansas State University and a doctorate in higher education administration from Bowling Green State University. His earliest professional experiences were in student housing at two universities in Abilene, Texas, serving there between academic stints at K-State and BGSU. Dr. Marsh is actively involved in NASPA where he recently served as Director of the Public Policy Division from 2019-2021, and currently serves as member-at-large. Prior to this role, Brent served as Coordinator of Region Finances for the IV-West region from 2017-2019, while simultaneously sitting on the Small Colleges & Universities Division advisory board as Public Policy Liaison, which also placed him on the Public Policy Division's leadership team. From 2015 to 2017, Marsh served a two-year term as the Student-Athlete Knowledge Community chair. Dr. Jeanna Mastrodicasa is the Associate Vice President for Operations at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS), where she manages budget, facilities, business operations, conferences and institutes, and compliance for the land-grant mission of the university. UF/IFAS has more than 4,000 employees across Florida, $450 million in annual expenditures, and more than 4 million built gross square feet of facilities. Dr. Mastrodicasa is currently the national chair for NASPA's Public Policy Division, serving a term on the national NASPA board from March 2021-2023 supporting higher education administration. In summer 2022, she will be participating in the HERS Summer Institute, which is an intensive leadership program for women in higher education. She is also on several local boards in the community, including the Girl Scouts of Gateway Council, Family Promise of Gainesville, the Gainesville Police Advisory Council, Friends of Susan B. Anthony, and the Alachua County ½ Cent Sales Tax Oversight Board. Please subscribe to SA Voices from the Field on your favorite podcasting device and share the podcast with other student affairs colleagues!

The best ideas sometimes come from humble beginnings. During his studies at Abilene Christian University's Graduate School of Theology, Curtis Alexander King wrote a research paper in which he described ways to improve information and resource sharing to persons who were choosing to make a home for themselves in Abilene, Texas, following incarceration. As a minister and as a friend of several returning citizens, King had developed a great appreciation for the challenges that individuals often face attempting to reacclimate to society after their release. For well over a year, no action was taken, but the thought of finding a way to make the “assignment” a reality remained in his heart, and he eventually began reaching out to like-minded people in the Abilene area and beyond who would be interested in collaborating on improving the reentry experience in the Big Country.

In today's conversation we sit down with Karson Tutt, Owner and Founder of Karson's, a clothing and jewelry boutique in Abilene, Texas. As a young entrepreneur, Karson shares her journey of remaining rooted in her Kingdom identity as a daughter, living and working from a place of rest and peace. Karson chooses to live confident because she trusts God. Follow along with our sermon series, “The Restful Life,” by subscribing to Beltway Park Church on YouTube https://youtube.com/beltwayparkchurch Host: Sarah Turner (@sarahturner Instagram) Guest: Karson Tutt (@kars_tutt Instagram) www.shopkarsons.online The Restful Life: https://beltway.org/the-restful-life/ Karson's favorite dessert recipe, "Scratch Brownies", can be found in this recipe book: https://www.amazon.com/Desserts-Editors-Cider-Mill-Press/dp/1646431510

As members of Christ's Body, the Church, we reap the blessings of the faithful obedience of Joachim and Anna and of their daughter the Theotokos. We must now use our freedom to take up our own crosses so that we may unite ourselves evermore fully to Christ in His great Self-Offering for the salvation of the world.

A talented television news journalist from Columbia Falls, Montana was found slain in her Abilene, Texas apartment. 20 years almost to-the-day later, family and friends, colleagues and cops are still haunted by the horrific death of 22-year-old Jennifer Servo. This is a sneak peek of the Season 7 Premiere of 'Montana Murder Mysteries.'

Luke 3-1-20 John the Baptist Prepares the Way--1- In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, -2- during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness. -3- And he went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. -4- As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet,--The voice of one crying in the wilderness-- 'Prepare the way of the Lord,- make his paths straight.- -5- Every valley shall be filled,- and every mountain and hill shall be made low,- and the crooked shall become straight,- and the rough places shall become level ways,- -6- and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.'-- -7- He said therefore to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, -You brood of vipers- Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come- -8- Bear fruits in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' For I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. -9- Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.--10- And the crowds asked him, -What then shall we do-- -11- And he answered them, -Whoever has two tunics is to share with him who has none, and whoever has food is to do likewise.- -12- Tax collectors also came to be baptized and said to him, -Teacher, what shall we do-- Published 9-9 7AM

Message - Brother Doug Nelon - Sunday, September 4, 2022 - Champions Church, Abilene, Texas

Due to pride, we often crave words and actions from others that distract us from seeing ourselves clearly and instead fuel illusions of self-importance and self- righteousness. When doing so becomes a settled habit, we can easily find ourselves attempting to use religion to serve our egos instead of being focused on offering ourselves to the Lord.

Psalms and Wisdom: Psalm 33 Psalm 33 (Listen) The Steadfast Love of the Lord 33   Shout for joy in the LORD, O you righteous!    Praise befits the upright.2   Give thanks to the LORD with the lyre;    make melody to him with the harp of ten strings!3   Sing to him a new song;    play skillfully on the strings, with loud shouts. 4   For the word of the LORD is upright,    and all his work is done in faithfulness.5   He loves righteousness and justice;    the earth is full of the steadfast love of the LORD. 6   By the word of the LORD the heavens were made,    and by the breath of his mouth all their host.7   He gathers the waters of the sea as a heap;    he puts the deeps in storehouses. 8   Let all the earth fear the LORD;    let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him!9   For he spoke, and it came to be;    he commanded, and it stood firm. 10   The LORD brings the counsel of the nations to nothing;    he frustrates the plans of the peoples.11   The counsel of the LORD stands forever,    the plans of his heart to all generations.12   Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD,    the people whom he has chosen as his heritage! 13   The LORD looks down from heaven;    he sees all the children of man;14   from where he sits enthroned he looks out    on all the inhabitants of the earth,15   he who fashions the hearts of them all    and observes all their deeds.16   The king is not saved by his great army;    a warrior is not delivered by his great strength.17   The war horse is a false hope for salvation,    and by its great might it cannot rescue. 18   Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear him,    on those who hope in his steadfast love,19   that he may deliver their soul from death    and keep them alive in famine. 20   Our soul waits for the LORD;    he is our help and our shield.21   For our heart is glad in him,    because we trust in his holy name.22   Let your steadfast love, O LORD, be upon us,    even as we hope in you. (ESV) Pentateuch and History: 1 Samuel 23–24 1 Samuel 23–24 (Listen) David Saves the City of Keilah 23 Now they told David, “Behold, the Philistines are fighting against Keilah and are robbing the threshing floors.” 2 Therefore David inquired of the LORD, “Shall I go and attack these Philistines?” And the LORD said to David, “Go and attack the Philistines and save Keilah.” 3 But David's men said to him, “Behold, we are afraid here in Judah; how much more then if we go to Keilah against the armies of the Philistines?” 4 Then David inquired of the LORD again. And the LORD answered him, “Arise, go down to Keilah, for I will give the Philistines into your hand.” 5 And David and his men went to Keilah and fought with the Philistines and brought away their livestock and struck them with a great blow. So David saved the inhabitants of Keilah. 6 When Abiathar the son of Ahimelech had fled to David to Keilah, he had come down with an ephod in his hand. 7 Now it was told Saul that David had come to Keilah. And Saul said, “God has given him into my hand, for he has shut himself in by entering a town that has gates and bars.” 8 And Saul summoned all the people to war, to go down to Keilah, to besiege David and his men. 9 David knew that Saul was plotting harm against him. And he said to Abiathar the priest, “Bring the ephod here.” 10 Then David said, “O LORD, the God of Israel, your servant has surely heard that Saul seeks to come to Keilah, to destroy the city on my account. 11 Will the men of Keilah surrender me into his hand? Will Saul come down, as your servant has heard? O LORD, the God of Israel, please tell your servant.” And the LORD said, “He will come down.” 12 Then David said, “Will the men of Keilah surrender me and my men into the hand of Saul?” And the LORD said, “They will surrender you.” 13 Then David and his men, who were about six hundred, arose and departed from Keilah, and they went wherever they could go. When Saul was told that David had escaped from Keilah, he gave up the expedition. 14 And David remained in the strongholds in the wilderness, in the hill country of the wilderness of Ziph. And Saul sought him every day, but God did not give him into his hand. Saul Pursues David 15 David saw that Saul had come out to seek his life. David was in the wilderness of Ziph at Horesh. 16 And Jonathan, Saul's son, rose and went to David at Horesh, and strengthened his hand in God. 17 And he said to him, “Do not fear, for the hand of Saul my father shall not find you. You shall be king over Israel, and I shall be next to you. Saul my father also knows this.” 18 And the two of them made a covenant before the LORD. David remained at Horesh, and Jonathan went home. 19 Then the Ziphites went up to Saul at Gibeah, saying, “Is not David hiding among us in the strongholds at Horesh, on the hill of Hachilah, which is south of Jeshimon? 20 Now come down, O king, according to all your heart's desire to come down, and our part shall be to surrender him into the king's hand.” 21 And Saul said, “May you be blessed by the LORD, for you have had compassion on me. 22 Go, make yet more sure. Know and see the place where his foot is, and who has seen him there, for it is told me that he is very cunning. 23 See therefore and take note of all the lurking places where he hides, and come back to me with sure information. Then I will go with you. And if he is in the land, I will search him out among all the thousands of Judah.” 24 And they arose and went to Ziph ahead of Saul. Now David and his men were in the wilderness of Maon, in the Arabah to the south of Jeshimon. 25 And Saul and his men went to seek him. And David was told, so he went down to the rock and lived in the wilderness of Maon. And when Saul heard that, he pursued after David in the wilderness of Maon. 26 Saul went on one side of the mountain, and David and his men on the other side of the mountain. And David was hurrying to get away from Saul. As Saul and his men were closing in on David and his men to capture them, 27 a messenger came to Saul, saying, “Hurry and come, for the Philistines have made a raid against the land.” 28 So Saul returned from pursuing after David and went against the Philistines. Therefore that place was called the Rock of Escape.1 29 2 And David went up from there and lived in the strongholds of Engedi. 3 David Spares Saul's Life 24 When Saul returned from following the Philistines, he was told, “Behold, David is in the wilderness of Engedi.” 2 Then Saul took three thousand chosen men out of all Israel and went to seek David and his men in front of the Wildgoats' Rocks. 3 And he came to the sheepfolds by the way, where there was a cave, and Saul went in to relieve himself.4 Now David and his men were sitting in the innermost parts of the cave. 4 And the men of David said to him, “Here is the day of which the LORD said to you, ‘Behold, I will give your enemy into your hand, and you shall do to him as it shall seem good to you.'” Then David arose and stealthily cut off a corner of Saul's robe. 5 And afterward David's heart struck him, because he had cut off a corner of Saul's robe. 6 He said to his men, “The LORD forbid that I should do this thing to my lord, the LORD's anointed, to put out my hand against him, seeing he is the LORD's anointed.” 7 So David persuaded his men with these words and did not permit them to attack Saul. And Saul rose up and left the cave and went on his way. 8 Afterward David also arose and went out of the cave, and called after Saul, “My lord the king!” And when Saul looked behind him, David bowed with his face to the earth and paid homage. 9 And David said to Saul, “Why do you listen to the words of men who say, ‘Behold, David seeks your harm'? 10 Behold, this day your eyes have seen how the LORD gave you today into my hand in the cave. And some told me to kill you, but I spared you.5 I said, ‘I will not put out my hand against my lord, for he is the LORD's anointed.' 11 See, my father, see the corner of your robe in my hand. For by the fact that I cut off the corner of your robe and did not kill you, you may know and see that there is no wrong or treason in my hands. I have not sinned against you, though you hunt my life to take it. 12 May the LORD judge between me and you, may the LORD avenge me against you, but my hand shall not be against you. 13 As the proverb of the ancients says, ‘Out of the wicked comes wickedness.' But my hand shall not be against you. 14 After whom has the king of Israel come out? After whom do you pursue? After a dead dog! After a flea! 15 May the LORD therefore be judge and give sentence between me and you, and see to it and plead my cause and deliver me from your hand.” 16 As soon as David had finished speaking these words to Saul, Saul said, “Is this your voice, my son David?” And Saul lifted up his voice and wept. 17 He said to David, “You are more righteous than I, for you have repaid me good, whereas I have repaid you evil. 18 And you have declared this day how you have dealt well with me, in that you did not kill me when the LORD put me into your hands. 19 For if a man finds his enemy, will he let him go away safe? So may the LORD reward you with good for what you have done to me this day. 20 And now, behold, I know that you shall surely be king, and that the kingdom of Israel shall be established in your hand. 21 Swear to me therefore by the LORD that you will not cut off my offspring after me, and that you will not destroy my name out of my father's house.” 22 And David swore this to Saul. Then Saul went home, but David and his men went up to the stronghold. Footnotes [1] 23:28 Or Rock of Divisions [2] 23:29 Ch 24:1 in Hebrew [3] 23:29 Ch 24:2 in Hebrew [4] 24:3 Hebrew cover his feet [5] 24:10 Septuagint, Syriac, Targum; Hebrew it [my eye] spared you (ESV) Chronicles and Prophets: Daniel 5 Daniel 5 (Listen) The Handwriting on the Wall 5 King Belshazzar made a great feast for a thousand of his lords and drank wine in front of the thousand. 2 Belshazzar, when he tasted the wine, commanded that the vessels of gold and of silver that Nebuchadnezzar his father1 had taken out of the temple in Jerusalem be brought, that the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines might drink from them. 3 Then they brought in the golden vessels that had been taken out of the temple, the house of God in Jerusalem, and the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines drank from them. 4 They drank wine and praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone. 5 Immediately the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall of the king's palace, opposite the lampstand. And the king saw the hand as it wrote. 6 Then the king's color changed, and his thoughts alarmed him; his limbs gave way, and his knees knocked together. 7 The king called loudly to bring in the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the astrologers. The king declared2 to the wise men of Babylon, “Whoever reads this writing, and shows me its interpretation, shall be clothed with purple and have a chain of gold around his neck and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.” 8 Then all the king's wise men came in, but they could not read the writing or make known to the king the interpretation. 9 Then King Belshazzar was greatly alarmed, and his color changed, and his lords were perplexed. 10 The queen,3 because of the words of the king and his lords, came into the banqueting hall, and the queen declared, “O king, live forever! Let not your thoughts alarm you or your color change. 11 There is a man in your kingdom in whom is the spirit of the holy gods.4 In the days of your father, light and understanding and wisdom like the wisdom of the gods were found in him, and King Nebuchadnezzar, your father—your father the king—made him chief of the magicians, enchanters, Chaldeans, and astrologers, 12 because an excellent spirit, knowledge, and understanding to interpret dreams, explain riddles, and solve problems were found in this Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar. Now let Daniel be called, and he will show the interpretation.” Daniel Interprets the Handwriting 13 Then Daniel was brought in before the king. The king answered and said to Daniel, “You are that Daniel, one of the exiles of Judah, whom the king my father brought from Judah. 14 I have heard of you that the spirit of the gods5 is in you, and that light and understanding and excellent wisdom are found in you. 15 Now the wise men, the enchanters, have been brought in before me to read this writing and make known to me its interpretation, but they could not show the interpretation of the matter. 16 But I have heard that you can give interpretations and solve problems. Now if you can read the writing and make known to me its interpretation, you shall be clothed with purple and have a chain of gold around your neck and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.” 17 Then Daniel answered and said before the king, “Let your gifts be for yourself, and give your rewards to another. Nevertheless, I will read the writing to the king and make known to him the interpretation. 18 O king, the Most High God gave Nebuchadnezzar your father kingship and greatness and glory and majesty. 19 And because of the greatness that he gave him, all peoples, nations, and languages trembled and feared before him. Whom he would, he killed, and whom he would, he kept alive; whom he would, he raised up, and whom he would, he humbled. 20 But when his heart was lifted up and his spirit was hardened so that he dealt proudly, he was brought down from his kingly throne, and his glory was taken from him. 21 He was driven from among the children of mankind, and his mind was made like that of a beast, and his dwelling was with the wild donkeys. He was fed grass like an ox, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, until he knew that the Most High God rules the kingdom of mankind and sets over it whom he will. 22 And you his son,6 Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, though you knew all this, 23 but you have lifted up yourself against the Lord of heaven. And the vessels of his house have been brought in before you, and you and your lords, your wives, and your concubines have drunk wine from them. And you have praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood, and stone, which do not see or hear or know, but the God in whose hand is your breath, and whose are all your ways, you have not honored. 24 “Then from his presence the hand was sent, and this writing was inscribed. 25 And this is the writing that was inscribed: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, and PARSIN. 26 This is the interpretation of the matter: MENE, God has numbered7 the days of your kingdom and brought it to an end; 27 TEKEL, you have been weighed8 in the balances and found wanting; 28 PERES, your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians.”9 29 Then Belshazzar gave the command, and Daniel was clothed with purple, a chain of gold was put around his neck, and a proclamation was made about him, that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom. 30 That very night Belshazzar the Chaldean king was killed. 31 10 And Darius the Mede received the kingdom, being about sixty-two years old. Footnotes [1] 5:2 Or predecessor; also verses 11, 13, 18 [2] 5:7 Aramaic answered and said; also verse 10 [3] 5:10 Or queen mother; twice in this verse [4] 5:11 Or Spirit of the holy God [5] 5:14 Or Spirit of God [6] 5:22 Or successor [7] 5:26 Mene sounds like the Aramaic for numbered [8] 5:27 Tekel sounds like the Aramaic for weighed [9] 5:28 Peres (the singular of Parsin) sounds like the Aramaic for divided and for Persia [10] 5:31 Ch 6:1 in Aramaic (ESV) Gospels and Epistles: Luke 3:1–22 Luke 3:1–22 (Listen) John the Baptist Prepares the Way 3 In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, 2 during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness. 3 And he went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 4 As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet,   “The voice of one crying in the wilderness:  ‘Prepare the way of the Lord,1    make his paths straight.5   Every valley shall be filled,    and every mountain and hill shall be made low,  and the crooked shall become straight,    and the rough places shall become level ways,6   and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.'” 7 He said therefore to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Bear fruits in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.' For I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. 9 Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.” 10 And the crowds asked him, “What then shall we do?” 11 And he answered them, “Whoever has two tunics2 is to share with him who has none, and whoever has food is to do likewise.” 12 Tax collectors also came to be baptized and said to him, “Teacher, what shall we do?” 13 And he said to them, “Collect no more than you are authorized to do.” 14 Soldiers also asked him, “And we, what shall we do?” And he said to them, “Do not extort money from anyone by threats or by false accusation, and be content with your wages.” 15 As the people were in expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Christ, 16 John answered them all, saying, “I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 17 His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.” 18 So with many other exhortations he preached good news to the people. 19 But Herod the tetrarch, who had been reproved by him for Herodias, his brother's wife, and for all the evil things that Herod had done, 20 added this to them all, that he locked up John in prison. 21 Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heavens were opened, 22 and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form, like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son;3 with you I am well pleased.”4 Footnotes [1] 3:4 Or crying, Prepare in the wilderness the way of the Lord [2] 3:11 Greek chiton, a long garment worn under the cloak next to the skin [3] 3:22 Or my Son, my (or the) Beloved [4] 3:22 Some manuscripts beloved Son; today I have begotten you (ESV)

Message - Pastor Preston Humphries - Sunday, August 28, 2022 - Champions Church, Abilene, Texas

Message - Pastor Preston Humphries - Sunday, August 21, 2022 - Champions Church, Abilene, Texas

September is Childhood Cancer Awareness month. This will be our 5th Annual #EraseKidCancer Hat Campaign. Our giveback has historically been to donate the proceeds from EVERY Lone Star Dry Goods Hat sold throughout the month of September back to Cook Children's. This year we're pulling out all the stops! We've added Special Edition #EraseKidCancer Merchandise, Live Music Concert Series at the LSDG Ice House AND our 1st annual Lemonade & Cookie Stand! The Toasted Traveler Food Truck will also be on site to help satisfy your hunger!!!Our collective contributions go to Cook Children's and have been earmarked for Hematology & Oncology.Ready to join the fight against Kid Cancer? Visit us at www.lonestardrygoods.com or come see us in downtown Abilene or our newest shop in Willow Park just 12 Miles West of Fort Worth!@cookchildrens @cookiecottage @the_lsdg_ice_house 

Abilene, TX - A LOT to unpack here. 38-year-old George P. Jones was arrested trying to retrieve the wallet he left in the animal shelter's stolen van. This was AFTER he had freed a bunch of dogs. Busy day for George.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When we truly know that we are the chief of sinners and recognize that our very existence is dependent upon the mercy of the Lord, then we will no longer be driven to condemn anyone else.

The club is getting a lil extra personal this week as Lanne sits down with a counselor, Jordan, to discuss the many layers of PPD and the importance of taking care of your mental health. This episode will dive deep into how trauma affects our responses and how that in turn affects our mothering. Take a deep breath, and let's go! Jordan's Favorite PP Support IG follows: @drcassidy @drmorgancutlip @mombrain.therapist Jordan's Favorite Parenting Support IG follows: @biglifejournal @biglittlefeelings @themommypsychologist @drbeckyatgoodinside Abilene, TX Counseling Centers: Pregnancy Resources of Abilene (free) Freedom Counseling Hardin-Simmons University Counseling Center Abilene Christian University Counseling Center Ministry of Counseling & Enrichment at First Baptist Follow the club on Instagram @NewMomsClubPodcast

The news of Texas covered today includes:Our Lone Star story of the day: See no evil, hear no evil, and if it is there and we paid to put it there, tough luck! That's my take on Abilene city council's announced library policy and it's basically a kick in the groin to Abilene parents.Our Lone Star story of the day is sponsored by Allied Compliance Services providing the best service in DOT, business and personal drug and alcohol testing since 1995.In border news, a major news wire tries to set a narrative that Texas' sending illegal aliens to NYC, DC is uniquely putting them in danger of harm. That narrative ignores that such people have long been flown and driven to such locales by local governments and non-profits which are reimbursed by the federal government.Second Amendment ruling in Texas by a federal judge says 18 to 20 year olds cannot be prohibited from carrying handguns just due to their age.Rig count.And, other news of Texas.Listen on the radio, or station stream, at 5pm Central. Click for our affiliates.www.PrattonTexas.com

Hello and welcome to the Zookeeper Roadmap Podcast episode 3 in todays episode we hear Joseph and Sheldon talk about and discuss animal behavior then we hear from Clay Carbajal from the Abilene zoo in Texas and how he got into the zookeeping field, so lets buckle up its time for the Zookeeper Roadmap Podcast.

Visit or click

On this episode of Anchored, Jeremy is joined by his daughter, Grace Tate, and Tamara Long, Vice President for Enrollment Management at Abilene Christian University. Tamara and Grace discuss Abilene's summer program in England, sharing their perspectives on the trip and what they learned about English history and culture. Tamara emphasizes that Abilene Christian University's goal is to maintain a strong Christian identity that pervades and fuels its rigorous academics.

People think of religion in many different ways today, but usually not in a way that requires our hearts to be broken.

Message - Pastor Preston Humphries - Sunday, August 14, 2022 - Champions Church, Abilene, Texas

The news of Texas covered today includes:Our Lone Star story of the day: Campaign and political stories including three stories (1, 2 & 3) regarding A.G. Ken Paxton; update on the defamation lawsuit against Beto Pancho O'Rourke; Democrat Congressman in the Valley facing a huge election in November turns out to have been getting homestead property tax exemptions on two house, cheating taxpayers, and more.Our Lone Star story of the day is sponsored by Allied Compliance Services providing the best service in DOT, business and personal drug and alcohol testing since 1995.July 2022 Marks Lowest Unemployment Rate (4.0%) Since Pre-Pandemic, State Adds 72,800 Jobs: The Amarillo and Austin-Round Rock Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSA) recorded July's lowest unemployment rates among Texas MSAs with a not seasonally adjusted rate of 3.1 percent each, followed by College Station-Bryan and Midland both at 3.5 percent, then Abilene and San Angelo each at 3.6 percent.Abilene leaders make a big deal, and much criticism of concerned citizens, over a city charter change they claim is a “non-issue” and had no “outside group” recommending the gender language changes. If it's no big deal then drop it!And, other news of Texas.Listen on the radio, or station stream, at 5pm Central. Click for our affiliates.www.PrattonTexas.com

Today's conversation is with Jake Mills, Missions and Outreach Pastor at Beltway Park Church in Abilene, Texas. One of the unique characteristics of Beltway Park's missions efforts is an emphasis on taking the Gospel to the Jewish people both in Israel and around the world.Want to learn how your church can partner with OneChild to bring HOPE to kids living in hard Places? Click Here!Jake shares that Beltway Park has always been committed to giving a percentage of their offerings directly to missions and then increasing that amount year over year. It doesn't matter what that starting percentage is, set it aside, and then slowly raise that percentage annually and see who much of an impact that can make. Jake also shares that it doesn't matter if it's Jewish evangelism or outreach to any other people group or nation, the best people to share the Gospel in a culture are people from that culture. This isn't always easy, especially when dealing with unreached people groups. But once the opportunity presents itself to have Christians from inside that group reaching out to their own people, this transition must happen. And finally, Jake reminds us that getting started in missions isn't as difficult as we sometimes make it. But we still need to take a step back and be practical. Look at the budget and set aside the funds to be used. After that, take action. Get a team together, find a partnership you trust, and get to work. The rest is just details.Learn More About Beltway Park ChurchLearn more about OneChild HERE!

The news of Texas covered today includes:Our Lone Star story of the day: Texas Education Agency finally releases school district and campus report cards after skipping such for WuFlu. One standout is that is that Abilene ISD is a very poor performer even when compared to other NW Texas city districts. See you district here: txschools.govOur Lone Star story of the day is sponsored by Allied Compliance Services providing the best service in DOT, business and personal drug and alcohol testing since 1995.Much polling to discuss. Despite my belief that the UT-Tyler/Dallas Morning News poll is among the least reliable, O'Rourke has a problem as even this poll shows Democrat turn-out to be likely less than Republican in November as a percentage. Then figure there are more Republicans than Dems in Texas and it doesn't look so good for the fake Hispanic Beto Pancho.“ESG” – why it is sinister. It's a good thing Texas legislators, attorney general, and comptroller are fighting this terrible idea.And, other news of Texas.Listen on the radio, or station stream, at 5pm Central. Click for our affiliates.www.PrattonTexas.com 

Let us take the Theotokos as our great example of how to receive and follow Christ every day, even as we ask for her prayers for the healing of our souls. That is the only way to celebrate the great feast of her Dormition with spiritual integrity.

Episode 30: Recorded August 2, 2022 "I don't know how to describe heaven for a dog...it's hard for a lot of people to understand how much these Greyhounds love to run..."Dr. Rob Gillette on Auburn University veterinary students seeing Greyhounds run for the first time Show Notes Dr. Rob Gillette has been around working and sporting dogs his entire life. He was born in Great Bend, near Cheyenne Bottoms, Kansas and grew up hunting with retrievers and bird dogs. Cheyenne Bottoms was also home to the first coursing meeting of the American Coursing Club in 1886. He didn't realize it at the time, but it was a sign of his future involvement in Greyhound sports medicine. Dr. Gillette graduated from veterinary school at Kansas State University in 1988 and subsequently helped take care of Greyhounds at local dog tracks and with breeders in and around Kansas City and Abilene. After completing a postdoctoral in human biomechanics, he received a research grant from the Kansas Racing Commission to better understand how Greyhounds run and how to reduce their injuries. Dr. Gillette would continue to research Greyhound performance and consult on track design and surface composition on behalf of trainers and track owners. In the late 1990s, Dr. Gillette began a 15 year career at Auburn University's College of Veterinary Medicine. There, he expanded his canine sports medicine research. His students had the opportunity to observe and learn from Greyhounds participating in what is now known as the Canine Performance Sciences program. His research would not only benefit the care of the Greyhound but serve the greater canine community as well. In this episode, host John Parker discusses with Dr. Gillette his career as a veterinarian and researcher of Greyhounds, service dogs, and law enforcement and military K9s. They discuss how an understanding of the Greyhound's unique anatomy and athleticism better informs sports medicine for many breeds. Dr. Gillette also shares some of his current research activities and plans to develop the next generation of Greyhound savvy veterinarians. Links SportsVet.com (Website)SportsVet (Facebook)Athletic and Working Dog: Functional Anatomy and Biomechanics (Amazon.com)

Old Testament: Nehemiah 12–13 Nehemiah 12–13 (Listen) Priests and Levites 12 These are the priests and the Levites who came up with Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua: Seraiah, Jeremiah, Ezra, 2 Amariah, Malluch, Hattush, 3 Shecaniah, Rehum, Meremoth, 4 Iddo, Ginnethoi, Abijah, 5 Mijamin, Maadiah, Bilgah, 6 Shemaiah, Joiarib, Jedaiah, 7 Sallu, Amok, Hilkiah, Jedaiah. These were the chiefs of the priests and of their brothers in the days of Jeshua. 8 And the Levites: Jeshua, Binnui, Kadmiel, Sherebiah, Judah, and Mattaniah, who with his brothers was in charge of the songs of thanksgiving. 9 And Bakbukiah and Unni and their brothers stood opposite them in the service. 10 And Jeshua was the father of Joiakim, Joiakim the father of Eliashib, Eliashib the father of Joiada, 11 Joiada the father of Jonathan, and Jonathan the father of Jaddua. 12 And in the days of Joiakim were priests, heads of fathers' houses: of Seraiah, Meraiah; of Jeremiah, Hananiah; 13 of Ezra, Meshullam; of Amariah, Jehohanan; 14 of Malluchi, Jonathan; of Shebaniah, Joseph; 15 of Harim, Adna; of Meraioth, Helkai; 16 of Iddo, Zechariah; of Ginnethon, Meshullam; 17 of Abijah, Zichri; of Miniamin, of Moadiah, Piltai; 18 of Bilgah, Shammua; of Shemaiah, Jehonathan; 19 of Joiarib, Mattenai; of Jedaiah, Uzzi; 20 of Sallai, Kallai; of Amok, Eber; 21 of Hilkiah, Hashabiah; of Jedaiah, Nethanel. 22 In the days of Eliashib, Joiada, Johanan, and Jaddua, the Levites were recorded as heads of fathers' houses; so too were the priests in the reign of Darius the Persian. 23 As for the sons of Levi, their heads of fathers' houses were written in the Book of the Chronicles until the days of Johanan the son of Eliashib. 24 And the chiefs of the Levites: Hashabiah, Sherebiah, and Jeshua the son of Kadmiel, with their brothers who stood opposite them, to praise and to give thanks, according to the commandment of David the man of God, watch by watch. 25 Mattaniah, Bakbukiah, Obadiah, Meshullam, Talmon, and Akkub were gatekeepers standing guard at the storehouses of the gates. 26 These were in the days of Joiakim the son of Jeshua son of Jozadak, and in the days of Nehemiah the governor and of Ezra, the priest and scribe. Dedication of the Wall 27 And at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem they sought the Levites in all their places, to bring them to Jerusalem to celebrate the dedication with gladness, with thanksgivings and with singing, with cymbals, harps, and lyres. 28 And the sons of the singers gathered together from the district surrounding Jerusalem and from the villages of the Netophathites; 29 also from Beth-gilgal and from the region of Geba and Azmaveth, for the singers had built for themselves villages around Jerusalem. 30 And the priests and the Levites purified themselves, and they purified the people and the gates and the wall. 31 Then I brought the leaders of Judah up onto the wall and appointed two great choirs that gave thanks. One went to the south on the wall to the Dung Gate. 32 And after them went Hoshaiah and half of the leaders of Judah, 33 and Azariah, Ezra, Meshullam, 34 Judah, Benjamin, Shemaiah, and Jeremiah, 35 and certain of the priests' sons with trumpets: Zechariah the son of Jonathan, son of Shemaiah, son of Mattaniah, son of Micaiah, son of Zaccur, son of Asaph; 36 and his relatives, Shemaiah, Azarel, Milalai, Gilalai, Maai, Nethanel, Judah, and Hanani, with the musical instruments of David the man of God. And Ezra the scribe went before them. 37 At the Fountain Gate they went up straight before them by the stairs of the city of David, at the ascent of the wall, above the house of David, to the Water Gate on the east. 38 The other choir of those who gave thanks went to the north, and I followed them with half of the people, on the wall, above the Tower of the Ovens, to the Broad Wall, 39 and above the Gate of Ephraim, and by the Gate of Yeshanah,1 and by the Fish Gate and the Tower of Hananel and the Tower of the Hundred, to the Sheep Gate; and they came to a halt at the Gate of the Guard. 40 So both choirs of those who gave thanks stood in the house of God, and I and half of the officials with me; 41 and the priests Eliakim, Maaseiah, Miniamin, Micaiah, Elioenai, Zechariah, and Hananiah, with trumpets; 42 and Maaseiah, Shemaiah, Eleazar, Uzzi, Jehohanan, Malchijah, Elam, and Ezer. And the singers sang with Jezrahiah as their leader. 43 And they offered great sacrifices that day and rejoiced, for God had made them rejoice with great joy; the women and children also rejoiced. And the joy of Jerusalem was heard far away. Service at the Temple 44 On that day men were appointed over the storerooms, the contributions, the firstfruits, and the tithes, to gather into them the portions required by the Law for the priests and for the Levites according to the fields of the towns, for Judah rejoiced over the priests and the Levites who ministered. 45 And they performed the service of their God and the service of purification, as did the singers and the gatekeepers, according to the command of David and his son Solomon. 46 For long ago in the days of David and Asaph there were directors of the singers, and there were songs2 of praise and thanksgiving to God. 47 And all Israel in the days of Zerubbabel and in the days of Nehemiah gave the daily portions for the singers and the gatekeepers; and they set apart that which was for the Levites; and the Levites set apart that which was for the sons of Aaron. Nehemiah's Final Reforms 13 On that day they read from the Book of Moses in the hearing of the people. And in it was found written that no Ammonite or Moabite should ever enter the assembly of God, 2 for they did not meet the people of Israel with bread and water, but hired Balaam against them to curse them—yet our God turned the curse into a blessing. 3 As soon as the people heard the law, they separated from Israel all those of foreign descent. 4 Now before this, Eliashib the priest, who was appointed over the chambers of the house of our God, and who was related to Tobiah, 5 prepared for Tobiah a large chamber where they had previously put the grain offering, the frankincense, the vessels, and the tithes of grain, wine, and oil, which were given by commandment to the Levites, singers, and gatekeepers, and the contributions for the priests. 6 While this was taking place, I was not in Jerusalem, for in the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes king of Babylon I went to the king. And after some time I asked leave of the king 7 and came to Jerusalem, and I then discovered the evil that Eliashib had done for Tobiah, preparing for him a chamber in the courts of the house of God. 8 And I was very angry, and I threw all the household furniture of Tobiah out of the chamber. 9 Then I gave orders, and they cleansed the chambers, and I brought back there the vessels of the house of God, with the grain offering and the frankincense. 10 I also found out that the portions of the Levites had not been given to them, so that the Levites and the singers, who did the work, had fled each to his field. 11 So I confronted the officials and said, “Why is the house of God forsaken?” And I gathered them together and set them in their stations. 12 Then all Judah brought the tithe of the grain, wine, and oil into the storehouses. 13 And I appointed as treasurers over the storehouses Shelemiah the priest, Zadok the scribe, and Pedaiah of the Levites, and as their assistant Hanan the son of Zaccur, son of Mattaniah, for they were considered reliable, and their duty was to distribute to their brothers. 14 Remember me, O my God, concerning this, and do not wipe out my good deeds that I have done for the house of my God and for his service. 15 In those days I saw in Judah people treading winepresses on the Sabbath, and bringing in heaps of grain and loading them on donkeys, and also wine, grapes, figs, and all kinds of loads, which they brought into Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. And I warned them on the day when they sold food. 16 Tyrians also, who lived in the city, brought in fish and all kinds of goods and sold them on the Sabbath to the people of Judah, in Jerusalem itself! 17 Then I confronted the nobles of Judah and said to them, “What is this evil thing that you are doing, profaning the Sabbath day? 18 Did not your fathers act in this way, and did not our God bring all this disaster3 on us and on this city? Now you are bringing more wrath on Israel by profaning the Sabbath.” 19 As soon as it began to grow dark at the gates of Jerusalem before the Sabbath, I commanded that the doors should be shut and gave orders that they should not be opened until after the Sabbath. And I stationed some of my servants at the gates, that no load might be brought in on the Sabbath day. 20 Then the merchants and sellers of all kinds of wares lodged outside Jerusalem once or twice. 21 But I warned them and said to them, “Why do you lodge outside the wall? If you do so again, I will lay hands on you.” From that time on they did not come on the Sabbath. 22 Then I commanded the Levites that they should purify themselves and come and guard the gates, to keep the Sabbath day holy. Remember this also in my favor, O my God, and spare me according to the greatness of your steadfast love. 23 In those days also I saw the Jews who had married women of Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab. 24 And half of their children spoke the language of Ashdod, and they could not speak the language of Judah, but only the language of each people. 25 And I confronted them and cursed them and beat some of them and pulled out their hair. And I made them take an oath in the name of God, saying, “You shall not give your daughters to their sons, or take their daughters for your sons or for yourselves. 26 Did not Solomon king of Israel sin on account of such women? Among the many nations there was no king like him, and he was beloved by his God, and God made him king over all Israel. Nevertheless, foreign women made even him to sin. 27 Shall we then listen to you and do all this great evil and act treacherously against our God by marrying foreign women?” 28 And one of the sons of Jehoiada, the son of Eliashib the high priest, was the son-in-law of Sanballat the Horonite. Therefore I chased him from me. 29 Remember them, O my God, because they have desecrated the priesthood and the covenant of the priesthood and the Levites. 30 Thus I cleansed them from everything foreign, and I established the duties of the priests and Levites, each in his work; 31 and I provided for the wood offering at appointed times, and for the firstfruits. Remember me, O my God, for good. Footnotes [1] 12:39 Or of the old city [2] 12:46 Or leaders [3] 13:18 The Hebrew word can mean evil, harm, or disaster, depending on the context (ESV) Psalm: Psalm 39 Psalm 39 (Listen) What Is the Measure of My Days? To the choirmaster: to Jeduthun. A Psalm of David. 39   I said, “I will guard my ways,    that I may not sin with my tongue;  I will guard my mouth with a muzzle,    so long as the wicked are in my presence.”2   I was mute and silent;    I held my peace to no avail,  and my distress grew worse.3     My heart became hot within me.  As I mused, the fire burned;    then I spoke with my tongue: 4   “O LORD, make me know my end    and what is the measure of my days;    let me know how fleeting I am!5   Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths,    and my lifetime is as nothing before you.  Surely all mankind stands as a mere breath! Selah6     Surely a man goes about as a shadow!  Surely for nothing1 they are in turmoil;    man heaps up wealth and does not know who will gather! 7   “And now, O Lord, for what do I wait?    My hope is in you.8   Deliver me from all my transgressions.    Do not make me the scorn of the fool!9   I am mute; I do not open my mouth,    for it is you who have done it.10   Remove your stroke from me;    I am spent by the hostility of your hand.11   When you discipline a man    with rebukes for sin,  you consume like a moth what is dear to him;    surely all mankind is a mere breath! Selah 12   “Hear my prayer, O LORD,    and give ear to my cry;    hold not your peace at my tears!  For I am a sojourner with you,    a guest, like all my fathers.13   Look away from me, that I may smile again,    before I depart and am no more!” Footnotes [1] 39:6 Hebrew Surely as a breath (ESV) New Testament: Luke 3 Luke 3 (Listen) John the Baptist Prepares the Way 3 In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, 2 during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness. 3 And he went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 4 As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet,   “The voice of one crying in the wilderness:  ‘Prepare the way of the Lord,1    make his paths straight.5   Every valley shall be filled,    and every mountain and hill shall be made low,  and the crooked shall become straight,    and the rough places shall become level ways,6   and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.'” 7 He said therefore to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Bear fruits in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.' For I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. 9 Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.” 10 And the crowds asked him, “What then shall we do?” 11 And he answered them, “Whoever has two tunics2 is to share with him who has none, and whoever has food is to do likewise.” 12 Tax collectors also came to be baptized and said to him, “Teacher, what shall we do?” 13 And he said to them, “Collect no more than you are authorized to do.” 14 Soldiers also asked him, “And we, what shall we do?” And he said to them, “Do not extort money from anyone by threats or by false accusation, and be content with your wages.” 15 As the people were in expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Christ, 16 John answered them all, saying, “I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 17 His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.” 18 So with many other exhortations he preached good news to the people. 19 But Herod the tetrarch, who had been reproved by him for Herodias, his brother's wife, and for all the evil things that Herod had done, 20 added this to them all, that he locked up John in prison. 21 Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heavens were opened, 22 and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form, like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son;3 with you I am well pleased.”4 The Genealogy of Jesus Christ 23 Jesus, when he began his ministry, was about thirty years of age, being the son (as was supposed) of Joseph, the son of Heli, 24 the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melchi, the son of Jannai, the son of Joseph, 25 the son of Mattathias, the son of Amos, the son of Nahum, the son of Esli, the son of Naggai, 26 the son of Maath, the son of Mattathias, the son of Semein, the son of Josech, the son of Joda, 27 the son of Joanan, the son of Rhesa, the son of Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel,5 the son of Neri, 28 the son of Melchi, the son of Addi, the son of Cosam, the son of Elmadam, the son of Er, 29 the son of Joshua, the son of Eliezer, the son of Jorim, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, 30 the son of Simeon, the son of Judah, the son of Joseph, the son of Jonam, the son of Eliakim, 31 the son of Melea, the son of Menna, the son of Mattatha, the son of Nathan, the son of David, 32 the son of Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of Boaz, the son of Sala, the son of Nahshon, 33 the son of Amminadab, the son of Admin, the son of Arni, the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah, 34 the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of Nahor, 35 the son of Serug, the son of Reu, the son of Peleg, the son of Eber, the son of Shelah, 36 the son of Cainan, the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem, the son of Noah, the son of Lamech, 37 the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared, the son of Mahalaleel, the son of Cainan, 38 the son of Enos, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God. Footnotes [1] 3:4 Or crying, Prepare in the wilderness the way of the Lord [2] 3:11 Greek chiton, a long garment worn under the cloak next to the skin [3] 3:22 Or my Son, my (or the) Beloved [4] 3:22 Some manuscripts beloved Son; today I have begotten you [5] 3:27 Greek Salathiel (ESV)

Join the BHL podcast as we go inside the Eisenhower Presidential Library & Museum in Abilene and talk to some of its most passionate leaders! We discuss seldom-known parts of Ike's career and presidency, the staggering array of artifacts and history on display at the facility, and the educational opportunities and programming that carry on Ike's legacy to this day. Dawn Hammett, Director, and Joy Murphy, Learning and Engagement Director, share some fascinating facts during this episode. 

Kristi Newton and Deborah Williams formed a powerful friendship after the murder of George Floyd. Kristi Newton, a white woman and Deborah Williams a black woman meet for the first time at the MLK Bridge. Newton was compelled to act as she watched George Floyd be choked to death by a police officer as he cried for his mother. Newton and Williams formed Abilene Restorative Community Circle which focuses on bringing people together and fostering positive outcomes.

Wild Bill leaves Independence after killing Davis Tutt and pursues employment as a scout and U.S Deputy Marshal. As Hickok's notoriety increases, he goes on to serve as Marshal in the rough Kansas towns of Hays and Abilene before joining Buffalo Bill Cody and Texas Jack Omohundro in New York City. This is part 2 of Wild Bill series. In part one we covered Hickok's childhood, his time in Bleeding Kansas, his first known gunfight with David McCanles, time spent serving the Union during the war, and the famous duel with Davis Tutt. If you haven't already, please give it a listen and stick around for the 3rd and final installment! Wild Bill Hickok | Part One - https://www.wildwestextra.com/wild-bill-hickok-part-one/   Check out my website for more true tales from the wild and woolly west https://www.wildwestextra.com/   Email me! https://www.wildwestextra.com/contact/   Buy me a coffee! https://www.buymeacoffee.com/wildwest   Join Patreon for bonus content! https://www.patreon.com/wildwestextra   Become a YouTube Paid Member for bonus content! https://www.youtube.com/c/WildWestExtravaganza  

In This Week's Episode:-We laughed our asses off talking to the members of Ben Quad-Feature the song "Abilene" by "Hate It Too"Ben Quad's Socials: Facebook- https://www.facebook.com/benquadokInstagram-https://www.instagram.com/benquadok/?hl=enTwitter- https://twitter.com/benquadokHate It Too's Socials:Facebook- https://www.facebook.com/hateittooInstagram- https://www.instagram.com/hateittoo/Twitter- https://twitter.com/hateittooHate It Too's Song "Abilene"https://open.spotify.com/track/7cfGKa370uZQlK0eSRr3NM?si=a0fe32c0fefc4516Our Socials:Facebook- https://www.facebook.com/PPESPodcastInstagram- https://www.instagram.com/ppespodcast/Twitter- https://twitter.com/PPESPodcastSpotify- https://open.spotify.com/user/ciov73gyqjxmlmbk9xtbtcqil?si=BShSgTlJRNSsBetcyOzbvg

Visit or click

Message - Pastor Preston Humphries - Sunday, August 7, 2022 - Champions Church, Abilene, Texas

Message - Sherry Webb & Bill Ashiln - Sunday, July 31, 2022 - Champions Church, Abilene, Texas

The disciples offered to Christ what they had that day: five loaves of bread and two fish. He transfigured that tiny offering into a massive feast with far more leftover than what the hungry crowd could eat. This miracle shows that the key question is not what or how much we offer according to any conventional standard, but whether we offer all that we have for the Lord's blessing. He will do the rest.

Clay Smith is back! Almost five weeks after breaking his right knee and ankle at the World's Oldest Rodeo in Prescott, Arizona, Clay Smith is winning his first two rodeos back at Abilene and Dodge City. In this bonus episode of "The Score," brought to you by the Royal Crown, he discusses his return to rodeo with host Chelsea Schaffer. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We are at it again. We definitely planned on discussing The CrossFit Games. But things go totally off the rails due to beers provided by CFCP member Kelli. We started off by unboxing a gift. Which you will hear our raw uncut reactions. Hope you are not listening to this while your baby is trying to nap. That's a shot at you Lameace and Kyle. Congrats on your baby boy! We cover the MAD teens as three out of the five are participating in this years games. We talk preparation, performance and nerves. We also briefly cover the events schedule. Then we just cover everything from tortillas, the future of Romeo Falcon and much much more. Sit back and enjoy this shock drop episode as we all cheer on Elijah and Ka'eo Subiono and Marissa Nichols. Enjoy the show. We are drinking beer from Grain Theory Brewery out of Abilene, TX. Email us your suggested topics or questions at, madcastpodcast2222@gmail.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tillman gyms in Austin- CrossFit Cedar Park www.crossfitcp.com 512-331-0992 Tillman Fitness Training at 2222 www.tillmanfitnesstraining.com 512-669-5222 MADathletes www.madathletes.com 512-331-0992 Tillman Physical Therapy & Sports Training Center, Inc. www.tillmantherapy.com 512-331-6200 Instagram - madathletes Facebook - CrossFitCedarPark Twitter - crossfitcp --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

Season 4 Episode 25 is out with Casey Demko. Casey is currently an assistant coach at Abilene Christian University located in Abilene, TX. Before, ACU Casey played college baseball at many levels including (Ohio State, Sinclair CC, and Coker University). This has allowed Casey to have a very eye-opening college experience showing that there is talent at every level of baseball. Casey started his college coaching career at Quincy University a Division 2 baseball program in Quincy, IL. Casey goes in-depth talking about how he used technology at Quincy to help develop infielders. Technology become a huge staple in his development process by analyzing every type of ground ball hit while also tracking throws through an application created through R. Casey is a progressive coach while understanding that development is a process, and you need a plan for every player. Please join me in listening to Casey. Timestamps: Background 01:30 Ohio State 1:34 Sinclair CC 1:47 Coker College 2:02 Quincy University 2:23 Abilene Christian University (Go through and explain your recent hire)   2022 season at Quincy 3:06   Overall path to becoming an assistant coach in college 5:45 Process of being a grad student 5:50 Grad school and coaching balance 7:30 What do you really need to know going into this position 9:20   Skills that need to be learned Coaching style 13:25 Process of actually running a real college program 18:30 Player development qualities 19:20   How hard is it to get a D1 assistant coaches job 26:21 would be interested hearing your experience without giving out to much personal information   Player development 2023 Expectations 29:41 Biggest differences between 2021-2022 39:16   Closing

Ep 50: Implementing the ASIM ProcessSheriff Michelle Cook and Police Chief Terry Nichols share their experiences implementing the Active Shooter Incident Management Checklist process and their tips for success. Don't miss this discussion!Bill Godfrey:Welcome to the Active Shooter Incident Management Podcast. It's good to be back with you today. My name is Bill Godfrey. I'm your podcast host, and I have with me today two former C3 instructors as our guest stars today, both of them law enforcement leaders, and hoping that one day when they do retire-retire, we might actually get them back as C3 instructors; hint hint, Chief Nichols, who just retired in the last few weeks. So I have with me Michelle Cook. She is currently serving as the Sheriff in Clay County. She also did ... Michelle was almost 30 years at Jacksonville?Michelle Cook:26 years at Jacksonville, yeah.Bill Godfrey:Yeah, so 26 years at Jacksonville Sheriff's Office Police Department as the operations chief, so she had an awful lot of responsibility there. Did a short stint as the Police Chief at Atlantic Beach, which was kind of a retirement job, but too easy for you. You needed something with more, and so now she's the elected Sheriff at Clay County, which is in north Florida. And we have with us Terry Nichols. Terry was the Assistant Director at Alert from the founding to, what was it? 2018, 20-Terry Nichols:2016, 2016.Bill Godfrey:2016. Left Alert, became the Police Chief in Brownwood, Texas, and then you did, what, a little over three years there?Terry Nichols:Three years there, and then moved to Seguin as chief, and spent three years there, and now I'm retiredBill Godfrey:Like a week and a half ago, two weeks ago? It's been pretty recent.Terry Nichols:It's been a month, it's been a month.Bill Godfrey:So it's exciting to have both of you here. I really appreciate you taking the time. I know the sheriff especially, you have a very busy schedule. But I wanted to have a podcast where we talk about implementing the Active Shooter Incident Management checklist and the process that goes with it. Because it sounds simple on the surface, and when you've gone through training, it's fairly straightforward, but trying to roll that out to a whole organization is a little bit of a logistics machine.And the two of you have each done this, not only in your organizations, but you've done it more than once. So sheriff, you did it at Jacksonville, then did it at Atlantic Beach, now at Clay County, and Terry, you did it at both Brownwood and Seguin. So what I wanted to just get from you guys is, what was it about this process that made you say, "This is the way I want to go," and what were your lessons learned? How did you approach it and go along the way? So sheriff, you want to start us off?Michelle Cook:Sure. First of all, thank you for having me today to talk about this. I'm very passionate about this. You've asked why ASIM, why choose this method of managing an active shooter event, and I will tell you, I'm entering into my 30th year of law enforcement, and I've worked some huge cases, some huge incidents, thousands of them, and for me, being a street cop for so long and then the leader of street cops, the ASIM process, the ASIM methodology, it just makes sense.In our industry, and Terry, correct me if you see differently, we teach young officers, young supervisors, to handle everything themselves. And on 99% of the calls that we handle, that can be done, but on a mass critical incident, like an active shooter event, relying on one person to handle everything is just unrealistic, and that's how things get missed, and unfortunately, that's how people die, is you got one person trying to handle everything.Terry Nichols:Yeah. For me, everything the sheriff said makes perfect sense, and she is spot on. Having been involved with Alert and standing it up from the get go, driving it post-Columbine, and how we were training cops, and then fast-forward several years and get introduced to the ASIM model, and realizing we had been missing the boat early on. When we started first training our officers, we were missing the management piece of this. We were doing good at going in and realizing that we have a different duty. There's no longer sit and wait for SWAT, that we had a different mission on these active shooter events.But there's a whole management piece of this, and like the sheriff alluded to, that we're real good at teaching cops to go handle a problem by themselves, and they do it 9 times out of 10, but these events are catastrophic. They are geographical in nature. It doesn't just happen in a vacuum in one little place, and it takes significant resource management being trained to do that, and that the ASIM, I was just pulled to it and said it makes all the sense in the world.Bill Godfrey:Well, it's very humbling to hear that, and I'm thrilled that you guys ... I was thrilled to have both of you as instructors and as founding members, if you will, of what we were doing a very, very long time ago. Terry, when you were at Alert, you had a hand in helping us get the pilot up and running, and Michelle attended one of the very first pilots. Wait, in fact, I think it was the very first pilot delivery we did for certification, when we did it at Seminole County, so you guys have certainly been on the road with us for a long time. Terry, what was your strategy? So Brownwood, you might want to ... Brownwood was a little more rural, Seguin's a little more suburban. What was your strategy when you wanted to implement it the first time around, and then how did that change for you the second time around?Terry Nichols:I want to back up to something that you said on the intro too, if I can remember what it was now, that it's not just an agency that we implemented these in, it was a geographical area. So it was multiple agencies.Bill Godfrey:Good point.Terry Nichols:Yeah, I may have been the Chief of Brownwood, but I had the Sheriff's Department, and I had two of the law enforcement agencies right there in the county as well, and it was very rural. If you look at Brownwood, Texas on a map, it is in the geographical center of Texas, and I tell people, "You go out to nowhere and turn left, and you're in Brownwood," and not a lot of resources out there.Our closest big city is Abilene, Texas, and that's an hour away. But I knew, A, the need when I got there. I saw the quick needs assessment that we had no active shooter training. We had nothing. We had zero partnership with our fire and EMS partners, we had a third-party EMS provider, we were not working with our Sheriff's Department who was in the same building as us, so a lot of basic leadership stuff.And it was fun to bring the ASIM stuff to us, and we did it through Counterstrike first. That's how we introduced it to the organization, but we brought in the Sheriff's Department and other law enforcement agencies in the county. And that brought us all together, where they weren't playing in the sandbox prior to me getting there for multiple reasons, but this was something we could all gather around and actually embrace.And that really helped build relationships and, "Hey, we're not that bad. Hey, the people across the hall, hey, they're not that bad. They wear a brown uniform, we wear a blue uniform." So but it's also a rule. What we had is what we had, and help was a long way away. So we introduced it through Counterstrike, and then we did ASIM and the checklist, and we recurred training on it, and it was a success.Bill Godfrey:Sheriff, your first implementation was at Jacksonville, which, contrasting to Brownwood, is about as big as ... it's a big job. What was your strategy there? I know you had to play the long game. It took a while, but talk a little bit about what you did at Jacksonville.Michelle Cook:Sure. So in Jacksonville, the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office actually, at the time, was the 25th largest agency in the country, so a large agency. And what we decided to do is offer the ASIM class to those who wanted it first, because we thought if we could get those folks who are interested in it to buy into it, then they could go out and help sell it to the rest of the agency. And that really, for us, worked out good, because we ended up with ASIM disciples, is what I call them, and those are folks who were all in, who, on the street, if somebody had a question, they could speak to what ASIM was, and the benefits of it, and stuff like that.So it took us several years. We had to get through about 1,400 people trained, so it took us several years, several training cycles, to get everybody through. Contrast that to ... Let me go back. In Jacksonville, we also had a really close relationship with the fire department, and so they were in on the training from the beginning with us, and that was very, very beneficial.In fact, I think it was in Jacksonville, we started using rescue task forces at special events, and that was a chance for us to practice a concept with our police and fire working together on all of our pre-planned special events, so when the the day did come that we had an active shooter, we would be prepared to ... and we wouldn't have to stop and explain to people what a rescue task force was, so that worked out really well.And we had the active shooter incident at The Landing, and we got fortunate that day because there was actually a fire department unit training a block away. But if you go back and you listen to the radio broadcast, and you listen, and you read the after-action reports, it was very clear that not only the active shooter tactical training that we had been practicing and training so hard for worked, but also, the Active Shooter Incident Management portion of that trained, and people fell right into place.And so it was really ... I had just left when that happened, but it was very gratifying to see all that hard work going into saving people's lives. So move forward to Atlantic Beach, again, much like Terry, a very small agency. We had 30 people total, including myself, and for me, I incorporated not only some of the fire department folks again in this, but public works. Our public works folks had a big presence out there in the city of Atlanta Beach, and so they were pulled into some of the safer jobs, and we trained with public works on these things, and safety...Bill Godfrey:Okay, well, we're not going to let you get away with that that easy. You're going to have to tell a little bit about what you did, and why, and how it worked out.Michelle Cook:So what we did is we got the public works guys because ... specifically the school, but other locations as well, we had ... Atlantic Beach is a beach town, so there's lots of roads leading in, and one of the concerns we had is that when something happened, that traffic would be backed up and blocked so bad that we would not be able to get mutual aid or fire rescue into the scene.So we train the public works guys on how to use their big trucks to hold traffic positions until relieved by a law enforcement officer, and again, they were instrumental and vital to our plan out there, and talking about building relationships and everybody being on the same page. So that worked out really good. Small agency, limited resources. We-Bill Godfrey:Did you get any pushback from the public works guys and gals, or were they pretty excited about it?Michelle Cook:Oh, they were having a blast. We also incorporated them, just on a side note, in our search for missing people. As soon as we had a missing person call go out in the city of Atlantic Beach, our publics works people would getting notified on their phones that we were looking for missing persons, and so they would also help us look for missing people. So it was really just, you go back to, if you have limited resources, if you're in a jurisdiction then you have limited resources, there are other groups that you can pull in safely to help augment or supplement your agency.Bill Godfrey:Sure, sure.Michelle Cook:Yeah, so that...Bill Godfrey:So how did your approach ... Other than the public works, what was the big glaring differences for you implementing it at Atlantic Beach, versus implementing ASIM at the Atlantic Beach versus Jacksonville?Michelle Cook:You know, Jacksonville, there was always the potential for over-convergence just from get go, just because of the sheer number of resources in Duval County. In Atlantic Beach, it was the exact opposite. How long do we have to wait until help gets here, and then how do you manage so much mutual aid? Because in Atlantic Beach, we would have Neptune Beach, Jacks Beach, Jacksonville, Mayport police, all potentially responding, all with different communication, radio channels.And so we had to make sure that when we developed our plan in Atlantic Beach, that all those surrounding agencies knew what our plan was, so that if and when something did happen, they would know what radio frequency to go to. Where would staging be? We preset all those ahead of time so that would be no question day of, and that's the value of a smaller jurisdiction, is you can do a lot of that ahead of time.Bill Godfrey:Yeah, you really regionalized your approach, which Terry mentioned even at Brownwood and bringing some of the others in. Terry, when you went over to Seguin, what did you do a little bit differently there at that one? And talk a little bit about how you stepped outside of the city to bring in your regional partners, similar to what Michelle was just talking about.Terry Nichols:Yeah, pretty much the same thing. The good news is we had a great relationship with the fire department there. It's a larger organization. I say larger. We had 60 sworn at the time, but we're a lot closer ... San Antonio's, a rock throw away, Austin's an hour away, San Marcos is close. So we have a lot of resources, and in the Braunfels real close to us if we need them.One thing that this community had lived through was Sutherland Springs. We had first responders ... Sutherland Springs was literally 15 miles, 20 miles, from Seguin, so we had first responders that actually went down there that day. So it was very close to Seguin, meaning and close to their heart. They did not have ASIM, though. They did not have any training. Most of them had been through Alert or some level of tactical training. The tactical piece of it, the sheriff mentioned, but nobody had the management piece.So I took what I did in Brownwood, and we invested in the Counterstrike and they ran everybody through Counterstrike first. Then we brought in an ASIM advance class, and that's when we really got the buy-in. There were already a group going on countywide, they met monthly. An integrated response group, it was run by the county Fire Marshal's Office, and they would meet monthly, and they would meet, and they would sit around and talk about the same thing over and over and over. And then I became chief there, and they all look at me like, "Oh my God, look what just walked in the door. We've got somebody that"-Bill Godfrey:Fresh meat.Terry Nichols:"That knows what they're doing, that'll come rescue us." So we started getting some synergy going there with that, and then the ASIM advanced that we hosted not long before I left, we were lucky enough to get really solidified, because we filled that class. It was great to see so many people.And I got a text on July 4th from the assistant fire chief saying that, "We have a huge parade July 4th in Seguin," and that's largest one in Texas. But, just what the sheriff mentioned, they had rescue task forces stood up, an IEP, the whole thing that ... I'd been walking them through, doing this slowly, baby steps, but they had done it for the parade, and he was so proud of himself, and I'm so proud of them.He said, "Look at your legacy, what you've left behind." I was like, I didn't do anything. I just came and got the ball rolling. You guys now go with it. But it's come time for both places to test, and that I think that, we'll talk about some challenges in a minute, but it's come time to start to test it. Don't wait for game day. We need to start testing these things.Bill Godfrey:Yeah, and it's funny, both of you have talked about opportunities to exercise and practice, I shouldn't use the word exercise, but to practice some of these concepts in your special events and pre-planned events, and I know that that's a huge part of socialization and absolutely a best practice.And before I move on, I do want to comment for the audience, if you're wondering why these two both had ASIM advances, they were both leaders who contacted us and said, "If you ever have a last-minute cancellation, all I need is two weeks notice and I can make it work," and that's how both of them got ASIM classes. They picked up cancellation slots that came in from others on short notice.But sheriff, I know that you started off by doing the RTFs, and the idea of contact teams in your IEPs for special events, and for the football games, and things like that in Jacksonville, but not too long after that, you took that a step further, certainly at clay county, I know you've began incorporating some of these practices into other calls not active shooter. Can you talk a little bit about that?Michelle Cook:Sure. So it actually ... the guys in Atlantic Beach started it, and it's carried forward to Clay County, and I really think this is going to end up being a best practice. And so what we've done is, on priority-one calls, where we have an active scene that's dynamic and fluid, whoever is tactical declares tactical, and they have command of the hot zone.So whether it's a burglary in progress to a store, or a fire at a house, or a gas leak, the person that's going to drive the resources to specific tasks based on an overall strategy declares tactical, and then our incident commander goes down the road and declares command, and then supports tactical.And this is really ... like I said, this happened organically in both agencies, but I think it's going to end up being a best practice for us, is this allows the men and women in uniform to use the terminology, use the concepts, and it won't be foreign to them, God forbid, if something ever happened. So they're using it on priority-one calls now.Bill Godfrey:I think that's fabulous, and the history of the fire service, and I know we all like to make fun, the fire department will set up incident command on a barking dog call. And yeah, true, but that's actually how we got everybody to understand it. When the ICS structure first started coming out in the late 70s and then rolled into the 80s, and people started stepping up and taking notice, the way we got it indoctrinated culturally was we used it on everything.Overkill? Yeah. Was it necessary? Probably not, but did it expedite the cultural integration and locking that in? And it really did. And I know we've had some conversations about the idea of morphing the Active Shooter Incident Management checklist process into something that's a little more generic, like a generic response posture to violent events or potentially-violent events, and I wonder if you could comment on that?So on the fire service, we have alarm levels. So what we send to a residential structure fire is different than what we send to a commercial structure fire, and when we escalate that and call for more resources, and so that's that standard package. And it seems to me like there might be a real good argument and a logical application for something like that, a standard response protocol for hostile events or potentially-violent events on law enforcement. What are the two of you think about that?Terry Nichols:You know, I can agree. I think that's a great best practice, sheriff, and I commend you for it. I think Seguin, we could have certainly done that in Seguin, and hopefully a little more naturally; like you said, organically. What I think we saw that the cops have been missing, the officers have been missing, is the actual practical application of ICS. Everybody's done the 100, the 200, 300, all of the classes, and we all...Bill Godfrey:Nobody shared answers.Terry Nichols:Yeah, they never share answers, but they never seen the practical application of it, and that's what ASIM brings you, or that's what the Counterstrike tool brings them, is a practical application? "Okay, I see how this is supposed to work now," but you've got to go out and now practice it, and if you can incorporate it into your priority-one-type calls or something like that, I think that's brilliant to be able to do something like that, because it just further ingrains that it should be second nature. when the big one, when that day happens, it's already ingrained in the organizational culture.Bill Godfrey:Good point. Sheriff, what are your thoughts?Michelle Cook:You know, I would agree. The challenge we have in law enforcement is ... because every call that we go on is so different, and to broad brush, saying, "Okay, all of these types of calls, you have to do this," it can be a double-edged sword. So I liked the fact that, at least in my agencies, it happened organically, and when the troops buy in, then you don't have to ram it down their throat; it's better all the way around.But I would love to see some sort of standardization, maybe at each state level, and using the lingo of each state to implement a standard hostile encounter response, or priority-one response, or whatever you want to call it. The challenge for us is, a priority-one call can be somebody shot, to a burglary in progress, to a car crash, to ... So I like it. I'm just not quite sure on how to execute it yet.Bill Godfrey:Yeah, I think it's one of those ideas that we ... Let's face it. Both of our industries are not necessarily known for changing quickly. In the fire service, and you guys have heard me say this before, we have a saying, "200 years of tradition unimpeded by progress," and we mean that. But I think this is one of those places where it's an idea, but we need to take time. I think we need to see what begins to develop organically, what works. Where's the stickiness in an organization? What types of incidents or responses does it make sense, and where doesn't it make sense?think we just have to take our time with it, but it's an interesting idea that I want to keep talking about as we move forward. So let me ask both of you this. What, if anything, when you were implementing the ASIM process at any of either of your agencies, what caught you by surprise, or were some lessons learned, or advice that you would give to other law enforcement leaders like yourself, who are wanting to go down this path? Sheriff, you want to start?Michelle Cook:Sure. My advice would be find ASIM disciples first. Let them buy in and help sell it, versus forcing everybody to go to classes right off the bat. Understand that ASIM is a perishable skill, so if you're not using it on the street for your priority-one calls, you have to find other ways to continue the dialogue.And that can include using some of the concepts on pre-planned events. For us, it includes ... we have written out manuscripts, responses, for some of our larger churches and mall, and our personnel read them. And we got this idea from, actually, the Blue Angels, and before every flight, they sit down and they verbally talk about what they're going to do during flight. And so we sit down and we verbally articulate, "If my role is tactical, this is what I'm doing. If I'm a contact team, this is what I'm doing," and that seems to keep the skills fresh.We've also put together some PowerPoints where we have little pieces moving, kind of like the Counterstrike board moving, and then we have people talking about what's happening; again, pushing the concepts out. So my advice would be find ASIM disciples, then push it out to everybody, and then find creative ways to keep the conversation going regularly. And before we get off this podcast, Bill, I want to talk about something exciting that's happening in Clay County right now as we speak, so don't let me forget that.Bill Godfrey:Okay, I'm going to make myself a note. Terry, how about you? What were the surprises or lessons learned or advice that you would offer something to another law enforcement leader?Terry Nichols:In Brownwood, I walked into, I mentioned earlier, a, I won't say adversarial community, but everybody wasn't getting along, and I used it as a tool to bring everybody together. So I thought it was very useful that way. Now see, the fire department, they got along, but they didn't work together. They knew each other, but they didn't get ... that was it. They was the fireman, we're the police officers. But I used it as a unique tool to bring everybody together, and I thought that was unique.I agree with the disciples, or ambassadors, as I often refer to them, as somebody that will go out there and carry that brand. They're passionate about it. They're just passionate as I am, as you are, as the sheriff is, and so many other folks around. Our new ... Our. The city's new assistant fire chief is one of those ambassadors. He was a hire about eight months before I left, and he came from a neighboring agency, and he is an absolute ambassador.He told me at my retirement reception, he's like, "You're part of the reason I came over here, and now you're leaving." He's relating, "I'm passionate about this Active Shooter Incident Management stuff, and you were here, and I was like, 'All right, what a great opportunity.'" I said, "Sorry, dude, it's that time. 33 years is enough time."And I have to agree with you, we did not have the practice at either organization down, like the sheriff explained. We did not have that ongoing, and I learned that the hard way in Brownwood. When we get to that story, I'll tell you that later on, that it is a perishable skill, and you've got to figure out some ways, some unique ways, to continue to get the information out and rehearse, refresh, that going on. And with the events in Texas in the past couple months, I don't think that's going to be hard to do to get that refresher stuff going.Bill Godfrey:Yeah, do you want to go ahead and talk about what you learned in Brownwood about the retention in perishable skills?Terry Nichols:Yeah, so we ran Counterstrike. We did not have the ASIM yet, but we ran Counterstrike. Everybody through the Sheriff's Department, third-party ambulance provider, the hospital, staff attended, everybody. And then a month later, we held an exercise at the school. No SIMS, nothing like that, it was all moulage. We had actually role-players, Moulage, and the hospital was involved.So we did transports, they tested their MCI surge capability. It worked great, and I think our out-the-door time for the first patient was like 20 minutes. It was remarkable. For having only done it, and we had just trained the month before, so it was great, the sad part, we had lost an officer the week before that to an off-duty traffic collision, and I almost canceled the event simply because of that. We had a lot of trauma we were going through as an organization. We didn't, I'm glad we didn't, because it really brought us all back together focused on our mission.The next year, my intentions are always great, but you're not judged by your intention. My intention was to do followup training the following year, that spring, and do another exercise at the school, change it up slightly, and get the hospital, everybody, involved. We never got around to the refresher training. This happened, the world happened, everything happened, but we still did the exercise. My fire chief had pretty much checked out mentally. He just wasn't that engaged. Our out-of-the-building time for our first casualty was like 50 minutes. It was 50 minutes.Bill Godfrey:50? Five zero?Terry Nichols:Yeah, five zero, which, to me, was absolute failure, catastrophic failure. It's like, what happened? And it was a lack of recurring training, is what boils down to. People had forgotten their roles, they'd forgotten ... they had the checklist, they had in front of them, but they'd forgotten how to do the basic fundamental things, the basic fundamental piece of this.So the good lesson learned, keeping that buy-in from those ambassadors, especially the agency heads, I would think that I could sit across from my fire chief, and I could in Seguin, and have a very candid conversation. It was not quite that same way in Brownwood, as it turned out to be. That was part of the issue I faced.The other issue is my own, I had to own it, that I did not continue to push the training. Life happened, other things happened, and I did not make it a top priority as it should have been, and we saw the outcome of that during that exercise, and I was just as mad as a hornet. I was just absolutely furious at myself, not at the performance of my troops, because they did the best they could. It was at me for not doing that refresher training.Bill Godfrey:Powerful story. Sheriff, anything that you want to add on that before I come back to what's going on there at Clay County?Michelle Cook:I'm with Terry. This is a perishable skill all day long, and you've got to find creative ways to continue the conversations. To think that you're going to bring in a class one time, and somehow people are going to retain it, that's just not going to work. You got to continue the conversations, whether it's the Counterstrike board. For us, it's reading scripts and PowerPoints, and handling priority-one calls using ASIM concepts. Also, the preplanned events, using as many concepts as we can during the preplanned event, and that's how you keep the conversations fresh.Bill Godfrey:Yeah, I completely agree. So tell us a little bit about what's going on there at Clay that you're excited about.Michelle Cook:So really thrilled about this. We were actually having these conversations before Uvalde, and Uvalde really just cemented our commitment to them. So in Clay County, like all school districts across America, our school board came up with a reunification plan, which sounded great on paper. It looks fantastic in this big ring binder that nobody's ever going to look at. So I brought in the county emergency manager, the safety director for the school board, and the school board police chief, and said, "Guys, we have our plan, you have your plan, the schools have their plan. None of us know each other's plan."So right now, what we're doing is we're hosting, I think we're up to 51 meetings. We're bringing school administrators in; the superintendent; fire rescue; the police agency if it's in a municipality, and we bring that jurisdiction in; the school resource officers; the school board police; the safety director for the school board; my patrol division; my special events division, and my traffic division. And we'll have anywhere from 20 to 30 people in the room, and we put the school up on the board and we say, "Okay, this is Clay High School. All right, so school administrators, what is your lockdown ... what is your policy?"So they tell us what their policy is, and then we talk about what to expect from us. "You're going to have solo officer response. You may see something called a contact team. What do you ... We've made an agreement on where we're going to keep extra weapons and other items locked in the school, so where is that location? How do we turn off your alarms in your school?" And then we challenge our traffic guys, "What intersections do you have to own to lock this school down?"And then to the school people, "How are we going to ... Let's talk about reunification. What does that look like?" And then we tell them, "Hey, this is what our contact teams are going to be doing. This is what our rescue task forces are going to be doing. There's a position called tactical, and if you can find that person safely and provide information on who the suspect is, where they're at, go find that person. This is what's going to be happening at the command post."So we tell them all of that, and really, what we've done is we've taken the individual school plans, we've taken the school board police response plan, we've taken the fire response plan, we've taken our plan. We've really molded it into a document, and since I've been driving the conversations from the beginning, they're very ASIM-centric. And the documents are just a few pages, and I could literally ...We've identified, for example, all the intersections in the area that we need to control. "I'm not telling you on game day which direction to push traffic, but these are the intersections that we have to control." So we have a single sheet of paper, it lists each intersection, and then how many deputies it takes to control that intersection. So if Terry's coming in for mutual aid, and I can pull off this sheet of paper and hand it to Terry and say, "You've got traffic."So we've done this with our schools. We're about 12 or so schools in now that we've been holding these meetings, and I tell you, the sense of cooperation, coordination, the understanding of ASIM, because we tell them, "You guys locking down and us neutralizing the bad guy is really just the beginning. There's going to be so much more that has to happen," and opening their eyes of what to expect from us, what we can expect from them, and we're calling it the Clay County CHIRP plan, CHIRP, Clay Hazard Immediate Response Plan, and it just gets all the special interests together in a room to talk about each individual school individually, instead of trying to cover all the schools with one giant plan.Bill Godfrey:That is so fantastic, and more than I've heard going on in other organizations. Once again, you're always on the cutting edge of making new stuff happen. So I-Terry Nichols:It is, it's brilliant. I'm sorry, Bill.Bill Godfrey:No, go ahead, Terry.Terry Nichols:It's great. It's absolutely brilliant, it really is, especially countywide. One thing I left out of the Brownwood, the exercises we did, the school district did their own little reunification exercise once we finished. So we did our piece of it, but they had staff that was working through the summer, and they worked on their reunification process. They actually brought up school buses, and took them to another facility, and worked and walked through the standard reunification method that they utilize.So again, we did not get involved in that because we were taxed already, as far as the number of bodies we were pulling from the street through the tactical piece of all this, but they were doing it themselves. So it was nice to see them doing that. I know the superintendent out there, I know he's continuing that kind of stuff. It's very important to them. Seguin will be very similar, I'd have no doubt in my mind.Bill Godfrey:That's fantastic. So here's my last question for the two of you. Just within the last two weeks, NTOA, the National Tactical Officers Association, has announced that they're endorsing the Active Shooter Incident Management checklist as a national standard. And as I said on one of the previous podcasts, for our fire-EMS audience, NTOA is to law enforcement what the NFPA, the National Fire Protection Agency, is to the fire service. How do the two of you see that changing the conversation as we try to get people aware, trained, and implementing ASIM?Terry Nichols:It would certainly help. Having their endorsement and their stamp of approval is huge. I've been an NTOA member for years, got on their training, I've been to their active assailant training, active shooter training many years ago, back in the early days of Alert. It adds a lot of validity to it, not that it didn't already have it, because it does, but you may be reaching a whole different audience that, especially for your larger agencies that have full-time SWAT teams, and they say, "If we don't do an active shooter training, we've got this stuff done, it's gone ... y'all have to solve long before we get there."But now, they get introduced ugh, or through their structure or their training in the tactical world, they get introduced to the ASIM model and the process that way now. Again, most of the country part-time teams, collateral duty, job, that kind of stuff, but your Los Angeleses, and your New York, and your Houstons, and your Austins and Bostons, and all those big places that may not get ASIM another way, may see it this way now. So I think it's a big deal, Bill.Bill Godfrey:Sheriff, how about you? How does it change things, or does it change things, for you at home there in Clay and in your surrounding areas?Michelle Cook:I'm not sure if it changes things. It doesn't surprise me, though, that NTOA would be one of the first to step up and acknowledge this. The NTOA has trained thousands and thousands and thousands of SWAT operators and SWAT leaders, and on a SWAT call-out, there's a process. And you think about, you call the SWAT team when it's really, really bad, and the SWAT team follows a chain of command, there's one talk, there's one commander.So it doesn't surprise me that NTOA would see the value of a checklist like this, and understand that the checklist is really for those dynamic, ongoing ... those calls that are happening right then when we don't have time to wait for the SWAT team. Now, with that being said, my only concern, and this is something that, as a leader, you have to be cognizant of, is the checklist is not the answer. The answer is training with the checklist.Bill Godfrey:Yes, yes.Michelle Cook:So passing the checklist and saying, "Okay, now we have ASIM," that would be my only concern, because I'm thinking firemen are probably like this too, but cops, "Just make it easy for us. Give us a checklist."Bill Godfrey:Yeah, we're all much more alike than we would like to admit.Michelle Cook:Yeah. That would be my only caution, is that the piece of paper is not the answer. It's training to the piece of paper that will help you get to the answer.Bill Godfrey:Yeah, and I think certainly in my conversations with the NTOA leadership, I think they're keenly aware of that, and we're having some very positive conversations about things that we are hoping to do with their organization to begin to push this out. I think we're probably going to start with some webinars, some announcement material, and things like that, but obviously, we've got to get into the training. You got to get into the hands-on training.And I've said this before, and I will say it again, you can sit in a classroom and you can get lectured at, you can watch a video, but until you get up and put yourself in the moment and actually practice this under pressure, you just don't get it. You've got to give responders the opportunity to practice, hot wash it, and then let them practice again, and that's when they they build the competency.I feel like it's a little bit of a trite analogy, but I've said it before, and I don't think there's anything quite better than that, you're not going to get to the Super Bowl with one practice. You've got to practice over and over again, and in a lot of ways, the quarterback on the field is a lot like tactical triage and transport, and then the coaches on the sideline are like the incident command post.Everybody's working together, but how the heck are you going to pull that off on game day if nobody ever bothered to practice? It seems obvious, and when you break it down in those terms, everybody goes, "Oh yeah, I guess that makes sense," but making it a priority for agencies, it's tough. We got, what, 20 pounds of training requirements to fit into a one-pound day? Something's-Terry Nichols:In Texas, you're about to see that get a lot heavier, because again, after Uvalde, I think you're going to see this come to the forefront at the state level. So every state has mandated training for peace officers that we all have to go through every year. You will see we will be heavy on active shooter response, active assailant response, and it'll hopefully give those agencies that already bought in, that have ASIM training, that have the knowledge of it, to give them a chance to actually go out and practice it now, to check that box with the state, as it were.And one of my leadership mentors, Dave Anderson, he says about working out, "How can you expect to go in the gym and squat 500 pounds if you've never squatted 100 pounds? So yeah, you got to practice, practice, practice, repetition, repetition, repetition. So what you said is spot on, but we've got to ... To have a piece of paper, laminated or not, just to pull out of your zipper shirt or out of your visor, is not the answer. You've got to use it.Bill Godfrey:Or on your phone. We've got it as the phone app too. Yeah, I completely agree, and the one thing I would say, in a perfect world, we would get everybody trained so competently and so passionately, and that, God forbid, the day comes that they're called upon, they would nail it and perfect it, and that would be wonderful. But a little goes a long way. A little bit of organization, a little bit of incident management, having a handful of leadership who understands the process and understand what needs to get done, to be able to organize the rest of the troops or the mutual aid people coming in, a little can go a long way. And yes, one day I would like to believe that we'll get every law enforcement, firefighter, EMT, and paramedic in the United States fully trained and competent in this material. But in the meantime, let's do a little something, because as we've seen more than once, a failure on the incident management side can just produce an unacceptable result.Terry Nichols:It's catastrophic, it's catastrophic, and witnessed recently, unfortunately, and it just ... and you're right, small pieces, and the sheriff's got it right. She's hitting it on the head, using it the priority-one calls, and get it ingrained, indoctrinated. And before we went live and started recording, I was joking with you, Bill, about, we have so much to learn from the fire service; we, being law enforcement.Yeah, we may joke all day long about this incident command stuff. There's a cat up in a tree, and y'all set up incident command, there's no one-shot. But there's something to be said for this, and I tried it. I think both Seguin and Brownwood are better ... they are today than when I got there when it comes to this type of stuff. Not just the tactical piece of it, but the incident management piece of it. I hope they are. And it was a great challenge, and I'm an ambassador of it, and hopefully we got much more to learn, even if it's one at a time, one person at a time.Bill Godfrey:Yeah, and I think, Terry, between you and, certainly, Michelle, who is a very, very strong leader in the law enforcement community, and very sophisticated and forward-looking, I'm optimistic. I think we're going to get there. I think that this can happen, and we can get it done. And I'll share this one story with you, Terry, in fairness, coming back on the other side, because making fun of the cat in the tree, I always make fun of you law enforcement guys for the 540 degrees of coverage. I'm like, "Yeah, how does that math work? It's 360, and you start over again."And I was teaching a class one day with ... and I make that joke on a fairly regular basis, which I should have known. And one of our other instructors, Adam, he was waiting for it, and as soon as I said it, he goes, "Okay, let me explain it to you, Bill. You get in the recliner, you spin around 360 degrees, and then you pull the lever to kick your feet back and you look up over your head. That's 540 degrees of coverage," and I said, "Okay, I got it. I deserve that."Terry Nichols:I owe him a beverage. I owe him a beverage.Bill Godfrey:Sheriff, you have any other closing words or thoughts that you want to offer before we wrap up for today?Michelle Cook:Just wanted to say thank you for the opportunity, and if any law enforcement leader out there, anybody in law enforcement, is looking for any ideas, or suggestions, or support, or how to lead your organization or your agency through the the beginnings of ASIM, obviously, C3 Pathways is the expert in the training, but I can definitely help people navigate the politics of it if needed. So always available to assist.Bill Godfrey:Yeah, that's very, very gracious of you. I have a feeling we're going to have people reaching out wanting your contact information. Terry, any final thoughts?Terry Nichols:I echo exactly what the sheriff said, Bill. Thank you so much for the opportunity to come to share my story, anyway, what I've experienced, but same way. I've done it in a rural community with very limited resources, and now in a larger, not near as large as the Sheriff for Jacksonville, but in a larger agency with ... And there are politics to navigate, there are egos to navigate.Bill Godfrey:Always.Terry Nichols:They're in ... I don't have all the answers, but I'll certainly give you my experience. So yeah, C3 Pathways is the point. Anybody listening or watching, reach out to C3, and if you want to talk to me directly, obviously, Bill will gladly share my contact information, and I will answer any question with anybody at any time about any issue as it relates to this, and my successes and my obvious failures as well.Bill Godfrey:Well, Terry, Michelle, thank you both so much for taking the time out of your day. I think what you've shared can be extremely valuable to those that need to walk in the same footsteps that you guys have already forged ahead, and I just can't thank you enough for continuing to support and be ambassadors, and for the work that both of you have accomplished. So thank you for being with us today on the show. Ladies and gentlemen, that's a wrap for our show today. Thank you for tuning in, and until we talk to you next time, stay safe.

Abilene's Alisha Taylor has produced a documentary exploring the Black History being preserved at the Curtis House Cultural Center. Taylor, who attended the Abilene Independent School District and graduated from Abilene Christian University with a degree in Musical Theater, is an actress, director, and owner of Taylor Made Studios.

As we prepare for the Dormition Fast and look forward to the feast of the Transfiguration of our Lord, we must recognize how much we remain like the blind and mute men in our gospel reading.

Jessica Fuentes and William Sarradet discuss the museums, galleries, and art you should see in Lubbock, Albany, and Abilene.  "Texas art isn't as simple as 'all of the best museums are in Dallas and all of the best nonprofits are in Houston' — there's always some standout in other parts of the state." See related readings here: https://glasstire.com/2022/07/31/art-dirt-a-visit-to-the-texas-panhandle-part-1 If you enjoy Glasstire and would like to support our work, please consider donating. As a nonprofit, all of the money we receive goes back into our coverage of Texas art. You can make a one-time donation or become a sustaining, monthly donor here: https://glasstire.com/donate

Abilene coach Mike Fullen, and when is 7A coming to TXHSFB?