Podcasts about Central Louisiana

614. Part 2 of out chat with Ana Croegaert about the removal of Confederate monuments. We also talked to her about her participation in second line parades around the city. “In 2017, the City of New Orleans removed four segregation-era monuments celebrating the Southern Confederacy and valorizing white supremacist ideology. As in other cities, efforts to remove such monuments are not new, and historically have been connected to collective challenges to racialized inequality, and more recently to transnational postcolonial struggles. Given the longstanding activism in favor of removing such monuments I ask, Why now? In exploring this question, I examine the circulation of images, talk, and text about the monuments in relation to the city's post-2005 political economy and find that people's expressed sentiments regarding the statues illuminate the ongoing challenges faced by New Orleans' multiracial working-class and poor residents. I argue that the city administration's framing of the monuments as emblems of an unequal past decouples the monuments' removal from the urgent need to meaningfully address present inequalities.”   “I am a Chicago-based anthropologist working with ethnography, performance, and artmaking to expand awareness of people's creative efforts to deal with the aftermath of harm and to craft hopeful futures. From coffee cultures to public memorials, my work spans kitchen cupboards, urban gardens, and city streets to record how people make meaning in their daily lives.” Now available: Liberty in Louisiana: A Comedy. The oldest play about Louisiana, author James Workman wrote it as a celebration of the Louisiana Purchase. Now it is back in print for the first time in 220 years. Order your copy today! This week in Louisiana history. February 22, 1864. James Wells elected governor of Union Occupied Louisiana. This week in New Orleans history. Happy Birthday Ernie K-Doe, "Emperor of the Universe," born on February 22, 1936 at Charity Hospital. “I'm not positive, but I think all music came from New Orleans.” This week in Louisiana. Alexandria Krewes Parade 2:00 pm. Sunday, March 2, 2025 Route: Texas Avenue – Masonic – Memorial – North Boulevard – Alexandria Mall Alexandria, LA 71301     Each Mardi Gras Parade Krewe has a unique history and theme. Some have been around for decades, while others have been in existence for just a few years. The goal of the AMGA (Alexandria Mardi Gras Association) is to provide a cultural event, appealing to all cross sections of the community, state and region, to help stimulate the economy.     The Mardi Gras du Couer de la Louisianne (Mardi Gras in the Heart of Louisiana) spirit has really taken hold of Central Louisiana since the first parade was held on Sunday, February 13, 1994. Alexandria's Mardi Gras has grown from having a total of ten floats with participation of four Mardi Gras Krewes that first year, to presently having twenty-three floats and Krewes. The Krewe Parade attendance is estimated at 150,000 and the Children's Parade attendance is estimated at 45,000.     For additional information, please contact us here. Postcards from Louisiana. Phillip Manuel sings with Michael Pellera Trio play at Snug Harbor on Frenchmen St. in New Orleans. Listen on Apple Podcasts. Listen on audible. Listen on Spotify. Listen on TuneIn. Listen on iHeartRadio. The Louisiana Anthology Home Page. Like us on Facebook. 

Folks in Central Louisiana sometimes refer to their beloved section of the state as “CENLA.” There was a time when some wags might have referred to the city of Alexandria and the area around it as “Sinla.” Historian Michael Wynne joins host Errol Laborde, and podcast producer Kelly Massicot, to talk about discoveries from researching his new book, "Flaunting their finery and audaciousness: The Notorious Brothels, Gambling Houses, Opium Dens and Saloons of Alexandria (Central Louisiana)." Wynne has tales to tell about the period from the late 1800's into the World War I era, when some cities had a bawdy reputation that paralleled New Orleans' famous Storyville. This discussion is a surprising slice of life that once ran contrary to its bible belt reputation. But part of the story is why it disappeared.

We welcome our friend, Kim Lyons, to Holy Spirit Studios this week. Kim joins us from Central Louisiana. She is the director of Cenla, Avoyelles, and Miss-Lou Pregnancy Centers. We learned so much about the important work they do to by creating a kind, compassionate, and non-judgmental atmosphere for everyone they encounter. Their 6th Annual Gift of Life Fundraiser is Tuesday, September 17th. You can learn more about their work and support their mission at lovelifecenla.com.......

549. This week we're happy to have Louisiana's current poet laureate Alison Pelegrin visiting us. 'Alison was born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana. She received an MFA from the University of Arkansas. Pelegrin is the author of Waterlines (Louisiana State University Press, 2016); Hurricane Party (University of Akron Press, 2012); Big Muddy River of Stars (University of Akron Press, 2007), which received the 2006 Akron Poetry Prize; and The Zydeco Tablets (Word Press, 2002). About Pelegrin's poetry, Martha Serpas writes, “Alison Pelegrin is one of the sharpest wits to come out of the Bayou State in a long time. She can conjure Louisiana's present-tense, unapologetic, tragicomic drama with authenticity.” She teaches at Southeastern Louisiana University and lives in Covington, Louisiana. In 2023, she was appointed the poet laureate of Louisiana through 2025' (Poets.org). This week in Louisiana history. November 18, 1719. The ship Les Deux Freres brings first mass-arrival of Germans to Louisiana. This week in New Orleans history. Royal Street Branch Library Opens November 25, 1907. The Royal Branch at 2110 Royal Street (Royal at Frenchmen), funded by a grant from Andrew Carnegie, was the first NOPL branch to open, on November 25, 1907. Two other branches, Algiers and Napoleon, also built with Carnegie funds, opened shortly afterward and continue to serve the public today. The Royal Branch was a one-story and basement structure of the Doric style of architecture. It was fire-proof, the exterior and interior walls being of pressed brick and the floors of concrete. It occupied a lot 65 by 98 feet, and sat upon a low terrace. The interior space was divided into reading, attendants', janitor's, storage and toilet rooms. The reading-room was 40 by 50 feet with a ceiling height of sixteen feet which had no interior columns or other obstructions — giving the impression of an even larger room. This week in Louisiana. Louisiana Colonial Trails Scenic Byway Distance: 484 miles Duration: Two to three days for a self-guided tour Website Colonial Trails, 484-miles long, offers visitors cultural connections among the French, Creole, Anglo, African American and Native American at sites along the Colonial Trails Byway. Sites include several military fortifications such as Forts Randolph and Buhlow, Camp Beauregard and Fort Polk; fields of cotton and Frogmore Cotton Plantation and Gin, Kent House, the oldest standing structure in Central Louisiana, Melrose Plantation, home to primitive artist Clementine Hunter, Tunica-Biloxi Cultural and Education Center, the Delta Music Museum and the Louisiana Political History Museum among so many others that tell the overarching story of Louisiana history. Postcards from Louisiana. Thanksgiving Poetry by Aislinn KerchaertListen on Google Play. Listen on Spotify. Listen on TuneIn. The Louisiana Anthology Home Page. Like us on Facebook. 

CTTPodcast is on a slight much-needed break but A Tru Lady sits down with this week's #CTTHype Mijaee1k, listen as she pops her sh*t! She's a self-proclaimed rising star in Central Louisiana sharing her story and candid insights on this special podcast episode. From her humble beginnings to her thriving career, Mijaee1k opens up about what drives her to keep creating captivating music. Discover the talented producers and engineers who have played a pivotal role in shaping her unique sound. Mijaee1k shares the artists who inspire her and the dream collaborations she envisions in her future. But this interview goes deeper than just the music. Mijaee1k bravely discusses personal topics, including the emotional impact of losing her beloved brother and grandmother. She also shares her journey of self-discovery regarding her sexuality, highlighting her fearlessness in embracing her true self, especially when she's around the right people. Tune in right now and stream Mijaee1k here https://linktr.ee/mijaee1k

On this episode of Turkey Call All Access, NWTF communications staff sit down with folks from Reaper Boats and Full Strap and Stringer outfitters to discuss the NWTF's 50th Anniversary Sweepstakes, the love of waterfowl hunting, and how – whether it is a boat, a guided hunt or the necessary gear – the prizes in the NWTF's 50th Anniversary Sweepstakes are sure to create some happy hunters and a lifetime of memories. Make sure to enter the sweepstakes before 9/30 to take advantage of the early bird special, which allows entries to be doubled! You heard that right! The Grand Prize Includes: · Reaper Boats Model 656 in Mossy Oak camo Branded with NWTF the 50th anniversary logos and trailer · Full Strap and Stringer Duck Hunt for Two in Central Louisiana with one night lodging and dinner · GatorTail Boat Motor GTR40XD · Chene Gear Mossy Oak Original Bottomland Waders · Benelli Super Black Eagle 3 in Original Mossy Oak Bottomland Camo · NWTF 50th Anniversary Retro Camo Gun Sleeve by Boyt · Two Cases of Federal Ammunition 12ga Black Cloud Steel Shot Additional Prizes And Exciting Trips! First Place Winner will receive a Foxtail Lodge 4-day Duck Hunt for Two in Kodiak, AK with Lodging and Meals included. Second Place will receive an Island Number Thirty-Four Duck Hunt for Two. Third Place will win a Williamson Outfitters LLC, Duck Hunt and inshore Fishing for Two "Cast n' Blast" in Northern Florida with 2 nights lodging included. Don't miss this awesome opportunity at some of the best experiences and gear. Register for the Sweepstakes now!

About LeighAnnLeighAnn Combs is a full time working mom to seven amazing kids.  With an office job, a real estate career, and no shortage of beautiful chaos at home, there is never a dull moment.  She is originally from South Louisiana,  but has made her home in Central Louisiana though she will always consider herself a Cajun at heart. In her limited spare time, she enjoys going to dinner with friends (especially since that means that she doesn't have to cook), coffee and cupcakes, laughing until she cries, and gym time for sanity.LeighAnn's story is one of incredible heartbreak, resilience, and hope.  Connect with LeighAnnSocial Media:Facebook- https://www.facebook.com/leighann.v.combsAlso, get to know Erin Cuccio a bit better by checking out her writing HERE.Finally, be sure to SUBSCRIBE and SHARE!  Make sure you don't miss a thing by subscribing on your favorite podcast platform and share so that all your friends can find us too! Connect with ErinIG @erincucciowww.erincuccio.comOrder Unraveled- Finding the Lovely When Life Comes Undonebook.erincuccio.comJoin my COMMUNITY https://hello.erincuccio.com/ You'll receive exclusive content right to your mobile device, and the best part is it's FREE.

On this episode of TWILA, Karl Wiggers tags along as American Farm Bureau President Zippy Duvall experiences crawfish farming for the first time. Avery Davidson shows us how sugarcane is helping make a new kind of cattle feed in Napoleonville, while Neil Melançon shows us how river cane is being used to make duck calls in Central Louisiana. And Breann Hendrickson takes us to the annual Louisiana 4-H Food Challenge.SHOW NOTES Farm Bill Principles  Learn about Impact Fusion International Learn more about the Louisiana 4-H Food Challenge Learn more about Bayou Beast Duck Calls Learn more about the American Farm Bureau Farm Dog of the Year Contest Download the Crawfish App, and learn more about the Louisiana Crawfish Promotion and Research Board. Learn more about Louisiana beef from Louisiana Beef Industry Council  https://www.twilatv.org/archive/042123 

Dale from Bayou Beast Calls joins the show to talk about duck hunting, gators, handmade cane calls, old guns, old hunting stories, duck hunting history, and much more. Check him out on facebook at Dale P Bordelon or Bayou Beast Calls to see some awesome old school hunting or to order a call and if you're in the area swing into his shop.

On the final episode of season three, Liz Leger from Avoyelles Sleeves Up joins host Lynda Woolard to talk about organizing in rural parishes and small towns, whether for electoral politics or community engagement. Her team's organizing work in Central Louisiana is a great blueprint for how to put progress above partisan ends, how to build relationships in more conservative communities, and how to leverage the local media to accomplish big goals. Connect with Avoyelles Sleeves Up on Facebook or through their website: avoyellessleevesup.org. Find more Louisiana Lefty content on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and at LouisianaLefty.Rocks. Thanks to Ben Collinsworth for producing Louisiana Lefty, Jennifer Pack of Black Cat Studios for our Super-Lefty artwork, and Thousand Dollar Car for allowing us to use their swamp pop classic, Security Guard, as the Louisiana Lefty theme song.

This week, Matt Amos, Chet Sears and Troy Trussell visit with Chet's friend and author, Jodie Stokes. Jodie recently wrote a book about his first 20 years of turkey hunting. You'll feel like you are in hunting camp as you are turning the pages of Jodie's stories pursuing the wild turkey in Louisiana. You will enjoy reading about Jodie's turkey hunting jouney from how his friends introduced him to the sport and as he introduces his family and friends. Most importantly, Jodie clearly describes how Christ has impacted his life. Jodie and the guys then discuss their top 3 movie battle scenes. There are some similarities with the lists. Troy closes out the episode with a good word from John chapter 6. You can find Jodie's book here: https://www.amazon.com/First-Twenty-Years-Stories-Louisiana/dp/B09Y4SMX9D/ref=sr_1_1?crid=7EACD2G5QVRN&keywords=jodie+stephen+stokes&qid=1654196325&sprefix=Jodie+Stephen%2Caps%2C109&sr=8-1 Topics discussed: What's On Your Mind: Jodie Stokes, "The First Twenty Years: Stories of a Louisiana Turkey Hunter." Top 3: Movie battle scenes: LOTR The Two Towers, Battle at Helms Deep, Red Dawn, Guerilla Warfare, Karate Kid, Braveheart, Saving Private Ryan, Master and Commander, Last of the Mohicans, The 300, HBO The Pacific, Gladiator, Fury, Black Hawk Down A Good Word: Deserter: John chapter 6. Jesus said some things that ran off some of the spectators that werent committed followers. author, turkey hunting, book, fire fighter, Army, Fort Polk, volunteer firefighter, Oak Hill, CENLA, Central Louisiana, parenting, high school friends, snakes, squirrel hunting, family, coworker, turkey season, grandpa, hunting stories, father-in-law, public land, game warden, duck hunting, Chimney Rock, North Carolina, Terminal List, Jack Carr, Chris Pratt, Amazon Prime, Links mentioned in this episode: https://www.hardheadedpodcast.com/ http://admiralspennant.com/ This podcast is hosted by ZenCast.fm

About LeighAnnLeighAnn Combs is a full time working mom to seven amazing kids.  With an office job, a real estate career, and no shortage of beautiful chaos at home, there is never a dull moment.  She is originally from South Louisiana,  but has made her home in Central Louisiana though she will always consider herself a Cajun at heart. In her limited spare time, she enjoys going to dinner with friends (especially since that means that she doesn't have to cook), coffee and cupcakes, laughing until she cries, and gym time for sanity.LeighAnn's story is one of incredible heartbreak, resilience, and hope.  Connect with LeighAnnSocial Media:Facebook- https://www.facebook.com/leighann.v.combsAlso, get to know Erin Cuccio a bit better by checking out her writing HERE.Finally, be sure to SUBSCRIBE and SHARE!  Make sure you don't miss a thing by subscribing on your favorite podcast platform and share so that all your friends can find us too! 

With the rise of technology, scammers are finding more and more ways to target everyday consumers via debt elimination scams. Being in debt is hard enough as it is, without having to worry about whether you can trust a friendly voice on the other end of the phone offering you a get-out-of-jail-free card. Listen in as host Kim Chapman sits down with Carmen Million of the Better Business Bureau of Central Louisiana to discuss debt elimination scams and how to protect yourself in today's marketplace. Welcome to Money Matters, the podcast that focuses on how to use the money you have, make the money you need, and save the money you want – brought to you by Neighbors Federal Credit Union. The information, opinions, and recommendations presented in this Podcast are for general information only and any reliance on the information provided in this Podcast is done at your own risk. This Podcast should not be considered professional advice. 

In this episode of the Curious Realm host Christopher Jordan welcomes Craig Woolheater founder of Cryptomundo.com, the Texas Bigfoot Research Center, and the new Texas Bigfoot Museum opening soon in Jefferson, Texas. Craig's interest in cryptozoology started early, before he was 10 years of age. The case of the Lake Worth Monster in the summer of 1969 hit close to home for him as a young boy. His reading of the John Keel classic, “Strange Creatures from Time & Space” was the next piece, followed by a screening of “The Legend of Boggy Creek” when he was 13. His reality came crashing down on Memorial Day 1994 when he witnessed what he can only describe as a light-colored Bigfoot while driving in Central Louisiana late at night. Craig has now spent the better part of his life exploring the world of Cryptozoology as well as organizing events such as the annual Fouke Monster Festival in Fouke, Arkansas and the Texas Bigfoot Conference in Jefferson, Texas. In the second part of the episode, we are joined by Mike Turber of 5x5 News to discuss the latest revelations in technology that could be behind the UAPs disclosed to the public in December of 2017. Are the craft seen in the videos released extraterrestrial, or is there technology out and available that can produce the same results? Is what we are seeing true disclosure, or a smokescreen of disclosure designed to slowly reveal the technological capabilities of our military and its contractors? Join the Curious Realm as we delve into the topics of cryptozoology and the Texas Bigfoot Museum with Craig Woolheater as well as UAP Technology with Mike Turber. Curious Realm is a proud member of the HC Universal Network family of podcasts. For more great shows and content subscribe at HCUniversalNetwork.com. Curious Realm would like to thank the continuing support of our listeners and sponsors including PodcastCadet.com, Use Code Curious20 to save 20% off today! Curious Realm has teamed up with True Hemp Science, Austin, TX based suppliers of high-quality full spectrum emulsified CBD products and more. Visit TrueHempScience.com TODAY and use code Curious7 to save 7% off your order of $50 or more and get a free 50mg CBD edible! Intro music “A Curious Realm” provided by No Disassemble find more great music and content at: NoDisassemble.com

In this episode of the Curious Realm host Christopher Jordan welcomes Craig Woolheater founder of Cryptomundo.com, the Texas Bigfoot Research Center, and the new Texas Bigfoot Museum opening soon in Jefferson, Texas. Craig's interest in cryptozoology started early, before he was 10 years of age. The case of the Lake Worth Monster in the summer of 1969 hit close to home for him as a young boy. His reading of the John Keel classic, “Strange Creatures from Time & Space” was the next piece, followed by a screening of “The Legend of Boggy Creek” when he was 13. His reality came crashing down on Memorial Day 1994 when he witnessed what he can only describe as a light-colored Bigfoot while driving in Central Louisiana late at night. Craig has now spent the better part of his life exploring the world of Cryptozoology as well as organizing events such as the annual Fouke Monster Festival in Fouke, Arkansas and the Texas Bigfoot Conference in Jefferson, Texas. In the second part of the episode, we are joined by Mike Turber of 5x5 News to discuss the latest revelations in technology that could be behind the UAPs disclosed to the public in December of 2017. Are the craft seen in the videos released extraterrestrial, or is there technology out and available that can produce the same results? Is what we are seeing true disclosure, or a smokescreen of disclosure designed to slowly reveal the technological capabilities of our military and its contractors? Join the Curious Realm as we delve into the topics of cryptozoology and the Texas Bigfoot Museum with Craig Woolheater as well as UAP Technology with Mike Turber. Curious Realm is a proud member of the HC Universal Network family of podcasts. For more great shows and content subscribe at HCUniversalNetwork.com. Curious Realm would like to thank the continuing support of our listeners and sponsors including PodcastCadet.com, Use Code Curious20 to save 20% off today! Curious Realm has teamed up with True Hemp Science, Austin, TX based suppliers of high-quality full spectrum emulsified CBD products and more. Visit TrueHempScience.com TODAY and use code Curious7 to save 7% off your order of $50 or more and get a free 50mg CBD edible! Intro music “A Curious Realm” provided by No Disassemble find more great music and content at: NoDisassemble.com

In this episode of the Curious Realm host Christopher Jordan welcomes Craig Woolheater founder of Cryptomundo.com, the Texas Bigfoot Research Center, and the new Texas Bigfoot Museum opening soon in Jefferson, Texas. Craig's interest in cryptozoology started early, before he was 10 years of age. The case of the Lake Worth Monster in the summer of 1969 hit close to home for him as a young boy. His reading of the John Keel classic, “Strange Creatures from Time & Space” was the next piece, followed by a screening of “The Legend of Boggy Creek” when he was 13. His reality came crashing down on Memorial Day 1994 when he witnessed what he can only describe as a light-colored Bigfoot while driving in Central Louisiana late at night. Craig has now spent the better part of his life exploring the world of Cryptozoology as well as organizing events such as the annual Fouke Monster Festival in Fouke, Arkansas and the Texas Bigfoot Conference in Jefferson, Texas. In the second part of the episode, we are joined by Mike Turber of 5x5 News to discuss the latest revelations in technology that could be behind the UAPs disclosed to the public in December of 2017. Are the craft seen in the videos released extraterrestrial, or is there technology out and available that can produce the same results? Is what we are seeing true disclosure, or a smokescreen of disclosure designed to slowly reveal the technological capabilities of our military and its contractors? Join the Curious Realm as we delve into the topics of cryptozoology and the Texas Bigfoot Museum with Craig Woolheater as well as UAP Technology with Mike Turber. Curious Realm is a proud member of the HC Universal Network family of podcasts. For more great shows and content subscribe at HCUniversalNetwork.com. Curious Realm would like to thank the continuing support of our listeners and sponsors including PodcastCadet.com, Use Code Curious20 to save 20% off today! Curious Realm has teamed up with True Hemp Science, Austin, TX based suppliers of high-quality full spectrum emulsified CBD products and more. Visit TrueHempScience.com TODAY and use code Curious7 to save 7% off your order of $50 or more and get a free 50mg CBD edible! Intro music “A Curious Realm” provided by No Disassemble find more great music and content at: NoDisassemble.com

In this episode of the Curious Realm host Christopher Jordan welcomes Craig Woolheater founder of Cryptomundo.com, the Texas Bigfoot Research Center, and the new Texas Bigfoot Museum opening soon in Jefferson, Texas. Craig's interest in cryptozoology started early, before he was 10 years of age. The case of the Lake Worth Monster in the summer of 1969 hit close to home for him as a young boy. His reading of the John Keel classic, “Strange Creatures from Time & Space” was the next piece, followed by a screening of “The Legend of Boggy Creek” when he was 13. His reality came crashing down on Memorial Day 1994 when he witnessed what he can only describe as a light-colored Bigfoot while driving in Central Louisiana late at night. Craig has now spent the better part of his life exploring the world of Cryptozoology as well as organizing events such as the annual Fouke Monster Festival in Fouke, Arkansas and the Texas Bigfoot Conference in Jefferson, Texas. In the second part of the episode, we are joined by Mike Turber of 5x5 News to discuss the latest revelations in technology that could be behind the UAPs disclosed to the public in December of 2017. Are the craft seen in the videos released extraterrestrial, or is there technology out and available that can produce the same results? Is what we are seeing true disclosure, or a smokescreen of disclosure designed to slowly reveal the technological capabilities of our military and its contractors?Join the Curious Realm as we delve into the topics of cryptozoology and the Texas Bigfoot Museum with Craig Woolheater as well as UAP Technology with Mike Turber.Curious Realm is a proud member of the HC Universal Network family of podcasts. For more great shows and content subscribe at HCUniversalNetwork.com.Curious Realm would like to thank the continuing support of our listeners and sponsors including PodcastCadet.com, Use Code Curious20 to save 20% off today!Curious Realm has teamed up with True Hemp Science, Austin, TX based suppliers of high-quality full spectrum emulsified CBD products and more. Visit TrueHempScience.com TODAY and use code Curious7 to save 7% off your order of $50 or more and get a free 50mg CBD edible!Intro music “A Curious Realm” provided by No Disassemble find more great music and content at: NoDisassemble.com

This week Alex is joined by special guests Lamar Gafford of Town Talk in Central Louisiana as well as JT Barrett and Cam Thomas of The Takeover Podcast. The guys discuss the college football coaching carousel, conference championship week, and much more. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/gameplanpodcast/support

445. Part 1 of our conversation with Stephen Winick, of the Library of Contress. In 1902, on a prairie in southwest Louisiana, six members of a farming family are found murdered. Albert Edwin Batson, a white, itinerant farm worker, rapidly descends from likely suspect to likely lynching victim as people in the surrounding countryside lusted for vengeance. In a territory where the locals were coping with the opening of the prairies by the railroad and the disorienting, disruptive advances of the rice and oil industries into what was predominantly cattle country, Batson, an outsider, made an ideal scapegoat. Scott has studied the events of the time, and the ballads that were written about the death of Batson. This week in Louisiana history. November 27, 1813. Jean Lafitte offers $1,500 reward for the capture of Gov. W.C.C. Clairborne. This week in New Orleans history. Ella Brennan, Born in New Orleans, November 27, 1925. Among the now famous graduates of her kitchen are Paul Prudhomme, who arrived in 1975, and Emeril Lagasse, who began his service in 1983.  This week in Louisiana. Christmas in Alexandria - Pineville The holiday season in Alexandria/Pineville, right in the heart of Louisiana, is Still Lit this year and we'd love for you to come visit! The 2021 festivities will be complete with sparking lights (check out our spirited Water Towers!), community parades, appearances by Santa Claus, and various performing opportunities to enjoy the arts. Whether it's enjoying an old-fashioned Christmas celebration;  finding the “just right” gifts at our many locally-owned unique boutiques; enjoying festive foods/drinks at local cafes, breweries or the Food Truck Park; touring historic sites/homes; or listening to the sounds of the season that puts you in the holiday spirit, you can fi­nd it all in the Central Louisiana area.  So plan your trip today! Use the itinerary builder here to create a list of the events you don't want to miss and then, if you plan to stayover, book a hotel room. If we can be of assistance in any way, please give us a call at 318.442.9546.  We'd love to help you celebrate the season! Postcards from Louisiana. Jay Dufour and his band play at the Bourrée Restaurant.Listen on iTunes.Listen on Google Play.Listen on Google Podcasts.Listen on Spotify.Listen on Stitcher.Listen on TuneIn.The Louisiana Anthology Home Page.Like us on Facebook. 

For the first time, the Gumbo show is going where it has never gone before: North Louisiana. We talk to the LSU AgCenter's Quincy Vidrine, who hails from Central Louisiana but is based in Winnsboro. Quincy tells us there is actually good gumbo to be found in the Central and Northern parts of Louisiana. She also describes her popular pressure cooker gumbo recipe.

A look into the still up and running Central Louisiana State Hospital. Former resident spirits who refuse to leave still wander the state hospital grounds and halls.

Central Louisiana and the entire Gulf region faced the pandemic on top of back to back storms and hurricanes and has remained resilient through it all. On this episode of the Economic Development podcast, Larkin Simpson, Executive Vice President of Central Louisiana Economic Development Alliance shares how his region is recovering and also maximizing sector opportunities in manufacturing and wood. Blueprint Creative Group presents this podcast series with perspectives from the CEOs and leaders of economic development organizations across the country. This series also explores how the pandemic has dynamically shifted how communities align with the trend towards a different quality of life standard based on new social distancing norms and cost of living compared to previous preferences for amenities, downtown living, and density. The CEOs share how this shift may shape economic development moving forward, how shadow communities are rising to the occasion to compete with larger metropolitan cities, and the implications for targeted industry growth. Blueprint Creative Group works with communities and economic development organizations to impact economic indexes through targeted industry promotion, business attraction, and tourism growth.

Michael Wynne, historian and Joe Page, grandson of Charles Frederick Page, share about his building an airplane (airship) and received a patent before the Wright Brothers, but his plane was stolen and destroyed. He had a legacy of helping others and is a true hidden figure in Central Louisiana.

We're taking a break from our regular programming to present you with something new--The Chamber Rewind. This eight-episode mini-series will feature the recorded sessions from July's virtual Louisiana Young Professionals Conference. Tune into this recorded session with Larkin Simpson, Executive Vice President of the Central Louisiana Economic Development Alliance, to about the good things that are happening in Central Louisiana – for businesses and for residents. This talk is about the value of celebrating what is done well and done right in your hometown. Whether it's championing the achievements of major manufacturers that employ a large portion of the parish, or lauding the praises of local creative folks, Simpson will give you a new perspective on the importance of valuing the good stuff that is made where you live and work.

Mike Johnson is a Louisiana State Representative for District 27. This interview not only tells a lot about him but all the things he is doing for his district and our State. Mike is a local attorney, small business owner and community leader. After graduating from Pineville High, Mike attended Louisiana College for his undergraduate studies and Southern University Law School. Since that time, Mike and his wife Sheila have been active members in their local community, raised their children here, and have helped to make Central Louisiana a better place to live, work, and raise a family.  

Episode 3: In this episode, we climb up into the pines of Central Louisiana. We’ve seen on the coast how big industry can end up dominating an ecosystem. Here, we look at three communities embroiled in their own fights to survive. To find out what it means to partner with the big industry on your doorstep, OR, to oppose it head on. To learn more about the project, visit www.voicesofaflyway.com/explore to start exploring our 6 interactive story maps that feature more of the stories, photos, and videos of the project! Funded by an Explorer grant from National Geographic, our team - a soundscape recordist, an audio producer, and a wildlife photographer - traveled from the Louisiana coastline to the Boundary Waters of Minnesota with the 2019 spring songbird migration. We visited six at-risk ecosystems along the route to uncover: 1. Why each of these delicate ecosystems is so critical to bird migration. 2. The infinite ways that people living in these areas share connections to the natural world. 3. What stands to be lost as these ecosystems vanish?

In this episode of Louisiana Now, we focus on the growing need of feeding those who are hungry. Food pantries in Louisiana have experienced a tripling of the number of clients. Supplies were at a critical level to begin with and as the pandemic continues, numbers continue to decline. Bishop Cynthia Fierro Harvey has approved a Louisiana Conference grant from the Office of Missional Engagement and Outreach in the amount of $50,000 to Feeding Louisiana, to be distributed by them to their food bank members around the state. In this episode, we hear from Rev. Sam Hubbard at SLU Wesley and Rev. Kennon Pickett from Broadmoor United Methodist Church in Baton Rouge - both doing all they can to serve meals in this time of need. To support the Wesly Foundation of SLU, consider ordering some of their coffee: https://www.kairoskoffeehouse.com/ Food Banks Across Louisiana: Food Bank of Central Louisiana: https://www.fbcenla.org/ Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank: https://brfoodbank.org/ Food Bank of Northeast Louisiana: https://www.foodbanknela.org/ Second Harvest Food Bank of Greater New Orleans and Acadiana: https://no-hunger.org/ Food Bank of Northwest Louisiana: https://www.foodbanknla.org/

Today and tomorrow, for the first time in the long and storied 34 day history of this podcast, we are going to do a two-part episode. The reason for this is that we are going to grapple together with a big question that has vexed the hearts of humans for thousands of years: Why does suffering happen? This question is quite apropos for today's Bible readings (and for tomorrow's reading also), so it should fit in well. Today we read Genesis 35, Job 2, Mark 6 and Romans 6. In the Genesis passage, Jacob decides to follow Yahweh, the God of Israel, wholeheartedly, and to put away the other idols and gods from among his entourage. Romans 6 features a beautiful theological passage from Paul about becoming slaves to God and leaving behind our slavery to sin. In our two focus passages for today, Job 2 and Mark 6, we see two incredibly righteous and GOOD people (Job and John the Baptist) suffer horribly. What's worse, although both men exemplary lives that stand out even among the other saints of the Bible, neither man knows why they are going through the extreme suffering they are going through. John the Baptist is beheaded and dies alone in prison, not really understanding his situation at all, and Job is afflicted with the loss of his family, his wealth, his possessions and his health, and is at a complete loss to explain why. Both of these situations raise our big question of the day: Why does God allow bad things to happen to good people? Let's read Mark and Job together, and then discuss the situation. In order to get at an answer to this big question, we should consider how we do Bible theology, or more specifically, how do go to the Word of God to answer life's biggest questions? Here are three things to remember in seeking answers to our questions from the Bible: Rather than just focusing on one single verse, we must consider the whole counsel of God. Put another way, to answer the question of what happens when we die, we must attempt to survey all that the Bible has to say about this question, and not just one verse. The reason for this is that while every passage in the Bible is true - not every passage in the Bible is the COMPLETE truth. For instance, in 1 Corinthians 13, the apostle Paul describes love, and we learn that it is patient, kind, and not at all jealous. All of these are true statements about love, but they aren't the ONLY true statements about love in the Bible. In order to find out the complete teaching of the Bible about love, we have to go to other passages. In doing so, we find out in the Song of Solomon 8 that not only is love patient, kind and longsuffering...but it is also POWERFUL - as powerful as death. (Song of Solomon 8:6)  Therefore, in order to have a complete understanding of love from the Bible's perspective, we need the truths in 1 Corinthians 13 AND Song of Solomon 8, among many other passages also. Similarly, to gain a biblical understanding of suffering, and why it happens, we have to survey the whole Word. That is the process of developing a biblical theology - it involves finding out all of what the Bible teaches and reveals about a particular topic. Our second task is to account for the difference between Old Covenant passages and New Covenant passages. The New Testament must take precedence over the Old Testament, and it must interpret it. Consider Hebrews 7 and 8, and note how the New Testament/New Covenant has surpassed the Old. Hebrews 7:18-19,  "So the previous command is annulled because it was weak and unprofitable 19 (for the law perfected nothing), but a better hope is introduced, through which we draw near to God.” Hebrews 8:7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion for a second one...13 By saying a new covenant, he has declared that the first is obsolete. And what is obsolete and growing old is about to pass away. This does not mean that the Old Testament is not the Word of God, or that we don't need it, but we are no longer living in Old Testament/Old Covenant times, now we are living in the age of the New Testament. Finally, With humility, prayer, and the leadership of the Spirit, we must keep returning to the Word of God so that our theology and understanding does not drift from truth. We should hold our theology with a degree of humility and repeatedly keep returning to the Scriptures to test and confirm that we are walking in the truth. Like an unmoored ship, we humans have a tendency to drift away from truth, and we must discipline ourselves to return - over and over again - to the authority of the Word of God.  So, with that understanding in mind, back to our question: Why do BAD things happen to GOOD people? This question has been asked in various forms for literally thousands of years. Epicurus was a Greek philosopher that lived 300 years before Jesus, and for him, the purpose of philosophy was to attain the happy, tranquil life, characterized by peace, freedom from fear—and aponia—the absence of pain. Supposedly Epicurus helped to formulate what has been called the Epicurean Paradox/Riddle of Epicurus “Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able?Then he is not omnipotent. Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent. Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil? Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God?” In answering this question, I want to point out a fundamental disagreement between Epicurean theology and biblical theology: Epicurus sought to avoid all forms of suffering and fear while The Bible PROMISES the experience of suffering, John 16:33 “You will have suffering in this world.” and The Bible COMMANDS  it. 2 Timothy 2:3 “3 Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.” Some read Epicurus for the first time and marvel at how modern he sounds...and his philosophy is very similar in some ways to modern atheism, though less sophisticated. However, I find it lacking and pollyannaish. Living a life that seeks to avoid suffering is like living a life that seeks to avoid air, or death or things that smell bad. Unrealistic and impossible. While many Christians and preachers have a pollyanna-type theology that is quite shallow and doesn't reckon well with suffering, The Bible itself does NOT approach death and suffering in an unrealistic, pie in the sky way - but in a gritty and realistic way...with hope. Further, the Bible speaks of suffering FREQUENTLY.   SO - here's our question, but before we get too deep into an answer, we need to make some adjustments. "Why do bad things happen to good people?" is a bit of a flawed question from a biblical sense. Yes, John the Baptist was a great human being - the greatest human being born in history, according to Jesus. Yes! Job was a great guy also - the Bible says he was the greatest man in his area of the world. The better and more accurate question is: Why do bad things happen to SEEMINGLY good people - or COMPARATIVELY good people. ( Remembering that Romans 3:10 notes that there isn't even ONE fully righteous person.)  Part 1 of this question is: Why do bad things happen? Why is there suffering in the world? The Bible gives a clear answer to that question and the answer is THE FALL.  16 He said to the woman: I will intensify your labor pains; you will bear children in anguish. Your desire will be for your husband, yet he will rule over you. 17 And He said to Adam, “Because you listened to your wife's voice and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘Do not eat from it': The ground is cursed because of you. You will eat from it by means of painful labor all the days of your life. 18 It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. 19 You will eat bread by the sweat of your brow until you return to the ground, since you were taken from it. For you are dust, and you will return to dust.” Genesis 3:16-19 12 Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, in this way death spread to all men, because all sinned.” Romans 5:12 SO - ALL suffering has its root in the Fall in the Garden of Eden. SIN causes suffering. But why do comparatively good people suffer? Why is there so much tragedy in the world? Time to dig deep into the teachings of the Bible on suffering - and why suffering happens. As we do, note these three characteristics of the Bible's teaching on suffering:  The Bible does NOT shy away from talking directly about suffering. You simply cannot spend much time studying suffering in the Bible and walk away thinking you will be immune to it. The Bible does NOT promise freedom from suffering for the most devout followers of Jesus. Instead, it promises JUST THE OPPOSITE. The Bible gives a myriad of reasons for suffering, and doesn't always seek to offer explanations for why seemingly good people are going through bad things. Jeremiah - the longest book in the Bible - is about a faithful prophet that never has one conversion or moment of seeming fruitfulness in his ministry. Why? It is never fully explained, and yet Jeremiah is obviously quite faithful to the end. Job is a whole book devoted to suffering, and it is about a good man that suffers horrific suffering. Job NEVER knows why. The call of Ezekiel in Ezekiel 1-4 (4th longest book in the Bible) indicates his ministry will be a ministry of repeated suffering.  And that is enough for a beginning answer about suffering. Tomorrow we will continue grappling with the question of why bad things happen to seemingly good people, but I want to close with a testimony/story below from pastor David Platt. Platt wrote the best-selling book Radical, pastored the church at Brook Hills in Birmingham, Alabama, and was the head of the Southern Baptist International Mission Board for a time. Below he tells the story (during a sermon on Job!) of how he came to be pastor of one of the largest churches in Birmingham while still in his twenties: I was thinking this morning, even as I was preparing and looking over this text again, of the purpose of God in suffering, even in my speaking in front of you about the purpose of God in suffering. It was almost three years ago to the day when Heather and I were living in New Orleans and hurricane Katrina came and sent our house under water, about ten feet of water in our one-story house there and our world turned upside down. I remember us sitting at a shelter in Central Louisiana, and we had set up a video projector where we were showing the news on the side of a wall.And it was one of those times, after Katrina had happened, when they were doing helicopter flyovers in the city of New Orleans. And I had been telling Heather, “Heather, I'm sure our house is fine, everything's okay.” You know, giving her all the assurance that I had no authority to give whatsoever, just what you say during those times. And we see this helicopter flyover our neighborhood and we see this gas station, and we think, well, that gas station looks familiar, and it's about two or three blocks up from where our house was and it was up to the top of the building with water. And it was one of those times when Heather and I lock eyes and we realize our life has just turned upside down.And so we are not going be able to go back home for a while, forever really as it came to be, because a few months later I start filling in preaching with this church in Birmingham, Alabama, and they invite me to come back a few more times, and long story short, here I am. That's the picture of the purpose of God. Three years ago I never could have imagined as I was sitting and looking at our house under water that tonight I'd be talking to you about the purpose of God in suffering as the pastor of this church in Birmingham, Alabama. He's got a purpose, it's sometimes different, but it is always good, never oppressive, always good. David Platt, “The Gospel, God's Purpose, and Suffering,” in David Platt Sermon Archive (Birmingham, AL: David Platt, 2008), 1566.

Today and tomorrow, for the first time in the long and storied 34 day history of this podcast, we are going to do a two-part episode. The reason for this is that we are going to grapple together with a big question that has vexed the hearts of humans for thousands of years: Why does suffering happen? This question is quite apropos for today's Bible readings (and for tomorrow's reading also), so it should fit in well. Today we read Genesis 35, Job 2, Mark 6 and Romans 6. In the Genesis passage, Jacob decides to follow Yahweh, the God of Israel, wholeheartedly, and to put away the other idols and gods from among his entourage. Romans 6 features a beautiful theological passage from Paul about becoming slaves to God and leaving behind our slavery to sin. In our two focus passages for today, Job 2 and Mark 6, we see two incredibly righteous and GOOD people (Job and John the Baptist) suffer horribly. What's worse, although both men exemplary lives that stand out even among the other saints of the Bible, neither man knows why they are going through the extreme suffering they are going through. John the Baptist is beheaded and dies alone in prison, not really understanding his situation at all, and Job is afflicted with the loss of his family, his wealth, his possessions and his health, and is at a complete loss to explain why. Both of these situations raise our big question of the day: Why does God allow bad things to happen to good people? Let's read Mark and Job together, and then discuss the situation. In order to get at an answer to this big question, we should consider how we do Bible theology, or more specifically, how do go to the Word of God to answer life's biggest questions? Here are three things to remember in seeking answers to our questions from the Bible: Rather than just focusing on one single verse, we must consider the whole counsel of God. Put another way, to answer the question of what happens when we die, we must attempt to survey all that the Bible has to say about this question, and not just one verse. The reason for this is that while every passage in the Bible is true - not every passage in the Bible is the COMPLETE truth. For instance, in 1 Corinthians 13, the apostle Paul describes love, and we learn that it is patient, kind, and not at all jealous. All of these are true statements about love, but they aren't the ONLY true statements about love in the Bible. In order to find out the complete teaching of the Bible about love, we have to go to other passages. In doing so, we find out in the Song of Solomon 8 that not only is love patient, kind and longsuffering...but it is also POWERFUL - as powerful as death. (Song of Solomon 8:6)  Therefore, in order to have a complete understanding of love from the Bible's perspective, we need the truths in 1 Corinthians 13 AND Song of Solomon 8, among many other passages also. Similarly, to gain a biblical understanding of suffering, and why it happens, we have to survey the whole Word. That is the process of developing a biblical theology - it involves finding out all of what the Bible teaches and reveals about a particular topic. Our second task is to account for the difference between Old Covenant passages and New Covenant passages. The New Testament must take precedence over the Old Testament, and it must interpret it. Consider Hebrews 7 and 8, and note how the New Testament/New Covenant has surpassed the Old. Hebrews 7:18-19,  "So the previous command is annulled because it was weak and unprofitable 19 (for the law perfected nothing), but a better hope is introduced, through which we draw near to God.” Hebrews 8:7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion for a second one...13 By saying a new covenant, he has declared that the first is obsolete. And what is obsolete and growing old is about to pass away. This does not mean that the Old Testament is not the Word of God, or that we don't need it, but we are no longer living in Old Testament/Old Covenant times, now we are living in the age of the New Testament. Finally, With humility, prayer, and the leadership of the Spirit, we must keep returning to the Word of God so that our theology and understanding does not drift from truth. We should hold our theology with a degree of humility and repeatedly keep returning to the Scriptures to test and confirm that we are walking in the truth. Like an unmoored ship, we humans have a tendency to drift away from truth, and we must discipline ourselves to return - over and over again - to the authority of the Word of God.  So, with that understanding in mind, back to our question: Why do BAD things happen to GOOD people? This question has been asked in various forms for literally thousands of years. Epicurus was a Greek philosopher that lived 300 years before Jesus, and for him, the purpose of philosophy was to attain the happy, tranquil life, characterized by peace, freedom from fear—and aponia—the absence of pain. Supposedly Epicurus helped to formulate what has been called the Epicurean Paradox/Riddle of Epicurus “Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able?Then he is not omnipotent. Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent. Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil? Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God?” In answering this question, I want to point out a fundamental disagreement between Epicurean theology and biblical theology: Epicurus sought to avoid all forms of suffering and fear while The Bible PROMISES the experience of suffering, John 16:33 “You will have suffering in this world.” and The Bible COMMANDS  it. 2 Timothy 2:3 “3 Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.” Some read Epicurus for the first time and marvel at how modern he sounds...and his philosophy is very similar in some ways to modern atheism, though less sophisticated. However, I find it lacking and pollyannaish. Living a life that seeks to avoid suffering is like living a life that seeks to avoid air, or death or things that smell bad. Unrealistic and impossible. While many Christians and preachers have a pollyanna-type theology that is quite shallow and doesn't reckon well with suffering, The Bible itself does NOT approach death and suffering in an unrealistic, pie in the sky way - but in a gritty and realistic way...with hope. Further, the Bible speaks of suffering FREQUENTLY.   SO - here's our question, but before we get too deep into an answer, we need to make some adjustments. "Why do bad things happen to good people?" is a bit of a flawed question from a biblical sense. Yes, John the Baptist was a great human being - the greatest human being born in history, according to Jesus. Yes! Job was a great guy also - the Bible says he was the greatest man in his area of the world. The better and more accurate question is: Why do bad things happen to SEEMINGLY good people - or COMPARATIVELY good people. ( Remembering that Romans 3:10 notes that there isn't even ONE fully righteous person.)  Part 1 of this question is: Why do bad things happen? Why is there suffering in the world? The Bible gives a clear answer to that question and the answer is THE FALL.  16 He said to the woman: I will intensify your labor pains; you will bear children in anguish. Your desire will be for your husband, yet he will rule over you. 17 And He said to Adam, “Because you listened to your wife's voice and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘Do not eat from it': The ground is cursed because of you. You will eat from it by means of painful labor all the days of your life. 18 It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. 19 You will eat bread by the sweat of your brow until you return to the ground, since you were taken from it. For you are dust, and you will return to dust.” Genesis 3:16-19 12 Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, in this way death spread to all men, because all sinned.” Romans 5:12 SO - ALL suffering has its root in the Fall in the Garden of Eden. SIN causes suffering. But why do comparatively good people suffer? Why is there so much tragedy in the world? Time to dig deep into the teachings of the Bible on suffering - and why suffering happens. As we do, note these three characteristics of the Bible's teaching on suffering:  The Bible does NOT shy away from talking directly about suffering. You simply cannot spend much time studying suffering in the Bible and walk away thinking you will be immune to it. The Bible does NOT promise freedom from suffering for the most devout followers of Jesus. Instead, it promises JUST THE OPPOSITE. The Bible gives a myriad of reasons for suffering, and doesn't always seek to offer explanations for why seemingly good people are going through bad things. Jeremiah - the longest book in the Bible - is about a faithful prophet that never has one conversion or moment of seeming fruitfulness in his ministry. Why? It is never fully explained, and yet Jeremiah is obviously quite faithful to the end. Job is a whole book devoted to suffering, and it is about a good man that suffers horrific suffering. Job NEVER knows why. The call of Ezekiel in Ezekiel 1-4 (4th longest book in the Bible) indicates his ministry will be a ministry of repeated suffering.  And that is enough for a beginning answer about suffering. Tomorrow we will continue grappling with the question of why bad things happen to seemingly good people, but I want to close with a testimony/story below from pastor David Platt. Platt wrote the best-selling book Radical, pastored the church at Brook Hills in Birmingham, Alabama, and was the head of the Southern Baptist International Mission Board for a time. Below he tells the story (during a sermon on Job!) of how he came to be pastor of one of the largest churches in Birmingham while still in his twenties: I was thinking this morning, even as I was preparing and looking over this text again, of the purpose of God in suffering, even in my speaking in front of you about the purpose of God in suffering. It was almost three years ago to the day when Heather and I were living in New Orleans and hurricane Katrina came and sent our house under water, about ten feet of water in our one-story house there and our world turned upside down. I remember us sitting at a shelter in Central Louisiana, and we had set up a video projector where we were showing the news on the side of a wall.And it was one of those times, after Katrina had happened, when they were doing helicopter flyovers in the city of New Orleans. And I had been telling Heather, “Heather, I'm sure our house is fine, everything's okay.” You know, giving her all the assurance that I had no authority to give whatsoever, just what you say during those times. And we see this helicopter flyover our neighborhood and we see this gas station, and we think, well, that gas station looks familiar, and it's about two or three blocks up from where our house was and it was up to the top of the building with water. And it was one of those times when Heather and I lock eyes and we realize our life has just turned upside down.And so we are not going be able to go back home for a while, forever really as it came to be, because a few months later I start filling in preaching with this church in Birmingham, Alabama, and they invite me to come back a few more times, and long story short, here I am. That's the picture of the purpose of God. Three years ago I never could have imagined as I was sitting and looking at our house under water that tonight I'd be talking to you about the purpose of God in suffering as the pastor of this church in Birmingham, Alabama. He's got a purpose, it's sometimes different, but it is always good, never oppressive, always good. David Platt, “The Gospel, God's Purpose, and Suffering,” in David Platt Sermon Archive (Birmingham, AL: David Platt, 2008), 1566.

Episode #26 features 2019 Rattle Poetry Prize Finalist Kathleen Balma and her chapbook Gallimaufry & Farrago. Kathleen Balma is a public librarian and the author of Gallimaufry & Farrago (Finishing Line Press 2018), a poetry chapbook. She received a Master of Library Science and a Master of Fine Arts in Poetry Writing from Indiana University. A Fulbright Fellow and Pushcart Prize winner, she is the recipient of a Katherine Bakeless Nason Scholarship from Bread Loaf Environmental Writers' Conference, a Tennessee Williams scholarship from Sewanee Writers' Conference, and a writer-in-residence fellowship from Rivendell Writers' Colony. She has published widely in magazines and anthologies, including Ecotone, Missouri Review, New Ohio Review, the Montreal International Poetry Prize Anthology, and the University of Canberra Vice-Chancellor's International Poetry Prize Anthology. She grew up in the Ohio River Valley of Illinois and has lived in the Ozarks of Missouri, a Michigan forest, urban Andalucía, a naval base near the Windy City, suburban New South Wales, Western Australia, a trailer park in Little Egypt, several corners of the Hoosier state, Castilla la Mancha, small-town New England, and the only Garden District in Central Louisiana. New Orleans is her forever home. For more information, visit: https://www.kathleenbalma.com/ Pre-show: "Building Nicole's Mama" by Patricia Smith https://www.rattle.com/building-nicoles-mama-by-patricia-smith/

This is Episode 25 and it is Monday July 15th. Today I will introduce to you my good friend Elizabeth.  Today Liz and I talk about the impact she had on my life as a new mom facing a new diagnosis of autism and how her response was so helpful during a time of so much uncertainty for me.  We talk quite a bit during this conversation about her experiences as a sibling to her sister who has special needs and what it was like at church for her.  Liz and her husband Preston, and their two children Haddie and Noah now live in Central Louisiana where they are the owners of a Christian owned and operated HVAC company called, "Greater Air and Heating".   Liz and I have know each other since we were little girls and her friendship today mean just as much or more as it did when we were 5 and 6 years old. It is so rare to have such a close friend that you have known so long. I am so grateful to be talking with her today here on the podcast.  If you have questions about today's podcast shoot us an email at talk@stepscare.org. For more information about what we do here at steps care feel free to click through our website and Stepscare.org  I would like to say a special thank you to Chloe and Michelle for recording our ending commercial on today's broadcast. You girls did a great job!! Thank you for stopping by and visiting us this weekend.  We hope you've been inspired!! 

A houston-based podcast for a social talk spiritual words of wisdom short stories and original poetry and other social ongoings around the Houston area and in Central Louisiana. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/jon-mimes/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/jon-mimes/support

Outlook on more spiritual talk the NBA finals the surrounding Houston and and Central Louisiana. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/jon-mimes/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/jon-mimes/support

On our 61st episode, we travel to Central Louisiana to sit down and interview the band Straight Shot Home! Among lots of laughs and randomness, we discuss their self-titled EP, influences on each song, the band itself, and some of what they listen to on their downtime! Visit Michigan Sports and Entertainment! Super Media Bros Website! Buy Straight Shot Home's MERCH! Straight Shot Home on Apple Music! Listen to Straight Shot Home on Spotify! Straight Shot Home on Facebook! Straight Shot Home on Twitter! W e e z l a c k SoundCloud Super Media Bros on Facebook! Super Media Bros on Twitter! COME LOOK AT OUR STUPID PICTURES!

In tonight's episode, we talk to Pineville Boys Head Soccer Coach Greg Comeaux about what is going on in Central Louisiana as this season starts. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/monday-night-futbol/support

On Episode #6 of The Voice of Louisiana Agriculture Podcast, we look at the latest news headlines in Louisiana agriculture, where we talk to Northwest Louisiana crop consultant Gary Wolfe and hear about the 2018 Louisiana Ag in the Classroom teacher of the year, Paula Guidry. Louisiana Commissioner of Agriculture & Forestry Dr. Mike Strains joins us for this week's Grassroots Government segment to discuss the Special Session of the Louisiana Legislature. Then we go "In the Field" to Central Louisiana to visit with Jim Harper of Rapides Parish. Our regular market analysts, Greg Fox and Dave Foster, get us caught up on the grain and cattle markets, and we wrap it all up with a look at the Louisiana Ag Calendar.

On Episode #6 of The Voice of Louisiana Agriculture Podcast, we look at the latest news headlines in Louisiana agriculture, where we talk to Northwest Louisiana crop consultant Gary Wolfe and hear about the 2018 Louisiana Ag in the Classroom teacher of the year, Paula Guidry. Louisiana Commissioner of Agriculture & Forestry Dr. Mike Strains joins us for this week's Grassroots Government segment to discuss the Special Session of the Louisiana Legislature. Then we go "In the Field" to Central Louisiana to visit with Jim Harper of Rapides Parish. Our regular market analysts, Greg Fox and Dave Foster, get us caught up on the grain and cattle markets, and we wrap it all up with a look at the Louisiana Ag Calendar.

Elijah, originally from Central Louisiana, is doing great things in Boise Idaho...which is a 6 hour drive to both Portland and Seattle. Elijah is your best choice for real estate in Boise's bustling downtown district. I've been to Boise about eight times since two of my sons lived there, with one currently living in Boise and is a recent Boise State University graduate. Metro Boise includes the cities of Caldwell, Eagle, Meridian, and Nampa. Metro Boise has a population slightly higher than 500,000. We hope you enjoy today's show. Elijah McNeely on Instagram - www.instagram.com/elijah.mcneeley Elijah McNeely on the Internet - www.yourspotinboise.com 321 Set Appointments LLC on the Internet - 321sallc.com --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/321bizdevelopment/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/321bizdevelopment/support

"Angelina Iles draws out the best in people. She motivates them to accomplish more than they thought possible. She's been doing this for years in the Rapides Parish city of Pineville. Operating independently as Pineville Concerned Citizens or in concert with other organizations, she's been working to change the political culture in Central Louisiana by focusing on issues that affect the people that too many elected officials ignore — the working poor and lower middle class. The list of projects she's led and/or worked on in the five years I've known her is longer that the life's work of many others. Defending the state workers at Huey P. Long Hospital against Bobby Jindal and from the ineffectiveness of their public employee union. Rallying Central Louisiana around Medicaid expansion even as Jindal vowed to keep hundreds of thousands of Louisiana residents uninsured. Working to revitalize the state and local Democratic Party organizations that have conspicuously failed at party building at both levels. She's now working with Indivisible in Central Louisiana on issues ranging from healthcare to pay equity to full citizenship for women. She's working across party lines to improve the plight of the people around her. Angelina was born in Lafayette. She attended Holy Rosary Institute for a time before moving to Rapides Parish. She was a cafeteria worker for years and a member of the Rapides Federation of Teachers. She raised a good family. She cared for her stroke paralyzed brother at the same time she was battling for the rights of others. She brings a pragmatic touch to idealistic battles. She wins even when others say she lost. She is relentless in her efforts on behalf of others. She knows that ""No"" is the bureaucratic response to see if you'll go away. Angelina Iles is a leader in the truest sense of the word. Ask the people who have encountered her. She is fierce but it is not done in pursuit of personal gain or advantage. ••• Thanks to Matt Roberts, AOC's Community Production Manager for help locating the music used in this segment. A Foolish Game by Hans Atom (c) copyright 2017 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/hansatom/55394 Ft: Snowflake Here's a clip of her in action:"

RootsCamp LA 7 is coming to Lafayette on March 18-19 and it’s a ‘must make’ event this year because of the surge of new activists that are now engaged in the political and civic process, many for the first time. Dawn Collins, RootsCamp LA founder and chief organizer. RootsCamp started small and has been growing organically since 2010. The first session Dawn Collins organized was in a union hall assembly room near Alexandria. It moves in two-year cycles and has been held in Baton Rouge and New Orleans since the first two events in Central Louisiana. What’s great about RootsCamp is that the agenda is set by the attendees once they arrive. There are some panel discussions that are scheduled, but the vast bulk of the agenda is set on-site by attendees voting their level of interest. What became starkly clear last year during the Democratic primary season – where the first wave of 2016 activists were drawn into the process – is how little understanding there is among people about how government is organized and operates, and how parties work. Progressives seem to need Civics classes. Many people couldn’t distinguish between their congressional representatives and their state legislators. Not a minor issue. We are in a tight spot here. Those who are focused on trying to get members of Congress to respond to voters’ demands are, in many instances, engaged in futile activity. Why? Because the U.S. House of Representatives has been gerrymandered in succeeding Census cycles to lock in congressional Republican majorities in the Congress based on minority vote totals. Oh, by the way. Those House congressional district lines are drawn by state legislatures. Look at Louisiana as an example. Louisiana has had six congressional seats since the 2010 Census. Louisiana happens to have a non-white population of 37% — about 33% African American, with the rest being Hispanic, Asian, Native Americans and others. Under the concept of one-person, one-vote, Louisiana should have two of our six congressional districts that are winnable by non-Republicans. But, we don’t. Why? Because in 2011 the Louisiana Legislature did the work of then-7th District Congressman Charles Boustany (whose district was disappearing) and carved the 3rd District in such a way as to give Boustany the advantage over then-Congressman Jeff Landry who represented the 3rd District at the time. I’m not saying Louisiana is a progressive state. See the 2016 presidential election results to settle that. But, I am saying that congressional redistricting and redistricting of districts in the Louisiana House and Senate have been carried out in a partisan way to lock in Republican advantage and to make our state appear more conservative than it actually is. Coming to Lafayette mid-March 2017. For those of you whose interest is primarily at the federal issue, this is critical information. Why? Because we cannot see better outcomes in Congress unless and until we understand and change the redistricting process in Louisiana (and other states). Control of Congress, then, can be and has been affected by actions at the state level. The next state legislative elections are in 2019. The next Census is 2020. The redistricting of the Congressional seats will take place in 2021 for the 2022 elections. The redistricting of state legislative districts will likely take place around the same time, although that work does not have to be completed until 2023. All of these things require that citizens engage in the process and assert their ownership rights to it. That is the essential requirement of the United States’ experiment with our democratic republic. It’s gotten away from us in recent decades. The corrective is activism and engagement. That’s why RootsCamp LA is essential. See you there! Register here. ••• Thanks to Matt Roberts, AOC’s Community Programming Director for help locating the music used in this segment. A Foolish Game by Hans Atom (c) copyright 2017 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/hansatom/55394 Ft: Snowflake

Stand, Week 1 Jeff Ginn The eyes of our nation, this week, have been focused on small County in Kentucky. It’s called Rowan County. It's because there, a test case of sorts, has arisen. It swirls around a simple County Clerk. Her name is Kim Davis. Kim it turns out had lived a wild life and she had been married four times. Yet, at her mother-in-law's passing in 2011, the Lord got a hold of her and she came to know Christ as her Savior and it radically transformed her life. She says today that she's devout Christian. Well, when the Supreme Court ruled, earlier this year, that same-sex marriage was to be the law of the land, she was placed in a quandary. She was elected as clerk. In fact, her mother before her had been the County Clerk. Something of a family tradition, which is common they say in Kentucky. She had been elected under the premise that marriage was, as the Scripture teaches, between a man and a woman and now she found herself as the clerk with the responsibility of issuing marriage licenses for relationships that she did not believe comported with what the Scripture teaches. What would she do? What ought she do? It was a difficult question. She made a decision in her heart, in fact she resolved in her heart that she would not go against her conscience and what she believed was right. So she made an appeal to the governing authorities and it went to the Supreme Court and that she be heard, that her arguments be heard and that was denied. It fell back to a judge; I believe it was a federal judge there in Kentucky to rule in her case. He ruled that she must issue the licenses. If you're paid by the state of Kentucky and the law of Kentucky is that people can marry across all sorts of lines, then she, as an employee of the state, would have to issue those licenses or face the consequences. She decided that she would do the latter. She would face the consequences and so the judge decreed that this woman be cast into prison and as we worship, here in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, this morning, that woman sits in a prison jail cell in Rowan County, Kentucky. I suppose I imagine that perhaps we would live to see a day like today, but the I’m not sure I really believed it would come. When someone would be imprisoned for a tenet of their religious faith. Many of you'll remember that our nation was actually founded on the exact opposite premise. That people came here to say, everyone ought to be able to worship according to their dictates and live out their faith without coercion. Those days, it seems are passing. So she's made the decision to stand. Now some of you maybe thinking, well now wait preacher, if she's paid by the state of Kentucky and the law is as it is, then she ought to just resign and a forfeit her position. You know what, I think a case could be made for that. In fact, that actually did happen here in the state of Louisiana not so many weeks ago. It happens that there was a justice of the peace, a lady, in fact of all things; she's married to a Baptist preacher. She’s a young woman and she was elected to be the justice of the peace in, I think, Grant Parish up in Central Louisiana. Maybe some of you know where that is. She made the decision, with her husband, that when the Supreme Court ruled as it did, that she rather than get into all kinds of the legalities and a potential suit, she would just resign. She did: she just resigned her position, I for one, am glad that Kim Davis is taking a stand. II don't necessarily, I can’t judge whether or not she's been perfect in every moment of this journey. That’s for God to judge, but I’m glad she's taken a stand. Let me tell you why, because this forces us as a nation to consider some very significant questions. Now she has said she'll take whatever repercussions come her way and she's proven that she would. In fact, when the judge ordered her to jail, her response was “yes, your honor, thank you.” She responded with grace and she's taken her lumps and there she sits in jail today. But we, as a nation, have to make some decisions about how were going to live going forward. Do we want to live in a nation? Do we want our nation to be the kind of place where a devout Christian can no longer be a court clerk? Where, in our nation, it can never be again a devout Christian, who would stand for traditional marriage that could be a justice of the peace? Where no believer of this nature, could serve as a chaplain in our Armed Forces? Could not be a chaplain with the state police force? You say, preacher that’s crazy. What are you talking about? Did you know that just this year, again this is in the state of Kentucky, there was a young man who was a volunteer from his church, he would go every week, as I understand it, to a correctional Institute where they housed young offenders. He would go there to share the hope of the gospel, and to disciple these young men. Well the state Department of Corrections came up with a sheet and he had to sign it and sheet said, “you cannot say that homosexual behavior is sinful.” Well if you are a devout believer that places you in a quandary. How can you not say what the Bible says is the case? In fact, while I’m on this, don’t think I mean this to be a diatribe against one particular sin. Any sexual activity outside the simple bounds of a man and woman wed in matrimony is outside of the parameters of what God established. Be it premarital sex, extramarital sex, homosexual behavior, all of it alike is outside what God ordained and so they said before you can go back into that prison you’ve got to sign this is. That you will not say that these behaviors are sinful. The young man said, “I can't do it.” Are we prepared to live in a nation, where volunteers from churches can't go into the prisons and share the hope of the gospel as we’ve discovered in Christ and declare Christ saves from all sin? Is that the kind of nation we want to live in?  Just these past few weeks, here in the state of Louisiana, an edict was released from the judicial commission of the State of Louisiana. It went to every judge in the State of Louisiana and it said “you must comport yourself in accordance with the Supreme Court's edict or we will remove your judgeship.” no Christian judges? No Christian bakers? No Christian photographers? These are serious days in which we’re living. Now friends listen, Kim Davis Is right at least in this one sense, we have to be willing to take whatever consequences come, but we must stand! We must stand for what is right! God will sort the consequences. Now where do we find help in making decisions during these difficult days with these weighty issues? I've got good news for you. There is help for us so we can know how we ought to live in these trying times and it's found in the book of Daniel. Would you please open your Bibles to Daniel? Daniel, Chapter One is where we are going to be this morning, and to me it's wonderful to think that this series has been planned for months. Months ago, we laid out our preaching schedule for this year and Daniel was the book that we chose and wouldn’t you know, in God's wisdom, he gave us this, just at the moment we most needed it. And that's the way he is. So if would now as our title implies, Stand, would you stand in honor of God's word and we are going to read the first chapter. Now normally, I don't read such an extended passage at one time. It takes about three minutes to read this first chapter, and I’m going to read every word. And this will be the best three minutes you spend all day, all right? Listening to what God says. I want to listen to this and then consider how ought I to live where I am? Just as Daniel learned to live in the circumstances where he found himself. Let’s read together beginning in Daniel chapter one verse one. In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with some of the vessels of the house of God. And he brought them to the land of Shinar, to the house of his god, and placed the vessels in the treasury of his god. (I like it that the editors used a little g, that’s appropriate, all right now verse 3) Then the king commanded Ashpenaz, his chief eunuch, to bring some of the people of Israel, both of the royal family and of the nobility, youths without blemish, of good appearance and skillful in all wisdom, endowed with knowledge, understanding learning, and competent to stand in the king's palace, and to teach them the literature and language of the Chaldeans. The king assigned them a daily portion of the food that the king ate, and of the wine that he drank. They were to be educated for three years, and at the end of that time they were to stand before the king. Among these were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah of the tribe of Judah. And the chief of the eunuchs gave them names: (now you may not the names Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, but I think you know these) Daniel he called Belteshazzar, Hananiah he called Shadrach, (there it is) Mishael he called Meshach, and Azariah he called Abednego. (You know those names don’t you? Shadrach, Meshach and “away we go”, all right, you know these names. These are the great three friends of Daniel; now look in verse 8, what happens?) But Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the king's food, or with the wine that he drank. Therefore he asked the chief of the eunuchs to allow him not to defile himself. And God gave Daniel favor and compassion in the sight of the chief of the eunuchs, and the chief of the eunuchs said to Daniel, “I fear my lord the king, who assigned your food and your drink; for why should he see that you were in worse condition than the youths who are of your own age? So you would endanger my head with the king.” Then Daniel said to the steward whom the chief of the eunuchs had assigned over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, “Test your servants for ten days; let us be given vegetables to eat and water to drink. Then let our appearance and the appearance of the youths who eat the king's food be observed by you, and deal with your servants according to what you see.” So he listened to them in this matter, and tested them for ten days. At the end of ten days it was seen that they were better in appearance and fatter in flesh than all the youths who ate the king's food. So the steward took away their food and the wine they were to drink, and gave them vegetables. As for these four youths, God gave them learning and skill in all literature and wisdom, and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams. At the end of the time, when the king had commanded that they should be brought in, the chief of the eunuchs brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar. And the king spoke with them, and among all of them none was found like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. Therefore they stood before the king. And in every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king inquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters that were in all his kingdom. And Daniel was there until the first year of King Cyrus. Let’s pray. God, we thank you for this book in the Bible, the book of Daniel. We thank you for the courage and commitment of these young men. The way that they stood when it seemed that all was coming against them. I pray God, you would teach us, how will stand in these days and to go against the flow when it seems that all of culture would sweep us away from you. Give us wisdom. Give us learning. Give us courage. Help us to dare to be a Daniel. I pray in Jesus name, Amen. Please be seated. This morning we’re going to begin a study in the book of Daniel and were going to look at the life of Daniel, this courageous young man and his four compatriots. This morning we’re going to focus in the first chapter. I’m going to divide this story into three scenes. I want you to follow along carefully as the Lord teaches us. Now the very first scene I going to call, A Great Tragedy. This story begins with a great tragedy. Look at how the passage opens, there in versus one and two and see it projected on the screen. In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand. Now this tragedy that I'm going to describe has two components to it. First of all, there's the component of Israel's defeat. It is a tragedy that Israel was defeated. Now remember Israel. Israel was that small band of, a tribe really, that came out of the descendants of Abraham. They were enslaved in Egypt and with a mighty hand, God brought them out of Egypt and Israel, in effect, defeated the mightiest force in its day, Egypt. Then arose the Kings, Saul and then David. David, you remember took down Goliath and the Philistines. He united the kingdom and David's reign was a rain of great might and power and renown and wealth. Then came his son Solomon. Israel was a top the world it seemed, but fissures began to appear in the veneer. It was because of the idolatry and immorality and fracturedness of their nation that that the people of Israel began to go into a decline, a steep decline, until, by the time we come to the life of Daniel, the nation is now totally defeated. Humiliated by what was then the world power, Babylon and its king Nebuchadnezzar. But the most sobering part of this defeat and of these verses that you see is that phrase “the Lord gave Jehoiakim into Nebuchadnezzar's hand. In other words it was not the might of the Babylonians, their armies, or their strategy of that enabled them to defeat Israel. What enabled them to defeat Israel was that God gave Israel over into its enemy’s hands. That is judgment came upon Israel. The Bible says righteousness exalts a nation but sin is a reproach to any people. And when sin begins to weave its way into a nation and there's immorality and idolatry and fractured people, then judgment is soon sure to follow. And if God judged Israel for her sins and he did, God can judge the United States of America for our sins. It was a tragedy that they were defeated. And the tragedy of it was that God allowed it to happen. Now why would I do that? Why would God allow his own people to go into captivity and defeat? Do you know why? It was because of their disobedience God had warned them for decades on end, that they ought to repent. That they ought to get right, but Israel was stiff necked and it was bent on going its own way. Away from God, and so judgment was to come. In fact it’s interesting. It’s one of the proofs of the inerrancy of Scripture and its trustworthiness. Did you know that more than 100 years prior to the defeat of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, God prophesied it would happen? He did so through the prophet Isaiah. Listen! Listen carefully to the precision of this prophesy. This is from Isaiah Chapter 39 beginning at verse five. “Hear the word of the Lord of hosts: Behold, the days are coming, when all that is in your house, and that which your fathers have stored up till this day, shall be carried to Babylon. Nothing shall be left, says the Lord. And some of your sons, who shall issue from you, whom you shall beget, shall be taken away. And they shall become officials in the palace of the king of Babylon. Are you kidding me? A hundred years before it happened, God said there's going to come a day when judgment will fall. You’re going to be carried away the Babylonian in captivity, including some of your own defendants. What do recent discover here in Daniel chapter 1? That from the nobility, from the royal house, these young men were buried in the Babylon. GOD’S WORD CANNOT BE MOCKED! What a man sows, he will reap. What a nation sows, a nation will reap. And this story begins with a tragedy, but the tragedy did not have to happen. Had the children of Israel repented and turned back to God, judgment would not have fallen but they did not, they disobeyed, and thus, they were defeated. It’s a lesson for us in America. Could judgment fall on America? It could! I've said before and I'll say it again here now, with a heavy heart I tell you, I wouldn't be surprised if God allowed our worst enemies overrun us, to discipline us for our sin. We, the purported Christian nation, supposed Christian nation! Why is it that those who sell baby parts are free and the one who would stand for traditional marriage is in jail? You explain it to me! Don’t think it could happen to us. It could happen. I don’t say that with any glee, I say with a broken heart. I say God have mercy on America. Lord don’t have justice with us. We don't need justice. If justice were to fall we would be judged. No, we need mercy. God have mercy on us. Help us and especially those of us who know the truth that we would stand for righteousness. Not holier than thou, but just walk in obedience to the precepts of God's Word. Simple things. Like Thou Shall Not Commit Adultery, Ashley Madison. Thou Shall Not Steal; Thou Shall Not Kill, including innocent babies and their mother’s womb! GOD HELP US! Lest this tragedy befall us. Now lets go to the second scene. I’ve talked to you about the great tragedy that befell the children of Israel. Now I want to say something about a great temptation. It came Daniel's way. Here they are, carried off to Babylon. And here's the strange twist of fate, if you will, Daniel has in front of him, in a way of thinking, a golden possibility. All right? He’s been held in captivity. His city has been besieged. They been starving in Jerusalem. Now this young man, country bumpkin, has been carried off to Babylon. Babylon was the greatest city of its day. It was the Washington DC or the New York City of its time. There is Daniel, living in that great walled city. He enrolled there, not in LSU; he enrolled in BSU Babylon State University. And he's got TOPS (scholarship program), he’s got full ride tuition, he got room and board, doesn’t the Bible say that? He’s given to eat and the king’s table. He’s standing in the king's palace. I mean he’s got the tiger by the tail. All he’s got to do is go along to get along. Just don’t ruffle feathers. Just keep your head down Daniel or you’ll get it lopped off. He’s got a golden opportunity. Here he is. He’s not eating at the Five; he’s eating at Galatoire’s, or Juban’s or Ruffino’s. I mean he eating the royal regimen, it’s being fed to him. What an opportunity he has. All he has to do is go along to get along. Daniel, just be cool man. Just fit in. just be like everybody else around you. That’s all you’ve got to do. I love Daniel, because in the face of this golden possibility, he stands for a Godly purpose. Look at would you in verse eight. But Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the king's food or with the wine that he drank. Daniel resolved, that is, Daniel purposed in his heart. Daniel was like this; everybody may be going this way. Everybody may be disobeying the Lord's commands, but I am going to go this way. I’m not going to be holier than thou about it, I’m not going to try to lift myself up as if I'm all that. But just in my own modest way, I'm going to stand for what's right. What a great word. You young people listen to me. You know how old Daniel was at this time? We believe he was probably about 14 years of age. Do I have any 14 year olds in here this morning? Stand up if you are 14. I want to see all our 14 year olds. Stand right up. How would you 14 year olds like if you were carried away into a foreign country? You 15 year olds stand up 15 year old. He may have been 15. There you are. There you are. 15 years old, carried away, all you have to do is go along. Just do whatever everyone else is doing. You don’t have to make a scene for crying out loud. You can be seated. Daniel wouldn't go along to get along. And he would keep his head down. He stood up. And he said I’m going to follow the Lords precepts. And you might even argue, it’s not that big a thing. I mean all you have to do is eat the king’s food. Just drink the wine that there serving. What? It’s not a big deal. It was to Daniel. Because God in his word had laid out some principles of how to live in obedience to him. And there were certain kosher foods among the Jewish people. And Daniel on what some might consider just the technicality said I'm not going the yield on this. I'm going to be faithful to the Lord. By his grace am going to stand true. And I want to challenge our young people and our parents who set the example and our grandparents who are here this morning. May God help us in this day of so much moral confusion, just to be true? True to God's word. To his truth. To his principles. And not yield. Daniel had a Godly purpose. You know what this leads to? It leads to peril. It leads to danger. There was a grave peril before Daniel. I mean you couldn’t buck King Nebuchadnezzar. I mean this is the ruler of the known world. It would be like being carried in before the Ayatollah Khomeini. You do what you want in his face. It’s a dangerous thing. You say how do you know that preacher? Well look at what the Bible says. They’re now in verse 10. ..and the chief of the eunuchs said to Daniel, “I fear my lord the king, who assigned your food and your drink; for why should he see that you were in worse condition than the youths who are of your own age? So you would endanger my head with the king. What’s he saying? He’s saying man, if you don't do what the king said, we could all get our heads lopped off. This is serious business. But Daniel, no matter the risk, runs this apparel. And is willing to stand in the face of it. He is between a rock and a hard place. Look at this. If he pleases the king, he displeases the King of Kings. But he pleases the King of Kings, he displeases the king. And he has to make a choice. And all of us are going to have to make a choice. Who is the King that we will please? For whose pleasure do we live? And Daniel makes his choice. Now I love Daniel because he offers up, in this quandary, he offers up a very gracious proposal. He doesn’t stand up on the cafeteria table in the middle of the Five or something and start banging on the table. I want a new menu! I want a new menu! I want a new menu! He doesn't do that. He doesn’t hold up a placards and march, like Westboro does. No, what does Daniel do? He makes a very gracious proposal. He says look, I tell you what, would you be so kind as to just test us for 10 days? Just let us eat fruit and vegetables. Just test us. The word vegetable here is a word that means from the seed. So it would have included things like wheat and vegetables and fruit. Things that grow from seed. Just let us have a basic menu and then at the end of the 10 days just test us and see how we measure up against the others. It was a gracious kind proposal. And I want to advocate this for all of us. I’m not wanting you to leave today and go get placards and march and shout profanities and curse the darkness. I’m not asking you to do that. Nor do I believe the Word of God have us do that. Instead I'm asking you to live with what I’m going to call a convictional kindness. Now you just may want to jot these words down. The head or our Religious Liberty and Ethics Commission is a man named Dr. Russell Moore. And he coined this phrase as I know and I love it. Listen to it. Convictional Kindness. What does that mean? Well just think of each word individually. Conviction. God’s people, if you know Jesus as your savior, and you comport to be His disciple, you need to have some conviction about you. Things that you believe are right and wrong. And those things need to be rooted in the clear teachings of God’s word. Not some list you just came up with by tradition. But what does God’s word say? And knowing what he expects, you say, these are my convictions. I’m not looking to fight. I’m not looking down my nose at anybody else. These are jus the things I believe are expected of me by God and I have convictions about these. That’s conviction. That is, have a backbone. But then the word kindness. What does the word kindness mean? That means that you’re gentle. That you’re not up in people's faces looking for a fight. You’re going to plead your case. You’re going to make proposal and you’re going to do it with graciousness. And if it is not conceded to you, you are going to face the consequences. Convictional Kindness. Or you could turn it around and it is the same thing. Kind conviction. And those are the kind of people we need to be in the day in which were living. Kim Davis, whether or not we agree with every nuance of what she’s done, she’s made a proposal. She’s said I want to take this to the Supreme Court. I want there to be an adjudication. I believe that we need to have an adjudication in our nation. Let me remind us again. We are the government. If you are old enough to vote, you, in a sense, govern this nation. And you need to take seriously that right and that responsibility that falls to you. You better know the issues. Don’t vote for somebody because they handsome, or because they are good looking. Don’t vote for them because they are brash. Vote for someone who, to the best of your discernment, is going to stand according to biblical principle’s and again, whether or not we carry any election, we still have to stand for what is right. Stand! Stand! Stand! And Daniel did. And he did it, with convictional kindness. We are not looking for confrontation, but we are not going to capitulate either. May God help us to be people of convictional kindness? Isn’t that what the bible says? Listen to what the bible says. This now is 1st Peter, Chapter 3. Versus 14-15. But even if you should suffer for righteousness' sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect.. Now folks, I tell you, I will be honest with you, you probably know this anyway, its hard for me not to get angry at times. Just to get upset and frustrated and bitter because things don’t go the way I think they ought to go. And the world often sees Christians an embittered, harsh, offensive people. Peter says, be ready to give an answer for the hope that’s within you when people ask you. Are you known as the person of hope? Am I known as the person of hope or do I think the roofs caving in. You know Chicken Little. The sky is falling. Friends we have a hope and our nation may go down the tubes and we may be imprisoned for your faith but I still have hope. We ought to be ready to give an answer. And he says do it with gentleness and respect. May God help us to live with convictional kindness? All right now here is the end. It ends and I’m so thankful to say this, on an up note. It ends in triumph, really. Look at how this the third scene in our story. It is what I call, a great triumph. It happens because of faithfulness to God. Daniel is faithful. He stays true to what he believes. He didn’t bow, he didn’t bend, he didn’t break. He stood. Stand. Stand. Stand. He did. He was faithful. And because he was faithful, he was favored by God. God favored him. Look at how this passage concludes. As for these four youths, God gave them learning and skill in all literature and wisdom and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams and the king spoke with them and among all of them, none was found like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. Therefore they stood before the king. He found them ten times better than all. That’s amazing. Why were Daniel and his friends found ten times better? Was it because of innate intelligence in them? Did they have a natural higher IQ? I’m not sure that they did. I really believe that it was rooted in God’s favor. He blessed these boys. He helped them in their studies. He favored them and when we are faithful to God, he will favor us. He will bless us. He did with Daniel. Daniel rose to be; some might say the prime minister of Babylon. Now is it that all was easy for Daniel? Am I preaching a health and wealth gospel? No I am not! In fact, did you know that for the next seventy years of Daniels live, he was a captive, enslaved in Babylon? But he was still favored. This story set hundreds of years ago, could read as todays newspaper. It’s that applicable to where we are living. I pray God we wont go through any greater tragedy than what we have already experienced. I pray that we as a nation and as people will turn back to God. Listen friends, the problem isn’t in the courthouse, and the white house solely. It’s in the church house. Its preachers afraid to say what is true. It is church members who wont stand for what is true. It ought to begin the revival needs to begin here among us! In this day of difficulty, you young people, I know well, great temptations are going to come your way. You are going to be pressured to just go along to get along. I want to challenge you to purpose in your heart that you are going to stand for the Lord. And I want you do it with convictional kindness. And I want to do that myself. You pray for me that Ill be that kind of disciple. If we’ll do it, friends, I want to tell you something, God will bless it. He will favor us. He will be gracious to us. He’ll make his countenance shine upon us. He’ll give us peace. He will! Would you stand please with your head bowed? I want ask our musicians to come, our band. Were going to go out today singing. Were not defeated. Listen friend, no matter what happens we’re not defeated. We are more than conquerors through him who loved us. The ultimate victory is the Lord’s. We just need to make sure that we are on his side. That we know him that we been redeemed. That we been forgiven. That we’re standing. We need his grace to do it. We can’t stand in our own power, in our own strength. We need his grace. And so I want us to pray now for it. And then we will sing. God we thank you for your word and the light it is to our feet. The light it is to our path. God, I pray that today it's been illumined how we ought to live. With convictional kindness. Standing for what’s right in a hostile world. I pray for our young people that they’ll stand true. In elementary school, and middle school, and high school, for our collegiate at the University. That they will be gracious, faithful. I pray for adults out in the workplace, where there is dishonesty and immorality and deceit and all manner of temptation. Lord help us as adults to be faithful to you. Help us God to stand! We pray in Jesus name, AMEN.

Sermon text follows... Stand Daniel 1:1-21   Key Verse: But Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the king's food, or with the wine that he drank (Daniel 1:8a).   1.     A great tragedy a.     The tragedy of defeat b.     The tragedy of disobedience 2.     A great temptation a.     A golden possibility b.     A godly purpose c.     A grave peril d.     A gracious proposal 3.     A great triumph a.     Faithful to God b.     Favored by God   The eyes of our nation, this week, have been focused on small County in Kentucky. It’s called Rowan County. It's because there, a test case of sorts, has arisen. It swirls around a simple County Clerk. Her name is Kim Davis. Kim it turns out had lived a wild life and she had been married four times. Yet, at her mother-in-law's passing in 2011, the Lord got a hold of her and she came to know Christ as her Savior and it radically transformed her life. She says today that she's devout Christian. Well, when the Supreme Court ruled, earlier this year, that same-sex marriage was to be the law of the land, she was placed in a quandary. She was elected as clerk. In fact, her mother before her had been the County Clerk. Something of a family tradition, which is common they say in Kentucky. She had been elected under the premise that marriage was, as the Scripture teaches, between a man and a woman and now she found herself as the clerk with the responsibility of issuing marriage licenses for relationships that she did not believe comported with what the Scripture teaches. What would she do? What ought she do? It was a difficult question. She made a decision in her heart, in fact she resolved in her heart that she would not go against her conscience and what she believed was right.  So she made an appeal to the governing authorities and it went to the Supreme Court and that she be heard, that her arguments be heard and that was denied. It fell back to a judge; I believe it was a federal judge there in Kentucky to rule in her case. He ruled that she must issue the licenses. If you're paid by the state of Kentucky and the law of Kentucky is that people can marry across all sorts of lines, then she, as an employee of the state, would have to issue those licenses or face the consequences. She decided that she would do the latter. She would face the consequences and so the judge decreed that this woman be cast into prison and as we worship, here in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, this morning, that woman sits in a prison jail cell in Rowan County, Kentucky.   I suppose I imagine that perhaps we would live to see a day like today, but the I’m not sure I really believed it would come. When someone would be imprisoned for a tenet of their religious faith. Many of you'll remember that our nation was actually founded on the exact opposite premise. That people came here to say, everyone ought to be able to worship according to their dictates and live out their faith without coercion. Those days, it seems are passing. So she's made the decision to stand.   Now some of you maybe thinking, well now wait preacher, if she's paid by the state of Kentucky and the law is as it is, then she ought to just resign and a forfeit her position.   You know what, I think a case could be made for that. In fact, that actually did happen here in the state of Louisiana not so many weeks ago. It happens that there was a justice of the peace, a lady, in fact of all things; she's married to a Baptist preacher.  She’s a young woman and she was elected to be the justice of the peace in, I think, Grant Parish up in Central Louisiana.   Maybe some of you know where that is. She made the decision, with her husband, that when the Supreme Court ruled as it did, that she rather than get into all kinds of the legalities and a potential suit, she would just resign. She did:  she just resigned her position,   I for one, am glad that Kim Davis is taking a stand. II don't necessarily, I can’t judge whether or not she's been perfect in every moment of this journey. That’s for God to judge, but I’m glad she's taken a stand.  Let me tell you why, because this forces us as a nation to consider some very significant questions. Now she has said she'll take whatever repercussions come her way and she's proven that she would. In fact, when the judge ordered her to jail, her response was “yes, your honor, thank you.”  She responded with grace and she's taken her lumps and there she sits in jail today. But we, as a nation, have to make some decisions about how were going to live going forward. Do we want to live in a nation? Do we want our nation to be the kind of place where a devout Christian can no longer be a court clerk? Where, in our nation, it can never be again a devout Christian, who would stand for traditional marriage that could be a justice of the peace? Where no believer of this nature, could serve as a chaplain in our Armed Forces? Could not be a chaplain with the state police force?  You say, preacher that’s crazy. What are you talking about? Did you know that just this year, again this is in the state of Kentucky, there was a young man who was a volunteer from his church, he would go every week, as I understand it, to a correctional Institute where they housed young offenders. He would go there to share the hope of the gospel, and to disciple these young men. Well the state Department of Corrections came up with a sheet and he had to sign it and sheet said, “you cannot say that homosexual behavior is sinful.” Well if you are a devout believer that places you in a quandary. How can you not say what the Bible says is the case? In fact, while I’m on this, don’t think I mean this to be a diatribe against one particular sin. Any sexual activity outside the simple bounds of a man and woman wed in matrimony is outside of the parameters of what God established. Be it premarital sex, extramarital sex, homosexual behavior, all of it alike is outside what God ordained and so they said before you can go back into that prison you’ve got to sign this is. That you will not say that these behaviors are sinful.  The young man said, “I can't do it.” Are we prepared to live in a nation, where volunteers from churches can't go into the prisons and share the hope of the gospel as we’ve discovered in Christ and declare Christ saves from all sin? Is that the kind of nation we want to live in?     Just these past few weeks, here in the state of Louisiana, an edict was released from the judicial commission of the State of Louisiana. It went to every judge in the State of Louisiana and it said “you must comport yourself in accordance with the Supreme Court's edict or we will remove your judgeship.” no Christian judges? No Christian bakers? No Christian photographers?   These are serious days in which we’re living. Now friends listen, Kim Davis Is right at least in this one sense, we have to be willing to take whatever consequences come, but we must stand! We must stand for what is right! God will sort the consequences. Now where do we find help in making decisions during these difficult days with these weighty issues?   I've got good news for you. There is help for us so we can know how we ought to live in these trying times and it's found in the book of Daniel. Would you please open your Bibles to Daniel? Daniel, Chapter One is where we are going to be this morning, and to me it's wonderful to think that this series has been planned for months. Months ago, we laid out our preaching schedule for this year and Daniel was the book that we chose and wouldn’t you know, in God's wisdom, he gave us this, just at the moment we most needed it. And that's the way he is. So if would now as our title implies, Stand, would you stand in honor of God's word and we are going to read the first chapter. Now normally, I don't read such an extended passage at one time. It takes about three minutes to read this first chapter, and I’m going to read every word. And this will be the best three minutes you spend all day, all right? Listening to what God says. I want to listen to this and then consider how ought I to live where I am? Just as Daniel learned to live in the circumstances where he found himself. Let’s read together beginning in Daniel chapter one verse one.  In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with some of the vessels of the house of God. And he brought them to the land of Shinar, to the house of his god, and placed the vessels in the treasury of his god. (I like it that the editors used a little g, that’s appropriate, all right now verse 3) Then the king commanded Ashpenaz, his chief eunuch, to bring some of the people of Israel, both of the royal family and of the nobility, youths without blemish, of good appearance and skillful in all wisdom, endowed with knowledge, understanding learning, and competent to stand in the king's palace, and to teach them the literature and language of the Chaldeans.  The king assigned them a daily portion of the food that the king ate, and of the wine that he drank. They were to be educated for three years, and at the end of that time they were to stand before the king. Among these were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah of the tribe of Judah. And the chief of the eunuchs gave them names: (now you may not the names Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, but I think you know these) Daniel he called Belteshazzar, Hananiah he called Shadrach, (there it is) Mishael he called Meshach, and Azariah he called Abednego. (You know those names don’t you? Shadrach, Meshach and “away we go”, all right, you know these names. These are the great three friends of Daniel; now look in verse 8, what happens?) But Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the king's food, or with the wine that he drank. Therefore he asked the chief of the eunuchs to allow him not to defile himself. And God gave Daniel favor and compassion in the sight of the chief of the eunuchs, and the chief of the eunuchs said to Daniel, “I fear my lord the king, who assigned your food and your drink; for why should he see that you were in worse condition than the youths who are of your own age? So you would endanger my head with the king.”  Then Daniel said to the steward whom the chief of the eunuchs had assigned over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, “Test your servants for ten days; let us be given vegetables to eat and water to drink.  Then let our appearance and the appearance of the youths who eat the king's food be observed by you, and deal with your servants according to what you see.” So he listened to them in this matter, and tested them for ten days. At the end of ten days it was seen that they were better in appearance and fatter in flesh than all the youths who ate the king's food. So the steward took away their food and the wine they were to drink, and gave them vegetables. As for these four youths, God gave them learning and skill in all literature and wisdom, and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams. At the end of the time, when the king had commanded that they should be brought in, the chief of the eunuchs brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar. And the king spoke with them, and among all of them none was found like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. Therefore they stood before the king. And in every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king inquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters that were in all his kingdom.  And Daniel was there until the first year of King Cyrus.     Let’s pray. God, we thank you for this book in the Bible, the book of Daniel. We thank you for the courage and commitment of these young men. The way that they stood when it seemed that all was coming against them. I pray God, you would teach us, how will stand in these days and to go against the flow when it seems that all of culture would sweep us away from you. Give us wisdom. Give us learning. Give us courage. Help us to dare to be a Daniel. I pray in Jesus name, Amen.   Please be seated. This morning we’re going to begin a study in the book of Daniel and were going to look at the life of Daniel, this courageous young man and his four compatriots. This morning we’re going to focus in the first chapter. I’m going to divide this story into three scenes. I want you to follow along carefully as the Lord teaches us. Now the very first scene I going to call, A Great Tragedy. This story begins with a great tragedy. Look at how the passage opens, there in versus one and two and see it projected on the screen. In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand.  Now this tragedy that I'm going to describe has two components to it. First of all, there's the component of Israel's defeat. It is a tragedy that Israel was defeated. Now remember Israel. Israel was that small band of, a tribe really, that came out of the descendants of Abraham. They were enslaved in Egypt and with a mighty hand, God brought them out of Egypt and Israel, in effect, defeated the mightiest force in its day, Egypt.  Then arose the Kings, Saul and then David. David, you remember took down Goliath and the Philistines. He united the kingdom and David's reign was a rain of great might and power and renown and wealth. Then came his son Solomon.  Israel was a top the world it seemed, but fissures began to appear in the veneer. It was because of the idolatry and immorality and fracturedness of their nation that that the people of Israel began to go into a decline, a steep decline, until, by the time we come to the life of Daniel, the nation is now totally defeated. Humiliated by what was then the world power, Babylon and its king Nebuchadnezzar. But the most sobering part of this defeat and of these verses that you see is that phrase “the Lord gave Jehoiakim into Nebuchadnezzar's hand. In other words it was not the might of the Babylonians, their armies, or their strategy of that enabled them to defeat Israel. What enabled them to defeat Israel was that God gave Israel over into its enemy’s hands. That is judgment came upon Israel. The Bible says righteousness exalts a nation but sin is a reproach to any people. And when sin begins to weave its way into a nation and there's immorality and idolatry and fractured people, then judgment is soon sure to follow. And if God judged Israel for her sins and he did, God can judge the United States of America for our sins. It was a tragedy that they were defeated. And the tragedy of it was that God allowed it to happen. Now why would I do that? Why would God allow his own people to go into captivity and defeat? Do you know why? It was because of their disobedience God had warned them for decades on end, that they ought to repent. That they ought to get right, but Israel was stiff necked and it was bent on going its own way. Away from God, and so judgment was to come. In fact it’s interesting. It’s one of the proofs of the inerrancy of Scripture and its trustworthiness. Did you know that more than 100 years prior to the defeat of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, God prophesied it would happen? He did so through the prophet Isaiah. Listen! Listen carefully to the precision of this prophesy. This is from Isaiah Chapter 39 beginning at verse five. “Hear the word of the Lord of hosts: Behold, the days are coming, when all that is in your house, and that which your fathers have stored up till this day, shall be carried to Babylon. Nothing shall be left, says the Lord. And some of your sons, who shall issue from you, whom you shall beget, shall be taken away.  And they shall become officials in the palace of the king of Babylon. Are you kidding me? A hundred years before it happened, God said there's going to come a day when judgment will fall. You’re going to be carried away the Babylonian in captivity, including some of your own defendants. What do recent discover here in Daniel chapter 1? That from the nobility, from the royal house, these young men were buried in the Babylon.  GOD’S WORD CANNOT BE MOCKED!  What a man sows, he will reap. What a nation sows, a nation will reap. And this story begins with a tragedy, but the tragedy did not have to happen. Had the children of Israel repented and turned back to God, judgment would not have fallen but they did not, they disobeyed, and thus, they were defeated.   It’s a lesson for us in America. Could judgment fall on America? It could!  I've said before and I'll say it again here now, with a heavy heart I tell you, I wouldn't be surprised if God allowed our worst enemies overrun us, to discipline us for our sin. We, the purported Christian nation, supposed Christian nation! Why is it that those who sell baby parts are free and the one who would stand for traditional marriage is in jail? You explain it to me!  Don’t think it could happen to us. It could happen.  I don’t say that with any glee, I say with a broken heart. I say God have mercy on America. Lord don’t have justice with us. We don't need justice. If justice were to fall we would be judged. No, we need mercy. God have mercy on us. Help us and especially those of us who know the truth that we would stand for righteousness. Not holier than thou, but just walk in obedience to the precepts of God's Word. Simple things. Like Thou Shall Not Commit Adultery, Ashley Madison. Thou Shall Not Steal; Thou Shall Not Kill, including innocent babies and their mother’s womb! GOD HELP US! Lest this tragedy befall us.    Now lets go to the second scene. I’ve talked to you about the great tragedy that befell the children of Israel. Now I want to say something about a great temptation. It came Daniel's way. Here they are, carried off to Babylon. And here's the strange twist of fate, if you will, Daniel has in front of him, in a way of thinking, a golden possibility. All right?  He’s been held in captivity. His city has been besieged. They been starving in Jerusalem. Now this young man, country bumpkin, has been carried off to Babylon.  Babylon was the greatest city of its day. It was the Washington DC or the New York City of its time. There is Daniel, living in that great walled city. He enrolled there, not in LSU; he enrolled in BSU Babylon State University. And he's got TOPS (scholarship program), he’s got full ride tuition, he got room and board, doesn’t the Bible say that? He’s given to eat and the king’s table. He’s standing in the king's palace. I mean he’s got the tiger by the tail. All he’s got to do is go along to get along. Just don’t ruffle feathers. Just keep your head down Daniel or you’ll get it lopped off. He’s got a golden opportunity. Here he is. He’s not eating at the Five; he’s eating at Galatoire’s, or Juban’s or Ruffino’s. I mean he eating the royal regimen, it’s being fed to him. What an opportunity he has.   All he has to do is go along to get along. Daniel, just be cool man. Just fit in. just be like everybody else around you. That’s all you’ve got to do.  I love Daniel, because in the face of this golden possibility, he stands for a Godly purpose. Look at would you in verse eight. But Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the king's food or with the wine that he drank. Daniel resolved,  that is, Daniel purposed in his heart. Daniel was like this; everybody may be going this way. Everybody may be disobeying the Lord's commands, but I am going to go this way. I’m not going to be holier than thou about it, I’m not going to try to lift myself up as if I'm all that. But just in my own modest way, I'm going to stand for what's right. What a great word. You young people listen to me. You know how old Daniel was at this time? We believe he was probably about 14 years of age.  Do I have any 14 year olds in here this morning? Stand up if you are 14. I want to see all our 14 year olds. Stand right up. How would you 14 year olds like if you were carried away into a foreign country? You 15 year olds stand up 15 year old. He may have been 15.  There you are. There you are. 15 years old, carried away, all you have to do is go along.  Just do whatever everyone else is doing. You don’t have to make a scene for crying out loud. You can be seated.  Daniel wouldn't go along to get along. And he would keep his head down. He stood up.  And he said I’m going to follow the Lords precepts. And you might even argue, it’s not that big a thing. I mean all you have to do is eat the king’s food. Just drink the wine that there serving. What?  It’s not a big deal. It was to Daniel. Because God in his word had laid out some principles of how to live in obedience to him. And there were certain kosher foods among the Jewish people. And Daniel on what some might consider just the technicality said I'm not going the yield on this. I'm going to be faithful to the Lord. By his grace am going to stand true. And I want to challenge our young people and our parents who set the example and our grandparents who are here this morning. May God help us in this day of so much moral confusion, just to be true? True to God's word. To his truth. To his principles. And not yield. Daniel had a Godly purpose. You know what this leads to? It leads to peril. It leads to danger. There was a grave peril before Daniel.  I mean you couldn’t buck King Nebuchadnezzar. I mean this is the ruler of the known world. It would be like being carried in before the Ayatollah Khomeini. You do what you want in his face. It’s a dangerous thing. You say how do you know that preacher? Well look at what the Bible says. They’re now in verse 10.  ..and the chief of the eunuchs said to Daniel, “I fear my lord the king, who assigned your food and your drink; for why should he see that you were in worse condition than the youths who are of your own age? So you would endanger my head with the king.  What’s he saying? He’s saying man, if you don't do what the king said, we could all get our heads lopped off.     This is serious business. But Daniel, no matter the risk, runs this apparel. And is willing to stand in the face of it. He is between a rock and a hard place. Look at this. If he pleases the king, he displeases the King of Kings. But he pleases the King of Kings, he displeases the king. And he has to make a choice. And all of us are going to have to make a choice. Who is the King that we will please?  For whose pleasure do we live? And Daniel makes his choice. Now I love Daniel because he offers up, in this quandary, he offers up a very gracious proposal. He doesn’t stand up on the cafeteria table in the middle of the Five or something and start banging on the table. I want a new menu! I want a new menu! I want a new menu! He doesn't do that. He doesn’t hold up a placards and march, like Westboro does.  No, what does Daniel do? He makes a very gracious proposal. He says look, I tell you what, would you be so kind as to just test us for 10 days? Just let us eat fruit and vegetables. Just test us. The word vegetable here is a word that means from the seed. So it would have included things like wheat and vegetables and fruit. Things that grow from seed.  Just let us have a basic menu and then at the end of the 10 days just test us and see how we measure up against the others. It was a gracious kind proposal. And I want to advocate this for all of us. I’m not wanting you to leave today and go get placards and march and shout profanities and curse the darkness.  I’m not asking you to do that. Nor do I believe the Word of God have us do that. Instead I'm asking you to live with what I’m going to call a convictional kindness.   Now you just may want to jot these words down. The head or our Religious Liberty and Ethics Commission is a man named Dr. Russell Moore. And he coined this phrase as I know and I love it.  Listen to it.  Convictional Kindness. What does that mean? Well just think of each word individually. Conviction.  God’s people, if you know Jesus as your savior, and you comport to be His disciple, you need to have some conviction about you.  Things that you believe are right and wrong. And those things need to be rooted in the clear teachings of God’s word. Not some list you just came up with by tradition. But what does God’s word say? And knowing what he expects, you say, these are my convictions. I’m not looking to fight. I’m not looking down my nose at anybody else. These are jus the things I believe are expected of me by God and I have convictions about these. That’s conviction. That is, have a backbone. But then the word kindness. What does the word kindness mean? That means that you’re gentle. That you’re not up in people's faces looking for a fight. You’re going to plead your case. You’re going to make proposal and you’re going to do it with graciousness. And if it is not conceded to you, you are going to face the consequences. Convictional Kindness.  Or you could turn it around and it is the same thing. Kind conviction. And those are the kind of people we need to be in the day in which were living.    Kim Davis, whether or not we agree with every nuance of what she’s done, she’s made a proposal. She’s said I want to take this to the Supreme Court. I want there to be an adjudication. I believe that we need to have an adjudication in our nation. Let me remind us again. We are the government. If you are old enough to vote, you, in a sense, govern this nation.  And you need to take seriously that right and that responsibility that falls to you.  You better know the issues. Don’t vote for somebody because they handsome, or because they are good looking.  Don’t vote for them because they are brash.  Vote for someone who, to the best of your discernment, is going to stand according to biblical principle’s and again, whether or not we carry any election, we still have to stand for what is right.   Stand! Stand! Stand! And Daniel did. And he did it, with convictional kindness. We are not looking for confrontation, but we are not going to capitulate either.   May God help us to be people of convictional kindness?  Isn’t that what the bible says? Listen to what the bible says. This now is 1st Peter, Chapter 3. Versus 14-15.         But even if you should suffer for righteousness' sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect..  Now folks, I tell you, I will be honest with you, you probably know this anyway, its hard for me not to get angry at times.  Just to get upset and frustrated and bitter because things don’t go the way I think they ought to go. And the world often sees Christians an embittered, harsh, offensive people. Peter says, be ready to give an answer for the hope that’s within you when people ask you. Are you known as the person of hope? Am I known as the person of hope or do I think the roofs caving in.  You know Chicken Little. The sky is falling. Friends we have a hope and our nation may go down the tubes and we may be imprisoned for your faith but I still have hope. We ought to be ready to give an answer. And he says do it with gentleness and respect.     May God help us to live with convictional kindness? All right now here is the end. It ends and I’m so thankful to say this, on an up note. It ends in triumph, really. Look at how this the third scene in our story. It is what I call, a great triumph.   It happens because of faithfulness to God. Daniel is faithful. He stays true to what he believes. He didn’t bow, he didn’t bend, he didn’t break.   He stood. Stand. Stand. Stand. He did. He was faithful. And because he was faithful, he was favored by God.  God favored him. Look at how this passage concludes. As for these four youths, God gave them learning and skill in all literature and wisdom and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams and the king spoke with them and among all of them, none was found like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah.  Therefore they stood before the king. He found them ten times better than all. That’s amazing. Why were Daniel and his friends found ten times better?  Was it because of innate intelligence in them? Did they have a natural higher IQ? I’m not sure that they did. I really believe that it was rooted in God’s favor.  He blessed these boys. He helped them in their studies. He favored them and when we are faithful to God, he will favor us.  He will bless us. He did with Daniel.  Daniel rose to be; some might say the prime minister of Babylon. Now is it that all was easy for Daniel?  Am I preaching a health and wealth gospel? No I am not!  In fact, did you know that for the next seventy years of Daniels live, he was a captive, enslaved in Babylon?  But he was still favored.  This story set hundreds of years ago, could read as todays newspaper.  It’s that applicable to where we are living.  I pray God we wont go through any greater tragedy than what we have already experienced. I pray that we as a nation and as people will turn back to God.   Listen friends, the problem isn’t in the courthouse, and the white house solely. It’s in the church house. Its preachers afraid to say what is true.  It is church members who wont stand for what is true. It ought to begin the revival needs to begin here among us!  In this day of difficulty, you young people, I know well, great temptations are going to come your way. You are going to be pressured to just go along to get along. I want to challenge you to purpose in your heart that you are going to stand for the Lord.  And I want you do it with convictional kindness. And I want to do that myself. You pray for me that Ill be that kind of disciple. If we’ll do it, friends, I want to tell you something, God will bless it.  He will favor us.  He will be gracious to us.  He’ll make his countenance shine upon us. He’ll give us peace.   He will!    Would you stand please with your head bowed?  I want ask our musicians to come, our band. Were going to go out today singing. Were not defeated. Listen friend, no matter what happens we’re not defeated. We are more than conquerors through him who loved us.  The ultimate victory is the Lord’s. We just need to make sure that we are on his side.  That we know him that we been redeemed. That we been forgiven. That we’re standing.  We need his grace to do it. We can’t stand in our own power, in our own strength. We need his grace. And so I want us to pray now for it. And then we will sing.      God we thank you for your word and the light it is to our feet. The light it is to our path. God, I pray that today it's been illumined how we ought to live. With convictional kindness. Standing for what’s right in a hostile world. I pray for our young people that they’ll stand true. In elementary school, and middle school, and high school, for our collegiate at the University. That they will be gracious, faithful.  I pray for adults out in the workplace, where there is dishonesty and immorality and deceit and all manner of temptation. Lord help us as adults to be faithful to you. Help us God to stand! We pray in Jesus name, AMEN.

Audio Version of Report Flooding?  Already? We’re usually only about 80% planted at this point but this week it seems a good portion of the crop is ready for the permanent flood.  Just a reminder, be sure and check out the website for the latest fertility recommendations going into the flood.  With very high urea prices, the preflood application is more critical than ever.  We can’t stress enough how important it is to get the preflood nitrogen right in order to maximize yield and profit.  Nitrogen loss now is yield loss later that can’t be recovered, so get it right the first time.  If you have any questions about preflood nitrogen fertilization, weed control, or insect management, don’t hesitate to contact your Technical Services Representative.   Crop Reports from our Sales and Services Team  District 1, SE Missouri - Barry Barnett (870) 273-4988  It is still very dry overall in Southeast Missouri.  Some areas have not received any substantial rainfall in six weeks or more.  Most rice has been flushed at least twice and some three or more times to achieve an adequate stand.  Even where we have flushed with the wind being very bad lately it is no more than a couple days after shutting the pump off that the ground is already starting to crack open.   I would say that we are about 90% emerged now.  Quite a few fields have gone to flood the last week or so but we still have to flush across fields to keep it growing in order to get enough height out the rice so it will handle a permanent flood.  I have seen a few cases of chinch bug damage in the last week or so but it doesn’t seem to be too widespread.  I have two trials that are now going to flood and it won’t be long before a couple more will be at that point.  If you would like to see any of these trials or have any questions or concerns please give me a call.    District 2, N Arkansas - Stewart Runsick (870) 571-6069 Over the past week, a lot of the rice has yellowed some and just does not have a good appearance.  Growth and development slowed due mainly to cooler temperatures.  Fields have crusted since the last rain.  While a small percentage of the fields are being fertilized and flooded, many are being flushed one more time in an effort to get a few more plants up and to get the rice growing so it will get big enough to flood.  It’s been a struggle to get a stand on the clay soils planted no-till due mainly to environmental conditions.  Fluctuations in soil temperature and moisture are the main problems along with the wind.  These fields are mainly in an area from O’kean to Delaplaine over to Stonewall and Marmaduke.   None of the six replicated farm yield trials (RFYT) have gone to flood yet; however, the test at Light is ready and will be soon.  Nitrogen requirements for RiceTec hybrids on most soils in N.E. AR are 120 units of N preflood followed by 30 units applied late boot.  Feel free to give me a call if you have any questions. District 3, NE Arkansas - Kurt Johns (870) 243-4696 Flush, flush, and repeat.  This has been the routine so far.  Thankfully, next week we should start seeing several fields start going to flood. The last ten days has really seen and improvement in the appearance of the crop.  Hopefully we are turning the corner and building up steam.  Once we get the flood on it should really take off.  Getting herbicides out has been tough but maybe we're about to get it done.  If you have any questions give me a call.  If you'd like to see the trials in your area give me a call. District 4, N Central Arkansas - William "Hutch" Hutchens (870) 273-9291    These past couples of weeks have moved along quickly and since we had the rain two weeks ago. The rice has perked up considerably.  It helped out folks that were flushing and saved others from having to.  The rain also helped everyone get some moisture to get fields sprayed.  We have had some grass get big on us and we need to get on top of it again before they get completely out of control.  I think we are 100% planted more or less, but I do know of one field that will be planted within a day or two.  I think we are probably around 95% emerged at this point and around 20% flooded.  I know some fields have gone to flood this week and expect much more to be flooded within the next week to 10 days.  My Insecticide trial on Keith Watkins’ farm in Griffithville has gone to flood and my Large Conventional trial on Joe Christian’s farm will be going to flood within the next few days.    I have walked a few fields this week that have had immature chinch bugs in them and there are some spots in the field that they had killed some plants.  So, we need to be on the lookout for them as we are getting close to flooding.  I spoke with Gus Lorenz about the chinch bugs when I found them and he said that I was the third call he had gotten that day about them.  When your field is dry and you have chinch bugs they will lie in the cracks of the ground and feed on plants below the soil so you will have to flush them to move them up on plants and the levees and then you can spray the field with Karate Z or Mustang Max to kill them.  District 5, Central Arkansas - Whitney Jones (501) 516-6904    Everything is going pretty smooth in D5.  With the exception of a few fields here and there, the rice is growing well.  I have a field or two that was banged up a little by herbicide applications but seem to be doing much better now that the warm weather is back.  I had a guy call me Thursday about a field that the chinch bugs have apparently killed a large portion.  He was replanting the dead areas as we spoke and said that he had a corn field right next to the rice field that the bugs came out of.  I am also seeing a lot of water weevil scaring right now and with the warm winter that we had, I expect to see a lot of damage from these pests this year.  I would estimate D5 to have around 20% of the total rice acres flooded and will be around 40% flooded by the middle of next week.  Temperatures in the upper 80s combined with good soil moisture are just what we need to help this rice grow and also help the herbicides do their thing.   My trial on Randall Snider and my trial on Greenwalt’s both went to flood this week and are looking great.  It’s hard to believe that midseason is just a couple weeks away on this early-planted rice. District 6, Eastern Arkansas - Garrison Hardke (501) 772-1715    Rice planting in the district is finished, save for a few leveled fields and a little spot planting.  Emergence is at 95% with a large portion getting ready for permanent flood in the next week.  Since last report, almost everyone in the district has received some rainfall.  Totals have ranged from near 1 inch to over 7 inches.  Many fields that received a large rain need to be flushed again, as the rain came quickly and it has now been 10 days of dry weather.  It is easy to be lulled to sleep after a big rain, but it is important to maintain adequate moisture.  Heavy rain can really pack the soil and cause hard crusting when it dries, making it difficult for late emerging seedlings to push through.  As you are beginning to think about permanent flood and preflood nitrogen, be sure to follow RiceTec recommendations that are available on our website.  These recommendations are backed by multi-year data and are proven in the field.  Any adjustment to total nitrogen rates should be made on the pre-flood application and should be made based on specific field conditions.  Please give me a call if you have any questions regarding specific recommendations. District 7, SE Arkansas - Jeff Branson (870) 578-8436  Cooler than normal temperatures 2 weeks ago slowed the progress of the rice crop, but over the last few days the rice has started growing again.  Approximately 99 % of the rice crop in D7 has been planted and 85 % of those acres have emerged.  Much of the early planted rice is being flooded and around 60% of the 2012 rice crop will have the permanent flood established within the next 7 days. Command, Clearpath and Newpath have all done an excellent job controlling grasses this year. I have not seen any fields where these herbicides have failed.  This year appears to be one of the cleanest crops we have had in several years.  Crop response to Newpath has been minimal across the district south of Arkansas County.  A few fields in Arkansas County, where multiple ALS herbicides were applied, did show symptoms of ALS herbicide injury.  These fields should make a full recovery and the yield should not be affected.  Overall the rice crop across D7 is in good shape and off to an excellent start. District 8, Mississippi and N Louisiana – Jay Burchfield (662) 402.2781 I still know of a few guys that are planting, but we are pretty much done at this point. Some wheat is being harvested now and there are a few guys planning to sew a little rice behind wheat, but that will not be very much acreage. Once again areas of the district got a pretty good rain last weekend, but the majority did not get any. We are dry in most areas. We are flushing a lot of rice and many growers have to run water across fields just to obtain moisture to plant beans. The rice crop is really looking good this year across the district. Chinch bugs have shown up in a couple areas and we are trying to get them addressed now, but we have to go back and spot plant those areas. More and more rice is going to flood. I estimate we will be around 30% – 40% flooded by the end of the week. We did add one more RFYT this week. It is a Clearfield trial and is located on Litton Road south of Cleveland, MS. District 9, S Louisiana - Cullen Minter (337) 499-6498 The vast majority of farmers in South and Central Louisiana are finished planting their rice, with 90% of the acres past stand establishment.  Stands are looking good overall throughout the area.   Insect pressure remains on the light side so far.  The pest that has been most prevalent to date has been adult water weevils.  It’s a good thing that most farmers are now using insecticide seed treatments, because it looks like the adult population is as high as ever.  Most of the earliest planted rice is now under permanent flood.  With high urea prices, we have been receiving quite a few calls from farmers and reps about fields that received low preflood nitrogen rates.  Once the preflood nitrogen is applied and the flood is established, trying to figure out how much to add after the fact becomes more of a guessing game and a balancing act between potential lodging and maintaining yields.  So we recommend trying to stick close to the recommended nitrogen rate of 120 units preflood and 30 units at late boot for optimum hybrid yields.  The crop is moving along nicely with the warm weather we are experiencing.   I have added a picture of a trial at Ross Hebert’s farm near Kaplan, La taken on May 11, 2012.  The picture includes CL XL745 on the left and CL152 on the right.  District 10, Texas – Derrol Grymes, (281) 381-9371 The Texas Gulf Coast Hybrid rice crop is looking good at this time.  A majority of the area received between 1 and 9 inches of rain in the past week, which provided some much needed relief for the irrigation systems.  Along with the rain, came cloudy, cooler weather that slowed the crop down slightly and prohibited some fields from recovering from herbicide applications as quickly as anticipated.  With the rain passing and high pressure setting in, the warm sunshine should now help these fields recover and catch up. With a majority of the crop going to flood soon, fertility questions are once again popping up.  When fertilizing your hybrid acres, remember that the hybrids need 120 units of nitrogen on heavy soils and 90 units on your lighter ground just prior to establishing permanent flood.  The next application will be 30 to 60 units of nitrogen at late boot.  Utilize the 60 unit rate if you are planning to ratoon crop.  Please steer away from fertilizing your hybrid crop at panicle differentiation, as this timing will tend to make the hybrid taller and more prone to lodging.   Overall, the crop appears to be off to an excellent start, and if Mother Nature continues to cooperate, we have the potential for a rewarding harvest.    __________________________________________________________________  As always, if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact us or give us a call at 877.580.7423.