Fatal Accident In Red River Parish – Local News Story – KTBS Shreveport

 

Fatal Accident In Red River Parish – Local News Story – KTBS Shreveport

via Fatal Accident In Red River Parish – Local News Story – KTBS Shreveport.

Praying for the family of the man who was killed today in the auto accident today in Coushatta. Never take life for granted! God is so Gracious to us everyday that we live, because we are not promised tomorrow. So what are you doing with today! Make it count!

Love God – Love People – Love Yourself

Good as new …

"A 1932 Buick Fully Restored"

res·to·ra·tion

–noun

1. the act of restoring; renewal, revival, or reestablishment.

2. the state or fact of being restored.

3. a return of something to a former, original, normal, orunimpaired condition.

4. restitution of something taken away or lost.

5. something that is restored, as by renovating.

6. a reconstruction or reproduction of an ancient building,extinct animal, or the like, showing it in its original state.

7. a putting back into a former position, dignity, etc.

I’m not much of a car person per se’ …

It’s just that I’ve never really ever been into cars. As long as it’s in good shape and it runs, that’s pretty much all that matters to me. Even when I first got my license and all the rage in High School was who had the nicest or fastest car, it didn’t really bother me much that I drove a second hand, several year old Honda Accord that I traded a PlayStation 2 for. I was happy with it. This being said … I might have points taken away from my “Man” card, but that’s OK with me.

There are a lot of car enthusiasts in the world. Fast, sleek, and powerful cars are all that some people will settle for. The many genres car enthusiasts have always loved, range from muscle cars to hot rods just to name a few. There is one category though, that has always seemed to grab everyone’s attention when seen on the road. It is the infamous “Classic”. The “Classic”, is a car that has been fully restored from it’s (most of the time) inoperable state to a like new status.

There’s something about watching a car that has been several years beyond it’s prime, riding down main street in showroom floor condition. Everything on the car, from bumper to bumper, is pristine. The coat of paint shines in the sun just as the day they first drove it off the lot and the leather smells as if it just came off of the assembly line. It’s almost like you’ve stepped back into time as you watch this “Classic” ride down the road. These kind of cars have always put a smile on the faces of young and old alike.

When looking at a “Classic” car, you can’t help but to admire the finished product and not really think about the blood, sweat, and tears that went into it’s restoration process. I mean come on … most people think, “Look … it’s a shiny new old car” and that’s it, but there’s a lot of hard work that went into to getting that car back into the condition it’s in now. I have to admit, I look up to the guys that have a love for restoring old cars, because I couldn’t do it.

Restoration in the Church is another animal all together.

The great thing about restoration in the Church is that God is the overseer and worker of the process. We don’t have to put our two cents in, and we don’t have to worry about is it “good enough”. God takes the broken down condition of our life and makes it Good as New. Not used … but New. Every scar, every blemish, every dent in the side panels of life are stretched and molded back into place. Bondo and duct tape have nothing on the amazing power of His Grace. I can attest to this fact, because I am a “Classic”.

I’m a living, breathing man who has been through the Restoration process of God. I was just an old clunker with no hope and no dreams of ever running again. Broke, Busted, and Disgusted. Someone who, from the mistakes and wrecks of poor decisions in life, found myself in the junkyard of regret. I needed to be Restored … The great thing about God is he’s just as close as the mention of His Name, and when I called on that name by my bed late that fateful night, I found out what it was like to be … “Good as new …”.

When I look at my life now and admire all the great things that God has done … I don’t want to ever forget about the Grace that made Restoration possible in my life.

Having been through the Restoration process, I know good and well that people will probably never look at me and say,  ”Look … it’s a shiny new – old guy”  …

But if you listen close you can almost hear him say, “Good as new …”

Love God – Love People – Love Yourself

The Ultimate Handyman

The Handyman

Handyman …

What is a handyman? Is there really a man who isn’t handy? I get man, but what about the “handy” part? Handymen have been called lots of things in this life. Jack-of-all-trades, Helper, Go-to guy, Maintenance Dude, Self Engineer, or as most people call them – Handyman. Whatever you call them there is one general rule for every handyman, you have to know a little about a lot. Everything from pipes in the bathroom to shingles on the roof. An old guy tried to describe himself to me once (who was a known handyman) and said, “I know enough to get someone hurt”-(whatever that means). The point being is a handyman is someone who is nice to have around when random things break down.

I guess you could say that I was brought up in the way of the handyman. My dad was what you would call a, learn as you go, type person. If he didn’t know how to fix it he would buy the manual or “How to” guide and learn how to do it himself. He was a do-it-yourself-er. This came in handy after moving out of the house and facing the big bad world of broken toilets and leaky seals. Every time that I would run into a problem I could call the one person I knew that would help me, my dad. Still to this day every now and then I find myself running into a problem that seems to escape my bountiful know how (Ha!) and I have to pick up the phone and dial that same old trusty number.

Life is full of hissing pipes and rusty bolts so to speak, and there isn’t many days that you don’t find yourself facing a problem. Even new and fresh things in life have a way of getting old and breaking down. Relationships that are on the rocks, learning to keep integrity in compromising situations, or just changing the oil (Another obvious metaphor – No, thank you Captain Obvious). These are what we will all face in life as time goes on. That’s where the ultimate Handyman comes into play. When I face something new and challenging all I have to do is call on my spiritual “Father” and ask him for the help that I need. Rather it be guidance in a decision that has to be made or to plug a hole caused by some explosion in life. The one good thing about having an Omniscient spiritual “Handyman” is that I can trust what He says, because He really does know everything. Imagine that.

Love God – Love People – Love Yourself

Google’s Voice Search and Chrome to Phone

This morning Google held a mini-press conference about some new features that are rolling out for Android devices, the first being Voice search. Now Voice search is nothing new to Android by all means, but they have upped the ante so to speak with more options. The fact is that 25% of all searches done on android devices are done with Voice search. So in order to keep up with, what seems to be rising demand, they have added more Voice options. I own a HTC Droid Incredible and it can, with the push of a button, do a Voice Google search, and I can use Voice search to pull up Google maps to find what I’m looking for. The new options that you have with using the Voice search applications are:

• Find and Navigate in Google Maps.
• Compose and send a Text message.
• Compose and send Email.
• Launch and Listen to your Music.
• Call Contact or Business.
• Launch a Website.
• Compose a Note-To-Self.

These options will be an exciting addition to the line-up of Voice commands that I already use on a day to day basis.

The second new feature that was shown is something called Chrome to Phone. The short of this means whatever is on your Chrome browser can be sent to your Android phone for continued viewing. Having used Firefox/Safari/IE/Chrome I can say that without a doubt Chrome is the best browsing experience out there. This will be a welcomed addition to an already above par application. The Chrome to Phone extension will offer many options for your viewing pleasure.

• Send a webpage to your Phone to view in your mobile browser.
• Sends Google Maps links to your Phone to view in your Google Maps application.
• YouTube videos can be sent directly to your Phone’s YouTube application.
• Phone numbers in websites can be sent to your Phone’s dialer (Ready to dial).
• You can Copy text from your Chrome browser and Paste it to your Android clipboard/notes.

So you can see there are some pretty exciting things happening over in Google-Land. Can’t wait to get started using some of these cool new features.  #AndroidFTW

Passion

Passionate fans celebrate winning "The Big Game" against Clemson.

pas·sion: pæʃ ən/  [pash-uh n]

–noun

1. any powerful or compelling emotion or feeling, as love or hate.

        If there is anything in this life that I’m Passionate about, it’s football. Not futbol … but good ol’ fashioned pig skin tossin’ American Football. NFL, NCAA (specifically SEC), Fantasy it doesn’t matter to me. The intensity you feel in the game, the energy that rocks the stadiums and living room couches across America are unmatchable. There’s something about it that invites you to be passionate about it, something that calls for more than just an average fan face. You are enticed by the atmosphere to draw all of your attention to the game. There is a heartbeat to this game we call football. I have that heartbeat. I like it, I love it, I want some more of it (please disregard the intentional tribute to an awful but catchy song).

        I can remember working at the Marriott in Indy across from the old RCA dome (past home to the Indianapolis Colts for the unaware) when at times I could feel the shaking of that bubble shaped dome across the street at my job. People are passionate about this game. I have squealed like a little girl as the Gamecocks, Colts, ______ (insert any other team playing against the Steelers or Patriots/Clemson or any non-SEC school) score the go ahead touchdown. I have had to hold back tears, as they welled up in my eyes with the disappointment of losing “The Big Game”. I have ran the living room/restaurant dash in 2.03 seconds flat. You know what I’m talking about, when you’re in the other room or you get the crummy seat at the restaurant and you hear the sound of a roar coming from the direction of the TV …  You take off, to see what just happened. That is called “The dash”. My point is that I’m passionate about the game of football.

        There are reasons I guess you could say why people are passionate about certain things. Maybe it’s a childhood memory or maybe it’s something that was lost or something that was gained. All I know is that “something” initially sparked an interest in whatever that he/she is passionate about. The desire, the drive that pushes people to take their love for something to the edge is the passion in their lives for that particular thing. I would bet that life can be pretty dull if you’re not passionate about something.

        Living for God is all about the game of “Passion”. If Peter had not been passionate about Christ, I doubt we would have seen him preach the first ever post-Pentecost message. If the Apostle Paul hadn’t have been passionate, I would say that we wouldn’t be hearing about the many endeavors that he undertook starting churches across the then known world and writing 2/3 of the New Testament. If the man or woman that started your local church didn’t have any passion, I doubt you would be able to sit comfortably in the Presence of God week in and week out as we do.

        The fact of the matter is that it takes Passion to do something for God. If we want to see and be apart of what God has for us in 2010, we have to be Passionate! I dare you to do something Passionate! Reach out to those around you. Share your testimony and the life changing power of God to your friend. God help me if I’m more willing to share a stat or score or experience with a friend than to share my testimony of how God restored my life! I want to be so full of Passion that I’m willing to do whatever it takes to bring life to those without it. So go ahead … Be Passionate … Be Passionate about God … I plan on it.

Love God – Love People – Love Yourself

iLife Camp Season 2010

iLife 2010

PJ Pamer

Omar Jolly

LJ Harry

Clifton Lejune

Well It’s Almost Over…
           

        The past 3 weeks have gone by in a whirlwind. It seems as if yesterday we were just beginning the camp season. We have seen a lot of things happen, from kids eating frozen mayo “ice-cream” to late night basketball. The times that we have together during the summer months of camp season are priceless. The friendships that are forged and the jokes that are told are endless. The community in this great state is evident. I feel personally, like I have been adopted into one of the coolest families around. I may be the red headed step child [Joking] from South Carolina … but at least I’m part of the family. I am blessed to be in the LA district.
           

        There were many student’s lives changed in the past weeks. Inspiring and challenging messages were delivered from very capable men in LJ Harry, Clifton Lejune, PJ Pamer, and Omar Jolly. The iLife 2010 camp season will go down as one of the greats! I am run down and wore out from all of the blowing and going, but I’m excited to see what God can do through this generation.

        We have one and final week left in the 2010 camp season. With camp meeting starting tomorrow night I am anticipating a great move of God. I’m expecting lives to be changed and transformed. God will shine down on Tioga, LA once again in 2010. If you are in the CENLA area or anywhere close I would urge you to come to at least one night service to see what all the fuss is about. We are going out with a bang … and so should you!

Love God – Love People – Love Yourself

That Ol’ Ruby Red

That Ol' Ruby Red

It was one of those days …

        There we were me and Pastor Randy Blizzard aka “Uncle Randy”, sitting on the front porch steps of my childhood church in Augusta, GA. I watched him as he cut open that juicy bitter tasting grape fruit, and with spoon in hand he dug out one of the fruit layered compartments. It was a beautiful day, the kind of day that you sit outside on the front porch swing with a tall glass of ice cold sweet tea. It’s hard to remember all of the details from so long ago but this moment has stuck with me all of my life.  

        I was one of the kids with a chip on my shoulder, with something to prove to people. I didn’t like it if things didn’t go my way. I often found myself in scuffles outside in the front yard of the church. I wanted to assert myself as a guy to be reckoned with. I don’t remember much of how the fights started, I just remember that they happened a lot, and so here we were sitting on the front porch steps of that old church on Fenwick St.

        As he dove into that ruby red, he talked about life and things that mattered. He told me the importance of getting along with other people, and how to “turn the other cheek”. Uncle Randy provided me with real world wisdom and stories from the Bible, about how to control my anger. He would hold my attention for what seemed like hours as he explained to me the priority of being a Christian young man.

        The details are a little sketchy in the memory from that day, but the one thing that I remember is his sincere desire to help a young troubled punk boy, to do right and that bitter tasting ruby red grape fruit. From that day forward whenever I’ve seen one of those ruby reds’ I find myself traveling back to a memory that would teach me a life lesson. Uncle Randy might not even remember the events from that day, but to a little boy with a chip on his shoulder it was a page turner.

        You may find yourself one day on the front porch steps of some old church with the opportunity to share some of life’s lessons learned to some raggedy kid. You may even feel like your “talk” has fallen on deaf ears, but just remember to grab you a ruby red before you go. He’ll never forget it, and it’ll do more good than you know. Thank you Uncle Randy for the time you took that day to share with me your kind and gentle wisdom. I’ll always remember that Ol’ Ruby Red and with it some of life’s greatest lessons.

Love God – Love People – Love Yourself