Pray as You Go Psalms 123: 1-2 “ Unto you I lift up mine eyes O Thou that dwells in the Heavens. Behold as the eyes of servants look unto the hand of their master and as the eyes of a maiden unto the hand of their mistress; so our eyes wait upon the Lord our God until that He have mercy upon us.” As we watch the news and hear about atrocities happening around the world, it is difficult to understand why these horrific occurrences come about. We cry out to the Lord to grant us His Divine Mercy and forgive us our sins. That is the greatest act of Love the Lord can bestow upon us! The Lord wants ..read more

THE KIND OF WEATHER THAT JUST MAKES YOU FEEL SO HAPPY It was 80 degrees with clear skies today in New Orleans and you just wanted to be outdoors to enjoy the gorgeous weather. There was a nice breeze so you did not feel hot or sticky as you would in summertime. God could not have created a more perfect day! Poems, stories, and songs try to capture the grandeur of what God has created in this kind of day. The best part about this type of day is that families gathered for picnics and barbeques along the lakefront. They broke bread together, the adults talked, and the children played. There was m ..read more

CARJACKINGS ARE OUT OF CONTROL IN NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA On March 21, 2022, New Orleanians were shocked and horrified to hear about the murder as the result of a carjacking of 73 year old Linda Frickey. Frickey had just put her things in her car after work and was prepared to return home when 4 teens ran up to her car with intent to carjack her. The 17 year old male of the group pulled Frickey from the driver’s seat, assaulted her, jumped into the car, and sped off into traffic. Frickey was caught up in the vehicle’s seat belt and was drug by the vehicle as it sped off. The force was so great ..read more

IN A WORLD WHERE MONEY IS A DEMIGOD, DO YOU WORSHIP AT THAT ALTAR? In Matthew 6:24 and Luke 16:13 Jesus shows us that money is a worldly power, a law unto itself that acts in the material world but with a spiritual orientation. Power is never neutral and is often personal as reflected in the Bible. Matthew 6:24 and Luke 16:13 tells us, “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.” Mammon is an ancient terminology for material wealth. We are bombarded with images of a l ..read more

A NEAR DEATH EXPERIENCE Revelations 21:27 states, “But nothing unclean shall enter Heaven.” Parris and I had always been kindred spirits of sorts. He was an extraordinarily intelligent free thinker and I had untreated inattentive ADHD with a vivid imagination in my youth. We were both big picture thinkers who could think outside of the box and were dreamers who could envision all sorts of possibilities. Our spiritual connection ran deep. Parris was a cocaine user and overdosed one night in the early 1980s. It was 2:00 am when I suddenly awoke thinking my brother, Parris, was sitting on the end ..read more

BEING HEROIN ADDICTED DID NOT DEFINE HIM AS A PERSON PARRIS FRANCIS ARNOULT JUNE 5, 1958 – APRIL 13, 1999 The value of a life is measured by what we contribute to society or pass on to others. Although my brother, Parris, had all of the same advantages as the rest of the family, was highly intelligent, an incredible student, able to succeed in business, as well as help others get and stay sober, he was ultimately unable to maintain sobriety for himself. At age 40, he died of a lethal drug overdose. His poisons of choice were Cocaine and Heroin, in addition to the lethal combination Speedballs ..read more

ARE YOU REALLY IN CONTROL OF WHAT HAPPENS IN YOUR LIFE? When our lives seem to be most out of control and everything is completely crazy, that’s when we’re most likely to try to control everyone and everything around us in order to get some sense of normalcy in our little world. The problem is not everyone and everything else around us: we’re the problem more than likely and are the one most likely out of control. That’s the time to step back, digest the situation, problem solve where we can, and ask for God’s guidance through prayer and meditation. You cannot continue the same path expecting ..read more

The Greatest of These Gifts is Love Most of our lives are spent moving to a soundscape of music, whether we actually hear it playing or are actively listening to it. Sometimes it is playing in the background and I could not tell you what songs in particular I have heard at any given time. Then comes a moment when I actively listened, and it was in this instance Lee Ann Womack’s “I Hope You Dance” played on the radio: I hope you never lose your sense of wonder, You get your fill to eat but always keep that hunger, May you never take one single breath for granted, God forbid love ever leave ..read more

vol/un/teer/ism: (välənˈtirizəm) noun. the policy or practice of volunteering one’s time or talents for charitable, educational, or other worthwhile activities, especially in one’s community. THROUGHOUT THE COVID PANDEMIC, VOLUNTEERISM IS AT AN ALL-TIME HIGH IN THE UNITED STATES, AND US NON-PROFITS ARE REAPING THE ECONOMIC REWARDS! Non-profits have shifted how services are delivered, volunteers are trained, and how volunteers can safely participate.  Volunteers sense they have participated in something at a time of crisis giving them a feeling of solidarity enabling them to muddle throug ..read more