Author: Nick

I want to be loved for myself. I want the folks I love to want to be with me. I love doing things for my loved ones, but I don’t want to be loved for what I do,  but for who I am. In that way, I’m no different from God.  We are made in the image of God and this mirror image is no clearer than in the way we love and want to be loved. Loving relationships include doing for each other, but FIRST comes the desire for each other. The essence of love is the pleasure of being WITH. The lyrics of Lauren Daigle’s song FIRST expresses this wonderfully.  Before I bring my need I will bring my heart Before I lift my cares I will lift my arms I wanna know You I wanna find You In every season In every moment Before I bring my need I will bring my heart And seek You… FIRST We have little patience with those who claim to care for us, but who seek us only when we have something they need. God is so much more loving, and patient, than we are. How often do we go to […]

We know that we should put God First. The verses come easily to mind. You shall have no other gods before me. Exodus 20:3 In everything you do, put God first, and he will direct you and crown your efforts with success. Proverbs 3:6 TLB  So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’  For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.  But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Matthew 6:31-33 God first is a command with promises: Direction, success, food, drink and clothing. It would seem putting God first would get our every effort. It’s not so.  It’s just hard.  I’ve tried. Each day I have intentions to pray and write a blog post before anything else, yet I end up checking my email, the weather and Facebook first. In fact, I start my day worrying about what I will eat, drink and wear. Not only do I not do my God stuff first, sometimes I don’t do it at all.  I understand that putting God first is more […]

Do you sometimes think God is yelling at you? I do. I’m not sure that He’s necessarily angry. I think I’m just not listening. It usually comes up with a convergence of coincidences. Take yesterday for example. I am sitting in line at Comeaux High waiting to pick up my grandson. I am also talking to a client on the phone. Suddenly there is a tap on my window and an irate woman angrily questions my ability to read and advises me I am blocking traffic. Knowing I can read, she advises me that the sign I am parked under advises no parking before 2:30. Of course, it’s after 2:30, but when you’re angry facts are irrelevant. I didn’t respond. I would like to say it’s because I am a cool guy who thinks before he responds. Sadly, not always so. The truth is my client heard it all. I didn’t want to embarrass him further. I was caught by surprise and all my smart ass responses didn’t come to mind until later in the day. Don’t you hate it when that happens? Now for the coincidences: Since then I have seen an article that suggests waiting a day […]

One of my favorite movies is Close Encounters of the Third Kind.  The title of this 1977 classic comes from a classification of close encounters with aliens. The third kind denotes human observations of aliens. Actually observing an alien would be a really big deal. As far as I know, it’s only happened in movies, yet millions believe in creatures from “somewhere else.”  I don’t know anyone who has seen God, yet I completely believe in Him. I know that many saw Jesus, the God-man, but I haven’t gotten a chance to chat with any of them and I haven’t seen Jesus myself, yet. My belief in God is certainly largely faith-based, but not entirely. Although I haven’t seen Him, I have had many close encounters. I didn’t always realize I was having an meet with the divine while it was happening. My encounter perception seems to work better through the rear view mirror. Looking back I can see many divine interventions in my life. I have had conditions cured. Only God could have rescued me from certain bad decisions. I have had moments of joy so intense that they were unearthly, or more precisely divine.  I have also had moments so dark […]

I love all kinds of music. I credit my god mother. When I was a kid I would spend nights at her house. She had a phonograph and  records of all kinds of music. I would listen to all of them and grew to love them all. For me, music is powerful. I listen to it day and night. It makes my exercise tolerable. It helps put me to sleep and deals with my stress. It helps me keep focused. I still listen to all kinds but mostly “Christian” music, new and old. That keeps me focused on Jesus. I think such music and radio like K-Love is the best hope for “Christianity.” Consider this from an article I recently read: 1. Church Attendance Is Now a Fringe Activity Except for a few U.S. communities (deep in the Bible Belt), nobody asks which church you attend anymore, because the assumption is you don’t go to church. Increasingly, church attendance is a fringe activity. 2. “All Welcome” Means Nothing Almost every dying church has an “All Welcome” sign nobody takes seriously. About the only way non-Christians will show up at Christian churches is via personal invitation. Regardless of what any sign might say, the real welcome […]

  Jonathan and Megan Reaux are members of my church. They have served as missionaries in Africa. I would like to recommend a ministry that needs help. I have borrowed extensively from one of their recent news letters. We have arranged for online donations to this ministry if you are interested. Follow this link and select “Africa Chicken Ranch.” Okay so it’s not a ranch, but read what follows and you will get the idea. What follows is from the Reaux’s newsletter. Pastor Petro is a good friend we’ve come to know during our time in Africa. We spent a lot of time with him and his ministry in Olkolili, Tanzania, and have come to respect his dedication to God and the souls that God has placed around him.    He has such a tender heart and a passion to improve lives. Not only is he a pastor of a great church, but he has a school which has over a hundred children, who are either orphans or children of very poor families. Before we returned to America, we helped as much as we could by donating books and our car. They were incredibly grateful, but their expenses go […]

It’s been six months since the great flood of 2016. I’m still struggling to restore my property but am so blessed compared to many who are still not in their homes and may be victims of scam artists. If you need prayer, a shoulder to cry on or legal help. Please let me know. You aren’t alone or forgotten. Even if you feel like it.  Nick. 

I saw a video recently in which college students, some of them political science majors, could not correctly identify photographs of Joe Biden or Ronald Reagan. I was initially amazed at such ignorance. After further thought I believe the ignorance was blissful. Are we really surprised that this generation has no interest in politics and are blissful in their ignorance? Political science education in high school and college is incredibly weak. Perhaps more importantly, statesmanship seems dead. Partisanship is everywhere with no one seemingly able to agree on anything.  The U. S. Senate is no longer a congenial club. Truth is rare and relative. News has to be filtered to separate the real from the “fake.” I have taken to unfollowing Facebook “friends” who insist on posting principally politically related “news” and opinions. The posts are often so slanted that they bear little resemblance to what really happened or to what is actually going on.  I recognize I have been guilty of the same in the past. I repent and watching others who haven’t just is not worth the aggravation. I am trying to wean myself from television news. I thought things would calm down after the election but […]