Author: Nick

On our recent trip to Branson, we hadn’t left Lafayette long when we moved into hill country. In hill country, driving is exciting. The road rises and falls and and seems to be one turn after the other. Around every turn and over every hill, there are surprises. You may come across a breathtaking vista or just another set of twists and turns, so much like life. These are really challenging days. It seems everyone I know is dealing with something. Not only that, but when one situation seems to settle down, another arises. Yesterday I finally was able to try a case in which I represent a friend. The case has been going on for five years. It’s been a real challenge. You always want to do a good job, but there is extra pressure when the client is a friend and there is much on the line. Just as I was approaching the top of the five-year old hill, I received a phone call that presented yet another troubling situation. I check the mail box every day for the next step in yet another challenge. Like the road to Branson, there are twists and turns, ups and […]

I haven’t posted since the theatre shooting. I’ve been busy and didn’t really know what to say. It seems almost everything has been said. Much of it I already knew. I knew that Lafayette is a great community that I’m proud to call home. I knew Lafayette people are different in a good and special way. I knew that every death is tragic and the violent death of young people, especially so. I knew there are disturbed people who can wreak havoc in their pathetic attempts to be significant or meaningful. I knew that the national media would flock to a story like this. So what could I add? I have chosen to speak about another death. One that will affect me more personally and that will stay with me longer. My friend Paul Landry died this week. His service will be the same day as that of at least one of the victims of the theatre shooting. It will not get nearly as much notice. That’s the way life is. Paul was a good man. Even as his health was failing he was faithful to his ministry. Every month he would call those of us over 55 in our […]

There are times I just need to shut up and listen. I experienced two of them yesterday. When someone else is talking. I guess this is the big one. I had prepared a great lesson for the folks at the Abbeville Nursing Home. The folks who are normally quiet, non-responsive, even comatose, just seemed to want to talk. I’d smile and let them talk and then try to get back to the lesson. It didn’t work. The lesson was on choices. I finally made the choice to shut up and listen. It was the right choice. When you are in a nursing home, no one listens. In fact, most of us feel that no one ever really listens. So when someone is talking, especially if they are normally quiet, give the greatest gift you have: just shut up and listen. When you are hurting. Yesterday was not a good day. It went down hill from the nursing home. At one point my daughter asked how things were and I made the mistake of answering honestly. I had just heard Joyce Meyers talking about not saying anything when we don’t have anything good to say. When we are hurting, we […]

Today someone commented on a post from three years ago. She said “That may be the most powerful article I have ever read in my life.  It definitely couldn’t be more timely. ” That made me think I should repost it. Here it is. Ephesians 6:12 New Living Translation (NLT) 12 For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.   Satan uses people like a chess player uses pawns to carry out his schemes. There is no doubt about it. He tried to use Jesus. He will try to use us.    This leaves us with two challenges: 1. To recognize it’s a spiritual fight and see the real enemy. 2. Not be pawns ourselves.    The key to this is to recognize that satan uses folks when they are tired or hurt or discouraged or frightened, when they feel trapped, AND when they are not in Christ. When we are in Christ, people will see Jesus in us. It just happens. It’s not something we do. Jesus acts as our shield and our fortress.   […]

Check out the results of a recent survey: The question was — “What is the greatest struggle that Christians in their 20s and 30s face today?” Here were the top 10 answers that were repeated the most: We lack mentors and being mentored in the deeper things of God. We lack being connected with others who are serious about growing in Christ. We struggle with spiritual loneliness and lack of community. We long for connection and deep relationships with serious Christians. We lack understanding of the Bible and knowing how to read it with profit. We struggle with distractions and being free from the influences of the world. We struggle with compromising with the world’s false narratives because of fear of persecution, being labeled haters, bigots, intolerant, closed-minded, idiots, and losing friends. We struggle to find authentic friendships based on knowing Jesus, loving Him and serving Him. We struggle with finding our purpose in the world. We lack inspiration and motivation and get distracted and discouraged by the cares of this life. We really don’t Jesus that well, so we need true discipleship. So what do  you know, twenty and thirty somethings are just like the rest of us. […]

I have just completed the first of six weeks of nursing home ministry. I am filling in for my good friends who are taking a much-needed six-week break. The message I shared for the first week came pretty easily. Since turning sixty-five last year I have struggled with issues of aging. I have asked questions like, “Has my opportunity for ministry passed?” “Is this the beginning of the end?” “What’s left for me?” Okay so I can be a bit of a drama queen. It dawned on me that my struggles put me in a perfect place to minister to the mostly aging population of the nursing homes. Having struggled with the issues God had shown me some of the older folks he used in scripture like Moses who was eighty when he stood before the burning bush and Noah who had already passed 600 of his eventual 900 year life before the ark became an issue. It seems a mistake to look at our “talents” and the “highs” of our lives when considering ministry. Sure it makes a lot of sense to take a stock of our positives to decide what we have to offer to others. The […]

Yesterday I discovered that Facebook comments can be deleted. This was life changing. I choose to delete comments someone had made and not engage them. It was awesome. I have choices. I don’t have to deal with every irritant out there. I don’t have to ruin my day because someone has issues. I don’t have to be controlled by others. I don’t have to be controlled by circumstances. I have choices. I realize that this is all very obvious. It is, however, one of the key truths of life that I often forget. I have written about this before: http://www.nicksigur.com/choices/, more than once, http://www.nicksigur.com/choices-2/.  Here I go again. The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;     his mercies never come to an end;  they are new every morning;     great is your faithfulness. Lamentations 3:22-23 I love those verses. I love the possibilities within them. Every day, in fact every moment, is a new chance, a new possibility. I can choose to grab on or let it slip by.  I don’t have to be governed by circumstances, history or habit. I can choose different paths. This isn’t easy for me. I have discovered I have an addictive behavior. If I don’t do […]

I have decided I need to take a day just chillin’. A few months ago I was feeling old, burned out and, well, retired. With much encouragement, like my Pastor reminding me that Moses was 80 when he stood before the burning bush, I have decided that life isn’t exactly over. These days I am so busy that I forgot that today was my first grandchild’s birthday. That is unacceptable. She’s my original grandchild that I spent fun days with and she’s about to give birth to my second great grand. I can’t be forgetting her birthday. I need to step back. Yesterday I spent the day in Baton Rouge for work. Tomorrow I have a day filled with depositions and meetings. But today I’m just chillin. Here’s my plan. So far I have written two articles for the September issue of Covenant Spotlight. I am writing this blog. Then I’m going to take my morning swim, check my mail and get my wife some coffee. After that I am going with my wife, assuming the coffee is enough to get her up,  to a nursing home in Abbeville to fill in for my good friends who are on […]