It’s my least favorite of the fruits of the spirit.
Self-control. Because my faith didn’t really start to grow until my thirties, I had a lot of bad habits that I didn’t even know were bad habits. Sure, the obvious ones were obvious. Blatant sin does not hide well, and there was plenty of that to put front and center in the “need to change” category.
Defeating those big sins became easier the more I grew, though they still creep in from time to time. It’s the more subtle habits that can truly wreak havoc on your ability to produce “fruit” in your life. The big three for me require that I heavily trust in the “Christ in Me” knowing He holds the victory in these areas of struggle in my life.
1. Words. Our words should match our faith. We can’t say we believe one way and then speak the opposite. If we say we trust God to lead us along his plan for our lives, then we can’t grumble and complain when things don’t go our way. “Lord, I’ve asked you to lead; I trust you to lead. Help me to see you in the midst of my circumstances.” Instead of giving up and giving in, use your words to affirm your faith. Your words will be a blessing or a curse not only for yourself but for others.
2. Worry. This is a daily struggle! As a parent, who does not worry about their kids? Yet we are not supposed to! We are called to “be anxious for nothing.” That includes those we love the most. When I find myself stressed out with worry, I lean into my anchor Scriptures. Psalm 91 is a chapter I recite often, out loud and repeat as necessary. Gratitude is also a wonderful weapon. “Thank you Lord for watching over my children, my family and my decisions. Thank you for your spirit of peace. Thank you for being with me today. Thank you for forgiving me of all my sin.”
3. Wit. We need to lighten up and relax! We are way too serious! When is the last time you had a great time? What did you laugh out loud about lately? Who brings calm into your life? Who speaks faith into your life? An equally good question is who steals your joy? Intentionally be around people who enjoy life and seek to do good things. Talk with them about ways to grow and “bear fruit” on a daily basis.
If we have Christ, we have self-control. We don’t have to keep trying to get better! We ask Jesus to show Himself through our circumstances and invite Him into every decision. We allow him the freedom to match our mindset with his plan for our lives. Our work is to Trust Him.
Do you want more self-control? Then surrender! Let Jesus have His way in your life! Give him your “big 3” and let Him bear fruit through you!
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by Lisa Tramontana • photos provided by Baton Rouge Fire Department
Leading the Baton Rouge Fire Department is by no means an “easy” job. But for Fire Chief Ed Smith, who has held the position since 2002, faith certainly makes it easier.
The BRFD is comprised of 19 fire stations, more than 600 employees, and services that go far beyond firefighting to include motor vehicle rescues, arson investigation, firefighter training, hazardous materials response, community outreach, and more. As Chief, Smith is expected to manage all of these moving parts at the same time, while keeping a very important promise — to keep the community safe. It’s a heavy responsibility and he takes it seriously.
“My faith reminds me daily that it’s not what I do, but what I allow God to do in my life,” he said. “Almost every day there is a decision that has to be made that affects someone’s life or career … it’s a comfort to know I can pray and seek His guidance in making these decisions.”
Firefighting is a dangerous job. According to statistics from the National Fire Protection Association, 1.3 million fires were reported in the U.S. in 2016, resulting in more than 3,000 civilian fire deaths, more than 15,000 civilian fire injuries, and 69 firefighter deaths.
The NFPA also states that in the U.S., a fire department responds to a fire every 23 seconds, usually for accidents resulting from cooking, candles, smoking, electrical fires and heating elements.
“Over the past 40 years, I have seen so much death — among infants and the elderly, rich and poor, strong and weak,”
Chief Smith said. “It makes it easy to understand that no one is promised tomorrow.” Chief Smith agrees that it would be a better world if we didn’t need firefighters. “We’d be happy if we never had to fight another fire,” he said. But since that’s not a reasonable wish, education is the next best solution. The BRFD sponsors a number of outreach programs, which create an effective way to connect with the community and promote safety.
Some of these programs include:
Fire safety – BRFD visits schools, churches and civic organizations to discuss safety topics, including prevention, fire extinguisher use, and escape plans.
Smoke trailer – A specially designed trailer reminds students to “stop, drop and roll” and teaches them to safely crawl out of a fire situation to avoid smoke inhalation.
Smoke detectors – BRFD partners with other community organizations to provide free smoke detectors to elderly and handicapped residents.
Poster competition – Students compete annually to design fire prevention posters, and winners are invited to a special recognition banquet and award ceremony.
Junior Fire Center program – Young offenders are identified, educated and mentored by BRFD staff on the dangers of arson. The non-confrontational program monitors them until age 18.
The Fire Department also works closely with the Red Cross and the Salvation Army, both of which help fire victims recover after a fire. These organizations provide temporary shelter, clothing and medications to fire victims.
Public service and the desire to help others has always been an important part of Chief Smith’s personality. “My faith reminds me daily to stay humble because without God in my life, I am nothing,” he said. “I try to pattern this model in my workplace because without the 610 hardworking, dedicated men and women of the Baton Rouge Fire Department, we would not be the best department in the nation.”
His work has made his faith stronger, he says. A deacon at Zoar Baptist Church, he has taught Sunday school for 25 years to 7th and 8th grade boys. “Boys this age face a lot,” he said. “The temptations are not much different from decades ago — sex, drugs, alcohol — but exposure and access to these things is so much easiernow. The internet is a valuable tool in many ways, but look how it has made pornography so available, even to kids. It’s a real problem.”
Chief smith stays closely connected to the community. Here, he is pictured with tv anchor Donna Britt during a cancer awareness event.
Even so, Chief Smith is encouraged by how many of his Sunday school students have grown into strong Christian men over the years. “I’ve always told them that at some point, they will have to make their own decisions … they will find themselves in a situation where they need to ‘do the right thing.’ But they have to know what the right thing is. So it’s important that we, as adults, give them the guidance and support — the tools — to choose the right path.”
Pictured here is Chief smith, his wife trudy, their six grandchildren (above) and their three children (below).The BRFD hosted a Haitian firefighting group in Baton Rouge to train the members on building collapse situations. Here, Chief smith poses with the Haitian Fire Chief who visited.
And that starts with the Bible, he added. “The Bible is a great blueprint for a successful life.”
Building a close family unit is another piece of the puzzle, said Chief Smith as he talked about his wife Trudy, their three children, Shelly, Edwin and Megan, and six grandchildren. “As a parent,
you prepare your family for the things they will have to face in life. You instill in them a love for God and teach them to lean on their Savior, Jesus Christ. And you have to understand that they may go through phases as far as their faith is concerned.”
As a community official and leader, Chief Smith has been asked often for his advice on how to promote unity, especially racial harmony, in Baton Rouge. After all, the community has faced a lot of division in the past year. The answer, he says, is really simple. “I feel that Mark 12 answers this question,” he said. “And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength. Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than this.”
For information on firefighter training, or to schedule educational activities, such as station tours or education classes, call the Baton Rouge Fire Department Headquarters at (225) 354-1400.
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This story is about the self-control it took to wait on God for the fulfillment of a dream until it became reality. It all started when I was about seven or eight. My mom took me to a school of ballet to become a dancer, but the fear of being left there alone overcame the passion to dance. It seemed the opportunity was lost.
Around my freshman year of high school I began to feel the passion to dance again. I was in and out of modern dance programs throughout my high school and college years, but nothing became of it. I truly thought the dream had died. Years passed and I was now married with two girls, Jamie and Jessica. Naturally, I desired to put them in dance school. I’d recently accepted Christ and didn’t want to put them in any program that I felt dishonored God. Although this dream was very important to me, their purity was my highest priority. The girls eventually became teens and they danced in our church’s youth group. Later, my oldest son Joshua followed suit as a hiphop dancer for
the younger kids’ group at church. My youngest son Joseph was a baby at this time. My husband, Ronnie, and I were satisfied. We felt that since our children were also homeschooled, this involvement in the youth group was the perfect balance. Although I was happy my children were finally in decent dance programs, I still couldn’t shake my personal desire andpassion to dance. I wondered – was it too late for me? The opportunity still had not yet presented itself. Not long afterward, Cammie Manuel, the youth dance teacher from church, approached us and informed us that Joshua had a natural talent. Cammie owned a dance school and asked if he could dance in her academy recital as a guest hip-hop dancer. We were thrilled and supported him as a family. This opportunity led to him and the girls enrolling in her school, Divine Dance Academy, the following year. We had finally found the right fit! Then the unthinkable happened. Just when I thought it was over for me, my dream was resurrected. Cammie asked me to join the adult class at the academy. I was 49 years of age and had no ballet experience whatsoever. My whole world changed in that moment. I was able to dance with each of my children year after year at this school where the name of Jesus was lifted up with no compromise. Needless to say, bringing Him glory as a family unit fulfilled my dreams. Fast forward to today … my girls are now married with children. I’m now in my 10th year of dance and have come to realize the masterpiece God was making of our family. As for God, His ways are perfect and so is His timing.
HeaRtune Creations Poetry, LLC., is owned by Pamela Gauthier. Pamela is a writer and poet, who has been writing for over 20 years. she formally started her poetry as a business in october of 2013. Pamela is a native Baton Rougean, who has lived here all of her life. she’s a wife, a mother of four, and proud grandmother of five. Pamela started her writing journey by writing poetry as a way to uplift the spirits of those in nursing homes and the like. this is still the goal today, to touch hearts and lives wherever encouragement is needed.
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Rogers meeting children in the mountainous village of Kabale, Uganda
Erica Rogers is—in every sense of the word—a nurse. she has held the hands of men without families as they lay dying. she has wept with newly widowed women and comforted their children. she has rejoiced with people who have been made well. and, through it all, she has spread the Gospel of Christ’s love through healthcare.
Rogers grew up in a large service-oriented family from Laplace. She was raised Catholic and said, when she was a child, she “had the knowledge of Jesus, but didn’t have a relationship with Him.” That changed when she was twenty-one. While attending Southern, she found salvation at Living Faith Christian Center and, from that moment on, she has passionately pursued the will of God.
After graduating from nursing school, she spent nine years working for M.D. Anderson in Houston. During that time, Rogers got married, battled through a difficult divorce, and learned to lean into her faith. She eventually moved back to Louisiana and quickly became restless. So, she started fasting. She prayed, “God, I know there’s something you want me to do, but I just don’t know what it is.”
During that period of supplication, Rogers began receiving unsolicited emails from international service organizations seeking medical professionals to volunteer in the third world. The emails caught her off guard. She had never considered going on the mission field but, the longer she thought about it, the more her heart was drawn to Africa.
One day, she got an unexpected phone call from the founder of the World Health Organization. She said, “He called me, and I didn’t answer. He called me again on a different day and left me a message. Finally, I prayed about it, and I called him back.” He wound up inviting her to join his team on a trip to Uganda.
Rogers immediately agreed to go, but the World Health Organization required that she buy her own plane ticket. At the time, her finances were tight, and she wasn’t sure she would be able cover her travel costs. She said, “I wasn’t working, I had just moved back home with my parents, and I think I might have had like ten dollars.” But, with help from friends and family, she was able to raise the funds she needed to fly to Africa in March of 2014.
Erica and the Braveheart medical mission team straddling the equator near Kisoro, Uganda.Children walking to collect a day’s worth of clean water.Braveheart medical missionaries on the job.
When Rogers returned home, she settled into her current job as a cardiac ICU nurse and fell into a daily routine. She soon started getting emails from contacts she made in Uganda, desperately asking for her help. After a great deal of prayer, she decided to take action. She kept thinking, “I don’t know how to run a medical mission, and I don’t know what to do.”
But she conducted a mountain of research, stepped out in faith, and organized an international medical expedition in November of 2016. Rogers said, “I ended up recruiting five people to go on that first mission trip.” Her nonprofit organization, Braveheart, was born of that experience, and she and her team have returned to Uganda several times since their initial journey.
Braveheart is a faith-based missions organization focused on ministering through healthcare. It operates as a peer-to-peer medical support network in the United States, and, abroad, it serves as a foundation through which long-term healthcare initiatives are developed. Braveheart’s international efforts are mainly based in Uganda—the place where Rogers first fell in love with missions work.
Rogers telling stories to children in Kampala, Uganda
Uganda rests on the northern shore of Lake Victoria, and is situated between Kenya and the Congo. It is home to roughly 39 million people, and—according to statistics compiled by UNICEF—roughly 103,000 of the country’s children die before their fifth birthday every year. With an average annual income of only $440, the typical Ugandan lacks basic access to essential medical services. Rogers’s goal is to help fill the void in Ugandan healthcare and, by doing so, enhance the population’s general quality of life. She said, “The greatest needs in Uganda are healthcare, sanitation, education, and business development.” As a medical organization, Braveheart currently focuses on improving Uganda’s hospitals, educating local doctors, and providing important supplies.
Her ambition is not just to offer sick people medicine but also to share God’s love through individualized care. Rogers endeavors to make a spiritual connection with every person she serves—at home and in Africa—no matter the circumstances of their illness. She said, “It’s not just about care, it’s about quality care.” Braveheart’s ten-year global plan involves restoring a centrally located hospital in Kyantale, a village in the southwestern corner of Uganda. Instead of starting from scratch, Rogers and her team concentrate on using existing infrastructure to build functional medical facilities. She said, “I focus on helping them rebuild what they already have in terms of healthcare. They lack the most basic medical resources. Right now, they can’t even properly diagnose illnesses.”
Each time she visits, Rogers sets up mobile clinics. She said, “When I go, I bring medication, equipment, and all the supplies we know we’re going to need.” She and her team travel extensively during every mission trip, reaching as many towns and villages as possible.
Here in the United States, Braveheart devotes much of its resources to providing emotional and spiritual support to people battling cancer. Rogers loves teaching patients how to holistically approach their recovery by focusing on the relationship between spiritual and physical healing. She said, “It’s not only about chemotherapy and drug related treatments, but also about the mind, body, spirit connection.”
As of September, Braveheart is launching a new American initiative called The Heartbeat Community. Rogers said, “It’s a peer support network for patients on the journey of receiving heart transplants. It’s about educational and psychological support.” She partners people who have successfully gone through transplants with patients waiting to undergo the same operation.
Braveheart’s patient support networks focus on sharing important advice and encouraging people to lean into Christ. As a cardiac ICU nurse, Rogers is especially familiar with the difficult process faced by transplant patients. She said, “Waiting for a heart can be a very lonely and distressing journey.”
Over the next twenty years, Rogers wants to see Braveheart’s organ transplant and cancer ministries grow nationwide. She also hopes to see functional Braveheart clinics operating throughout Africa. She said, “I would love for Braveheart to keep growing and striving to teach holistic healing. I want the organization to be a people’s organization.”
If you feel led to support Braveheart, you can easily do so by visiting www.mybraveheart.org. Money, medication, and volunteers are always needed and greatly appreciated. Click on the website’s “donate now” link to make a financial contribution, and check out the “be a Braveheart” page for
more information on how to volunteer. Everyone is welcome to participate, because Rogers believes all Christians are called to serve “the least, the last, and the lost.”
All it takes is a little motivation to make a tremendous impact. By simply surrendering to God’s calling, Erica Rogers’ ministry has led to an international outpouring of healing and hope, love and encouragement. Her work with Braveheart often comes at the expense of her personal life. But she says it’s worth it, because her efforts go towards expanding the Kingdom of God. Think about how much good the Body of Christ could do if each of us, like Rogers, decided to step out in faith and follow our hearts.
Trapper was born on the lip of Lake Pontchartrain. He was raised there, reading in the salt-flecked breeze on a splintered wharf that jutted into South Pass. Never bored, he divides his time between trying to raise organic chickens in the Livingston Parish piney woods, traveling to different time zones, and exercising his mind by steadily learning as much as he can. He graduated from LSU in 2013 and Wayne State University in 2015. He is a busy fiction writer and contemplative naturalist. He has a great time living life.
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The Bible teaches us that selfcontrol is essential to living a Christian life. We must exercise our self-control or we become controlled by our weakness. Whether it is food, alcohol, drugs or pornography, the enemy knows our weakness better than we do and will encourage us to go to it rather than to God in times of need. Our lives can soon be dominated by our weakness and we are living completely in the flesh rather than in the Spirit. Self-control is the very essence of “dying to self” and living in righteousness with God. Our righteousness cannot and will not ever come from ourselves, but only as a means of grace from God as a result of totally surrendering ourselves to His will and becoming His disciple.
If you are struggling with selfcontrol, I encourage you to first begin with prayer and ask God for His help. Then, go into the Bible and study and memorize some particular verses that speak to you and your situation. My “go to” verse when my patience is growing thin is Proverbs 29:11. “A fool always loses his temper, but a wise man holds it back.” We must remember that all wisdom comes from God. So how does one obtain wisdom? James 1:5 tells us that “if any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.”
The exercise of self-control will not only keep us away from our temptations, but will allow us to be a powerful witness for God. You may ask how can I be a good witness for God by exercising self control? The best witness is one who demonstrates his faith with his actions. St. Francis of Assisi encouraged people to speak the gospel wherever they go.
Self-control does not mean that we are to go it alone. Life is tough and we need fellow Christians for the journey. We need accountability groups that are small, honest, and safe so we can be vulnerable and encouraging to each other. Christ encouraged us to come to Him with our burdens and He will give us rest. Read Matthew 11 and then fasten your yoke to a friend.
Todd Shupe is the President of Wood Science Consulting, LLC and served as a professor and lab director at LSU for 20 years. He is active in several ministries including his Christian blog toddshupe.com. Todd is the Secretary of the Baton Rouge District of United Methodist Men, Database Coordinator for Gulf South Men, and volunteer for the Walk to Emmaus, Grace Camp, Iron Sharpens Iron, Open Air Ministries, HOPE Ministries food pantry. Todd is currently preparing to be a Men’s Ministry Specialist through the General Commission of United Methodist Men.
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Chocolate Chip Cookies and the Fruit of the Spirit
by Sharon Holeman
I admit it. I have a weakness for chocolate chip cookies. Warm and gooey with a little crunch — alongside a steaming cup of black coffee served underneath a covered patio. Through trial and error I have learned that this indulgence in my life must remain a mere occasional treat. My weekly allowance often takes the form of a homemade “Jesus cookie” served at my friend Karen’s house after a couple of hours on the tennis court. My aspiration to manage this sweet sensation may sound trivial but I believe it can serve as an intentional form of learning to have power over fleshly desires. By definition, Merriam-Webster says self-control is “restraint exercised
over one’s own impulses, emotions, or desires.” In fact, selfcontrol, a Biblical fruit of the spirit, is of great importance and affects just about every area of our lives. Often overlooked, self-control is spoken of many times in the Scriptures. It’s actually spoken of more than we might think. When defending himself in Caesarea, Paul spoke to the governor and his wife “about righteousness and self-control and the coming day of judgment … Felix became frightened.” “Go away for now,” he replied. “When it is more convenient, I’ll call for you again.” (Acts 24:25) Self-control is not easy or convenient. We need the Holy Spirit’s help to guard our hearts, to take captive our thoughts,
to control our tongues and tempers, to turn our eyes away from the entrapping of the world around us, but yet not to ignore the people who so desperately need the love of Christ just like us. Galatians talks about our freedom in Christ and living by the Spirit’s power. It says when we follow the desires of our sinful nature the results are clearly not good, but it is the Holy Spirit that produces fruit in our lives. And then it says something magnificent. “Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there.” (Galatians 5:24) That’s powerful. We have been given victory and control and “since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives.” (Galatians 5:25) Yet, sometimes in the moment it can be hard to follow the Spirit’s leading, especially if we can’t hear Him over our impulsive responses. So, how can we take practical steps to hear Him and properly respond to life’s temptations?
• Pray. Prayer is the conversation that keeps us close to God.
• Presence. My day just isn’t right if I don’t start with time in the Word. Worship music helps keep my heart light.
• Pre-decide. If my decision is already made it’s an easy one. Respond in love, wait before speaking, and one dessert a week. You get the idea.
• Plan. Intentionally side-step stumbling blocks.
• Persevere. Forgiveness after failure is key … for us and for others. I recently heard a pastor say that we are never more like Jesus than when we forgive.
As Christians, we are to die to ourselves daily-to be selfgiving rather than self-focused, self-controlled and acting in love. We are to be faithful in the little so we can be faithful in plenty, even if it means having just one chocolate chip cookie at a time.
Sharon Holeman is a writer and photographer living in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. she was the project creator, coordinator and co-author of the book Backyard Miracles – 12 american Women, 12 true stories, 1 Miraculous God.
Previously published in Her
Glory and inspire Louisiana , she is now penning her first screenplay. Ministry today
showcased one of her photographs on the cover and several others as article imagery. sharon is a graduate of the University of texas at san antonio and the art institute of Houston. she is currently attending Bethany College to further her pursuit of the Lord and His Word.
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“My counsel is this: Live freely, animated and motivated by God’s spirit. then you won’t feel the compulsions of selfishness. For there is a root of sinful self-interest in us that is at odds with a free spirit, just as the free spirit is incompatible with selfishness, unable to live according to how you feel on a given day. But when we use our freedom to live God’s way, He brings gifts to our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard – we find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, not needing to force our way in life, able to marshal and divert our own energies wisely.” – Galatians 5:19-23 the Message
We probably do not typically equate the thought of self-control with freedom. Other synonyms come to mind such as restraint, self-discipline, self-possession and command. But when we reflect on the fact that God’s spirit dwells in us and we are set free by His sacrifice for us, we too experience freedom when we choose to walk with Him and in His spirit. Galatians 5:13 says, “You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather serve one another humbly in love.” It appears many of us suffer in this current day and age from much indulgence of flesh and of selfishness, or “Me Syndrome.” We must step out of this bondage in order to freely live and serve others in love. As Christians, we are called to “above all, put on love” (Col 3:14) and we possess the Holy Spirit “indwelling” us with His power. He gives us His spirit of power, love, a sound mind, and self-control (2Tim 1:7). So why do we struggle so much with practicing this especially at home, where the fruits of our choices matter most? One bad apple can spoil the whole bunch … how can we exercise freedom in self-control and fertilize the fruit trees in our homes and
families to yield a plentiful harvest as fruit appears in an orchard?
I have the honor and privilege of being a mom to a 22-year-old son, and 16-year-old daughter, a stepmom to three daughters, 16, 18 and 20, and a spiritual mother/mentor to many of God’s hurting children whom I counsel in my vocation/ministry as a Christian counselor. Upon reflection with my family and “children” as well as My Heavenly Father regarding self-control and family life, I encountered some revelations and “V8 slaps” in my own face and heart. Primarily, being a wife again in a second marriage and blending a family of teen girls at home brings much “baggage” on all our parts from painful past marriages and hurtful divorces.
God again (I am stubborn and He seems to keep leading me here) gently, lovingly, gracefully and mercifully, yet relentlessly, reminded me that the battle for self-control is within and with ME. He has not called me to control anyone but me.
The battle is with me, myself and I and on the last day, He will only converse with ME about ME and how I did with what He gave me – not to discuss my husband, my ex-husband,his ex-wife, or anyone else I happened to have had issue with. If something is causing inner turmoil in me with my husband, then I must seek God’s face only to see if He is revealing an area in me that needs deeper healing, pruning or growing, and as I allow Him to work in me and I let go, He can deal directly with my husband much more efficiently than even I, the Christian counselor who “has done her work!” Ha! He reminds me I am not that co-dependent girl anymore and as I let Him sit on His throne and let His love flow in and through me, then I can choose love and let go and love my husband as He would love and forgive him. When I move in the spirit of self-control here, the atmosphere changes immediately in my marriage and in our children and household. Thus we are all free to love and serve and heal more deeply and we can do it with joyful hearts, free of selfishness, pride or irritation. I am reminded there is freedom in choosing selflessness over selfishness and in relinquishing control.
In our home, practicing self-control and self-discipline over our schedules and time is key. If my husband and I prioritize early morning time set aside to sit at His feet in His Word, to quiet our minds and hearts to hear Him speak in a still, small voice to our loud minds and we allow ourselves to receive His peace and guidance for our marriage, work, family and other issues, we carry that peace into the remainder of our day. But on the days we oversleep, are rushed to get to work or roll over and grab the cell phones and are pulled in by the world and demands of the day, our entire household and those we influence suffer. One bad apple …! It is evident that feeding our spirit-man and
starving our flesh brings freedom, peace and joy even if it does not “feel” that way in the heat of the moment. If only we would roll over and grab our Bibles as quickly as we grab electronic devices to check news, work e-mails, Facebook, social media and other worldly distractions, what a difference our homes, communities and world would be, not to mention the joy we would bring to our Heavenly Father who simply wants a deeper relationship with His children.
He has not called me to control anyone but me. the battle is with me, myself and i and on the last day, He will only converse with Me about Me and how i did with what He gave me…
Deeper and more present and intimate relationships within our families also results from the fruit of self-control at home. If we all are more mindful and intentional about being fully present in the moments, not just present with cell phones in hands, then face-to-face loving interactions take place. Real connections are made. Loving memories that last forever are experienced at the heart level and those stay with us and can even help heal wounds of past disconnected places. Dinners, hanging out together on couches cutting up with each other, family vacations, moments between
spouses, and conversations take on a fuller and richer meaning much as God desires with us. It takes self-control within the home with cooperation from all parties to defeat the enemy’s distractions that Paul refers to in Galatians as works of the flesh. The enemy is referred to as the god of this world and the prince of the airwaves, and he seeks to destroy, divide, steal and kill unity and purity in the family. “It is obvious what kind of life develops out of trying to get your own way all the time; repetitive loveless cheap sex; a stinking accumulation of mental and emotional garbage; frenzied and joyless grabs for happiness; trinket gods; magic show religion; paranoid loneliness; cutthroat competition; a brutal temper; impotence to love or be loved; divided homes and divided lives ….” (Gal 5:19-21) On that note, I must admit my beautiful 16-year-old daughter’s response to what self-control in the family looks like to her were powerful words from a mature and wise-beyondher-years young woman of God. My other beautiful 16-year-old stepdaughter has given me feedback as well and we have all been tested in this department as I prepared this article. Imagine that! Never any coincidences with our sweet God! I was reminded that parents set the tone for the family with self-control over our tongues and anger, and we should be quick to listen and slow to anger and slow to speak. As James reminds us in 1:19, we as parents should refrain from being short-fused with each other or our children because words do hurt. We should show emotional maturity by stepping back, reframing, resting, and responding versus reacting to our emotions because words cannot be taken back and they enter our heart like fiery darts being used by the enemy to stir more strife and division in families. I was reminded that we should also watch the profanities (yes, we slip up in that department) that fly as
little ears do hear all and then repeat all, and children do as they see, not as they are told not to do. Word curses and generational curses have their roots here often. From the perspective of the teenagers and children and self-control, my daughter shared that controlling emotions and responding first before reacting was important, especially around gossiping as one never knows what is really going on inside a person who is behaving in an unbecoming manner. Thus judging and gossiping would only make it worse. She added that selfcontrol or jealousy among siblings is not necessary because they should support and bless each other’s achievements. And if a parent is spending much time with a particular sibling, that sibling may be going through a difficult or dark time or emotional struggle and may need to lean on and be supported by one or both parents more than usual. She was insightful in noting that she would have to step aside from emotion and see what was really festering there that God may be dealing with. Definitely words for us all to live by and to remember to choose selflessness and put on love so His love flows throughout the home, not anger, jealousy or division.
I long to walk in the freedom and power of choosing self-control given freely to me by Him who lives in me. There will always be a battle between flesh and spirit as Paul reminds us in Romans 7:15-20. “I do what I don’t want to do and I hate what I do.” This statement holds so true, especially for those who struggle with addiction, compulsions, obsessive behaviors and even the choice to live a balanced life of healthy eating and exercise. May we remember the importance of feeding our spirits and starving our flesh and the power of prayer and fasting. I will stay focused on the One who is sovereign (Eph 1:11) and ask Him to continue to change ME into His likeness so His love and Holy Spirit flow in and through me to my spoise, my children, those I touch in counseling, and to His precious Body, the Church. I will keep in mind that without love, and self-control, I am nothing. May the choice to walk in the spirit of self-control, I am nothing. May the choice to walk in the spirit of self-control and not in the flesh produce a lush harvest of love and connection on our family’s tree of life.
Giselle Chiasson saia is a Licensed Professional Counselor in Baton Rouge. she specializes in PtsD, developmental and relational trauma recovery, healing the child within and family of origin healing. she practices from a “wounded healer” perspective with her own story and testimony from childhood abuse recovery and divorce recovery. thus, she is passionate about walking alongside those on their journeys out of shame identities and past bondage into lives of wholeness and freedom. she is married to Russell saia and they have a blended family of five children. For counseling, mentoring or spiritual direction services, call (985) 687-6595 or e-mail gbc143@yahoo.com.
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Local Louisiana writers, Dianne de Las Casas and John Couret, present an imaginative book that expresses a wonderful message for kids through middle school. In Captain Deadeye , the main character, John, is entering fourth grade and excited to start a new school. Instead of the first day being exciting, it is terrible because the school bully decides to pick on him because John has a lazy eye.
Many think of self-control as an internal struggle but, what happens when there are elements, such as a bully, that can’t be controlled? One’s reaction to a bully is the only thing that can be controlled. Captain Deadeye shows a situation is always better when we respond in a more positive way. With the help of family members, John takes on a new persona – “Captain Deadeye.” He finds, just like sailors, he must learn to navigate “rough seas,” which in his case is a bully. He can’t control the bully, but he can control how he responds and that he can create a positive experience.
Captain Deadeye is available on Amazon or you can visit diannedelascasas.com.
Kelli is the owner of illuminated Designs Studio, specializing in graphic design services. She received her Liberal arts degree from LSU and has lived in Baton Rouge for the majority of her life. Kelli loves great stories, so reading and writing have always been passions of hers. over the course of her career she has written for several publications throughout Southeast Lousiana. Find her on facebook: facebook.com/kellissimeauxk
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Christopher smith: musician, producer, songwriter, and child of Christ
by Sharon Furrate Bailey • photos provided by Christopher smith
“Awaken, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”-Ephesians 5 :14
Q: When did you first discover you were an artist?
A: From around the age of five, I always knew I had this passion and love for music. It was all around me, and I found myself always getting drawn to the different types of instruments, styles and rhythms of music. Being co-raised by my grandparents who were solid Christians and growing up in a local Baptist church in Donaldsonville, music enveloped me. I mainly heard music that glorified God. As I began getting older, I discovered I had a talent for writing, putting lyrics together and creating what we call “rap” today. It was at that time I knew God would use this gift for greatness, a greatness that would serve and minister to the hearts of people.
Q: What would you say is your artist statement? What compels you to write songs and produce, among the many other things you do?
A: My reason for writing and producing songs is because I truly believe this is my calling. I was put on this earth to create, and I believe I am operating in God’s will by sharing my talent. My heart’s desire is to reach those who need to know the Lord in a personal way, those who may be lost in this chaotic world. During my daily prayer time, I always hope that my music breaks the yoke and bondage that many people carry. This world can be confusing and burdensome, but I know there is freedom in having a dependence on Christ. The Bible tells us that we are all strangers here on this earth – just passing through. So what must we do while we are here? From my experience, it is not just about the 9 to 5 job or getting into a career that makes a lot of money, or raising kids, though all of that is fine and well … but there is a greater purpose while we are here and that is to gain understanding of the truth which lies in Jesus Christ and to share that truth with others. This is what drives me to continue creating and walk with the Lord no matter what storms may come my way.
Q: What was the turning point in your career in terms of dedicating your work and music to Christ?
A: In 2008, I co-founded a music recording label by the name Blow Yo Mind Entertainment with a very close friend. Until 2010, I created music that glorified the world and went against everything godly. Being fresh out of college, my life consisted of drugs, partying, sex, chasing after every dollar, and a lot of local traveling and performing with my label mates. For those two years, I lived a reckless life. God had a higher calling for me because I am still in awe that I am alive and not dead. I knew during that period that without a shadow of a doubt, if I had died I would go straight to hell. In November of 2010, I took a break from the music scene and started experiencing a presence that felt like pure love. Every time I felt this presence, I found myself crying because my emotions would surface and overtake me. I would reflect back on my life during those times and when I would feel this loving presence, in my heart, I knew that it was the presence of God surrounding me. He was drawing and calling me unto Him. I knew that my life was in a spiritual battle of good and evil. His still small voice was calling me and I knew the sacrifice I would have to make to serve Him 100 percent. I would have to leave my old life behind. It was like God was presenting the changes and consequences to me as a warning before I made a move. I did not want to give up my lifestyle or lose friends along the way and it tore me to pieces thinking about it. Yet on May 14, 2012, when I had no place else to run, I surrendered my life fully to the Lord Jesus at a revival conference. The Holy Spirit filled me and my personal relationship with Jesus Christ began. Everything I am doing now is for the kingdom of Jehovah, God Almighty. Performing music, producing, evangelizing and participating in community outreach is for His Glory.
At the GiG (Gospel independant Grammy) awards with his wife, alwonda Randolph smith
Q: Do you ever feel God’s presence when writing or singing? What is one of your favorite songs to sing and share with others?
A: A: Anytime I get the urge to write a song, I know it’s something that God wants to speak through me and that I’m being led by the Holy Spirit, because unlike other artists who say they are always writing and coming up with songs and different ideas, I only write when I feel it on my heart. One of my favorite songs inspired by the Holy Spirit, is a song titled Don’t Run Away , from my debut album Awakening , which was released in April.* The song speaks about what people may be going through and that God has a plan for their life and that Jesus Christ is their salvation.
Q: Have you ever received a note from someone who heard you perform – telling you how it impacted their life for the better?
A: I have received so many messages on Facebook and love from people about how much one of my songs has touched them, and they thank God for my life and testimony. However, it has not just been my music that has had a positive impact, but my testimony and ministry as a whole. When I see others being motivated to go after the things of God rather than the things of this world, it gives me strength and I praise God when I get to witness another life changed for the better.
Q: Do you have a favorite book of the Bible or scripture that you have always enjoyed or reflected upon?
A: I love the whole Bible because it’s God’s word spoken through man and driven by the Holy Spirit, but I am crazy in love with the New Testament from the Gospel of Matthew to Revelation. All of my favorite scriptures come from the New Testament (John 3:16, Philippians 4:13, Matthew 5:14, 1 John 4:4, John 10:10 and so many others). Not only are these some of my favorite scriptures, but I see just about all these numbers every day at least once. There is not an hour that goes by that I don’t thank or talk to the Lord, because each time I see these numbers, I immediately quote that scripture and get in prayer or a conversation with the Holy Spirit.
Smith with WtQt’s Kerwyn Feeling
Q: Where have you performed before and where will you perform in the near future?
A: I have performed just about everywhere in this great state of Louisiana, as well as in Texas and Mississippi. However, 2018 is going to be my first BIG performance/ministering break since being a part of the gospel music scene. In May and June of 2018, my production company and music label, along with some other names, will kick off our first official southern regional tour called the Awakening Revival Tour, which will cover 33 cities. I know this is just the beginning of an awesome move of God. For updates, see the website www.CCBpro1.jimdo.com, or go to Facebook.com/Chris ChristChild.
Q: The name of your company, Jesus Muzik Dynasty, is very catchy. What does your company specifically do?
A: Not only am I a youth minister and musical talent, but I am also the founder and CEO of CCB Productions, one of the fastest growing production and label companies in Baton Rouge, as well as the supporting company for the recording label Jesus Muzik Dynasty Recording. If someone has a need for production, photography, videos, commercials, songwriting, or recording, they should give us a call or go to our website. We love to help others’ dreams become a reality
Q: Share anything you would like our readers to know about your journey.
A: I moved to Baton Rouge in 2015 with my beautiful wife Alwonda Randolph (facebook/ Alwonda.Randolph) and our kids (13 in all). They are blessings in our lives. Yes, our family is large enough to start our own football team, megachurch and more. We are committed to reaching people by showing love to others. Once a month, we (Living 4 Christ Outreach Ministry) go to the St. Vincent DePaul bridge and minister to those who are homeless or lost. We feed them and give them clothing. On Valentine’s Day and Thanksgiving, we minister so that these people know we are about putting God’s purpose into action. This ministry is a non-profit organization and all we do comes out of our own pockets. We trust in God’s provision and believe he will bless us. We do not expect anything in return from those we help. We want them to feel someone cares and most importantly, God loves them. So if you would like to give or donate to Living 4 Christ Outreach Ministry Organization, please send your gift to 9466 Balboa Drive, Baton Rouge, La, 70810. Thank you for your time, loving heart and obedience … and pay attention to that still small voice. God changed my life for the better and he wants to be close to you.
Q: Share anything you would like our readers to know about your journey.
JMD official logo
Awakening can be downloaded on itunes, Google Play or CD Baby, or on the websites at www.CCBpro1.jimdo.com; youtube (search sons of God2000); and facebook.com (Chris.ChristChild)
Sharon Furrate Bailey grew up in Alexandria, La., and moved to Baton Rouge to attend LSU. She earned a B.A. in English Literature in 1990. She attends Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Church. Sharon has been in the field of marketing, sales and public relations since 1996. She is a gifted artist and has been a columnist since 2005. She can be reached at sharon@brclm.com.
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Pat Englade is a man on a mission. Against the agonizing backdrop of 2016-17 police shootings and flood recovery, the former Baton Rouge police chief sees avenues of hope. “I think, in the end, God’s going to give us the strength to do what we need to do, especially during these very trying times,” said Englade, a member of St. Alphonsus Catholic Church. “I’ve been very close to God all of my life, and he’s rewarded me very well. He gives me the tools to use, and I think it’s a shame if you don’t use them.” Chief Englade was sitting in St. Gerard Church on Plank Road in North Baton Rouge preparing to speak about his newest passion, the Capital Area Law Enforcement Foundation, when the word came out: Police officers had been shot on Airline Highway.
“It was very distressing because I had heard multiple officers were down, and for somebody from that background, it sends a chill down your back,” Englade said. “But after that we saw a definite need to better protect our officers.” The foundation’s vision – to help protect and provide for officers and their families in times of personal crisis – quickly became a nexus for law enforcement and the community. “We wanted to get those police officers protected as much as we possibly could and give them everything they needed to do their job as safely as they could,” Englade said. The widows and family members of officers killed or injured on duty play an active role in the foundation. “All these families have young children, and we see what they’ve gone through. These young women have evolved into very
From Left: Melissa Caruso, Dennis oliver, trenisha Jackson, James tullier, Chief englade, tonja Garafola, Dechia Gerald, Laurie aronson and Matthew englade speaking to promote public awareness of CALEF
strong young individuals who have decided they don’t want this to happen to anybody else.”
“Those guys went in and did heroic acts with very little protection, to be honest with you,” Englade said. While most police officers wear a bulky Kevlar vest under their uniforms, they lack the type of vest that covers the top area with a steel or ceramic plate designed to stop a rifle round, a necessity in the increasingly dangerous environment. The
Baton Rouge Police Department has now almost completely outfitted its officers with improved vests, using money raised by CALEF. “What people don’t understand is those vests have a shelf life; it’s a five-year vest, so you have to trade those vests out. The need will just go on and on,” Englade said. The foundation is providing protective equipment for law enforcement in an eleven-parish area, including the LSU and Southern University police departments.
CALEF also continues to aid the family of EBRP deputy Nicholas Tullier, who is in longterm rehabilitation in Texas. The foundation was instrumental in passing legislation that guarantees permanent benefits for officers with life-threatening injuries and helps with college expenses for dependents. Through the foundation, a new college scholarship was established by the family of former state legislator Donald Ray Kennard who was known for his love of law enforcement.
“We wanted to help the families in time of crisis or need. If a firefighter or first responder gets in a situation where they need help to get to Houston [for medical treatment], we say, ‘Yes, we can do that,’” Englade said. “We all know policemen don’t get paid a whole bunch of money, so their ability to go out and buy a vest for themselves or deal with a crisis in their family is very hard on them.”
“We have no administrative costs; nobody gets any pay,” Englade said. “We can actually show people what we have done with their money. The Kean Miller Law Firm and Hannis T. Bourgeois, CPA, are both involved. They helped draft most of our stuff to get our 501(c)3. Garrett Graves and Bill Cassidy have both been tremendous in helping us through that process.” CALEF is fielding requests from around the nation from law enforcement agencies that want similar help.
So far this year, CALEF has reached more than half its million dollar goal. The outpouring from the community has allowed the foundation to purchase innovative risk-reducing equipment including drones to scope out potentially dangerous situations
Pat Englade
These men fell in the line of duty. through CALEF Pat Englade is working to better equip officers and aid the families of the fallen. Top Row: Cpl. Montrell Jackson, Rookie Matthew Gerald Bottom row: Deputy Sheriff Bradford Allen Garafola, Sr., Sgt. Shawn Anderson
without endangering officers or police dogs. The foundation will also consider providing BRPD with another robot to check suspicious packages for explosives.
But no protective equipment can replace the ability of an officer to bring peace to a crisis. “I still believe in treating people the way that I would want to be treated: communication and respect,” Englade said. “We just need to start talking to people again. Because God gives you opportunities and it’s up to you how much you’re going to make of the opportunities.”
CALEF is working with the NAACP and 100 Black Men to bolster community-police relations. “I think once people realize that police officers are just human beings like everybody else and not threats, they’ll see that if you’re not doing anything wrong you don’t have to worry about the police.” He is encouraging churches to reach out to law enforcement.
“The churches are missing a good opportunity to involve first responders in what they do and help pray for them,” he said. “I’d love to see every church in Baton Rouge have a First Responder Day. I think that will stick with these officers a little bit more, to understand that people care.”
For more information or donations, contact calef.la.
Susan Brown began her career in radio news. she was news director for WJBO/WFMF radio and a journalism instructor at LSU. She holds Master’s Degrees from LSU and New Orleans Baptist Theological seminary, and served as a chaplain at Louisiana Correctional institute for Women.
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And after fasting 40 days and 40 nights, he was hungry. And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” But he answered, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ – Matthew 4:2-4
One of the hardest things to do is to admit that we have failed or that we are powerless to do something. We see it as weakness to admit that we are being whipped, but admitting that there is an area in our life where we have lost control is the first step at gaining it back.
For years, I have had the honor of working with people battling all manners of addictions. I currently work as an addiction counselor at a hospital here in Baton Rouge, and I have found that counseling in the secular community can be a bit different than dealing with addictions through pastoral counseling. Sometimes I feel that I am walking a thin line between what the church believes about addiction and what my profession teaches. Even with the many differences, I believe there is one thing every person dealing with hurt, habits or hang-ups must deal with to be successful in either arena – the issue of self-control.
Self-control is the restraint exercised over one’s own impulses, emotions or desires. The word itself implies that we alone can control or fix ourselves, but when we look through the scriptures we find that God himself is the originator of self-control. In the book of Timothy, the Bible tells us that God created and gifted every believer with the capacity to control oneself. “For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.” – 2 Timothy 1:7
Why is it then that so many people struggle with self-control? We tend to focus on those who have a drug or alcohol problem, but what about those who have problems controlling their anger, who lash out at their loved ones only to say sorry over and over again? If we are honest, many of us have areas in our lives where we lack self-control (our “thorn” in the flesh), but I am persuaded that victory over those issues is found in Jesus.
Jesus is our ultimate example of self-control. The book of Matthew tells us that after fasting for 40 days, Jesus was tempted by the devil to turn rocks into bread. Personally, there are many things I don’t like in this world and one of them is being hungry, so it is a good possibility that I would have turned those rocks into a turkey sub.
Can you imagine having the power to do anything you want and you haven’t eaten in 40 days! Most of us would have given in, but Jesus shows us how to deal with temptation and the concept of delayed gratification, and he does it by the word of God. When faced with temptation, Jesus turned to God’s word. When feeling weak and hungry, Jesus turns to God and in this, we find the answer to the problem. We must understand that self-control comes from within, that it is only found when we submit our entire lives under the power of the Holy Spirit, the power greater than ourselves!
The first three steps of Alcoholics Anonymous are called the surrender steps. They are the most important steps because in them, we find that we are living in self-will, trying to will ourselves clean. The problem is when I attempt to use my willpower to fix a spiritual problem, then I am trying to do it alone and without God.
When I give up on my will, I gain the grace to do what I could not do on my own because self-control is from God. It is a fruit or gift that I get to exercise when I am in God’s will. My will led me to destruction and I will never trust my will again. Through surrender to God’s will, we find freedom and the power of self-control.
Pastor Robert Maxie served 16 years in the US Navy, completing nine deployments, including three in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. He currently serves as Director of Crossroads Recovery Ministry and as a Christian counselor at Heartsease Family Church. He and his wife, Aminga, have six children and one grandson. The family attends Heartsease Family Church pastored by Philip Pimlott.
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Bobbie shaffett, CWJC site Coordinator, Yvonne smith, graduate David Brown, eLBa Missions Coordinator.
Starting this September, Baton Rouge area ladies will have the chance to acquire valuable work skills and receive professional, godly guidance that will benefit them as they search for steady employment. Unemployed and underemployed women can receive instruction from volunteers with the Christian Women’s Job Corps (CWJC), an outreach ministry with the Eastern Louisiana Baptist Association. Classes will begin Tuesday, Sept. 12, and continue for 10 weeks on Tuesdays and Thursdays at Judson Baptist Church, 32470 Walker Road North in Walker, La.
The students will learn how to format a resume, operate computer programs and manage money. They will also learn job interview skills, including how to dress professionally and act confidently.
Participants should apply and register by Sept. 1 and attend a mandatory orientation Sept. 8 at Walker Baptist Church. Interested adult women can apply for the classes by calling the ELBA office at (225) 664-9309.
CWJC is a national ministry offered in 25 states, with several locations in Louisiana. The ministry is brand new in the Baton Rouge area. Bobbie Shaffett, site coordinator, helped get the ministry started locally last fall. Previously, she has served as a CWJC volunteer in Starkville, Miss., teaching financial skills to 10 graduating classes as well as mentoring the students.
“CWJC is definitely the Lord’s work!” Shaffett said. “It is amazing to watch what He is doing. We just try to keep up with Him as He sets every detail and volunteer in place. Littledid we know what would happen as we planned for our first semester last fall before the flood, but the Lord sent us two ideal [students].”
Lisa Hidalgo, a hair stylist and member of Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, was one of the students who graduated at the end of the course. She decided to attend the classes specifically to improve her interview skills after seeing CWJC advertised in her church bulletin. Hidalgo also said she was looking for doors of opportunity to open in her career through networking. Hidalgo contributed to the program by showing volunteers and classmate Yvonne Smith how to style hair for job interviews.
Hidalgo said she received not only career skills, but also a chance to see God’s Word in a new way through Bible study. “I just received a deeper connection with the Biblical liturgy we were going over,” she said. “There were eye-opening moments for me.”
Graduates Yvonne smith and Lisa Hidalgo.Judy Hunter, oreda Hogue Liv Lib, suzanne Riche, and Lisa Hidalgo.
The group started in the book of Genesis, studying Abraham’s calling, and went through the God-appointed tasks for the 12 tribes of Israel. Five volunteer teachers took part in CWJC in 2016, conducting Bible study and teaching important life skills, career education and computer classes each week.
Volunteers interested in making a difference in the lives of these women are needed immediately to begin training for the fall semester of CWJC. A mandatory volunteer training session is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 9, at 9 a.m. at 32470 Walker Road North, next to Judson Baptist Church. Volunteers must register in advance.
Opportunities to assist in this ministry include teaching, mentoring and fixing lunches for each session. Mentors, or Christian Friends, will form one-on-one partnerships with students and be available for prayer and encouragement.
“Relationships formed among students, mentors and teachers are always some of the most valuable outcomes of the program,” Shaffett said. Hidalgo said she had the opportunity to meet “wonderful women.”
“They put their heart and souls into what they are doing,” she said. “They never give up on you.” Hidalgo encourages other women to try the program. “If you want a life-changing experience, this is what you need to do,” she said.
For more information about the program or to register, call (225) 664-9309 or email info@elbamissions.org.
Shannon is a Denham Springs native who has been writing since before she knew how words were put together. A 2015 graduate of LSU’s Manship School of Mass Communication, Shannon has worked as both a reporter and freelance writer for a number of publications and newspapers. When she’s not writing she enjoys thinking about the future, reading, and spending time with her rescue pup, Mocha.
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Rogers meeting children in the mountainous village of Kabale, Uganda
Erica Rogers is—in every sense of the word—a nurse. she has held the hands of men without families as they lay dying. she has wept with newly widowed women and comforted their children. she has rejoiced with people who have been made well. and, through it all, she has spread the Gospel of Christ’s love through healthcare.
Rogers grew up in a large service-oriented family from Laplace. She was raised Catholic and said, when she was a child, she “had the knowledge of Jesus, but didn’t have a relationship with Him.” That changed when she was twenty-one. While attending Southern, she found salvation at Living Faith Christian Center and, from that moment on, she has passionately pursued the will of God.
After graduating from nursing school, she spent nine years working for M.D. Anderson in Houston. During that time, Rogers got married, battled through a difficult divorce, and learned to lean into her faith. She eventually moved back to Louisiana and quickly became restless. So, she started fasting. She prayed, “God, I know there’s something you want me to do, but I just don’t know what it is.”
During that period of supplication, Rogers began receiving unsolicited emails from international service organizations seeking medical professionals to volunteer in the third world. The emails caught her off guard. She had never considered going on the mission field but, the longer she thought about it, the more her heart was drawn to Africa.
One day, she got an unexpected phone call from the founder of the World Health Organization. She said, “He called me, and I didn’t answer. He called me again on a different day and left me a message. Finally, I prayed about it, and I called him back.” He wound up inviting her to join his team on a trip to Uganda.
Rogers immediately agreed to go, but the World Health Organization required that she buy her own plane ticket. At the time, her finances were tight, and she wasn’t sure she would be able cover her travel costs. She said, “I wasn’t working, I had just moved back home with my parents, and I think I might have had like ten dollars.” But, with help from friends and family, she was able to raise the funds she needed to fly to Africa in March of 2014.
Erica and the Braveheart medical mission team straddling the equator near Kisoro, Uganda.Children walking to collect a day’s worth of clean water.Braveheart medical missionaries on the job.
When Rogers returned home, she settled into her current job as a cardiac ICU nurse and fell into a daily routine. She soon started getting emails from contacts she made in Uganda, desperately asking for her help. After a great deal of prayer, she decided to take action. She kept thinking, “I don’t know how to run a medical mission, and I don’t know what to do.”
But she conducted a mountain of research, stepped out in faith, and organized an international medical expedition in November of 2016. Rogers said, “I ended up recruiting five people to go on that first mission trip.” Her nonprofit organization, Braveheart, was born of that experience, and she and her team have returned to Uganda several times since their initial journey.
Braveheart is a faith-based missions organization focused on ministering through healthcare. It operates as a peer-to-peer medical support network in the United States, and, abroad, it serves as a foundation through which long-term healthcare initiatives are developed. Braveheart’s international efforts are mainly based in Uganda—the place where Rogers first fell in love with missions work.
Rogers telling stories to children in Kampala, Uganda
Uganda rests on the northern shore of Lake Victoria, and is situated between Kenya and the Congo. It is home to roughly 39 million people, and—according to statistics compiled by UNICEF—roughly 103,000 of the country’s children die before their fifth birthday every year. With an average annual income of only $440, the typical Ugandan lacks basic access to essential medical services. Rogers’s goal is to help fill the void in Ugandan healthcare and, by doing so, enhance the population’s general quality of life. She said, “The greatest needs in Uganda are healthcare, sanitation, education, and business development.” As a medical organization, Braveheart currently focuses on improving Uganda’s hospitals, educating local doctors, and providing important supplies.
Her ambition is not just to offer sick people medicine but also to share God’s love through individualized care. Rogers endeavors to make a spiritual connection with every person she serves—at home and in Africa—no matter the circumstances of their illness. She said, “It’s not just about care, it’s about quality care.” Braveheart’s ten-year global plan involves restoring a centrally located hospital in Kyantale, a village in the southwestern corner of Uganda. Instead of starting from scratch, Rogers and her team concentrate on using existing infrastructure to build functional medical facilities. She said, “I focus on helping them rebuild what they already have in terms of healthcare. They lack the most basic medical resources. Right now, they can’t even properly diagnose illnesses.”
Each time she visits, Rogers sets up mobile clinics. She said, “When I go, I bring medication, equipment, and all the supplies we know we’re going to need.” She and her team travel extensively during every mission trip, reaching as many towns and villages as possible.
Here in the United States, Braveheart devotes much of its resources to providing emotional and spiritual support to people battling cancer. Rogers loves teaching patients how to holistically approach their recovery by focusing on the relationship between spiritual and physical healing. She said, “It’s not only about chemotherapy and drug related treatments, but also about the mind, body, spirit connection.”
As of September, Braveheart is launching a new American initiative called The Heartbeat Community. Rogers said, “It’s a peer support network for patients on the journey of receiving heart transplants. It’s about educational and psychological support.” She partners people who have successfully gone through transplants with patients waiting to undergo the same operation.
Braveheart’s patient support networks focus on sharing important advice and encouraging people to lean into Christ. As a cardiac ICU nurse, Rogers is especially familiar with the difficult process faced by transplant patients. She said, “Waiting for a heart can be a very lonely and distressing journey.”
Over the next twenty years, Rogers wants to see Braveheart’s organ transplant and cancer ministries grow nationwide. She also hopes to see functional Braveheart clinics operating throughout Africa. She said, “I would love for Braveheart to keep growing and striving to teach holistic healing. I want the organization to be a people’s organization.”
If you feel led to support Braveheart, you can easily do so by visiting www.mybraveheart.org. Money, medication, and volunteers are always needed and greatly appreciated. Click on the website’s “donate now” link to make a financial contribution, and check out the “be a Braveheart” page for
more information on how to volunteer. Everyone is welcome to participate, because Rogers believes all Christians are called to serve “the least, the last, and the lost.”
All it takes is a little motivation to make a tremendous impact. By simply surrendering to God’s calling, Erica Rogers’ ministry has led to an international outpouring of healing and hope, love and encouragement. Her work with Braveheart often comes at the expense of her personal life. But she says it’s worth it, because her efforts go towards expanding the Kingdom of God. Think about how much good the Body of Christ could do if each of us, like Rogers, decided to step out in faith and follow our hearts.
Trapper was born on the lip of Lake Pontchartrain. He was raised there, reading in the salt-flecked breeze on a splintered wharf that jutted into South Pass. Never bored, he divides his time between trying to raise organic chickens in the Livingston Parish piney woods, traveling to different time zones, and exercising his mind by steadily learning as much as he can. He graduated from LSU in 2013 and Wayne State University in 2015. He is a busy fiction writer and contemplative naturalist. He has a great time living life.
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On Sunday mornings, starting at about 7 a.m., Angie Stewart-Chapman is cooking up a storm at her Cortana Mall restaurant, hoping to greet a large lunch crowd on their way home after church services. “My prayer is that after they receive spiritual nourishment at their places of worship, they will come here for physical nourishment and break bread with their families and friends.”
Angie Stewart-Chapman specializes in old-fashioned home-style cooking at the Café in Cortana Mall.
To that end, she offers a Soul Food Sunday Dinner special every week at her business, called simply The Café. The small restaurant is a lifelong dream come true and she credits God for making it happen. “God gave me favor,” she said.
The Café serves the kind of old-fashioned home cooking that Stewart-Chapman cooked for her family when she was growing up. “I remember being 5 years old and baking biscuits with my mother in the kitchen early in the morning,” she said. As a young girl, her cooking abilities grew to include southern fried chicken, jambalaya, red beans and rice, fried fish, cabbage, rice and gravy, smothered pork chops, mustard greens and more. By the time she was a teenager, she could cook just about anything.
Cooking with her mother is a happy memory, but it didn’t last forever. During her teenage years, her mother left the family and Stewart-Chapman found herself caring for her two younger siblings and her grandfather. She worked two jobs to help support them, while still in high school — delivering pizzas in the evenings and stocking shelves in the middle of the night at a grocery store. Somehow, she graduated from high school and even went to college for a short time. But in a life filled with ups and down, there was more struggle to come.
By the age of 31, she was a single mother with two toddlers, living in a homeless shelter, and dependent upon food stamps for her survival. But she knew it would be temporary. The staff at the shelter led group sessions in which the residents talked about their hopes and dreams, and Stewart’s honesty was met with sarcastic remarks. “When I told them I wanted to have my own restaurant or catering business someday, the other women laughed and mocked me. ‘Oh really? How’re you gonna do that? Where are you
Stewart-Chapman is usually cooking by 7 a.m. each day.
gonna get the money?’ But I was willing to work hard and I knew in my heart that things would get better.”
One day, she decided to stop accepting the food stamps. “I thought to myself, ‘I’m living a good life. The Bible says that God will provide ‘seed to the sower and increase his harvest’ so I’m going to put my faith in that. The Bible also says ‘I have been young and now am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or His children begging bread.’ If I was accepting food stamps, I was begging bread and I didn’t want to do that anymore. I prayed on these scriptures and I believed in them.”
Not long after, she was able to rent a stall at the flea market on Florida Boulevard and began selling plate lunches three days a week. It wasn’t the restaurant she dreamed of … but it was a start.
By 2013, she was able to open The Café in the Cortana food court. She serves daily lunch and dinner, and with the help of her 7 employees, delivers additional lunches to employees at the local chemical plants. She also caters special events for the National Guard, the Army Reserve and local businesses. (She also operates a second store, Decadent Creations, next door to The Café.)
On a recent weekday, the Café’s entrees included fried chicken, barbecued ribs, fried fish and shrimp etouffee.
Stewart-Chapman’s cooking skills provided her with not just a livelihood, but with a ministry as well. On delivery runs, she always takes a few extra plates and hands them out to the homeless or anyone who looks like they might appreciate a good meal. At The Café, she enjoys connecting and visiting with her customers. More than once, she’s been told that she has a “glow.” “That’s my open door,” she said, “to share my faith.”
“God has truly blessed me,” she said. “And one of the things I make sure to do is tithe. Ten percent of everything goes to my church so I can do my part to thank God and to help other people.”
Though her children are grown now and she is remarried, Stewart-Chapman is still juggling work with parenting. For the last four years, she has fostered a young boy whose mother is struggling with drugs and other personal problems. During our interview, it’s her sister Saundra Stewart who shares this information.
“She won’t tell you about that,” said Saundra, “but I think people should know just how much she cares about other people … how hard she works to take care of everyone around her. I don’t know what would have happened to our family if it hadn’t been for Angie working so hard to keep us all together.” (The siblings have since reunited with their mother.)
Stewart-Chapman practices her faith at Full Gospel United Pentecostal Church, and has advice for Christians who occasionally struggle with their beliefs. “I pray,” she said. “Every morning when I come in to cook, I start with a prayer. And throughout the day, I look at other people to remind myself of all the blessings I have. And I don’t complain … because I know that my life is full.”
“When I told them I wanted to have my own restaurant or catering business someday, the other women laughed and mocked me. ‘Oh really? How’re you gonna do that? Where are you gonna get the money?’ But I was willing to work hard and I knew in my heart that things would get better.”
Lunch rush is always a busy time.
Soul Food Sunday Dinner Special Every Sunday, 11:45 a.m.-5:15 p.m. the Café at Cortana Mall (entrance 4) Buy 4 plates and get a 5th for free.
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1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Spray pan with non-stick spray.
2. Break up the cauliflower. Shred in a blender or food processor until fine.
3. Transfer to a microwave-safe bowl. Cover loosely and place into microwave for 4-5 minutes, or until softened; let cool.
4. Using a clean dish towel or cheese cloth, drain cauliflower completely, removing as much water as possible.
5. Add remaining ingredients.
6. Transfer to the center of the baking sheet and spread into a circle, resembling a pizza crust. Bake for 20 minutes.Add tomato sauce, desired toppings, mozzarella cheese, and bake an additional 10 minutes.
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