Find the Good News with Oran Parker

Ep. 133 - The Wonder Years - Ft. Allyson Blackwell Montgomery, Children's Museum of SWLA - Find the Good News with Oran Parker   I often think fondly on my childhood when my young mind relished in the thrill of discovery—the joy of stumbling upon something new through play, and the quiet spark of curiosity that grew into awe and wonder. These special moments, where learning and imagination meet, h...

Ep. 132 - The Connected Community  - Ft. Calcasieu Parish Sheriff Gary "Stitch" Guillory - Find the Good News with Oran Parker   Have you ever witnessed or been involved in an incident that required you to call the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff's Office? While experiences and opinions may vary—depending on which side of the law one finds themselves on—as a citizen who has had occasion to make the call,...

Ep. 131 - The Road Out Back  - Ft. Anne Klenke, Creole Nature Trail All-American Road in Southwest Louisiana - Find the Good News with Oran Parker   For me, one of the most enjoyable things in life is a good-old-fashioned road trip that takes the side roads, hits the small stops, and offers the possibility of discovery, with textures outside of the mostly manufactured experiences found along the m...

Ep. 130 - The Reason Is Love  - Ft. Tonya Doucette of Project Trey–Recovery Café in Lake Charles, Louisiana - Find the Good News with Oran Parker   I have always been in awe of those with the gift of human empathy, who seem to sense when someone else is hurting or in need. I've been blessed many times to be the giver of aid when I sensed the suffering of others, often hiding my pains and suffering...

Ep. 129 - The Dormon Legacy - Ft. Bayli Brossette of Briarwood Nature Preserve in Saline, Louisiana - Find the Good News with Oran Parker   One evening, several decades ago, I and my dear friends took a camping trip to North Louisiana. That evening, as we were lost in the dense display of stars dusting the sky, the group was suddenly jolted by the sound of a vehicle backfiring as it rumbled along...

Ep. 128 - The Printing Press - Ft. Candice Alexander of Candice Alexander Art Studio in Lake Charles, Louisiana - Find the Good News with Oran Parker   One of the great benefits of hosting this podcast has been the crossover from witnessing a human life from the sidelines into an intimate and direct personal encounter with them that reveals so much more than an outside view can provide.   Nearly 2...

Ep. 127 - The Cup Overfloweth - Ft. Hunter Forman and Aaron Quinn of Village Coffee in Sulphur, Louisiana - Find the Good News with Oran Parker   It's not uncommon for a business to attach itself to a pre-existing cause or social effort that affects the common good. Sometimes, the business itself is a crucial ingredient to a passionate mission equal to, perhaps even surpasses, the business's servi...

Ep. 126 - The City And The Seasons - Ft. Jill Leo, Director of the Natchitoches Historic District Business Association and Natchitoches Main Street - Find the Good News with Oran Parker   I've always had a high level of curiosity, and the itch has often pushed me to sink past the surface of an occurrence to seek out its origin or the links of entanglements that lead to the present moment. Behind b...

Ep. 125 - The Quieter Stories - Ft. Cane River National Heritage Area - Find the Good News with Oran Parker   Have you ever been to a place that felt alive, as though it were not only a destination defined by its offerings and attractions but rather an actual living, breathing character in the stories of many lives across generations? Nearly 30 years ago, I visited a place like this in central Lou...

Ep. 124 - The Bridges That Connect Us - Ft. CSE Federal Credit Union - Find the Good News with Oran Parker   What happens when a brand sets service to the community as their moral north star? In the case of CSE Federal Credit Union, you get a brand with 80 years of local involvement that sets a standard of excellence I find difficult to fully quantify.   I've had the pleasure of working with the C...

Ep. 123 - The Right Chemistry - Ft. George Swift - Find the Good News with Oran Parker   More often than not, people are putting on some type of front. If one looks and listens with intent, a little patience, and repetition, they might catch a glimpse of the real person behind the curtain. Finding someone that knows how to be truly honest, someone that is settled into their own skin—that's a real...

You’re listening to Find the Good News, Episode 122, “The Shifters,” A Beacon Series conversation featuring Steve Taylor, author of  "Extraordinary Awakenings: When Trauma Leads to Transformation" published by New World Library. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - "Just like a blind man that has discovered a jewel in a heap of rubbish, likewise, by some coincidence, an awakening mind has been...

You’re listening to Find the Good News, Episode 121, “The Raw Honey,” A Beacon Series conversation featuring Kori Hahn, author of  "Rituals of the Soul: Using the 8 Principles of Yoga to Create a Modern & Meaningful Life" published by New World Library. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Have you ever had to reinvent yourself, to start again? Did you find that there was a process of letting g...

You’re listening to Find the Good News, Episode 120, “The Permission Slip,” A Beacon Series conversation featuring Regina Louise, author of  Permission Granted: Kick-Ass Strategies to Bootstrap Your Way to Unconditional Self-Love published by New World Library. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Is there something in your life that you feel you should have done, but you just couldn't find it...

You’re listening to Find the Good News, Episode 119, “The Trembling Trees,” A Beacon Series conversation featuring Jonathon Stalls, artist, writer, activist, and founder of Intrinsic Paths. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Have you ever had a transformative personal experience so profound, so mysterious, that escaped your ability to frame it with words? If you've listened to this program fo...

You’re listening to Find the Good News, Episode 118, “The Honored Struggle,” A Beacon Series conversation featuring Wendy De Rosa, author of "Becoming An Empowered Empath: How To Clear Energy, Set Boundaries, & Embody Your Intuition" by New World Library. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Many longtime Find the Good News listeners would likely recall the number of times that I've brought the...

You’re listening to Find the Good News, Episode 117, “The Weeping Sunset,” A Beacon Series conversation featuring Rev. Dr. Kenneth Patrick, author of "Journeying to the End of Life: Discovering the Ancient Hospice Way of Companioning the Dying." - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Often, it's in revisiting a conversation during editing that its value truly sinks in. As you may know, it could b...

You’re listening to Find the Good News, Episode 116, “The Burdensome Backpack,”  A Road Trip episode featuring Mickey Shannon of Resource Management Services - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - After a much-needed summer break, Find the Good News is back with a special Road Trip episode. It had been quite a while since my last road trip recording, and while I didn't have to travel far to meet...

You’re listening to Find the Good News, Episode 115, “The Human Story,” featuring Christy Comeaux and Katie Pennington-Bartlett of the Calcasieu Parish Public Library - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - If you've been listening to Find the Good News for any length of time, I'm sure you've figured out that I, like so many, have an affinity for reading. My dad loved to read pocketbooks and comic...

You’re listening to Find the Good News, Episode 114, “The Foldover Worlds,” A Beacon Series conversation featuring Dream Analyst and Depth Psychologist, Tayria Ward. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - I started having potent dreams on repeat when I was a young boy, mindscapes so dense with texture and gravity that it was not unusual for me to question whether the space I found myself in upon...

You’re listening to Find the Good News, Episode 113, “The Recovery Defense,” featuring Scotty Higginbotham, Business Development Outreach Coordinator with American Addiction Centers - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - One of the great gifts that the Find the Good News podcast has given me is a platform to reconnect with people. We all meet people in our lives through businesses, groups, events...

You’re listening to Find the Good News, Episode 112, “The Fist Switch,” A Beacon Series conversation featuring Paula Lazarz,  Shaolin martial artist, Soto Zen Buddhist priest, and head instructor at Healthkick Kung Fu in Chicago, Illinois. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - For most of my adult life, I've been looking for fixed truths, constants that can be identified over and again, no matte...

Find the Good News, Episode 111, “The Butterfly on the Battlefield,” featuring Justin Roberts of Echo Bravo Productions and the Do Good web series ========== Tragedy has a way of bringing people together and producing durable bonds, often shaping and directing people to new missions. Over again we see survivors of extreme situations and events take on news roles with great fervor, reentering the f...

You’re listening to Find the Good News, Episode 110, “The Best We Can Be,” A Beacon Series conversation featuring Kristi Hustad, author of "Be You... Only Better: Real-life Self-care for Young Adults (And Everyone Else)" published by New World Library - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - I don't really know what it was like for my mom and dad to raise a family, trying to keep their kids enterta...

You’re listening to Find the Good News, Episode 109, “The Law of Change,” A Beacon Series conversation featuring Margaret Meloni, Ph. D., host of the Death Dhamma podcast and author of "Carpooling With Death: How Living With Death Will Make You Stronger, Wiser, and Fearless" - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - There is a small note tacked to a piece of corkboard near my desk, the letters stark...