Istrouma Ascension Podcast

People love a good mystery.  Sir Arthur Conan Doyle gave us Sherlock Holmes and his sidekick, Dr. Watson.  Agatha Christie delighted her audiences with the exploits of Hercule Poirot.  My generation grew up with the adventures of the Hardy Boys.  The companion series especially for girls was Nancy Drew.  Even current TV shows like Stranger Things , 24 , and NCIS have elements of the mystery genre....

We are in the thick of the college football season.  Week 3 is upon us.  One of the most fun elements of the season is the college football rankings.  Everyone wants to know who's number one.  LSU started the year ranked 25th.  We then made the biggest jump of any team in America after beating Miami and rose to 11th.  We were lack-luster against Southeastern and slipped back to 12th.  Who knows wh...

The world has seen its share of great empires and rulers.    The Roman Empire lasted 1500 years.  It stretched around the Mediterranean Sea with parts of Europe, Africa and the East.  Caesar Augustus, perhaps the most famous of Rome's potentates, ruled for 40 years.   The British Empire lasted for centuries.  It was the empire upon which the "sun never sat" because its protectorates and territorie...

Micah Caiting, Student Minister

In war, communication between the commander-in-chief and his troops in the field is essential.  It can be the difference between victory and defeat.   In WWII the United States faced Japan in the Pacific theatre.  It was a conflict marked by desperate, brutal, and costly battles in places like Guadalcanal, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa.   One key element that tipped the scales in American favor was our se...

Football is a tough sport.  Injuries are common and it seems that players are only getting bigger, stronger and faster with each passing season.  But it might surprise you to know that there was a time when it was even more brutal than it is today.   In 1905, for example, there were 20 deaths related to football injuries.  Rules were few and protective gear was virtually non-existent.  Here's a pi...

The German nation was humiliated by their defeat in World War I and the resulting treaties.  These dynamics created great resentment and hardship.  From the shame and ashes of WWI arose the Nazis.  They promised the German people a return to glory and supremacy.  They were led by a crazed madman named Adolf Hitler.    They built up a vast and menacing war machine.  On September 1, 1939 they unleas...

One of the most intriguing figures from World War II is a Japanese soldier named Hiroo Onoda.  He was deployed to the Philippines by his commanding officers.  He was given strict orders never to surrender.  He took those orders seriously.   The war officially ended in August of 1945 with V-J Day, but not for Onoda.  He refused to believe it.  He continued to wage guerilla warfare for 29 more years...

A city slicker bought a horse from a weathered cowboy.  The cowboy was God-fearing and had trained the horse using biblical terms.   Instead of "giddy-up," the command to go was "Praise the Lord."  "Amen" was the signal to stop.  He coached the new owner on the importance of using these phrases and these alone.   Now fully prepped and astride his new steed, the city slicker said to the horse, "Pra...

Buckminster Fuller studied the accumulation of information. He created what is known as the "Knowledge Doubling Curve."  He noticed that until 1900 human knowledge doubled approximately every century.  By the end of World War II, knowledge was doubling every 25 years.  Today, on average, human knowledge is doubling every 13 months!  According to IBM, the build out of  the "internet of things" will...

Mike Holmes

n the book, Amazing Grace , an interesting story is told about a young man named Arlo.  He had a godly grandfather.  When Arlo got married to his wife, his grandfather gave them a wedding gift.  It was a beautiful, leather-bound Bible with their names engraved on its cover.  Arlo and his wife appreciated the gift of a Bible, but never took it out of the box.  He stored it away.    Every once in a...

The sports world is caught up in World Cup fever [slide with World Cup logo].  On June 17 Mexico played Germany.  Germany is a soccer powerhouse.  They have won the World Cup four times (second only to Brazil's five).  Mexico has never won the World Cup but they are officially soccer crazy and desperately hungry for a title.   Estimates are that 75,000 people jammed the main square in Mexico City...

Martin Luther was a devout Roman Catholic priest.  He loved the word of God and held to its truths tenaciously.  He came to question some of the practices and teachings of his church.  He posted 95 theses (or points of concern) to the door of the parish church in Wittenberg, Germany where he often preached.    For his protests, he was ultimately put on trial before the emperor and ecclesiastical l...

In August of 2016 a terrible flood hit the greater Baton Rouge area.  The financial impact was catastrophic.  Thousands of homes and businesses were flooded and lives were lost.   The people of the United States, through their elected officials, stepped forward to help meet the need.  According to reports, approximately 1.3 billion dollars were granted to Louisiana for restoration efforts.  Nell a...

"To err is human; to forgive, divine."  We probably all recognize that quote and the truth of it, but let me tweak it: "To err is human; to botch the confession is too!"    I can illustrate this with several recent blunders and the gaffes in the accompanying "apologies."  Let me begin with a relatively insignificant example and then ratchet up to more significant ones.   R. Smith crushed the heart...

Canciones que confortan "Aguas con el agua" Salmo 37.1-5 Desilusionadoscon el Señor.   "No te inquietes a causa de los malvados , ni tengas envidia de los que hacen lo malo. Pues como la hierba, pronto se desvanecen;como las flores de primavera, pronto se marchitan." (37.1-2)   La causade la desilusión.   La curapara la desilusión.   Depender del Señor.   " Confía en el   Señor   y haz el bien; en...

Recently I took our grandkids to an ice cream shop.  We got our goodies and sat down outdoors at a picnic table to enjoy them.  Our grandson, Forest, finished his ice cream (stuffed with gummy worms) quickly.  Apparently he didn't get his fill.  He happened to spot a gummy worm on the ground that someone else had dropped earlier.  He reached down, grabbed it, and was about to eat it when I said, "...