Friday, March 27, 2020

JUST IN:

A Sabine Parish resident is now confirmed positive as a coronavirus patient. Dianne Williams, wife of Pleasant Hill Police Chief Ray Williams, has been hospitalized in Leesville. Our thoughts and prayers are with her for a quick, complete recovery.

It’s 11 on a weekday morning and San Antonio Ave. is almost vacant. About the only activity is a few vehicles traveling the street. Most folks are staying home because of the coronavirus. Everyone is hoping all this will soon come to an end. Please take every precaution so that you and yours don’t get it.

– STAY HOME

– COUGH/SNEEZE INTO A TISSUE, then throw tissue away.

– SOCIAL DISTANCE; stay at least 6 feet away from others.

– WASH HANDS WITH SOAP AND WATER FREQUENTLY FOR AT LEAST 20 SECONDS.

– DON’T TOUCH YOUR FACE; use a tissue, then throw the tissue away.

– WIPE EYES WITH A TISSUE when needed; throw tissue away.

– WIPE ALL COUNTERS, HANDLES, DOOR KNOBS, LIGHT SWITCHES, PHONES, TV REMOTES, FAUCETS, DRAWER PULLS, TOOTHBRUSH HANDLES, ETC. FREQUENTLY with Clorox wipe, bleach cleaning agent, or 70% isopropyl alcohol.

– GET FRESH AIR AND EXERCISE WHILE MAINTAINING SOCIAL DISTANCE FROM OTHERS OF AT LEAST 6 FEET.

– IF YOU MUST GO OUT, SANITIZE STEERING WHEEL, TURN SIGNAL, GEAR SHIFT, ETC. with Clorox wipe, bleach cleaning agent, or 70% isopropyl alcohol.

– IF YOU MUST GO OUT, DO NOT TOUCH SURFACES such as gas pump, business door handles, shopping cart handles, or pen to sign for debit/credit charges. Use a Clorox wipe or tissue to prevent skin-to-item contact. Throw tissue away.

– ACT AS IF YOU AND EVERY PERSON YOU MEET HAS CORONAVIRUS; doing so will help to prevent the spread. Remember, everyone (including you) can display absolutely no symptoms and still have the virus.

It’s called “The Impeachment Mob” and it was painted by renowned artist Jon McNaughton of American Fork, UT. The artist said, “The last six months we witnessed the closest thing to a mob-system of justice in Washington than we have ever seen in U.S. history. I painted this image to represent how they will be remembered.”

He continued, “I paint things that I believe have relevance to what is going on in the world. Art can be a powerful way to communicate feelings and ideas that are sometimes too difficult for words.”

McNaughton is an established artist whose new paintings have attracted the international attention of millions over the last few years. Highly detailed religious and patriotic subjects are the focus of his paintings. The artist’s experiences and faith are the inspiration for his work.

For more information on his great pieces of art, visit his web site at jonmcnaughton.com.

Many Mayor Ken Freeman has issued the following statement:  “To ensure that our citizens and merchants understand what Federal and State benefits they may be eligible to receive because of the Coronavirus, I have hired a person to research what benefits may be available.

“Once the information has been clearly obtained, the Town will gather all necessary forms for all our citizens and merchants to use in applying for those benefits you may be entitled to. This employee and the forms will be made available at City Hall. This person will be available to answer any questions and assist you in applying for benefits. Once we have a date set for this service, I will let you know the what, when and where of how it will work.”

My oldest daughter Angela Collins and her husband Jim live in Tega Cay, SC. And she told me recently about a funny happening in their neighborhood. In early January one of her friends, Anastasia Tindall, had a snowman decoration on her porch and someone left her the following note:  “Please put [Frosty] away for the winter. Thanks – Your Neighbors.”

Anastasia shared the note on the “Tega Cay Moms” Facebook page, explaining her family celebrates a Russian holiday which didn’t end until January 15. Afterward, the result was an outpouring of support for Anastasia:  “Your neighbors aren’t very neighborly,” “I would never take him down now! I would start dressing him up for all the holidays of the year,” and “Shame on your neighbors if they were being snarky.”

Looks like they sure started something right there.

Our friend Willie Stewart of Hornbeck is multi-talented and has a good heart to boot… And speaking of boots:

We learned recently that Willie and Many barber Will Gunter got together to surprise a longtime customer of Will’s with a new, handmade pair of custom boots.

According to his mother, Jennifer Tarpley, her son Gauge has been coming to Will Gunter’s barber shop for years, and it’s no secret that Gauge loves wearing boots. In fact, she said Gauge has showed off his boots to Will every time he has come for years.

Not only is Willie Stewart musically talented, but he’s is a gifted leather craftsman as well. And on Will Gunter’s request, he handmade a pair of gorgeous boots for young Gauge.

Said Ms. Tarpley of Will and Willie’s beautiful gesture, “Gauge may not have been able to say ‘thank you,’ but the smile on his face and his actions let you know that he was on Cloud 9.”

President Donald Trump said Tuesday that our nation needs to get back to work, and that is the case. Even a partial re-opening, when deemed safe, would really help. This shut-down has caused millions of dollars’ worth of damage to our economy. It looks like Louisiana could be one of the places that may have to wait a bit longer, though, since they’re saying New Orleans is likely the next outbreak hot spot.

Debbie Stewart of Hornbeck posted on social media the following statement by Franklin Graham:  “The flu will sicken some 41 million in the U.S. this year, causing as many as 60,000 deaths. The latest annual statistics say that 67,367 people in this country died as a result of drug overdoses. We had around 88,000 alcohol-related deaths last year. And some 862,000 children were murdered by abortion in 2017. The coronavirus has infected about 32,000 people in the U.S. and about 400 have died [as of this post], and we are putting the nation – the world – on lockdown.  COVID-19 is going to cost this country trillions of dollars and drastically impact every nation around the world. It is certainly true that the coronavirus is dangerous, and we should heed all the precautions that the President and health agencies are suggesting, but we should also be concerned about these other tragedies that are taking so many lives. May God help us. And may God have mercy on our nation.”

Our little friend, Miss Indi Shofner of Benton, recently found a beautiful terrapin while visiting her Poppa and Fifi in Marthaville. Looks like they introduced Indi to the fine, old art of terrapin-marking.

It was only July of last year that Indi’s “Fifi,” Phyllis Birdwell, discovered a terrapin she had labeled almost thirty years before. Coincidentally, Phyllis marked the terrapin just 11 days before giving birth to Indi’s mother, Dana.

Indi is the daughter of Grant and Dana Shofner of Benton, and the granddaughter of Steve and Phyllis Birdwell of Marthaville.         

Submitted by Kristy Knippers

If you missed Sabine 2020 that was held March 8-11 at Many High School gym, you definitely missed one of the biggest blessings to our community in years! Some of you know exactly what I’m talking about because you were there. Others at least heard about it, and some may have no idea what Sabine 2020 was. In a nutshell, Sabine 2020 was a collective effort of at least 47 churches across Sabine Parish to bring the lifesaving good news of Jesus Christ to the community. Such a crusade has not been done in over 30 years!

Before the event, even organizers made this statement: “Troubling, terrible things have happened in our parish in recent weeks. What if what the enemy meant for evil, the Lord meant for good? What if God had a plan in place before all of that happened to redeem boys and girls, men and women, mothers and fathers?” You see, Sabine 2020 had been in the works for over two and a half years! God knew what would be unfolding, and laid the vision of Sabine 2020 on Bro. Jay Begbie’s heart. It was his vision that started everything and the rest, as they say, is history!

Bro. Jay will be the first to tell you, he had the idea, but also had no clue how to make it happen. “There is no greater miracle than giving your life to Christ; even the scriptures tell us the angels looks down in amazement,” he said. To him, it was so important to “get the lost to Christ” while keeping two things at the forefront:  1. Presenting the true Gospel – not watered down, and 2. No-one being “lost in the cracks” after salvation, [a goal] to plug every new believer into a church. Christians need each other; there is power in coming together in the Lord!

“I just kept looking at all the pushing to minimize Christ in everything,” Bro. Jay said, “We’re seeing so much church in the world and world in the church, it’s getting hard to tell the two apart.” He wanted to bring the peace he came to know through Jesus to everyone. “Jesus will either calm the storm, or He’ll calm you!” Bro. Jay explained.

Each night, the Louisiana College Praise Band opened the evening with everyone worshipping in song. Also each night, Bro. Sammy Tippet, Southern Baptist Evangelists President, brought the message to all in attendance. Bro. Sammy held everyone’s attention as he did exactly what he was called to do – preach the Word of God. He was true to the Word, sincere and very real.

Without a doubt, every word that came from his mouth was God-centered. His message was simple:  we have all fallen short of God’s glory and we need forgiveness from Jesus Christ; to recognize His sacrifice for us, and trust Him in to be the center of our lives.

Monday night was deemed ‘Youth Night’ and Luke Hockenjos from Ruston blessed everyone with his testimony. I urge anyone that was not able to attend, if you ever have the opportunity to hear this man speak on how Jesus delivered him, do it!

Overall, over 3,000 people packed into Many High School gym! A total of 97 people made public decisions – 17 of those were born again for the first time, 2 surrendered to ministry and 78 rededicated their lives. Hundreds of lives were changed! We give all thanks and all honor to the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Praise God, for He is good!

So much hard work went into the preparation of this well-orchestrated crusade. Pastors from all over the parish should be commended for all their collective hard work. So many people volunteered for so many things that Sabine 2020 was truly an amazing experience. From the community meals to the altar calls, everything worked like a well-oiled machine.

Truly, the end goal was accomplished:  to see people brought together, to worship together, but above all, for lives to be changed in Sabine Parish! Of course, everyone wished there were more salvations. That is human nature. If you have 17 salvations, you want 18… but 12 disciples turned this world upside down, so imagine what 97 in Sabine Parish can do!

Thanks to Kristy Knippers for the above article.

That will do it for now. Thanks for sending your thoughts and suggestions for articles, and thanks for faithfully reading. I appreciate both. Call me at (318) 332-8653 or send an email to robertrgentry@gmail.com. To read old, archived Observations go to our Facebook page where they are posted by date under Photo Albums. To see columns of the last few years, follow the pages below. To print, save or send this Observations, click on the appropriate icon below.

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