By Lexi Rachal, Wildcats Media PINEVILLE, La. (Wildcats Media) – God can use ordinary people to accomplish extraordinary things, Auntie Anne’s Pretzels founder Anne Beiler said during the inaugural Maggie Martin Marketplace Leadership Summit April 13 at Louisiana Christian University. “According to the standards of this world, I was not qualified to be Auntie Anne,” said Beiler, who did not have a formal education when she started the company. “There wasn’t a headhunter in the world who would’ve come looking for me, Anne Beiler, to be the CEO of an international franchise organization…I was not qualified. I love God though. I made a pretzel, and the rest is history.” Beiler shared that through her journey of creating Auntie Anne’s Pretzels, her business lacked a leader with formal education, capital and a business plan. However, Beiler surrounded herself with those loyal to her purpose – to be profitable, to give and be light in the world of business. Throughout her presentation inside Guinn Auditorium, Beiler emphasized the importance of finding purpose through the presence of God. “We are created to house the presence of God in our bodies and to walk and to talk with Him every single day,” Beiler said. “That’s our … [Read more...]

By LCU News PINEVILLE, La. (LCU News) – Christian apologist Frank Turek said evil actually is evidence of God during Louisiana Christian University’s final Christ-Church-Culture event of the spring semester, April 10. “Why does He allow those who love Him to suffer?” Turek asked the students and guests gathered inside Guinn Auditorium. “Why believe in this being?” While going through tragedy, Turek said nothing makes sense or will make the pain go away. But, he added, evil that proves there is good. “God is the standard of good that proves evil does exist,” he said. “There’s got to be an external standard for us to see that something doesn’t measure up.” The reason God allows evil is because He created humans with free will. “He gave us free will so we can do good, but because of that we can also do evil,” Turek said. When humans are doing well and prospering, they often forget about God, but suffering develops character, he said. If humans got everything they wanted, they would be ruined and spoiled. “We need difficulty in our lives,” Turek said. “With it we become more like Jesus.” He said difficulties can make us better, or they can make us bitter. Humans don’t have the perspective to understand … [Read more...]

By LCU News PINEVILLE, La. (LCU News ) – Louisiana Christian University alum Teresa Thomason, Alexandria, has been well-known in the Central Louisiana music community for decades and has earned local, state and national accolades for her amazing and long-standing work in the music teaching field. On March 27 in Reno, Nevada, she was recognized for her contributions by the Music Teachers National Association Foundation Fellow. The MTNA Foundation Fellow is given to people who have been important to the organization and who have made outstanding contributions for their years of service. Thomason received the award March 27 in Reno, Nevada, for her commitment to the organization and for contributions to the music profession. “When they called me, I was speechless,” she said of the notification by University of Louisiana – Lafayette professor Chan Kiat Lim, also current president of Louisiana Music Teachers Association. Thomason, a 1991 graduate of Louisiana Christian University (formerly Louisiana College), first began teaching piano lessons as a teenager and soon after served as a pianist at Central Baptist Church, Springhill. Since graduating from LCU, Thomason has taught piano at Country Day School in Alexandria … [Read more...]