By John Kyle, Special to the Message NASHVILLE, Tenn. (LBM) – “Empty” – it’s not one of our favorite terms. It’s not one of our preferred greetings. When someone asks you, “How are you doing?” you probably don’t respond by saying. “Empty, thanks for asking!” Yet emptiness is a common experience in our culture. Many popular songs through the years have focused on the empti­ness of life -- “Running on Empty,” “Look at All the Lonely (empty) Peo­ple,” “Empty Spaces,” and “Empty Garden,” to name a few. Largely, the focus on “empty” in such songs includes themes of loss, longing, and emotional voids. For that matter, most thoughts or images relat­ing to “empty” generally are negative: empty gas tank, empty bank account, and broken relationships that lead to empty homes and hearts, to name a few. Empty, exhausted, spent, broke, lonely - what­ever term you choose, “empty” carries pessimistic tones. “Empty” is incon­venient. “Empty” leads to hopelessness. “Empty” offers no alternatives. No one wants to experi­ence “empty.” Yet “empty” is where Easter was born. More than 2,000 years ago, two empty (discour­aged) women went early one morning to visit the tomb where they saw their teacher buried. Empty and … [Read more...]

By Christy Goodwin, Special for the Message as told by Brandon & Hannah MONROE, La. (LBM) -- Brannon and Hannah’s foster care journey began several years ago when Brannon felt a sudden, undeniable call to open his heart and home to children in need of care. OBEDIENCE After that it seemed that he could not view social media or television without being confronted with the reality of children without stable homes, and the calling he felt only intensified. Then, after watching a video depict­ing a young boy’s story of neglect, Brannon knew he could not ignore this call any longer. He told his wife, Han­nah, that he believed they needed to become certified foster parents, and to his delight, without hesitation, she agreed. However, even with willing hearts, they still had questions about the possible impact on their three young children, and they also worried about whether they had what it takes to help foster chil­dren work through trauma. After going back and forth about the pros and cons, they eventually decided to invite an experienced foster family into their home and peppered them with ques­tions. Waiting patiently for an opportunity to interject, the foster mom, holding a two-week-old foster place­ment in … [Read more...]

By Tara Dew, special to the Baptist Message NEW ORLEANS (LBM) -- This is the fourth of four excerpts Tara Dew has made available to Baptist Message readers from her newly released book, “Overflowing Peace,” a follow-up work to her best-selling book, “Overflowing Joy.”  A shepherd’s staff is used to rescue a lost or entangled sheep, but it is also the tool by which a shepherd affectionately guides his flock. He will place the tip of the crook along a sheep’s side, guiding them to travel along a new path. This is why the Living Bible translates Psalm 23:4, “…for you are close beside me…guiding all the way.” God is often described in Scripture as the Shepherd, guiding His people like sheep, with his staff in hand. Listen to Psalm 78:52-53 which speaks of God leading the Israelites out of Egypt: “He led his people out like sheep and guided them like a flock in the wilderness. He led them safely and they were not afraid.” After they were freed from Egypt, God led them in the desert with a pillar of fire by night and a cloud by day. His visible presence guided them in the wilderness in the same way that a shepherd’s staff would guide the flock! Once the people had crossed through the dry ground of the Red Sea, Moses led the … [Read more...]

By Tara Dew, special to the Baptist Message NEW ORLEANS (LBM) -- This is the first of four excerpts Tara Dew has made available to Baptist Message readers from her newly released book, “Overflowing Peace,” a follow-up work to her best-selling book, “Overflowing Joy.” David begins Psalm 23 with “The LORD is my Shepherd, I have everything I need.” What a truth-packed verse! It is the most essential statement in the whole Psalm. If we truly believe this, then everything else will make sense. David’s first five words are: “The LORD is my Shepherd.” It is important that we understand who God is before we look at what He does or how He acts. Look at the name of God which David uses to start verse 1: “The LORD.” In our English translations of Psalm 23, it is not written “Lord” with lowercase letters. God’s name is written with all uppercase letters, “LORD.” This means that David uses a special name that God gave to Himself. It is four Hebrew consonants, and the English transliteration is YHWH, pronounced “Yahweh.” In our English Bibles, you will find it translated LORD, Yahweh, or Jehovah. Remember, names have meaning, especially in the Old Testament. We must understand the meaning of this name of God so that we can better … [Read more...]

By Christy Goodwin MONROE, La. (LBM) -- It is no secret that our nation is in the middle of a foster care crisis, and Louisiana is no exception among the 50 states. Today there are approx­imately 4,300 children and youth in foster care in Lou­isiana and only 2,100 foster families -- more than twice as many children in need as there are homes for them. Moreover, when the num­bers are closely examined, the situation is even worse than it seems. Not all Louisiana foster families are “generally certi­fied,” which means they are able to host any child who enters foster care. Only 1,207 are so qualified. So, the gap between need and availabil­ity is staggering, despite the presence of so many Chris­tian homes in our state. I think most Christ-fol­lowers can agree that caring for vulnerable children is close to the heart of God. After all, James 1:27 includes orphan care, and implicitly foster care, as an essential el­ement of “pure and undefiled religion.” In fact, a Lifesong for Orphans survey in 2024 found that 31 percent of practicing Christians in the United States have seriously considered fostering. Howev­er, the same survey revealed that only 3 percent of prac­ticing Christians are foster parents. How do we bridge … [Read more...]