For more than 50 years Louisiana was divided, politically and individuals, into Long and anti-Long factions. Although Huey Long had been dead for many years. Edwin Edwards still was the choice of the Long supporters. Present Governor Jindall can be considered the first to belong to neither faction, although he comes closest to being an anti-Long.
One would have to have lived during the 1930's to understand how deeply the division was. I remember going to class the Monday after Sam Jones was elected and seeing a teacher (Mrs. Baskerville) dancing with a student in celebration. Despite all the corruption of the Long faction (some going to jail) Jones was the first anti-Long elected since Huey Long served as governor and then senator.
Dad came home from town once, upset at what a woman had said about her support of Huey Long. She declared that if Long beat her up and stripped her naked she would crawl to the polls and vote for him. Despite being poor farm people, our family was anti-Long from the beginning and never changed.
As relief from considering the horrible mess Obama has made in domestic and foreign affairs, I will write more about Huey Long in coming days. Whatever opinion one has of him, we have to understand Long was one if the most influential men of the 20th century in Louisiana, and to some extent nationally.
One would have to have lived during the 1930's to understand how deeply the division was. I remember going to class the Monday after Sam Jones was elected and seeing a teacher (Mrs. Baskerville) dancing with a student in celebration. Despite all the corruption of the Long faction (some going to jail) Jones was the first anti-Long elected since Huey Long served as governor and then senator.
Dad came home from town once, upset at what a woman had said about her support of Huey Long. She declared that if Long beat her up and stripped her naked she would crawl to the polls and vote for him. Despite being poor farm people, our family was anti-Long from the beginning and never changed.
As relief from considering the horrible mess Obama has made in domestic and foreign affairs, I will write more about Huey Long in coming days. Whatever opinion one has of him, we have to understand Long was one if the most influential men of the 20th century in Louisiana, and to some extent nationally.
Hey Deddy! Sorry it has taken me so long to post the CUMC Fall Devotional on here. This weeks been pretty packed with midterms and trying to get packed for my visit to Baton Rouge! I've pasted it below, along with the accompanying scripture:
ReplyDelete1Kings 19:11b-13
God instructs Elijah to go onto a mountain and wait for the Lord to pass by:
“Now there was a great wind, so strong that it was splitting mountains and breaking rocks in pieces before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of sheer silence. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. Then there came a voice to him that said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
August is beginning, and with it comes the start of a new school year. Even for those not attending school, there’s just something about the close of summer that puts a rush on things. Fall is a busy season – in the life of the church, as well as at home. Programs are starting, people are returning from vacations, everything seems to speed up. And though this “getting back into the swing of things” is good and feels familiar, it can also bring stress, anxiety, and this insistent need to rush and hurry. I’m just starting to settle in after moving to North Carolina, and there seems to be an incalculable number of things to do. It becomes easy to lose track of God in the midst of our busy, busy lives.
This is why I find the scripture about Elijah so interesting: he’s looking for God’s presence, seeking Him out, yet He isn’t found in those places we would expect. A strong wind comes, then an earthquake, and finally a fire, things that are full of power, that call our attention to them – our awe, our fear, yet God is not in any of those things. Instead, Elijah finds God’s presence in the silence.
How often do we try to find God’s presence in the big things, the chaotic things, the stressful things - the things that often pull us away from God because we are too busy to remember to make Him a part of them? Instead, during this fall season, we should look for God in the silence; we should make time for him apart from the busyness of our day-to-day lives. We need to listen to God’s voice, calling to us, asking us to remember the reason we are here.
Jessica, thank you for posting the devotional you had provided Christ United Methodist Church. I found it helpful. I get so caught up in my physical woes that I let unimportant things bother me when I should be thankful for the many good that my life lets me enjoy. I appreciate you very much and look forward to seeing you this weekend. Love to you.
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