straightforward, no nonsense, local and national issues

Turning Water into Wine

I sometimes talk about a Sunday Sermon I have heard as part of my “Pastor Profile” series.  Dr. Charlie Boyd….one of the teaching Pastors at Fellowship Greenville…. has a way of “simplying” things so that I can understand them.  The Bible is sometimes hard for me to understand and the thing that Fellowship Greenville does, that I appreciate,  is explore whole books of the Bible.

Right now…they are in the middle of a series called…”Believe…The Gospel of John.”

On Sunday Pastor Boyd  covered the story we have all heard….Jesus turning water into wine.  Have you ever thought about Mary, the mother of Jesus, being a wedding coordinator?  I had not, yet in this story Mary appears to call on her son to save this wedding celebration from a potential disaster when they ran out of wine.

Mary says, “They’ve run out of wine, do something.”

Jesus replies: “Woman, what does this have to do with me. My hour has not yet come.”

We know how the story goes from here….Jesus saves the day by turning the water into wine.  Of course, this is one of a number of “miracles” Jesus performs to show his followers who he is.  The point Charlie made in his sermon…..and the take away for me…..Jesus (and Christians) can have a sense of humor. Jesus does not consider any request “too small” or trivial.  What do you need that you have been too afraid to ask for?  Take a minute to listen to the segment from my show and I’ll give you a keyword to text so you can watch the entire sermon.[podcast src=”https://html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/11363243/height/90/theme/custom/thumbnail/yes/direction/forward/render-playlist/no/custom-color/5474d5/” height=”90″ width=”100%” placement=”bottom” theme=”custom”]

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Is Your Family Prepared for an Emergency?

On Thursday, September 12th, I had the opportunity to broadcast my morning radio show from atop Paris Mountain where 94-5 WGTK’s tower is located.  Our radio station is a partner with FEMA as one of their PEP stations.  What is a PEP station?…… PEP stations are privately owned commercial and non-commercial radio broadcast stations that cooperatively participate with FEMA to provide emergency alert and warning information to the public before, during and after a national or local emergency.

PEP stations are located throughout the country  and have a direct connection to FEMA and  serve as the primary broadcast source for Presidential National Public Warning System (NPWS) messages.

PEP stations network to other broadcast stations in order to disseminate messages throughout the country and state and local public safety officials can leverage EAS and FEMA PEP stations when they are not in use for National EAS warning messages.

What does all this mean?…in a nutshell…if we were to have a natural disaster, like a hurricane as witnessed  last week with Dorian….or some type of national emergency or terror attack and not be able to continue to broadcast from our normal radio station studios I could make my way up to the top of Paris Mountain….activate the FEMA provided equipment  on the mountain…and stay on the air for 30-45 days.

We have broadcast equipment….we have generators….a large supply of diesel fuel for the generators….and food…..(not very appetizing looking in a box!!!)  We had a number of guests throughout the morning who talked about how to respond in an emergency.  Take some time to listen to the various state and local officials and be sure you are prepared to respond.  Also, be sure to download the South Carolina Emergency Response CHECKLIST to be sure you have what your family would need in the event of an emergency.

See the great coverage from our friends at WYFF News 4. 

 

Hour 1 – Pelham Batesville Fire Chief Phill Jolley, A.T. Smith, Retired Deputy Director of US Secret Service

Hour 2 – Antwane Johnson – Director of Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS), Manny Centeno – FEMA NPWS Sustainment Program Manager, Lt. Governor Pamela Evette and State Senator Dwight Loftis

Hour 3 –  State Senator Dwight Loftis, Jay Marett with  Greenville County Emergency Management , George McKinney with Greenwood County Emergency Management, A.T. Smith, Retired Deputy Director of US Secret Service and Greenville County Sheriff Johnny Mack Brown

 

 

Is a GOP Presidential Primary necessary in 2020?

With the 2020 Presidential election just around the corner there has been a lot of discussion about President Donald Trump being nominated for a second term at the Republican National Convention in Charlotte, NC next year.  Former SC Governor Mark Sanford is considering a challenge with former Massachusetts Governor Bill Weld and former Congressman Joe Walsh already announced. Walsh served only one term in Congress and what kind of “republican” can be elected Governor of Massachusetts? Neither of these two gentlemen are hardly qualified to be President. Mark Sanford, maybe in another life?  The real question is why change horses in the middle of the race? Donald Trump prevailed in the most crowded GOP Presidential Primary in history. What can we learn in another primary that we don’t already know about Donald Trump?  I have talked with a number of GOP party activists who do not see the need in going through the process in 2020 for many reasons. I agree.  Let’s save our resources, get behind Donald Trump and get him re-elected in 2020.  I spoke with Greenville County GOP Chairman, Nate Leupp, recently and he seems to agree.[podcast src=”https://html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/11123534/height/90/theme/custom/thumbnail/yes/direction/forward/render-playlist/no/custom-color/5474d5/” height=”90″ width=”100%” placement=”bottom” theme=”custom”]

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Mark Sanford at Faith and Freedom BBQ

Former Governor and Rep. Mark Sanford was in Anderson at Congressman Jeff Duncan’s Faith and Freedom BBQ gauging the interest in his bid to challenge President Donald Trump in the 2020 Presidential election.  Sanford stopped by for a quick visit to explain why he is considering a bid for the White House.[podcast src=”https://html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/11036942/height/90/theme/custom/thumbnail/yes/direction/forward/render-playlist/no/custom-color/5474d5/” height=”90″ width=”100%” placement=”bottom” theme=”custom”]

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Pamela Evette on Faith and Freedom BBQ

Lt. Governor Pamela Evette spent Monday with Vice President Mike Pence as part of his visit for Congressman Jeff Duncan’s Faith and Freedom BBQ. A record number (3000+) attended the 9th Annual gathering of conservatives at the Anderson Sports and Entertainment Center. The Lt. Governor spent a few minutes with me on Tuesday’s show to talk about her experience traveling in the VP’s motorcade and being a part of a fast-paced and exciting day.

 [podcast src=”https://html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/11036705/height/90/theme/custom/thumbnail/yes/direction/forward/render-playlist/no/custom-color/5474d5/” height=”90″ width=”100%” placement=”bottom” theme=”custom”]

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Obama-Biden Hypocrisy

With all the hoopla over Reps. Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib being denied entry to Israel there has been a lot of discussion about our relationship with Israel.  The largest-ever Congressional delegation  just returned from Israel where a total of 41 Democrats and 31 Republicans  got a firsthand view of the complex security challenges Israel faces and to express their unconditional, bipartisan support for the Jewish state. Where were Omar and Tlaib? Back home getting headlines.  Matt Margolis, with PJ Media, wrote an interesting article that got my attention. Take a minute to read “FLASHBACK: The Obama-Biden Administration Banned All Flights to Israel While Funding Hamas”  

Matt joined on The Morning Answer to talk about the hypocrisy of Joe Biden and others when it comes to Israel.[podcast src=”https://html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/10933454/height/90/theme/custom/thumbnail/yes/direction/forward/render-playlist/no/custom-color/5474d5/” height=”90″ width=”100%” placement=”bottom” theme=”custom”]

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