Introduction

I write under the pen name, Lou Hough.  Originally, I began writing under this perversion of my name because I wanted anonymity.  Go figure an individual who wants to be an highly read author, but doesn't want anyone to know who she is. 

Everybody needs credentials for everything these days.  Here are mine.  I have been a born-again Christian since I was nine years old.  I grew up as a Southern Baptist in a small Southern Illinois city.  Southern Baptists, at least at that time, held Sunday School and Morning Worship as well as Training Union and Evening Worship on Sundays.  Wednesday nights were for choir practice and Prayer Meeting.  Each age group had a monthly meeting like Girl's Auxiliary or Young Women's Auxiliary.  I've attended them all on a regular basis.

I hold a Bachelor of Science degree in Communications from Southern Illinois University.  My expertise is limited to Journalism.  I've little experience in radio and none in television.  I studied for this degree when Carbondale was the only SIU campus.  While in school there, I was secretary to the President of the Southern Illinois College of Bible, a Baptist college housed on the SIU campus.  The Bible College offered credit courses through SIU, taken mostly by ordained Southern Baptist ministers and aspiring missionaries. 

To my memory, there were six core courses offered to these students.  Four were taught by Dr. George L. Johnson, my employer.  They included, "The Life of Christ, "The Poetic Books", "The Prophets" and "The Apostolic Age."  These I was required to take so that I could grade his term papers.  One was a course in conducting church business.  The sixth was a music course emphasizing conducting the choir.  The latter two I did not take, but I did have some business courses through the university.  I also had taken twelve years of piano lessons, sung in the church choir and taken chorus one year during high school.

Southern Baptists traditionally have not ordained women as ministers (my denomination, one of the last bastions of chauvinism in the country).  I also went on several youth revival teams sponsored by the Bible College and The Baptist Student Union. 

Since this education, I have earned a Master of Arts in Educational Research and Psychology at the University of Missouri at Kansas City (UMKC) and have achieved All But Dissertation in School Psychology at the University of Kansas (KU). 

In 2004 my first book of devotionals, entitled Food for the Soul:  A Book of Devotional Essays was published.  This blog will begin with excerpts of this publication. 

Some people, though interested, don't know how to become a Christian.  The first article will explain the conversion process --  "How Can the Death of Jesus Lead to Your Salvation?"  The second article is "Faith, the Really Hard Part".



Food for the Soul:
A Book of Devotional Essays
by Lou Hough


Copyright 2004
Lou Hough

Library of Congress Control Number:
2004098617

ISBN 0-9755240-1-1

First Printing, November 2004

For inquiries about this and other publications, write to jamiecarrpub@hotmail.com