Month: May 2025

60,000 Attend France’s March for Jesus – OpentheWord.org

60,000 Attend France’s March for Jesus – OpentheWord.org

Published by Sam Flores

March for Jesus in France held on May 24, 2025Credit: Marche Pour Jesus, MPJ Despite what is happening around the world, many believe the Holy Spirit is moving. The evidence for this is showing up in unexpected places, such as France. With a population of nearly 69 million, like many European nations, France is very secularized. Some have even described the country as going through a period of ‘de-Christianization’. But there are indications this is changing as we are seeing people expressing a renewed interest in the Christian faith. This was shown in the surprising turnout a this year’s March for Jesus It’s estimated that nearly 60,000 people participated in the march across France and its territories held on Saturday, May 24, 2025, Evangelical Focus reports. While Christians in 13 communities participated in this annual event, the largest turn out was in Paris where between 40,000 and 50,000 attended the march. This was nearly double the turn out of last year, when approximately 25,000 attended the Paris march. It was quadruple the 10,000 who attended …

Where to try Sinaloan-style aguachile in Los Angeles

Where to try Sinaloan-style aguachile in Los Angeles

Published by Sam Flores

A good plate of Sinaloa-style aguachile starts with liquid hot peppers, lots of lime, and freshly butterflied, raw shrimp. The flavor and heat build like a strong corrido: dramatic and full of contrast, tension and release. The chiles, the lime, the crunch of cucumber, the bite of red onion — it’s all deliberate. Bold, loud and alive. Just like Sinaloa. In “Mexico: The Cookbook,” author Margarita Carrillo Arronte asserts that aguachile began in the sun-baked ranchlands of inland Sinaloa, not the coast. She says the original version was made with carne seca (sun-dried beef), rehydrated in water and jolted awake with chiltepín peppers. Picture ranchers grinding the chiles by hand, mixing them with lime and water, and pouring it over dehydrated meat to revive it like a delicious Frankenstein’s monster. Chef Francisco Leal of Mariscos Chiltepín in Vernon and Del Mar Ostioneria in Mid-City, shares a slightly different origin story. “According to legend, aguachile was invented in the hills of Los Mochis [Sinaloa],” he said. “The poor would mix tomatoes, onions and hot water with …

Palm Springs-area pools with waterslides, lazy rivers and day passes

Palm Springs-area pools with waterslides, lazy rivers and day passes

Published by Sam Flores

Formerly a Hyatt Regency, this expansive resort underwent a $64-million property-wide renovation in 2024 and rebranded to fall under the luxury Grand Hyatt umbrella. The rooms, villas and restaurants all saw a major facelift, as did the poolscape with new decorative archways, landscaping and seating. The showpiece is the HyTides water park, which is a holdover from the Regency days with a 450-foot lazy river and 30-foot dueling waterslides that overlook a whopping eight pools, including an adults-only sanctuary. One of my favorite new areas is a newly refreshed hideout for kiddos with a splash pad, a mini waterslide and a 1-foot-high wading pool. Forgot swim diapers or a flotation vest? The amenity stand at the pool provides them for free. At many times, the pool area takes on a summer camp vibe with free group activities ranging from chalk art to bracelet making, fishing, tie-dye and bingo. On many Friday and Saturday evenings, outdoor movies are screened under the stars with s’mores kits available to purchase. Pool chairs are plentiful, even in peak season, …

11 ways for the LGBTQ community and allies to celebrate Pride Month

11 ways for the LGBTQ community and allies to celebrate Pride Month

Published by Sam Flores

Pride Month, which officially starts Sunday, is already in full swing and continuing through June with a host of activities and events. (After Long Beach Pride in mid-May, West Hollywood, Los Angeles, Santa Monica and other L.A.-area communities are following up with their own Pride celebrations.) Although there is no shortage of opportunities for enjoying this worldwide celebration of the LGBTQ+ community, this year seems like a particularly pivotal time to partake in activities that uplift queer arts programs. In 2025 and beyond, arts and culture funding is facing increasing threats of cancellation and cuts by the Trump administration. Los Angeles is home to numerous forms of art, but nothing is guaranteed to last forever. And in a world increasingly dominated by AI and virtual technologies, engaging with our imaginations can play a more important role than we might realize. “I think more than ever people need to embrace the arts because we don’t know how much time we have left or how bad things can get,” said Lucé Tomlin-Brenner, a queer comedian and filmmaker …

Oldest restaurants in Los Angeles still open for dine-in

Oldest restaurants in Los Angeles still open for dine-in

Published by Sam Flores

Is a restaurant worth a visit simply because it’s been around longer than that bottle of yellow mustard in your refrigerator? Longer than your oldest living relative? Maybe. Proper respect should be paid to an institution. Los Angeles is home to restaurants celebrating a century in business. About 36,500 days in operation. The feat alone is something to marvel at. What is Hollywood without the martini culture built around Musso & Frank Grill? The Long Beach bar scene without the Schooners of cold beer and pickled eggs at Joe Jost’s? A South Pasadena stretch of Route 66 without milkshakes and phospate sodas at Fair Oaks Pharmacy? Over decades in business, these restaurants have become landmarks synonymous with the cities themselves. Some of L.A.’s most popular attractions are our food halls, with Grand Central Market in downtown and the Original Farmers Market in Fairfax drawing millions of visitors each year. Grand Central Market opened in 1917 with nearly 100 food merchants. Its oldest running restaurant is Roast To Go, a walk-up counter that’s been around since …

5 Reasons Why it’s God’s Will to Heal – OpentheWord.org

5 Reasons Why it’s God’s Will to Heal – OpentheWord.org

Published by Sam Flores

Jesus healing the blind manby Carl Bloch, 1871, Wikipedia, Public Domain “And now in these final days, he has spoken to us through his Son…”Hebrews 1:2 NLT By Andrew Hopkins God is a Healer! It’s His very nature (Ex. 15:26). If you are in need of healing or want to step into healing ministry, you’ve got to know that healing is what God wants to do! Regardless of bad experiences, seemingly unanswered prayers or just wrong theology, Jesus is still the same yesterday, today and forever. I want to stir your faith through scripture and testimonies to believe God for the miraculous! I had just got done leading a healing training class and our group went to lunch at Round Table Pizza. As I walked by a family, this man’s back and hips were highlighted to me so I stopped, greeted them, asked if he had pain there and if I could pray. The guy proceeds to tell me that he had a little cyst or growth on his back, takes my hand and puts …

Best beaches in Orange County for surfing, swimming and sunbathing

Best beaches in Orange County for surfing, swimming and sunbathing

Published by Sam Flores

Cleo Street Beach in Laguna Beach is a quiet coastal retreat just south of the bustling Main Beach. A favorite among divers, it’s home to the Cleo Street Barge (Foss 125), which sank in 1958 and now rests 50 feet underwater. Covered in sea life and corals, the barge is easily reached with a short swim from shore and lies within the Laguna Beach State Marine Reserve, an observation-only zone. Divers often spot Garibaldi, striped bass and leopard sharks exploring its preserved interior. Though small, Cleo Street offers a peaceful escape, especially during low tide when more sandy space is available. From here, you can stroll north to Main Beach’s lively shops and restaurants or south to discover more secluded coves. Whether diving or relaxing, Cleo Street is a unique slice of beach life that blends tranquility with underwater adventure. Construction, including replacing the stairs and building a landing spot at street level that’s ADA-accessible, is slated to begin after Labor Day and continue through May 2026. During construction, beachgoers can visit Cleo Street Beach …

What’s the best place to buy patio furniture in L.A.? We have thoughts

What’s the best place to buy patio furniture in L.A.? We have thoughts

Published by Sam Flores

Searching for patio furniture that is attractive, affordable and long-lasting is like seeking the holy grail: We want to believe it exists, but we’re not entirely sure. “Outdoor furniture is tough,” said Tatiana Tensen, co-founder of the Eastside Staging Company that has been staging homes in L.A. for a decade. “While we look at the majority of our inventory as an asset, we understand that most patio furniture has a shelf life of one, maybe two years. After that, most of it ends up being gifted to our local Buy Nothing group.” Still, Tensen, who shops for furniture as part of her job, was able to offer a few tips on what to look for when investing in outdoor pieces. About This Guide Our journalists independently visited every spot recommended in this guide. We do not accept free meals or experiences. What should we check out next? Send ideas to guides@latimes.com. “Certain brands like Salterini, Brown Jordan and Eames made outdoor furniture that lasted decades,” she said. “Materials also matter in terms of longevity. Powder-coated …

15 years later, “Scary Island” still sets the standard for “Housewives” chaos

15 years later, “Scary Island” still sets the standard for “Housewives” chaos

Published by Sam Flores

If you Googled the words “‘Housewives’ trip” 15 years ago, the search results were probably more likely to return a sketchy link to some fetish site depicting clumsy homemakers, rather than a wealth of Reddit threads where users fight about reality television. (Now all that obscure fetish content has moved to TikTok, anyway.) These days, “‘Housewives’ trip” is synonymous with the most outlandish, uncouth, highly compelling television that the reality genre has to offer. In a “Real Housewives” franchise, cast trips are something that loyal viewers anticipate all season long. Bravo producers ship a handful of women off to some exotic locale — and, sometimes, Montana is a Housewife’s definition of exotic — where cameras film them morning, noon and night. When all of the Housewives are in one place, no one can get away with anything. Tensions run high, and if all goes according to plan for Bravo, ratings run even higher. Across three explosive, landmark episodes, the St. John excursion turned into a franchise-altering nightmare for the women insulated on their little archipelago, …