Here is a great follow-up column on the Atlanta courthouse killing spree that shares exactly what happened in the killer's last few hours as a free man. Ashley Smith is an incredible woman. She's 26 years old with a five year old daughter. Her husband died four years ago, which means she was left widowed at 22 with a 1 year old daughter. I hope she writes a book because I'd love to read more about her story.
I can't believe it but I just got over being sick AGAIN! I'm so sick and tired of being sick! My family has been sick more times this year than we ever have. I just logged on for the first time in a few days and I have 93 new emails. Aaack! Who cares about work or family, I can't afford to get sick just to keep from getting behind on my emails!
Sometimes I get so sick of the news because it's always so much about death and despair. But here is a great little story about a girl with an unusual commute to school. They need more news like this!
If you live in Arkansas, California, Colorado, Oklahoma, Texas or Washington, check out the website for Just Between Friends. It's a consignment sale for children, teen and maternity clothes that happens twice per year (Spring and Fall) in different towns in the listed states.
A very interesting study by the Barna Group shows that there is very little to no difference in the way born again Christians parent their children as compared to non-Christian parents.
One of the most startling observations, according to Barna, was how few
born again parents indicated that one of the most important outcomes parents
needed to help their children grasp was salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. “Only three out of ten born again parents included the salvation of their child in the list of critical parental emphases,” he noted. “Parents cannot force or ensure that their kids become followers of Christ. But for that emphasis to not be on the radar screen of most Christian parents is a significant reason why most Americans never embrace Jesus Christ as their savior. We know that parents still have a huge influence on the choices their children make, and we also know that most people either accept Christ
when they are young or not at all. The fact that most Christian parents overlook this critical responsibility is one of the biggest challenges to the Christian Church.”
If you haven't caught it yet, there's a great piece on Ninetyandnine.com on Biblical Beauty Advice. I like it because it reminded me of a word I heard years ago at a Bill Gothard seminar in high school. Since I attended a Christian school, we got extra credit for attending this seminar and it was really life changing for me. The principles he taught were very conservative and rooted in the wisdom of the Word. One of the principles he taught that really stuck with me was if you want to be beautiful, just smile.
The other great story I heard Sunday was from a friend of mine, Faith Cook. Faith had some sort of skin irritation on her finger and tried treating it herself for several weeks with different over-the-counter stuff, all to no avail. Finally she went to the dermatologist to get it checked out. He took a look at it and said, "Looks like excema, here's a prescription for a steroid cream. Use it for a week, then come back and let me take a look at it."
Today at church I heard two awesome stories of God's favor being on His children's lives. The first story was the head of our pantry ministry that gives food and clothes to the needy had a need in her own life. She's an elderly woman who's bathroom floor was basically rotting away. She prayed and told God that she didn't know how she was going to get it fixed since she has no one to help her with such things and not enough money to pay someone else to do it.
