Victory on the other side of abortion....my story

An abortion seemed to be the answer for Cherrie Moore, but the despair of shame and regret
nearly devastated her until she found forgiveness and peace in God’s love.

     I didn’t feel shame on the day of my abortion. Fear had a grip on me as I sat there in the waiting room on that hot August day. A dozen or more strangers waited with me. Each of us was there for a common purpose, but still, we were so separate. To look at our faces, no one would have known the enormity of what we were about to do.

Five myths on why young people leave the church

 By Brittney Smith

A revealing look at five myths and realities about young people that walk away from the church was released in a study by a research company that provides resources for churches and non-profits.

The Barna Group recently concluded a five-year study comprising of eight national studies, which was done on teenagers and young adults between the ages of 18 to 29.

Seems like Americans just want it to be Halloween all year. The holiday just keeps getting more popular. Seven in 10 expect to celebrate it in some way this Oct. 31, up from about six in 10 last year, according to a National Retail Federation report.

This is the most in the nine years the NRF has been tracking. In 2011, Americans are also planning to spend more than other years, an average of $72 each. Total outlays by consumers are expected to reach $6.86 billion this fall.

Why the surge in popularity for an ancient harvest ritual? Some of the factors that account for it are as harmless and loveable as a new 12-pound pumpkin from the farm. Others have the capacity to spook.

CALLING FOR ORGANIZATIONS SERVING OUR COMMUNITIES!

Metro Voice will publish our 11th Annual Ministry Needs Guide in November. Metro Voice is an award-winning Christian newspaper serving metropolitan Kansas City. It's primary purpose is to assist ministries and organizations with promoting their efforts in the community.
This year, many groups and churches are stretched financially yet are finding increased calls for help. Do you know of a ministry, church or organization that serves the community and needs a little assistance themselves during November and December? Let us know and we'll promote their needs at no charge. So, if they're looking for volunteers, or need help with a food, coat or diaper drive, or just some financial help, we can make those needs known to our 70,000 readers--and it is totally free! Yes, it's our Christmas present to the many fine organizations that serve our community.
Just send us a short needs list similar to the following example:

Name of ministry or organization
Contact person
Contact info including address, phone, web and email.
Brief (50 word) description ministry and of their "Wish List" for the Christmas season. It could be financial, volunteer or specific items like diapers, coats, shoes or food.

I've included an example below from last year:

Teachers risk losing jobs for praying in front of students--even at non-school events

By Todd Starnes

A Tennessee school district is under fire after a group of middle school football coaches were reprimanded for bowing their heads during a post-game prayer and teachers were warned to hide from students if they chose to pray during a nationally organized prayer event.

By Emma Koonse

(Christian Post) - In a recent interview, 17-year-old "American Idol" winner Scotty McCreery discussed signing with a major record label, the release date of his debut album, and what he calls his God-given talent. 

The born-again Christian country crooner told entertainment website PopCrush that he credits God for his most prized trait - his sense of rhythm.

Amman, Jordan --The Muslim call to prayer can wake you up at 4:16 in the morning, even on the eighth floor of your hotel. The heavy glass windows and twelve-foot tall curtains -- so thick and embroidered they could double as comforters, are no match for the speakers adorning Amman's thousand mosques.

So begins the day for millions of Jordanians and us "light" sleepers from the west.

What can calamity, like that in Joplin, teach us?

It is natural to try and make sense of out terrible events such as a tornado. Some people will see it as a sign of the end times. That’s always speculative. It would be presumptuous to offer definitive lessons, but there are eternal truths that calamities like this should bring to mind.

It's pretty much a given that the more educated someone becomes, the more likely they are to question their religious beliefs, stop going to church and even abandon their faith entirely.

Or is it?

A new University of Nebraska-Lincoln study challenges that age-old notion with findings that show education actually has a positive effect on Americans' churchgoing habits, their devotional practices, their emphasis on religion in daily life and their support for religious leaders to weigh in on the issues of the day.

What can we learn from them?

Cal Thomas

BELFAST, Northern Ireland -- Some of those caught looting stores last week in Britain were asked why they did it. Four teenagers explained to Sky News that they viewed it as "a shopping spree." One teen blamed the government: "They say (they) are going to help us but I don't see any of it. There has to be more opportunities and jobs. Help us at least and then maybe everyone will settle down."

This is the triumph of the entitlement mentality and the welfare state.

Rep. Jeff Grisamore toiled to find bi-partisan support

Later this month, a historic bill will take effect. A bill that took five years of negotiating, thousands of miles of travel across the state to find support and a little arm wrangling of both Democrats and Republicans along the way. It finally passed without any opposition because one individual saw himself as a voice for the voiceless.

“A passion and calling,” is how Jeff Grisamore describes his vision and mission to serve Missouri's most vulnerable citizens.
“As Jesus said in Matthew 24, when you serve the least of these, you serve Him,” Grisamore says.

Dwight Widaman
    You may have missed the speech back in February. It’s not an address that gets much attention. In fact, I didn’t know about it until a local ministry to the incarcerated ––The Shepherd’s Way ––included excerpts from it in their May newsletter.
     It was the annual address by Missouri Supreme Court Chief Justice William Ray Price Jr. to the Missouri legislature, and it caught my eye because of the May U.S. Supreme Court ruling forcing the State of California to release 45,000 inmates from that state’s over crowded prison facilities.

BY JOHN-HENRY WESTEN

Martin Sheen

Lifesitenews.com 

 

DUBLIN  – Well-known for his role as President Bartlet in the television drama “The West Wing,” actor Martin Sheen, born Ramon Estevez, has given an interview in which he reveals the startlingly personal reasons for his ‘strong’ anti-abortion stance. In the interview he also discusses his Catholic faith, which he says includes praying the Rosary, belief in trans-substantiation, and the communion of saints.

Sheen, a complex character whose Catholic devotional life and pro-life views have not stopped him from backing the presidency of Barack Obama, was interviewed by Gay Byrne; the interview was released on Irish broadcaster RTE’s website April 3.

Seventy five percent of religious persecution in the world is against Christians, claims a new report by a U.K. Catholic organization.

Examining 33 countries, the British branch of Aid to the Church in Need reported that most of the persecution was occurring in the Middle East, Africa and Asia in its 2011 "Persecuted and Forgotten? A Report on Christians oppressed for their faith."

Franklin Graham told students at John Brown University on Tuesday to remain committed in their faith in Jesus Christ and preach the Gospel in spite of the persecution they may face.

The recently released book by Drew Dyck, editorial manager of the ministry team at Christianity Today International, breaks down “leavers” into six categories: postmodern leavers, recoilers, modern leavers, neo-pagans, rebels, and drifters.