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When growing up in a Christian home, we enjoyed delicious meals prepared by a caring cook—Mom! We also started every meal with prayer offered by a caring overseer—Dad! There were two of us children—my sister two years younger and myself. Then when I was 17, my mother at age 43 gave birth to twins! They enjoyed the same family table that my sister and I sat down to before they were born.

Is President Barack Obama the Product of Guilt Parenting? Is Guilt Parenting Child Abuse? Just what IS “Guilt Parenting?” It is the somewhat modern phenomenon of parenting to assuage a mother or father’s feelings of guilt for bringing a child up in a “broken home.” The parent does not practice standard, good old fashioned parenting. That is, parenting by love, using discipline, boundaries and structure. The parent instead turns to pacifying the child and having little to no expectations of the child. In turn the child is rewarded for merely existing. Often times, one of the parents in a “broken...

Isabella and Lisa Miller Alexandria, Va., Jan 5, 2010 / 06:13 am (CNA).- In a case showing some ramifications of the legal recognition of same-sex unions, a Virginia woman has disobeyed a Vermont court order to turn over sole custody of her biological daughter to her former lesbian partner.Lisa Miller conceived and gave birth to her daughter Isabella through artificial insemination in 2002 while living in a same-sex civil union with Janet Jenkins in Vermont. Miller left Jenkins and homosexual practice a year later and converted to an evangelical form of Christianity, the New York Times reports.Jenkins brought a...

I visited a friend’s home for an evening. I wanted to check my email. I asked the 12-year-old daughter if I could check my email via her bedroom computer. She hesitated. I wondered immediately at her hesitation.

A nurse herself for many years, the 47-year-old Milliken has spent the last 38 days in medical care. Her boyfriend and family said she may have been struck down by what's called Guillain-Barre Syndrome -- which starts with pain and ends with paralysis. Milliken's family said they believe the H1N1 flu shot she received in the first week of November may be to blame for her suffering. "Right now, she's in a lot of pain, mostly in her extremities. A lot of nerve sensations such as burning in her legs is what she's feeling," said Milliken's daughter Michelle Mellett. The...

Hope you all had a great Christmas! My family was very good to me this year: 1. Beatles' Rock Band (a gift to be shared with my oldest son). 2. Sons of Anarchy - Season One 3. A 12" wooden baseball bat, inscribed "Dad - The Greatest Hit of All", a definite "Get out of jail free" card for my youngest son, at least until he becomes a teenager in five years. 4. The soundtrack CD to the 1999 British movie "Still Crazy". If you like 70s rock, this is a movie worth seeing. 5. Several heart-felt gifts from the...

Have you ever lost a child in a crowd? Have you ever thought that your spouse was doing something while your spouse thought you were doing the same thing? There is a case for some communications training.,,read more...

Just announced on the broadcast of UNC vs. Pitt. No reason given. Meyer will be available at the arrival press conf. at their bowl game.

Reading through my diary this Christmas, I came across this detail below. I reflected on that pain. Today, the pain is gone due to my son living for the Christ Child, evangelizing in His holy name, and overseeing his Christian home under God. It is amazing how such suffering can continue for years; but then free will explodes in heaven’s favor so as to filter out the anguish.

12/21/2009 - CANNON AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. (AFNS) -- Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus, but at the 27th Special Operations Wing here he is not the jolly fat man dressed in red. All one shopper at the base exchange knows is that someone who retired from the military made her family holidays a lot brighter. Charlotte Riojas said she was patiently waiting at the BX checkout line with a cartful of presents for her children. Their move from Hurlburt Field in Florida had, like virtually everybody else who makes a permanent change of station, been stressful. She, her...

Something I wrote, based on personal experience.

A Project of Three Sides to Every Story, Inc. Imagine for a moment Lighting Candles World Wide and all at the same time. Imagine your child knowing we are Lighting Candles World Wide just for them.We have given this a lot of thought and we have come to the conclusion that everyone can light a candle at their home or in their home town at a designated place.You can be apart of Lighting Candles World Wide to show a united front for the children and their need to have both parents and grandparents in their lives.We have chosen December 18...

Chai Feldblum Washington D.C., Dec 11, 2009 / 12:48 pm (CNA).- Despite the complaints of her critics that she supports same-sex "marriage" as well as previously endorsing polygamous relationships, the Senate HELP Committee on Thursday approved the nomination of Chai Feldblum to be one of five commissioners on the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and sent her nomination to the Senate for a full confirmation.“At this time of challenge, Americans need committed, capable public servants working full time on their behalf,” said Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), Chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) on Thursday. “These nominees will serve...

This is a repost because first did not provide link. "Nassur: 'Did he beat you only once?'”

GLSEN, which claims that it wants to protect kids, has chosen to use a fundraising tool that perverts the innocence of Christmas and sexualizes the longtime, child-revered icon of Santa Claus. Yet more evidence revealing the dark side of GLSEN – the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network – has surfaced. (GLSEN was founded by President Obama’s “safe schools czar,” Kevin Jennings.) At issue this time is a GLSEN fundraiser featuring a theatrical play called Santa Claus is Coming Out! GLSEN’s fundraiser invitation says the play depicts “Santa in his heartfelt struggle to reconcile his romantic relationship with Italian toy...

CBS) The words, "Yes, dear," have a whole new meaning in one Ohio household. This family has a deer living inside their house. Dillie the deer has lived with the Buteras in Canal Fulton, Ohio, for the past five years. Abandoned by her mother at birth, because the mother incorrectly thought she was blind, Dillie has since become part of another family -- a family of humans.

Wednesday December 9, 2009 Commentary: Another Major Problem with the Senate Health Care Bill: Sex Ed Commentary by Colin MasonDecember 9, 2009 (www.pop.org/) - It's funny, the things that never make the news.Take the recent amendment to the Senate health care plan by Senate Finance Committee chairman Max Baucus (D-MT). This language allocates hundreds of millions of dollars of your money toward "Personal Responsibility Education for Adulthood Training."What can this possibly mean? According to the amendment's mostly vague language, $400 million from the years 2010 to 2015 will be spent on "evidence-based effective programs" that will supposedly teach kids...

However, in my prayers I would lift to God the blue blanket. Then I would offer the Lord a simple petition: “Please, Jesus, bring back to us our son. Bring him back to us for we love him.”

A video advertisement on CBS's Web site that "mashes" material from the iconic "Frosty the Snowman" Christmastime cartoon with two of the network's comedy series is offensive and should be pulled, media analysts told FoxNews.com. The video ad, "Frosty the Inappropriate Snowman," takes authentic dialogue from CBS' "How I Met Your Mother" and "Two and a Half Men" and dubs it on top of the cartoon classic, changing well-known "Frosty" scenes to contain suggestions that the snowman and his friends visit a "strip club." The mash-up also discusses Frosty's "porn collection" and contains repeated mentions of prior sexual conquests. The...

December 2, 2009School Choice and the Common Good of All Children by Kevin E. Schmiesing Ph.D. The United States justifiably celebrates its pluralism. The mandate to find unity in diversity—e pluribus unum—is predicated not on the premise that all peculiarities of creed or color must be washed away; instead, it insists that all such cultural and social differences must be respected. Part and parcel of this freedom is the right of parents to educate their children as they see fit. Like all rights, this one carries with it a duty: to prepare the child adequately for participation in society by...

“The rest of my family made something of themselves, but the bottle got to me over and over again.”

I’m taking my family on a trip this year: not across the country or even across town, but through the season of Advent. Advent, a season focused on both the joyful anticipation of Jesus’ birth and on his return, begins 4 Sundays prior to Christmas Day and ends on Christmas Eve. Celebrating Advent with my parents and church family is a cherished childhood memory. Each Sunday, we lit the candles on our Advent wreath, read scripture, and sang favorite carols. It kept me focused on the real meaning of Christmas, an antidote to the toy commercials and sugar-charged lures of...

Last night Sarah spoke to a packed house at the College of the Ozarks in Missouri. Although these things are off limits to reporters, and who can blame ‘em, the tweets were flying.

Wednesday December 2, 2009 New Major Study Catalogues How Porn Harms Marriages, Children, Communities and Individuals By John-Henry WestenWASHINGTON, December 2, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The Family Research Council (FRC) has released a comprehensive study on the devastating effects of pornography, identifying its harms to countless marriages, children, individuals and communities. "Pornography corrodes the conscience, promotes distrust between husbands and wives and debases untold thousands of young women," explains the study's author Dr. Pat Fagan, Senior Fellow at FRC and Director of the Center for Research on Marriage and Religion.  While it is often said that it is harmless entertainment,...

Meeting the demand for family planning in poor nations is a cheap and effective way to cut CO2 emissions, a new website initiative claims. The UK-based Optimum Population Trust says fast-rising population levels lead to growing emissions. The website is urging wealthy people to offset their own CO2 emissions by funding contraception programmes

The acclaimed new video game Dragon Age: Origins features a "secret" scene in which a man and an elf have gay sex, it has been disclosed. Players of the fantasy game can only access the steamy footage by seducing the warrior elf Zevran with the correct combination of cheesy chat-up lines. In a clip posted online, the gamer-controlled human character opens with the old favourite "I want to discuss something personal" - one of four dialogue options available He then makes his intentions explicit with "Can you join me in my tent?", before pressing home the point with the unequivocally...

Staff Sgt. Heriberto Gonzalez, a force protection escort for the 332nd Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron, holds the American flag his father and grandfather both carried during wartime. Photo courtesy of the 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing. JOINT BASE BALAD — Staff Sgt. Heriberto Gonzalez, 332nd Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron, possesses an American flag that was carried by both his father and grandfather during wartime. "Gonzo," as he is referred to by his flight line coworkers, is on his eighth deployment since joining the Air Force. An avionics craftsman by trade, he volunteered to deploy to Iraq to provide security for local...

What began as an experiment in 1992 has become 5,043 charter schools in 39 states and the District of Columbia, providing nearly 2 million American families with opportunity not available in the public school system. Jeanne Allen, president of The Center for Education Reform, said parent demand fueled the rise. "No other form of school choice has provided such a dramatic impact on the lives of so many students," she said, "and no other reform has had the teeth to push conventional public schools to be better like charters have."

A Vermont judge rules Lisa Miller must turn over her daughter to her former lesbian partner. Superior Judge William Cohen ruled last week that Lisa Miller, a former lesbian who is now a Christian, must hand her daughter, Isabelle, over to her former partner, Janet Jenkins by Jan. 1. Miller conceived Isabella through artificial insemination while she was in a civil union with Jenkins. About a year later, Miller left homosexuality. Jenkins sued for custody, even though she has no biological tie to the child. Miller admits she made mistakes, like signing a custody agreement while still in the relationship...

The philosophical basis of Hegelian/Marxist philosophy is antithetical not only to the family; it is irreconcilable with the rights of women everywhere. The philosophy is, at its core, misogynist. Hitching the feminist wagon to Marxism was, and is, the feminine mistake. In this article, I will dig deeply into the Marxist notions about women, the family, and the workplace. As I will show, Marxism, and the far left, are not female friendly. First a little history: Betty Friedan (1921-2006) is often cited as the pioneer of the modern women's rights movement. Friedan co-founded the National Organization for Women (NOW) in...

Elizabeth Smith says she cooked the ham the night before and asked her father-in-law to wake her up on Thanksgiving morning so she could cook the rest. But when she woke up at 7 a.m., she said, Donald "Junior" Smith was already stuffing the turkey. With celery. Elizabeth's husband, Tristan Smith, is allergic to celery. "It makes him sick," she said. She started crying. Junior yelled. Elizabeth's husband shouted at his dad for yelling at his wife. "You're not going to step in my wife's face," Tristan hollered, according to Elizabeth.

A German couple who tried to teach their children Christian values at home has been fined by a Kassel court for refusing to send them to school. The couple from the Hessian village of Archfeld bei Herleshausen has seven children between the ages of two and 17, who they told the court they had hoped to “give the Bible their unlimited trust” through lessons at home. Rosemarie (43) and Jürgen D. (48) were sentenced on Wednesday to pay a daily €1 fine for 60 days for defying the country's compulsory school attendance. The ruling was a lenient judgement compared to...

Wednesday November 25, 2009 Britain's Chief Rabbi Warns of Fall of Europe due to Demographic Collapse By John-Henry WestenLONDON, November 24, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Speaking at the Annual Theos Lecture in London on November 4, Britain's Chief Rabbi Johnathan Sacks, warned that Europe was bound to meet the same fate as ancient Greece due to its abysmal failure to inspire larger families. "Parenthood involves massive sacrifice: of money, attention, time and emotional energy," he said.  "Where today, in European culture with its consumerism and its instant gratification 'because you're worth it,' in that culture, where will you find space...

WASHINGTON, Nov. 25, 2009 – Amanda Bailey has a lot to thankful for this Thanksgiving, with her husband, Army Spc. Christopher Bailey home from Iraq for rest and relaxation leave. And as head of his National Guard unit’s family readiness group, she’s helped to galvanize a communitywide show of appreciation for families of its deployed troops. Army Spc. Christopher Bailey, his wife, Amanda, and children are looking forward to spending Thanksgiving together during Bailey’s rest and relaxation leave from his deployment in Iraq. Ardmore, Ala., November 2009. Courtesy photo  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Bailey, a military policeman with...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IDRSkBOuuc

You may recognize these names from recent headlines: Sen. John Ensign, Rep. Bart Stupak and Rep. Joe Pitts. Stupak and Pitts have become familiar names through the media's health care overhaul coverage; their abortion funding amendment introduced an 11th-hour twist as the House of Representatives approached a vote on a landmark health care bill. Ensign was the focus of media attention over his affair with a campaign staffer. Just last night, a Nevada man disclosed that he found out about his wife's affair with the state's junior senator — his best friend — via a text message.The common factor among...

Sign The Declaration! Christians, when they have lived up to the highest ideals of their faith, have defended the weak and vulnerable and worked tirelessly to protect and strengthen vital institutions of civil society, beginning with the family. We are Orthodox, Catholic, and evangelical Christians who have united at this hour to reaffirm fundamental truths about justice and the common good, and to call upon our fellow citizens, believers and non-believers alike, to join us in defending them. These truths are: --the sanctity of human life --the dignity of marriage as the conjugal union of husband and wife --the rights...

TETON COUNTY - An 11-year-old boy has shot and killed a black bear at point blank range in Teton County. The Teton Valley News reports that the boy was home alone with two younger sisters and was afraid the bear would make its way into the house just like the bear that Fish and Game trapped and euthanized two weeks ago. The boy tried to get the bear to leave initially. Fish and Game says that the family isn't in trouble, and that they would have likely put this bear down themselves.

By Paul Thigpen, Ph.D. Do Animals Go to Heaven? Responding to a common question from children Not long ago a TCA reader wrote us to ask a familiar question: What should we tell children when a pet dies and they ask whether animals have souls and go to heaven? She reported that she had upset some parents when she told their children (students in her class) that the answer to both questions was no.The answer to the first question -- do animals have souls? -- depends, of course, on how we define "soul." Ancient and medieval writers, both pagan and...

Following the courageous expose by two young investigative journalists released on the pages of this very blog, there were widespread calls for a U.S. Department of Justice investigation into the criminal enterprise that is ACORN. One would think there would be swift, decisive action from the administration that promised to be the most transparent in history. Despite the urging of some in congress and action on the regional level, and an internal investigation into funding, terrorist sympathizer U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder refuses to appoint a special prosecutor to oversee a criminal investigation of ACORN. There’s no evidence that any...

GATESVILLE, Texas, Nov. 12, 2009 – The citizens of the “Spur Capital of Texas” here opened their arms and hearts to Army Reserve soldiers affected by the Nov. 5 Fort Hood shooting by hosting them for dinner at a local restaurant Nov. 8. The community of Gatesville, Texas, hosted a dinner at the Prima Pasta restaurant for Army Reserve soldiers affected by the Nov. 5 shootings on Fort Hood, Nov. 8, 2009. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Tony Lindback  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. “It is absolutely wonderful to see all these folks together and to show our...

FORT HOOD, Texas, Nov. 12, 2009 – November 5 began and might have ended like any other day for Kanesha Howard, an Army spouse and mother of two. Instead, she found herself living a nightmare by midday, franticly wondering if she still had a husband. Eventually, she learned that Staff Sgt. Alvin Howard, a heavy-wheeled vehicle mechanic assigned to the 20th Engineer Battalion, had been wounded in the massacre here, while preparing with other troops for their upcoming deployment. Since that fateful day, however, Howard has mustered the strength to smile again. Amid unimaginable frustration and destruction, Howard’s husband’s unit...

Fatherhood and Religion Allie Winegar Duzett, November 11, 2009 “Children benefit when fathers are involved in family life; religion encourages men to be more involved in family life,” Dr. Richard Petts said at the Heritage Foundation’s recent conference, Religious Practice and the Family: What the Research Says. Dr. Petts, an assistant professor of sociology at Ball State University, spoke on the impact of paternal religiosity on child development. Unfortunately, Dr. Petts noted at the conference, “No studies have yet examined how [the] father’s religiosity may affect the lives of young children.” Still, Dr. Petts finds it worthwhile to ask: Does...

Now more than ever the soldiers of Fort Hood, Texas need help. Many of our service men and women return home from Afghanistan or Iraq to face financial crisis, foreclosure and lack. "Operation Once In A Lifetime" is an organization dedicated to helping those returning to Fort Hood who are in need.

The Lesson of Bob McDonnellby Charlie SpieringA week before the election, Virginia candidate for governor Bob McDonnell was asked in a radio interview if he would veto state funding for Planned Parenthood.“We shouldn't be doing that (funding Planned Parenthood) in Virginia,” answered O’Donnell. “That's common sense I think, and that will be part of what we get done.”Pro-choice activists were furious and quick to condemn his remarks. To them it was one more reason why McDonnell was “out of step and out of touch with voters.” But McDonnell, with his common sense approach to politics, proved that you can still...

Europe Cracks Down on Home School Parents MUNICH, Germany - Increasing custody cases in Europe are proof that officials there have declared war against home schooling and parental rights, according to some residents.In Sweden, police burst onto a plane and took 7-year-old Dominic Johansson from his parents as they were about to leave the country.Months earlier, they told school officials they were going to home school Dominic, prompting officials to open an investigation. In a similar case in Germany, the government abducted 7-year-old Dan Schulz while the family was sleeping. He can be heard on tape screaming that he...

A cousin of the man suspected of opening fire at Fort Hood, Texas, says his family is shocked and saddened by the tragedy. Nader Hasan of Falls Church, Va., said in a statement issued late Thursday that he and his family are filled with grief for the families of the victims. Twelve people were killed and 31 were wounded in the attack. He says that Nidal Hasan's family knows little about what happened, but that they want to send "our most heartfelt sympathies" to the families of the victims. He also says that Hasan was raised in America, and that...

Religion and Families Allie Winegar Duzett, November 5, 2009 Studies of the past decade’s religiosity “can be boiled into good news and bad news,” said Annette Mahoney of Bowling Green State University at a recent Heritage Foundation conference, Religious Practice and the Family: What the Research Says. “The bad news is that almost no research has been done on how religion operates when problems are not prevented,” she said, adding that “the good news is that religion does matter for families.” Mahoney explained that religion tends to help people in “maintaining any family relationship, traditional or not, such as being...

Starbucks Sabbath Allie Winegar Duzett, November 3, 2009 In recent years, the American family has been falling apart. Divorce rates have skyrocketed, as have births outside of marriage; non-traditional families are on the way to becoming the norm in society. Brad Wilcox spoke of the “unprecedented family revolution” in America at a recent Heritage Foundation event, Religious Practice and the Family: What the Research Says. This family revolution, Wilcox argued, has “undercut marriage as a fundamental institution” in American society, which matters because religion and familial stability typically go hand in hand. As Wilcox pointed out, “couples who share a...

A Trunk or Treat is a Halloween event that is often church or community-sponsored. People gather and park their cars in a large parking lot. They open their trunks or the backs of their vehicles and decorate them. Then they pass out candy from their trunks. The event provides a safe family environment for trick or treaters.... (see pictures!)