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GRIMES, IA, August 12, 2013 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A Christian couple is facing a state complaint, business cancellations, and vulgar, harassing, and threatening e-mail messages after refusing to rent out a business facility for a gay “wedding.” Dick and Betty Odgaard said they could not in good conscience allow a homosexual couple to use their business, the Görtz Haus Gallery, to conduct the ceremony itself. Betty Odgaard Betty Odgaard “To us, [marriage] is a sacrament,” Betty Odgaard said, that exists only “between a man and woman.” She told Billy Hallowell of The Blaze their rejection was “totally a faith-based issue,” adding...

Kristen De Filippis recently had an argument with her aunt and mom about what makes an appropriate wedding gift. “They said, ‘You have to give at least $100 [cash] or more,’ ” says De Filippis, 38, who lives in Toronto. “I was like, the whole thing is insane. It should come down to what you can afford.” De Filippis loves her big Italian family, but wedding season isn’t cheap. It’s standard to give gifts at the engagement party and the shower, and an envelope on the big day. “With the older generation, if you don’t give a certain amount, you’re...

Another business is facing retribution for declining service to a same-sex couple. Betty and Dick Odgaard, owners of Görtz Haus Gallery in Grimes, Iowa, are catching the ire of gay rights advocates after they declined offering their venue to Lee Stafford and his fiance Jared. Now the owners, who are Christians, are receiving vicious and threatening emails and phone calls — and they fear that their business could shut down because of the fierce reaction. It was less than one week ago that the Lee and Jared entered Görtz Haus looking for additional information about holding their wedding there. After...

Christine Swidorsky walked slowly toward her bridegroom, carrying the couple's precious best man. She struggled to hold back tears as she held 2-year-old Logan, his medical equipment and a bouquet of orange and yellow flowers... On July 26, doctors told his parents that Logan has a few weeks to live.

You've got to hand it to Anthony Weiner and Human Abedin; they seem to have a real knack for getting other people to pay for their lavish lifestyle. Not only do they live in a $3.3 million Manhattan apartment owned by a Hillary supporter, they appear to have had their lavish wedding (estimated cost: a quarter million bucks!) paid for somebody else. And because Weiner failed to disclose this gift, he may face criminal sanctions. Charles C. Johnson of the Daily Caller reports: Anthony Weiner may have violated federal law when he failed to disclose his lavish six-figure wedding...

Sometimes life hits you like a roundhouse kick, reminding you about what really matters. That happened to me this past week with the life, bravery and fighting spirit of 35-year-old Jen Bulik. I was just about to continue my series on Thomas Jefferson and public education, when I read Jen's story. (I'll pick up that series again in two weeks, after I highlight another amazing story of sacrifice and leadership.) Last December, Jen went to her doctor with a cough, and the young hairdresser was diagnosed with pneumonia. When the cough persisted, doctors ran more tests and discovered that Jen...

You are always on my mind , As you inhibit mankind, For there can be no hint of you , Just Me through and through ~ ~ ~ A justice of true love, An eternal bond Hand ~ Ring and Dove , My Spirit and you "AS ONE", My Signet seal pressed into The Father's Will "DONE" , So ALL of us are woven together into Heaven's Tapestry "8" , The dance of The Groom and Bride is heavenly, The Father's GRACE you in Me , Together "AS ONE" with ALL 3 , Song of Songs 6:1-9 Friends 6 Where...

A simple image of a Lynchburg, Va., Marine and his bride praying before their wedding has gone viral. In the photo, Bre and Josh Curtas are seen holding hands from around a corner so that the groom cannot see the bride. According to Bre, who started a Tumblr account after the photo went viral, the future husband and wife were were praying for their marriage. “My husband prayed that God would bless our marriage, that through thick or thin together we would never lose hope in one another,” she wrote. “That instead of focusing on each others imperfections we would...

The tender moment a groom reassures his nervous wife-to-be in prayer - without catching a glimpse of her wedding dress. Weddings prove stressful for many couples, with the honeymoon offering a much welcome escape. But one candid shot of a bride and groom shows how they successfully managed to steal a moment of peace amidst the fray of their big day. The groom is seen sitting around the corner to uphold the tradition of not seeing the bride in her bridal gown. Mrs Curtas, 23, told the Daily News that she was frantically fussing over her hair and make-up in...

Since we’re in the middle of wedding season, now seems a good time to post this picture, which apparently caused a sensation when it first appeared online a few months ago. This blog post, by the bride, explains the story behind it: she and her groom holding hands in prayer moments before their wedding, trying not to catch a glimpse of each other before the ceremony: Right around the corner sat my soon to be husband, I so was nervous he might see me yet secretly hoping to catch a glimpse of him. In my excited state I was the...

A gay couple is pursuing a discrimination complaint against a C