Early Voting Ends Today, Fight Cyberbullies, Box Office Report

Power Thoughts

• “Today focus all of your energies on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead.” Unknown
• “Feeling overwhelmed today? Don’t hesitate to bring it to God!” Unknown
• “Remember that God always accepts you, and He wants you to come to Him with your problems!” Unknown

Today is the last Day: “We just want to urge people to get out and vote early’ It’s not too late to take advantage of early voting.

As of Tuesday afternoon, 6,561 county residents have cast their votes for Tuesday’s mid-term election. That accounts for about 14 percent of the 47,668 registered voters in Angelina County, said  Thelma “Midget” Sherman, Angelina Election Administrator.

1. Early voters help make the election process more efficient
2. Allows them more time to resolve any problems they might experience
3. Early voting allows people to bypass the heavy courthouse traffic during Election Day, and the qualifying process

Sherman said. “We just want to urge people to get out and vote early.” (Lufkin Daily)

Eliminating Fear:: Whether you are afraid of heights, bugs, Halloween or failure, it is not good to have any amount of fear in your life.

Have you ever heard someone say, “A little fear is good for you.” No! I disagree. Fear is not good at all. It is a trap used by the enemy to keep you from operating in the will of God.

The opposite of fear is faith. Hebrews 11:6 says, “…without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is…”

If the enemy can get you to doubt God’s promises, he will accomplish his goal of taking you out of the will of God, thereby keeping you from receiving your blessing.

Stand Up For What Is Right: Help youths fight ‘cyberbullies’. It’s bad enough for knucklehead sports fans to call each other names on Internet message boards, but the private, yet public, nature of the World Wide Web can lead to far more dangerous behavior.

Internet harassment has been in the national spotlight recently after several victims of “cyberbullying” were driven to commit suicide. The small number of victims that makes the news doesn’t represent how widespread the problem is, however. In its 2007 report on cyberbullying, the National Crime Prevention Council found that 43% of teens reported experiencing some form of cyberbullying in the previous year.

Joseph McBrayer, director at Emory University Atlanta said even college-age adults have trouble comprehending the permanent concept of Internet posting. Anything you’ve ever posted to the Internet is still there.

Maddi, an eighth-grader in Franklin, Tenn recently endured a series of angry and disturbing texts from a friend. After the correspondence escalated, Maddi consulted her youth pastor. The advise “Just set the phone down. Don’t text back. You can’t win. It will just get worse and worse.”

Parry Aftab, executive director of WiredSafety, reports that only 5% of young people surveyed would “tell their parents if they’re being bullied online.” 33% would confide in another trusted adult.

Aftab pointed out that advice shouldn’t only be directed at youths. “We need to model behavior that we want from kids,” she said. “To be a Christian comes with an obligation to be good to others, to leave the world a better place than you found it.” (umc-gbcs)

Box Office Report: New This Week - Saw 3D, and a host of others that fit the end of October. So, what’s Family Friendly? (Plugged In) Yahoo Box office Report (Yahoo News)

Change Your Habit, God Loves You, Rangers vs Giants

Power Thoughts

• “What comes out of your mouth reveals what truly lies in your heart.” Unknown
• ““Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.” Abraham Lincoln
• “Determine the thing that can and shall be done, and then we shall find the way.” Abraham Lincoln

The Giants Win World Series Game One 11-7: So much for the Rangers unbeatable Cliff Lee. (Yahoo!News-The Associated Press)

Change Your Habits, Change Your Life: 7 healthy habits in 7 weeks – Make over your health. Sounds daunting, right? It doesn’t have to be. “The key is to break it down into smaller goals that you can find success with, and build upon them,” says Beth Reardon, a registered dietitian… With our easy plan, you’ll incorporate one new healthy habit each week — so you’ll look and feel healthier in just seven weeks. (KTRE-TV)

1. WEEK 1:  Healthy Habit: Get more z’s. People who got less than five hours of sleep nightly had more than twice the risk of heart disease compared to those who slept seven hours every night. Action Plan: Create a snooze zone — Don’t use your bedroom to pay bills, work or do other things you associate with daytime or stress.
2. WEEK 2:  Healthy Habit: Step it up. 90% of people in the National Weight Control Registry, a database of those who have lost at least 30 pounds and kept it off for at least a year, exercise regularly (on average, about an hour a day). But an active lifestyle isn’t just about your waistline. In a recent study, each hour in front of the TV per day was associated with a 9%-18% increased risk of death from cancer or heart disease. Action Plan: Put on a pedometer and challenge yourself to up your steps every day. Instead of parking as close as possible to the mall, park far away to squeeze in some extra steps.
3. WEEK 3:  Healthy Habit: Start with breakfast. The right breakfast goes a long way. In one study published that cereal fiber improved insulin sensitivity and reduced type-2 diabetes risk in people who were overweight or obese. Action Plan: Eat a bowl of oatmeal topped with walnuts and fresh fruit in the morning. The combination of protein, whole grains and healthy fat will keep blood sugar on an even keel and prevent hunger pangs. Bonus: You’ll do your immune system a favor. “Oatmeal contains compounds called beta glucans, which are a special kind of fiber that have immune-boosting properties,” says Reardon.
4. WEEK 4:  Healthy Habit: Slather on sunscreen. In a recent study about one in five Americans will develop skin cancer. Action Plan: Wear a broad-spectrum (that means it protects against UVA and UVB, both types of dangerous ultraviolet rays) sunscreen with an SPF of 30 or higher every day. Even when it’s cloudy, the sun still emits dangerous radiation. If you’re an athlete, look for waterproof so you don’t sweat it off. If you have eczema or sensitive skin, seek out a product that is hypoallergenic and fragrance-free.
5. WEEK 5: Healthy Habit: Floss regularly. According to one study, men with a history of gum disease were 14% more likely than those with healthy gums to develop cancer or suffered a heart attack because of bacteria in their gums. Action Plan: You know you should floss once in the morning and once at night.
6. WEEK 6:  Healthy Habit: Eat your greens (and reds and purples … ). A colorful diet is one of your best weapons against chronic diseases like heart disease, cancer and diabetes. Don’t rely on shortcuts, such as a glass of orange juice.  Action Plan: Up your produce intake by going vegetarian one night a week.
7. WEEK 7:  Healthy Habit: Flex your muscles. Building muscle revs up your metabolism and keeps bone loss at bay.  Action Plan: Save time by doing moves that work multiple muscles at once. Pushups and planks are two exercises that you can do anywhere — no dumbbells required.
8. Keep It Up: According to a recent study, it took 96 volunteers an average of 66 days to form a new habit. That’s two full months of daily practice. So stay committed to as many healthy habits as you can stand; healthy challenges will soon become daily routines.

This is Pam Darnell sharing how she experienced God while hiking to a waterfall. A few short weeks after she shared this at Gardner-Webb University, she passed away from an aggressive for of cancer. Her parents were gracious enough to share this reminder of how much God loves you.

A Story of Faith, Record Coloring Contest, Talk To Your Kids, Mortgage Mistakes,

Power Thoughts

• “What comes out of your mouth reveals what truly lies in your heart.” Unknown
• “You are never wrong when you are polite to others.” Unknown
• “Practice, practice, practice is still the best path to achievement.” Unknown

A Story of Faith in the Storm: Victims maintain faith after Rice tornado destroys home. Some days I struggle feeling overwhelmed I’m sure you know what I mean.  Just when I think I’ve come to the end of my rope I read a story like this and fell the urge to tie on 10 more knots because if this family can set this kind of example for the world so can I.

No more than half a dozen homes in this Navarro County community were damaged by the tornado that touched down early Sunday evening, and there were no serious injuries reported.

Tom High was just outside of his sister’s home when he felt the wind… heard the fury… then turned around and saw the funnel cloud. He and his sister, Sonia Butler, barely had enough time to do what they’d always been told: Get to the bathroom and cover up. Sonia’s husband, Raymond Butler, did not make it that far. But he somehow picked the only room in the house that was still intact for his shelter. “I just got down on my knees and said, ‘Lord be with us.’” The rest of Butler’s house; his two barns; his trucks; a trailer; and a giant pecan tree were all demolished by the twister.

But then, we heard him say this:”It bypassed my daughter’s grave,” Butler said. “It didn’t even touch my daughter’s grave.” Sharla Butler, who had been a track star at Lancaster High School, died last year at age 16 suffering a form of encephalitis. What’s more, both Raymond and Sonia Butler lost their mothers in the past few months. As if such a tremendous losses were not enough, now this. But it is not enough to knock down Raymond Butler. “I’m going to say this,” he said defiantly, standing in the midst of the debris of his home. “Satan, where’s your best punch at? Because it still hasn’t affected me yet.”

“When the storms of life come, the wicked are whirled away,but the godly have a lasting foundation.” Proverbs 10:24-26 (KVUE)

It’s a RECORD BREAKER Coloring Contest: 2,162 total KSWP/KAVX Red Ribbon Coloring Contest Forms were turned in this year!  We announce the winners tomorrow morning!

It’s Red Ribbon Week! Talk to Your Kids and ‘Blackout in a Can’: Alcoholic Energy Drinks Keep Wreaking Havoc (healthland.com)

You’ve probably seen it in gas stations or convenience stores. A tall aluminum can emblazoned with graffiti-inspired lettering, looks just like an energy drink — which it is. More specifically, it’s one of the beverage industry’s newest alcoholic energy drinks, and it’s recently been implicated in some incidents of drunkenness and brutal criminality that made the news. The effect of combining a stimulant (caffeine) with a depressant (alcohol)? You get drunker than you think you are. the public health expert Ken Briggs says, “You have a wide awake drunk who may not feel the warning signs of dangerous drinking such as the important subjective effects of tiredness and loss of coordination, which are good signals that it’s time to shut it down and stop drinking,”

That helps explain why the drinks seems to be causing so much trouble. This month, nine female Central Washington University (CWU) students were sent to the hospital from a house party after a night spent drinking Four Loko. Based on the women’s behavior before hospitalization, students, reporters and police speculated that the women had been given a date rape drug. But now, the police say overconsumption of Four Loko caused the women’s illness, leading them to have blood alcohol contents from .123 to .335 (for reference, the legal limit for driving is .08 and anything over .3 can be lethal).

Big Mortgage Mistakes: The phrase “liar loans” is something you want to avoid.

1. Adjustable Rate Mortgages – Adjustable rate mortgages seem like a homeowners dream. They allow you to buy a larger house than you can normally qualify for and have lower payments that you can afford. When housing prices drop, borrowers tend to find that they are unable to refinance their existing loans. This leaves many borrowers facing high mortgage payments.

2. No Down Payment During the subprime crisis, many companies were offering borrowers no down payment loans to borrowers. The purpose of a down payment is twofold. First, it increases the amount of equity that you have in your home and reduces the amount of money that you owe on a home. Second, a down payment makes sure that you have some skin in the game. Borrowers that place down a large down payment try everything possible to lose their investment. The other side of this – the more a borrower owes, the more likely they are to walk away.

3. Liar Loans – The phrase “liar loans” leaves a bad taste in your mouth. Liar loans were … [Read More at Investopedia]

Child Abuduction, Harmless or Not, Candy Recall, Car Break-Ins Beware

Power Thoughts

• “Success is in the doing not in the getting” — Unknown
• “Successful people accept life with both difficulties & challenges and adapt rather than complain” — Unknown
• “Successful people build good relationships by helping bring out the best in others.” — Unknown

URGENT – CHILD ABDUCTION EMERGENCY – 442 AM CDT TUE OCT 26 2010 – THE FOLLOWING MESSAGE IS TRANSMITTED AT THE REQUEST OF THE SAN JACINTO COUNTY SHERIFF OFFICE. SEARCHING FOR ROBIN ALISSA LONGNON…WHITE…FEMALE…4 YEARS OLD…BORN JUNE 29TH 2006…3 FEET…30 POUNDS…BLACK HAIR…BROWN EYES…AND WEARING A PINK AND BROWN SHIRT.

POLICE ARE LOOKING FOR JORGE ARTURO RODRIGUEZ…HISPANIC MALE…39 YEARS OLD…BORN APRIL 17TH 1971…5 FEET 4 INCHES…145 POUNDS…BLACK HAIR…BROWN EYES…IN HER ABDUCTION. THE SUSPECT IS DRIVING A WHITE 2005 MAZDA VAN WITH A LOUISIANA LICENSE PLATE NUMBER OF R W G 6 1 8. THE SUSPECT WAS HEARD FROM IN CLEVELAND TEXAS.

LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS BELIEVE THIS CHILD TO BE IN GRAVE OR IMMEDIATE DANGER. IF YOU HAVE ANY INFORMATION REGARDING THIS ABDUCTION…CALL THE SAN JACINTO COUNTY SHERIFF OFFICE AT 936-264-6286.

Harmless or Not: Many people think Halloween is a harmless holiday. It is actually rooted in fear, death, and the occult. It is a time when unsuspecting children, teenagers, and even adults dabble in occult practices and witchcraft through séances, tarot cards, and Ouija boards.

The scriptures call these things … “forbidden forms of divination and are an abomination to the Lord” (Deuteronomy 18:9-14). It may sound weird however, at the risk of sounding weird, I believe they open the door to familiar spirits and demonic activity in our lives.

Alternate Halloween activities for children that can be done either at church or with their parents include:

• “Hallelujah Night”—a night of games, rides, and candy set up at a local church. Children can dress as their favorite Bible characters or super heroes. In addition, residents in the community may be invited, as this is a great way for the Church to minister the love of God.
• A youth field trip to the movies or bowling.
• A party, celebrating the victory we have through Jesus, which can include gospel music and Christian videos.
• A talent show.
• A puppet show for smaller children, explaining why we celebrate Jesus— not Halloween.

Whatever you decide to do, be sure to make it a memorable and enjoyable evening for the entire family! [More ideas at the Community Calendar]

Mega Pops lollipops recall: More candy has been recalled as the FDA announces the recall of Mega Pops lollipops.

1. The lollipops may contain traces of foreign particles although the manufacturer, Colombia SA, claims there is no health risk.  The product is distributed in retail stores across the United States, including Family Dollar stores. The product comes in 14 oz and 28 oz cellophane bags in watermelon, cherry, orange and grape flavored pops.   Affected Mega Pops can be identified by UPC Code numbers 0 14272 10873 9 or 0 14272 10862 3, and are in lots marked as Lot #1240695, Lot #1209708, or Lot #1209796.

2. Nestle also recalled Raisinets Fun Sized Candy. Customers who return the product to the store where they purchased the product may receive a refund or store credit for the purchase price of the product. Customers with questions can call toll-free to 1-888-317-3686. (examiner.com)

Be on the Look-Out: Lock Your Car – Burglars break into nearly 30 cars over the weekend. Lufkin police are investigating a series of nearly 30 vehicle burglaries. The break-ins spanned a large area of West Lufkin stretching from the Fox Run Apartments to Southwood Drive. Police are hoping for leads in the cases.  “I don’t know how you can have so many and no one saw anything,” Lufkin Police spokesman Det. JB Smith says, “Hopefully we’ll get tips or some of the stolen property will turn up.”

Items stolen ranged from iPods, GPS devices, cell phones and vehicle audio equipment. “You should be able to leave those items in your car, and it’s frustrating you can’t,” Smith said. “In some of the break-ins, nothing was reported missing, but it’s not uncommon for people to find something missing later.” Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers at 639-TIPS. (LufkinDaily)

No matter what you face, Update on Bowen, Get the Best Holiday , Movie News

Power Thoughts

1. “Have patience with all things, but chiefly have patience with yourself.  — Unknown
2. “Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy.” — Unknown
3. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved. — Unknown

No matter what you face, if you trust in the provision, the resource, the Word of God, and if you’ve heard from the Father, then it will come to pass. Israel was facing a wilderness, yet God provided. In Jabez time God promised to expand his territory and God did just that… You and I can always count on the promises of God.

Jesus said, “I do what I hear the Father tell me to do.” Mary in the exchange with the angel after asking how could this be that I will bear a child I’ve never been with a man. The angel responded, “For with God nothing is ever impossible and no word from God shall be without power or impossible of fulfillment.” Her response, “Behold, the handmaid of the Lord; be it to me according to your word.”

You may never have an Angel appear before you, however if you set your mind on hearing a from God, you get in His Word, the get still and write down what you think you hear. You’ll be amazed at what He says to you.

Prayer Request and Update on Bowen & Hammit Family: Last week we talked about the lead singer of Sanctus Real and his little boy Bowen…. late Friday a prayer request for Bowen came in because he was having seizures and had possibly had a stroke… this was the update as of yesterday..

Hello there. We had yet another big day. I met with our neurologists and they gave me some of the results for the MRI. They said that Bowen had suffered a stroke at some point over the last week and that it was the cause of his seizers. They checked his heart, liver and picc line for any clots that were coming loose and they didn’t find any. I’m wondering if his extremely low sugars could have caused this. They say it doesn’t look like something that’s related to a sugar stroke, but couldn’t rule it out. Please pray that someone would figure this sugar problem out. I don’t think anyone quite knows what to make of it. As long as Bowen has food in his tummy at all times, he stays balanced. As soon as we switch to feeding him every two hours, he drops really low in between. They keep upping his dose of medication in hopes that it will work, but we’re closing in on the maximum dose they can give him. I hope the next few days give us some more answers.

The good news is that Bowen looks and acts great. He’s a little loopy because of his anti-seizer drug, but he responds to voices, has good eye contact and follows objects well. The neurologists say we probably will not see any evidence of the stroke other than the seizers. I’m getting weary. My brain does not seem to have room for anything else. Everyday seems to reveal a new obstacle and a new thing to wrap my head around. A friend told us she prays that we would learn to “hold Bowen loosely.” So I am learning to hold Bowen loosely, but love him tightly. This is a very difficult task. I didn’t realize how tightly I have held the people I love. In the past, loving with all my heart meant holding on very tight. Now I am having to do it a different way.  – Sarah

“So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to things that are unseen…” 2 Corinthians 4:16-18

Big price clips: Retailers expected to offer good discounts this holiday season — and here’s how to find them (Chicago Tribune)

This year’s holiday season is expected to be stronger for retailers, but it will come at a price for them and a bargain for you: They’ll have to offer lucrative discounts, often in the form of coupons, experts say. So, it will pay off handsomely if you know retailers’ promotion strategies and the most useful online sites for 2010 holiday season gift-giving.

1. Online promo codes. Shopping online can be a great idea, but don’t finish checking out of your virtual shopping cart without hunting for a promotional code, also called a coupon code. You can get free shipping, a percentage off your order or dollars off. Query the name of the retailer, and such phrases as “coupon code” or “promo code.” If you’re buying women’s apparel, compare current coupon offers from Ann Taylor, Macy’s and Banana Republic.
2. Stack coupons. Savvy online shoppers know you can “stack” coupons — that is, use multiple coupons on the same order. For example, you might use one coupon code to get 15 percent off your order of $100 or more and then another code to get free shipping. The trifecta is stacking coupons on a sale item, if a retailer permits it, said Teri Gault, coupon expert and founder of thegrocerygame.com.
3. Newsletters. Sign up for your favorite retailers’ e-mail newsletters, which can contain exclusive offers, such as coupon codes and printable coupons for in-store use. Retailers are experimenting with offering exclusive deals through these social media sites.
4. Mall and department-store coupons. One little-known trick is to visit the Web site of nearby malls. They often have printable coupons and sales alerts for retailers in the mall. Department stores often have coupons in various advertisements, newspaper inserts and mailers, but it’s worth placing a phone call to the department store of your choice to ask about available coupons. “It never hurts to ask.”
5. Toolbars and plug-ins. Billeo.com offers a toolbar that integrates with your Web browser and helps with shopping, discount codes and bill paying. It will also auto-fill your logins, passwords and credit card information, and keep electronic receipts of purchases. Rightcliq by Visa (rightcliq.visa.com) is a new browser tool that allows you to organize your online shopping research in a “wishspace” and get input from others on it. It also incorporates discounts and offers.
6. Combine shopping. While shopping around for good prices is generally a good idea, you might want to combine shopping at a single retailer if it offers a coupon for a certain threshold of spending, say $30 off a $100 order.
7. Deal sites. Dealnews.com, for example, will tell you how good a deal it is, and often, the last time it saw such a deal on that item. You can also monitor daily deal sites that offer a single coupon or gift certificate per day. The most popular is groupon.com. But supershoppers might shop multiple daily-deal sites using a daily-deal aggregator, such as dealradar.com.
8. Apps for smart phones. Using coupons from your smartphone is a technology still in its infancy. Many smart phone applications are mostly for grocery shopping with coupons. You can also use a variety of smart phone apps to instantly check prices while you are in a store. Amazon.com’s recently updated Amazon Mobile app for iPhone, for example, can use the phone’s camera to scan product bar codes and deliver competing prices from Amazon, which is known for low prices. It will also give you the product’s star rating, letting you know what others thought about it.
9. Other strategies. “Retailers have already begun to honor competitors’ coupons more than ever before, and even price matching,” Gault said. “So I expect to see even more of this for holiday shopping. For that reason, even if you don’t think they have a policy to honor competitors’ coupons, it never hurts to ask.”

Box Office Report: If you realize it’s almost Holloween then, you realize why “Paranormal Activity 2″ was #1 at the Box Office. So, what’s Family Friendly? Michelle and I went to see “Secretariat.” It was a great movie “4 out of 5 kernals” and it’s Family Friendly… for more go to (Plugged In)

What You Think Matters, A Growing Trend, Urgent Prayer For Haiti, Movie Review

Power Thoughts

1. “Laughter is the chief ingredient of good mental health.” Unknown
2. “Accept the responsibility to make better choices and your life will get better.” Unknown
3. “We live by choice not chance.” Unknown

More from Michelle’s Learning Journey! … casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,… Corinthians 10:5 (NKJV) (Dr. Caroline Leaf )

• 87% to 95% of the illnesses that plague us today are a direct result of our thought life. What we think about affects us physically and emotionally. It’s an epidemic of toxic emotions. The average person has over 30,000 thoughts a day. Through an uncontrolled thought life, we create the conditions for illness; we make ourselves sick!
• Research shows that fear, all on its own, triggers more than 1,400 known physical and chemical responses and activates more than 30 different hormones. There are INTELLECTUAL and MEDICAL reasons to FORGIVE! Toxic waste generated by toxic thoughts causes the following illnesses: diabetes, cancer, asthma, skin problems and allergies to name just a few. Consciously control your thought life and start to detox your brain!
• Medical research increasingly points to the fact that thinking and consciously controlling your thought life is one of the best ways, if not the best way of detoxing your brain. It allows you to get rid of those toxic thoughts and emotions that can consume and control your mind.
• Change in your thinking is essential to detox the brain. Consciously controlling your thought life means not letting thoughts rampage through your mind. It means learning to engage interactively with every single thought that you have, and to analyse it before you decide either to accept or reject it.

It’s A Growing Trend: Spain says ‘Adios’ to smoking in bars, cafes (Yahoo)

It’s becoming a large growing trend. Locally it began in Tyler then spread to Nacogdoches and other Texas cities and around the world.  The next country is Spain who has now set the stage this week for a tough new anti-smoking law that will rid the country of its dubious status as one of Western Europe’s easiest places to light up.The bill passed by parliamentary commission calls for transforming all bars and restaurants into no-smoking zones, bringing Spain in line with the European Union’s strictest anti-smoking nations and many U.S. states that bar smoking in enclosed public places.

Spain’s main restaurant and bar federation predicted the law will lead to 145,000 lost jobs and a 10 percent decline in revenue for the sector, however the Health Ministry said similar laws put in place in recent years in nations ranging from Britain to France and Italy did not hurt business badly.

Spain’s National Committee for the Prevention of Smoking says up to 1,000 Spanish bar waiters die yearly from lung cancer, mainly from breathing in so much second hand smoke. “When these measures are implemented,” he said. “This means that in 20 years time there will be a decrease in deaths due to smoking related diseases.”

Send Knee Mail: Urgent Prayer Request from YWAM Haiti (CBN)

Youth With A Mission (YWAM) in Haiti has been established there long before the horrendous earthquake ravaged the area. Because of that, YWAM has been a key source of help after it happened. YWAM opened a clinic in St. Marc, not very far away from Port-au-Prince, which has been providing excellent care for those in need, as well as giving them hope through the Gospel. 

The national director of YWAM Haiti, Terry Snow has called for prayer for the city and the countryside surrounding it. There seems to be an outbreak of some kind of a water-borne disease where people who contract it come down with severe diarrhea resulting in death within 24-48 hours.

We do not have concrete numbers of how many have actually died to date, only scattered reports from Haitians seeking aid and purified water saying; “Many, Many, Many people are dead or sick!” The hospital in St Marc is filling up with cases. Once they find the disease, the problem is getting it to the people in time.

We are focused on three things, distribution of purified water, transportation of the sick and education on sanitation.

Prayer points at a glance:
Pray for protection to all health workers and volunteers in the area.
Pray for a quick diagnosis so that correct treatment can be administered immediately.
Pray for those who have already lost loved ones.
Pray for peace in the countryside and for protection for those who live in the high risk areas that may not have access to clean water.

Box Office Report: New This Week . So, what’s Family Friendly? (Plugged In) Yahoo Box office Report (Yahoo News)

Girl Power, End of Earth Postponed, Newborn points to God, World On Fire Video

Power Thoughts

1. “Put your expectations on God, not on people.” — Joyce Meyer
2. “Character is doing what you don’t want to do but know you should do.” — Joyce Meyer
3. “Stop determining your worth and value by what other people say. Be determined by what the Word of God (scriptures)says.” — Joyce Meyer

Go Girl Power: Girls at Texas High School are redefining beautiful by starting a ‘Makeup Free’ Club to Empower Women (ABC News)

Too often in our celebrity-driven culture, beauty is defined by the products a woman puts on her face. But a group of teenage girls in Texas has set out to change that idea, one makeup-free face at a time. At Colleyville Heritage High School in Colleyville, Texas, girls have formed a pact: Every Tuesday, they’ll put down the makeup brush and go to class with clean faces. “The big message is that we just want to empower women to feel self-confident about themselves,” said senior Lauren Gilby. The students call their club Redefining Beautiful, and since the core group of girls launched the idea at the beginning of the school year, nearly 200 of their fellow students have joined in the mission.

Even some boys have formed a support group. The girls say that makeup can sometimes become a crutch for teens seeking to achieve an image of magazine-style perfection. “They rely so much on their self image that they forget, ‘I’m here to learn. I’m here to make a difference,’” said senior Emily Gates.”They also kind of lose a sense of self,” added senior Laura Kelly. “We want people to feel confident in who they really are.” As the word has spread, girls at neighboring high schools have started calling the Colleyville students to find out how they can form makeup free clubs at their schools. The Colleyville club plans to create a website. “You need to be able to be yourself,” said Kelly.

End of Earth Postponed: It’s a good news/bad news situation for believers in the 2012 Mayan apocalypse.

The good news is that the Mayan “Long Count” calendar may not end on Dec. 21, 2012 (and, by extension, the world may not end along with it). The bad news for prophecy believers? If the calendar doesn’t end in December 2012, no one knows when it actually will – or if it has already.

A new critique, published as a chapter in the new textbook “Calendars and Years II: Astronomy and Time in the Ancient and Medieval World” (Oxbow Books, 2010), argues that the accepted conversions of dates from Mayan to the modern calendar may be off by as much as 50 or 100 years.

Newborn points to God: Baby’s illness at heart of Christian singer’s songs.

• On April 12, Matt and Sarah Hammitt went for an ultrasound test to see if, after having two girls, their third child would be a boy. But that wasn’t the only news the Hammitts received that day. Matt said, “We also found out he had a severe heart defect, when they broke the news to us, it definitely looked like a pretty grim situation.” “I don’t think I ever doubted God was there, I was just trying to figure out where he was in all of it.
• Bowen Matthew Hammitt arrived at 7:59 p.m. on Sept. 9, weighing 7 pounds, 7 ounces. The name Bowen means “strong, victorious one,” and Matthew means “God’s gift.”
• “You ask hundreds of questions and you don’t understand why,” Matt said. “You wonder if it’s something you did. … Most of those questions are natural. You want answers.
• Tom Petty, the great philosopher, said it best: ‘The waiting is the hardest part.‘ “
• More than a year ago, long before little Bowen entered the picture, Matt wrote the lyrics for Sanctus Real’s fifth CD. There was no way he could have known how the title of the new disc, and a recurring theme would be: “Pieces of a Real Heart.” Matt said, “It’s one out of a thousand reasons that I’ve had in the past few months that support my belief that nothing is coincidence, that there’s a mastermind – meaning God – behind our lives and that our lives have a greater purpose than I could ever understand. I really believe he was preparing me to go through this time.”
• “With all the success Sanctus Real is having right now, and I am more excited than ever about what’s happening with Sanctus Real, I also see what’s going on with Bowen as expanding my opportunity to make a difference in this life. I’ve already written songs that will be specifically comfort people who are going through tragedy.  
• “You can be angry, you can look at it through the lens of anger or bitterness, but we choose to look at it through the lens of faith and believe God is going to allow something good to come out of it. “Even if the worst happens and we lose Bowen, we believe God has a plan and we trust that, and through that lens we can see little ‘mini-miracles’ all around us,” For more on Bowen Hammitt, go to bowensheart.com. (toldeoblade.com)

By The Tree – World On Fire – Video