The Greater Paradise Blog

Tim On Hand Sanitizer [Comedy Video]

2012-03-06T08:57:00.000-05:00

Tim on Hand Sanitizer from timhawkinscomedy on GodTube.

Faith Motivates ‘Undefeated’ Coach

2012-03-06T08:54:00.000-05:00

posted by urbanfaith.com

Volunteer football coach Bill Courtney is featured in the Oscar-winning documentary 'Undefeated.' UrbanFaith talked to Courtney about the award, his team, and what motivated him to serve his players.

MODELING SERVANT LEADERSHIP: Manassas High School coach Bill Courtney sought to teach more than football.

We’ve seen the story before: a white coach turns around a failing inner-city football team and, in the process, helps ease racial tensions in his community. This time the film is Undefeated, a documentary about three black players from North Memphis, Tennessee, and their volunteer coach Bill Courtney. The film won Best Documentary at the Academy Awards last Sunday night (snagging an Oscar for executive producer Sean “P.Diddy” Combs), but while Courtney is humbled by the honor, he isn’t all that impressed and says he didn’t set out to save anybody. UrbanFaith talked to this no-nonsense coach about his faith, his motives, and his goals for working with the team. The interview has been edited for length and clarity.

UrbanFaith: In an interview with MSN before Undefeated won the Academy Award, you said if the film defines you or the players featured in it, or if it is the best thing that ever happened to any of you, you’ve got real problems. How do you feel now that it’s won?

Bill Courtney: I feel the same way. The film winning a little 14-inch gold statue doesn’t make it any better or worse than it was before it won it. It’s a great honor and it’s humbling. In Hollywood, societal statements or environmental statements are the types of things that are typically celebrated, so when a film about perseverance and kids wins, it speaks to the power of the film. I think it’s great, but it doesn’t define us and it cannot define us. What needs to define us is the experience that we had together so that when we go on in our lives 20 years from now, and we’re raising families, having graduated from college, and have jobs, that’s what needs to define us, not a moment in time that was captured on film. Don’t take me wrong. It’s humbling. It’s a wonderful experience and we should allow ourselves to enjoy it, but if something like that defines you, you start taking yourself too seriously and that’s a pretty tough road to hoe.

An employee of yours had asked for time off to cook pre-game meals with his Sunday school class for an inner-city football team and you told him about Manassas High School, which is down the road from your lumber company. He then told the Manassas team about you and that’s how you got involved. Did faith play a role in your involvement too?

Courtney: Faith plays a role in everything I do. I’m a Christian. It’s my job to be as Christ-like as I possibly can. I sin daily. Thank goodness for forgiveness; otherwise my life would be in shambles. Certainly faith played a role in it, because I feel compelled and I feel that it’s all of our calling to help out those in the greatest need. These kids were completely deficient in a number of basic tenets and fundamentals that I want my own children raised with. The need was there and it was the most rewarding experience of my life to be able to share my life with them. It’s inspirational that they shared their lives with me. I don’t think they would have been welcomed into my neighborhood nearly as quickly and generously as they welcomed me into theirs.

What did you learn from these young men who came from a different culture and a different racial background than you?

Courtney: The racial thing didn’t really have anything to do with it. I didn’t think of them as my black players and they didn’t think of me as the white coach. I know society is going to look at this film and want to have that conversation. It had nothing to do with our relationship. Therefore, I don’t have anything to say about it.

With regard to what I learned from them, prior to my experience with them, I probably would have had the attitude that this is a free country. My mom and dad were divorced early. I grew up with very little and I made it, so if you don’t make it, it’s your own fault. Frankly, that’s a lie. That’s something we want to tell ourselves to make ourselves feel good. The truth is the playing field isn’t level. When children grow up having seen perpetual generations that have no hope and feel lost, and feel like they’re not even part of society, that’s what they’re going to feel and grow up doing. All the money and governmental programs and everything in the world simply does not replace true love, care, and compassion, and true mentorship.

What they taught me was that no matter what you’re circumstances are, when you try to do the right things, and you work toward commitment and discipline, and you work on your own soul and character, then amazing things can happen. I will forever be indebted to those kids and that community for welcoming me and accepting me.

You’ve said that football doesn’t build character, it reveals character, and that if a person’s foundation is football, they’re going to fall on their behind.

Courtney: I don’t think something as trivial as a game builds character. You build your own character when you build a foundation of the tenets you want to make yourself. Things like football, a job, a marriage—the real things in life are what reveal your character. If you think football is going to help you to rise up above your circumstances and have a great life, I think you’re wrong. You can’t stand on a football. Football cannot be a foundation for anything. Your foundation has to be your discipline and your commitment. If you build your foundation on those principles, then you can hold 20 footballs over your head all day long.

In the MSN interview, you talked about the servant leadership of a coach you had growing up who made seniors get water for the team and things like that instead of making freshman do it, as is customary. Is Christ-like servant leadership something you taught your players and modeled for them?

Courtney: I believe that Christ lived on this earth and gave his life so that I could be forgiven for the things I do on a daily basis that I’m ashamed of. So, when I believe the ruler of the universe served me, I pretty much feel like it’s my responsibility to serve everyone I can. In serving, you then lead, because you give an example to people of a way to lead your life that is more selfless than self-serving. I didn’t say that, because it comes off self-serving if you say, “Hey, look at me.” I just did it. My belief is: I can’t save anybody—I can’t save anybody from circumstances; I can’t save anybody into a faith. It’s my job to introduce my faith and then let the Lord work his will the way he sees fit. The way you do that is you walk what you talk and do the very best you can to serve and to share what your life is about, if they ask. Hopefully from there, they find a place in their own lives to grow from that.

Daily Bread: Dingo The Dog

2012-03-06T08:50:00.002-05:00

March 6, 2012 — by David H. Roper

Harry Tupper is a fishing legend here in Idaho where I live. There’s a spot on Henry’s Lake over on the east side of the state that’s named for him: “Tupper’s Hole.”

The thing I remember most about Harry, aside from his rare ability to catch those huge Henry’s Lake trout, was his dog, Dingo. Now there was a dog! Dingo used to sit alongside Harry in his boat and watch intently while he fished. When the old fisherman hooked a trout, Dingo would bark furiously until the fish was netted and released.

Dingo’s enthusiasm taught me something: It’s better to get more excited about what others are doing than what we are doing.

So, as I read Philippians 2:4 and think about Dingo, I ask myself: Do I spend time thinking about “the interests of others”? Do I get as excited about what God is doing in and through a friend as I do about what He is doing in and through me? Do I long to see others grow in grace and find success, though it may have been my efforts that made them prosper?

This is the measure of greatness, for we are most like God when our thoughts for ourselves are lost in our thoughts for others. Paul said it best: “Let each esteem others better than himself” (2:3). Is that how we live?

Love feels the sorrows others feel,
It longs to give support,
And love is quick to take delight
In every good report. —D. De Haan

A life filled with love for the Lord and for others is a fulfilling life.

PBN News3 4 12

2012-03-04T14:41:00.000-05:00

Song of the Day: Allen Cathedral w/ Melanie Daniela "Forever"

2012-03-04T07:30:00.000-05:00

Our Daily Bread: In This Very Room

2012-03-04T07:20:00.000-05:00

At our church we often sing the beautiful song by Ron and Carol Harris: “In This Very Room.” It begins, “In this very room there’s quite enough love for one like me.” This song reminds me that although there is great encouragement in gathering with other Christians for worship, the important thing is that Christ is present. But it goes beyond that. He is with us not just at church but in every room of our lives.

I wonder where you’re reading this—a kitchen, a coffee shop, a prison cell, a military post? Perhaps you’re in a hospital or a courtroom. It may be a room that reflects everything that’s right in your life or a place that represents all that’s wrong. And you might be afraid.

In the aftermath of the awful reality of Jesus’ crucifixion, His followers met in a familiar room. John records that “when the doors were shut [locked] where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, ‘Peace be with you’” (John 20:19). A week later it happened again when Jesus entered through locked doors to bring peace through His presence (vv.26-29).

Wherever you are today, “There’s quite enough hope and quite enough power to chase away any gloom, for Jesus, Lord Jesus, is in this very room.”

When in the midst of life with its problems,Bent with our toil and burdens we bear;Wonderful thought and deep consolation:Jesus is always there. —Lillenas

Our loving God is always near—forever by our side.

Career Tip of the Day: Step Your International Language Game Up

2012-03-03T11:30:00.001-05:00

From bilingual customer service reps to medical professionals to global executives to international entrepreneurs, knowing more than one language has its obvious perks.
And the demand for professionals rises time and time again. Reports show that 22 of the 100 largest U.S. cities are now majority minority cities, meaning there are now more minorities than white people in almost a quarter of America’s biggest metropolises.

According to Census data, over the past decade the Latino population has increased from 35.3 million in 2000 to 50.5 million in the 2010.
Experts say the top industries for bilingual workers include healthcare, financial services, sales and marketing, social services and public service. The Bureau of Labor Statistics also reports that there are a several emerging occupations in social services such as cross-cultural counselors, bilingual teachers and consumer credit counselors.

Expand your horizons by brushing up on your Spanish, Russian, Italian, French, or Mandarin Chinese, especially if you desire to work abroad. Though English is spoken in many countries, in some it it’s not, and in other cases it works to one’s benefit when they can speak to and relate with someone in their native language.

Use learning tools such as Rosetta Stone or mobile phone apps. Take a local community college or online course. If you’ve already studied a language, practice it on a daily basis by conversing with native speakers. If you know one language, learn another. Even listening to music in a different language or watching foreign films can help you learn how to speak fluently. Volunteer with a diversity or cultural organization where you’ll be forced to use the language frequently.

The Song of the Day: The Hawkins Family - Be Grateful

2012-03-03T09:15:00.000-05:00

Our Daily Bread: Caricature God

2012-03-03T09:10:00.000-05:00

Caricature artists set up their easels in public places and draw pictures of people who are willing to pay a modest price for a humorous image of themselves. Their drawings amuse us because they exaggerate one or more of our physical features in a way that is recognizable but funny.

Caricatures of God, on the other hand, are not funny. Exaggerating one of His attributes presents a distorted view that people easily dismiss. Like a caricature, a distorted view of God is not taken seriously. Those who see God portrayed only as an angry and demanding judge are easily lured away by someone who emphasizes mercy.

Those who see God as a kindhearted grandfather will reject that image when they need justice. Those who see God as an intellectual idea rather than a living, loving being eventually find other ideas more appealing. Those who see God as a best friend often leave Him behind when they find human friends who are more to their liking.

God declares Himself to be merciful and gracious, but also just in punishing the guilty (Ex. 34:6-7).

As we put our faith into action, we need to avoid portraying God as having only our favorite attributes. We must worship all of God, not just what we like.

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—Oh, Thou blessed Trinity:One in essence, yet three persons—Thou, our God, we worship Thee. —D. De Haan

All-powerful, merciful, wise, and just is the God in whom we trust.

Song of the Day: I Won't Go Back - William McDowell (LIVE)

2012-03-02T12:32:00.000-05:00

Our Daily Bread: I'm Good

2012-03-02T12:17:00.003-05:00

When someone asks, “How are you?” it has become common for the response to be, “I’m good.” When we say this, we are really saying, “I’m well” or “I’m doing fine,” speaking of our general well-being and not our character. I have answered with that response more times than I can count, but lately it has begun to bother me. Because, whether we realize it or not, we are saying something specific when we use the word good.

Jesus once encountered a wealthy young man who called Him “Good Teacher” (Matt. 19:16). The young man was right, for Jesus is both good (completely perfect) and the Teacher. He is the only One who can truly make that claim.

The Lord, however, challenged the man to think about what he was saying in using that term good. “So He said to him, ‘Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments’” (v.17). Jesus wanted the man to understand that the assertion he was making needed to be taken seriously. Jesus can be called “good” because He is God.

Next time someone asks you, “How are you?” it is great to be able to say, “I’m well.” But remember, only Jesus is good.

Eternal with the Father, One,Is Jesus Christ, His own dear Son;In Him God’s fullness we can see,For Jesus Christ is deity. —D. De Haan

God is great and God is good, but without Him we are neither.

Is This to Much? Inking For Jesus.....What One Pastor Asked His Congregation to do For Lent

2012-03-02T10:00:00.001-05:00

By Dan Merica, CNN

(CNN)-– In a hip, artsy, area of Houston, a hip, artsy pastor is taking an unorthodox approach to Lent.

Standing in front of his congregation at Ecclesia Church, a congregation he admits is different - more diverse, more urban - than many evangelical churches - Chris Seay encouraged them to do so something he said combines the ideas of sacrifice and devotion that mark the Lenten season, the 40-day lead up to Easter.

He asked them to get tattoos. Specifically, he asked congregants to get a tattoo corresponding with one of the Stations of the Cross, the collection of images that depict scenes in Jesus’ journey to his crucifixion.

“The tendency we have as Christians is to skip past Jesus’ suffering,” Seay said in an interview. “Not only do tattoos come with a bit of suffering, they are also an art form that has not fully been embraced.”

To help with the project, Seay enlisted Scott Erickson, artist-in-residence at his church. Erickson designed 10 distinct Stations of the Cross tattoos, leaving out four stations that Seay said changed in context when you are asking someone to get something permanently drawn on their body.

The Stations of the Cross depict Jesus from his condemnation to the Resurrection.
The church is now displaying photographs of the tattoos in the church’s art gallery, in an exhibition called “Cruciformity: Stations on the Skin.”

Initially, Seay has hoped that enough people – 10– would sign up to fill each station of the cross. But his expectations were far exceeded.

Seay says that more than 50 people are now brandishing one of Erickson’s designs on their bodies.

Guadeloupe Rodriguez is among them. When Seay pitched the tattoo idea from the pulpit, Rodriguez’s wife squeezed his hand. “That is what you have been waiting for,” she said.
“I fell into some hard times in my past, hanging out with the wrong crowd … got into some pretty tough drugs,” said Rodriguez, who says he found Jesus at Ecclesia. “My aunt, though, on her deathbed, said to me, ‘You only have one God, one mom and one dad – you need to be straightening up for all three of them.”

Because of that experience, Rodriguez had the churches 10th station image, the resurrection, tattooed to his body. He felt that the two birds holding a suspended banner that read, “Rise Again,” perfectly fit his personal story.

“From the day my aunt said that to me, I relied on the Lord a lot to guide me in the right direction,” Rodriguez said. “I am where I am now because of God.”

Another member of Ecclesia, Joyce O’Connor, channeled her family when she was deciding what station of the cross to get tattooed onto her body. O’Connor, who has one biological child and two stepchildren, connected with the fourth station, Jesus meeting his mother.
“I am a mother and in just a minuscule way can relate to how Mary must have felt,” O’Conner said.

“The tattoo captured me and I love it,” she continued. “When I think of that image, I don’t feel tragedy or sadness because I know how the story ends and it makes me smile.”
This was O’Connor’s first “tat,” and she said this project has exemplified why she came to Ecclesia in the first place - acceptance, out-of-the-box thinking, diversity.

Margaret Feinberg, an evangelical Christian author, spoke at the gallery opening. She said she was taken by the “beautiful blend of art and flesh.”

“I remember standing in a small booth on an upper landing looking at everyone in the room,” Feinberg wrote in an e-mail. People “from every walk of life - exploring and celebrating this time of Lent - the scene took my breath away.”

According to Seay, such experiences deem the project a success. He admits to spending a lot of time dissuading individual congregants from getting tattoos after he announced the idea. People have to “know it is what they are supposed to do,” he said.

The design Seay choose for himself, the resurrection, which shows a tree growing from a coffin, like Rodriguez’s. On Seay’s tattoo, however, the initials of people he loves fill the tree’s leaves and his nickname for his grandfather – Papa – is carved into its stump.

Seay lost his grandfather, Robert Baldwin, last year. Baldwin had been a pastor in the Houston area for 60 years and Seay considered him his mentor. Though Seay still misses him desperately, the tattoo reminds him of a simple biblical message.
“Death,” he says, “comes from life.”

Old School Song of the Day: Calling My Name Hezekiah Walker 0001

2012-03-01T17:09:00.000-05:00

March is National Nutrition Month!!!

2012-03-01T17:08:00.000-05:00

March is National Nutrition Month

Judy Taggart | Posted: Thursday, March 1, 2012 12:00 am

National Nutrition Month is an annual nutrition education and information campaign of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (formerly the American Dietetic Association). Each year this campaign focuses attention on making educated food choices and adopting healthy eating habits. The recently released 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans encourage an increased focus on fruits and vegetables and an understanding of proper portion sizes. This theme of the campaign this year is designed to help consumers understand how to implement these suggestions into their daily lives with “Get Your Plate in Shape.”

According to a 2009 Academy consumer survey, the majority of people consider convenience to be the biggest factor in selecting a meal. These days everyone is working long hours and watching their budget. It is tempting to buy inexpensive, pre-packaged or processed food items. It is vital that we shift the focus back to nutrition. Eating right doesn’t have to be pricey. Healthy, convenient and inexpensive meals just take some planning.

The professionals at the academy suggest several ways to save money and enjoy a healthy diet:

Look for fresh seasonal produce; it will usually be less expensive. When you can’t find affordable fresh produce choose frozen or canned fruits and vegetables. They last longer than fresh versions and are equally nutritious.

Use coupons at the store. These days you can clip coupons from the paper or print them from websites. Coupons can save you 10 to 15 percent on your grocery bill.

Practice portion control, especially with protein. A service of meat/protein is the size of a deck of cards. Protein can be expensive, so limiting portions size is both cost effective and healthy. And don’t forget that beans are inexpensive and a great source of protein as well.

Search online or at your library for healthy, easy one-pot recipes. Slow cookers can have hot, healthy meals ready for you when you get home from work.

Small changes in cooking and shopping can go a long way toward getting your plate in shape. Make this March the month that you embrace some new nutritious habits.

Atheist Target Religious groups on Billboards

2012-03-01T17:04:00.000-05:00

Atheist group targets Muslims, Jews with ‘myth’ billboards in Arabic and Hebrew

By Dan Merica, CNN

(CNN) – The billboard wars between atheists and believers have raged for years now, especially around New York City, and a national atheist group is poised to take the battle a step further with billboards in Muslim and Jewish enclaves bearing messages in Arabic and Hebrew.

American Atheists, a national organization, will unveil the billboards Monday on Broadway in heavily Muslim Paterson, New Jersey and in a heavily Jewish Brooklyn neighborhood, immediately after the Williamsburg Bridge.

“You know it’s a myth … and you have a choice,” the billboards say. The Patterson version is in English and Arabic, and the Brooklyn one in English and Hebrew. To the right of the text on the Arabic sign is the word for God, Allah. To the right of the text on the Hebrew sign is the word for God, Yahweh.

Dave Silverman, the president of American Atheists, said the signs are intended to reach atheists in the Muslim and Jewish enclaves who may feel isolated because they are surrounded by believers.

“Those communities are designed to keep atheists in the ranks,” he says. “If there are atheists in those communities, we are reaching out to them. We are letting them know that we see them, we acknowledge them and they don't have to live that way if they don’t want to.”

Silverman says the signs advertise the American Atheists’ upcoming convention and an atheist rally, called the Reason Rally, in Washington next month.

Atheists have long pointed to surveys that suggest atheists and agnostics make up between 3% and 4% of the U.S. population. That number increases when Americans unaffiliated with any religion are included. The Pew Center’s U.S. Religious Landscape Survey found that 16% are unaffiliated, though only a fraction of those are avowed atheists and agnostics.

Silverman acknowledges that the pair of new billboards will likely cause a stir.

“People are going to be upset,” he says. “That is not our concern.”

“We are not trying to inflame anything,” he continued. “We are trying to advertise our existence to atheist in those communities. The objective is not to inflame but rather to advertise the atheist movement in the Muslim and Jewish community.”

The billboards will be up for one month and cost American Atheists, based in New Jersey, less than $15,000 each, according to Silverman.

Mohamed Elfilali, executive director of the Islamic Center of Passaic County, laughed when he learned the Arabic billboard would go up in the same town as his office. He says he’s surprised that someone is spending money on such a sign.

“It is not the first and won’t be the last time people have said things about God or religion,” Elfilali says. “I respect people’s opinion about God; obviously they are entitled to it. I don’t think God is a myth, but that doesn’t exclude people to have a different opinion.”

But Elfilali bemoaned the billboards as another example of a hyper-polarized world.

“Sadly, there is a need to polarize society as opposed to build bridges,” he says. “That is the century that we live in. It is very polarized, very politicized.”

Rabbi Serge Lippe of the Brooklyn Heights Synagogue had a similar response.

“The great thing about America is we are marketplace for ideas,” he says. “People put up awful, inappropriate billboards expressing their ideas and that is embraced.”

But Lippe acknowledged that there are a lot of agnostic and atheist Jews. A recent Gallup survey found 53% of Jews identified as nonreligious. Among American Jews, 17% identified as very religious and 30% identified as moderately religious.

“When you have two Jews in the room, you have three opinions,” joked Lippe.

American Atheists have used the word “myth” to describe religion and God on billboards before. Last November, the organization went up with a billboard immediately before the New Jersey entrance to the Lincoln tunnel that showed the three wise men heading to Bethlehem and stated “You KNOW it’s a Myth. This Season, Celebrate Reason.”

At the time, the American Atheists said the billboard was to encourage Atheists to come out of the closet with their beliefs and to dispel the myth that Christianity owns the solstice season.

The Christmas billboard led to a “counter punch” by the Catholic League, a New York-based Catholic advocacy group. The Catholic League put up a competing billboard that said, “You Know It's Real: This Season Celebrate Jesus."

Silverman says his group’s billboard campaigns will continue long into the future.

“There will be more billboards,” Silverman says. “We are not going to be limiting to Muslims and Jews, we are going to be putting up multiple billboards in multiple communities in order to get atheists to come out of the closet.”

Song of the Day by Winans Phase II - Let Him In

2012-02-29T12:17:00.000-05:00

How do We teach our children that Violence does not Solve Problems?

2012-02-29T11:10:00.001-05:00

11-year-old girl Joanna Ramos dies after fight with fifth grader over a boy

She was rushed to the hospital after complaining of a headache

By Meena Hart Duerson / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

A fight over a boy may have turned fatal for an 11-year-old California girl, who died after an altercation with a classmate on Friday.

Fifth grader Joanna Ramos was rushed to the hospital where she died of unknown causes hours after fighting with another girl in an alley next to their elementary school.

"They were fighting just for a boy," Ramos' friend Stephanie Soltero told KABC. "It's just stupid."

Seven other students from the elementary school flocked to the alley to watch the fight, which police said was planned in advance. The confrontation lasted roughly a minute and Ramos didn't have any visible injuries, according to police.

"We believe nobody was knocked to the ground," Deputy Chief Robert Luna said, according to the Los Angeles Times.

After the fight, Ramos went back to her after school program where she complained she wasn't feeling well and was taken home.

Her family brought her to the hospital just before 6 p.m., where police said she arrived unconscious and not breathing. She was rushed to surgery, but died just before 9 p.m.

"My sister-in-law rushed her to the ER, and two hours later she's gone. It's just sad. Very sad," her aunt Celina Cervantes told KTLA.

Luna told the Los Angeles Times the cause of her death remains "undetermined."

"There are still many questions, many questions that cannot be answered,” he said.

KABC reported Ramos had an ongoing issue with the other girl, and that they had also fought on Thursday and again on Friday over the same issue.

The other student in the fight has been identified and interviewed by police, according to KTLA. No arrests have been made.

"It is hard to understand how this could ever happen," Long Beach Mayor Bob Foster said at a press conference Saturday. "All of us are anxious to get answers from the investigation in hopes that they will help us make some sense of this heartbreak."

'Heaven Is for Real' - 4 Year Old Has Glimpse of Afterlife [Video]

2012-02-28T16:41:00.000-05:00

What do you think about this little boy's story?

'Heaven Is for Real' - 4 Year Old Has Glimpse of Afterlife from ourprecioussavior on GodTube.

Are You Kidding? Children Banned Because Pastor Is Sex Offender

2012-02-28T16:30:00.000-05:00

posted by elev8.com

There are moments when you want to ask: Just what God do you serve? This is one of those moments.

The Christ Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church is not your typical black Southern Baptist gathering spot. Most churches don’t knowingly keep convicted child molesters in the pulpit, but this church seems to feel that it’s OK to break with tradition. The church’s pastor, Darrell Gilyard, is a registered sex offender who was just three years ago, pleaded guilty of lewd conduct and molestation of two underage girls.

The incidents took place while Gilyard was the pastor of Shiloh Baptist Church. Gilyard admitted to molesting a 15-year old girl and sending lewd text messages to another. The plea agreement says that Gilyard cannot have “unsupervised contact with children under 18 years old.”

Gilyard’s new church is not only sympathetic to his “condition,” it has also taken extraordinary steps to protect its new pastor from his temptations. Children of all ages have been banned from Gilyard’s church so he can remain in the pulpit. After being released from prison just two months ago, Gilyard is now leading another flock in the quest to praise the “lawud.”

Make sure to read the rest of the story here.

Dear Lord!!!!!

Black History: Russell Simmons

2012-02-28T16:26:00.000-05:00

posted by elev8.com

Michael Buckner/WireImage

Russell Simmons is best known for being the Co-founder of Def Jam Records, and was a force behind the hip-hop revolution and launching the careers of such acts as the Beastie Boys, Public Enemy, LL Cool J and Run-DMC.

The entrepreneur and philanthropist was born in 1957 in New York City. Simmons left college to pursue his passion in promoting upcoming hip hop artists and in 1984, he and partner Rick Rubin founded Def Jam Records. Def Jam signed the forerunners of the hip hop movement including the Beastie Boys, Public Enemy, LL Cool J and Run-DMC.

Simmons saw this as the beginning of building a hip hop empire. Rush Communications firm was comprised of Baby Phat clothing company, television shows, a magazine, advertising company and a management company. His production company produced films including The Nutty Professor and Krush Groove.

Simmons helped to found the Hip Hop Summit Action Network, the Rush Philanthropic Organization and the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding. He actively supports PETA and was named Goodwill Ambassador to fight war, poverty and HIV/AIDS. Simmons also authored a book, Do You! 12 Laws To Access The Power In You To Achieve Happiness And Success.

Simmons married model Kimora Lee Simmons in 1998 for ten years. Daughters Ming and Aoki resulted from that union.

Ways Parents Can Teach Children To Care About Others

2012-02-27T15:38:00.000-05:00

posted by elev8.com

In a world where violence and cruelty seem to be common and almost acceptable, many parents wonder what they can do to help their children to become kinder and gentler—to develop a sense of caring and compassion for others. Raising kids who care isn’t a solution to violence by itself, but it’s reasonable to worry that being exposed to a lot of violence—whether it’s on television or on the streets —could make your children hard and uncaring. People sometimes think that children don’t really see the outside world—or other people—the way adults do, that they only view the world from their own eyes and in their own way.

The most important thing you as a parent can do is to let your children know how much it means to you that they behave with kindness and responsibility. When you see your child doing something that you think is thoughtless or cruel, you should let them know right away that you don’t want them doing that. Speak to your child firmly and honestly, and keep your focus on the act, not on the child personally—something along the lines of ‘What you did is not very nice’ rather than ‘YOU are not very nice.’

Be frank, honest and upfront with your kids about what kind of behavior you do and don’t like. Keep your comments short and to the point; the idea is to teach them, not to make them feel guilty. In other words, our actions speak louder than words. If you are consistently caring and compassionate, it’s more likely that your children will be, too. Children watch their parents, and other adults, for clues on how to behave.

Are Rihanna & Chris Brown A Slap In The Face To Abuse?

2012-02-27T15:28:00.000-05:00

posted by elev8.com

Rihanna and Chris Brown have been the topic of conversation for domestic violence professionals and pastors who are speaking out about their alleged romantic reconciliation.

After the release of two songs on which Rihanna and Brown collaborated were released, rumors circulated about the musicians reconnecting romantically. However, a domestic violence incident in 2009 that resulted in legal trouble for Brown and a battered Rihanna has caused some domestic violence professionals to speak out about the possible reunion.

Rita Smith, executive director of National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, warned Rihanna that Brown’s violent temper may not have changed since he assaulted her three years ago. After winning a Grammy Award on Feb. 12, Brown tweeted, “Hate all you want because I got a Grammy now! That’s the ultimate **** Off!”

According to Smith, the tweet was an indication of Brown’s mental state. “The response was fairly belligerent and didn’t really indicate that he had changed much in the several years since the assault,” Smith said in a statement on NME.com.

Still, Smith said the two could possibly be friends if Brown treats Rihanna with respect.

What do you think?

Daily Bread: Not My Kind

2012-02-27T15:24:00.000-05:00

February 27, 2012 — by Joe Stowell on odb.org

In the Star Wars trilogy there’s a scene that reminds me of some church people I know. At an establishment somewhere in a remote corner of the galaxy, grotesque-looking creatures socialize over food and music. When Luke Skywalker enters with his two droids, C3PO and R2D2 (who are more “normal” than anyone else there), he is surprisingly turned away with a curt rebuff: “We don’t serve their kind here!”

That strange scene captures the malady that we all struggle with in our relationships here on planet Earth. We are always more comfortable with people who are just like us. But think of where you would be if Jesus had felt that way. He was divine, perfect in every way, which makes Him far different from us. Yet He came to dwell among us and to die for us.

Those of us who follow Christ shouldn’t have “they’re not my kind” in our vocabulary. As Paul reminds us, in Him “there is neither Jew nor Greek, . . . slave nor free, . . . male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Gal. 3:28). So, whether others are different in attitude, perspective, race, class, political slant, or social standing, it should make no difference to those of us who call ourselves by Jesus’ name.

Find someone who is not your kind and share Jesus’ love with them today!

I pray, O Lord, reveal to me If I have caused disunity, For You would have Your children one In praise and love for Your dear Son. —Branon

Love your neighbor— even if they aren’t your kind!

Song of the Day by John P. Kee - KARAMU

2012-02-26T08:28:00.000-05:00

PBN News2 26 12

2012-02-26T08:27:00.000-05:00

Song of the Day- Go Get It(New Single) by Mary Mary FULL VERSION

2012-02-23T12:50:00.000-05:00

Recipe of the Day- 1, 2, 3,4 Cake

2012-02-23T10:01:00.008-05:00

Ingredients

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, at room temperature
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
3 cups sifted self-rising flour
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Grease and flour 3 (9-inch) cake pans. Using an electric mixer, cream butter until fluffy. Add sugar and continue to cream well for 6 to 8 minutes. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add flour and milk alternately to creamed mixture, beginning and ending with flour. Add vanilla and continue to beat until just mixed. Divide batter equally among prepared pans. Level batter in each pan by holding pan 3 or 4 inches above counter, then dropping it flat onto counter. Do this several times to release air bubbles and assure you of a more level cake. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until done. Cool in pans 5 to 10 minutes. Invert cakes onto cooling racks. Cool completely and spread cake layers with your favorite frosting to make a 3-layer cake.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/basic-1-2-3-4-cake-recipe/index.html

The Bible is Back in School!!! What do you Think?

2012-02-23T08:12:00.002-05:00

Arizona House Committee Passes Bible Course Bill

Updated: Monday, 30 Jan 2012, 7:23 PM MST
Published : Monday, 30 Jan 2012, 7:23 PM MST

MICHELLE L. PRICE, Associated Press

PHOENIX (AP) — A House committee on Monday advanced a proposal that would create an elective high school course about the Bible and its role in Western culture.

The bill asks the state Board of Education to design a course called "The Bible and its Influence on Western Culture."

Republican Rep. Terri Proud of Tucson, the measure's sponsor, said the class would not be forced on schools or students, and teachers could face consequences if they violate laws separating church and state.

Proud said students would benefit from the course because biblical references are everywhere. Proud has said teachers in her district told her they have a fear of mentioning Christianity or the Bible in the classroom, and she hopes the law will give them some guidance.

Critics say the proposal is unnecessary and divisive and could be unconstitutional because it "sets aside Christianity as a preferred religion."

Public schools across the country have generally avoided Bible courses, but hundreds offer such classes as electives. At least five other states have passed legislation similar to the Arizona proposal.

In 1963, the U.S. Supreme Court banned ceremonial Bible readings in schools but said "the Bible is worthy of study for its literary and historic qualities" so long as material is "presented objectively as part of a secular program of education."

The Arizona bill stipulates that the course maintain "religious neutrality," and requires a legal review for the course to ensure the curriculum doesn't conflict with the U.S. Constitution.

Proud said any teacher could face consequences if they stray into unconstitutional grounds. But the bill also includes a clause that leaves teachers immune from civil liability or disciplinary action, as long as the teacher was teaching the material from a historical context and "in good faith."

The measure passed 6-2 along party lines, with Republicans in favor.

Critics testified at the House Education Committee hearing that the bill could open the state and schools up to lawsuits and would make it very easy for teachers to stray into an area that violates the First Amendment rights of students.

The bill advances to the rules committee. From there, if it passes, the measure would move to the full House.

Follow this story: State Lawmaker Wants Public Schools to Offer Elective Bible Class

Old School Song of the Day-"God Is" (1979)- Rev. James Cleveland

2012-02-22T12:41:00.000-05:00

Black History: The Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment

2012-02-22T10:44:00.001-05:00

The Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment

The U.S. government's 40-year experiment on black men with syphilis

"The United States government did something that was wrong—deeply, profoundly, morally wrong. It was an outrage to our commitment to integrity and equality for all our citizens... clearly racist."

—President Clinton's apology for the Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment to the eight remaining survivors, May 16, 1997

For forty years between 1932 and 1972, the U.S. Public Health Service (PHS) conducted an experiment on 399 black men in the late stages of syphilis. These men, for the most part illiterate sharecroppers from one of the poorest counties in Alabama, were never told what disease they were suffering from or of its seriousness. Informed that they were being treated for “bad blood,” their doctors had no intention of curing them of syphilis at all.

The data for the experiment was to be collected from autopsies of the men, and they were thus deliberately left to degenerate under the ravages of tertiary syphilis—which can include tumors, heart disease, paralysis, blindness, insanity, and death. “As I see it,” one of the doctors involved explained, “we have no further interest in these patients until they die.”

Using Human Beings as Laboratory Animals

Taliaferro Clark, Head of the U.S. Public Health Service at the outset of the experiment.

The true nature of the experiment had to be kept from the subjects to ensure their cooperation. The sharecroppers' grossly disadvantaged lot in life made them easy to manipulate. Pleased at the prospect of free medical care—almost none of them had ever seen a doctor before—these unsophisticated and trusting men became the pawns in what James Jones, author of the excellent history on the subject, Bad Blood, identified as “the longest nontherapeutic experiment on human beings in medical history.”

The study was meant to discover how syphilis affected blacks as opposed to whites—the theory being that whites experienced more neurological complications from syphilis, whereas blacks were more susceptible to cardiovascular damage. How this knowledge would have changed clinical treatment of syphilis is uncertain.

Although the PHS touted the study as one of great scientific merit, from the outset its actual benefits were hazy. It took almost forty years before someone involved in the study took a hard and honest look at the end results, reporting that “nothing learned will prevent, find, or cure a single case of infectious syphilis or bring us closer to our basic mission of controlling venereal disease in the United States.”

When the experiment was brought to the attention of the media in 1972, news anchor Harry Reasoner described it as an experiment that “used human beings as laboratory animals in a long and inefficient study of how long it takes syphilis to kill someone.”

A Heavy Price in the Name of Bad Science

To ensure that the men would show up for a painful and potentially dangerous spinal tap, the PHS doctors misled them with a letter full of promotional hype: “Last Chance for Special Free Treatment.”

The fact that autopsies would eventually be required was also concealed.

By the end of the experiment, 28 of the men had died directly of syphilis, 100 were dead of related complications, 40 of their wives had been infected, and 19 of their children had been born with congenital syphilis. How had these men been induced to endure a fatal disease in the name of science?

To persuade the community to support the experiment, one of the original doctors admitted it “was necessary to carry on this study under the guise of a demonstration and provide treatment.” At first, the men were prescribed the syphilis remedies of the day—bismuth, neoarsphenamine, and mercury— but in such small amounts that only 3 percent showed any improvement.

These token doses of medicine were good public relations and did not interfere with the true aims of the study. Eventually, all syphilis treatment was replaced with “pink medicine”—aspirin.

To ensure that the men would show up for a painful and potentially dangerous spinal tap, the PHS doctors misled them with a letter full of promotional hype: “Last Chance for Special Free Treatment.” The fact that autopsies would eventually be required was also concealed.

As a doctor explained, “If the colored population becomes aware that accepting free hospital care means a post-mortem, every darky will leave Macon County...” Even the Surgeon General of the United States participated in enticing the men to remain in the experiment, sending them certificates of appreciation after 25 years in the study.

Following Doctors' Orders

It takes little imagination to ascribe racist attitudes to the white government officials who ran the experiment, but what can one make of the numerous African Americans who collaborated with them? The experiment's name comes from the Tuskegee Institute, the black university founded by Booker T. Washington. Its affiliated hospital lent the PHS its medical facilities for the study, and other predominantly black institutions as well as local black doctors also participated. A black nurse, Eunice Rivers, was a central figure in the experiment for most of its forty years.

The Veterans' Administration Hospital in Tuskegee, Alabama. Some of the study's post-mortem exams were conducted here.

The promise of recognition by a prestigious government agency may have obscured the troubling aspects of the study for some. A Tuskegee doctor, for example, praised “the educational advantages offered our interns and nurses as well as the added standing it will give the hospital.” Nurse Rivers explained her role as one of passive obedience: “we were taught that we never diagnosed, we never prescribed; we followed the doctor's instructions!”

It is clear that the men in the experiment trusted her and that she sincerely cared about their well-being, but her unquestioning submission to authority eclipsed her moral judgment. Even after the experiment was exposed to public scrutiny, she genuinely felt nothing ethical had been amiss.

One of the most chilling aspects of the experiment was how zealously the PHS kept these men from receiving treatment. When several nationwide campaigns to eradicate venereal disease came to Macon County, the men were prevented from participating. Even when penicillin—the first real cure for syphilis—was discovered in the 1940s, the Tuskegee men were deliberately denied the medication.

During World War II, 250 of the men registered for the draft and were consequently ordered to get treatment for syphilis, only to have the PHS exempt them. Pleased at their success, the PHS representative announced: “So far, we are keeping the known positive patients from getting treatment.” The experiment continued in spite of the Henderson Act (1943), a public health law requiring testing and treatment for venereal disease, and in spite of the World Health Organization's Declaration of Helsinki (1964), which specified that “informed consent” was needed for experiments involving human beings.

Blowing the Whistle

The PHS did not accept the media's comparison of Tuskegee with the experiments performed by Nazi doctors on Jewish victims during World War II. Yet the PHS offered the same defense offered at the Nuremberg trials — they were just carrying out orders.

The story finally broke in the Washington Star on July 25, 1972, in an article by Jean Heller of the Associated Press. Her source was Peter Buxtun, a former PHS venereal disease interviewer and one of the few whistle blowers over the years. The PHS, however, remained unrepentant, claiming the men had been “volunteers” and “were always happy to see the doctors,” and an Alabama state health officer who had been involved claimed “somebody is trying to make a mountain out of a molehill.”

Under the glare of publicity, the government ended their experiment, and for the first time provided the men with effective medical treatment for syphilis. Fred Gray, a lawyer who had previously defended Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King, filed a class action suit that provided a $10 million out-of-court settlement for the men and their families. Gray, however, named only whites and white organizations as defendants in the suit, portraying Tuskegee as a black and white case when it was in fact more complex than that—black doctors and institutions had been involved from beginning to end.

The PHS did not accept the media's comparison of Tuskegee with the appalling experiments performed by Nazi doctors on their Jewish victims during World War II. Yet in addition to the medical and racist parallels, the PHS offered the same morally bankrupt defense offered at the Nuremberg trials: they claimed they were just carrying out orders, mere cogs in the wheel of the PHS bureaucracy, exempt from personal responsibility.

The study's other justification—for the greater good of science—is equally spurious. Scientific protocol had been shoddy from the start. Since the men had in fact received some medication for syphilis in the beginning of the study, however inadequate, it thereby corrupted the outcome of a study of “untreated syphilis.”

The Legacy of Tuskegee

In 1990, a survey found that 10 percent of African Americans believed that the U.S. government created AIDS as a plot to exterminate blacks, and another 20 percent could not rule out the possibility that this might be true. As preposterous and paranoid as this may sound, at one time the Tuskegee experiment must have seemed equally farfetched.

Who could imagine the government, all the way up to the Surgeon General of the United States, deliberately allowing a group of its citizens to die from a terrible disease for the sake of an ill-conceived experiment? In light of this and many other shameful episodes in our history, African Americans' widespread mistrust of the government and white society in general should not be a surprise to anyone.

1. All quotations in the article are from Bad Blood: The Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment, James H. Jones, expanded edition (New York: Free Press, 1993).

Read more: Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment (History, Facts, Bad Blood, Bad Science) — Infoplease.com http://www.infoplease.com/spot/bhmtuskegee1.html#ixzz1n3jbI8qZ

Read more: Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment (History, Facts, Bad Blood, Bad Science) — Infoplease.com http://www.infoplease.com/spot/bhmtuskegee1.html#ixzz1n3jKilkd

Did Friends and Family ignore warning Signs before teen Killed Father?

2012-02-22T07:25:00.001-05:00

Friends, Family Defend Teen Accused Of Killing His Father

February 20, 2012 11:25 PM

BEL AIR, Md. (WJZ) — A Harford County teenager killed his father, leaving friends and neighbors with more questions than answers.

Vic Carter investigates the stunning crime and why so many are rushing to the teen’s defense.

Inside one Bel Air Home, something terrible happened. Sixteen-year-old Robert Richardson told police he grabbed a gun and killed his father and it was no accident.

“He didn’t wake up that morning and say `I’m gonna blow my father’s brains out.’ That’s been coming for a long time,” said cousin Mary Jane Richardson. “He was terrorized. He was terrified of his father.”

Robert Richardson’s friends say he wore dirty, worn-out clothes that didn’t fit and was often black and blue.

“He had bruises a couple times,” said Robert’s friend, Hannah Siple. “Sometimes on his face. Most of the time on his arms, like chest, collarbone…just everywhere.”

“I just wish I could have done something for him before,” said Robert’s friend, Josh Eisner.

Vic Carter met with family, friends and neighbors who have started a Free Robert Richardson Facebook page to raise money for his defense.

“There’s a child that needs somebody’s help and we may be late but we’re here now,” said parent Eileen Siple.

“We know what he did was wrong,” said Crystal Testerman. “We just want him to have a shot at a future. That’s why we’re all here.”

Few knew Richardson’s father better than his cousin Mary Jane, who grew up with him and still lives just a few miles away.

“My first thought was `What the hell did he do to that child to make him like that?’” Mary Jane Richardson said. “‘Cause he was never like that.”

There’s no doubt that Robert Richardson killed his father, but what many in this Bel Air neighborhood are asking is whether there were warning signs that were missed and could authorities have acted before it was too late?

“I know that there were so many signs that something was wrong in that house and too many people looked the other way,” Eileen Siple said.

WJZ obtained documents which show Harford County Sheriff deputies responded to the Richardson’s home 16 times, but never for domestic violence. While people now say the teen was in danger, the Sheriff’s Department never suspected abuse.

Social Services refused to tell WJZ whether they were involved.

“I felt the boy has been so let down and no love and no nurturing since his mother died,” Mary Jane Richardson said.

While rare, children killing parents does happen, including cases in Cockeysville and Towson. Each time, people asked whether something could have been done to prevent it.

“We are all responsible for the children. We all are, every one of us. Every single person who looks the other way is guilty,” Eileen Siple said.

All the Free Richardson supporters can focus on now is seeing that the courts treat Robert as a troubled teen who was pushed into pulling the trigger.

“Justifiable homicide. You’re darn right I believe it,” Mary Jane Richardson said.

Richardson is charged as an adult with murder and is being held without bail. So far, the Free Robert Richardson Facebook page has raised $4,500 for his defense.Di

Today’s Gr8t Eat: How To Make Whole Wheat Waffles

2012-02-21T16:44:00.000-05:00

posted by elev8.com

Waffles vary significantly, but are often made from a batter leavened with baking powder and may be round, square, or rectangular in shape. They are usually served as a sweet breakfast food, topped with butter and maple syrup, other fruit syrups, honey, or powdered sugar. They are also found in many different savory dishes, such as fried chicken and waffles or topped with kidney stew.

They may also be served as desserts, topped with ice cream and various other toppings. They are generally denser and thinner than the Belgian waffle. Waffles were first introduced to North America in 1620 by Pilgrims who brought the method from Holland. Thomas Jefferson brought a waffle iron from France, and waffle frolics or parties became popular in the late 18th century.

REa

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour, white whole wheat or traditional

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons sugar

1 large egg

1 1/2 cups milk

1/3 cup melted butter or vegetable oil

Directions

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg, milk, and butter or oil. Mix together the wet and dry ingredients, stirring just till combined. Cook the waffles as directed in the instructions that came with your waffle iron. Yield: about eight 8″ waffles.

Daily Bread: Slacker?

2012-02-21T16:14:00.000-05:00

February 21, 2012 — posted by Cindy Hess Kasper on odb.org

While studying the book of Proverbs in my small-group Bible study, our leader suggested that we change the description of a lazy person from asluggard to a slacker (6:6,9). Ah, now he was speaking my lingo. I immediately started thinking of all the people I consider to be slackers.

Like the men and women who fail to teach and discipline their children. Or that guy who refuses to help around the house. Or those teenagers who neglect their studies and play Internet games day and night.

If we’re honest, we’re all susceptible to this. What about being a “prayer slacker” (1 Thess. 5:17-18), or a “Bible-reading slacker” (Ps. 119:103; 2 Tim. 3:16-17), or a “non-exercising-of-our-spiritual-gift slacker” (Rom. 12:4-8), or a “non-witnessing slacker”? (Matt. 28:19-20; Acts 1:8).

If we are not doing what we know God wants us to do, we are certainly spiritual slackers. In fact, when we refuse to obey God, we are sinning.

Listen to these challenging and convicting words from the book of James: “It is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it” (4:17 NLT). Let’s not be spiritual slackers.

When we know what God wants us to do,
But then we refuse to obey,
We’re ignoring the voice of the Lord,
And sinfully choosing our way. —Sper

We may make excuses for not obeying God,
but He still calls it disobedience.

Jeremy Lin Was Bible Study Teacher At Harvard

2012-02-21T16:12:00.000-05:00

posted by elev8.com

Lin was involved in a Bible study group run by the Harvard-Radcliffe Asian American Christian Fellowship, according to a 2010 interview with the online publication StudentSoul.org. Jeremy Lin, while enrolled at Harvard University and playing for its basketball team, was co-leader of a Bible study group.

“I became a co-leader my junior year and I’m co-leading again this year. The group is a mix of believers and seekers,” said Lin to StudentSoul.org.

“Our fellowship has about 80 people and our purpose is to know God and make him known. We’re trying to do that in a way that is relevant for everyone on our campus.”

Lin skyrocketed to national, and arguably international, fame after leading his losing New York Knicks team to 7 straight wins over the past few weeks. For six consecutive games, Lin has at least 20 points – pretty good for a substitute player who went undrafted after college.

The 6’3” point guard played basketball at Harvard for all four years that he was enrolled there. After college, he signed as a free agent with the Golden State Warriors. But the Golden State Warriors and later the Houston Rockets both eventually dropped him after a short period of time. Eventually, he was picked up by the New York Knicks.

“Even though I go to church, I don’t really know many people there, but my real community is my small group.”

While with the Golden State Warriors in 2010, Lin gave a faith testimony at River of Life Christian Church of Santa Clara, Calif. He said everything in his life were blessings from God.

PBN NEWS 2 /19/ 12

2012-02-20T17:50:00.002-05:00

Hometown Highlight: Baltimore 2012 B'More Healthy Expo

2012-02-16T11:25:00.000-05:00

B’More Healthy…Go Green!

The B’More Healthy Expo is Saturday, March 17th…and in honor of St Patrick’s Day, we invite you to “Go Green… and be more healthy!”

Get screened and save some green. Proactive, preventive care helps you save on health care . Meet with health care professionals to learn how they can help your family be more healthy. Taste fresh, green vegetables and fruits to fuel your body. Explore the outdoors! Take a walk through Baltimore’s green pathways. Do you have a green thumb? Try your hand at gardening. Explore green living options from healthy homes, to alternative fuels, to smart home remodeling, to energy efficient fuels for home and cars. You can even stand in front of the green screen with FOX45 meteorologists and forecast the weather!

Join us on St. Patrick’s Day, Saturday, March 17th and “B’More Healthy…and Go Green!”

The B’More Healthy Expo is designed to showcase vendors, programs, and opportunities to get people moving, taking action and making choices to be more healthy. The Expo promises to be fun engaging all ages in health and wellness activities to be healthy and fit physically, emotionally, spiritually, and financially. The EXPO will provide health screenings, wellness information, resources…. All in one place in one time in this region!

If your organization would like to have a presence at the event and reach thousands of Marylanders, please contact:

Pat Sullivan
Email: info@bmorehealthyexpo.com
Phone Number: (410)662-1443

Song of the day by Ricky Dillard & New G - One More Chance

2012-02-16T08:44:00.000-05:00

Black History: Stokely Carmichael Coined the Phrase "Black Power!"

2012-02-15T11:22:00.005-05:00

Stokely Carmichael was born in the Port of Spain, Trinidad, on 29th June, 1941. Carmichael moved to the United States in 1952 and attended high school in New York City. He entered Howard University in 1960 and soon afterwards joined the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC).

In 1961 Carmichael became a member of the Freedom Riders. After training in non-violent techniques, black and white volunteers sat next to each other as they travelled through the Deep South. Local police were unwilling to protect these passengers and in several places they were beaten up by white mobs. In Jackson, Mississippi, Carmichael was arrested and jailed for 49 days in Parchman Penitentiary. Carmichael also worked on the Freedom Summer project and in 1966 became chairman of SNCC.

On 5th June, 1966, James Meredith started a solitary March Against Fear from Memphis to Jackson, to protest against racism. Soon after starting his march he was shot by sniper. When they heard the news, other civil rights campaigners, including Carmichael, Martin Luther King and Floyd McKissick, decided to continue the march in Meredith's name.

When the marchers got to Greenwood, Mississippi, Carmichael and some of the other marchers were arrested by the police. It was the 27th time that Carmichael had been arrested and on his release on 16th June, he made his famous Black Power speech. Carmichael called for "black people in this country to unite, to recognize their heritage, and to build a sense of community". He also advocated that African Americans should form and lead their own organizations and urged a complete rejection of the values of American society.

The following year Carmichael joined with Charles V. Hamilton to write the book, Black Power: The Politics of Liberation in America (1967). Some leaders of civil rights groups such as the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People (NAACP) and Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), rejected Carmichael's ideas and accused him of black racism.

Carmichael also adopted the slogan of "Black is Beautiful" and advocated a mood of black pride and a rejection of white values of style and appearance. This included adopting Afro hairstyles and African forms of dress. Carmichael began to criticize Martin Luther King and his ideology of nonviolence. He eventually joined the Black Panther Party where he became "honorary prime minister".

When Carmichael denounced United States involvement in the Vietnam War, his passport was confiscated and held for ten months. When his passport was returned, he moved with his wife, Miriam Makeba, to Guinea, where he wrote the book, Stokely Speaks: Black Power Back to Pan-Africanism (1971).

Carmichael, who adopted the name, Kwame Ture, also helped to establish the All-African People's Revolutionary Party and worked as an aide to Guinea's prime minister, Sekou Toure. After the death of Toure in 1984 Carmichael was arrested by the new military regime and charged with trying to overthrow the government. However, he only spent three days in prison before being released.

Stokely Carmichael died of cancer on 15th November, 1998.

Song of the Day by Mali Music- Mercy Lord

2012-02-15T09:45:00.000-05:00

How to Prevent Child Molestation: A Guide for the Concerned Parent

2012-02-15T08:28:00.000-05:00

There's outrage from parents over how a man accused of molesting a student was allowed to get easy access to children.

Charles Shelly, 44 is accused of sexually assaulting a 13-year old girl.

Police say in December, Charles Shelly touched the girl while she was in his car watching a movie at Herring Run Park. Investigators say Shelly claimed to be a school mentor to get close to children.

City schools say he is not affiliated with any public education programs. But parents say he was an all too familiar face at the school.

Tuesday, February 14 2012, 23:05 PM EST

A guide for the concerned parent.

by David Mandel, David Pelcovitz, Ph.D and Dr. Susan Schulman

Child molestation is a disease. The child molester is a sick person with an illness that he is unable to control or stop on his own. He has a preoccupation and a sexual desire for young children. In order to stop, he needs help through treatment, supervision or incarceration.

In our collective experience working with this population in the Jewish community, approximately one-third of pedophiles have a preference for boys, one-third prefer girls, and one-third have no preference. Some pedophiles also have distinct preferences within select age groups. And one predator may abuse dozens or hundreds of children.

What can we -- as parents, educators and a community -- do to protect and respond to sexual abuse?

Children are sexually victimized because they canbe

Children are sexually victimized because they can be. They are trusting, vulnerable, curious by nature, and usually not suspicious of adults -- certainly not of a parent, teacher, counselor or other role model. This can be true of adolescents as well, who can fall prey to sexual abuse even into their mid teens.

Children can be victimized repeatedly because they are often too ashamed or frightened to divulge information to others. They are frightened because the molester has threatened to hurt them or their family members, or frightened that their parents will not believe them or will blame them.

While reliable statistics regarding the prevalence of this problem in the Jewish community are not available, there are a number of protective factors that should lead to a lower incidence. These include our community's strong emphasis on family closeness, and community support programs that provide assistance for stressed-out parents.

Click here to receive Aish.com's free weekly email.

Unfortunately, however, there are powerful risk factors as well. Research studies have found that those most likely to recognize and report abuse are policemen or emergency room doctors, while those least likely to recognize and report abuse are people who come from the same community or religious background as the abused child. It is therefore not surprising that when abuse is suspected among our own, the first response might be denial or a tendency to ignore a reality that is so antithetical to our standards and way of life.

This vicious cycle, unfortunately, can inadvertently embolden child molesters.

Body and Brain

In the last decade, a number of adolescents and young married people have self-identified and sought treatment for their serious problems with gambling, drugs and alcohol. It is fair to say that as serious as these problems are, they no longer carry the social stigma and social isolation they did just a short few years ago.

Not so with sexual abuse -- not to the victim or to the perpetrator.

He (95 percent are male) will almost never voluntarily seek treatment. The fears of retribution, social isolation, physical harm, loss of family, loss of work, along with his sexual proclivities, prevent him from disclosing.

Similarly, victims of sexual abuse, unlike other victims, almost never self-disclose. Abusers gain the child's loyalty and confidence, and then convince the child that any "bad feelings" are "all your fault."

A crime victim may report to the police. A victim of domestic violence may seek out a relative, a rabbi, or a mental health professional. A drug user or alcohol binger can often be recognized by a spouse or employer. Not so with a victim of sexual abuse who is embarrassed, who represses, and who, years later, continues to carry the scars of the unresolved trauma of the abuse.

Child molestation is an invasion of the body and brain. The harm is staggering, reaching into nearly all areas of the child's life:

• Ability to trust others: Children abused by a trusted adult may have difficulty allowing themselves to get close to members of the extended family or adults they come in contact with. Young children may become more clingy and older children may develop a hostile or mistrustful attitude in relating to others.

• Impaired self-concept: Abused children may develop a sense of permanent damage, which may include feelings of shame, self-blame, and a general sense that they are unworthy of love. Some react by gravitating to peer groups dominated by rejected or rebellious children, since they view themselves as not deserving to be in the mainstream.

• Difficulty controlling emotions: Increased irritability or difficulty calming down after becoming upset is frequently seen in these children. Younger children may manifest regressed behaviors such as an increase in whining, tantrums or bed-wetting. Older children may become less compliant or more withdrawn. Feelings of sadness, emptiness and hopelessness may be accompanied by physical complaints such as frequent headaches or stomach aches.

• Academic difficulties: A number of studies have documented higher rates of academic difficulties in abused children. Impaired concentration and motivation are among the contributors to school difficulties.

• Religious crisis: We have found that some children may experience a crisis in faith after their victimization. For adolescents, in particular, it may be very difficult to reconcile religious beliefs with actions by supposedly "religious" adults who act in a hypocritical manner.

Oftentimes a child will keep the abuse a secret for 10 or 20 years. Only when the child becomes an adult does he have the confidence to share his story. In the meantime, he bears a heavy burden.

Beyond all this, many abused children grow up to become abusers themselves.

Prevention

What can be done?

Children must be taught about it honestly.

Children must be taught about it honestly. They must be prepared to fend off and respond to sexual advances, nuanced and overt, from persons they know and often trust. Parents need to know that it is not enough to teach children only about being wary of strangers. Sex-abuse prevention techniques have been developed that frame the issue in the context of overall safety, no different than fire safety or water safety, helping children to develop wariness without fear.

The most important thing to do to protect your child is to make sure that he or she will always come to tell the parent immediately if something unusual happens. Every child must know that his parents want him to talk to them. Opening the lines of communication must start very early.

Dr. Susan Schulman, a Jewish pediatrician in Brooklyn, recommends that parents discuss with their children in an age-appropriate fashion:

The area that is covered by your bathing suit is your private area. Sometimes when you are little your teacher may help you in the bathroom. That is okay. Other than that, you are not allowed to touch someone else and no one is allowed to touch you in the area covered by your bathing suit. You are not allowed to show anyone and no one is allowed to show you. If anyone does this you can say: "No! My mommy doesn't let me!" Go away from that person and tell your mommy what happened.

If someone is touching you, hurting you, or making you feel bad, tell me about and I will stop it.

Your mommy and daddy love you. We will always love you. Nothing you will do will ever take that love away from you. We want to hear about things that happen in school -- all the good things and even the bad things that happen.

If you have done a bad thing, we may not like what you did, but we will always love you.

If anyone hurts or scares you, you should come and tell mommy or daddy. They might tell you that something terrible will happen if you tell your mommy, but you must still tell us. We are grownups and we will protect you. I will give you the biggest hug if you tell me about it.

Older children and teenagers need the same reassurance. Tell the child that you are there for him/her, and that you always want to hear about their experiences – good and bad. Tell your child you will always love him.

The larger the family, the more important it is that you give a few minutes a day of eye contact and keep the channel of communication open. Ask, "How was your day?" Even if he doesn't say much, this communicates that you are interested and available when the need arises.

This line of talk should be gently reinforced periodically with the child. There are many milestones where these conversations can occur naturally, e.g. entering preschool, a new school, send off every year to camp, a weekend getaway.

Since the majority of children are molested by people they know – relative, neighbor, sports coach, teacher, bus driver -- you need to discuss trust in older people and role models. This one person did something bad. Place an emphasis on all the other people who are good, loving and kind.

Speak to your children about exercising care not to be caught in a situation alone. Young people should walk in groups, particularly at night.

It is human nature to shy away from discussing sexual issues with our children when they're young adults, let alone when they may be 10 or 15 years old. Yet this is what we need to discuss.

Detection

There are various warning signs and red flags to look for in your child who may have been victimized.

Dr. Schulman lists five behavior changes that may indicate the child is being subjected to abuse:

The child may seem unusually interested in the private areas of the other people's bodies.

The child may draw pictures of hidden body parts.

The child may show signs of stress such as sleep problems, appetite changes, behavior changes, tantrums, restart bed-wetting, fears and irritability.

The child may become unusually afraid or unusually attached to an adult in his life.

The child might give verbal hints or even describe the abuse to the parent.

If your child exhibits a serious problem that appears to be new, you can consider sexual abuse a possible factor without getting alarmed or overreacting. In seeking out professional help for treatment, go to a mental health professional and ask about his or her specialized training in this area.

Recovery

Research regarding the role of religious beliefs in helping victims deal with the impact of abuse repeatedly finds that religion can play a crucial protective role in helping victims find meaning and support, even in the face of cynicism and betrayal. On the other hand, many religious individuals who are victimized by a member of their community experience the additional trauma of feeling abandoned by a religion that they were taught stands against abuse. It is therefore not surprising that a percentage of alienated and rebellious adolescents who "drop out" of active religious observance have a history of being molested.

Identification and treatment can be highly successful as children and adolescents have remarkable resilience. The majority of victims, with proper support, can emerge from the experience strong and healthy.

If we believe that our child is a victim of, molestation and talking is the very first step, what should you talk about? You should emphasize the following to your son or daughter:

We, your mother and father, love you.

You did absolutely nothing wrong.

Your body is yours, let's discuss how to protect it in the future, no one can touch your body in any way without your permission.

Your body is good, it's not dirty. Someone else who is not good did something that he wasn't supposed to.

He was wrong for doing this.

You were not in the wrong because this happened.

And what about the perpetrator? Pedophiles need to be pushed to seek professional treatment, pushed out of circumstances where they can be in regular contact with children, pushed into supervised and controlled environments, or pushed into the criminal justice system.

Pedophilia is a treatable disease. While it is not curable, long-term treatment can be administered over several years, and if the perpetrator is compliant, this can allow him to return to a relatively normal life. Certainly his family should not be punished, as unfortunately often happens.

In Conclusion

A communal resolve by parents to prepare,
By educators to teach,
By school administrators not to tolerate,
By informing law enforcement and child protective authorities as required,
By each group in our community doing their share,
Can lead to a reduction in the number of children who will be hurt,
An increased vigilance against offenders, and
A supportive environment for victims to disclose and be supported.

Black History: Norbert Rillieux

2012-02-14T08:59:00.002-05:00

Norbert Rillieux (March 17, 1806-October 8, 1894) was an African-American inventor and engineer who invented a device that revolutionized sugar processing. Rillieux's multiple effect vacuum sugar evaporator (patented in 1864) made the processing of sugar more efficient, faster, and much safer. The resulting sugar was also superior. His apparatus was eventually adopted by sugar processing plants all around the world.

Rillieux was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA. His mother had been a slave and his father was a wealthy white sugar plantation owner. Norbert's brilliance was noticed early in his life. He was educated in Paris, France, and later taught engineering in Paris. Rillieux published many steam engineering papers.

While in Paris, Rillieux learned that the boiling point of liquids is reduced as the pressure is reduced (like in a vacuum). Rillieux applied this to the processing of sugar, heating the cane sugar in a vacuum, and re-using the steam in the processing procedure. This resulted in a highly efficient mechanical process that replaced the old, laborious, dangerous, and costly method of processing sugar by hand that was called the "Jamaica train."

What Is The True Meaning Behind St. Valentine's Day

2012-02-14T08:50:00.002-05:00

posted by elev8.com

Each year on February 14 we peruse the store shelves for the perfect gift or card for a loved one. According to Hallmark, more than 163 million cards—not including packaged kids’ valentines—are exchanged. And it’s not just an American phenomenon. Valentine’s Day is celebrated in Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, France, Australia, Italy and Denmark.

But why? How did this holiday of love and romance originate and, more importantly, how did St. Valentine become involved? The answers to those questions are not easy ones. Valentine’s Day is a holiday shrouded in mystery and legend.

The origins of St. Valentine’s Day lie in the ancient Roman fertility festival Lupercalia, which was celebrated on February 15. During the festival, young women would place their names in a large urn. The young men would draw a name from the urn and then be romantically linked with that young woman for the following year. Still other legends cite the fact that February 14 marked the date when birds began mating.

A quick quiz: St. Valentine was:

a)  a priest in the Roman Empire who helped persecuted Christians during the reign of Claudius II, was thrown in jail and later beheaded on Feb. 14.
b)  a Catholic bishop of Terni who was beheaded, also during the reign of Claudius II.
c)  someone who secretly married couples when marriage was forbidden, or suffered in Africa, or wrote letters to his jailer’s daughter, and was probably beheaded.
d)  all, some, or possibly none of the above.

If you guessed d), give yourself a box of chocolates. Although the mid-February holiday celebrating love and lovers remains wildly popular, the confusion over its origins led the Catholic Church, in 1969, to drop St. Valentine’s Day from the Roman calendar of official, worldwide Catholic feasts. (Those highly sought-after days are reserved for saints with more clear historical record. After all, the saints are real individuals for us to imitate.) Some parishes, however, observe the feast of St. Valentine.

The roots of St. Valentine’s Day lie in the ancient Roman festival of Lupercalia, which was celebrated on Feb. 15. For 800 years the Romans had dedicated this day to the god Lupercus. On Lupercalia, a young man would draw the name of a young woman in a lottery and would then keep the woman as a sexual companion for the year.

Pope Gelasius I was, understandably, less than thrilled with this custom. So he changed the lottery to have both young men and women draw the names of saints whom they would then emulate for the year (a change that no doubt disappointed a few young men). Instead of Lupercus, the patron of the feast became Valentine. For Roman men, the day continued to be an occasion to seek the affections of women, and it became a tradition to give out handwritten messages of admiration that included Valentine’s name.

There was also a conventional belief in Europe during the Middle Ages that birds chose their partners in the middle of February. Thus the day was dedicated to love, and people observed it by writing love letters and sending small gifts to their beloved. Legend has it that Charles, duke of Orleans, sent the first real Valentine card to his wife in 1415, when he was imprisoned in the Tower of London. (He, however, was not beheaded, and died a half-century later of old age.)

Bishop Preaches Sermon, Collaspes And Dies On Altar [VIDEO]

2012-02-14T08:44:00.002-05:00

posted by elev8.com

For we know not the hour or time. Will you be ready?

Bishop Barnett K. Thoroughgood had just finished his Sunday sermon called “I Am Here to do Battle” when he sat down in his seat on stage, and collapsed. Soon after, he was pronounced dead. Members of New Jerusalem Church of God in Christ prayed and cried as paramedics tried to revive their 62-year-old pastor to no avail.
This was his last sermon:

God Rest His Soul. Click here to read more

Black History: Blanche Kelso Bruce

2012-02-13T08:59:00.000-05:00

Information from Wikipedia.

Bruce was born in Prince Edward County, Virginia near Farmville to Pettis Perkinson, a white Virginia plantation owner, and an African-American house slave named Polly Bruce. He was treated comparatively well by his father, who educated him together with his legitimate half-brother. When Blanche Bruce was young, he played with his half-brother. As Blanche Bruce was born enslaved, because of his mother's status, his father legally freed him and arranged for an apprenticeship so he could learn a trade.^[1]

Bruce's house at 909 M Street NW in Washington, D.C. was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1975

In 1850, Bruce moved to Missouri after becoming a printer's apprentice. After the Union Army rejected his application to fight in the Civil War, Bruce taught school and attended Oberlin College in Ohio for two years. Then he went to work as a steamboat porter on the Mississippi River. In 1864, he moved toHannibal, Missouri, where he established a school for blacks.

During Reconstruction, Bruce became a wealthy landowner in the Mississippi Delta. He was appointed to the positions of Tallahatchie County registrar of voters and tax assessor before winning an election forsheriff in Bolivar County. He later was elected to other county positions, including tax collector and supervisor of education, while he also edited a local newspaper. In February 1874, Bruce was elected by the state legislature to the Senate as a Republican. On February 14, 1879, Bruce presided over the U.S. Senate becoming the first African-American (and the only former slave) to do so.^[2] Bruce served as theDistrict of Columbia recorder of deeds in 1891–93, and again as register of the treasury until his death in 1898.

On June 24, 1878, Bruce married Josephine Beal Willson (1853–February 15, 1923) of Cleveland, Ohio amid great publicity; the couple traveled to Europe for a four-month honeymoon. Their only child, Roscoe Conkling Bruce was born in 1879. He was named for New York Senator Roscoe Conkling, Bruce's mentor in the Senate. In 2002, scholar Molefi Kete Asante listed Blanche Bruce on his list of100 Greatest African Americans.^[3]

Daily Bread: Wings Like A Dove

2012-02-13T08:44:00.000-05:00

February 13, 2012 — by David H. Roper on odb.org

David sighed, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest” (Ps. 55:6). As for me, I’d build a cabin in the Sawtooths, or take a permanent post in a fire-lookout tower. When life weighs on me, I too yearn to fly away and be at rest.

David wrote freely about his circumstances: Violence, oppression, and strife surrounded him on all sides, stirred up by the disloyalty of an old friend (55:8-14). Fear and terror, pain and trembling, anxiety and restlessness overwhelmed him (vv.4-5). Is it any wonder he longed to fly away?

But escape was impossible. He could not evade his lot. He could only give his circumstances to God: “As for me, I will call upon God, and the Lord shall save me. Evening and morning and at noon I will pray, and cry aloud, and He shall hear my voice” (vv.16-17).

Whatever our circumstances—a burdensome ministry, a difficult marriage, joblessness, or a deep loneliness—we can give them to God. He has lifted the burden of our sins; will He not lift the weight of our sorrows? We have trusted Him with our eternal souls; can we not entrust our present circumstances to Him? “Cast your burden on the Lord, and He shall sustain you” (55:22).

Are you ever burdened with a load of care?
Does the cross seem heavy you are called to bear?
Count your many blessings, every doubt will fly,
And you will be singing as the days go by. —Oatman

Because God cares about us, we can leave our cares with Him.

Victoria’s Secret Model Quits To Honor The Lord! [VIDEO]

2012-02-13T08:41:00.000-05:00

posted by elev8.com

Becoming a Victoria’s Secret “angel” is a big deal in the modeling industry — but it wasn’t enough for Kylie Bisutti to forget her Heavenly Father.

The 21-year-old model recently decided to leave one of America’s most well-known lingerie companies because showing off her body left her feeling convicted.

“I’m definitely going to pursue modeling, I just want to be more wholesome about it,” Bisutti said Thursday on ABC’s “Good Morning America. The jobs that I choose are going to be honoring the Lord,” she added.

Singer Whitney Houston dies at 48

2012-02-12T09:58:00.001-05:00

Singer Whitney Houston dies at 48

By the CNN Wire Staff

updated 11:01 PM EST, Sat February 11, 2012

Los Angeles (CNN) -- Legendary pop singer Whitney Houston was found dead Saturday at a Beverly Hills, California, hotel, officials said. She was 48.

The entertainer, whose incredible talent was discovered at an early age, was pronounced dead at 3:55 p.m. (6:55 p.m. ET) at the Beverly Hilton hotel despite resuscitation efforts, a police spokesman said.

Beverly Hills Police Lt. Mark Rosen said there were "no obvious signs of criminal intent" and that the cause of her death is being investigated.

Houston's bodyguard found her body, said Courtney Barnes, publicist for hip-hop artist Ray J, who was dating the pop diva.

According to her official website, Houston sold more than 170 million albums, singles and videos. But she also struggled with addiction problems over the years.

Houston, whose hits included "The Greatest Love of All," died on the eve of the 54th annual Grammy Awards at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. She had performed as late as Thursday night at a pre-Grammy event in the area. A pre-Grammy party was scheduled Saturday night at the Beverly Hilton.

Music producer Jimmy Jam, after conversations with those heading up to Sunday's night show, told CNN that he believes the event will change significantly -- including a tribute to the singer.

The entertainer recently returned to a movie set for "Sparkle," a remake of the 1976 hit, which was loosely based on the story of The Supremes. It is scheduled be released nationwide in August, according to Sony Pictures. It was her first movie role since 1996's "The Preacher's Wife."

News of her death elicited a flood of reaction from fans and fellow celebrities alike.

Singer Aretha Franklin said, "I just can't talk about it now. It's so stunning and unbelievable. I couldn't believe what I was reading coming across the TV screen. My heart goes out to Cissy (Houston's mother), her daughter Bobbi Kris, her family and Bobby (Brown)."

Dolly Parton, who wrote "I Will Always Love You," said, "mine is only one of the millions of hearts broken over the death of Whitney Houston. I will always be grateful and in awe of the wonderful performance she did on my song and I can truly say from the bottom of my heart, 'Whitney, I will always love you. You will be missed.'"

Another entertainment legend, Quincy Jones, said he was "absolutely heartbroken" by the news. "She was a true original and a talent beyond compare," he said.

Houston's body of work included a string of Billboard No. 1 hits in the 1980s, including "Saving All My Love for You," "How Will I Know," "The Greatest Love of All," "Where Do Broken Hearts Go," and "I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)."

Billboard put her soundtrack to the 1992 movie "The Bodyguard" as one of the top 10 biggest-selling albums of all time. She also starred in the film with Kevin Costner. The soundtrack included the hit,"I Will Always Love You."

Whitney Houston was born on August 9, 1963, in Newark, New Jersey.

Famed music producer Clive Davis reportedly spotted Houston 20 years later in a New York nightclub, signing her on the spot, according to her website. Davis steered Houston's career for more than 25 years, also serving as a mentor.

Just Thursday, Davis told CNN's "Piers Morgan Tonight" that, with Houston, "I saw a depth and a range and soul ... that rarely ranks at the top level. And that's why we've been working together ever since."

The singer's rendition of the national anthem at the 1991 Super Bowl, days into the first Persian Gulf War, earned raves and cemented her place in the American musical landscape.

After "The Bodyguard," Houston went on to appear in several more films in the 1990s, including "Waiting to Exhale."

In 2000, Houston earned her sixth Grammy for best female R&B performance and, a month later, she was named female artist of the decade at the "Soul Train" Music Awards.

Her career stalled, however, in subsequent years as she entered rehab for addiction problems.

Houston took a hiatus for several years before releasing her first album in seven years, "I Look to You," in 2009.

"I just took a break, which sometimes you have to," said Houston. "You have to know when to slow that train down and kind of just sit back and relax for a minute."

In May 2011, Houston got help for her much-publicized struggle with drugs and alcohol, her representative said at the time.

In a 2009 interview with Oprah Winfrey, Houston recalled how her mother arrived one day at her doorstep at her daughter's house with sheriff's officers and a court order in a drug intervention. She talked about doing cocaine and smoking marijuana.

"(My mother) says, 'I have a court (injunction) here,'" Houston said. "Either you do it my way, or we're just not going to do this at all. We are both going to go on TV, and you're going to retire.'"

Houston had a high-profile and tumultuous marriage to Bobby Brown, a former "New Edition" star who has had multiple brushes with the law.

The couple appeared together in the mid-2000s on the reality show "Being Bobby Brown." They had one child together, Bobbi Kristina.

Houston was the cousin of Dionne Warwick, another acclaimed performer.

Singer Lionel Richie told CNN that Houston was one of the best.

"She had that voice that could just turn a story, a melody into magical notes," Richie said.

CNN's Denise Quan and Alan Duke contributed to this report.

Song of the Day by Canton Jones' "Window" from his new project "Dominionaire"

2012-02-12T07:28:00.001-05:00

Song of the Day by Winans Phase 2 - It's Alright: Send Me (Lyrics) Reupload

2012-02-09T18:33:00.000-05:00

Should School Arrest and Fine Parents for Children's Tardiness?

2012-02-09T08:37:00.001-05:00

Purcellville woman arrested over kids’ tardiness in school

Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2012 by Laura Peters

Loudoun County Public Schools are making headlines with their policy against excessive tardiness and absences after a Loudoun County mother was arrested and charged with three counts of contributing to the delinquency to a minor.
Maureen Blake, 42, of Purcellville, was served a warrant on Jan. 21, informing her to appear in court on Jan. 25. She was released on a $3,000 bond the same day.
Her children attend an unidentified western Loudoun school close to where the much-publicized Denicore family’s children attend and have been cited for excessive tardies.
Mark and Amy Denicore appeared in court on Feb. 6 after they were summoned for their daughter Sophie’s excessive tardies to school. The Denicore’s three children have been tardy 85 times since September, but have only missed less than three hours each of school.
Mark Denicore, a lawyer, said he could potentially lose his license to practice law if he loses the case and paying up to $3,000 in fines for his children’s tardiness. They will go to trial March 14.
“The warrants were obtained by a Loudoun County [Attendance Officer] via a magistrate on the afternoon of Jan. 19,” Liz Mills, public information officer for Loudoun County Sheriff’s office said. “The sheriff’s office didn’t initiate the arrest and we didn’t determine probable cause. That’s up to the school.”
The warrant was served by a Loudoun County Sheriff’s deputy and a Purcellville Police Officer.
According to Wayde Byard, Loudoun County Schools public information officer, Loudoun County Juvenile and Domestic Relation judges have asked the school system to report excessive absences or tardies to them. The judges’ have asked for the reports from the schools for a year. But, according to Byard, the school system tries to work out constant absence and tardy problems with the parents directly before taking the next step.
“This is not a position we want parents to be in,” Byard said.
The schools do everything in their power to help families who encounter difficulties in getting their children to school, Byard said. But if the family isn’t receptive, the schools need to take it to the next level.
“All we do is report to the court intake officer and from there it’s the legal system,” Byard said. “The judges ask to see all of the excessive absences of tardiness. We don’t issue summons, we don’t send out deputies. That’s up to the court to do that.”
Byard also said that in the beginning of each year, parents sign a Student Rights and Responsibilities packet that addresses their attendance policy.
Under the Students Rights and Responsibilities, after 15 or more consecutive absences or excessive tardies the Virginia Administrative Code requires the student be dropped from the attendance rolls. It’s then up to the principal to discipline the child.
If any student gets a minimum of five unexcused absences, a parent or guardian is required to provide the school with documentation from a licensed physician in regards to their absence.
According to the Student Rights and Responsibilities “a student is truant any time he or she willfully absents himself or herself from school or from any assigned class or activity. Excessive unexcused tardies may result in a truancy referral. Truancy is a serious offense that requires a stern correction action on the part of the school and the parents.”

Black History Moment: The Dred Scott Decision of 1857

2012-02-08T14:56:00.000-05:00

The Dred Scott Decision

Period: 1850s

On March 6, 1857, in a small room in the Capitol basement, the Supreme Court ruled that Congress had no power to prohibit slavery in the territories.
In 1846, a Missouri slave, Dred Scott, sued for his freedom. Scott argued that while he had been the slave of an army surgeon, he had lived for four years in Illinois, a free state, and Wisconsin, a free territory, and that his residence on free soil had erased his slave status. In 1850 a Missouri court gave Scott his freedom, but two years later, the Missouri Supreme Court reversed this decision and returned Scott to slavery. Scott then appealed to the federal courts.
For five years, the case proceeded through the federal courts. For more than a year, the Court withheld its decision. Many thought that the Court delayed its ruling to ensure a Democratic victory in the 1856 elections. Then, in March 1857, Chief Justice Roger B. Taney announced the Court's decision. By a 7-2 margin, the Court ruled that Dred Scott had no right to sue in federal court, that the Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional, and that Congress had no right to exclude slavery from the territories.
All nine justices rendered separate opinions, but Chief Justice Taney delivered the opinion that expressed the position of the Court's majority. His opinion represented a judicial defense of the most extreme proslavery position.
The chief justice made two sweeping rulings. The first was that Dred Scott had no right to sue in federal court because neither slaves nor free blacks were citizens of the United States. At the time the Constitution was adopted, the chief justice wrote, blacks had been "regarded as beings of an inferior order" with "no rights which the white man was bound to respect."
Second, Taney declared that Congress had no right to exclude slavery from the federal territories since any law excluding slavery property from the territories was a violation of the Fifth Amendment prohibition against the seizure of property without due process of law. For the first time since Marbury v. Madison in 1803, the Court declared an act of Congress unconstitutional.
Newspaper headlines summarized the Court's rulings:

SLAVERY ALONE NATIONAL--THE MISSOURI COMPROMISE UNCONSTITUTIONAL--NEGROES CANNOT BE CITIZENS--THE TRIUMPH OF SLAVERY COMPLETE.

In a single decision, the Court sought to resolve all the major constitutional questions raised by slavery. It declared that the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights were not intended to apply to black Americans. It stated that the Republican Party platform--barring slavery from the western territories--was unconstitutional. And it ruled that Stephen Douglas's doctrine of "popular sovereignty"--which stated that territorial governments had the power to prohibit slavery--was also unconstitutional.
Republicans reacted with scorn. The decision, said the New York Tribune, carried as much moral weight as "the judgment of a majority of those congregated in any Washington barroom." Many Republicans--including an Illinois politician named Abraham Lincoln--regarded the decision as part of a slave power conspiracy to legalize slavery throughout the United States.
The Dred Scott decision was a major political miscalculation. In its ruling, the Supreme Court sought to solve the slavery controversy once and for all. Instead the Court intensified sectional strife, undercut possible compromise solutions to the divisive issue of the expansion of slavery, and weakened the moral authority of the judiciary.

http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/database/article_display.cfm?HHID=334

Was Senate candidate Pete Hoekstra's Super Bowl Ad Racist?

2012-02-08T14:32:00.000-05:00

Senate Candidate Pete Hoekstra’s Racist Super Bowl Ad

Pete Hoekstra, Senate candidate and tweeting disaster Twitter Pete, aired a campaign ad during the Super Bowl targeted at his happily married opponent, Debbie Stabenow. The ad features a Chinese woman biking through a backdrop of rice fields and uh, recognizable music, thanking "Debbie Spenditnow" for giving all the money to "us."

The woman, wearing a straw hat (because, you know, Chinapeople and their little hats), rides up on her bicycle and delivers the following in broken English :

Thank you, Michigan Senator Debbie Spenditnow. Debbie spend so much American money. You borrow more and more from us. Your economy get very weak. Ours get very good. We take your jobs. Thank you, Debbie Spenditnow.

Hoekestra continues on to say that you, the good Super Bowl-watching people of Michigan, should refrain from voting Debbie Spenditnow and instead vote for Pete "Spend It Not." Oh, perfect. Yep, no problems here. Nothing to see but a pretty ad that is in no way offensive to a group and/or groups of people whatsoever. The video is also available at Hoekstra's website,along with the image of Stabenow's face printed on a fan, Chinese characters, dragons, yen, and a pot of tea preceded by the words, "Debbie's pouring American dollars into the Chinese economy."

The ad is insensitive, racist, xenophobic, and fundamentally incorrect in every way. It is offensive for so many reasons, but perhaps it is just the sheer dumbness of it that offends me the most. Pete Spend It Not? Get your head in the game, Pete. What does that even mean? It means that you should think about who you pay to helm your ad campaigns before you can even begin to discuss others' spending. Also, we're pretty sure you are racist now. Why not go the easy route and attack Stabenow's creepy husband?

I hope Ricky Gervais comes to Pete Hoekstra's house, knocks on his door, thrusts him from the cover of his Midwestern comfort zone and forces him to experience the horrors of strange and foreign lands at the cost of his own dignity and humiliation.

http://gawker.com/5882674/senate-candidate-pete-hoekstras-racist-super-bowl-ad

Song of the Day by Angie & Debbie Winans - What a Place

2012-02-08T14:29:00.001-05:00

Black History: Moms Mabley

2012-02-07T10:31:00.000-05:00

Moms Mabley was born on March 19, 1894 in Brevard, North Carolina. She moved to Cleveland, Ohio and entered the “chitlin circuit” of African American entertainment venues. She later performed in Harlem's Cotton Club and was the first female comedian to appear at the Apollo Theater. Mabley appeared in films, on television and recorded two dozen comedy albums. She died in 1975.

Profile

(born March 19, 1894, Brevard, North Carolina, U.S.—died May 23, 1975, White Plains, New York) American comedian who was one of the most successful black vaudeville performers. She modeled her stage persona largely on her grandmother, who had been a slave. Wise, clever, and often ribald, Mabley dressed in frumpy clothes and used her deep voice and elastic face (and, in later years, her toothlessness) to great effect.

Loretta Aiken was one of 12 children. Her father died when she was 11 years old. By age 15 she had borne two children. To escape a despised stepfather, she moved to Cleveland, Ohio. There she was first exposed to performers and their lives, and she soon chose show business as a career and entered the “chitlin circuit” of venues that catered to African American audiences. After a brother objected to her career choice, she took a stage name, borrowing that of a boyfriend and fellow entertainer, Jack Mabley. She is said to have been given the nickname Moms because of her compassion for other performers. Discovered by the vaudeville team known as Butterbeans and Susie, she went to New York City with them and made her debut at Connie's Inn. She later performed in such noted venues as Harlem's Cotton Club. She was the first female comedian to appear at the Apollo Theater, and she became a regular there, appearing more often than any other act in that theatre's history.

Mabley, for many years the only female African American comic, was sometimes underestimated because of her standard jokes about old men and her use of sexual innuendo. Nonetheless, she possessed great comic timing and a remarkable ability to ad lib. She was also a sly and astute social commentator, as she revealed in comments such as “There ain't nothing wrong with young people. Jus' quit lyin' to 'em.” In addition to live stand-up comedy, Mabley appeared in a number of films—including Boarding House Blues (1948) andAmazing Grace (1974)—and on television programs such as The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour. Several of her comedy performances were recorded live, including Moms Mabley, the Funniest Woman in the World (1960), her first of some two dozen comedy albums.

Bishop Eddie Long Apologizes For “Kingship”

2012-02-07T10:19:00.000-05:00

posted on elev8.com

A Jewish group on Sunday accepted Bishop Eddie Long’s written apology over a ceremony last month during which a rabbi from the Messianic Judaism movement crowned him a “king.”

You can watch the video here: Wow? Eddie Long Crowned King

Bill Nigut from the Jewish Anti-Defamation League said he believed Long had sincerely apologized for the Jan. 29 ceremony at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Atlanta, Ga., in which the senior pastor was wrapped in a sacred Torah scroll and his chair was lifted up by four men as Rabbi Ralph Messer fromColorado declared him a “king.”

Bishop Eddie Long addressed his actions as follows:

“The ceremony was not my suggestion, nor was it my intent, to participate in any ritual that is offensive in any manner to the Jewish community, or any group. Furthermore, I sincerely denounce any action that depicts me as a King, for I am merely just a servant of the Lord. The Rabbi had good intentions” but acknowledged that the ceremony caused harm to the Jewish community, for which I am deeply sorry.”

Do you buy it? Do you think for one minute he did not know what was going to happen in HIS church, on HIS altar?

Can’t wait to see the next “Long-ism”.

Daily Bread: Great Is Your Reward

2012-02-07T10:12:00.000-05:00

February 7, 2012 — by Joe Stowell on odb.org

Many businesses have “points programs” that offer rewards to loyal customers. You can stack up these rewards by using their companies’ services, like eating at local restaurants, staying at certain hotels, or flying on particular airlines. Choosing to spend your money this way makes a lot of sense.

God has a rewards program as well. Jesus often spoke of His desire to reward us for loyally serving Him. When we are persecuted for His sake, for example, He says to “rejoice . . . for great is your reward in heaven” (Matt. 5:12). In contrast to the Pharisees’ pious habit of giving, praying, and fasting in public, Jesus instructed us to do these things privately, because “your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly” (6:4,6,18). When it comes to living for Jesus, faithfulness never ultimately puts your life in a deficit position, regardless of what it costs.

But we don’t serve Jesus for the rewards. When He died for us on the cross, He did far more for us than we deserve. Loyalty to Him is an act of worship that expresses our loving gratitude for His love toward us. In return, He delights to encourage us with the assurance that ultimately His rewards will outweigh whatever we have given up for Him.

Live for Jesus—regardless of the cost.

Our service for the Lord will be

Rewarded one day openly,

By God who sees in secrecy
All sacrifice for Him. —Sper

What is done for Christ in this life
will be rewarded in the life to come.

Song of the Day by Kirk Franklin - (He Reigns) Our God Is An Awesome God

2012-02-05T08:51:00.000-05:00

PBN News 2 /5/ 12

2012-02-05T08:50:00.000-05:00

Song of the Day: Chasing After You (The Morning Song)- Tye Tribbett & G.A.

2012-02-02T12:23:00.000-05:00

Old School Song of the Day: I SHALL WEAR A CROWN

2012-02-01T12:04:00.000-05:00

February At Greater Paradise

2012-02-01T11:26:00.000-05:00

A Moment in Black History: Football pioneer- Andrew Watson

2012-02-01T08:30:00.001-05:00

Football pioneer: Andrew Watson - the first black international

By Tom McGowan, CNN

December 22, 2011 -- Updated 1931 GMT (0331 HKT)

(CNN) -- Modern football is a melting pot of cultures, as players from a variety of ethnic backgrounds share top billing as superstars.

It is not always a comfortable mix, as can be seen by the recent racism rows involving John Terry and Luis Suarez.

But football's pantheon of stars has not always been such a rich multicultural tapestry. Far from it.

Back in the sport's infancy in the late 1800s, in its homeland of white-dominated Britain, there were no official leagues and only a handful of domestic cup competitions.

International matches were the pinnacle of competition, with England and Scotland contesting the first in 1872 -- and few were played outside the UK and Ireland until the formation of FIFA in 1904 .

And it was Scotland which, in 1881, provided football with its first black international player -- British Guiana-born Andrew Watson.

"He was the son of a Glasgow merchant who traded out in the West Indies and parts of South America as well," curator of the Scottish Football Museum Richard McBrearty told CNN.

"It's a story of the time, I suppose. Andrew would've been born out of wedlock to a wealthy white merchant and his mother who was native to British Guiana."

He is a hugely important figure within football. He captained Scotland against England, which was absolutely the highest accolade you could have at the time
Richard McBrearty

Social attitudes of the time meant that Watson, while enjoying financial support and a good education, was never truly recognized and acknowledged by his father.

"Anything that had to be signed, due to school or education, was usually done through an intermediary," McBrearty explained. "So he was recognized as being of the blood, but there was a distance."

Early records of Watson show him joining Glasgow team Parkgrove -- which at the time enjoyed a higher profile than now-famous neighbors Glasgow Rangers -- in both a playing and off-pitch capacity.

In his role as match secretary, Watson created history by becoming the first black football administrator. In 1880 he joined Queen's Park, the biggest of the Glasgow clubs and Scotland's preeminent football power.

The following year he represented Scotland in his first of three international outings, captaining the country in a landmark 6-1 victory over England at London's Oval ground -- now an international cricket venue.

"Even to this day with some of the fantastic teams England have played over the years, such as the Hungarians of 1953 and Pele's Brazil, that victory for Scotland remains England's heaviest defeat on home soil," said McBrearty.

The Scotland team led by Watson pioneered a revolutionary passing game at a time when football was played in a very individual manner.

He's massively important to global football, not just Scottish football, not just British football
Richard McBrearty

"He is a hugely important figure within football. He captained Scotland against England, which was absolutely the highest accolade you could have at the time. It was also at a time when Scotland were very successful in international football," McBrearty said.

"The way the game was played at that time, Scotland were devising a short passing game. The margin of victory was because Scotland were the first to promote a real team-based passing ethos. Watson was right at the forefront of that."

Despite his prominent role in the national team, Watson still occasionally encountered abuse which was symbolic of a less enlightened age.

"What we come across in a very polite article about Watson is that he encountered 'splenetic players' on the field. Now that suggests to me that the color of his skin was a subject of attack," McBrearty said.

"That's an insight into the fact that, even in that time, this was clearly happening and Watson had to rise above that as a footballer and more widely as a human being."

Watson's demeanor off the pitch is something McBrearty believes is also of note, saying he had a reputation as a gentleman.

"Certainly there is widespread praise that he wins. The adoration that he has is clearly because he manages to rise above the difficulties that he encounters on the field of play."

After leaving Queen's Park, Watson headed to England to play for the now-defunct Swifts club in London.

McBrearty believes Watson became the first black player to play in the English FA Cup during the 1882-83 season.

Watson passed away in Sydney, Australia in 1902 aged 44, but McBrearty thinks the contribution he made to football has paved the way for the big-name black players we see in the game today.

"He's massively important to global football, not just Scottish football, not just British football. He's one of the first few pioneers. He played international football, he captained the international team and they happened to be the best there was at that time.

"As football spreads across the globe with black players who are now among the best in the world, and you look at the legacy of fantastic Brazilian players like Pele and Garrincha, it really stems back to guys like Watson."

Daily Bible Verse:

2012-01-31T13:31:00.002-05:00

“You, Lord, are forgiving and good, abounding in love to all who call to you.” Psalm 86:5 NIV

The Ice Cream Prayer [Humor]

2012-01-31T13:30:00.000-05:00

posted by gospelweb.net

Last week I took my children to a restaurant. My six-year-old son asked if he could say grace. As we bowed our heads he said, "God is good, God is great. Thank you for the food, and I would thank you even more if Mom gets us Ice Cream for dessert. And liberty and justice for all! Amen!"

Along with the laughter from the other customers nearby, I heard a woman remark, "That's what's wrong with this country. Kids today don't even know how to pray. Asking God for Ice Cream! Why, I never!"

Hearing this, my son burst into tears and asked me, "Did I do it wrong? Is God mad at me?"

As I held him and assured him that he had done a terrific job and God was certainly not mad at him, an elderly gentleman approached the table. He winked at my son and said, "I happen to know that God thought that was a great prayer."

"Really?" my son asked.

"Cross my heart." Then in theatrical whisper he added (indicating the woman whose remark had started this whole thing), "too bad she never asks God for Ice Cream. A little Ice Cream is good for the soul sometimes."

Naturally, I bought my kid Ice Cream at the end of the meal. My son stared at his for a moment and then did something I will remember the rest of my life. He picked up his Sundae and without a word walked over and placed it in front of the woman. With a big smile he told her, "Here, this is for you. Ice Cream is good for the soul sometimes and my soul is good already!"

8 Questions With America’s Supernanny Deborah Tillman

2012-01-31T13:04:00.000-05:00

posted by elev8.com

Lifetime’s newest series, “America’s Supernanny”, starring childcare expert Deborah Tillman may be airing it’s season finale tomorrow night, but Deborah wants you to know that the quest for raising inspired, balanced children is her quest in life.

She took a few moments to answer 8 questions withElev8 today.

Elev8: How did you choose your line of employment?

Deborah Tillman: I grew up in a balanced home. A first, I never thought I would be doing what I am doing but, you now when God put you on a path, well you are n that path.I had experience seeing what childcare was like with my children. it just moved me to really put a plan into action. It was personal. I was moved and motivted that childcare could be so much more so, that when I opened my school.

Elev8: What do you think is the major issue in most house today?

Deborah Tillman:“I think that parents have given up on parenting. Most households I go into I ask what the house rules are and no one knows. The child doesn’t know. How can you have expectation if behavior if the child does not have a rule to follow. That would be hard for anyone to do. Imagine if you had no expectation if what was right or wrong way to do something.”

Elev8: What are some great house-rules to start with?

Deborah Tillman:”Be consistent. The child will do what you want if you show consistency. Show that choices have consequences. Reinforce positivity not negativity. Be a living example of behavior you want the child to model.”

Elev8:What should older parents be aware of? Especially, since the census shows that the median age of first time parents had become older.

Deborah Tillman:“Obviously, if you have set your life plan in motion and chosen to be a parent at an older age you should prepare for the amount if time it will take to raise bakanced children. It is a 24hour and 7 days a week job.”

Elev8: What practices should families institute in their home?

Deborah Tillman:”I truly believe that adding back the family time. Eating dinner together, praying together and reading together establish a bind that is unbreakable with children. It helps them form into mature health responsible adults.”

Elev8: What do you think parents are missing the boat on?

Deborah Tillman:”I think role modeling at home is important. Model how to have integrity and morality. Remember that their eyes are always focused on you. When they see you behave in a certain way they come to accept that this is the way to behave.”

Elev8: What has changed in parents and children?

Deborah Tillman:“Over the years I’ve seen a real decline in respect. Respect for authority being one place that has definitely charged. I see parents go into full arguments with the teacher in front of thechild. How would you expect the child to respect the teacher after seeing you behave in this manner. Children are exposed to so much more than they ever were. They grow up a little faster.”

Elev8: What do you think parents should do when their child is out of control?Is it ever too late?

Deborah Tillman: “I don’t believe there is a point where a child can’t change. I believe it is never too late. I make sure with all my all my children I let them know that it takes a village. I want to know what their day was like before they get to me. I want to them to know that someone cares and loves them. That is the most important part.”

Tillman was chosen from a field of more than 400 candidates, Lifetime for “Supernanny”. She has also written a book, Stepping Out on Faith. Currently she is spinning Yolanda Adams and recommends that people should read “Super Rich” By Russell Simmons.

Deborah’s show “Supernanny” gives viewers an all-access look at troubled households as she visits the homes of parents throughout the U.S. seeking guidance and assistance on how to best raise their children. Diving straight into the chaos and heart of the matter, Tillman closely observes each family dynamic to pinpoint their complicated problems – ranging from extremely intense tantrums and constant timeouts to bad habits and misguided parenting – and help them follow through to resolve their issues and put families on the road to happiness.

Kari Jobe - Find You on My Knees (Official Acoustic Video) - Music Videos

2012-01-30T08:53:00.002-05:00

Enjoy this music video.