Apr 4, 2014

An Angel Named Johnny

Old woodsmans with his rifle in the outdoors.

A mother of seven lived far from the town. Their groceries were gone, the car broken down. She knelt by her bed at the break of the day. "Oh God, be with 'Hubby' while he is away. She prayed, "God in heaven, You've promised to give to us, Your own children, provisions to live."

She rose from her knees and started her chores, lighting the stove and sweeping the floors. She tried hard to trust that the Lord would provide, but still the fear lingered--way deep down inside.

Ten miles down the road lived a woodsman named John. He walked with a limp, and one eye was gone. His hair was all matted; his clothes were a mess; and what his shack looked like, one only could guess. He trapped, fished and hunted, and he panned for some gold. His pal was a wolf dog, eleven years old.

One day he went looking for a duck or a goose, but there by the lake he saw a bull moose. He readied his rifle, took aim; then he fired. The moose gave no struggle; he fell, then expired.

The mother, meanwhile, watched her children at play. Oh, what could she give them for supper that day? She crawled down the root cellar, digging around. A few spuds and some carrots were all that she found.

As she walked to the woodshed, her heart leaped with fear. Down the road a man staggered, like he'd had too much beer. His clothes were all tattered; his face was unshaved. He must be a madman, the way he behaved.

With a loud voice he cried, "Please don't be alarmed. I'm here on a mission. I mean you no harm. "My name is Johnny, and this here's my hound."

He then swung a sack from his back to the ground. With a tooth-missing grin he said, "Brought you some meat. For me and old Lobo, it was too much to eat."

With a song in her heart and a tear in her eye, the mother said, "Thank you!" 'Twas a small whispered sigh. The children all clambered around the man then. By the time he had left, it was going on ten. As she knelt by her bed much later that day, she thanked God for sending the "wild man" their way. His appearance denied it, but she knew for sure that God sent an angel named "Johnny" to her.

A true incident from our life in the late 50’s.


Source:  skywriting.net

Apr 2, 2014

Puppy rescued after falling 200 feet from cliff in Northern California



Firefighters rescued a puppy that fell 200 feet off a cliff in Marin County, CBS Francisco reported.
The 7-month old pit bull named Mia landed on Rodeo Beach after Sunday's fall, getting wedged between two rocks.
Rescuers used a helicopter and rope system to reach the puppy as a crowd watched above.
At first, Mia didn't appear to be moving, and rescuers were afraid she was dead.
"The dog was kind of wedged between two rocks, and not moving at first, but then the dog moved its head, let them know she was alive," Southern Marin Fire Capt. Kai Pasquale said.
The dog was taken to a veterinarian to be checked out. It turned out she was not seriously hurt and will be home soon.
Source: CBS News

Mar 31, 2014

The Unsung Heroes Behind the Wounded Warriors

American Flag Pictures and wiki

When Jessica Klein married her husband, Capt. Edward Klein, a 6-foot-tall, West Point graduate, the young couple had plans for adventure, in addition to raising a family.
"We were going to climb Mount Rainier," Klein told ABC News' Diane Sawyer. "We were going to go, just do all these amazing things when he got home."
Today, though, Klein is the primary caregiver as her husband, known as "Flip," fights his way back from a massive lower-body injury that he suffered in an IED explosion in Afghanistan.
He lost his legs, an arm and the muscles that allow him to sit. And those are just the visible wounds
Former Sen. Elizabeth Dole said she witnessed the towering battle that caregivers face when she was at Walter Reed National Medical Center three years ago, caring for her husband, former war hero Sen. Bob Dole.
After speaking with the caregivers and hearing their frustrations, Elizabeth Dole said she decided it was time for the nation to help.
So she and her foundation -- The Elizabeth Dole Foundation -- commissioned a report from theRAND Corp., putting hard numbers to the caregivers to assess their needs and recommend programs that will help them.
"I do think it's a crisis, a societal crisis that requires a national response," Elizabeth Dole said.
For Jessica Klein, the struggle to care for her husband daily sometimes seems too much.
"It's funny. The people around me have much more confidence in me and my abilities than I do," said Klein, 29, of Gaithersburg, Md. "You know there's the Mother Teresa quote, 'God only gives you as much as you can handle.' Well, apparently, God thinks I'm pretty good."
She is just one of 1.1 million caregivers of soldiers from Afghanistan and Iraq who do the impossible. Though she is tiny, Klein is Flip's support both at home and when they travel.
"There have been times I've had to pick my husband up and carry him from his wheelchair to his airplane seat because his legs failed," she said. "And showering, I've had to pick him up soaking wet and try not to drop him, one foot in the tub, and try to put him in his wheelchair."
According to the Rand Corp. report released today -- "Hidden Heroes: America's Military Caregivers" -- many caregivers are trying to juggle full-time jobs with full-time caregiving. Nearly 30 percent give up their jobs altogether. Nearly a third have no health insurance for themselves and nearly 40 percent are at risk for a major depression disorder.
"But yeah, I grieve," Klein said. "He grieves. We grieve together. We grieve apart. There was a life we were supposed to have and we grieve for it. It's very difficult."
And it's not only the daily regimen of being a nurse, a therapist and a spouse -- military caregivers from all over the U.S. discussed the plight of taking on a system that can be famously bureaucratic and riddled with red tape.
Elizabeth Dole said she hopes the Rand study will be a catalyst for a nationwide effort, combining faith groups, government, businesses and nonprofits to address specific caregiver needs across the country. She is also working with legislators on Capitol Hill who will soon be introducing new legislation that will help.
"I'm trying to inspire organizations and Americans all across the country to support these hidden heroes because their story is really not known across America and these are the very people who are caring for those who cared for us," she said.
Source: ABC News

Mar 28, 2014

The Truth Saves NFL Player from Gang Life

Jason Avant

NFL wide receiver Jason Avant is known for his sure hands and clutch plays. In his eight seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles, he’s also emerged as a leader, a role model and someone who keeps things in perspective.
“The game of football, I love to play, but in the grand scheme of life, it’s this big,” laughed Jason.
Jason’s outlook stems from a life of adversity. As a young boy he lived with his grandmother in the projects of Southside Chicago. Most of the relatives that lived with them were gang bangers. Drug deal and drive by shootings were just a part of life.
“I understood what it was like to come into the house with $1000 dollars for making drug deals because I was selling drugs in the 6th grade.” 
Jason’s grandmother took him to church and prayed for him constantly, hoping he would find a way out.
“I was young, and I was her second chance on life,” Jason explained. “Her children didn't turn out the way she wanted them to, so her prayers for me, ‘Lord, let him be different. Lord, let his life be one that will serve You. Let him escape these streets. Let him do Your will.”
 A battle raged in Jason’s mind between God’s truth, and the reality of life.
“Because of that environment it made me bitter and callous toward God. Even though my grandmother had something that I knew I wanted, but I still couldn't see me serving Him when some people in the world could have affluence and others had the bottom of the barrel. I couldn't understand that.”
Even then, Jason says his grandmother’s words were sinking in.
Jason told reporter Tim Branson, “I tell you the truth, I was the worst gang member slash drug dealer because my grandmother gave me too much truth for me to be comfortable in that environment.  And I...”
Tim responded, “You couldn't ignore it.”
Jason said, “I couldn't ignore it.”  
In the midst of the chaos, it became clear that Jason was a gifted athlete. On the playgrounds of Chicago he decided basketball would be his ticket out. But when his grandmother moved them to a new neighborhood with a new school, he found his passion… in football.
“In one year of playing receiver I was the number one player in the state of Illinois. And it was like a dream come true.” 
Jason became an All-American, and signed with the University of Michigan. He thought college would get him away from all his grandmother’s talk about God and Jesus.
“I get to the University of Michigan and I get to room with the pastor’s son,” laughed Jason.
Tim smiled, “Wherever you go man!”
Jason agreed, “Wherever I go. Right? Listen! Here I am again with these religious, crazy people!” exclaimed Jason. 
Tim poked back, “It hadn't sunk in had it?”
Jason admitted, “It still hadn't sunk in.”
But it soon would. When Jason first came to Michigan he expected to be a star. After all, he was a top recruit. Instead he found himself on the bench. . . and stewing.
“I’m pouting on the bench. I’m so mad because I’m not playing. I’m not dressed.”
Then Jason had an epiphany.
“I’m sitting on the bench and thinking, ‘I’m being a real baby right now, and I’m missing this exciting game,’ and so the fourth quarter, I get up off my seat and I begin to cheer with the crowd and get the crowd pumped up. And we end up winning the game on a last second field goal of 56 yards and we win by one. And it was one of the greatest victories I've ever had as an athlete and it has nothing to do with the win, but it was more me dying to self. Then I made my life about others. It was one of those moments where I saw how selfish I was.”
With a new attitude Jason finished out the season and even saw some playing time. But he admits his heart was still empty. At the end of his freshman year Jason went to church where he says he heard from God.
“He began to show me all the times being in a gang neighborhood selling drugs out of my grandmother’s house, all the times my house was shot up and nobody was killed from it, how He protected me over and over again,” said Jason.  “The last thing He showed me how He gave me this talent that I didn't know I had and how He used football to bring me to this place and He began to replay all of these things over in my mind. And at the end of that it was the Spirit speaking to me. ‘After all I’ve done for you Jason, and you can’t live your life for me?’ And the Bible says, ‘it’s the goodness of the Lord that brings us to repentance.’ He was so good to me, so merciful to me, so kind to me, that May 4, 2003, I finally said, ‘yes,’ and surrendered my life to Jesus Christ.”
Afterwards, Jason went to see his grandmother.
He explained, “I was able to go there and say, ‘You know what? I thank you for showing me that Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Light. I thank you for all your prayers. I thank you for being a good person. I thank you for helping me find the right path. And I tell you that because of you I surrendered my life to Christ.’ It was the happiest day of her life. Because she enjoyed me going to the University of Michigan but her goal in my life was that I would finally surrender. And I finally surrendered to God. And the next year she passed. It seemed like she stayed around long enough to see me come to Jesus Christ.” 
Jason went on to have a stellar career with the Wolverines.  And after college he signed with the Philadelphia Eagles, where by all accounts he was admired and respected by his team and the community.
Since our interview, Jason was released by the franchise after eight successful seasons and is now a free agent. He’s not sure where he will land, but he knows God has the answer.
“That’s what I love about God. He’s the God of the comeback. It seems like it’s always going down and it seems like it’s never going to work out. But He has the power to raise up dead things. He’s the Resurrection and the Life. I was definitely on my way down but I know Him now to be the Resurrection and the Life!”

Resource:  CBN.com

Mar 26, 2014

Mom Finds Daughter, Long-Feared Dead, via Facebook Search

Image: Amira Ali embraces her daughter Tina at Denver airport after having been separated from each other for 24 years

Amira Ali stood nervously in the Denver International Airport, waiting to meet the daughter she hadn't seen in 24 years.
"America saved my life," said Ali, who arrived in the U.S. decades ago after fleeing Sudan. "I'm very happy. It's good day for me."
Suddenly, a shriek in the distance: her daughter Tina Deng, now 30, had spotted Ali and was running toward her. They embraced, and sobbed. Soon, Ali would also meet the grandchildren she never knew she had.
"God bless America, and God bless my kids," Ali said, overjoyed.
Until recently, Ali thought her daughter Tina, her sister and her mother had all died in Sudan’s civil war. But when they discovered each other on Facebook, everything changed. After living separate lives for so many years, they finally reunited this week in Colorado.
"I'm so very, very happy," said Deng as she hugged her mother. "It's a long time, my mom is like a dream and now I see her, I can't believe. But I'm happy."
As a young mother, Ali had fled her southern Sudanese village during a raid by local rebels. In the chaos Ali lost track of her mother, sister, and 6-year-old daughter, Tina. After walking through the desert for four days with one of her other children, Ali finally reached a refugee camp. Her family was one of many torn apart by the war in Sudan which has killed 2 million people.
She spent months in two other countries until the United Nations helped Ali seek asylum in the United States, where she moved to Colorado and took English lessons to help her become an American citizen.
In Denver, Amira began a new life. She had no job skills but would volunteer to copy papers or babysit at the Colorado African Organization, a nonprofit that helps African immigrants adjust to life in the U.S. While there, a friend urged Ali to join Facebook, suggesting someone from her past might recognize her. And that’s how she came to discover her long-lost family.
"It's miraculous. It truly is a miracle," said George Brown, Ali’s English teacher and Executive Director of the Colorado African Organization. "She was discovered through the Facebook page by her sister in South Sudan, and her sister emailed and said, ‘You know your daughter is here with me. We are alive.’"
Source: NBCNews.com

Mar 24, 2014

Man Who Lost His Legs in Boston Bombing Is Engaged

PHOTO: Jeff Bauman, who lost both legs in the Boston Marathon bombings, then helped authorities identify the suspects, poses with his expectant fiancé, Erin Hurley, their home in Carlisle, Mass., Friday, March 14, 2014.

A man who lost his legs in the Boston Marathon bombings, then helped authorities identify the suspects, is engaged and an expectant father.
Jeff Bauman, 28, and his fiancee, Erin Hurley, 27, told The Associated Press in a recent interview that the baby is due July 14. They don't know if it's a boy or a girl, and they want it to be a surprise.
"My mom loves it. My dad's going crazy," Bauman said. As for himself, "I just want to be a good dad."
The two have been preparing for the baby's arrival by painting a nursery in their home in Carlisle. Hurley said Sunday that she and the baby are healthy and her pregnancy is going well. They became engaged in February and together picked out a white-gold engagement ring. She said they plan to marry next year.
"We've got a lot going on. So we don't need to do everything all at once," she said.
An AP photo of a badly injured Bauman being rushed away in a wheelchair by three rescuers became one of the most memorable images of the April 15, bombings, which killed three people.
He was standing near the finish line waiting to cheer on Hurley as she completed the marathon when the two bombs exploded. Bauman became a hero after he provided a description of one of the suspected bombers from his hospital bed.
Bauman's memoir on his experiences, called "Stronger," is out April 8, one week before the anniversary of the bombings.
Source: ABCNews.com

Mar 21, 2014

Purr-Fect Companions: Program Pairs Cats With Kids Learning to Read

HT colby procyk jef 140317 16x9 608 Purr Fect Companions: Program Pairs Cats With Kids Learning to Read

Colby Procyk, 7, loves to read.
It wasn't always the case though. A few months ago, he struggled with reading and was embarrassed to be called on in class.
Enter the Animal Rescue League of Berks County, whose Book Buddies program turned things around for Colby.
Once or twice a week, Colby goes to the animal shelter to read to cats. The program pairs about 30 children a week with felines awaiting adoption.
Getting the cats to pay attention can sometimes be a challenge but the kids don’t seem to mind. The program helps the children relax and become better readers and the shelter says the company helps soothe and socialize the cats.
“It doesn't matter to them [the cats] what the book is about, how well the child is reading to them or anything like that,” said Kristi Rodriguez, a volunteer and program coordinator at the center. “They just love the one-on-one contact that the kids provide.”
At the start of the school year, Colby was reading below grade level. Recently, he received an award for most improved student in his second-grade class.
“I’ve seen a big growth in his reading ability and his confidence,” said his teacher Nicole Gonzalez.
Colby’s mother, Katie Procyk, said the program has really helped.
“It makes him absolutely confident in his reading ability and he’s more inclined to read now,” she said.
ABC News’ Rachel Humphries contributed to this story.
Source: ABC News.com