Virgins until marriage

The Times of South Africa recently wrote about a virgins' ball, in which young Christian girls promise their fathers that they will stay virgins until their wedding day. One event in Tucson, Ariz., featured former Miss Arizona 2006, Hilary Griffith, who talked about remaining a virgin until marriage:

'Alas, it is not usual to focus on purity in our society. I’ve always refused to compromise and have stayed firm in my resolve to stay pure until the day I marry. My belief in God is so important to me. I am convinced that He wants me to wait. But it is very difficult and there are many obstacles on the way.'

The beauty queen had a relationship with a boy who pushed her into having sex, while she wanted to wait. After God spoke to her, she knew what to do — break up with him.

'The world says that staying a virgin till marriage isn’t a big deal, but the world is wrong. It is a big deal!'

Approximately 1,300 virgin balls are organized by Christian groups across the country annually.

At least he's listening to God. . .

Richard Roberts, the former president and chief executive officer of Oral Roberts University, spoke to students at the school's chapel service today.

According to Tulsa World, God had something to do with his resignation:

Roberts told the students that God spoke to him [last] Thursday and told him to step down. Roberts said he initially resisted the instructions, but God told him that if he would resign, the school would be blessed 'supernaturally.'

Yesterday businessman Mart Green promised the school up to $70 million.

God helps boy rescue injured farm worker

Jonathan Pounder, a 12-year-old boy from Sampson County, N.C., recently had a day that went from disappointment to heroism.

Pounder was sent home from school on Nov. 5 for acting up in class. While at home, he heard screaming from a nearby field. Pounder, along with his mother and grandmother, went to find the source of the screams.

What they found was farm worker Lalo Rodriguez dangling from a combine.

Pounder's mother told WRAL-TV her thoughts on her son's heroism: "I think God spoke to him to get him down there."

Rodriguez's right arm had to be amputated at the elbow; he's still recovering in the hospital.

Giant Israeli flag sets world record

A Filipino evangelical Christian now holds the record for the world's largest flag. According to the Associated Press, entrepreneur Grace Galindez-Gupana decided in 2005 to produce a giant Israeli flag after God spoke to her:

'God spoke to me in thunder and lightning,' Galindez-Gupana said. 'The Lord said, 'Make the flag of Israel, the standard of my people.''

'This is a tall order,' she said, breaking down in tears.

The huge blue and white flag measures 2,165 feet long, 330 feet wide, and weighs 5.7 tons.

Oral Roberts president resigns

On Oct. 6 I wrote about the lawsuit filed against Richard Roberts, president and chief executive officer of Oral Roberts University. He was accused of misspending university funds.

According to the Associated Press, Richard Roberts was accused of using university funds for a $39,000 shopping tab at one store for his wife, Lindsay, a $29,411 Bahamas senior trip on the university jet for one of his daughters, and a stable of horses for his children.

Richard Roberts now has resigned from his post, effective immediately. He had been on temporary leave.

Roberts had said that God spoke to him and told him to say that the suit was about "blackmail and extortion."

Footprints in the sand

I love Mary Stevenson's poem "Footprints in the Sand." She wrote it when she was only a teenager, after having already endured many hardships.

It's reassuring to know that God carries us through our lives. Even in the most difficult of times, He takes care of us.

A writer for The Christian Science Monitor recently reflected that the church can be evidence of God's footprints in the sand. The writer particularly noticed that after God spoke to him through sermons and songs after a difficult relocation.

Let's give thanks to God for carrying us through life. Be in tune for His presence in our churches.

A free Thanksgiving feast in New Orleans

As our nation celebrates Thanksgiving tomorrow, families across the country will be eating heartily. But for many others, tomorrow is just another day in which they scrounge for food. Russell Smith, a contractor from Detroit who now lives in New Orleans, is looking to change that for New Orleans residents. He is partnering with a restaurant called Dixie Gyro to serve a day full of free Thanksgiving feasts, according to The Times-Picayune:

'God spoke to me and said, 'Sow a seed,'' Smith said. 'He told him to feed his people, and he directed me to the restaurant. He said, 'I'm going to take you where you need to go.' I had never seen this woman [Fortuna Assouline, the cafe's owner] in this kitchen in this building before.'

When he met Assouline and told her why he had come to Dixie Gyro, 'she looked at me like I was crazy,' Smith said. 'But when I explained, she said she wanted to do the same thing.'

Dixie Gyro is located at 110 Carondelet St. They will be serving free Thanksgiving meals to anyone tomorrow from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Adopting a "glue boy" from Kenya

In Kenya, a generation of children have had their parents wiped out by the AIDS epidemic. These kids live on the streets, look for food in the local dump, and sniff glue to ease the pain of their daily lives.

Phil Hamer, a filmmaker, went to Kenya to document the story of these kids. He came back with a film, "Glue Boys" -- but his family came back with something more. While in Africa, Phil's family, including his parents Kathleen and Dan, volunteered at a mission that helps street children. The Orange County Register recently carried their special story:

About 400 kids showed up. When they asked which child wanted to be first, one 5-year-old boy stepped forward. He had been abandoned and living on the streets. He had sniffed glue a few times, but had not yet become addicted.

Since they didn't have running water, Dan Hamer used bottled water and poured it on the boy's head. He soaped him down, rinsed him off and passed him to Kathleen.

Since she didn't have a towel, she had to improvise.

So she hugged the boy to dry him off.

'He was shivering,' said Kathleen, who remembers that she was crying.

She heard that his name was Eric.

That night at dinner, the boy crawled under the table and into Dan's lap. Dan Hamer fed him dinner.

'That moment I felt so clearly that God spoke to me,' Kathleen said. 'He said, ‘This is your son. Bring him home.''

The Hamers had a family meeting in Africa (Kathleen, Dan, Phil and brother Patrick — their daughter Erica was at home). They decided to adopt the 5-year-old.

The next morning, Kathleen received a call from Erica, who didn't know about the adoption decision. Before Kathleen could tell her, Erica said she'd had the strangest dream.

In the dream, the Hamers had adopted a boy named Derek.

Kathleen thought it was amazing how close Erica's dream was to reality. The only difference was that the real boy was named Eric.

The Hamers found out later that day that they had misheard the boy's name.

His name is Derek.

The Hamers found out that Derek had a little brother. They adopted him too, and the boys now are living in California, rooting for the Angels.

A duet with Jon Bon Jovi

"Mighty" Sam McClain has duetted with Jon Bon Jovi. He's shared the stage at the Apollo Theater with Gladys Knight and Jackie Wilson. But McClain's life hasn't always been so glamorous: he was homeless off and on for years, he told The Boston Globe:

At one point, living on Nashville's streets and driven to despair, he considered killing himself.

'Nobody cared about me, and I didn't see one face that I could call, not one person who wanted to hear me say, 'I'm hungry, I need some help,'' McClain recalls. 'That was one of the loneliest times I've ever felt. I was ready to walk into the river and say, 'I don't want to live like this,' and God spoke up and said, 'No, you got me' . . . It didn't make no sense to me, but God said, 'I died for you, so what you're going through ain't nothing. So get up and let's go.''

McClain's duet with Jon Bon Jovi, "Show Me the Way," appears on a new album called "Give US Your Poor." Benefits from the sale of the album go to UMass-Boston's Give US Your Poor Campaign to End Homelessness organization.

Seattle's Central District to Edmonds

Yolanda Parker had a very tough life growing up in Seattle's Central District. Her parents died when she was young, she had a baby while in high school, and her older brother was shot and killed when she was 14.

She fell into the traps of marijuana, pills and cocaine. Parker was in a deep hole until God came into the picture, according to The Seattle Times:

God spoke to her and told her to leave the Central District.

'Your blessing is to the north,' He told her.

Parker, who had lived her entire life in the Central District, thought north meant Montlake, Greenlake or Northgate.

'He spoke into my spirit and said, 'Edmonds',' she said. 'Edmonds? That's like sending me to Mongolia!'

God has blessed Parker and her son, Antoinne Wafer, in Edmonds. She works at a school and her son is a star on the Edmonds-Woodway football team.

Others are children of God, too

It's so easy to put each other down, to think negative thoughts about others. That's what Satan wants. He wants us all to be divided. Christ, on the other hand, wants us to be united.

Neil T. Anderson, on page 68 of Victory Over the Darkness, writes about believing the truth about others:

...there are no losers in the kingdom of God -- none whatsoever. How can children of God be losers when they have already gained eternal life? As important as it is for you to believe in your true identity as a child of God, it is equally important that you perceive other Christians for who they are in Christ and treat them accordingly. I believe that the greatest determinant for how we treat people is how we perceive them.

Let's start treating each other the way God sees us. God sees Christians as saints, and we all deserve to treat each other that way.

Getting right with each other by getting right with God

It's been said that to truly love another person, you need to love yourself first. I have struggled with self-esteem, therefore making it challenging for me to love another person. But I'm getting better at discovering who I am in Christ through Neil T. Anderson's book Victory Over the Darkness.

In his book, Anderson relates the story on p. 63 of a husband and wife who were on the verge of divorce -- until they realized who they were in Christ:

This couple discovered that getting right with each other began with getting right with God. Getting right with God always begins with settling once and for all the fact that God is your loving Father and you are His accepted child. That is the foundational truth from which you live.

We are children of God. We need to accept that He loves us, and we need to love and accept ourselves. Then it will be easier for us to love others.

From divorce to dolls

Linda Norris of Bossier City, La., was hit by ovarian cancer and divorce in 2005, leaving her with close to nothing. Then God spoke to her after much prayer, according to The Shreveport Times:

'My story started out from despair,' Norris said. 'I lost everything. It was me and my Chihuahuas against the world and it was going to be hard to start over again. One night in a dream, I saw this doll and I felt that God spoke to my spirit and told me to make one.'

Norris had not sewn for 25 years, but followed God's guidance. She created the Savannah Doll, named after her granddaughter. The dolls are more than 3 feet tall, feature embroidered clothing, and have been popular with sororities.

God spoke to end World War I

In 1918 the entire planet fell silent. In the 11th minute of the 11th day of the 11th month, there was a moment of silence to commemorate the end of World War I -- the war to end all wars. Kurt Vonnegut is quoted about that moment in a Macon Telegraph article:

'It was during that minute in nineteen hundred and eighteen, that millions upon millions of human beings stopped butchering one and another,' author and World War II soldier Kurt Vonnegut once wrote about that moment. 'I have talked to old men who were on battlefields during that minute. They have told me in one way or another that the sudden silence was the voice of God. So we still have among us some men who can remember when God spoke clearly to mankind.'

World War I didn't end all wars, so after World War II, Armistice Day was renamed Veterans Day.

Guided by the Lord in battle

Imagine fighting overseas during World War II as a young man. One probably would be scared and very dependent on God. Wendell King was, and his story appeared in the Baptist Press on how God saved him during battle:

Alone and on an errand for his commander, Wendell remembered nearing the edge of a town one evening. As he drew closer, Wendell said it seemed like God spoke to him in a small voice telling him not to go down the middle of the path. So, he carefully trudged along the side to meet his fellow soldiers. When it became light the next morning, he saw chickens walking down the path. Suddenly, the chickens blew up, victims of shoe mines, Wendell said.

Wendell also told another story about how the Lord protected him in battle: his company was under fire from Germans -- the soldiers in front and back of him were killed, but Wendell emerged unscathed.

Convicted

I recently had an out-of-body experience that convicted me of my wrongs and showed me the path that I should take. I was sitting at my kitchen table with my wife and my son, started not feeling too well, and zoned out.

I then saw an image of the three of us sitting at the kitchen table, and I could see the impact that my temper has had on my family over the years. In my wife I saw extreme sadness. In my son, I could see that he had a mix of emotions and couldn't identify his feelings except for the anger that he felt.

I realized then and there that I need to fully love and accept myself and my family. I was convicted that if I do not change my behavior, I would be throwing away the greatest gift that God ever gave to me. It all starts with self-love. I deserve love, because God is love. And my family deserves my love.

Fallen angel

I just recently watched this year's Transformers movie for the first time. I loved it! It's an exciting sci-fi adventure story with some excellent humor.

It's also a fallen angel story -- Megatron was once on the good side, but he defected to the side of the evil Decepticons. Therefore, Optimus Prime and the Autobots have to defeat them.

"Fallen angel" stories are very exciting; the whole Star Wars series was based on Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader turning to the dark side.

While it's fun to watch these movies, we are living in a real "fallen angel" universe. The devil is out there. When we're just coasting along in life, we might not notice the devil's presence. But try getting closer to God -- the devil will make his presence known. We are in the middle of a spiritual battle, but we can fight Satan with Jesus Christ on our side.

I will not let Satan come between us

My marriage has hit a rough patch, as I'm sure all marriages do. I had a vision last weekend while trimming trees that essentially was a call to arms.

Last weekend, my wife and I were trimming trees in our yard -- I was up high on a ladder while she was on the ground below. As I was trimming, all of a sudden I had a vision of Satan coming between us right there. It wasn't the traditional devil-with-horns image; it was more of a vision of darkness.

Right away, I knew what I had to do: I prayed. "In the name of Jesus, I command Satan to leave my marriage alone."

My wife said that I probably hadn't noticed Satan before so clearly because I was so used to him being around. Well, no longer -- Satan is persona non grata in my home.

How we help each other grow

I love it when a church sermon meets me exactly where I'm at. That happened yesterday with the message that I heard at SouthMetro Vineyard Church. It was called "How We Help Each Other Grow".

God wants us to take care of each other -- 1 Th. 5:11 says, "Encourage each other and build each other up."

Here are the key ways from yesterday's message that we can help each other grow:

1. By affirming each other's worth

• With acceptance
• With attention
• With affection
• With appreciation

2. By praying for each other's growth

3. By admitting our own mistakes; the benefits of honesty are:

• Emotional healing
• A fresh start
• God's power to change
• Deeper fellowship

4. By encouraging each other's commitment

• Commit to love Jesus Christ
• Commit to love other believers
• Commit to grow in God's Word
• Commit to serving in ministry
• Commit to sharing the Good News

It's so easy to fall in the trap of putting each other down. I know that's not what God wants; He wants us to lift each other up and bring people closer to Him.

God saves a woman by speaking to her husband

Donald and Priscilla Bennett have known each other most of their lives, having dated since high school and married since 1959. They recently had a scare when Priscilla almost lost her life due to massive blood clots in her legs and lungs. The Cleburne (Texas) Times-Review has a story about how God saved Priscilla's life by talking to Donald:

'The doctor said that in his 20 years of medical practice that he had never seen blood clots that severe,' he said emotionally. 'He said that most patients didn’t make it to that point.

'God spoke to me while I was making a decision regarding surgery to place metal screens in veins to keep the clots from moving up. Some doctors told us they gave her a 50-50 chance; one physician considered those odds too optimistic.

'But I told them, ‘She is going to make it. God told me.’

Thanks to Donald listening to God, Priscilla is alive today.

From Word-UP to the Word

LeRoy Page was committed to the Fort Wayne, Ind., youth and hip-hop community as an entrepreneur and writer. He created a line of clothing called Creative Circles as well as the "Word-UP" Fresh Rap Dictionary.
About 12 years ago, his commitment took a deeper meaning, he told Frost Illustrated:

'The greatest influences in my life were my father, who constantly encouraged me to use my talents for the glory of the Lord and many would be blessed—and my mother, who was everything good to everybody,' said Page.

He said his father's words continued to resonate within him until one fateful evening when he was sitting in a local, popular hot spot—ironically on Thanksgiving— listening to saxophonist Greg Bacon.

'God spoke to me and said, 'What are you doing here? What are you doing with your life?' He spoke to me and said, 'It's time to quit straddling the fence.'

Page said he turned to his friend, attorney Robert Love and said, 'Brother, I'm gone.' He asked me, 'Are you coming back later?' and I said, 'No, I'm gone for good.' From then on, all my focus was on God's glory.'

Page eventually became a minister, and -- in honor of God speaking to him on that day -- hosts an annual Dinner of Thanksgiving for needy families and the elderly in Fort Wayne.