Spear's Pregnancy Provides Life Lesson

Spears' Pregnancy Provides Life Lesson
By SARA RIMER,
The New York Times

CONCORD Mass. (Dec. 21) -- Talk about teachable moments. In schools and shopping malls and around the dining room table, the subject of teenage pregnancy and sex was suddenly and uncomfortably in the air as mothers and daughters and fathers, too, talked about — or tried not to talk about — the pregnancy of 16-year-old Jamie Lynn Spears, who plays the perfect, well-liked and, it is understood, virginal teenage girl on “Zoey 101” on Nickelodeon.

High school girls were wondering aloud on Thursday why no one was talking about contraception. Parents across the country, on the other hand, commiserated over the Internet about how, thanks to Ms. Spears, they were facing a conversation with their 8-, 9-, and 10-year-olds about sex. “Nowadays, nothing’s safe, not even cartoons,” said Diana Madruga, who has an 11-year-old daughter. Sharon Carruthers said she had used the news as an opportunity to talk about the dangers of teenage pregnancy with her 10-year-old daughter, Yasmine. “I want my daughter’s mind in the real world. But this is not what my daughter is going to do in her life. She knows better. She knows right and wrong.” Yasmine shook her head. “I never expected her, of all people, to do this,” she said, referring to the girl who in her mind is both Zoey and Jamie, the actress who plays her. “She’s supposed to be the good one in the family.”

Perhaps the news of Ms. Spears’s pregnancy should not have been so surprising in what has seemed to be the year of the unwed mother in popular culture. First there was the movie “Knocked Up,” in which a 24-year-old entertainment journalist accidentally gets pregnant in a drunken evening. Now there’s “Juno,” about a 16-year-old who confronts an unplanned pregnancy and decides to have the baby. But Nickelodeon has won wide acclaim as a sanctuary from the hypersexualized youth culture. That is what burned up Matt Younginer of Columbia, S.C., who was shopping with his 9-year-old daughter, Ansley, in Manhattan.“She loves ‘Zoey 101,’ ” Mr. Younginer said. “It’s usually Britney Spears who would do that stuff, not Jamie Lynn. She was supposed to be one of the good, clean actresses for girls to follow after. I think it just sends an awful message for the young girls.”

Dan Martinsen, a spokesman for Nickelodeon, said Thursday that “Zoey 101” was one of its most popular shows among viewers 9 to 14. “Nothing about the content, characters or the storytelling on our air has changed at all,” Mr. Martinsen said. He said that Nickelodeon was discussing a special on the issue with Linda Ellerbee, the television journalist who is the host of “Nick News.” “Whenever an issue becomes so prevalent that it’s inescapable,” Mr. Martinsen said, “her show is where we turn to help kids navigate and interpret and understand it.”

Sharon Otterman contributed reporting from New York.
Copyright © 2007 The New York Times Company
2007-12-21 09:27:15

Abortion Drastically Increases Pregnancy Risks

Abortion Drastically Increases Risk of Pre-Term and Low-Weight Births

Richmond, VA (LifeNews.com)

Women who have one or more abortions face a drastically increased risk of giving birth to a pre-term or low birthweight baby in a subsequent pregnancy. That's the conclusion a team of scientists from Virginia Commonwealth University drew in a new report published in the latest issue of the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.The researchers examined data on over 45,500 mothers giving birth in the United States and found that about 11 percent of all women had low birthweight infants and 14 percent had premature births. But women who reported at least one prior abortion were almost three times as likely to have a low birthweight baby as those who carried the pregnancy to term. This risk increased to five-fold in women who had two previous abortions and to nine-fold in women who had a history of three abortions. Similarly, women with one previous abortion were 70 percent more likely to have a pre-term birth. This risk increased to two-fold in women with a history of two abortions and three-fold in those with three or more abortions. Full story at LifeNews.com.

Sexually Suggestive T-Shirts

CitizenLink 12/19

Abercrombie & Fitch Introduces Sexually Suggestive T-shirts

Family News in Focus

Retailer's new line pushes the ideological envelope.
In 2003, Focus on the Family boycotted Abercrombie & Fitch over its soft-porn catalog. Sales dropped, but it seems the retailer hasn't learned its lesson.

A new line of sexually suggestive T-shirts features messages like "MAKE LOVE, NOT BABIES" and "Awkward Mornings Beat Boring Nights."
“Their message is … go ahead and have sex, but just take all the precautions not to produce kids," said Jill Stanek, a Chicago-area nurse and blogger. Abercrombie did not return calls seeking comment.

Chris Leland, executive director of college student ministries at Focus on the Family, called it a publicity ploy.

“They are not out to sell clothes, even though they’re a business," he said. "They’re about something bigger, which is creating sort of a cultural identity for kids. It’s not surprising they would continue to push the edge of not only the advertising envelope, but sort of an ideological envelope, as well."

Kids and Internet Use

The Raleigh News and Observer released an article that covers the recent release of a study completed by researchers showing that parents have a good reason to worry about their kid's access to the internet. The study published in Pediatrics found that 42 percent of youngsters 10 to 17 years of age had been exposed to pornography in the past year. Some of this is intentional, with boys seeking out sexually explicit material much more frequently than girls. However, the rates of incidental or unwarranted exposure are high and increasing, with about one-third of teens ending up on a pornography site when they were seeking other information. The article gives readers a list of what parents can do to protect their children without taking the extreme action of not allowing them to use the internet. Click here to access the complete article.
http://www.newsobserver.com/105/story/794926.html

Teen Birth Rate Rises

PRESS RELEASE FROM THE CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL

Contact: CDC National Center for Health Statistics Office of Communication, 301-458-4800

Teen Birth Rate Rises for First Time in 14 Years

The teen birth rate in the United States rose in 2006 for the first time since 1991, and unmarried childbearing also rose significantly, according to preliminary birth statistics released today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The statistics are featured in a new report, "Births: Preliminary Data for 2006," prepared by CDC's National Center for Health Statistics, and are based on data from over 99 percent of all births for the United States in 2006. Although the findings in this early version will not change, the final report will have more detailed data.

The report shows that between 2005 and 2006, the birth rate for teenagers aged 15-19 rose 3 percent, from 40.5 live births per 1,000 females aged 15-19 in 2005 to 41.9 births per 1,000 in 2006. This follows a 14-year downward trend in which the teen birth rate fell by 34 percent from its all-time peak of 61.8 births per 1,000 in 1991.

"It's way too early to know if this is the start of a new trend," said Stephanie Ventura, head of the Reproductive Statistics Branch at CDC. "But given the long-term progress we've witnessed, this change is notable."

The largest increases were reported for non-Hispanic black teens, whose overall rate rose 5 percent in 2006. The rate rose 2 percent for Hispanic teens, 3 percent for non-Hispanic white teens, and 4 percent for American Indian teens.

The birth rate for the youngest teens aged 10-14 declined from 0.7 to 0.6 per 1,000 and the number of births to this age group fell 5 percent to 6,405. The birth rate for older teens ages 18-19 is 73 births per 1,000 population - more than three times higher than the rate for teens ages 15-17 (22 per 1,000). Between 2005 and 2006 the birth rate rose 3 percent for teens aged 15-17 and 4 percent for teens aged 18 and 19.

The study also shows unmarried childbearing reached a new record high in 2006. The total number of births to unmarried mothers rose nearly 8 percent to 1,641,700 in 2006. This represents a 20 percent increase from 2002, when the recent upswing in non-marital births began. The biggest jump was among unmarried women aged 25-29, among whom there was a 10 percent increase between 2005 and 2006.

In addition, the non-marital birth rate also rose sharply, from 47.5 births per 1,000 unmarried females in 2005 to 50.6 per 1,000 in 2006 - a 7 percent one-year increase and a 16 percent increase since 2002.

The study also revealed that the percentage of all U.S. births to unmarried mothers increased to 38.5 percent, up from 36.9 percent in 2005.

The report contains other significant findings:

• The preliminary estimate of total births in the U.S. for 2006 was 4,265,996, a 3 percent increase -- or 127,647 more births -- than in 2005.


• Birth rates increased for women in their twenties, thirties and early forties between 2005 and 2006, as well as to teenagers.


• The Caesarean delivery rate rose again in 2006, to 31.1 percent of all births, a 3 percent increase from 2005 and a new record high.


• The percentage of all births delivered by cesarean has climbed 50 percent over the last decade.


• The preterm birth rate rose slightly between 2005 and 2006, from 12.7 percent to 12.8 percent of all births. The percentage of births delivered before 37 weeks of gestation has risen 21 percent since 1990.


• The low birthweight rate also rose slightly in 2006, from 8.2 percent in 2005 to 8.3 percent in 2006, a 19 percent jump since 1990.


• As a result of the increases in the birth rates for women aged 15-44, the total fertility rate - an estimate of the average number of births that a group of women would have over their lifetimes - increased 2 percent in 2006 to 2,101 births per 1,000 women. This is the highest rate since 1971 and the first time since then that the rate was above replacement - the level at which a given generation can replace itself.

The full report is available at www.cdc.gov/nchs. More information on maternal and infant health birth characteristics, including the latest information on multiple births, can be found in another new report released today: "Births: Final Data for 2005," also available at www.cdc.gov/nchs.

Heisman Trophy Winner Could Have Been Victim of Abortion

LifeNews.com 12/11

Heisman Trophy Winner Tim Tebow Could Have Been a Victim of Abortion

New York, NY (LifeNews.com) --

University of Florida quarterback Tim Tebow became the first sophomore in the history of the NCAA to win the coveted Heisman Trophy as the best football player in the nation. However, Tebow's accomplishments may never have been supported had his mother followed a doctor's recommendation to have an abortion. With 29 passing touchdowns and 22 rushing touchdowns, Tebow displayed the kind of versatility that has become more valued at the quarterback position. Pam Tebow and her husband were Christian missionaries in the Philippines in 1985 and they prayed for "Timmy" before she became pregnant. Unfortunately, as the Gainesville Sun reports, Pam entered into a coma after she contracted amoebic dysentery, an infection of the intestine caused by a parasite found in a contaminated food or drink. The treatment for the medical condition would require strong medications that doctors told Pam had caused irreversible damage to Tim -- so they advised her to have an abortion.

Teen Girls and Their Moms

Silence is Acceptance?

Adolescent females whose mothers do not vocalize disapproval of them having sex face a higher odd of being diagnosed with a sexually transmitted infection or disease.

An analysis of Add Health data found that adolescents'' previous infection with an STD was the most likely predictor of subsequent infection. Therefore, teaching preventative behaviors to adolescents newly diagnosed with an STD would be an effective means of preventing further infection. The study also found that girls whose mothers did not disapprove of their daughters having sex were more likely to report having an STD. Girls who reported that adults care about them were one-third less likely to report having an STD. Notably, condom use at first or most recent intercourse had no bearing on reported STDs.1

1Longitudinal Prediction of Sexually Transmitted Diseases Among Adolescents: Results from a National Survey, American Journal of Preventative Medicine, 2000, 18 (4).

Teen Brains

The article below confirms what I have suspected for a long time. My personal knowledge regarding this subject comes from having 2 teens of my own and from the difficulty I have in getting the 14 year old pregnant girls at Lois' Lodge to deal with the reality of their situation.

Summary: Teen Brain Not Fully Developed

Teens lack the cognitive controls needed for mature behavior. According to recent research findings, the brain isn’t fully mature until a person reaches about 25 years of age.

An article written by Time Magazine focuses on recent research conducted by Dr. Jay Giedd, chief of brain imaging in the child psychiatry branch at the National Institute of Mental Health. Dr. Giedd has devoted the past 13 years of his career to studying the brain growth and development in kids and teenagers. Dr. Giedd has used his research to study certain behavior in teens. Because of his research, what was once blamed on as being “raging hormones” in teens is now being seen as the by-product of two factors: an excess amount of hormones and a lack of the cognitive controls needed for mature behavior. One surprising finding that scientists have discovered is that the teenage brain grows very little over the course of childhood. By the time a child is 6 years old, the brain is 90% to 95% of its adult size. Babies are born equipped with most of the neurons our brain will ever have. Human achieve their maximum brain-cell density between the third and sixth month of gestation. During the final months before birth, our brains undergo a dramatic “pruning” in which unnecessary brain cells are eliminated. Many neuroscientists now believe that autism is the result of insufficient or abnormal prenatal “pruning”. What Dr. Giedd’s long-term studies have found is that there is a second wave of “pruning” that occurs later in childhood and that the final, critical part of this second wave, affecting some of our highest mental functions, occurs in the late teens. During adolescence, there are fewer but faster connections in the brain. The brain becomes a more efficient machine but the trade-off is that the brain is also possibly losing some of its raw potential for learning and its ability to recover from trauma. Right about the time the brain switches from proliferating to “pruning”, the body comes under the hormonal effects of puberty. Dr. Giedd’s best estimate for when the brain is truly mature is 25 years of age. For parents, Dr. Giedd says that it might be more useful to help teens make up for what their brain still lacks by providing structure, organizing their time, guiding them through tough decisions (even when they resist) and applying plenty of patience and love.1

1What Makes Teens Tick?, Time Magazine, May 2, 2004, pp. 1-8.

Banquet Testimony

For those of you that did not get to hear Zeritha's powerful testimony at our recent banquet you can hear her story as presented at Central Church of God by clicking here:

http://cdn.libsyn.com/ccog/LoranLivingston-070506-1830-OutreachMinistry.mp3

Men and Abortion Pain

LifeNews.com 11/28

National Conference on Pain Men Experience After Abortion Starts Wednesday in San Francisco, CA (LifeNews.com)

The emotional pain women feel from abortions is well-documented, with more than 40 percent experiencing severe depression and drug and alcohol abuse occurring at higher rates compared with women who give birth.

The pain men experience as a result of abortion will finally be highlighted at a national conference Wednesday. The Knights of Columbus and the Archdiocese of San Francisco are co-sponsoring the first national conference to focus on the effects of abortion on men whose partners had abortions. Featuring an international panel of speakers, the "Reclaiming Fatherhood" conference will be held Nov. 28-29 at St. Mary's Cathedral in San Francisco. The Milwaukee-based Office of Post-Abortion Reconciliation, headed by Vicki Thorn, is organizing the conference. Thorn is highly-regarded as one of the first and most experienced post-abortion counselors in the nation and she tells LifeNews.com the conference hopes to bring to light the "invisible" pain of men and abortion. She says society at large and even in the churches and pro-life community, the profound effect that abortion has on fathers whose children are aborted is not often acknowledged or understood.

Abortion Targets Blacks

Report: Abortions Target Blacks (LifeNews.com 11/25)

The new report the Centers for Disease Control released this week about annual abortion figures in the United States shows abortions continue to target black women more so than other ethnic groups.

The 2004 report also shows about 10 percent of all abortions in the United States are done with the dangerous RU 486 abortion drug. The CDC shows a majority of women who get abortions are white (53 percent) compared with 35 percent done on African-Americans, 8 percent on women of other ethnic backgrounds and the race of the woman was unknown in four percent of the cases. However, the abortion ratio for black women (472 per 1,000 live births) was 2.9 times higher than the ratio for white women (161 per 1,000). Examined another way, nearly half of all pregnancies among black women end in abortion while just 16 percent of pregnancies among while women end in abortion. The abortion rate for black women (28 per 1,000 women) was 2.8 times the rate for white women (10 per 1,000) -- meaning a much greater percentage. Those statistics continue to worry pro-life leaders in the African-American community. On 27 reporting areas adequately obtained abortion stats by ethnicity and those areas showed that 19 percent of the women getting abortions were Hispanic -- with a low of 0.6% in Mississippi to a high of 50% in New Mexico. For Hispanic women in these reporting areas, the abortion ratio was 211 per 1,000 live births, and the abortion rate was 26 per 1,000 women. However, only 46% of Hispanic women in the United States resided in these reporting areas.

Abstinence Education Funding

From: NC Abstinence Network ncabstinence@bellsouth.net
To: Pregnancy Resource Centers

Subject: Abstinence Education Alert
Date: Fri, 30 Nov 2007 11:22:58 -0500

Dear Friends,

I don’t mean to inundate you with e-mails. You are too busy for that. But there has been a surprising new challenge to the already meager abstinence education funding that North Carolina receives.Planned Parenthood is calling on Governor Easley to reject federal abstinence money. As you know, 14 states have already done this. Read this editorial written by the CEO of Planned Parenthood of Central NC’s that was in the Raleigh News and Observer on Wednesday of this week.

www.newsobserver.com/print/wednesday/opinion/story/797647.html

Please keep a watchful eye out for similar appeals in your local papers. Perhaps begin work on a letter to the editor (200 words) or guest editorial (700 words) that you can submit if this happens—a staff member or volunteer might like to help with this. I have attached a sample guest editorial to help with some of the groundwork, but please rewrite in your own words and add your own anecdotes. Also you might consider writing a letter to the governor or asking your board or supporter so do so. Here is his contact information.

www.governor.state.nc.us/Contact.asp

We knew this fight would reemerge, but most people believed it would not be so soon. My prayers are with you as you work on the front lines.

Warmest regards,

Traci

It's Perfectly Inappropriate

It’s Perfectly Inappropriate

Taken from American Life League news release:

“How can anyone claim that this book is appropriate for 10 year olds?” asked Jim Sedlak, vice president of American Life League. “First, pixilated images and excerpts of the book were rejected by a state prison, and now video streaming sites are censoring the content of a video containing those pixilated images as well.”

Sedlak was referring to the Planned Parenthood endorsed book, It’s Perfectly Normal, by Robie Harris. A few months ago, a Washington state prison rejected a letter that included censored images from the book for being “sexually explicit” and “obscene.” Last week, American Life League posted a video report on several streaming video sites exposing the content of the book, which is aimed at 10 year old children. The video report was removed from vidilife.com, sharkle.com, and hi5.com for “inappropriate content,” and flagged on metacafe.com for viewers over 18.

“What an irony that censored content from a book intended for 10-year-old children is rejected by a prison, removed from video streaming sites and flagged for viewers over the age of 18,” said Sedlak. “We actually have no objection to the actions of the online sites and the prison. We agree that this is not appropriate content.

“We are calling for libraries, schools and parents all across the country to take similar action,” Sedlak said. “Planned Parenthood should be denied access to our children at all times. The material it promotes is totally inappropriate and could be harmful.”

American Life League’s video report can be viewed here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VuUmsZYWnrs

Abuse Increases When Mom's Boyfriend Moves In

CitizenLink 11/20/07

Research shows abuse increases when mom's boyfriend moves in.

Child abuse in America is at a high, and experts warn the perpetrators tend to fit into one category.

Reports show children living in households with unrelated adults — usually their mom and her boyfriend — are more likely to be sexually abused, and 50 times more likely to die of injuries, than children living with their biological parents.

“The demographers estimate that a child who’s born out of wedlock will have something like five or six different father figures and co-residents in their household or in their mother’s life before the age of 16," said Robin Wilson, a professor at Washington and Lee University professor. She said the boyfriend may see the child as a threat.

University of Virginia Professor Brad Wilcox told Family News in Focus that men often step into father-like shoes they are not ready to fill.

“It’s a very simple idea; it’s an idea that’s quite old," he said, "but we have to be attentive to the kinds of adults that we’re putting in contact with our children.”

Changing Family Structure Puts Children at Risk

CitizenLink 11/20

Changing Family Structure Puts Children at Risk by Devon Williams, associate editor

Research stresses importance of children being raised by their married biological parents.

A growing number of children are living in homes that are not conducive to their overall health and welfare, according to Glenn Stanton, director of global family formation studies at Focus on the Family.

“We find more and more kids being raised in homes that are unfortunately not suited to the well-being of children, but addressing and fitting the whims of adults, like cohabiting homes and single-parent homes,” he told Family News in Focus.

Stanton draws his conclusions from research compiled in a new report, Family Formation Trends and Analysis, that shows while most children are still being raised by their married biological parents, the trend is moving the opposite direction.

Stanton reports that 40 percent of cohabiting-couple homes include children – and the number is steadily increasing. At the same time, family form has replaced parental employment as the primary driver in child poverty.

Costs of Teen Childbearing

Teen childbearing in the United States costs taxpayers (federal, state, and local) at least $9.1 billion, according to a new report by Saul Hoffman, Ph.D. and published by the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy. Most of the costs of teen childbearing are associated with negative consequences for the children of teen mothers, including increased costs for health care, foster care, and incarceration.

By the Numbers: The Public Costs of Teen Childbearing in North Carolina
November 2006

Highlights:

• A new analysis from the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy shows that teen childbearing (teens 19 and younger) in North Carolina cost taxpayers (federal, state, and local) at least $312 million in 2004.

• Of the total 2004 teen childbearing costs in North Carolina, 41% were federal costs and 59% were state and local costs.

• Most of the costs of teen childbearing are associated with negative consequences for the children of teen mothers. In North Carolina, in 2004, annual taxpayer costs associated with children born to teen mothers included: $54 million for public health care (Medicaid and SCHIP); $36 million for child welfare; $61 million for incarceration; and $105 million in lost tax revenue, due to decreased earnings and spending.

• The costs of childbearing are greatest for younger teens. In North Carolina, the average annual cost associated with a child born to a mother 17 and younger is $3,868.

• Between 1991 and 2004 there have been more than 212,900 teen births in North Carolina, costing taxpayers a total of $5.2 billion over that period.

• The teen birth rate in North Carolina declined 30 percent between 1991 and 2004. The progress North Carolina has made in reducing teen childbearing saved taxpayers an estimated $219 million in 2004 alone.

• Nationally teen childbearing costs taxpayers at least $9.1 billion a year.

For more information, including a national report and state by state comparisons, visit:

www.teenpregnancy.org/costs

STDs on the Rise

Chlamydia Hits Record Level in U.S.

More than 1 million cases of chlamydia were reported in the U.S. last year — the most ever reported for a sexually transmitted infection (STI), Fox News reported.

Gonorrhea rates also increased after hitting a record low, federal officials said. Syphilis is rising, too. "It’s vital that everyone understand how the increase in sexual activity at younger ages is skyrocketing the number of STIs in our country," said Linda Klepacki, sexual health analyst for Focus on the Family Action.

Are condoms the answer? You judge.....

How effective are condoms in preventing STIs? Condom breakage and slippage is estimated to occur 1-4% of the time. This is known as method failure.

By far the most extensive research on condom effectiveness has been done for HIV. A number of authors have performed meta-analyses (summaries) of other studies. These meta-analyses show that with 100% consistent condom use, condoms reduce the risk of HIV transmission by about 85%.

Condom effectiveness against transmission of bacterial diseases like gonorrhea, chlamydia and syphilis is significantly lower than for HIV.

Conclusive evidence is lacking for condom effectiveness against transmission of several other specific STIs, such as HPV and T. vaginalis, which each affect over 5 million people annually.

Finally, effectiveness is seriously limited for the many STIs which are transmitted through skin-to-skin contact, since condoms do not cover all the areas of the body which may be the source of transmission.The major factor affecting "condom effectiveness" is not method failure, over which the user has no control, but user failure -- the incorrect and inconsistent use of condoms during sexual acts.

References:

Steiner M, Dominik R, et al. Contraceptive Effectiveness of a polyurethane condom and a latex condom: a randomized controlled trial. Obstet Gynecol. 2003;101(3):539-547.

National Institutes of Health. Workshop Summary: Scientific Evidence on Condom Effectiveness for Sexually Transmitted Infection Prevention. Bethesda, MD: National Institutes of Health, US Dept of Health and Human Services; 2001. Available at: http://www.niaid.nih.gov/dmid/stis/condomreport.pdf. Accessed August 26, 2005.

Frezieres RG, Walsh TL, Nelson AL, Clark VA, Coulson AH. Evaluation of the efficacy of a polyurethane condom: results from a randomized, controlled, clinical trial. Fam Plann Perspect. 1999;31(2):81-87.

Macaluso M, Kelaghan J, Artz L, et al. Mechanical failure of the latex condom in a cohort of women at high STI risk. Sex Transm Dis. 1999;26(8):450-458.

Pray for our Soldiers

From Psalm 511

But let all who take refuge in you be glad; let them ever sing for joy.

Spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may rejoice in you.

Mother's Influence on Teen Sex

Mothers' Disapproval of Sex Reduces Teen Sexual Behavior

Teens' perception of their mother's disapproval of sexual behavior lessens the odds of adolescent sexual activity and unintended pregnancy. A positive relationship between mother and teen reduces risks as well.

This study confirms the importance of mother/child relationships and the perceived maternal disapproval of sexual behavior. Teens who think their mothers disapprove of their engaging in sexual intercourse and are satisfied with their relationship with their mothers are less likely to engage in sex and to experience an unintended pregnancy. The perception of maternal opposition toward engaging in sex at the beginning of the study was associated with a lower probability of engaging in sex and a lowered probability of pregnancy during subsequent 12 months. For sexual intercourse, the predicted odds of engaging in sex were 6.3 times higher when perceived disapproval was low as opposed to high. For pregnancy, the predicted odds of a pregnancy were 3.5 times higher when perceived disapproval was low as opposed to high. In terms of relationship satisfaction, the study found that the predicted offs of engaging in sex were 2.7 times higher (3.9 times higher for pregnancy) when the adolescent satisfaction with their relationship with their mother was low as opposed to high. The predicted odds of engaging in sex when both the perceived disapproval and relationship satisfaction were at their lowest values were 17.1 times greater (and 13.1 times greater for pregnancy) than when both variables were at their lowest. Notably, the more that teens thought their mothers approved of the use of birth control, the more likely they were to underestimate their mother's opposition to them engaging in sex.1

1Adolescents' Perceptions of Maternal Disapproval of Sex: Relationship to Sexual Outcomes, Journal of Adolescent Health, Vol. 26, 2000, pp. 268-278.

TV's Family Hour- More Violence and Sex

Primetime network family hour programming contains an average of one instance of objectionable content every 3.5 minutes of non-commercial airtime. Since 2000-2001, violence in the family hour has increased by 52.4% and the amount of sexual content has increased by 22.1%.

Traditionally known as the Family Hour, the first hour of prime time (8pm to 9pm on Mondays through Saturdays, and 7pm to 9pm on Sundays) was once a place for programming the whole family could enjoy. In recent years, however, all the major TV networks have pushed more adult programming to these early hours of the evening. A comprehensive study of network programming during the first hour of primetime television conducted by the Parents Television Council (PTC) shows that objectionable content occurs every 3.5 minutes of non-commercial airtime. Incidents of violence and sexual content rose by 52.4 and 22.1 percent, respectively, since the last comprehensive study done in 2000-2001. Foul language incidents decreased by 25.4%. Rerun programming during family hour contained 19.76 instances of objectionable content, 58% more than original programming. The contents of this report should be alarming to everybody involved: parents, advertisers, and network executives. Parents, in particular, must actively oppose the broadcasts networks' efforts to reduce decency standards by pressuring local broadcast affiliated to air inappropriate programming and by pressuring advertisers to stop underwriting offensive Family Hour content.1

1The Alarming Family Hour: A Content Analysis of Sex, Foul Language, and Violence during Network Television's Family Hour, Parents Television Council, September 2007.

Teen Sex Leads to Unhappiness

Recently, an extensive survey (conducted by the Associated press and MTV) of more than 100 questions was asked of 1,280 people ages 13-24 regarding the general nature of happiness among America's young people. On issues of sexuality, the survey showed that being sexually active actually leads to less happiness among 13-17 year olds. For those who are aged 18-24, the survey showed that sex might lead to more happiness in the moment, but not in general. Some results of the survey proved to be very disconcerting. While 72% of whites said they were happy with life in general, just 56% of blacks and 51% of Hispanics said the same about their lives. Lastly, 62% of those surveyed said they think they will be happier in the future than they are now (those over 18 years of age were more optimistic). However, many anticipate a more difficult life than their parents had.1

1The Associated Press-MTV Poll Conducted by Knowledge Networks, Associated Press, April 16-23, 2007, pp. 1-81.
2Poll: Family Ties Key to Happy Kids, Associated Press, Fox News, August 19, 2007

Abstinent Teens Enjoy Greater Academic Success

Summary: Abstinent Teens Enjoy Greater Academic Success

Teens who abstain from sex until at least age 18 are less likely to be expelled or drop out of high school and are more than twice as likely to complete college when compared to teens who do not abstain from sexual activity.

According to data gathered from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (AddHealth), teens that practice sexual abstinence are less likely to be expelled or drop out of high school and are more likely to graduate from college, even after controlling for social background variables. This remains true even when excluding teenagers who give birth and controlling for the teens' own educational expectations. Teens who became sexually active before the age of 18 were almost 3 times more likely to be expelled from school than were teens who remained virgins while in high school (9.9% vs. 3.5%). In addition, 21% of teens who began sexual activity before the age of 18 dropped out of school before graduating high school. The drop out rate of teens who remained virgins at least until age 18 was substantially lower at 8.6%. While sexually active teens who use contraception do better academically than sexually-active non-contraceptive users, abstinent teens still perform best academically.1

1Teenage Sexual Abstinence and Academic Achievement, Paper presented at 9th Annual Abstinence Clearinghouse Conference, August 2005.

Father Fact

Using a national probability sample, father involvement correlates with fewer behavior problems exhibited by their children. This finding holds after controlling for the level of maternal involvement.

Source: Amato, Paul R. and Fernando Rivera. "Paternal Involvement and Children's Behavior Problems." Journal of Marriage and the Family, 61 (1999): 375-384

At Lois' Lodge we are looking for a few good men to mentor fathers. Call us if you are interested in this type of volunteer opportunity. (704)376-8550

Senators Call for Suspension of Planned Parenthood Funding

Citizenlink 11/12

Senators Call for Suspension of Planned Parenthood Funding

Thirteen U.S. senators want to suspend federal funding to groups that promote abortion, primarily Planned Parenthood. The senators sent a letter to key members of Congress who have the power to block the funds.

“We’re very encouraged to see the senators taking this strong stand that really would reflect what the majority of Americans would want," Wendy Wright, president of Concerned Women for America, told Family News in Focus.

In October, Focus on the Family and about 60 other pro-life organizations asked Congress to suspend Planned Parenthood funding following a 107-count indictment against the group's Kansas affiliate.

Rep. Mike Pence, R-Ind., introduced a bill in the House on Thursday that would stop federal funding.

Dawn Vargo, associate bioethics analyst for Focus on the Family Action, said: “Given these allegations of illegal practices on the part of Planned Parenthood, taxpayers should not be forced to fund an organization that may be engaged in criminal activity.”

TAKE ACTION: Urge your U.S. senators and representative to stop taxpayer funding of Planned Parenthood. You can find contact information in our Action Center.

10 Tips for Parents to Help Their Children Avoid Teen Pregnancy

The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy has reviewed research about parental influences on children’s sexual behavior and talked to many experts in the field, as well as to teens and parents themselves. From these sources, they have released 10 Tips for Parents to Help Their Children Avoid Teen Pregnancy.

Many of the ideas presented in 10 Tips will seem familiar because they articulate what parents already know from experience — like the importance of maintaining strong, close relationships with children and teens, setting clear expectations for them, and communicating honestly and often with them about important matters. Research supports these common sense ideas. It is hoped that these tips can increase the ability of parents to help their children pass safely into adulthood pregnancy-free.

You can access this report in the following ways:
Order copies from the Online Store
Download a free copy
Visit the 10 Tips Webpage

Lois' Lodge Banquet 2007 (Alli's story)

The banquet is over and what a wonderful time of fellowship it was. I am so grateful for all of the prayers that were offered for this event. I experienced a sense of peace when I got behind that podium that could only have been a result of your prayers. Alli, on the other hand... :)

All of the feedback that I have received regarding the banquet thus far has reflected how lives were touched by the fact that sweet Alli was willing to stand strong and share her heart, even through knocking knees and hyperventilation. Alli and I had a back up plan in case her nerves got the best of her. My daughter, Jess was fully prepared to get up and read Alli's speech with Alli standing by her side. Alli could have taken advantage of this but she persevered. To me that speaks volumes regarding Alli's desire to honor #1, God and to honor the ministry of Lois' Lodge. I am aware that some of you may have missed some of Alli's message while she was gasping for air. :) Alli and I have fun teasing each other so please don't think I am being mean. The following is Alli's speech so that you can have the opportunity to experience all of the meaningful information that she desired to convey. Alli is a very special young lady who I believe will be used by the Lord in a mighty way. We love you Alli!

My name is Alli and I am from Athens, Georgia. When I was 19 I discovered I was pregnant. I was so scared. I thought my life was over. I just knew that my parents were going to disown me and my friends were going to leave me. My friends were shocked and couldn't believe that this had happened to me. I had grown up going to church and in a community where everyone knew my family. My town is a big football town and my dad was the coach for our college team for several years. No one knew how to react. The father of the baby, who was 17 did not want the added responsibility of a child and was encouraging me to develop an adoption plan. I was really confused and stressed about my situation.

I learned about Lois’ Lodge from a family friend who had stayed there during her pregnancy. She and her family were very positive about Lois’ Lodge and thought that it would be a good place for me to go. Her father had been my parent’s pastor so we really valued his input. Since I never went away for college I thought it would be good to get away and experience things on my own and to become more independent of my parents. The thought of leaving my town was very scary. But I knew that I needed to get away in order to be able to make decisions for my future and for the future of my baby. I did not want to be overly influenced by others. These were decisions I needed to make for myself.

I was really homesick in the beginning but I had made an agreement with my parents that if I went to Lois’ Lodge I would be committed to following through with the program. They stayed strong for me even though I called them a number of times crying hysterically due to being homesick. Overtime I settled in and came to view the staff and the girls as an extension of my family. There was a lot of tension between my parents and me when they learned that I was pregnant. Overtime my whole family became closer than we had been for a long time. My mother and father, who are divorced even traveled back and forth to Charlotte together on a couple of occasions. They were unified in their support for me and they are here together tonight. Through this experience I learned that God and my family will always be there for me and will always love me, even when I screw up. I also learned to take responsibility for my choices and my actions.

In the beginning I was pretty high maintenance. Several times a week I would run into Debbie’s office either telling her “I am so stressed” or “I am going to go crazy”. She always remained annoyingly calm. I used to think- “Doesn’t she get it? This is a serious crisis!”. Overtime I discovered what she already knew- “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me”. I became a lot less dramatic and more confident about my ability to cope.

I grew so much during my stay at Lois’ Lodge. My favorite part about being at Lois' Lodge was probably learning how to do things on my own. I actually learned how to cook. I even reached the point that instead of always calling someone to ask them how to do something, I was able to figure it out on my own. Another area of growth for me was in my spiritual life. I grew to love going to church. Not because my parents dragged me there but because I wanted to go. I also loved the Bible Study that I participated in through Lois’ Lodge. While I was at Lois’ Lodge my sister was in training at Focus on the Family. I always thought that she was the designated one who would have the close walk with the Lord. Now He is much more personal to me too.

I loved all the people that I met while I was at Lois’ Lodge. I will never forget them. Debbie and Shirley were like my second moms. They taught me a lot. I remember one time I was furious at Debbie. The father of my baby and his mother were traveling here from Georgia, along with my mother. There was a lot that the two of us needed to sort out. I decided to also make this trip a fun girl time. I invited several of my girlfriends from Athens to come along too. We were going to have fun shopping and doing girl stuff. Debbie told me that my friends couldn't’t come. She said that this meeting was too important to combine with a fun girlfriend event. I was furious and called my dad crying that I wanted to go home. Afterwards I realized that Debbie was right. My meeting with the father of the baby was very intense and emotional. But, by the end he and I had reached a number of agreements and understandings. My girlfriends would have been a distraction and probably would have made this process a lot less successful. The baby’s father really liked Debbie also. He felt that she was not on his side or mine but helped us to work together on behalf of our baby.

Zeritha McFadden was my mentor. Her own daughter had a baby when she was a teen. Zeritha told me the truth in a loving way. She will always be a special friend to me.

Shirley would make me laugh. But my favorite story about Shirley is one that she probably would prefer that I not bring up. On my first day of school at Central Piedmont Community College I was a nervous wreck! I finished class and was ready for Shirley to pick me up but SHE FORGOT ABOUT ME! I didn’t have my cell phone and I didn’t have enough change for the pay phone. I went crying into the guidance counselor’s office. They let me use their phone. Shirley felt terrible. She actually didn’t forget about me altogether. She just got distracted and forgot to come at the time we agreed to. She didn’t realize how that would almost cause me to have a nervous breakdown. :) After that day I knew Shirley was never going to forget me again! I don’t think she had ever seen that much drama before.

The girls that stayed with me at Lois’ Lodge are like my sisters and I would do anything for them any day. They taught me so much. We all came from different backgrounds but we were so bonded because of going through this experience together. Some of the girls that were in Lois’ Lodge with me had grown up in very challenging circumstances. One girl was 14 years old. Her mother was addicted to drugs and was in and out of prison. She was adopted by an older couple that she called her grandparents. None of us could get over the fact that she got pregnant in a porta potty at school. Yuck! She had the courage to allow another family to parent her child through adoption. I carried a bucket for her to throw up in while Debbie drove her to the hospital to deliver her baby.

I was very close to a girl that has since gotten married to the father of her baby. I envy her for that. They are doing great. We had a reunion with our babies. One other girl placed her baby for adoption and she is attending college in Indiana now. I keep in touch with her and it is obvious that she is doing great. She displays pictures of the baby and the adoptive parents on her facebook. She is very proud of the choice that she made. Another, who was only 16 when she got pregnant ran away from the program and moved in with the father of her baby. That didn’t work out. We all knew it wouldn’t. She is now planning to move into the Lois’ Lodge aftercare program with her sweet little girl. I don’t know what I would have done during that challenging time without having all of those amazing people in my life. I remain in touch with most of them.

My life is much different now. I am so busy. Between school and being a mom I don’t seem to have time for anything else. Debbie laughs at me sometimes because the high point of my day is that I got a chance to go to Walmart. It is hard to realize just how hard this mom thing is until you actually experience it. Being a mom is the biggest job that I will ever have and it will last for a life time. It’s a 7 days a week and 24 hour job but it is worth everyday and every hour. My relationships with my friends have changed. They are always going out on the weekends and having fun doing whatever they want. It seems like they don’t have to worry about anything. I don’t really go out too much. It’s hard to find a babysitter and by the time you have it’s too late to go out. I can’t do things spur of the moment anymore. Actually, to tell the truth, I now like staying at home. All this being said, I would not change what I have been through for anything.

I do realize that if I didn’t have the supportive family that I have I would never have been able to do this on my own. I am very thankful to my parents for their ongoing support and unconditional love. They, like me are extremely grateful to Lois’ Lodge. I left about a month before my baby was due. I really wanted to have the baby in Georgia to assure that my family would be there. Just recently I have decided to admit that I should have stayed at Lois’ Lodge longer in order to learn and grow even more. I want to thank all of you for taking the time to be here tonight to learn more about this important ministry. And thank you Lois’ Lodge for being there for me while I was pregnant and for still being there for me now while I am a young mom. You will always be special to me.

Stay tuned- More on the banquet later. Debbie

Voting and the Abortion Issue

Half of Americans Want to Know Candidate's Abortion Stance Before Voting

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) --

A new poll conducted by Fox News finds that almost half of all voters want to know where a candidate stands on the issue of abortion before casting their vote for or against him. The poll is the latest to show that abortion still has a significant impact for voters, despite media pronouncements to the contrary. The new survey, released on Friday, finds 45 percent of Americans need to know a candidate's position on abortion before they vote, while 53 percent say they don't. A candidate's position on abortion is more important for pro-life voters than those who back abortion. Fox News found that 56 percent of those identifying themselves as pro-life want to know a candidate's abortion views while just 41 percent of those who back legal abortions do. That reconfirms results from previous surveys showing pro-life voters are more engaged on the abortion issue than those who back abortion and the results give pro-life candidates a slight edge on the issue. The Fox News survey also found out that 48 percent of women, 46 percent of Republicans and 51 percent of born-again Christians want to know where a candidate stands on abortion before voting. Read the complete story.

Majority of Americans are Pro-Life

Second New Poll Shows Majority of Americans are Pro-Life on Abortion

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) --

A second poll in as many weeks is showing that a majority of Americans are pro-life when it comes to abortion. Last week, a CBS News survey showed over half of the public opposes most or all abortions and now a new poll from Bloomberg News and the Los Angeles Times has found the same thing. The new media survey asked respondents which of four positions "comes closest to your view on abortion." Some 40 percent of those polled said abortion should be illegal 98 percent of the time -- "except in cases of rape, incest and to save the mother’s life." Another 10 percent took a pro-life position that "abortion should be made illegal without any exceptions." Only 44 percent of Americans favor legal abortions, according to the survey, with 31 percent saying they should be "always legal" and just 13 percent saying they should be legal "most of the time." The two media outlets interviewed 1,209 American adults from Oct. 19 to Oct. 22 and their poll has a three percent margin of error. Read the complete story.

Rudy Giuliani's Adoption Claims

Abortion Advocate Says Rudy Giuliani's Adoption Claims "Unsupportable"

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) --

Rudy Giuliani has tried hard to use his supposed advocacy of adoption as the mayor of New York to combat Republican opposition to his pro-abortion views as he campaigns for president. His pro-adoption claims have been refuted on previous occasions and now a leading abortion advocate says they are "unsupportable." Cory Richards is the senior vice president and vice president for public policy at the Guttmacher Institute, a research group affiliated with Planned Parenthood. Richards wrote an opinion column published in the Los Angeles Times on Monday saying that Giuliani's claims that his adoption advocacy resulted in a decrease in abortions in New York City can't be supported. Giuliani has said that, while he was mayor, New York City "increased adoption by 133% over the eight years before [he] came into office." Giuliani added that the city "found that abortions went down by 18% during that period of time" and that he believes such figures can be achieved nationwide. But Richards says the increase in adoptions Giuliani refers to is children in the city's foster care system and "not in the rate at which women were continuing unwanted pregnancies and placing their infants for adoption rather than having abortions." "Nothing in the data he cites indicates that there was any significant increase in the city's newborn relinquishment rate while he was mayor," Richards says. Read the complete story.

Maternal Depression

Lois' Lodge is a member of Prevent Child Abuse- North Carolina.

The following is an excellent article that I received on the subject of maternal depression.

This is a subject relevant to all of us.

Prevention Network Monthly Focus

MATERNAL DEPRESSION

For all one hears that having a baby is "the happiest time in a mother's life," a significant percentage of mothers in fact experience some form of depression during pregnancy or following the birth of their child. Postpartum Depression can occur up to a year after birth, although its onset is usually within the first three months after delivery. Common symptoms include changes in appetite and sleep patters, decreased energy, feelings of worthlessness or guilt, and difficulty thinking or concentrating, recurrent thoughts of death or suicidal plans and attempts. As with any illness, Postpartum Depression exists along a continuum and therefore can take many forms:

∙ It can appear as a mild and relatively common condition known as "Baby Blues" in which the mother experiences increased crying, irritability, and anxiety during the first three days after the baby's birth.

∙ However, it can also be as severe as Postpartum Psychosis, a rare condition that occurs in 1 to 2 women in 1000 births, in which a mother can experience hallucinations and extremely irrational behavior.

In many cases, depressed mothers are not overtly symptomatic, but their interactions with their children include negative emotional expressions, an unresponsive parenting style, and a feeling of disconnect.

Prevalence

Estimates of the prevalence of postpartum depression range from 8-20% of women who give birth. In 2000, North Carolina was one of seven states to conduct a survey about Postpartum Depression using the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS), which was developed by the Centers for Disease Control in 2000. The survey, which relied on self-reported cases of postpartum depression rather than a clinical diagnosis, found that 8.5% of North Carolina mothers reported severe depression in the months after their delivery, and 49.4% reported low to moderate depression. A study from the State Center for Health Statistics looked at what factors helped indicate whether or not a mother sought help for her depression. The study found that older mothers (30+) were more than twice more likely than teenage mothers to seek help. Other factors that correlated with seeking help were higher levels of education and having had previous births.

The Risk Factors

There are a number of risk factors that help predict postpartum depression. Although there is no significant difference between low income Caucasian and African American women, Hispanic mothers do experience a higher prevalence of depressive symptoms. Other risk factors included being young, less educated, having fewer financial resources, not having a spouse or cohabitating partner, and delivering a low birth weight infant. Research into protective factors is more limited, but they do include breastfeeding, positive feelings about the pregnancy, and living with a spouse or significant other.Numerous studies have found that postpartum depression has a number of negative effects. Mothers who experience depression are more likely to exhibit hostile levels of behavior towards their infants, including irritability, yelling, and hitting or shaking the child. They are also less likely to engage in positive interactions with their baby, such as playing with and reading to the child, being affectionate, and continuing to breastfeed. Furthermore, depression can result in decreased attention to pediatric preventive practices such as using a car seat, having a smoke detector, and placing the infant on their back to sleep. Depressed mothers are also more likely to physically abuse their babies, and their babies are at higher risk of accidental injury. Children of depressed mothers continue to feel the effects later in life, as one study found that at age 11 they have significantly lower IQ scores, more attention problems, and more difficulties with math. In fact, the correlation between depression and abuse extends backwards as well: depressed mothers are often themselves victims of abuse or violence. The evidence indicates that maternal depression is a serious condition with effects that extend well beyond the first months of an infant's life.

Strategies for Local Communities

There are a number of strategies that local communities can develop to address the issue of maternal depression:

1. Public Awareness and Education: It is important that professional care givers and mothers, as well as family members and friends, to be educated about maternal depression. Healthcare providers should make sure that expecting mothers are aware of the condition. Many resources can be used to educate the population including brochures, child birth classes, and public awareness campaigns. Link to Public Awareness in Other StatesWashington StateLink to Brochure Mental Health association of MinnesotaLink to Educational Material from Minnesota Department of Health

2. Screening: The American Academy of Obstetricians and Gynecology recommends screening at six weeks following delivery; however, additional screening postpartum (including during at-home visits), as well as prenatal screening, is recommended. When screening for perinatal depression, clinicians should utilize a standardized tool. The most common such tool is the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), the sensitivity, specificity, and predictive values of which have been confirmed by researchers. Other tools include the Postpartum Depression Screening Scale, the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale, and the Beck Depression Inventory-II.Link to EPDS

3. Treatment: There are a variety of treatments available for maternal depression. Some women prefer to treat it with antidepressants and anxiety medications, as well as hormone therapy, but there are also a number of non-pharmacological treatments. These include interpersonal therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, group therapy, interaction coaching for at-risk parents, home visiting, and parent education.LinksInterpersonal Therapy Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

Local Findings

Specifically within North Carolina, a group of four student researchers found that a major barrier to providing adequate treatment for postpartum depression was inability to serve Spanish-speaking individuals. North Carolina's Hispanic population tripled from 1990 to 2000 and continues to grow. Furthermore, rates of depression are higher among Hispanics, especially those who speak only Spanish. This indicates that employing bilingual, bicultural clinicians, rather than relying on translators, is a logical first step in addressing this issue. However, another possibility is that reevaluating the cultural appropriateness of screening tools may be in order.

Resources

Postpartum Support International

http://www.postpartum.net/

Depression After Delivery1.800.944.4PPD (to request information packet)

http://www.depressionafterdelivery.com/

Online PPD Support Group

http://www.ppdsupportpage.com/

The Postpartum Stress Center

http://www.postpartumstress.com/resources.html

Feet

This came to me through a blog that I subscribe to. This kinda thing should come naturally to us as Christians. I don't know what Zappos' motivation may have been, but as Christians we need to love and care about others cuz we are called to do so. I am challenged by this. Am I too busy to love others the way I should????? Debbie

PS: Aren't those taupe pumps amazing? :)

"This is my command: Love each other." John 15:16-18

"and is well known for her good deeds, such as bringing up children, showing hospitality, washing the feet of the saints, helping those in trouble and devoting herself to all kinds of good deeds." 1 Timothy 5:9-11

Donor Power Blog
Shoe seller shows the power of humanity
Posted: 30 Oct 2007 10:49 AM CDT
You may have read about this one, reported here at the Get Elastic blog: Good Customer Service Still The Best Word-Of-Mouth Marketing Strategy.
It's about a woman who bought some shoes from Zappos, then wasn't able to return them because her mother died. She emailed Zappos. Rather than stick to their policy, they arranged to have UPS pick up the shoes she wanted to return. Here's what she wrote in her personal blog about what happened next:
Yesterday, when I came home from town, a florist delivery man was just leaving. It was a beautiful arrangement in a basket with white lilies and roses and carnations. Big and lush and fragrant. I opened the card, and it was from Zappos. I burst into tears. I'm a sucker for kindness, and if that isn't one of the nicest things I've ever had happen to me, I don't know what is. So...
IF YOU BUY SHOES ONLINE, GET THEM FROM ZAPPOS.
Admit it: This story makes you want to buy shoes from Zappos, doesn't it? A company that can be that real with a customer deserves your business.
Here's what this means to nonprofits: Really getting it right with your donors sometimes isn't about telling them about your cause. Sometimes it's just being human. Sometimes it means breaking out of the box of brand and policy.
Here's a case where a customer had a personal blog, and the story has spread in a big way. But even if she'd only told her immediate circle about her experience, that would have been a lot of people wanting to buy from Zappos. The power of treating people right is enormous.
I don't have any inside knowledge on Zappos, but I'll bet almost anything that their focus on treating customers right also affects their marketing: They want to mold themselves to their customers' needs, not bend and shape and "teach" customers to be better customers.

Believers Need Encouagement Too

Sharon is our speaker for our banquet. We are truly blessed! If you are interested in attending the banquet and have not RSVPed yet please contact Dawn at (704)376-8550 or via email at dg_loislodge@bellsouth.net

Believers Need Encouraging Too!
Sharon Jaynes

Today's Truth

"So then, as occasion and opportunity open to us, let us do good to all people, (not only being useful or profitable to them, but also doing what is for their spiritual good advantage). Be mindful to be a blessing, especially to those of the household of faith, those who belong to God's family with you, the believers" (Galatians 6:10 AMP emphasis added).

Friend to Friend

When I think of Paul, I tend to think of a stoic stern rock of a man that is neither swayed nor deterred from the course at hand. I see him needing no one other than Christ Himself. But that was not true! Paul needed the encouragement of other believers. He longed for the words of fellow Christians to cheer him on while spreading the gospel.
Ponder these words he penned to the Corinthian church:

"For when we came into Macedonia, this body of ours had no rest, but we were harassed at every turn -- conflicts on the outside, fears within. But God who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus, and not only by his coming but also by the comfort you had given him. He told us about your longing for me, your deep sorrow, your ardent concern for me, so that my joy was greater than ever" (2 Corinthians 7:5-7 emphasis added).
What was Paul feeling at this time? Conflicts on the outside and fears on the inside. Yes, that mighty man of God who said, "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength" also struggled with fear, discouragement and inner turmoil.

Paul was a spiritually confident man! He wrote: "We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed" (2 Corinthians 4:8). "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us" (Romans 8:37). Paul believed these words with all of his heart, and yet, he still needed the words of fellow believers to encourage him to press on.

Even as I write these words, I am struck with just how much fellow Christians need encouraging words to continue in the faith. It is easy to say, "Well, God should be enough. People should find their strength in Christ." Yes, Christ is enough for salvation. However, God has placed us in a Body. He called us the Body of Christ because we are dependent on each other to function well, to love well, and to struggle well.

Let's Pray
Dear Lord, show me a Christian that needs encouragement today. May I never, never withhold praise and appreciation for any fellow believer when it is within my power to give them the boost they need. May I be like Elizabeth who encouraged her cousin Mary, the mother of Jesus, the very moment she walked in the door of her home.
In Jesus' Name,
Amen

Now it's Your Turn
When is the last time someone in the church thanked you for a job well done? How did it make you feel?

When is the last time you thanked someone in your church for all their hard work in leading worship, teaching children, sharpening the pencils in the pews, etc.?

What does God want you to do in response to this devotion?

More from the Girlfriends
Sometimes we forget just how much people need encouragement. It is easy to think that spiritually mature people don't need it....we're wrong. They do! If you would like to learn how to become known as an encourager in your church, see Sharon's book, The Power of a Woman's Words. Also, consider The Power of a Woman's Words Bible Study for your next Bible study group!

Seeking God?
Click here to find out more about having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

Girlfriends in God
P.O. Box 725
Matthews, NC 28106
http://www.girlfriendsingod.com/