MyPraize Blogs

Middle School Dating Leads to Higher Dropout, Drug Use Rates Students who date in middle school have significantly worse study skills, are four times more likely to drop out of school and report twice as much alcohol, tobacco and marijuana use than their single classmates, according to new research from the University of Georgia, reports Jim Liebelt. "Romantic relationships are a hallmark of adolescence, but very few studies have examined how adolescents differ in the development of these relationships," said Pamela Orpinas, study author and professor in the College of Public Health and head of the Department of Health Promotion and Behavior. Orpinas followed a group of 624 students over a seven-year period from sixth to 12th grade. Each year, the group completed a survey indicating whether they had dated and reported the frequency of different behaviors, including the use of drugs and alcohol. Their teachers completed questionnaires about the students' academic efforts. "In our study, we found four distinct trajectories," Orpinas said. "Some students never or hardly ever reported dating from middle to high school, and these students had consistently the best study skills according to their teachers. Other students dated infrequently in middle school but increased the frequency of dating in high school. We also saw a large number of students who reported dating since sixth grade." According to the study, "At all points in time, teachers rated the students who reported the lowest frequency of dating as having the best study skills and the students with the highest dating as having the worst study skills."

History Channel's "The Bible" miniseries continues to draw audiences from across all platforms, including books, DVDs and downloads, as it heads into its finale, according to Grace Hill Media. The series, which has been viewed by close to 80 million people, has continued to outperform all other television shows on Sunday nights. It took over the No. 1 spot on iTunes for top TV show downloads, and is currently ranked No. 2 on the list of 100 on Amazon's bestsellers list in movies and TV. Executive producers Roma Downey and Mark Burnett's novelization of the miniseries, The Bible: A Story of God and All of Us, which debuted Feb. 26, has also climbed to No. 10 on the Publishers Weekly top hardcover fiction list and No. 20 on the New York Times hardcover fiction list. "Roma and I continue to be grateful for the overwhelming global enthusiasm for 'The Bible' series," Burnett said. Downey added: "The audience reaction says so much about what people are looking for these days. We are just thrilled that we were able to bring these stories to life."

Florida Student Declares Victory After Refusing to Stomp on Paper Bearing Jesus' Name

Liberty Institute has declared victory on behalf of its client Ryan Rotela, the Florida Atlantic University student who was brought up on academic charges and suspended from class out of retaliation for reporting a lesson to university officials that included an in-class assignment involving jumping on a sheet of paper bearing Jesus' name. In addition to apologizing to Rotela on its website and following a closed-door meeting with Liberty Institute, university officials agreed not to take any further action against him. The university will expunge all academic charges from his student records and will allow him to take the course under the supervision of an alternate professor. "We are thankful that the university has conceded and done the right thing, so that our client Mr. Rotela can continue pursuing his education without distraction," said Hiram Sasser, Liberty Institute director of litigation. "Decades ago, the Supreme Court ruled that students do not leave their First Amendment rights at the schoolhouse gate. That is still true today." Liberty Institute is a nonprofit legal group dedicated to defending and restoring religious liberty across America.

North Dakota Governor Approves 6-Week Abortion Ban

Gov. Jack Dalrymple signed legislation Tuesday that would make North Dakota the nation's most restrictive state on abortions, banning the procedure if a fetal heartbeat can be detected -- something that can happen as early as six weeks into a pregnancy, AP reports. The Republican governor also signed into law another measure that would make North Dakota the first to ban abortions based on genetic defects such as Down syndrome, and a measure that requires a doctor who performs abortions to be a physician with hospital-admitting privileges. The measures, which would take effect Aug. 1, are fueled in part by an attempt to close the state's sole abortion clinic in Fargo. Dalrymple said in a statement that the fetal heartbeat bill was a direct challenge to Roe v. Wade. "Although the likelihood of this measure surviving a court challenge remains in question, this bill is nevertheless a legitimate attempt by a state legislature to discover the boundaries of Roe v. Wade," Dalrymple said. Pro-abortion advocates have promised a legal fight that they say will be long, costly and unwinnable for the state. Dalrymple said in his statement that the legislature "should appropriate dollars for a litigation fund" before the session ends in early May.

Go to this link to read the entire story:

 http://www.nowtheendbegins.com/blog/?p=13525

 

"The Department of Homeland Security is an internal agency, designed to keep Americans inside the country safe from the threat of an outside attack through the use of obtained intelligence. What started out as an information-gathering organization has, with the election of Barack Obama, morphed into a full-fledged military organization armed to the teeth with every type of armored vehicle, advanced weaponry and billions of rounds of high-impact hollow point bullets."

 

We are truly living in the end days and prayer is our only hope. Tapping into Heaven is how we, as Christians, will ever survive our own government. Watch the video and read the linked articles. This is OUR AMERICA and it's becoming more and more dangerous every day thanks to the re-election of Mr. Obama.

 

 

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White House on Clinton's Same-Sex Marriage Support: 'It's a Good Thing'

The White House has responded to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's recent support for same-sex marriage, calling it "a good thing," the Christian Post reports. White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said Monday that although he has not heard an official statement from President Barack Obama regarding Clinton's recent announcement, he can say that the president supports Clinton's decision. "The president believes that any time a public official of stature steps forward to embrace a commitment that he shares to equality for LGBT Americans, he thinks it's a good thing," Carney said. "I know that's what he feels in general when major figures in our society make their views known. It's testimony to how far this country and how quickly this country has traveled."

 

This is contrary to Clinton's statement back in 2008 when she declared that same sex marriage was contrary to our country's ethics and morals. But this isn't new for Clinton, who seems to change her mind about everything depending on what is popular at the time.

Assistant Admits to Killing 10 Babies With Scissors During Trial for 'House of Horrors' Abortionist

As the trial for notorious Philadelphia abortionist Kermit Gosnell proceeded this week, one of Gosnell's employees testified that she had personally been involved in the murders of 10 newborn babies, the Christian News Network reports. Adrienne Moton told the court the babies who were born alive had their spines "snipped" with scissors. "I learned it from Dr. Gosnell," she said when asked by prosecutors where she came up with the idea. "I never asked why. ... I could remember a good 10 times that I did it." Moton has been incarcerated since 2011, and has pled guilty to third-degree murder, along with other charges, for her participation in Gosnell's late-term abortion operation. She is the first of at least two employees who are set to testify against the abortionist in the trial. Gosnell, 72, faces seven counts of first-degree murder for the deaths of babies who were born alive but had their spinal cords "snipped"; he also faces one count of third-degree murder for the death of an abortion client who was administered a lethal amount of medication, in addition to approximately 20 other charges. Gosnell was taken into custody in 2011 following an investigation into his practice, called the Women's Medical Society. Philadelphia district attorney Seth Williams, who initially leveled the charges against Gosnell, described the clinic as a "House of Horrors." In addition to several babies found with their spinal cords severed, investigators "found jar after jar after jar of fetal remains and specifically severed feet in jars" and "medical waste bags just strewn everywhere," according to Williams. Gosnell, if convicted, could face the death penalty for his crimes.

China: 336 Million Abortions in Barely Four Decades

China has aborted 336 million unborn children, many of them forcibly, during slightly more than four decades, the government has announced. The staggering number of abortions should prompt mourning for the victims, but it should not be shocking, said pro-life observers of China's policy, because the Communist government has enforced a coercive "one-child" policy for more than 30 years. On March 14, the Chinese Health Ministry reported the following statistics for its family planning practices since 1971, according to the Financial Times: 336 million abortions performed, 196 sterilizations conducted and 403 million intrauterine devices inserted. China, the world's most populous country, first instituted limits on population growth in 1971 and established its "one-child" population control program in 1979. The policy has resulted not only in many reports of authorities carrying out forced abortions and sterilizations, but also in accounts of infanticide. The 336 million abortions surpass the current U.S. population of about 315 million, and also dwarfs the number of abortions -- 55 million -- reported in the U.S. during the last 40 years.

Pastor Saeed, Family Allowed Visit as World Pressure Mounts

After a public hearing and a petition with more than half a million names, pressure is mounting on Iran to release an American pastor sentenced to eight years in one of the country's most notorious prisons, CBN News reports. According to the American Center for Law and Justice, Pastor Saeed Abedini met with his family in Iran for an extended two-hour visitation Monday. The visit was allowed in commemoration of Nowruz, the Persian New Year. After the visitation, more information about Abedini's medical condition has come to light. The ACLJ -- which represents Abedini, his wife and their two children -- says he has been examined for internal bleeding and will be taken to a hospital to receive medical care. "With his medical condition worsening each day, such medical attention is needed immediately," the ACLJ said.