Massive head of pharaoh unearthed in Egypt

"Archaeologists have unearthed a massive red granite head of one Egypt's most famous pharaohs who ruled nearly 3,400 years ago, the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities announced Sunday.

The head of Amenhotep III, which alone is about the height of a person, was dug out of the ruins of the pharaoh's mortuary temple in the southern city of Luxor."


Click here for more on this find.

World Vision assessing damages, preparing to respond to Chile earthquake

"World Vision is preparing to respond to the massive 8.8 magnitude earthquake that hit Chile, working with its regional offices to transport emergency relief supplies and getting ready to send more staff to support the relief response.

The Christian relief and development organization's first relief flight, in coordination with the Bolivian air force, is tentatively planned to depart for Chile later today — with relief supplies like tarps, blankets, plastic sheeting, and collapsible water containers for survivors. Airport closures in Chile are forcing delays in the plane's departure."

For more on World Vision's efforts and how you can help, click here.

Respect the rabbit: Easter Bunny creeping up on Santa’s mall turf

"Every successful employee begins with successful training, Marie Johnson believes, and so she delivered her best advice to the new hires who recently gathered in a vacant store space at Yorktown Center in Lombard.

Bunny does not talk."

Click here for more advice and the adventures of Bunny.

Pascagoula children under 5 will get a leg up on reading

"All children born in Pascagoula, MS during 2010 and 2011 will have the chance to be well-read — or well-read-to — by the time they begin kindergarten under a partnership announced Wednesday.

The Pascagoula Excel By 5 Coalition will work with the nonprofit Dollywood Foundation to make sure children born during those years who live in the city — ZIP codes 39567 and 39581 — are enrolled for participation in the Dolly Parton Imagination Library. Under the program, the children will receive a new, age-appropriate book for their parents to read to them each month until they reach age 5."

Learn more about this program - click here.

A White Castle Wedding

"Many weddings are white, and some even take place in castles -- but Shannon and Kevin Mendez's recent wedding ceremony might be the first to have taken place at a White Castle."

Click here to slide right into the story and photos!

The Faith of the Founders: How Christian Were They?

"One of today’s most contentious culture wars is over the religious commitments of our nation’s founders.

Were most of them orthodox Christians, deists, or agnostics? Scholarly books, college classes, radio talk shows, and blogs all debate this issue, and the Texas Board of Education recently joined the fray. Because of Texas’ large number of students, its huge educational fund, and its statewide curriculum guidelines, this board strongly influences what textbooks are published in the United States."

Click here for more of the discussion.

Making fuel from food waste: Waltham firm must clear hurdles before capitalizing on leftovers

"A hungry young company in Waltham is eyeing that half-eaten bagel on your plate, that grapefruit rind, and those first few pancakes that didn’t come out quite right. Harvest Power Inc. looks at leftover food from homes, restaurants, and supermarkets as an underutilized resource."

For more on this undertaking, click here.

Christian Music Hall of Fame and Museum announces 2010 Visionary Award nominations

"The Visionary Awards will be held November 6th, 2010. Listed are the 2010 Visionary Award nominations. Voting for these awards will open on March 1 and run through April 31, 2010. Winners will be announced live during the awards show."


Click here for the list of nominees

Collision: Where Worldviews Meet

“'Is Christianity good for the world?' That’s the subject of an ongoing debate between renowned atheist Christopher Hitchens and a conservative and sometimes controversial Christian, Douglas Wilson.

What began as a correspondence between the two has led to a co-authored book, a debate tour, and now a fascinating documentary—a kind of behind the scenes look at that tour, featuring interviews with both men."

Click here for more about these two men.

The Taste of Honey - a devotion

"I was reading my way through Psalm 119 to verse 105 to get the punctuation correct for a lighthouse project I was doing. Surely I’ve read this chapter in its entirety before. But this time, I found a treasure."

For the whole story, click here.

Come Together Now Haiti: Music City Unites for Haiti

"When the music community comes together, powerful things happen.Look for your favorite Christian, gospel and country performers in this moving video."

Click here for the video. Then pass it along!

A Divine GPS: God's Perfect Will

"My wife, Leni, and I have entertained friends riding with us in our Corolla more than once as we drive around the maze that is Northern Virginia and Suburban Maryland.

After living in the Greater D.C. area for over two years, we still find plenty of neighborhoods that are new to us."

Click here for more of Stephen Reed's commentary.

Go, dogs, go! Westminster starts with Razzle Dazzle _ Scottie favored at America's top show

"By noon, it had been quite a day for Razzle Dazzle.

She'd already walked off with a repeat ribbon as the best bulldog at the Westminster Kennel Club show Monday, and now it was time for a catnap. So she put her big, wrinkled head down in her crate and tried to take a snooze."

Want to know more about this canine superbowl? Click here.

Democrat Evan Bayh of Indiana to retire from Senate

"Sen. Evan Bayh, a centrist Democrat from Indiana, announced Monday that he won't seek a third term in Congress, giving Republicans a chance to pick up a Senate seat."

Click here for more on Bayh's announcement.

Virtual museums gain curators, viewers

"The economic downturn has taken its toll on traditional museums with cutbacks and closings, but one corner of the collecting world is flourishing.

Virtual museums, just a few years ago seen as a curiosity, are gaining legitimacy as collectors open online galleries to share their passions."


Read more about these online museums - click here.

The sweet smell of morality: How scent can shape our thinking

"Can a clean smell make you a better person?

That’s the provocative suggestion of a recent study in the journal Psychological Science. A team of researchers found that when people were in a room recently spritzed with a citrus-scented cleanser, they behaved more fairly when playing a classic trust game. In another experiment, the smell of cleanser made subjects more likely to volunteer for a charity."

Click here for more on this study.

New Orleans praline maker basks in attention from appearance in Super Bowl ad

"Loretta Harrison received a phone call over the Christmas holiday.

''They said, ‘Would you like to be in a Super Bowl commercial?’'' Harrison recalled. 'We said yes, but I thought it was a hoax.'

It wasn’t."

For more on Loretta's amazing story, click here.

Mardi Gras comes to church on the Uptown parade route

"It's Parade Sunday at Christ Church Cathedral, the seat of the Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana, situated along the St. Charles Avenue parade route.

And at morning Eucharist that means the annual reappearance of the Rev. David duPlantier's Mardi Gras vestments."

Click here for more on this interface between the church and society.

Witty Witnessing: Humor as a Conversion Tool

"When it comes to religion, Eric Metaxas has a knack of meeting people on their own ground. He lives in New York City—a highly secular town, after all. But through his talks and his books, Eric speaks to his New York neighbors in a language they understand: the language of humor."

To meet this witty witness, click here.

Mississippi senators vote to cut their salaries 10 percent for 2011

"The Mississippi Legislature won’t be shrinking anytime soon, but lawmakers might collect smaller paychecks for a single year.

Senators passed a bill Wednesday that would trim lawmakers’ salaries by 10 percent for 2011 only — a move designed to show solidarity with other government workers who are worried about their job security amid shrinking state revenues."

Click here to read more on the Mississippi Senate's actions.

Bridge collapse widow adopts Haitian twins

Betsy Sathers wears the glow of a new mother as she perches on the couch in her family room, smiling and chatting with visitors while still managing to keep an eye on the 2-year-old twins burbling and cavorting at her feet.

Sathers — whose husband was killed when a Minneapolis freeway bridge collapsed into the Mississippi River in 2007 — is realizing her dreams of being a mother with the adoption of Ross and Alyse from Haiti.

Click here to read the rest of this Good News story.

What Holiness Is, and Why It Matters

"Our grandfather clock, which tells us not only the hours, minutes and seconds but also the days of the week, the months of the year, and the phases of the moon, is something of a veteran.

Scratched on one of its lead weights is the date 1789—the year of the French Revolution and George Washington’s first term as President. Our clock was going before the great Christian theologian John Wesley stopped going, if I may put it so."

Click here for a look at why holiness matters.

Tebow Super Bowl Ad Leads Viewers to 'God Story'

The so-called controversial Tebow Super Bowl ad was not what people expected. There was no overt anti-abortion message, but only the demonstration of a loving and humorous mother-son relationship.

In the ad, Pam Tebow against a plain white background holds a baby photo of her now 22-year-old son, Tim, and calls him her “miracle baby.”

Click here to read the rest of this Good News story.

Goodnight, John Boy: Why 'The Waltons' Are Still Worth Watching

“'Could switching to Geico really save you 15 percent or more on car insurance?' wonders a serious-looking man. He thinks about this for a moment, then asks: 'Did the Waltons take way too long to say goodnight?'

And then we see that famous, shabby white house with the big front porch, accompanied by those familiar voices: 'Goodnight John Boy, goodnight Mary Ellen, goodnight Mama, goodnight Erin, goodnight Ben, goodnight Jim-Bob...'”

Click here for the rest of Anne Morse's thoughtful commentary.

WHO DAT? NOBODY! New Orleans Saints win Super Bowl XLIV

"The New Orleans Saints have won Super Bowl XLIV.

They beat the Indianapolis Colts 31-17 here at Sun Life Stadium in South Florida.

Saints quarterback Drew Brees was 32-of-39 for 288 yards and two touchdowns.

But it was the big 75-yard interception return for a touchdown by cornerback Tracy Porter that sealed the deal."

On Super Bowl Sunday, churches filled with black and gold worshippers

"At 10:30 a.m. Mass today in Mater Dolorosa Church in New Orleans' Carrollton section, the crowded sanctuary was awash in black and gold. People young and old sported New Orleans Saints T-shirts, Drew Brees and Reggie Bush jerseys, and fleurs-de-lis on headbands, shirts and scarves."

Test Your Super Bowl Team IQ

"How well do you know your favorite Super Bowl team and its city? Take this quiz and find out."

Click here to test your Super Bowl team knowledge.

How to protect your privacy on Facebook

"Nobody wants total Facebook privacy. The whole point of the service is to share some personal data. But how much, and with whom?"

Click here for more on covering the bases on Facebook.

Colts RB Joseph Addai says he's focused on Saints now, LSU later

"Indianapolis Colts running back Joseph Addai said Tuesday he regrets not being able to concentrate more on LSU's 2010 recruiting class.

National signing day is tomorrow and Addai, a four-year letterman at LSU whom the Colts drafted in the first round in 2006, said he follows the Tigers recruits and games very closely. But, what with one thing and another, this week he has found his concentration drawn elsewhere."

For more on Addai's perspective, click here.

Les Misérables: Law and Grace

"Victor Hugo’s great 1862 novel Les Misérables tells a story that means a great deal to me personally. It’s about a prisoner redeemed by God’s grace.

I’m really thrilled that Ken Boa tackles this monumental work in this month’s Great Books Audio CD. As Ken tells us, Les Misérables is one of the greatest tales ever told about injustice, redemption—and about the tension between law and grace."

Click here for more on Chuck Colson's commentary.

A Place for Heroes? Why They Are Still Worth Following

"Recently, I read an article that called for a boycott of ministry heroes. It wasn’t high-profile ministers that were the problem.

It was their worshippers, their 'groupies,' the clouds of zealous followers who seem to go wherever their heroes go."

For more on how we look at heroes, click here.

Some animal lovers are opposed to Groundhog Day

"The folks at the DuPage County Forest Preserve District don't come right out and say they oppose Groundhog Day. Still, they have a definitive position, and it leans toward killjoy.

They don't celebrate that whimsical, pseudo-holiday of Feb. 2. The district contends that the pudgy rodents, also known as woodchucks — or whistle-pigs in the South — need uninterrupted hibernation from early November through February and into March."

Click here for more on the great groundhog debate.