Trying to grow the 'Great (est) Pumpkin'

"A Minnesota grower is vying to break the state record with his jumbo-sized jack-o-lantern.

To anyone who's found an overlooked zucchini in the garden and, while chucking the lunker into the compost bin, wondered how hard it could be to grow a giant pumpkin: You have no idea."


Get the inside story here.

Going the Extra Mile: Angel Tree Needs You

"Prison Fellowship’s Angel Tree program is one of the most powerful and moving ministries I’ve ever been involved in. Get out your hankie."

Click here to learn how you can help.

Discourse: Chuck Colson and Mark Steyn

"The Western World is in trouble, and the only way to save it is from the ground up.

Read the text or listen to the podcast of the discussion between Chuck Colson and Mark Steyn, author of 'After America: Get Ready for Armageddon.'"

Join the discussion here.

Save the Children Partners With Discovery Latin America Partners to Raise Awareness of Child Hunger Crisis in East Africa

"Save the Children and Discovery Networks Latin America/US Hispanic, (DLA/USH), a division of the leading global nonfiction media company Discovery Communications, announced a partnership to support Save the Children’s 'I’m Gonna Be Your Friend' campaign through online marketing tools on Discovery’s major regional websites."

Learn more about this partnership here.

Alabama Autumns: Of Football, Friendship, and Faith

"Millions of people look forward to September as the harbinger of autumn. Labor Day offers a last hurrah for outdoor summer celebrations, and before long sweaters will come out of storage as the leaves turn brilliant hues and the first frosts settle.

Those people don’t live in Alabama."

Click here to read more.

Honey pitched as the next big thing

"At the 2011 Natural Products Expo in Baltimore this week, a large trade show for store and food service buyers and distributors, there were many pitches being made about what foods contained, or didn't contain.

But around the room, one theme seemed to be honey -- in chocolate, shampoo, cough drops and jars. It came raw, flavored, and of course, organic."

Click here for the sweet facts.

A special love for inscribed books

"In a recent de-cluttering frenzy, I whipped several dozen books off my shelves, dumped them into bags and drove them to Open Books, my favorite Chicago used-book store.

I was tossing pounds of pages into a vat at the store's front door — Out bad mystery novel! Out political thumbsucker! — when a musty hardback splayed open to reveal its inside cover."

Follow the inscription here.

World Vision announces $200 million Clinton Global Initiative commitment focusing on girls, women, and water

"Global relief and development leader World Vision announced today a six-year, $200 million effort in its 2011 Clinton Global Initiative (CGI), focused on expanding the life-changing impact of safe water on women, girls, and their communities. Building on its two decades of experience in water, sanitation and hygiene, as well as its recently completed five-year West Africa Water Initiative (WAWI) in Ghana, Mali and Niger, the Christian humanitarian organization seeks to directly impact some 6.6 million people across 10 African countries."

Read more here.

Satellite's imminent fall to Earth stirs anxiety

"Debris from NASA's Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite, or UARS, is due to land Friday, most likely harmlessly, officials say. But they can't say exactly where, which makes many people uneasy."

Put your fears to rest here.

Twin Killings: Haggling over Price

"I know there are plenty of bioethicists who believe in the sanctity of life. Tragically, as one disturbing trend shows, there are also plenty who don’t."

Read Chuck Colson's commentary here.

Seniors need to take steps to prevent falls

"Seniors end up in the emergency room for falls more than any other type of injury, so to raise awareness, Maryland has designated this week Fall Prevention Awareness Week."

Learn more here.

Old Ketchup Packet Heads for Trash

"Some people rip off the corner of the packet with their teeth. Others, while driving, squirt the ketchup directly into their mouth, then add fries. Some forgo fries at the drive-through all together to keep from creating a mess in the car."

Check out the new packets here.

World Vision joins the Million Moms Challenge with ABC News & UN Foundation

"World Vision is joining ABC News and the United Nations Foundation in the recently-launched Million Moms Challenge. This first-of-its kind initiative will connect millions of Americans with millions of moms in developing countries around the world to engage on the critical issues of pregnancy, childbirth and children's health — moms here helping moms worldwide."


Read more here...

Keeping records is a helpful gardening tool

"Looking back on our long summer growing season, there's a lot of gardening activity from May to September. We've grown beds of beautiful flowers, planted and harvested a wide variety of vegetables and herbs, dealt with our lawns and encountered a variety of insect, disease and weed pests."


Learn more about garden record keeping here.

Good News in Gotham: The Growth of the Church

"Officials tried to exclude God from the 9/11 memorial service in New York last week, but they failed. God never left Gotham!"

Click here to read more.

First lady announces restaurant chain's plan to cut calories, sodium

"First Lady Michelle Obama applauded the parent company of Olive Garden and Red Lobster Thursday for pledging to cut calories and sodium at its restaurants over the next 10 years."

Read more about this announcement here.

Great blogs dig deep into Louisiana music

"Louisiana has no shortage of professional media outlets devoted to the full range of the state’s music, from hot jazz to punk rock. Surfing the depthless seas of the Internet, though, the Gulf Coast music fan can discover a seemingly infinite wealth of information."

Learn more here.

10 Tips to Lower Blood Sugar Naturally: 10 Lifestyle Changes to Help Control Diabetes

"It’s the Holy Grail for people with diabetes – checking your blood sugar and seeing the numbers right in line. Can lifestyle changes help? Yes, says Jill Weisenberger, Lifescript’s nutrition expert, and other top diabetes doctors. Check out these 10 tips to learn how to lower your blood sugar naturally..."

Click here to learn more.

Mutant genes found for asthma, point to possible therapy

"A drug used to treat rheumatoid arthritis could help asthma patients, scientists said on Friday, as they identified two mutant genes that may predispose a person to asthma.

Over 235 million people worldwide suffer from asthma and it is the most common chronic disease among children, according to the World Health Organization."



Get more information here.

Malawian Children's Artwork Picturing Love at Westport Arts Center

"Thirteen-year-old Justin is a boy in love. When asked to illustrate love on canvas, he painted himself with a few strokes of indigo blue and emerald green giving a flower to a girl he cares about. Justin's watercolor painting is one in a series of artworks on display at the 'Malawi with Love' exhibit at The Westport Arts Center studio gallery and art studio from Sept. 16 through Nov. 4, 2011."

Read more here.

How to protect your luggage from being pilfered

"It's an awful feeling when you open your suitcase after a long flight and notice that something's missing. But it doesn't have to happen to you."

Learn tips to help you protect your belongings here.

Memory of Woman Who Died in Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001, Lives On Through Child Sponsorship

"When American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into the western side of the Pentagon on September 11, 2001, Stacey Baugh, close friend of Pentagon employee Angie Houtz, shifted between moments of panic and hope.  It wasn’t until the next morning Baugh learned that her friend had, just a week before, been relocated to the newly refurbished part of the Pentagon on the west side and had perished in the attack."

Read more on this touching story here.

NBC's New Orleans Saints-Green Bay Packers promo steps to the beat of real NOLA brass band musicians

"The Green Bay Packers have already met the New Orleans Saints this season. The final score was a tie, though the kind of tie after which both sides can claim victory.

 I’m referring to the clever NBC Sports promo that’s been running for several weeks in which a Packers tailgate party outside Lambeau Field is crashed by second-lining Who Dats complete with brass band..."

Join the party here.

Don't squander the chance to build a better South Sudan

"A coalition of 38 aid agencies called on donors not to squander the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of the people of South Sudan, the world’s newest nation. The call came as new violence in Jonglei state increased emergency needs."

Read more here.

Amazon reworks website before offering new tablet

"Amazon.com Inc is rolling out a major redesign of its familiar website as it prepares to offer a new $250 tablet device to rival Apple Inc's iPad."\

Click here for more.

In Celebration of Labor: The Value of a Good Day's Work

"What does Labor Day mean? For most of us, it's nothing more than a welcome break from what we tend to see as 'the daily grind.' Work to so many people is simply a necessary evil. The goal in life is putting in enough time to retire and relax."

Click here to read the rest of Chuck Colson's commentary.

So valuable, they're giving it away

"As evidence has mounted that breast milk is healthier than formula, so, too, has the popularity of selling and donating human milk, said Summer Cassidy, a nurse and lactation educator at Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge, IL. While professional milk banks have established their own standards to help ensure that their supplies are safe, online breast milk networks and advertising have also emerged virtually without regulation, though the Food and Drug Administration warns against using milk procured online."

Read more about the ALGH program here.

Entrepreneur Aaron Snyder Shines the Light of Knowledge on the World of Information Technology

"By day, Aaron Snyder works full-time for an El Dorado County electronics manufacturing company. After hours, though, he becomes an entrepreneurial hero, riding to the rescue of computer users with problems."

Meet Aaron Snyder here.