'Let them do crafts!' proclaims Craft Castle ruler

"When Cheryl Morris opened the doors of Craft Castle a year ago, she opened a way for families to play together and create together without destroying the family budget.

'I designed the craft store I wish had been there when my children were small,' says Morris, the reigning monarch of the castle."

Read more here.

From the Ashes of Sorrow Come the Seeds of Comfort

"Spend any time with Australian businessman Bruce Hultgren and you're likely to find yourself in possession of a business card-sized piece of poetry with a gold-colored coin attached. The coin holds the raised image of a seated angel holding a dove.

Those cards and the messages they carry evolved from a moment of great sorrow in Hultgren's life. In 1999, his sister died unexpectedly, killed in an airplane crash. He realized that many people wanted to offer comfort but just didn't know what to say and as the bereaved, he might not have been ready to hear it yet. That understanding led to the beginnings of Pocket Angels, a lasting message of comfort to share with a bereaved individual."

Click here to read more.

World Vision applauds new U.S. government counter-trafficking policy

"World Vision applauds the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) for its innovative and focused approach to combating modern day slavery with the release of its first Counter-Trafficking in Persons Policy."

Read more here.

U.S. seniors missing out on $20 billion of benefits

"Millions of seniors in the United States are missing out on more than $20 billion in aid that could help pay for food, medicine and heating, simply because they don't know it's there, according to a report released on Tuesday by organizations that advocate for seniors."

Click here to read more.

End of famine in Somalia means more work ahead

"While the decision by the United Nations (UN) to declare an end to the famine in parts of Somalia is good news, World Vision’s Director of Humanitarian and Emergency Affairs (HEA) for East Africa says the humanitarian crisis caused by the drought and ongoing military conflict in the region is far from over."

Click here to read more.

Save the Children Partners with American Girl to Promote Childhood Literacy in the United States

"American Girl's new 2012 Girl of the Year®, McKenna™, will help children across the United States become better readers through the McKenna Online Initiative promoting Save the Children's U.S. Literacy Programs. Introduced this January, McKenna is a skilled gymnast whose confidence tumbles when she starts having difficulty with reading comprehension — an issue affecting many children as they enter fourth grade, particularly the 16 million children living in poverty. Through McKenna, girls will discover the power of believing in themselves and their potential to achieve great things."

Click here to learn more about this new program.

CARE's Response to the Horn of Africa Crisis

"On July 20, 2011, the United Nations declared a state of famine in two areas of southern Somalia: the Bakool agropastoral livelihood zones and all areas of Lower Shabelle. Subsequently, four more Somali areas have been declared as a famine. At that point, the whole region of the Horn of Africa was suffering from the worst drought in more than 60 years, affecting Somalia, Ethiopia, Djibouti and Kenya."

To read more, click here.

The Ultimate Example of Preventive Medicine

"Few of us expect to be confronted with our own mortality during the course of your average workday, but that's exactly what happened to Bill Weir last Friday, January 13th.

In Los Angeles to interview renowned cancer specialist and preventive medicine proponent, Dr. David Agus, Bill underwent a battery of tests to show the Nightline audience the analytics behind Dr. Agus' approach. What he discovered was beyond anything he expected, and changed the entire course of the story he went to cover."

Click here to watch Bill's story.

ChildFund Partners With Missions in Action

"ChildFund is participating in a web reality series called MISSIONS IN ACTION (MIA) with host Alex Boylan, who travels the globe telling the stories of people and organizations that are providing services to the world’s underprivileged. In these episodes, MIA shares stories about ChildFund’s work in Kenya. To watch, click on the video. We believe the stories will inspire you."

Click here for these uplifting videos.

Startling Clarity: Moral Relativism and Education

"For years, I’ve been warning you about the dangers of relativism and what happens when society abandons a Christian worldview. Now I’d like to show you.

Dr. Stephen Anderson teaches philosophy at A.B. Lucas Secondary School in Ontario, Canada. His students had just finished a unit on metaphysics and were about to start one on ethics."

Read more of Chuck Colson's commentary here.

MLK, Jr. day inspires ‘virtual volunteerism’ campaign

"How would you like to volunteer in a food line this MLK, Jr Day of Service without ever having to leave your home or get off of work? Now you can. This January 16, the Christian humanitarian aid organization World Vision is encouraging those who can’t volunteer in person to honor the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. by volunteering virtually!"

Click here to learn how you can participate.

This Valentine's Day, Help Break the Cycle of Poverty

"When you get Valentine’s Day cards from Save the Children, your donation supports our education, health and resiliency work in the U.S. for children living in poverty."

Learn more here.

Morality and the Economy: No Separating the Two

"During the seemingly endless build-up to the Iowa caucuses, there was one consistent refrain repeated over and over. It’s like the big lie — the more you keep repeating it, the more people are going to believe it, but it remains a lie.

The lie was simply this: that the political parties have to choose between social issues and economic issues. This year, the media and the party machines are telling us ad nauseam that the only issue that matters is the economy."

Click here  to read more.

Freddie Mac to give unemployed homeowners a break

"Homeowners who lose their jobs will be able to skip payments on loans backed by Freddie Mac for up to a full year under a new policy taking effect Feb. 1 at the mortgage finance giant."


Read more on the new policy here.

MLK and Religious Freedom: Mark the Day

"Monday, January 16, is Martin Luther King Day. Most schools recognize the day — as they should. But will they teach students about Dr. King’s Christian faith, which motivated and guided his campaign for civil rights?

During his Birmingham civil rights campaign, Dr. King required every participant to sign a pledge committing to do ten things. The first was to 'meditate daily on the teachings and life of Jesus.' Others included the expectation that all participants would 'walk and talk in the manner of love, for God is love;' and 'pray daily to be used by God in order that all men might be free.'”

Click here to read more of Chuck Colson's commentary. 

Child-Centered Spaces Help Children Recover

"ChildFund continues to provide emergency relief aid to 2,000 children and families in the hard-hit province of Cagayan de Oro, in the wake of flashfloods and landslides brought about by Typhoon Washi [known locally as Sendong], on Dec. 16.

The relief packs ChildFund is distributing contain food supplies (rice, dried fish, bottled water, canned sardines and noodles), as well as essential non-food items including cookware, laundry detergent, hygiene kits and intimates. All of these items are much needed by families who’ve lost all their belongings, if not their homes as well."

Click here to read more.

Make yourself exercise in the winter, says AARP

"AARP guest blogger,  Annie Lynsen, writes that combating the blahs of winter can lull exercise into hibernating until spring. Wake it up by making your exercise mandatory by helping others, Lynsen says."

Start your winter exercise program by clicking here.

Shrimp Farming in the Vegas Desert

"Nearly a decade ago, I drove northeast out of the Davis Mountains of west Texas into the barren plain of the Permian Basin on the advice of a gourmand I trust. His directions: detour 25 miles off of IH-10 to a tiny town called Imperial and ask for a lean, weathered marine biologist named Bart. There, in the most landlocked place imaginable, Bart the biologist would provide me the most delicious shrimp I had ever eaten, grown in his backyard."

To read more, click here.

United Nations downgrades some famine zones in Somalia

"The United Nations has officially downgraded the famine situation parts of Somalia: in Bakaool, lower Shabelle and Bay. At the peak of the crisis, malnutrition was affecting 53 percent of the population in some areas of Somalia, now, that figure has fallen below the famine threshold of 30 percent. But although conditions have begun to improve in the Horn of Africa for some, challenges remain great for the families who live there and the aid workers trying to respond."

Click here to read more.

Unborn son's struggle inspires Christian singer

"Told that his unborn son had only half a heart and little chance to survive, the lead singer of the Christian rock band Sanctus Real began pouring his fears and doubts into music.

The songs were meant to comfort his family while they searched for answers and sought to understand God's role during the months before and after the baby's birth that were filled with surgeries and life-threatening complications.

It didn't take long for him to realize that his words needed to be shared so that others struggling with life would know they're not alone."

Read more here.