Father Joseph Peek of Atlanta, Georgia, was diagnosed with leukemia shortly before his ordination.  His treatment led to serious new health problems. The once-athletic Navy man became weak and vulnerable to infections.  Yet he also struggled to prevent his illness from getting the better of him. Though plagued with open wounds—including those on the soles of his feet—he walked three miles in the “Win the Fight” 5K to raise money for The Winship Cancer Institute at Emery University in Atlanta.... Read more

Fact: Breakfast really is the most important meal of the day.  But why? Breakfast is literally just that, breaking the fast that your body is in from the night before.  At that first meal, you give your body fuel and energy so you don’t spend the day stumbling around in a fog, possibly fighting off a headache and a bad attitude to go with it. In addition, eating that morning meal can help you lose weight.  If you skip breakfast,... Read more

You might think that a former defensive lineman for the Baltimore Colts and Detroit Lions would believe a coach’s job—especially a coach of young people—is to teach them to win games.  Joe Ehrmann, however, says, “A coach’s responsibilities include helping young people to confront and comprehend the toxic culture that is trying to seduce and shape them.” As a guest on Christopher Closeup, Ehrmann said he came to that belief due to poor male influences in his life, like his... Read more

Serious athletes want to focus on their sport, not their uniforms.  That’s why the girls’ track team at Dunbar High School in Washington, D.C. wanted an alternative to their sometimes-revealing uniforms, which often left them feeling self-conscious and attracting unwanted attention from boys. When Coach Marvin Parker learned of their discomfort he took action.  As an admirer of tennis great Althea Gibson, he knew she had competed in a white skirt.  He thought it would be wonderful if girls from... Read more

At age 79, Stephen Covey, the best-selling author of The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, passed away following injuries he sustained in a bicycle accident.  The in-demand speaker, writer and entrepreneur had spent years teaching people the foundations of effective leadership in life and business. Covey was a guest on The Christophers’ TV program in 2006.  Producer Tony Rossi remembers him well. He says, “Covey was not only friendly; he burst into song.  When I took him to meet... Read more

We spend more time worrying than we do just enjoying life and being happy, and maybe there’s a simple reason for that. Maybe it’s because we’re looking for happiness in all the wrong places—like having a lot of money or owning the latest gadgets. Okay, then, what does make us happy?  Writer Vesela Simic shared some of her suggestions: ▪ Don’t be a hermit.  Share the joys and sorrows of life with a spouse or a friend. ▪ Remember to... Read more

Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter Sarah Hart has a gift for music and lyrics, so it’s a good thing she didn’t pursue her early career goals of becoming an archaeologist or pediatrician. During an interview on Christopher Closeup, Hart laughingly recalled a conversation she had with her band director in high school.  He asked her what her career aspirations were and she responded, “I might want to be a doctor.”  He just looked at her and said, “Honey, you’re not gonna be a... Read more

Like many ethnic minorities in Bhutan during the late 1980s and early 1990s, the Chamlagai family fled to neighboring Nepal to escape government persecution.  There, they lived in a United Nations refugee camp, made up of small bamboo huts with little food and no electricity or running water. In 2009, the Catholic Social Services Refugee Resettlement office in Charlotte, North Carolina helped the family—including Hari, who was only three when they fled—relocate to the United States. After arriving in Charlotte,... Read more

Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel once wrote the following about the importance of prayer in our daily lives: “Prayer is not a strategem for occasional use, a refuge to resort to now and then.  It is rather like an established residence for the innermost self.  All things have a home: the bird has a nest, the fox has a hole, the bee has a hive.  A soul without prayer is a soul without a home. “Weary, sobbing, the soul, after roaming... Read more

It began as a senior project, but would become so much more.  Michael O’Connell, a senior at Rogers High School in Newport, Rhode Island, chose to ride on the Boston Healthcare for the Homeless Program (BHCHP) van so he could give a presentation about it to his class.  The project, which was founded by his uncle, brings homeless people in need of medical treatment to clinics. As it happened, there was a film crew on board the van with O’Connell. ... Read more