American General Douglas MacArthur kept a poem in his office entitled “How to Stay Young.”  It was written by Samuel Ullman and its words are timeless.  Here is an excerpt: “Youth is not a time of life—it is a state of mind; it is a temper of the will, a quality of the imagination, a vigor of the emotions, a predominance of courage over timidity…Nobody grows old by merely living a number of years; people grow old only by deserting... Read more

Saving someone’s life isn’t minor, but that’s how Pastor Johnny Byrd characterized his actions which helped victims of a motor vehicle accident in Colleton County, South Carolina. “I’m nothing,” he said. “God used me and I give glory to Him.” Pastor Byrd’s daughter personally witnessed the local car crash and went to her father for his help. Returning to the accident scene, Byrd saw a car in flames and an unconscious man inside. He spotted a small baseball bat near... Read more

Thomas A. Edison had strong reasons to throw his hands up in despair.  As a child, he was sent home from school after three months because his teachers felt he was “to addled” to learn. Edison also lost his hearing at the age of 12.  The love and encouragement of his mother, coupled with his own thirst for knowledge and willingness to work hard, kept him going. The result?  At age 21, Edison invented the stock ticker.  At 23, he... Read more

Rita Saverino, a wife and mother of two in New York City, was diagnosed with a grapefruit-sized cancerous tumor behind her liver. The only way to get it out and make sure the cancer was removed from the surrounding areas was to perform an “ex vivo” surgery. That meant Saverino’s abdominal organs—her liver, stomach, kidney, and intestines—would be surgically removed, operated on outside her body, then replaced into her body once the tumor was out. Seven surgeons told Saverino this... Read more

It’s easy to get consumed by worries of what other people think of you.  Up-and-coming musical theater actress Brooke Evans was no exception. Evans exuded talent and confidence, but often felt crippled by the need to know how others saw her, both on a personal and professional level.  If she didn’t know, she would assume the worst.  She explains, “I didn’t trust that others would see in me what God sees in me or what I see in myself.” Hitting... Read more

Twenty-one-year-old singer/songwriter Paige Omartian knows that life is precious because she almost lost hers to bone cancer at age 11.  She gets frustrated when she sees young people wasting their lives, as if they have no God-given purpose. Now healthy and married, Omartian has written a book, Wake Up, Generation, to share her story.  In it, she recalls visiting the hospital for a checkup and seeing “patients attached to tubes and IV poles…with scared, half-conscious faces, wondering what was happening... Read more

Golfer Bubba Watson surprised everyone, including himself, when he won the 2012 Masters Tournament on Easter Sunday.  His first words also may have surprised everyone: “I’d like to first thank Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior.” Watson showed admirable humility and level-headedness as he called his accomplishment a blessing, saying that he never dreamed he would win.  Shedding tears as he spoke, he put it all in perspective as he mentioned his newly adopted son. Watson said, “Golf isn’t everything... Read more

With a broken driver’s-side door handle inside her minivan, mother of five Jennifer Fulwiler tried exiting her vehicle like the characters on the old TV show The Dukes of Hazzard: by climbing out the window.  As she writes in the book Style, Sex, and Substance, she soon realized this was not an easy task for “a 34-year-old mother with a penchant for…ice cream.” To make matters worse, this was happening in the church parking lot in front of a proper-looking... Read more

Though Sister Anne Brooks tends to the spiritual needs of the people in poverty-stricken Tutwiler, Mississippi, she spends even more time caring for their physical needs as the only local doctor many of them have ever known. In 1983, Sister Anne opened a medical clinic in Tutwiler with the help of a grant from the charity, Catholic Extension.  As reported by Byron Pitts of CBS News, she is now 73 and works 12-hour days, seven days a week. More than... Read more

Family life is filled with an excessive amount of activities and often not a lot of down time. Author Jenn Berman (The A to Z Guide to Raising Happy, Confident Kids) suggests several ways to make the most of those precious few hours of evening family time. First, call a “black out”—an hour or two of tech-free time. No texting, tweeting or video games. Next, eat together, and maybe even prepare dinner as a family. Finally, right before bed time,... Read more