Fourteen-year-old Pete Kidder is having the “worst Christmas ever.” Why? The middle child’s parents forgot to buy him a present; his football jock older brother blames him for mishaps he didn’t cause; he embarrasses himself in front of the pretty girl who just moved in next door; and he has to sleep with his super-genius little brother who wets the bed because his grandfather is visiting for the holiday. It’s a day Pete simply wishes was over. But when his... Read more
In this week’s video from Father Jonathan Morris, he offers a reflection on the patience of God using a personal example of an encounter he had with a homeless man asking for money for food. It’s an encounter that requires Father Jonathan to display an unexpected level of trust in the homeless man who approached him – and, by extension, an unexpected level of trust in God. Read more
THIS CONTEST IS NOW OVER. WINNERS WILL BE NOTIFIED BY EMAIL BY THE END OF THIS WEEK. We have several extra copies of books for adults and children that won Christopher Awards this year, so with the season of giving almost upon us, I’d like to give you the chance to win them for yourself or any other book lovers in your life. Descriptions of each available book are listed below. Simply leave a comment here on the blog naming... Read more
The following is the text of the Christopher News Note “From Sinners to Saints.” If you’d like a pdf or hard copy, see the end of this post: No one is too far gone for God. Regardless of how many poor choices you’ve made, how many people you’ve hurt or how you’ve broken the laws of God and man, God is still willing to welcome you back with open arms if you sincerely ask His forgiveness and try to change... Read more
I saw the image below on Christopher Award-winning author Nicole Lataif’s Facebook page today. It’s a picture by photographer Kerri Liles of two of her children, one of whom has Down Syndrome. The picture became so popular that Liles is now selling it as a poster on her website with proceeds going to the initiative “12 Days of Gifts” in which her son gives presents to people in the days leading up to his birthday. In 2012, for instance, he... Read more
Brian Bird has worked in Hollywood for 25 years, most notably as a Co-Executive Producer and writer of the Christopher Award-winning TV series “Touched by an Angel.” The longtime faculty member at the “Act One” program for Christians in Hollywood has also worked on shows like “Evening Shade” and “Step by Step” – and is currently writing or producing several movies for “Believe Pictures,” which he co-founded with Michael Landon Jr. Recently, Bird served as the keynote speaker at the... Read more
On a recent episode of the ABC series “Nashville,” sisters Lennon and Maisy Stella (ages 14 and nine) sang an original song called “A Life That’s Good.” It’s sung from the point of view of a person who is hoping to make the right choices in life and be blessed with good things along the way. The innocence of the Stellas’ voices and their natural harmonies make it a beautiful and reflective performance. Here’s a video of Lennon and Maisy... Read more
Sam Berns was supposed to be dead by age 13 because he was born with the disease progeria, which causes rapid aging. No drugs have been developed to halt or cure progeria being only 250 children in the entire world have it. But Sam’s mother, Leslie Gordon, is a doctor – and mothers don’t accept fatal diagnoses for their children without putting up a fight. Leslie got together a group of scientists to research progeria, and wound up finding the... Read more
“We made ourselves available in the corners and the crevices and the dark places in the middle of the night.” That’s how Matthew Barnett and 600 volunteers celebrated his 19th anniversary as the pastor of Bethel Temple in Los Angeles’ Skid Row – and his work as founder of the Dream Center, which reaches more than 50,000 people each week through hundreds of ministries for the needy, lost and forgotten. Though Matthew initially considered throwing a party for his anniversary,... Read more
“The Avengers” TV spin-off “Marvel: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” debuted to fantastic ratings, then leveled off a bit the following few weeks. But the numbers were still high enough to warrant a full season order. As a lifelong comics fan, the show was on my must-see list, and I’ve found it enjoyable so far. However, there’s room for improvement and I’d suggest finding inspiration in a show with which it has a lot in common: the CBS series “Person of Interest,”... Read more
Christopher Closeup
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