What's happening with you this summer?

Summer for our family is a time we look forward to with great anticipation. This year is certainly no exception. Our daughter, Gabrielle, is going to be celebrating her 16th birthday while she is in Ecuador on a missions trip. We're proud of her and excited for her as well. God is already doing great things in her life and we're so thankful.

Our son Nathanael, who will be starting high school in the fall, is looking forward to a couple months of running. He wants to be on the cross-country team and in these hot summer months he will be logging quite a few miles around the track.

We also plan to visit family when we can. With gas prices being what they are we may have to cut back some on our usual travels, but we'll make a couple trips to connect with those we love.

Feel free to share your plans this summer with me. I'd love to get excited with you.

Update on Dorothy

On Tuesday March 25th, Dorothy DeBruler, the office manager for WCLN and WGQR (also the wife of general manager Dan DeBruler) was struck by a delivery truck while riding her bicycle to work. Her injuries were serious but not life-threatening. She came home from UNC Memorial Hospital April 23rd.

Thank you for your prayers for the entire DeBruler family as they continue down this long road to recovery. Here is a link to a blog Dan created to provide regular updates on Dorothy's progress and to post encouraging comments: http://www.blog.ozmediaonline.com/.

What a story behind this new song

There's a new song by Michael English you'll be hearing on Christian 107.3. It's called "The Only Thing Good In Me" from the soon-to-be-released project 'The Prodigal Comes Home'.

The story of Michael English is very much like the story in the Bible about that son who goes astray. In 1994 Michael went from being one of Christian music's most popular artists with multiple Dove awards, to experiencing personal failure and public disgrace. All because of a few really bad choices. About his failure Michael said, "I took my eyes off the prize and lost everything." After going from the top to the bottom almost overnight, Michael thought he would never sing Christian music again. But God had other plans.

Over the next few years, Michael started making right choices. He got connected again with the body of Christ through a local church. Michael's pastor for over 4 years is Stan Michell of Grace Point Church in Brentwood, TN. He explains it this way, "...we've been walking with him on a pastoral level, watching him, talking to him weekly...seeing he and Marcie's marriage do really, really well. The guy's gotten it together. And he's doing well. And he has a message. And his life is a message even more than the words."

Mark Hall from Casting Crowns says, "Michael's life is a beautiful picture of God's forgivness and restoration. He is a new creation. The old has passed away and all things are new-Michael has an amazing story to tell." Michael himself puts it plainly when he says, "I can't explain it, other than to say that God has cleaned out the cobwebs of my life."

So when you hear the new song from the new Michael English, know that it comes from the heart of a prodigal who has chosen to come home.

Really fun video

In case you missed this when the song came out, here is a link for the NeedToBreathe video of "Signature of Divine". It's one of my favorite videos. According to the band it took a whole week to make because of the thousands of still shots they had to take. Anyway, enjoy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qxP5yEMk3k

You did it again!

Thank you 100 times! You have once again made our 28 Hours of Mercy a huge success. After we ended the 28 hours on Feb. 6th at 10am we had 88 children who had been sponsored through Mission of Mercy. Then a few more of you decided to sponsor a child through the link on our website. There are now 100 more children who will be receiving food, medical care and most of all - love. Thank you for helping make an enormous difference in the life of a child. And if you are still giving thought to child sponsorship, here is the website where you can find out more www.missionofmercy.org. Every child deserves to be loved.

Changing the world, one child at a time.

Sponsoring a child through Mission of Mercy is one of the best ways we can invest our money. Our family sponsors a beautiful girl from Swaziland. Through our $30 a month Gcinile is able to receive education, food and clothing. Most of all she is being shown unconditional love and is learning about the only one who can give her true hope - Jesus. We got to meet Gcinile on our trip to southern Africa last year where we took her on her first shopping trip.She is a lovely girl living through very difficult circumstances.

Thankfully she has access to the Mercy Center near the home she shares with her cousins and her grandmother. I encourage you to pray about sponsoring one or more hopeful children through our 28 Hours of Mercy Feb. 5th and 6th. If you just can't wait til then, check out the link to Mission of Mercy's website. http://www.missionofmercy.org/catalog/index.cfm

Safe Internet Surfing Tips

If your family is like mine, you explore far off people, places, and time periods with relative ease through the magic of the Internet. Your home computer brings a wealth of educational resources into your homeschool on a daily basis that would be too expensive or too hard to find any other way. We also know that there is a lot of filth in the online world. How can a family safely use the Internet without bringing unwanted content into their home and into the minds of their children?

Surf With a Purpose
Surfing the Internet can be a similar experience. Many times the trouble starts when using the web for a specific purpose turns into mindless browsing. If someone begins clicking on any random page or ad that looks appealing, he is like the surfer who doesn't care where the wave takes him.

Keep the Sharks Away
There are many good filters to choose from, including ones that are free. An effective filter allows complete customization of its features including prohibiting obscene and criminal themes, letting parents allow or disallow specific sites regardless of the content, blocking chat, setting time limits and time of day restrictions, and keeping a history of both allowed sites visited and blocked sites attempted. My favorite filter even blocks "non-productive" activities like gaming.

A Second Set of Eyes
It's important to remember that all software filters have limits. Even when working perfectly, they cannot block every possible threat among billions of websites. Adding a second set of eyes to watch for Internet danger at home is just as valuable. To keep more eyes involved, put the computer in a high-traffic area of the home where it is highly visible. Face the computer screen out so that it is easily seen by others. A good rule of thumb is, if it has a door on it, it's probably not the right room.

The Internet is a powerful tool for good and evil. It can be as unpredictable as the ocean which brings smiles to playful children on one shore and a tidal wave to communities on another. Knowing how to ride the waves carefully can help protect your home from unwanted Internet content and bring you safely to many rewarding destinations.

David Edgecomb
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This article was originally published in the Jan/Feb '07 issue of Home School Enrichment Magazine. For more information, visit http://homeschoolenrichment.com/