By Christy Barritt

Three-Year-Old Collects 900 Teddy Bears for Sick Children 

When Bennett Nester was diagnosed with a brain tumor in 2011, someone gave him a teddy bear. That teddy bear stayed with the Texas resident through his subsequent surgeries and treatment, bringing him immense comfort.

Bennett, now 3, and his family want to make sure other children going through medical procedures receive similar tokens of comfort to help them through their treatments. Bennett and his family started an initiative called Bennett’s Bears. Just last year alone, they collected 900 stuffed animals to hand out at local hospitals. 

A Vietnam veteran saw the boy’s selfless actions and decided to give Bennett his own Bronze Star from the war. The man, who didn’t want to be named, called the boy a hero.

Christian Persecution Because of Islamic Extremism 

Each year the Christian persecution watchdog group Open Doors releases its World Watch List, which contains the names of the countries where Christian persecution is the greatest.

This year, 9 out of the top 10 countries ranked worst for Christians made the list due to threats imposed by Islamic extremism. The only top 10 country where Christians are not persecuted by Islamic extremists is North Korea, which took the number one spot again this year. North Korea’s persecution of Christians is because of communist oppression and dictatorial paranoia.

Other countries on the list are: Somalia, Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Maldives, Pakistan, Iran, and Yemen.

Open Doors measured these results based on Christian freedoms in five areas of life: private, family, community, national, and church.

Poll Reveals Most Agreed Upon Sins

A new poll by CNN asked Americans to ethically classify eight different actions from the most to the least morally wrong.

Of the those surveyed, 94 percent classified “being married and having sex with someone else” as the most offensive and immoral action. Adultery was followed by “cheating on your taxes” at 90 percent. “Abortion,” “homosexuality,” and “looking at pornography” came in at 57, 50, and 46 percent respectively.

At the bottom of the list were “smoking marijuana” at 35 percent, “living with someone when you’re not married” at 32 percent, and “drinking alcoholic beverages” at 15 percent.

A sample of 1,010 adults participated in this poll.

More Pro-Life Laws Enacted in 2011-13 than Previous Decade

State legislatures set a record between 2011-13 by approving more pro-life laws to stop or limit abortions than any other year since Roe v. Wade in 1973. 

The Guttmacher Institute, a pro-abortion group, did the research. According to their analysis, 2011 contained the highest amount of new provisions restricting access to abortion services at a count of 92. In 2012, 42 provisions related to reproductive health and rights were implemented in 19 states. 

There were 72 additional provisions last year that were also approved. Some of these provisions ranged from parental notification laws to banning late term abortions.

Guttmacher also pointed out in their report that there were no laws approved in any state that promoted abortion.

Christy Barritt is an award-winning author, freelance writer, and speaker living in Chesapeake, Virginia. She and her husband Scott have two sons.
www.christybarritt.com