The Family Togetherness Week of Prayer culminates this Sabbath, September 11. As such, it is a special day to pray for marriages, families, and relationships. More fervent prayer is needed as marriages and families have come under increasing attack from society and within the home. One of the threats is the possibility of divorce. Based on estimated research, 40-50% of first marriages in the US will end in permanent separation. The same case goes with 60-65% of second marriages. Concerning this, the reported factors include lack of commitment, infidelity, and conflict and argument. Fortunately, there are ways to strengthen marriages and families. Pastor Ted and his wife, Nancy, share some of these in this episode. The first is to have a commitment to God and your spouse. In particular, remain connected to the Lord. By then, He guides and gives you the wisdom to manifest that commitment to your spouse. With this, you endure together through thick and thin. Short-term problems won't threaten your marriage. The second is to have clear and thoughtful communication and effective conflict resolution. Specifically, understand one another's perspective by sharing your thoughts and listening to what your spouse says. In connection to this, The Adventist Home has a counsel on page 106. It says, "Neither husband nor wife is to make a plea for rulership. The Lord has laid down the principle that is to guide in this matter. The husband is to cherish his wife as Christ cherishes the church. And the wife is to respect and love her husband. Both are to cultivate the spirit of kindness, being determined never to grieve or injure the other." As such, God doesn't delight seeing you end up in aggression or violence. Instead, love and be kind to one another, as said in Ephesians 4:31-32. "Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you." Moreover, faithfulness is another asset in strengthening your relationship. Support, trust, and care for each other. Stay intimate. In addition, spend time together as a couple and a family. It helps build a strong bond and friendship among your members. Take time to have wholesome recreation together. Eat meals together. Also, have family worship. Sing and pray together. As the old proverb goes, "the family that prays together stays together." To sum it all up, stay committed to God and your spouse. Then, communicate thoughtfully and clearly. Also, remain faithful to one another. Support each other. Lastly, spend quality time together. And don't forget to put God at the center. In closing, ponder upon 1 Corinthians 13:4-7. "Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails." Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qg6k8nnQsP4

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This week on ANN. Hurricane Iota destroyed homes and businesses on the small Colombian islands of San Andres, Providencia, and Santa Catalina. The Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) in Colombia continues to provide assistance. ADRA delivered 90 new computers to the Ministry of Education for use in five schools located in San Andres and Providencia. The new technology will benefit nearly 1,000 pupils enrolled in the designated schools. In addition, the Adventist school in San Andres received ten new computers from ADRA. In Serbia, up to 15,000 people in the Western Balkans will receive health checkups, hygiene services, and COVID-19 information through the “Leave No One Behind” project, coordinated by ADRA in Serbia. ADRA expects to provide about 4,000 free medical checkups in Serbia, Albania, and Bulgaria over the next nine months. For those in need of additional treatment, the medical will refer patients to a private health care practice, accompany them to appointments, and cover the costs of doctor visits and any needed medications and tests. In addition to offering health care, ADRA will continue providing essential hygiene services to people without a home through the Drumodom, an adapted bus that travels throughout Belgrade. It gives the homeless a place to use the toilet, take a shower, get a shower haircut, and wash their laundry. Loma Linda University Health has been included on Newsweek’s list of America’s Best Physical Rehabilitation Centers 2021. The award is presented by Newsweek and Statista Inc., the world’s leading statistics portal and industry ranking provider. The awards list was announced on August 25 and can be viewed on Newsweek’s website. Loma Linda University Health’s multidisciplinary approach offers collaborative care to bring the best practices to patients. AdventHealth partners with a clinic in Florida to help provide services for people who do not have insurance. Tom Johnson and the team show how AdventHealth serves this community. Impact Hope is a non-profit that provides Rwandan refugees with an Adventist-Christian education. When co-founders Mindy and Hans Thygeson learned about the dire refugee situation in Rwanda in 2012, they determined that a high school education was a way out for many of these refugees. Impact Hope was formed to sponsor and support refugee students to attend Christian boarding schools in Rwanda. King’s Kids, a children’s TV program launched by Adventist Media Australia in response to the 2020 lockdowns, is now broadcast in more than 70 countries worldwide. It has become an international hit over the past 12 months as it has filled a gap in quality Christian TV content for children. Hope Channel South Pacific director Pastor Wayne Boehm said the program was designed to assist and minister to families during the first extended COVID-19 lockdowns last year. It has continued to be produced weekly since then. The United Nations Youth conference assembles young leaders worldwide to discuss their opinions and solutions to global issues. Letesha Whyte, a student of Northern Caribbean University and president of the National Police Youth Club Movement in Jamaica, was chosen to represent her country at two United Nations Youth conferences. After conversations with experts from the Jamaica Association for the Deaf, the young president realized that police stations were not equipped to handle the sensitive nature of the deaf community. She also found out that Caribbean-based information on the deaf is not readily available. Whyte is committed to using her position to change lives. She was moved to help this vulnerable yet overlooked group. The Police Youth Club was awarded a grant of $10,000 US dollars to execute the “Safe and Sound JA” initiative, which aims to reduce the communication barriers between the Jamaica Constabulary Force and the deaf community. It Is Written welcomes Wes Peppers as the ministry’s new evangelism director, who accepted a call to serve as the ministerial and evangelism director for the Pennsylvania Conference. Peppers began his new position in August. Peppers joins It Is Written from the Michigan Conference, where he served for ten years as a pastor, personal ministries director, evangelism coordinator, and associate ministerial secretary. Peppers also has experience in international media evangelism from his time with Amazing Facts. Don’t miss the latest news and current events. Visit Adventist News Network for more news and inspiring stories within the Adventist community. ANN site – https://adventist.news/
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Did you know that dirt is important? In this video, learn its function for growth. You don’t want to get your hands dirty, don’t you? Neither do you want dirt on our clothes. More so, you hate it when people “throw dirt” on your name. But come to think of plants. Without the soil, you can’t plant a seed. Hence, it won’t grow. But when it does, it needs air and water to get light. As an implication, air represents prayer while water symbolizes the Holy Spirit. The dirt pertains to the troubles coming our way. They push us toward the light which is Christ. Through the power of prayer and the Holy Spirit, we grow in Him daily. Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jUZ0grv0LBE

God has given us all talents. They are gifts. And they are as varied as we are as people. No matter what we’ve been given, it’s our job to put our talents to use. To help others and honor God. God wants you to push past self-imposed limitations to really shine. Blog: https://www.ibelievebible.com/talents/ ___
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The Seventh-day Adventist Church has a history of advocating and speaking out against injustice. Many feel like we have changed–and no longer work in the public sphere–but while the methods have changed, Adventists are still there. This week Orlan Johnson, director of Public Affairs and Religious Liberty for the Adventist Church in North America and David Trim, director of Archives, Statistics and Research for the Seventh-day Adventist World Church discuss the Church's history of advocating in the public spaces. SHOW NOTES:
David Trim: https://adventist.news/videos/ann-indepth/the-controversial-life-of-dr-john-harvey-kellog
Orlan Johnson: https://adventist.news/videos/ann-indepth/civic-engagement-how-much-should-we-involve-ourselves-with-the-government
29:00 – Christian Virtue Strengthens the Social Justice Cause – https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2021/august-web-only/racism-social-justice-christian-virtue-strengthens.html —
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