He has preached the gospel to more than 200 million people in 185 lands and, at 91, still maintains that his one purpose in life is "to help people find a personal relationship with God, which, I believe, comes through knowing Christ."
Billy Graham, whose crusade in Los Angeles in 1949 vaulted him into the public square, is far and away the top living preacher that has most influenced Protestant pastors, according to a recent survey by LifeWay Research.
In telephone interviews conducted in November 2009, Protestant pastors were asked to "name the top three living Christian preachers that most influence you." Twenty-one percent of pastors surveyed said Graham – that’s nearly three times the number who named Charles R. Swindoll, prominent pastor, author and host of the radio Bible-teaching ministry Insight for Living.
The millions of Americans who have donated money to the earthquake relief efforts underway in Haiti will be able to claim an itemized tax deduction on their 2009 tax returns, when a bill passed by the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate becomes law.
H.R. 4462 gives taxpayers the option of claiming charitable contributions for relief in Haiti on either their 2009 or 2010 tax returns, so long as the contribution is made before March 1, 2010. In addition, the bill allows taxpayers to use a telephone bill as proof of donations made via a text message.
In the PR announcement, they also warn of scams. As you might expect, there are many that are trying to take advantage of such a tragic situation.
The 24th annual Tough Guy Challenge took place last weekend, on Sunday, January 31st, on South Perton Farm, near Wolverhampton, England. Despite being billed as "the safest most dangerous taste of physical and mental endurance pain in the world", this year's race still attracted over 5,000 men and women - all of them signing a disclaimer saying "It's my own bloody fault for being here". About 600 racers did not complete the course this year - the winner being Paul Jones of Oswestry, England, completing the course in one hour 18 minutes. The Challenge is annual event to raise cash for charity with funds going to the Mr. Mouse Farm for Unfortunates. Special thanks today to photographer Mike King, who was kind enough to share 16 of his great photographs of the 2010 Tough Guy Challenge below. (31 photos total)
Like most TV weathermen, Punxsutawney Phil is more about style than science. Each Groundhog Day, people gather at Gobbler's Knob in Pennsylvania to await a winter weather prediction from America's favorite furry forecaster.
Today, the marmot meteorologist saw his shadow, foretelling six more weeks of winter. But just how accurate is Groundhog Day?
Flipping through the history books, it seems Punxsutawney Phil has spotted his shadow 99 out of 114 times. That would mean poor Pennsylvania rarely gets an early spring. However, according to the Stormfax Almanac, the groundhog is only right 39 percent of the time – a failing grade in school terms.
Tomorrow will mark three weeks since the massive January 12th earthquake in Haiti, and tent cities remain full, even as some businesses and factories are beginning to reopen in Port-au-Prince. Now that massive amounts of aid have arrived, distribution problems have cropped up and are being addressed. The World Food Program has begun a new system of delivering rice to 10,000 Haitians per day at each of 16 women-only distribution points around the city - restricted to women, since young men often muscle their way to the front of distribution lines, and the women are viewed as more likely to fairly divide up the food. Aid chiefs and donor nations are warning that Haiti will need at least a decade of painstaking reconstruction. (40 photos total)
Click the image to see the full collection.Click the image to see the full collection. Warning: Some images are graphic...and I really mean that
Would you believe that there is 900% markup on movie theater popcorn? Want to know where else you are being ripped off?
This just in from a financial blog I follow.
Les Misérables has become my all time favorite Musical (although Oklahoma! is a VERY strong contender). I have always wanted to read the book, but felt like the musical was 'just as good'.
