The Archbishop: “I pronounce that they be man and wife together, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost” . They’re now man and wife.
[2011] The Royal Wedding – MARRIAGE part 2
_____________
I really do wish Kate and William success in their marriage. I hope they truly are committed to each other, and if they are then the result will be a marriage that lasts their whole lifetime. Nevertheless, I do not think it is best to live together before marriage like they did, and I writing this series to help couples see how best to prepare for marriage.
When we date seriously, or are engaged, we are trying to build a relationship suited to lifelong commitment to each other. We have to expend a great deal of effort learning to communicate deeply with each other, build healthy spiritual habits, and serve others as a team. Lack of sexual self-control will inhibit development in all of these areas. This is one of the worst consequences of immoral sex: At the very time we most need personal and spiritual development, our loss of self-control blocks our progress. (Dennis McCallum and Gary DeLashmutt, The Myth of Romance)
Chip Ingram – Two Biblical Requirements to Resolve Conflict (pt 4)
To resolve conflict effectively and Biblically there are two absolutes that both parties must agree on – do you know what they are? Without this framework, you can try all kinds of things to avoid or resolve conflict in your marriage and relationships, but you probably won’t be successful. Listen and discover the common ground that can literally transform even the most challenging points of conflict. Want to learn more? Download the full message from guest speaker Tim Lundy for free at: http://www.venturechristian.org/files/sermons2/t032011.mp3
As seen on Thursday’s “The 700 Club,” the top stories from CBN News include an exclusive interview Sarah Palin, Senate’s HC Bill More Than $849 Billion?, and more… The Christian Broadcasting Network CBN
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Sarah Palin’s new book, Going Rogue, is officially in stores and people are lining up to get it.
The book tour began in Grand Rapids, Mich., where CBN News sat down with the former vice presidential candidate for a conversation on one of the book’s main topics — faith.
The chanting started 24 hours before Palin even arrived in Grand Rapids. Within hours, the line ballooned to more than 1,000.
Before the big book signing, Palin spoke with CBN News at Zondervan Publishing, the Christian press company promoting her book.
Click play for an inside look at the excitement amid Palin’s book signing in Grand Rapids, Mich., with CBN News White House Correspondent David Brody. Part 2 of Brody’s exclusive interview with Palin will air Friday on The 700 Club. Check local listings or check back with CBNNews.com Friday morning.
So far, the media has focused on the juicy campaign tidbits contained in Going Rogue, but inside you can’t go more than a few pages without reading about God’s influence in her life, whether it be Palin’s miscarriage, Down syndrome son or praying with her daughter Piper before the vice presidential debate.
“How in the world would I sum up my life except to say ‘God, at the end of the day, I have really nothing but my faith, my reliance on you Lord’ and I wanted to articulate that,” Palin said.
A Call to Readers
She wrote about giving her life to the Lord as a little 6-year-old at Bible camp in Alaska.
“Knowing even back then that it is a step that one can take to show the rest of the world that I’m not shy about this,” Palin recalled. “I am going to let the world know that this is my foundation and that this, my reliance is going to be on my faith in God.”
That firm proclamation is found throughout Going Rogue, which actually ends with Palin asking readers to invite God into their lives.
“My very last paragraph there sums it up and invites people, encourages people to do what I did and that’s put their life in God’s hands, our Creator who knows probably better than we know what the perfect path is for a person,” she explained.
“I wasn’t going to be hesitant at all to let people know what I believe,” Palin added.
It’s that tell it like it is talk that has her fans going ga-ga.
“Going Rogue with Sarah” is the theme of the bus tour. Palin’s tour bus is adorned with the slogan and a moose.
Many Still Not Convinced
While she can do no wrong with her supporters, polls show Palin has work to do if she plans to run for president.
The latest numbers show Palin has a 43 percent favorability rating while 53 percent admit they wouldn’t vote for her for president and 60 percent say she’s not qualified.
“[When I see these polls] I think ‘well if I read and believed everything that’s been written about me too I’d say the same thing,'” Palin said. “That’s why I want people to read my book so they can read unfiltered what my values are, what my record is, what my accomplishments are.”
Sarah Palin, the former GOP vice presidential candidate and Alaska governor, will kick off a “one Nation” bus tour in Washington D.C. over the holiday weekend.
The former Alaska governor’s One Nation road trip is shrouded in secrecy, with her political action committee only revealing that she’ll start in Washington and go up through New England to “educate and energize Americans about our nation’s founding principles.”
Republican presidential candidate Tim Pawlenty shrugged off Palin’s bus tour Friday when asked on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” if the trip indicated a run for the Oval Office.
“Who knows? I don’t know if she’s running or not,” he said. “We need to quit worrying about polls and bus tours and get onto the issue of how we’re going to fix the country.”
In a telling sign that Palin might not run, Fox News exec Bill Shine said she would continue at the network as a paid contributor for the foreseeable future.
“We are not changing Sarah Palin’s status,” he told the Daily News.
The ‘One Nation’ tour bus (SARAHPAC)
The statement comes after her fellow Fox contributors, Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum, were suspended in March until they decided whether they’d run for president. (Gingrich has officially announced his candidacy, and Santorum is expected to enter the race next month.)
Fox wants to avoid the conflict of interest of having official GOP candidates on its payroll. The fact that Palin is still employed by Fox has raised doubts at the prospect of her candidacy.
Other skeptics point out that she hasn’t even formed a presidential exploratory committee, and hasn’t been to the early primary states of New Hampshire and Iowa in 2011.
Palin’s bus tour follows a new Gallup Poll showing the former vice presidential candidate just 2 points behind ex-Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.
She also has reportedly bought a $1.6 million home in Arizona (which would be a much more convenient campaign base than, say, Alaska), scheduled a number of public appearances, rehired two former aides and recently said she has “the fire in my belly” to run in 2012.
MSNBC host Lawrence O’Donnell, for one, is skeptical about a Palin run, insisting she has simply “chosen to manipulate press excitement around her,” and is just creating hype for the publicity, like billionaire businessman Donald Trump did.
“The day that it becomes absolutely clear to everyone that doesn’t already get it that Palin will never run for president – on that day, she becomes worth half as much or less as a reality TV star.”
What’s also known about the bus tour is that she’ll kick it off at the Rolling Thunder motorcycle rally that starts at the Pentagon. But Ted Shpak, a director of the group, which brings attention to American troops who fought in wars, said Palin was never invited.
“We’re not political. This is not a political event. Maybe she’s coming because she knows we have half a million people coming,” Shpak told MSNBC. “We’re not endorsing anybody and she’s not speaking on our stage.”
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, flanked by bridesmaids and a page boy, watch the Royal Air Force flypast over Buckingham Palace, following their marriage at Westminster Abbey, 29 April 2011.
Prince William and Kate moved in together about a year ago. In this clip above the commentator suggested that maybe Prince Charles and Princess Diana would not have divorced if they had lived together before marriage. Actually Diana was a virgin, and it was Charles’ uncle (Louis Mountbatten) that gave him the advice that he should seek to marry a virgin.
I really do wish Kate and William success in their marriage. I hope they truly are committed to each other, and if they are then the result will be a marriage that lasts their whole lifetime. Nevertheless, I do not think it is best to live together before marriage like they did, and I writing this series to help couples see how best to prepare for marriage.
In a survey of more than 100 couples who lived together, 71 percent of the women said they would not live-in again. In practice, cohabiting couples who marry —many of whom already have children —are about 33 percent more likely to divorce than are couples who don’t live together before their nuptials Virgin brides, on the other hand, are less likely to divorce than are sexually experienced women who entered marriage. Evidence strongly suggests that, while test driving a car might be a good idea, “trying out” one’s future partner is not. (From the book “Sexual Intimacy in Marriage” by William Cutrer, MD and Sandra Glahn)
Chip Ingram – How to Break Through Conflict (pt 3)
It’s hard to keep your objectivity when you are hurt, wounded or tired. When we lose objectivity, there are several common responses to conflict that just don’t work and can even make things worse. Here are a few more conflict resolution tools from guest speaker Tim Lundy. Download the full message for free at the Venture Christian website: http://www.venturechristian.org/files/sermons2/t032011.mp3
Weekend To Remember Conference Testimony
Here’s a couple who went to a FamilyLife Conference and how it made a difference in their marriage.
The Govenator Arnold Schwarzenegger takes a walk on Ocean Ave with his wife Maria Shriver and daughter Christina Schwarzenegger in Santa Monica, CA.
(May 23, 2009- Photo by FlynetPictures.com)
Schwarzenegger’s Love Child Bombshell
Maria Shriver Asks – How Do You Handle Transitions in Your Life?
Arnold Schwarzenegger admitted to his wife several months ago that he had fathered a child about 10 years ago with a member of their household staff. Maria moved out, but has not filed for divorce. In the you tube clip above she comments:
“Like a lot of you I’m in transition: people come up to me all the time, asking, what are you doing next?” she said, adding: “It’s so stressful to not know what you are doing next when people ask what you are doing and they can’t believe you don’t know what you are doing.”
“I’d like to hear from other people who are in transition,” she said. “How did you find your transition: Personal, professional, emotional, spiritual, financial? How did you get through it?”
Mrs. Shriver has asked for spiritual input and I personally think that unless she gets the spiritual help that she needs then she will end up in the divorce court. I am starting a series on how a marriage can survive an infidelity. My first suggestion would be to attend a “Weekend to Remember” put on by the organization “Family Life” out of Little Rock, Arkansas. I actually posted this as a response to Mrs. Shriver’s request on you tube.
I got a lot out of this article and I wanted to share it with you and here is the first portion below:
Even in the silence, June Sims continued serving her husband as she waited for God to answer her prayers.Mary May Larmoyeux.
For 20 years, their marriage and family seemed solid. June and Lamar Sims raised their children in church and attended a parenting seminar. But the good life began to change when their engaged daughter revealed she was expecting a child.
“That really threw Lamar for a loop,” June recalls. “He thought none of that would happen with our kids.”
June and Lamar Sims,
shortly after June’s
graduation from high
school in 1963.
Lamar became angry at God. He stopped going to church, didn’t want blessings at meals, and removed pictures of missionaries from the family refrigerator.
The unexpected pregnancy began a series of crises in Lamar’s life. Over the next several years, he had back surgery, two hip replacements, lost his job, and was forced to go on disability. In addition, a child ran away from home, and another daughter went through several years of rebellion.
Lamar’s anger and bitterness increased, and it became more and more difficult for June to be around her husband. Nothing she said or did would please him.
After 34 years of marriage, Lamar said he wanted a divorce. “I don’t love you. I don’t need you. I don’t want you,” he told his wife.
But June still loved Lamar, and she didn’t want to end their marriage. When she refused to divorce Lamar he said, “Well, just leave me alone.”
And so Lamar and June continued living in the same house, but they didn’t speak.
For three years.
“June, why are you doing this?”
During these years of silence, Lamar and June communicated by writing notes to one another and leaving them on the refrigerator door. Even though Lamar did not want a relationship with his wife, he asked her to continue cooking for him. So, after coming home from work, June prepared dinner for him and then ate her meal in her bedroom. This arrangement went on for about two years when Lamar said that he didn’t want June cooking for him anymore.
June continued to wash Lamar’s clothes, cut the yard, and serve him in other ways to prevent herself from becoming bitter. “My poor daddy would come out and he’d just cry, ‘June, why are you doing this?’” Her parents and children (who were now adults) begged her to divorce Lamar. They feared she was in danger and envisioned her living in misery.
“They thought I was just being foolish.” June says. “They’d say things like, ‘God doesn’t want you to suffer like this,’ or ‘God doesn’t work that way,’ or ‘God gives you common sense.’” Although June realized her loved ones meant well, their comments put a lot of pressure on her. She knew she had to please God and believed He wanted her to remain in the marriage.
As June confined herself to her bedroom, she was alone with God and the Word. “I was in His classroom,” she says, “and I had ears to hear. God was in the pruning process in my life.”
In the beginning she thought that her marriage problems were all Lamar’s fault, but as she turned to God she saw ways that she had failed her husband. “I had not put him first,” June says. “I put the kids before him … and church, too.” She also says she didn’t show him proper respect. June realized that she had looked to Lamar to make her happy when true happiness comes from God.
“Keep me in the fire … ”
As weeks turned into months, June focused less on earning Lamar’s love and respect and more on allowing the Lord to shape her into His image. She kept a journal, and one of her entries read:
I’m not going to ask You to shorten the days of my adversity if these days mean knowing You better. If these days mean You’re changing me, keep me in the fire until Your work in me is complete … Just give me the grace and the strength to remain faithful and true in You to glorify You. I want to learn all You want me to learn. I don’t want this to be wasted time.
On another day she wrote: Lord, I cannot change this man but You can change me.
When June found herself dwelling on the things that Lamar had done that upset her she would immediately start praising the Lord out loud. She eventually accepted the fact that Lamar might never be a part of her life and was satisfied with just the Lord.
After three years, God had a final lesson for June: dealing with unforgiveness. In her mind she imagined telling Lamar how he had hurt her. “I forgave him,” she says, “and released him from it.”
Shortly after that, she actually spoke to Lamar and asked him if they could get some emergency lights that burned on gas. He simply answered, “No.” But since they were talking, she told Lamar that she still loved him and had not meant things that she had said in anger.
Lamar sternly replied, “June, you think things are going to get better, but they are not.”
But June also recalls that there was something different after this short conversation. She sensed a softness in her husband.
“June, if you’ve got time, come here a minute”
A few days after their brief conversation, Lamar spoke again to June. In a soft voice he asked if she and her father would clear off a hillside on their property where he wanted to plant grass for the deer. “I knew he wasn’t going to thank me,” she says, “but I did it as unto the Lord.” Sure enough, after June and her father cleared the hillside, Lamar showed no appreciation.
About six weeks later, she was stunned to hear Lamar say, “June, if you’ve got time come here a minute.”
He continued, “I’ve been thinking. I know that I said things to hurt you and you said things to hurt me but if you want to we’ll try to make a go of it.” June said she wanted to try to make the marriage work, even though Lamar said he didn’t know if he would ever love her again. “And it wasn’t two weeks before he was calling me darling and telling me he loved me,” she says.
June purposefully focused on his good qualities and says doing this revolutionized their marriage. “It was almost like we were in a contest,” she says, “to see who was going to outdo the other.” The more she showed respect to Lamar, the more he wanted to show his love to her. She also made sure Lamar knew how much she appreciated him.
Weekend To Remember Conference Testimony
Here’s a couple who went to a FamilyLife Conference and how it made a difference in their marriage.
Chip Ingram – Three Ways to Improve your Conflict Resolution Skills (pt 2)
Why is conflict so hard to resolve? Whether in your marriage or other relationships – conflict can be a huge barrier that most of us would rather avoid. I want to share with you some common mistakes in conflict resolution and three important realizations that will bring fresh perspective to even the most difficult conversations. If you want to learn more, you can listen to the full message on conflict resolution from our guest speaker Tim Lundy here: http://www.venturechristian.org/files/sermons2/t032011.mp3
______________________________________________
The clip above has some material that originally came from a video from Family Life. I have mentioned this organization several times in this post. Contacting them would be a great place for Arnold and Maria to begin their recovering. I am hoping that Maria realizes that this family is worth saving. It will take a lot of forgiveness and she will have to turn to Christ for his supernatural help to make it happen
1998 Embassy Bomber Killed By U.S. Airstrike in Somalia Jan 10, 2007
CBS News Investigative Reporter Phil Hirschkorn reports Mohammed, known as Haroun Fazil to his fellow terrorists, had a key role in the twin truck bombings of two U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania on Aug. 7, 1998, which killed 224 people and injured thousands. He’s also trained Islamic militants in Somalia and allegedly organized more recent attacks on Israelis tourists in Kenya. Read Hirschkorn’s report.
– For a small cadre of CIA veterans, the death of Osama bin Laden was more than just a national moment of relief and closure. It was also a measure of payback, a settling of a score for a pair of deaths, the details of which have remained a secret for 13 years.
Tom Shah and Molly Huckaby Hardy were among the 44 U.S. Embassy employees killed when a truck bomb exploded outside the embassy compound in Kenya in 1998.
Though it has never been publicly acknowledged, the two were working undercover for the CIA. In al-Qaida’s war on the United States, they are believed to be the first CIA casualties.
Their names probably will not be among those read at Memorial Day celebrations around the country this weekend. Like many CIA officers, their service remained a secret in both life and death, marked only by anonymous stars on the wall at CIA headquarters and blank entries in its book of honor.
Their CIA ties were described to The Associated Press by a half-dozen current and former U.S. officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because Shaw’s and Hardy’s jobs are still secret, even now.
The deaths weighed heavily on many at the CIA, particularly the two senior officers who were running operations in Africa during the attack. Over the past decade, as the CIA waged war against al-Qaida, those officers have taken on central roles in counterterrorism. Both were deeply involved in hunting down bin Laden and planning the raid on the terrorist who killed their colleagues.
“History has shown that tyrants who threaten global peace and freedom must eventually face their natural enemies: America’s war fighters, and the silent warriors of our Intelligence Community,” CIA Director Leon Panetta wrote in a Memorial Day message to agency employees.
These silent warriors took very different paths to Nairobi.
Hardy was a divorced mom from Valdosta, Ga., who raised a daughter as she travelled to Asia, South America and Africa over a lengthy career. At the CIA station in Kenya, she handled the office finances, including the CIA’s stash of money used to pay sources and carry out spying operations. She was a new grandmother and was eager to get back home when al-Qaida struck.
Shah took an unpredictable route to the nation’s clandestine service. He was not a solider or a Marine, a linguist or an Ivy Leaguer. He was a musician from the Midwest. But his story, and the secret mission that brought him to Africa, was straight out of a Hollywood spy movie.
“He was a vivacious, upbeat guy who had a very poignant, self-deprecating sense of humor,” said Dan McDevitt, a classmate and close friend from St. Xavier High School in Cincinnati, where Shah was a standout trumpet player.
Shah — his given name was Uttamlal — was the only child of an Indian immigrant father and an American mother, McDevitt said. He had a fascination with international affairs. He participated in the school’s model United Nations and, in the midst of the Cold War, was one of the school’s first students to learn Russian. From time to time, he went to India with his father, giving him a rare world perspective.
“At the time, that was unheard of. You might as well have gone to Mars,” said McDevitt, who lost touch with his high school friend long before he joined the agency.
Shah graduated from Berklee College of Music in Boston and Ball State University’s music school. He taught music classes and occasionally played in backup bands for entertainers Red Skelton, Perry Como and Jim Nabors. His doctoral thesis at Indiana’s Ball State offered no hints about the career he would pursue: “The Solo Songs of Edward MacDowell: An Examination of Style and Literary Influence.”
“He was one of our outstanding people,” said Kirby Koriath, the graduate student adviser at Ball State.
Shah and his wife, Linda, were married in 1983, the year he received his master’s degree. In 1987, after earning his doctorate, Shah joined the U.S. government. On paper, he had become a diplomat. In reality, he was shipped to the Farm, the CIA’s spy school in Virginia.
He received the usual battery of training in surveillance, counterespionage and the art of building sources. The latter is particularly hard to teach, but it came naturally to Shah, former officials said. Shah was regarded as one of the top members of his class and was assigned to the Near East Division, which covers the Middle East.
He spoke fluent Hindi and decent Russian when he arrived and quickly showed a knack for languages by learning Arabic. He worked in Cairo and Damascus and, though he was young, former colleagues said he was quickly proving himself one of the agency’s most promising stars.
In 1997, he was dispatched to headquarters as part of the Iraq Operations Group, the CIA team that ran spying campaigns against Saddam Hussein’s regime. Around that time, the CIA became convinced that a senior Iraqi official was willing to provide intelligence in exchange for a new life in America. Before the U.S. could make that deal, it had to be sure the information was credible and the would-be defector wasn’t really a double agent. But even talking to him was a risky move. If a meeting with the CIA was discovered, the Iraqi would be killed for sure.
Somebody had to meet with the informant, somebody who knew the Middle East and could be trusted with such a sensitive mission. A senior officer recommended Shah.
The meetings were set up in Kenya, former officials said, because it was considered relatively safe from Middle East intelligence services. It was perhaps the most important operation being run under the Africa Division at the time, current and former officials said. Among the agency managers overseeing it was John Bennett, the deputy chief of the division. He and his operations chief, who remains undercover, were seasoned Africa hands and veterans of countless spying operations.
Because of the mission’s sensitivity, Shah bottled up his normally outgoing and friendly personality while at the embassy.
“This is the glory and the tragedy of discreet work,” said Prudence Bushnell, the former ambassador to Kenya. “You keep a very low profile and you don’t do things that make you memorable.”
Officials say Shah was among those who went to the window when shooting began outside the embassy gates. Most who did were killed when the massive bomb exploded. He was 38. Hardy was also killed in the blast. She was 51.
The U.S. government said both victims were State Department employees. But like all fallen officers, they received private memorial services at CIA headquarters. Every year, their names are among those read at a ceremony for family members and colleagues.
Hardy’s daughter, Brandi Plants, said she did not want to discuss her mother’s employment. Shah’s widow, Linda, sent word through a neighbor that the topic was still too painful to discuss.
Shah’s death did not stall his mission. The Africa Division pressed on and confirmed that the Iraqi source was legitimate, his information extremely valuable. He defected and was re-located to the United States with a new identity.
Bennett later went on to be the station chief in Islamabad, where he ran the agency’s effort to kill al-Qaida members by using unmanned aircraft. He now sits in one of the most important seats in the agency, overseeing clandestine operations worldwide. His former Africa operations chief now runs the agency’s counterterrorism center. Both have been hunting for bin Laden for years. Both were directly involved in the raid.
Shah and Hardy are among the names etched into stone at a memorial at the embassy in Nairobi, with no mention of their CIA service. Shah is also commemorated with a plaque in a CIA conference room at its headquarters. Both were among those whose names Panetta read last week at the annual ceremony for fallen officers.
“Throughout the effort to disrupt, dismantle and defeat al-Qaida, our fallen colleagues have been with us in memory and in spirit,” Panetta said. “With their strength and determination as our guide, we achieved a great victory three weeks ago.”
Bin Laden said the embassy in Nairobi was targeted because it was a major CIA station. He died never knowing that he had killed two CIA officers there.
Clothes hang on a makeshift rack outside a destroyed home in Joplin, Missouri May 28, 2011. Seven more people were confirmed dead over the last 24 hours, bringing the number of fatalities from the powerful Joplin tornado to 139, the city said on Saturday.
JOPLIN, Mo. – The numbers look increasingly bleak for families hoping for the best after a monster tornado that devastated the town of Joplin, as the city has raised the death toll to at least 139 and state officials say 100 people are still missing.
Thousands more people far beyond Joplin had been waiting for good news about a teen believed to have been ejected or sucked from his vehicle on the way home from graduation. Several social-networking efforts specifically focused on finding information about Will Norton.
But his family says he, too, is among the dead — found in a pond near where his truck was located.
“At least we know that he wasn’t out there suffering,” his aunt Tracey Presslor said, holding a framed portrait of her 18-year-old nephew at a news conference. “Knowing that he was gone right away was really a blessing for us.”
Joplin City Manager Mark Rohr said Saturday during a news conference that the death toll rose by three to at least 142, but later revised that figure down to 139 without elaboration.
Mike O’Connell, a spokesman for the Missouri Department of Public Safety, told The Associated Press on Saturday that he could not confirm the city’s updated death toll number. He said the state of Missouri currently places the death toll at 126, saying they have no reason to raise that number.
State officials say there are 142 sets of human remains at the morgue handling those killed by the storm and some could be from the same victim.
If the death toll does stand at 139, it would place this year’s tornado death toll at 520 and make 2011 the deadliest year for tornadoes since 1950. Until now, the highest recorded death toll by the National Weather Service in a single year was 519 in 1953. There were deadlier storms before 1950, but those counts were based on estimates and not on precise figures.
On Saturday night, the Department of Public Safety made public a list of 73 people who had been confirmed dead and whose next of kin had been notified.
The tornado — an EF-5 packing 200 mph winds _also injured more than 900 people. Tallying and identifying the dead and the missing has proven a complex, delicate and sometimes confusing exercise for both authorities and loved ones.
Missouri officials said Saturday that the number of people unaccounted for stands at 100. The Missouri Department of Public Safety said that within that number, nine people have been reported dead by their families, but state officials are working to confirm those.
Newton County coroner Mark Bridges said most, if not all, of the people brought to the temporary morgue could be identified this weekend. He described officials there as “making real good progress.”
After a mistake immediately after the storm — four people thought they had identified one person’s body, only to be wrong — authorities are relying instead on dental records, photos and unique tattoos or piercings, Bridges said. They’ve also used DNA tests in a handful of cases, he said.
“We learned the hard way at the start,” he said. “It’s bad for the families.”
Asked about calls to open the morgue to all families of the missing, Bridges said doing so would be impractical. He described the site as a number of dark, refrigerated trailers holding body bags.
“There’s no place to let them into,” he said.
There have been 1,333 preliminary tornado reports in the U.S. through May 27, officials said, while the average number of confirmed tornadoes in a single year during the past decade has been 1,274.
Presslor said Saturday that the family received confirmation of his death late Friday night. She said her nephew’s body was not found sooner because there was so much debris in the pond.
Family members had previously told The Associated Press that Norton and his father were still on the road when the storm hit. Mark Norton urged his son to pull over, but the teen’s Hummer H3 flipped several times, throwing the young man from the vehicle, likely through the sunroof.
Mark Norton remains in the hospital and is “having a really tough time” after being told his son’s body was found, Presslor said.
About a dozen of Norton’s classmates stood in the back of the room as she spoke. His funeral arrangements are pending.
Presslor thanked the thousands of people who posted good wishes for Norton on Facebook, Twitter and other social media sites, and thanked all those who helped look for him. She urged those volunteers to keep looking for other people still missing.
“Please don’t give up,” she said.
Member of emergency personnel
A member of emergency personnel leads a rescue dog through a destroyed home in Joplin, Missouri May 28, 2011. Seven more people were confirmed dead over the last 24 hours, bringing the number of fatalities from the powerful Joplin tornado to 139, the city said on Saturday
A passing motorist volunteers his time to the search efforts in a wooded area where two fatalities were confirmed after a tornado swept cars off of I-40 west of El Reno, Tuesday, May 24, 2011. Photo by Chris Landsberger, The Oklahoman A half-mile-wide tornado moves north in Canadian County having just crossed SH […]
May 24, 2011 Oklahoma tornado outbreak! TVN storm chasers document multiple tornadoes in Central Oklahoma! Near Shawnee, OK… May 24, 2011… Very nice tornado Storm chasers Matt Gingery, Jason Blum, and Bryant Burough capture a tornado just north of Shawnee, OK. Wedge tornado near El Reno, Oklahoma! During the May 24, 2011 high risk outbreak, […]
Oklahoma Tornado 5-24-2011 – Devastating AERIEL Damage View A half a mile wide went through a suburb of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma on May 24th 2011. Truck marked, lies on its side A truck marked with an ‘x’, lies on its side in a field following a tornado in Piedmont, Okla., Tuesday, May 24, 2011. The […]
First Person video of Joplin MO tornado 5/22/11 The video i took while at Fastrip on east 20th street. We huddled in the back of the store until the glass got sucked out , then ran into the walk in storage fridge. Sorry for the lack of visuals but the audio is pretty telling of […]
Destructive Joplin Missouri Torando On May 22, 2011 a destructive and sadly a deadly tornado tore through the town of Joplin, MO. Here is video of the tornado entering the southwest side of town. Filmed by TornadoVideos.net Basehunters Colt Forney, Isaac Pato, Kevin Rolfs, and Scott Peake. Missouri tornado filmed by storm chasers At least […]
Destroyed helicopter lies on its side A destroyed helicopter lies on its side in the parking lot of the Joplin Regional Medical Center in Joplin, Mo., Sunday, May 22, 2011. A large tornadomoved through much of the city, damaging the hospital and hundreds of homes and businesses Emergency personnel walk Emergency personnel walk through […]
The last video listed does not have very good pictures but you hear when the tornado hits a building where people inside are filming. The sounds are just horrible and a cold feeling went through my body just listening to it. Joplin, Missouri tornado damage from the air Tornado damage of Joplin, Missouri. Aerial coverage […]
Use your ← → (arrow) keys to browse the slideshow & more articlesNext
Stephen Dunn/Getty ImagesLane Kiffin Gets What He Deserves As NCAA Rejects USC Football AppealTennessee Volunteer fans all over the nation are smiling. It could be a “I love life” smile or a “I’m having such a great day” smile, but it’s most likely an “evil” smile. Congrats though, after being stabbed in the back, it’s nice to see the back-stabber fall flat on his face.
The NCAA rejected an appeal by USC to lessen its punishment for improper recruiting.
USC will not be able to participate in any post-season games for the second straight season. They will also lose 30 scholarships for the next three years.
Just smile with the Vol fans. USC head coach Lane Kiffin is getting what he had coming to him.
Kiffin fooled America in his departure from the Oakland Raiders. He put on some sad puppy dog eyes, brought his wife on live television, and told the world that he wasn’t treated fairly by Al Davis. Davis repeatedly exclaimed Kiffin was a liar, but it’s Al Davis so most people sided with Kiffin.
During his days in Tennessee the truth came out about Kiffin being a scumbag. As soon as he put on orange for the first time he started preaching how Alabama was going down and he openly accused other schools including Florida and Urban Meyer of recruiting violations (how ironic).
After winning over recruit after recruit selling Tennessee dominance over the next decade, he split for USC after just one year.
Just to add more to Kiffin’s dirty resume, according to ESPN’s Chris Low, “Kiffin told recruit Alshon Jeffrey that if he chose the Gamecocks, he would end up pumping gas for the rest of his life like all the other players from that state who had gone to South Carolina.”
Poor Monte, he builds up such a good name for the Kiffin’s and Lane just blows it up.
Mitt Romney will officially launch his presidential candidacy next week in New Hampshire.
The Washington Post says: “Romney, who is regarded as the race’s (Republican) frontrunner, will formally announce his presidential campaign next Thursday, June 2 in New Hampshire, his campaign confirmed (Thursday) night. … Romney’s announcement will take place at the Scamman’s Bittersweet Farm in Stratham.”
By choosing to announce in New Hampshire, Romney’s campaign is indicating its intent to specifically target the Granite State — a decidedly different tactic from how Romney proceeded during his 2008 campaign.
“That tells you a great deal about the different strategic approach Team Romney is applying to the current battle for the Republican presidential nomination as compared to four years ago,” PBS News Hour reported on Friday. “Iowa became paramount for Romney in 2008, and he was never able to recover from his loss to Mike Huckabee there. Romney now needs to calibrate just how much time and money to invest in Iowa while keeping the spotlight on New Hampshire, where he holds a significant lead in the polls, owns a home and is well-known from his years governing next door in Massachusetts.”
Columnist Chris Cillizza, writing for the Washington Post, also rehashed Romney’s 2008 strategy: “Three years ago, Romney tried to run the table of early-voting states — spending millions of dollars in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina only to lose all three and, with them, the nomination. … In the 2008 race, Romney tried to run as a native son in New Hampshire, but after being edged by former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee in the Iowa caucuses, he was ambushed by Arizona Sen. John McCain in the Granite State — finishing second, six points off the lead.”
Despite his newfound New Hampshire focus, Romney will spend all day Friday campaigning in Iowa.
___________________________________________
The following is written by Rev Sherwood Haisty Jr. of Santa Monica, California. Sherwood has pastored churches in Arkansas, Mississippi, Tennessee and California and currently he is the process of finishing up his Masters degree at the Masters Seminary. I personally do differ with Sherwood on some of his points concerning Mitt Romney, but I agree with some too. Judge for yourself what you think. This was written during the Presidential Primary in 2008 and Sherwood posted this on http://pastors4huckabeeblog.com
_____________________________________________-
7 Questions Christians Must Ask Before Voting For A Mormon
However others may disagree with me and trust Romney and look to his money and say he is our man and is our best candidate. I think Christians can size those things up in different ways. I am thankful that many, many, Evangelicals are waking up to the idea that Huckabee can win and the poll numbers have shown a mega-shift to Huckabee in recent weeks.
I believe Mitt is not the best candidate and he is no more electable than Huckabee anymore.
However, I do not think the above questions are the only questions for me as an Evangelical that I should be asking. If I am asking myself, would Romney be an okay President?, then I might support him but there are real concerns and some risk. You know, the flip, flop, flip, again stuff really does concern me.
But there are several other questions that I think Evangelicals should ask before supporting Romney for President or any other Mormon for that high office.
They are these…
#1 Is Mormonism a false cult that deceives people and leads many to hell?
Answer yes!
#2 Is Mormonism evangelistic in that it seeks to grow by making converts to its faith?
Answer yes! It is aggressively evangelistic and successfully as one of the fastest growing cults in our time.
#3 Does Mormonism seek to confuse people by representing itself as a genuine Christian group.
Answer yes! They have spent tons of money on ad campaigns for this purpose. I have met many times with Mormon missionaries and their initial talking point is that “we are Christian too”. I have heard at least once or twice Mitt Romney himself represent Mormonism in interviews as a Christian group.
Mormonism has a major agenda to deceive people by describing itself as a Christian denomination. They intentionally make less of their differences. For example, I will take a quote from the news this week regarding something that you have no doubt heard about. This is a response to a question Gov. Huckabee had asked if Mormonism teaches that Jesus and the Devil are brothers. Here is the response by the LDS spokeswoman that has run in almost every article I have read about the controversy over Huckabee’s question.
The two parts that I have underlined represent false teachings of Mormonism that are put in here as if all “other Christians and Paul” believe and taught these too. The phrase, “only begotten in the flesh” sounds fine but Mormonism has a completely different take on it than Christians. They actually teach that Elohim came down and had sex with Mary and that is why Jesus is the ”only begotten”. See my blog page at Pastors4Huckabeeblog.com to read more or find documentation for this.
Hospital workers walk away from the Joplin Regional Medical Center in Joplin, Mo., Sunday, May 22, 2011. A large tornado moved through much of the city,damaging the hospital and hundreds of homes and businesses
The death toll from the monster tornado last week in Missouri has risen by seven to at least 139, city spokeswoman Lynn Onstot said Saturday.
The state has been working to pare down the list of people missing and unaccounted for in the wake of the deadliest single U.S. twister in more than six decades. It said Friday that the original list of 232 missing or unaccounted for residents had dropped to 156 by Friday, and planned to give an updated total later in the day.
Missouri Department of Public Safety deputy director Andrea Spillars said Friday that at least 90 people on the initial list had been located alive. But at least six others were identified as among the dead, and some new names had been added to the scroll of the missing. Authorities had cautioned for days that while they believed many on the list were alive and safe, others likely had been killed.
City manager Mark Rohr acknowledged Friday afternoon that there may be “significant overlap” between the confirmed dead and the remainder of the missing list. Still, search and rescue crews were undeterred, with 600 volunteers and 50 dog teams out again across the city.
“We’re going to be in a search and rescue mode until we remove the last piece of debris,” Rohr said.
The tornado — an EF5 packing 200 mph winds — was the deadliest since 1950 and more than 900 people were injured. Tallying and identifying the dead and the missing has proven a complex, delicate and sometimes confusing exercise for both authorities and loved ones.
Earlier Saturday, a family member said that a teenager believed to be ejected or sucked from his father’s car on the way home from graduation in the massive tornado has been confirmed dead. Will Norton’s aunt, Tracey Presslor, said Saturday that the family received confirmation of his death late Friday night.
Family members had previously told The Associated Press that Norton and his father were still on the road when the storm hit. Mark Norton urged his son to pull over, but the teen’s Hummer H3 flipped several times, throwing the young man from the vehicle, likely through the sunroof.
Several social-networking efforts specifically focused on finding information about Norton
A passing motorist volunteers his time to the search efforts in a wooded area where two fatalities were confirmed after a tornado swept cars off of I-40 west of El Reno, Tuesday, May 24, 2011. Photo by Chris Landsberger, The Oklahoman A half-mile-wide tornado moves north in Canadian County having just crossed SH […]
May 24, 2011 Oklahoma tornado outbreak! TVN storm chasers document multiple tornadoes in Central Oklahoma! Near Shawnee, OK… May 24, 2011… Very nice tornado Storm chasers Matt Gingery, Jason Blum, and Bryant Burough capture a tornado just north of Shawnee, OK. Wedge tornado near El Reno, Oklahoma! During the May 24, 2011 high risk outbreak, […]
Oklahoma Tornado 5-24-2011 – Devastating AERIEL Damage View A half a mile wide went through a suburb of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma on May 24th 2011. Truck marked, lies on its side A truck marked with an ‘x’, lies on its side in a field following a tornado in Piedmont, Okla., Tuesday, May 24, 2011. The […]
First Person video of Joplin MO tornado 5/22/11 The video i took while at Fastrip on east 20th street. We huddled in the back of the store until the glass got sucked out , then ran into the walk in storage fridge. Sorry for the lack of visuals but the audio is pretty telling of […]
Destructive Joplin Missouri Torando On May 22, 2011 a destructive and sadly a deadly tornado tore through the town of Joplin, MO. Here is video of the tornado entering the southwest side of town. Filmed by TornadoVideos.net Basehunters Colt Forney, Isaac Pato, Kevin Rolfs, and Scott Peake. Missouri tornado filmed by storm chasers At least […]
Destroyed helicopter lies on its side A destroyed helicopter lies on its side in the parking lot of the Joplin Regional Medical Center in Joplin, Mo., Sunday, May 22, 2011. A large tornadomoved through much of the city, damaging the hospital and hundreds of homes and businesses Emergency personnel walk Emergency personnel walk through […]
The last video listed does not have very good pictures but you hear when the tornado hits a building where people inside are filming. The sounds are just horrible and a cold feeling went through my body just listening to it. Joplin, Missouri tornado damage from the air Tornado damage of Joplin, Missouri. Aerial coverage […]
Volunteer firefighters William Jackson Volunteer firefighters William Jackson, left, and Ashley Martin, center, from Oklahoma, and Johnny Ward of Joplin look through the wreckage of a home whereit was feared a pregnant woman as feared to be trapped following a tornado in Joplin, Mo., Sunday, May 22, 2011. A large tornado moved through […]
Man walks past destroyed vehicles
A man walks past destroyed vehicles in the parking lot of the Joplin Regional Medical Center in Joplin, Mo., Sunday, May 22, 2011. A large tornado movedthrough much of the city, damaging the hospital and hundreds of homes and businesses.«
Clothes hang on makeshift rack
Stephen Dunn/Getty ImagesLane Kiffin Gets What He 
The Daily Hatch 