Researcher Advocates 'Healing Connection' Between Faith, Health
Charisma News Service
A medical researcher is changing the heart of the medical community with a simple, yet profound message that faith is good for your health. Harold Koenig has found a clear relationship between faith and health, one that he has dubbed "the healing connection." Koenig, founder and director of the Duke University Center for the Study of Religion/Spirituality and Health in Durham, N.C., and editor-in-chief of Science & Theology News, has published 25 books, including "The Healing Connection," and more than 200 professional journal articles detailing his findings. Koenig has extensively studied the healing connection in the mentally and physically ill, and in the elderly. "People who attend church regularly live longer," concluded Koenig, who studied 4,000 randomly selected people over the age of 65 in North Carolina. After following the subjects for six years, Koenig said he found that the likelihood of dying during that six-year period was 41 percent lower among those who regularly attended religious services. Bottom line, Koenig said, is "as long as you are here on this earth, God has a purpose for your life. That purpose is not sitting around just existing. That purpose involves ministry to others. It's when people do that, that people get healthier."

90-Day Prayer Period Underway
Baptist Press
A 90-day period of worldwide prayer for Saudi Arabs recently began and will continue through October. Here are some prayer requests you can use to lift them up: Pray that God will pour out His Spirit on Saudi Arabs and draw multitudes of people to Himself. Pray that God will give the people He draws to Himself the faith they need to believe that Jesus is God's Son and to accept Him as their Lord and Savior. Pray that whole families -- and whole tribes -- will come to know Christ as their Savior and Lord. Pray that King Abdullah, the royal family and Saudi government leaders will come to know Jesus as Lord. Pray for the effectiveness of radio, television, satellite, Internet and other media that bring the Gospel to Saudi Arabs. Pray for the persecuted believers in Saudi Arabia, that God will grow His church out of their persecution. Pray for the body of Christ to be strengthened and to grow in purpose and unity throughout the country. Pray that God will draw Saudi Arab children and youth to Himself and reveal the truth of His salvation and love to them. Pray for Saudi Arab women who live under oppression and control from their families and society in general. Pray that God will lift their yoke of oppression and replace it with freedom found only in Christ.

A new article on one of my favorite contemporary writers, Adriana Trigiani.

I'd like to recommend a new blog. It's called thinkchristian.net.

LUCY LAWLESS will star in "Locusts" airing Sunday night (April 23, 2005) on CBS-TV.

RECOMMEND: Friend Jeff's blog for April 21. Check it out, if you don't mind.
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READING: This book currently -- "My Heart's Cry" by Anne Graham Lotz. I recommend it. I'm reading it slowly but will probably return to it. Will write an excerpt or two later.
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DOVE AWARDS: These awards for the best in Christian music will be given tonight. Expect stories and/or photos in media but the show doesn't air on TV until April 20.

Eric Close, who starred with Renee and Kevin Sorbo in the movie, Hercules & The Lost Kingdom, is on a downloadable poster at http://www.verizonreads.net/posters/close_poster.pdf.

This is a literacy effort. The original link came off http://www.TheLiteracySite.com

Remember "The Greater Good."

PRAYER: Prayer: No. 1 Issue In Churches, Survey Of Evangelical Leaders Shows
Baptist Press

A LifeWay Christian Resources survey of more than 1,300 evangelical leaders from around the world revealed that the need for consistent and passionate prayer in church and personal life is the No. 1 issue in today's churches. The April 11 announcement of prayer as the No. 1 issue culminates a LifeWay e-business initiative to ask evangelical ministry leaders from a variety of backgrounds to rank the "Top 10 Issues Facing Today's Church. LifeWay's e-business department began the two-month online research project last November by distributing thousands of e-mails throughout the United States and world asking ministry leaders to cite top concerns in their churches. From the initial list of responses, the 20 most frequently submitted answers were sent back to all the ministry leaders who responded to the first round of e-mails. During December, these leaders used the same Internet survey tool to rank their top 10 from among those 20 issues. The resulting list of 10 issues includes such diverse topics as abortion (no. 10) and evangelism (no. 4). But it was prayer that ministry leaders cited as the most pressing concern in their churches. The LifeWay unit compiled information and multiple resources addressing each issue and has posted the materials online. For the complete survey results and reports addressing all the ranked issues, visit www.lifeway.com/top10

Click here: Zap2it - DVD

or URL: http://www.zap2it.com/index/dvd/reviews/1,1146,24786,FF.html

Text below:


Xena Warrior Princess, Season Six
By Mike Szymanski
Tue, Feb 22, 2005, 07:02 PM PT
STUDIO: Anchor BayRELEASE DATE: March 8, 2005PRICE: $79.98DVD EXTRAS: Deleted scenes, interviews of cast and crew, 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround Sound and featurettes
INTERNET SITE: For more info go to http://www.xenacatalog.com/
ZAP2IT RATING:
All good things must come to an end and "Xena: Warrior Princess" ends after six seasons and a big fan following. The 10-disc final season is among the best, according to fans and Anchor Bay and Davis-Anderson Merchandising brings the final 22 episodes together in a nicely packaged collection.
This season finds Xena, played by Lucy Lawless, in her continuing quest to find out about her dark past and fight evil.
Like the other five seasons, this has a good share of featurettes and interviews, but it also has a lot of deleted scenes and surprising fun facts in a nice box set."Heart of Darkness" when Xena battles Lucifer himself
"The Abyss" where she battles bloodthirsty cannibals
"When Fates Collide" where she rules Rome with Caesar
"A Friend in Need" when she makes the ultimate sacrifice to save countless innocent souls.
The TV series mixed mythic gods and colorful beasts with incredibly imaginative storylines and some insights into the final series include interviews with Lawless as well as costume designers, producers, editors, writers and actors such as Liz Friedman, Eric Gruendemann, Jane Holland, Michael Hurst, William Gregory Lee, Joel Metzger, Renee O'Connor, RJ Stewart, Rob Tapert, Adrienne Wilkinson and many more.
Five featurettes include To Helicon and Back dailies; Bringing Monsters to Life at K.N.B. EFX Group  Part Three; Xena Live  Fan Convention; In The Beginning; and from the set of the final episode, A Fond Farewell. There's also an alternate director's cut to " A Friend In Need Parts 1 & 2."
The DVD also includes promos of the first season, a library of deleted scenes and bloopers, production drawings, a photo gallery and series trivia.
What began as a spin-off of "Hercules: The Legendary Journeys" and premiering in 1995 ended up being a cultural icon and nominated for six Emmys.
As a testament to the Xena fan base, there are conventions every year where fans can recite whole episodes and dress up as the characters.

Zondervan rolls out Bible aimed at younger readers

http://www.democratherald.com/articles/2005/02/06/news/religion/religion01.txt

Ten Commandments Mini-Series In The WorksErin Curry, Baptist Press
ABC is working on the production of a four-hour miniseries called "The Ten Commandments," which, according to the Hollywood Reporter Jan. 13, will rely on extensive biblical and historical research for a realistic, truthful presentation of Moses and the exodus. Robert Halmi Sr., a veteran TV movie producer who is working on the project, said it will not be a remake of Cecil B. DeMille's 1956 movie starring Charlton Heston. "I felt that [the Ten Commandments] is the first written document of law, morality and order for the human race, and we completely ignore it," Halmi said. "I think it's time for the younger generation to revisit this biblical tale as they must realize the importance and consequences of the Ten Commandments." The mini-series will include elaborate special effects and has a budget estimated at more than $20 million, the Hollywood Reporter said.

I've just watched this movie, "The Devil's Arithmatic," and HIGHLY recommend it. If you ever get the chance to watch it, please do.

http://www1.bottomdollar.com/p__Showtime_Entertainment_Devil_s_Arithmetic_1999_DVD,__109518502

Friend Jeff Calloway has a daily blog that you may enjoy. Here's the link: http://jeffcalloway.blogs.com/jeff_calloway/

BABYLON 5, SCIENCE FICTION, AND CHRISTIANITY - posted by Andy RauJanuary 20, 2005 -- Religion and science fiction are topics thatintersect with surprising regularity, and we've noted in the past anumber of essays dealing with Christianity and religion in the StarWars and Star Trek mythologies. The science fiction show "Babylon 5"often incorporated religious ideas into its characters and plot, buthasn't received nearly as much analysis by Christian critics. Fortunately, Tim Enloe's extensive essay on Christianity, mythology,and Bablyon 5[1] offers us a very thorough look at the subject. Enloehas a number of other interesting pieces[2] on the interaction betweenfaith and science fiction, including a good post on humanism andamorality in "Star Trek Enterprise."[3]-- Links in this story --[1]

http://www.societaschristiana.com/archives/cat_the_high_crusade.html#000042[2]
http://www.societaschristiana.com/archives/cat_the_high_crusade.html[3]
http://www.societaschristiana.com/archives/cat_the_high_crusade.html#000043

___ Courtesy of Internet for Christians

It's Xena's 10th anniversary!


Click here: Zeal for 'Xena' on Display at Burbank Gathering

or use this URL: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/state/la-me-xena23jan23,1,2685939.story?coll=la-news-state&ctrack=1&cset=true

Here's a new Matt Damon article that includes mention of Martin Csokas, who played various parts including, "Borias," on Xena. You may also know him from "The Lord of the Rings." 

Click here: Matt Damon: Matt Damon left on his back while filming
 
or use this URL
 
http://www.femalefirst.co.uk/celebrity/2652004.htm

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You can now pre-order Lucy Lawless' movie, "Eurotrip."
Be still my heart. ::heavy sarcasm::
I like Lucy a lot, but not interested in that movie.