Rising star in movement says God liberated him from lifestyle
By Art Moore
Michael Glatze with Matthew Shepard's mother, Judy Shepard (Harvard University photo)
He was a rising star in the "gay rights" movement, but Michael Glatze now declares not only has he given up activism – he's no longer a homosexual.
Glatze – who had become a frequent media source as founding editor of Young Gay America magazine – tells the story of his transformation in an exclusive column published today by WND.
Although Glatze cut himself off from the homosexual community about a year and a half ago, he says the column likely will surprise some people.
"This will actually be news to anybody I used to relate to," he told WND.
The radical change in his life, Glatze recalls, began with inner "promptings" he now attributes to God.
"I hope I can share my story," he said. "I feel strongly God has put me here for a reason. Even in the darkest days of late-night parties, substance abuse and all kinds of things – when I felt like, 'Why am I here, what am I doing?' – there was always a voice there.
"I didn't know what ...   more »

Decline causes alarm among Christian educators 
The importance of children in a marriage for making that relationship work is plummeting, and a children's organization says churches apparently are reflecting that change in priorities, with tens of thousands fewer congregations now offering vacation Bible school.
The concerns are being expressed by officials at National Children's Day, who promote the second Sunday in June as Children's Day each year.
Since its beginnings in the 1920s, when Standard Publishing of Cincinnati became the first publisher to create a full-scale vacation Bible school program, the institution has been part of many communities' summertime outreaches.
However, new studies show that the number of churches and ministries offering VBS has been dropping.
A report from The Barna Group of Ventura, Calif., noted that between 1997 and 2005, there was a 15 percent decline in the percentage of churches offering vacation Bible schools, those usually week-long summer intensives of Bible lessons – and cookies and fruit drink – for children.
The drop was from 81 percent of churches surveyed, to 69 percent.
"That represents about 38,000 fewer churches offering VBS than eight years [earlier]," the report said.
The assessment noted the most common reason for not offering ...   more »

In recent months Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has silenced critics and tightened his grip on the nation. The socialist leader has also begun a massive military buildup and strengthened ties with his like-minded allies in the Middle East.
This week Iran and Venezuela launched construction of a joint petrochemical plant. The 700 million dollar facility is just part of a broader plan to boost cooperation and trade between the two countries. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is expected to sign at least 20 different agreements with Iran this week for similar joint projects.
Chavez is in the midst of a week-long trip to Russia, Belarus and Iran. In Russia and Belarus Chavez plans to discuss the purchase of anti-aircraft weapons and as many as nine submarines - worth more than 2 billion dollars. This announcement comes on the heels of another controversial arms deal - Venezuela recently completed a purchase of 3 billion dollars of military equipment from Russia, including Sukoi fighter planes, military and transport helicopters and a new series of Kalashnikov rifles.
Venezuela is one of the founding members of OPEC and is strongly aligned with the Islamic oil-producing nations of the Middle East. In recent years it has ...   more »

XP/Vista Security News, Tips, Updates & Patches
Beware fake greeting cards
There are several web sites through which you can send a virtual birthday, anniversary or other greeting card to a friend. It's a nice gesture.  You construct the card, create a message to go inside and enter the friend's email address, and he/she is notified to pick up the card on the web site. I've received many in the past from friends of mine. 
Recently, though, phishers have begun to exploit this common feature, sending you fake cards with URLs that, when clicked on, will take you to a malicious site that attempts to steal information that can be used for identity theft. Even experienced Internet users are sometimes fooled; see the blog post here:
http://www.wxpnews.com/LBTBEK/070619-Fake-Greeting-Cards
Be very careful about picking up those cards now. One clue that a greeting card message isn't legit: most of the real services give you, in the email notice, the name or email address of the sender. If the message just says "a friend sent you a card," with no identifying info, proceed with caution.
Original Source
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