Latest news with #Barna
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Cpl. Barna, 95, urges all Americans to proudly display the American flag
Jun. 12—FREELAND — U.S. Marine Corps veteran Joe Barna this week said the American flag is a symbol for what so many real Americans have fought and died for. "Why else would they give up their life?" Barna asked. Flag Day — Saturday, June 14 — is the day we honor our national flag. The holiday commemorates the date in 1777 when the United States approved the design. Cpl. Joe Barna, 95 of Freeland, is a Purple Heart recipient who fought in the Korean War. He offered his thoughts on the importance of Flag Day. Barna, as he does every year, placed American flags on the graves of veterans buried in several cemeteries in Freeland — St. Ann's Cemetery, St. John's Cemetery, St. Michael's Cemetery and St. Casimir's Cemetery. Barna places the flags with the assistance of the Freeland VFW and Freeland American Legion. "I consider Flag Day a sister to Memorial Day," Barna said. "Think of it as the mother-day of all those flags that were placed over all our veterans — veterans who now sleep in the cemeteries all over America and many foreign countries." Barna, an award-winning writer, puts things in perspective when the topic is patriotism and veterans. "How many Americans really know the pride, honor, love, courage, duty and sacrifice for which our flag stands?" Barna asked. "Every veteran who fought and died for our country feels this pride and will die with it. After their final moments of life, an American flag will be draped over their coffin." Barna said if you walk among the many flags in almost any cemetery, don't just look at each flag. "Try to feel the pain that that boy — who never became a man — felt when the bullet struck his body, or the pieces of shrapnel tore into him," Barna said. "Share his pain." Barna stressed the importance the flag plays. "A flag tells you what a country is," Barna said. "What I have personally seen were brothers dying for brothers. And for a love that we call 'Old Glory.' It stands high in every battle that young people fight and die." Barna said the American flag distinctly has 13 stripes and 50 stars and it's red, white and blue. He said it appears on every military uniform and on every ship, plane, tank and vehicle. "It gives our troops courage and hope," Barna said. "Look at the flag and try to feel what it stands for." Barna said he still has a South Korean flag that the Korean people gave him — it still reminds him of the 24-hour battles the seemed to last for weeks; the minus-30 degrees in winter and the 120 degrees in summer; the crying of the wounded and the silence of the dead. "In Korea, memories were burned into my brain that will never go away," Barna said. Barna said he recently spoke with a Marine who fought alongside him 74 years ago. "He learned of my experiences through a Korean War website, found my number and called me on the phone," Barna said. "We were in the same battles those many years ago. We went to Korea on the same ship and returned on the same ship 13 months later. We returned with the same bodies, but changed. We never forgot each other. The Marine's name is Jim Barnett and he lives in Oregon. We have the same memories." Barna said he wonders how Americans would feel if what happened to the people of South Korea happened to them? "Look at our flag and be glad this doesn't happen to us," Barna said. "Our flag is not a colored piece of cloth. It stands for so many young men who gave up their life for it." Barna said as you walk through a cemetery, stop and look at our flag in a flag holder. The flag holder will tell you which of our wars this veteran fought in. The stone will tell you the date he was born and the day he died. "You will be surprised to see some of the ages won't be much more than 20 to 25 years old," Barna said. "Many never got the chance to marry his sweetheart, hold a baby in his arms or eventually become a grandfather." Barna said when you watch veterans fold the flag and present it to a family member at a funeral, think of the story that each fold tells. "These stories are about young men who are proud to be called American veterans," Barna said. "Try to feel what the boy felt when a bullet entered his body or shell fragments tore through him. I don't believe many could look at someone when this happens. The best friend I ever had, died when 18 pieces of hot metal entered his body from an exploding shell. I wish I could have shared some of that pain. That boy became my guardian angel and I know he's watching over me — 74 years ago, he found me as I laid wounded and bleeding. He said 'Corporal, God doesn't want you yet.' "I think he recently sent me an email saying, 'He still doesn't want you, you have more work to do.' But someday, I hope I earned the right to be covered with an American flag." Barna said the American flag should always be flown high and proud. Reach Bill O'Boyle at 570-991-6118 or on Twitter @TLBillOBoyle.
Cision Canada
12-06-2025
- Health
- Cision Canada
Jill White Launches "Becoming Her Again," a Coaching Journey for Christian Women Over 40 Rebuilding Purpose and Confidence
The program offers a faith-rooted framework to help women rediscover their identity, confidence, and purpose during and after midlife transitions NEW BRAUNFELS, Texas, June 12, 2025 /CNW/ -- Jill White, Certified Life and Business Coach, international speaker, and founder of Overflow Coaching, is proud to announce the launch of her new signature program, "Becoming Her Again", a 90-day transformational experience created for Christian women over 40 who feel disconnected from their identity and uncertain about what's next. Launching on June 15, 2025, the program is designed to help midlife women navigate the emotional and spiritual impact of life transitions like empty nests, career shifts, divorce or widowhood. With a faith-based, purpose-driven approach, Becoming Her Again blends mindset coaching, identity work, and personal growth strategy to help participants rediscover who they are, renew their purpose, and rebuild confidence from the inside out so they can be successful as they enter their next season of life. According to a recent Barna study, 73% of Christian women over 40 report feeling uncertain about their purpose in this stage of life, despite deep spiritual roots and a history of leadership in their homes, churches, and communities. "This program was born out of conversations with women who kept saying, 'I don't even recognize myself anymore,'" says Jill White. " Becoming Her Again gives them a place to remember who God created them to be and believe it's not too late to step into something beautiful with peace, purpose, and confidence again." Through one-on-one guidance, community support, and biblically aligned tools, Jill helps women break free from identity loss and self-doubt to confidently embrace their next chapter. The coaching process combines almost four decades of experience in coaching and mentoring, education, and leadership with spiritually grounded insights, offering a path for lasting transformation.
Yahoo
31-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Biblical formula for choosing spouse offers lessons that modern dating overlooks
Maybe this is the most important question we will receive from our children and grandchildren: "How do I know that he (or she) is the one?" The Bible – our great guidebook – has the answer. In Genesis 24, Abraham sends his servant Eliezer to find a wife for his son Isaac. The Secrets Of A Meaningful And Lifelong Grandparent-grandchild Bond His only instruction? Go to Haran, the place where Abraham once "made souls." (See the video at the top of this article.) It was a culture open to God. That's trait No. 1. Look for a spouse in a good place. Read On The Fox News App Eliezer arrives and sees Rebecca. She's "very fair to look upon" — that's trait No. 2. Then he watches her draw water not just for him, but for all his camels — an exhausting and generous act. That's trait No. 3: generosity. Why God And The Bible Were Right About Your Work Schedule All Along On the basis of these three — and only three — characteristics, Eliezer decides: She's the one. Rebecca, in turn, is told only two things about Isaac. He's wealthy, which means he can provide. And he loves God, which means he has a strong set of values. She agrees to marry him. Then the Torah gives us an instructive sequence: "Isaac married her. She became his wife. And he loved her." As Isaac and Rebecca had the best marriage in the Bible, their formula for marital happiness is worthy of our reflection. Identify a few essential traits. Get married. Become a spouse through continual acts of giving. Then love will follow and continually grow. The Hebrew language supports this. The root of ahava — love — is hav, meaning "to give." Those of us who have enjoyed or even just observed long, happy and loving relationships know why: We don't give to those we love; we love those to whom we give. We don't "fall in love." We cultivate it. Modern culture says the opposite. Waiting until age 30 to marry and have children, for example, increases infertility risks, both for women and men, to varying extents. Casual dating often leads to casual sex, which is so unsatisfying that we are now in what sociologists call a "sexual recession," in which young men prefer video games (particularly new releases) to sex. Click Here To Sign Up For Our Lifestyle Newsletter Repeated rejection causes long-term emotional wear that the body recognizes as physical pain. In the model cited earlier, people "test" compatibility for years. A 2016 Barna study found that 84% of couples who live together before marriage do so to check for compatibility. And yet, according to the Institute for Family Studies, the No. 1 reason for divorce? "Basic incompatibility." When it comes to advising our children and grandchildren about a happy marriage, the Bible offers the now-proven formula. Throw out the 100-item checklists. For more Lifestyle articles, visit It doesn't matter if the young woman prefers warm-weather vacations over cold-weather vacations. It doesn't matter if the young man's friends are funny. If the couple has a foundation for love, which can be found in two or three core characteristics, they might think about getting those church bells ready to ring — as they are set for a wonderful marriage. Mark Gerson's new book is "God Was Right: How Modern Social Science Proves the Torah Is True," published by BenBella Books and distributed by Simon & Schuster (June 2025). This article is part of a series featured exclusively by Fox News article source: Biblical formula for choosing spouse offers lessons that modern dating overlooks
USA Today
20-04-2025
- General
- USA Today
Not just at Easter: Gen Z is returning to Christianity. Data proves it.
Not just at Easter: Gen Z is returning to Christianity. Data proves it. | Opinion It's not time to call this a revival, but something is stirring in the culture. Christians would do well to pay attention, live out their faith and step into the opportunity to share with others. Show Caption Hide Caption Easter traditions: How it's celebrated around the world Did you know that Easter isn't always just celebrated with chocolate? Easter is marked very differently around the globe. unbranded - Lifestyle Religious data rarely makes headlines, but a new wave of findings is creating a stir. For three decades, the percentage of Americans who identify as Christian has steadily declined, a trend confirmed by countless studies. For many believers, it has felt like an inevitable slide into cultural irrelevance. In a season of overwhelmed news cycles, these religious shifts haven't received the coverage they should, but they are significant, and they keep coming. The dominant religious storyline in recent decades has been the rise of the "nones" − those who mark "none" for religious affiliation. Secularism pulls down religious commitment like gravity pulling down a satellite. Over time, the orbit decays until there is a crash. Christianity in the United States has followed a similar trajectory, declining about 1% per year. It looked almost inevitable that a crash was looming. But now, something is shifting. And we can see it in the data among Generation Z, those born between 1997 and 2012. Gen Z men more likely to attend church Perhaps most surprisingly, Gen Z men are now more likely to attend church than Gen Z women. The New York Times reported that among young Christians, men are staying in church (at the same time, many women are leaving). Overall, younger generations are more spiritually curious. Barna research group reports that most Gen Z teens are interested in learning more about Jesus, with younger cohorts leading the way in the growth of new commitments. At the same time, the dramatic rise of the nones appears to be leveling off. Sociologist Ryan Burge recently observed that the share of non-religious Americans has stopped rising in any meaningful way − a surprising pause after 30 years of growth. Americans' engagement with the Bible also appears to be increasing. The 2025 State of the Bible report from the American Bible Society found an increase in Bible use and engagement. According to The Wall Street Journal, Bible sales have spiked, driven largely by first-time buyers. Finally, Christian entertainment has seen a remarkable surge. From "The Chosen" to "The King of Kings," faith-based storytelling is gaining a wider audience. Opinion: America is a potluck, not a battlefield where we defeat our fellow citizens It's too soon to announce a change to the direction of secularism, but as someone who has been an observer of Christian trends for decades, including a stint leading a Christian research organization, I've never seen anything like this. As I've been sharing data as part of The State of the Church project, I did not expect it to change this quickly. The cultural meteor of 2020 ‒ including the COVID-19 pandemic, social upheaval and political turmoil ‒ has shifted the conversation, and it's too soon to determine where it is going. However, Christians love a good comeback story − more on that later. Churches in the UK are growing rapidly Next month, I will again teach 'Christianity and Contemporary Culture' at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford University, but I'm having to update my lecture notes. A surprising − perhaps shocking − report from the Bible Society in Great Britain describes a "Quiet Revival" in the United Kingdom. The research was carried out by a well-known research firm, YouGov, in partnership with the Bible Society, which surveyed more than 13,000 adults in England and Wales. The report says, encouragingly: "We found that the Church is in a period of rapid growth, driven by young adults and in particular young men. Along with this, the Church demonstrates greater ethnic diversity than ever before. Both within and outside the Church, young adults are more spiritually engaged than any other living generation, with Bible reading and belief in God on the rise." Those of us who study trends in church adherence typically look to countries like the United Kingdom and Australia as harbingers of the trends that will unfold in the United States in the coming years. This is just one study, and we need more data, but in times of tumult and turbulence, people often turn to faith. Opinion: What would Jesus say to Americans at Easter? Let's learn to love each other. Mark Twain once quipped, "The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated." The same could be true of Christian faith in the West. Yes, challenges remain, but the narrative of inevitable decline might no longer hold. This does not mean that there is not work to be done or issues to address. Even in the data I cited, we cannot ignore that within the good news concerning increased church attendance within Gen Z is a concerning trend regarding young women. Opinion alerts: Get columns from your favorite columnists + expert analysis on top issues, delivered straight to your device through the USA TODAY app. Don't have the app? Download it for free from your app store. Yes, Gen Z men are coming to church in higher numbers. But among those who disaffiliate from the faith, Gen Z women are represented in significantly higher numbers (54%) than previous generations (47% among millennials and 45% among Generation X, according to a 2023 study by the Survey Center on American Life). So, it's not time to call this a revival. But something is stirring in the data − in the culture. Christians would do well to pay attention, live out their faith and step into the opportunity to share with others. Secularism, for many, has been found empty and wanting. The chaos and instability of the past few years has people returning to the age-old questions about where we came from, why the world is so messed up and where can we find hope. As Christians, we can rejoice in a newfound openness because we have this strange belief about death and life − that resurrection is real in Christ, and possible for the church. Ed Stetzer is the dean at the Talbot School of Theology at Biola University and a distinguished visiting scholar at Wycliffe Hall at Oxford University.
