Joe Carter from the Evangelical Outpost has gathered the following family facts relating to a father’s influence on his children.

1. Fathers’ religiosity is linked to higher quality of parent-child relationships.
2. Fathers who regularly attend religious services are more likely to be engaged in one-on-one activities with their children.
3. Civically active fathers are more likely to participate in youth-related activities.
4. Fathers’ engagement in their children’s activities was linked to higher academic performance.
5. Among adolescent boys, those who receive more parenting from their fathers are less likely to exhibit anti-social and delinquent behaviors.
6. Among adolescent girls, those who have a strong relationship with their fathers are less likely to report experiencing depression.
7. Close father-adolescent bonds protect against the negative influence of peer drug use.
8. Adolescent girls who have a close relationship with their fathers are more likely to delay sexual activity.
9. Adolescent girls whose fathers were present during their childhood are less likely to become pregnant.
10. Adolescent males who report a close relationship with their fathers are more likely to anticipate having a stable marriage in the future.

Happy Father’s Day to all you dads out there. Please know how important you are to your children.

Note: All of these facts come from the Heritage Foundation’s Family Facts page, where you can find much more research on family, society, and religion. You can visit Joe’s page here for links to sources for each of the specific facts cited above.

Space baby monitor. Natalie Meilinger’s baby monitor is acting strangely. Instead of monitoring her children, the baby monitor is picking up live video from inside NASA’s space shuttle Atlantis. The mother of two is fascinated with the video feed. “I’ve been addicted to it and keep waiting to see what’s next,” Meilinger said.

World wide web. More than 1.1 billion of the world’s estimated 6.6 billion people are now online. Nearly 300 million people, almost a third of those online, access the internet on high-speed lines. The US has the most broadband users with more than 60 million subscribers. China is in second place with with more than 56 million and quickly closing the gap. South Korea has the world’s greatest percentage of broadband users with nearly 90% of households online. Internet usage in developing countries, especially in Africa, lags behind the rest of the world. Many of these emerging economies lack basic telephone service, never mind access to the internet.

There is too much information on the Grahams flying around the web right now to post it all, but I really liked these two quotes that Matt McCarnan posted over at PastorBlog.

I have been asked the question, ‘Who do you go to for counsel, for spiritual guidance?’ My answer: my wife, Ruth. She is a great student of the Bible. Her life is ruled by the Bible more than any person I’ve ever known. That’s her rule book, her compass. Her disposition is the same all the time–very sweet and very gracious and charming. When it comes to spiritual things, my wife has had the greatest influence on my ministry.
—Billy Graham

I saw a sign on a strip of highway once that I would like to have copied on my gravestone. It said, “End of construction. Thank you for your patience.”
—Ruth Bell Graham (from “A Hearing Heart,” InDecision Magazine, January 1970, ©1969, Billy Graham Evangelistic Association)

Related articles:

• Billy Graham – The Song
• Ruth Bell Graham – Poems
• Ruth Graham Passes Away
• Billy Graham Museum Opens in Charlotte, NC
• The Day I Met Billy Graham

Update: The poem “Home Address” has been added to the comments below.

Update 2: Free commemorative book of Ruth’s poems – click here for more information.

Noel Piper shares the following poems from Ruth Graham over at the Desiring God blog. They are both from Ruth’s book Footprints of a Pilgrim.

The first poem is about choosing to love through the difficult times when Billy would have to leave her and the children to go on the road.

Love
without clinging;
cry
if you must—
but privately cry;
the heart will adjust
to the newness of loving
in practical ways:
cleaning
and cooking
and sorting out clothes,
all say, “I love you,”
when lovingly done.

So—
love
without clinging;
cry—
if you must—
but privately cry;
the heart will adjust
to the length of his stride,
the song he is singing,
the trail he must ride,
the tensions that make him
the man that he is,
the world he must face,
the life that is his.

So
love
without clinging;
cry—
if you must—
but privately cry;
the heart will adjust
to being the heart,
not the forefront of life;
a part of himself,
not the object—
his wife.

So—
love!

The second poem is about losing a loved one and reflects what the Graham family must be experiencing right now with the loss of Ruth.

A house
is not the same
when she who made it home
is gone;
it looks
as it has always
looked
and yet
forlorn.
There is an emptiness
within,
a silence
where her chuckle was.
From now on
it is me alone
who once was “us.”

Related articles:

• Billy Graham – The Song
• A Quote from Billy and a Quote from Ruth
• Ruth Graham Passes Away
• Billy Graham Museum Opens in Charlotte, NC
• The Day I Met Billy Graham

Ruth Graham, the wife of well-known evangelist Billy Graham, passed away today at 5:05 pm at her home at Little Piney Cove, surrounded by her husband and all five of their children. Ruth had been bedridden for a number of months with degenerative osteoarthritis of the back and neck and underwent treatment for pneumonia two weeks ago. She was 87 years old.

Billy Graham made the following statement about his wife:

Ruth was my life partner, and we were called by God as a team. No one else could have borne the load that she carried. She was a vital and integral part of our ministry, and my work through the years would have been impossible without her encouragement and support.

I am so grateful to the Lord that He gave me Ruth, and especially for these last few years we’ve had in the mountains together. We’ve rekindled the romance of our youth, and my love for her continued to grow deeper every day. I will miss her terribly, and look forward even more to the day I can join her in Heaven.

The family plans to hold a private interment ceremony and a public memorial service. Service arrangements have not yet been announced.

UPDATE: Related articles from around the web:

• Official Press Release: Description of the Funeral
• Official Press Release: Ruth Bell Graham, 1920-2007
• The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association memorial site for Ruth
• Anne Graham Lotz on her mother’s death
• Statements from the children of Ruth Bell Graham
• Statement by President George Bush:
  

  Laura and I are deeply saddened by the death of Ruth Bell Graham, a remarkable woman of faith whose life was defined by her belief in a personal, loving, and gracious God. She was an encouraging friend, accomplished poet, and devoted mother of five and grandmother of 19.

  Ruth’s marriage to her husband Billy was a true and loving partnership. As the wife of the world’s most beloved evangelist, she inspired people around the world with her humor, intelligence, elegance, and kindness. Laura and I offer our prayers and condolences to Billy and the Graham family.

• PUBLIC INVITED TO ATTEND FUNERAL SERVICE FOR RUTH BELL GRAHAM, LATE WIFE OF BILLY GRAHAM: Mrs. Graham to be Honored by Friends and Family in Montreat, N.C., Followed by a Private Family-Only Interment in Charlotte:
  

  A public funeral service to honor Mrs. Graham, has been scheduled for 2 p.m. on Saturday, June 16 in Anderson Auditorium at the Montreat Conference Center in Montreat, N.C. Mr. Graham and his family have extended an invitation for the public to join them in honoring the life and memory of their wife and mother at this event. Anderson Auditorium’s seating capacity is limited to 2,000, on a first come basis, after which guests will be directed to additional overflow seating.

Related articles on this blog:

• A Quote from Billy and a Quote from Ruth
• Ruth Bell Graham – Poems
• Ruth Graham Near Death
• Billy Graham Museum Opens in Charlotte, NC
• The Day I Met Billy Graham

HT: Christianity Today LiveBlog

This just in from The Christian Post on the defeat of the proposed marriage amendment in Massachusetts.

Massachusetts lawmakers blocked a proposed constitutional amendment Thursday that would have let voters decide whether to ban gay ”marriage” in the only state that allows it.

The proposal, which sought to change the state’s Constitution to ban same-sex marriage, needed 50 votes to advance to the 2008 statewide ballot. It got 45, with 151 lawmakers opposed.

The narrow vote was a blow to efforts to reverse the historic court ruling that legalized same-sex marriage in the state. More than 8,500 gay couples have ”married” there since it became legal in May 2004 …

The measure needed 50 votes in two consecutive legislative sessions to advance to the ballot, and it had passed with 62 votes at the end of the last session in January.

I live in Massachusetts, and this is a big disappointment to the many people in the state who feel they should have the right to vote on an issue of this magnitude. The Massachusetts Family Institute collected a record-breaking 170,000 signatures in support of the amendment, nearly three times the required signatures needed for certification by the Secretary of State and the greatest number ever in Massachusetts history.

In November 2003, it took only four Massachusetts judges to make gay marriage legal in the state (by a 4-3 vote). Now in June 2007 the proposed amendment misses the ballot by five legislative votes. Meanwhile, the entire voting populace of Massachusetts is left out of the decision making process, including the 170,000 who signed the petition. I feel the legislature has really let the people down on this one.

Okay, all you non-conformist sneaker-lovers out there. If you have been searching for that “new look” for your sneakers, check out these 15 different ways to lace up your shoes. Professor Shoelace (Ian Fieggen) gives you detailed instructions for each method, complete with diagrams and photos. Learn how to lace 15 different patterns, including: the Ladder, the Zipper, the Sawtooth, the Lattice, the Checkerboard, and the very cool Hidden Knot.

Visit Ian’s Shoelace Site for more information about shoelaces than you ever dreamed existed (including how to tie a foolproof knot).

HT: Lifehack

I found this story about a college student who got a zero on a 100 question True/False Communications Final amusing. His professor sent him the following email the next day:

Dear Michael,

Every year I attempt to boost my students’ final grades by giving them this relatively simple exam consisting of 100 True/False questions from only 3 chapters of material. For the past 20 years that I have taught Intro Communications 101 at this institution I have never once seen someone score below a 65 on this exam. Consequently, your score of a zero is the first in history and ultimately brought the entire class average down a whole 8 points.

There were two possible answer choices: A (True) and B (False). You chose C for all 100 questions in an obvious attempt to get lucky with a least a quarter of the answers. It’s as if you didn’t look at a single question. Unfortunately, this brings your final grade in this class to failing. See you next year!

May God have mercy on your soul.

Sincerely,
Professor William Turner

P.S. If all else fails, go with B from now on.   B is the new C.

So, have you ever just filled in the answers at random on a multiple choice test?

Update: Here is a picture of the student’s actual test. Notice the T and F printed prominently over the A and B columns.

HT: Wandering Ink.

Are you a minister? You may be a minister and not even know it! Marcus Goodyear has a great article over at The High Calling on how we all fulfill the role of ministers when we serve others by doing what God asks us to do, whether in the church, the workplace, at home, or any other sphere of life.

In the article Marcus reflects on Jesus’ miracle of turning the water into wine at the wedding in Cana (found in John 2:1-11).

The ministers in this story are the servants. The people who follow the commands of Jesus by fetching the water he has told them to fetch—and serving that water to the master of the banquet. It must have seemed like a strange set of commands, but they did what he asked them to do.

That is the role of every minister in and out of the church. When we do what God asks us to do, he works miracles through our work.

And we need to pay close attention to the location of these ministers. They aren’t just obeying God in the temple or the synagogue. The place where people traditionally met to worship and talk about God was not their place of ministry. Their place of ministry was their daily work. They were just going about their normal business, and Jesus showed up.

At one church where I served, we had a saying: “Our church has two pastors, but many ministers.” Every Christian is called to serve – not just the pastors. And as Christians we are called to serve God in all areas of our life – not just in church. Your daily setting is your place of ministry throughout the week when you serve God and others in that setting.

So . . . are you a minister?

Billy Graham released this statement earlier today concerning the near death of his wife, Ruth, and their selection of a burial site:

MONTREAT, N.C., June 13, 2007 — “Earlier this spring, after much prayer and discussion, Ruth and I made the decision to be buried beside each other at the Billy Graham Library in my hometown of Charlotte, North Carolina.

We have held this decision privately and only decided to announce it now that she is close to going home to Heaven.

Ruth is my soul mate and best friend, and I cannot imagine living a single day without her by my side. I am more in love with her today than when we first met over 65 years ago as students at Wheaton College.

Ruth and I appreciate, more than we can express, the prayers and letters of encouragement we have received from people across the country and around the world. Our entire family has been home in recent days and it has meant so much to have them at our side during this time. We love each one of them dearly and thank God for them.”

According to the Christian Post, Ruth has been ill for several months and fell into a coma earlier today. Please keep the Graham family in your prayers at this time.

Related articles:

• A Quote from Billy and a Quote from Ruth
• Ruth Bell Graham – Poems
• Ruth Graham Passes Away
• Billy Graham Museum Opens in Charlotte, NC
• The Day I Met Billy Graham

Paris Hilton has dominated the news recently with her jailhouse escapades. Earlier this week she told a reporter that she was reading the Bible and seeking God. Of course this has been greeted with plenty of skepticism from believers and nonbelievers alike. Lydia Brownback strikes a nice balance with her response, Paris Hilton and the Bible.

For the first time in her sorry life, she is facing something for which no amount of daddy’s money, or photographers’ cameras, or drugs and alcohol, or sexual debauchery can provide an escape. Returning to jail last week in handcuffs, crying out for her mother, and visibly shaking are all indicative of the sort of breaking process that does cause people–all types of people–to question the meaning of a previously meaningless lifestyle.

Being sent to jail is the best thing that has ever happened to Paris Hilton. “God is good to all, and his tender mercies are over all his works.” Who are we to exempt Paris Hilton from inclusion in the psalmist’s declaration? I admit I have been among the Paris Hilton scorners–the sneering ones–and I must also admit that I’ll be utterly surprised if her spiritual quest continues once her sentence is served. A bit of skepticism is understandable; cynicism is not.

Todd Bolen at BiblePlaces Blog shares his top ten sites in Jerusalem. Todd also provides some interesting commentary and pictures on the various sites. I have never been to the Holy Land myself but would love to visit some day.