Rachel Allison At birth, Hydeia Broadbent was abandoned at the University Medical Center of Southern Nevada in Las Vegas where Patricia and Loren Broadbent adopted her as an infant. Although her HIV condition was congenital, she was not diagnosed as HIV-positive with advancement to AIDS until...
Maddi Gillel An 80 year old woman was asked to speak to a group of women about marriage. She had been married to one man all of her married life, and they had raised a large family. At the end, she opened up a question and...
Diane Robertson Over the past 50 years, we have witnessed the loss of religion and religious values in the public square, in the laws, and in public schools. These legal changes are most obvious in sex education laws, marriage and divorce laws, and abortion. Yet, changes...
As I look out my window of twinkling lights to the house across the street similarly clad, I smile. I remember my good neighbor who would say to me every Christmas, “The best gift under the tree is the family all wrapped up in each other!” And...
Maddi Gillel A religious leader once stated that he feared that by ignoring traditional values in modern life, we are slipping back into the jungle. That statement has stayed in my mind for years. I try to visualize what we know about jungle life to what we...
Rachel Allison I was wide awake at 4:30 this morning. My husband came downstairs ten minutes later. Neither one of us could sleep, and so we sat together and just talked. Our conversation covered mixed topics, but I was surprised at how often we returned to...
Bobbie Jager I am a mother of 13 children, and like you my heart is heavy from the shooting in Sandy Connecticut. Our world is in a critical condition. There are mothers and fathers tonight who have empty arms and our nation has been once again...
Diane Robertson Today in Connecticut, 20 young children and 6 adults died when a gun man opened fire in their school. Tonight, 40 parents will not be tucking their babies into bed. Tonight, 40 parents are not going to hear little voices saying “I love you.”...
Maddi Gillel Many years ago I had a neighbor that I was good friends with. She had children who were my children’s ages and they played together a lot. She and I would visit and talk about the hot topics of the day. One day I...
Ann Bailey New York City is back in the news with another form of devastation plaguing its citizens, a kind that isn’t usually discussed in polite company. According to a new report from the Department of Health, the spread of HIV/AIDS, syphilis, hepatitis B, chlamydia, and...
Rachel Allison As I was working with a group of eight to eleven-year-old children in my church this past weekend, I was disheartened at how undisciplined and disrespectful they were. After a lot of “shushing” which brought no results whatever, I sternly reminded the children that...
Ann Bailey You can’t sing Christmas Carols or say Merry Christmas. You can’t put up a nativity scene or read the Christmas story from the Bible. You can’t do any of this at your child’s school? That’s what groups like the Freedom from Religion want you...
Here’s the question we asked UFI readers: “In an effort to thwart the negative educational & cultural influences assaulting your children, how seriously have you considered homeschooling?” Here’s how our readers responded: 17 percent Won’t be considering it 33 percent Starting to contemplating it 33 percent Watching closely and...
Diane Robertson The nine justices of the Supreme Court have just decided to hear the California Proposition 8 case and one DOMA case (Defense of Marriage Act). These cases will be heard before the court in March and a decision will be expected by the end...
“Congratulations, level 1 is complete! You’ve received 100,000 points, plus a bonus of 10,000 points for your record time! Your new mission is to protect your village. Good luck.” This statement and ones like it are being heard by children and teenagers all over the world,...
Maddi Gillel “Self-government involves self-control, self-discipline, an acceptance of and the most unremitting obedience to correct principles. Its demands are commensurate with its high privileges. Duties are the inseparable companions of rights. No other form of government requires so high a degree of individual morality ....
Diane Robertson Last week, three House Democrats introduced a resolution to get states to end psychiatric help for children with unwanted same sex attraction. The “Stop Harming Our Kids Resolution,” H.Con.Res. 141, is a resolution that describes efforts to change the sexual orientation of minors as...
Rachel Allison Last year’s Christmas season was unusually chaotic around our house. Because of an educational opportunity, our son, his wife and his family with three small children were living with us. Two of these children were two-month old twins. My sweet daughter-in-law was a trooper,...
Mary Jane Fritzen Recently PBS Newshour included a sad segment about the increasing numbers of young Americans with HIV. "Teens and young adults now account for more than a quarter of the new cases of HIV identified in the United States annuals, and a clear majority...
Maddi Gillel Someone once said, “When the government fears the people there is freedom, when the people fear the government, there is tyranny.” Tyranny is also a catch -all phrase for the ‘isms – communism, Nazism, Marxism, fascism, etc. So with liberty and tyranny loosely defined,...
Rachel Allison Did you know that there is a language where the word CONSEQUENCE or its equivalent is not found? United Families International learned this unforeseen truth when we introduced STAY ALIVE, an AIDS prevention program, to schoolchildren in Africa. It is easy for us to...
Diane Robertson In 2011, Daniel Villarrea, a writer for The Queerity, a top online LGBT magazine wrote an article entitled, Can We Please Just Start Admitting That We Do Actually Want To Indoctrinate Kids?. (Just a warning that the language is very lewd and offensive in...
Maddi Gillel “Without parents’ humanizing work, children may be quite smart, well-educated, and successful, but so selfish, self-centered, and uncaring as to be essentially uncivilized – not able to live in a spirit of community with others” (On Rekindling a Spirit of ‘Home Training: A Mother’s...
Rachel Allison Today I am thankful for a mother who chose a husband who would love his family and be devoted to his responsibilities to us…a selfless hard-working man who was loyal and faithful to her, his children and his faith in God. I am grateful to...
Laura Bunker “There must be more to life than having everything!” (Maurice Sendak) There is indeed. The happiest people in the world are those who have learned to be grateful for what they have. In fact, “gratitude plays a critical role in human happiness. It is literally...
