Relationship problems defined

Petra Anderson, miracle survivor of Colorado shooting, expected to make a full recovery

Petra Anderson is a name landing in headlines as the young woman appears to be making an amazing full recovery after being shot multiple times during the Aurora, Colorado shooting.

Anderson, age 22, was at the midnight premiere of "The Dark Knight Rises," when James Holmes opened fire, shooting the aspiring music professor four times in the crowded theater, the Associated Press reports.

Three shotgun pellets hit Anderson's arm and another went through her nose, riding up the back of her cranium and hitting the back of her skull.

"Her injuries were severe, and her condition was critical…The doctors prior to surgery were concerned because so much of the brain had been traversed by the bullet," Anderson's pastor, Brad Strait, wrote in his blog.

Strait, who was in the hospital during the young woman's surgery, added that doctors were worried that Anderson's injuries could impair her speech, motor and cognitive abilities.

But incredibly, during the five-hour surgery, doctors soon found that Anderson's brain sustained very little damage and the pellet was removed cleanly.

According to Strait, Anderson was saved by a miracle birth "defect" that no one could have anticipated.

The doctor explains that Petra’s brain has had from birth a small “defect” in it. It is a tiny channel of fluid running through her skull…Only a CAT scan would catch it, and Petra would have never noticed it.But in Petra’s case, the shotgun buck shot…enters her brain from the exact point of this defect. Like a marble through a small tube, the defect channels the bullet from Petra’s nose through her brain. It turns slightly several times, and comes to rest at the rear of her brain. And in the process, the bullet misses all the vital areas of the brain.

Anderson has already started to speak and walk again -- is expected to make a full recovery.

"She could have lost all kinds of function (if) the bullet traversed her brain," her mother Kim Anderson told the Sacramento Bee. "I believe that she was not only protected by God, but that she was actually prepared for it."

To support the young woman and her family, the Hope Rises Relief Fund has started a campaign for the Andersons. So far, more than $32,000 has been raised.

Anderson's injury has come at a difficult time for the young woman's family. Her mother is battling terminal breast cancer and the cost of medical bills for both women has proven to be a daunting challenge.

“If the pellet had wavered a millimeter, really in any direction from what it actually took, then she would have likely either died or been severely injured,” said Dr. Michael Rauzzino, a neurosurgeon at The Medical Center of Aurora who operated on Anderson to remove the pellet. “I would say this is definitely a miracle,” he said, while showing an MRI of Anderson’s brain.

The MRI reveals a faint trace of the pellet’s path after it entered the left side of Petra's nose, broke through the front

Mali Muslims beat couple for having child out of wedlock

From The Global Dispatch: The Islamists occupying northern Mali on Wednesday gave a couple 100 lashes of a whip for having a child out of wedlock, Sowetan Live reports. “At Sankore Square in Timbuktu, a man and a women got 100 lashes for having had a child outside of marriage,” said local official Mohamed Ould Baby. “People were watching it was like a show. I was there, I saw the youths arriving at the square, I saw them being whipped, it is the first time I have seen something like that.” The official said Islamist group Ansar Dine, call themselves Defenders of Faith, carried out the punishment. Ansar Dine claimed control of Mali’s vast northeast regions in March. The AFP reported that Ansar Dine claimed to occupy the towns of Tinzaouaten, Tessalit and Aguelhok, all close to the Algerian border, and that they had captured at least 110 civilian and military prisoners.

Church Mandated To Rent Facility For Same-Sex Ceremonies

We seem to be in an age of increasing government mandates that strike at the very core of the freedom of religion. The HHS Mandate in just one example of government mandates that disregard freedom of religion. The latest example comes from Hutchinson, Kansas, a small town northwest of Wichita. If the Hutchinson Human Relations Commission has its way, churches will be mandated to rent out their facilities for same-sex “marriage” ceremonies.

It started back in November, 2011, when a group called the Kansas Equality Commission asked Hutchinson to add the terms “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” to its non-discrimination ordinance. The Mayor asked the Hutchinson Human Relations Commission to study the idea and report back to the town within 90 days on its findings. The Human Relations Commission did study the issue and is recommending that the terms be added to the non-discrimination ordinance. In the process, it put together a document entitled an FAQ sheet. The sheet describes the practical effect of what would happen if these terms are added to the ordinance. Some of the more chilling aspects of the change include requiring employers and places of public accommodation to allow people to use whatever restroom fits their “gender identity” at the time. The proposed changes define “gender identity” as “a gender-related identity, appearance, expression or behavior of a person, regardless of the person’s assigned sex at birth.” What this means is that an employer or a business owner must allow a male to use the women’s restroom if he has the “appearance” or expresses the “behavior” of a female. But the proposed change to the ordinance doesn’t stop there. In the FAQ sheet, the Hutchinson Human Relations Commission states, “For example, if a church has a parish hall that they rent out to the general public, they could not discriminate against a gay couple who want to rent the building for a party. If the church only rents the building to their parishioners, they can continue to do so.” The proposed change in the ordinance would mandate the churches rent out their facilities for same-sex “marriage” ceremonies or homosexual-themed parties. Let me state this very simply – if this proposed change happens to the Hutchinson ordinance, mandating that churches rent their facilities out to people or groups that violate their sincerely held religious beliefs is patently unconstitutional. And ADF would represent any church that is faced with such overreach and unconstitutional mandate by the government. There is a battle raging between sexual liberty and religious freedom and there are those in our government who believe that in this conflict, religious freedom should always lose. The Church must remain vigilant and stand to protect the right for it to live according to its religious beliefs. It is unconstitutional for Hutchinson or any government to mandate conduct that forces a church to act in violation of its religious beliefs. We hope that Hutchinson will see that the Constitution already mandates religious freedom and that mandate trumps the one they are proposing. http://blog.speakupmovement.org/church/religious-freedom/churches-in-kansas-may-be-mandated-to-rent-their-facilities-for-same-sex-marriage-ceremonies/

President Obama added to bios of other Presidents on White House website

I truly this was bogus. Then I started looking, beginning with President Bush since that one would make sense. Here is where you go: http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents Surprisingly I didn't find President Obama in the Bush bio, it's in the "Did You Know" section where I found this: In 2002, President George W. Bush’s State of the Union was the first to be live broadcast on the Internet. In 2011 and 2012, President Obama’s State of the Union speeches were available in an enhanced live stream version that featured infographics, charts and data side-by-side in real time with the President’s speech. No surprises then to see Obama tagged in the Clinton 'Did You Know': Continuing his work as a lifelong public service, Clinton created the Clinton Foundation in 2001 to improve global health, education, economies and environments. Affectionately calling him “Do-Gooder-in-Chief”, President Obama has worked with Clinton to make buildings in our country more efficient—announcing a $4 billion investment in energy efficiency upgrades for commercial buildings.' So, I moved on to George H. Bush - what could Obama add? President Barack Obama awarded George H.W. Bush the 2010 Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, for his commitment to service and ability to inspire volunteerism throughout the country... Seriously? Propaganda? Hard to not see it that way when you see Ronald Reagan's: President Reagan designated Martin Luther King Jr. Day a national holiday; today the Obama Administration honors this tradition, with the First and Second Families participating in service projects on this day. In a June 28, 1985 speech Reagan called for a fairer tax code, one where a multi-millionaire did not have a lower tax rate than his secretary. Today, President Obama is calling for the same with the Buffett Rule.

Talking points...election nuggets put on the White House website!?! Apalling. It appears the administration is working backward through history adding these tidbits. Ford was spared and they stopped at Coolidge - for now. Ego? You decide.

Obama lauds Socialist/Marxist programs and policies in his "Life of Julia" slideshow which is currently on the Obama website. Peter Schiff hits this one out of the park, with his analysis of this "Life of Julia" with Schiff's own version of "The Real Life Of Julia":  Grab some popcorn and enjoy!.. some parts are pretty funny :)

Check out Brandon on deskofbrian.com:

Iran holds trials on Easter for 12 jailed Christians

TEHRAN, IRAN (BosNewsLife)– Twelve Christians were to stand trial in Iran on Easter Sunday on charges  including “crimes against the order”, an activist assisting them with advocacy told BosNewsLife.

Jason DeMars, director of the Present Truth Ministries group, said Friday that the Christians are facing the court in the northeastern city of Rasht, though “they were earlier for the same ‘crimes’ last year in [the Caspian Sea city of] Bandar Anzali.”

“This highlights once again, that it is illegal to be a Christian in Iran,” De Mars said.

Among the Christians is Pastor Matthias Haghnejad and his wife Anahita Khadeimi, he explained. Others were identified as Mahmoud Khosh-Hal and his wife Hava Saadetmend, Amir Goldoust, Mina Goldoust, Zhaina Bahremand, Fatemah Modir-Nouri, Mehrdad Habibzade, Milad Radef, Behzad Taalipasand and Amin Pishkar.

It comes amid reports of mounting pressure on devoted Christians in Iran, including former Muslims, amid a rapidly growing house church movement in the Islamic nation.

“We pray that God gives them courage to stand for their faith, to express themselves clearly and to bring him honor and glory. We also pray that he touches the heart of the judges to acquit these saints of these “crimes,” DeMars told supporters receiving his electronic newsletters.

Full story: http://www.bosnewslife.com/21171-news-alert-12-iranian-christians-stand-trial-easter-sunday

More stories on Iran holding Christians: http://deskofbrian.com/?s=iran+christians