Monthly Archives: March 2020

03/31 Texas Homeschooling Org Launches Emergency COVID-19 Daily Home Education Lesson Plan

FAITH NEWSWIRECoronavirusHomeschooling.com is a project of the Texas Home School Coalition (THSC), one of the nation’s leading authorities on home education with more than three decades of experience in the homeschool space. THSC is a non-profit organization with the mission of supporting families and homeschooling.

With tens of millions of families suddenly finding themselves educating their children from home, THSC, made up of thousands of member families from across the state of Texas, has worked around the clock, just completing phase-one of a multi-phase emergency COVID-19 response plan to afford Americans free digital home education resources.

THSC and Sam Sorbo, an accomplished actress, author, homeschool mom and advocate have partnered together to help provide families these immediate, easy-to-use resources in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

About Sam Sorbo

After high school in Pittsburgh, PA, Sam studied biomedical engineering at Duke University before pursuing a career in modeling. Modeling offered her the chance to travel and learn languages; she is fluent in five. Sam moved to Los Angeles for acting, where dedication and perseverance gained her roles in several films (Bonfire of the Vanities and Twenty Bucks) and TV shows, including Chicago Hope and Hercules: The Legendary Journeys. Hercules introduced her to Kevin Sorbo, who swept her off her feet. They married in 1998 and she moved to New Zealand. While living in Auckland, Sam created and published a humorous and educational photo-book, Gizmoe: The Legendary Journeys, Auckland. She is radio host of nationally syndicated The Sam Sorbo Show, speaks publicly around the country and recently appeared in the movies Hope Bridge, with Kevin Sorbo and Boo Boo Stewart, and Just Let Go with Ian Cusick, for which she won “Best Supporting Actress” at the Utah Film Festival. She served as producer and co-star on a film she co-wrote, Let There Be Light and, more recently, Miracle in East Texas: A Tall Tale Inspired by an Absolutely True Story (starring Kevin Sorbo and John Ratzenberger, with Lou Gossett Jr., Tyler Mane.) Sam’s book, They’re YOUR Kids: An inspirational Journey from Self-Doubter to Home School Advocate, released to rave reviews. Sam’s Teach from Love was a follow-up to encourage families to talk about Godly characteristics and instill virtue in their children.Kevin and Sam’s most recent book, True Faith: Embracing Adversity to Live in God’s Light, debuted on Valentine’s Day with fantastic reviews. Of course, the Sorbos home school their three children.

Sam wrote Share the Light with Kevin to accompany their film and foster Christian outreach into families, churches, and the world community as a way to combat the divisiveness that has entered our culture.

Let There Be Light, was the fourth highest-grossing faith film of 2017, written by Dan Gordon and Sam Sorbo, and directed by Kevin Sorbo. The film stars Kevin and Sam with their two boys, Braeden and Shane, and features Dionne Warwick, Michale Franzese, Travis Tritt, Daniel Roebuck, Gary Grubbs, and Donielle Artese. Executive Producer Sean Hannity also plays himself in the movie.

Miracle in East Texas is a “Tale Tale Inspired on an Absolutely True Story” about the East Texas oil find – the biggest in history! It launches in 2020. The feature stars Kevin Sorbo.

Here’s Help for Talking to Kids about COVID-19

FAITH NEWSWIREChild Evangelism Fellowship (CEF) has provided an effective tool for conversing with children about such troubling situations as the Coronavirus outbreak.

In 2001, after the 9/11 tragedy, CEF prepared a booklet entitled “Do You Wonder Why?” to address tragedy. It speaks directly to children about the emotions they experience due to natural disasters, disability, illness or death of loved ones, crime towards someone they know, and so on. It answers hard questions like, “Does God know and care about me?” “Why do so many bad things happen in the world?” and “How could God allow this to happen?” It guides the child in how to get through terrible circumstances, how to become part of God’s family, and how to receive God’s comfort.

This time-tested downloadable resource is available in PDF and video form at www.cefonline.com/why. Copies may also be purchased in bulk from www.CEFPress.com. Millions of the “Do You Wonder Why?” booklets have been distributed around the US and the world and translated into many languages.

“It is natural to feel afraid, even as an adult when the world faces a crisis like COVID-19. Adults can call television shows, hotlines and church leaders with their many concerns, but often children carry around their questions like heavy burdens. Here is help,” said Moises Esteves, CEF Vice President, International Ministries.

CEF operates over 99,000 after-school Good News Clubs (GNC) around the world but many have been shut down with school closures. In answer, CEF launched Good News Across the Web where GNC students can meet with their regular teachers and classmates on Zoom and ezTalks.

As churches move to live streaming, CEF is posting a weekly video on its YouTube channel U-Nite with a program for children which churches can use for children’s church. People can learn more at www.cefonline.com/COVID19. Families are welcome to use it as well. A new program will be posted every Friday, and there are song videos, missionary stories and encouragements to read the Bible and memorize verses.

Child Evangelism Fellowship is an international, nonprofit, Christian ministry that has been teaching the Bible to children since 1937. CEF has 400 offices in the USA and is organized in most nations of the world, with over 3,500 paid staff and hundreds of thousands of volunteers. In its last ministry year, CEF ministered to over 25 million children in its face-to-face teaching ministries.

Provided by: Child Evangelism Fellowship, Warrenton, MO

Contact: Lydia Kaiser, Lydia.Kaiser@cefonline.com, 636-456-4321 x1339 or 636-262-9593

Faith-Based Streaming App Minno Offers Immediate Assistance to #StayAtHome Families, Rolls out Free “Church at Home” Feature

In Response to COVID-19, Minno launches Free Program Giving Churches and Families Easy-to-Use Digital Tools to Transfer the Church Experience to the Home, Including Help for Talking to Kids About  Coronavirus 

FAITH NEWSWIRE (Nashville, TN—March 18, 2020) Minno—a new, Nashville-based children’s digital media company featuring one of the world’s largest collections of Classic VeggieTales and an expertly-curated collection of media choices for Christian families, is responding to changes due to COVID-19 today with a free resource for families unable to physically attend church. Minno’s free Church at Home program affords families an easy-to-use, home-based digital Sunday School experience.

“Families have unexpectedly found themselves unable to gather with their church communities likely for several weeks. While pastors are doing their best to provide online church for adults, most are not in a position to replicate Children’s Ministry or Sunday School. We immediately asked ourselves what we could do to help leveraging the Minno platform, and our team worked quickly to launch a Church at Home experience. It’s live today all around the world for everyone, and it’s free,” said Erick Goss, CEO and Co-founder of Minno and former senior manager at Amazon. “Using Minno Church at Home, families can worship, learn, pray together, and download activities with the click of a button on Sunday and throughout the week. On weekdays, while children are out of school, parents can take advantage of free daily devotionals, as well as selections from our catalog of programming that is always curated on the foundations of care for others.”

 

 

Free Church at Home Features Include:

  • Church at Home can be found here: https://www.gominno.com/lp/church-at-home/
  • Church at Home features three easy steps: Choose a Worship Song, Watch a Bible Video, and Enjoy More Devotionals.
  • Church at Home also features selected content from the Minno Life Blog, such as how to talk to your kids about coronavirus, as well as printable activities to do in the home.
  • For families during the week, Church at Home features Minno’s signature “Five Minute Family Devotions”.
  • Church at Home is completely free and available around the world.

Press and media information is available here: http://press.gominno.com

What Parents Are Saying:

  • “Thank you very much! We were watching church services live and my daughter was asking for a children service. I was beyond delighted to receive such a timely email in my Inbox. You have truly been a blessing during this time of pandemic. We will continue to use Minno Church at Home daily while schools are closed. I don’t have enough words to express how grateful I am for this ministry and can’t wait to share this with others. God Bless.”
  • “Thank you so much! This is a wonderful idea and resource for the coming weeks. I am so thankful for you and your work to help families keep Jesus in their lives. God Bless you and your families!”
  • “Thank you for this! My daughter was sad that we will only be able to watch the adult services online. She and I are very happy about the Minno church online.”

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About Minno

Minno is a Nashville-based children’s digital media company partnering with Christian parents to provide safe, values-based choices for their families. Minno’s offering includes an ad-free subscription-video-on-demand platform Minno Life, an expert-driven parenting blog, Minno Kids, its book publishing division, and Minno store, a digital shopping platform. Minno seeks to entertain, inform and inspire, encouraging kids and parents to laugh and learn together.

 

 

 

How a non-sleeping child saw the birth of a phenomenal new book

Many writers struggle to find the time it takes to sit down at their desk to produce a book, but for this author, a new baby that wouldn’t sleep became the perfect impetus to complete a much anticipated book.

Schoolteacher David Folker had been dreaming of completing his book, and oddly, thanks to the birth of his second child, Relentless has now been released globally.

“I drafted the idea for Relentless four years ago and began by mapping out the characters and ending, along with a rough outline of the journey,” David told me. “Unfortunately the demands of the leadership position I held at the school I worked at meant that I had little time for creative writing and so it was put to the side until such a time that I could commit sufficient energy to see it completed.

“When our second child arrived happy and healthy, it became clear that neither of us would enjoy the luxury of extended periods of sleep throughout the night. I realized that this was the perfect time to continue the story that was put on my heart all those years earlier. With this in mind I spent several hours each night writing and a few months later, Relentless was completed.”

David stated that while Relentless was a story is for everyone, and he believes most people would enjoy the brisk pace, action, character development and its resolution, at its deepest level it is a story of encouragement. It was written to speak to people who have accepted the lie that they are not worthy of their Savior’s love.

In this powerful new book, the characters in this remarkable story race to save someone who most others would have given up on. They face impossible odds and a terrible foe. They are knocked down on many occasions, but they don’t give up. Relentless explores the self-sacrificing of a hero: that hero being Jesus.

“I wrote this story because I believe that there is someone out there that needs to hear that they are worthy of a Savior’s love,” David continued. “That he will never stop pursuing them. That he will do anything to save them. If this title reaches that one person, who needs to be assured that they are worthy of such relentless dedication by our all-sacrificing God, then I will be happy.

“Growing up, I was an avid reader and enjoyed books from a variety of authors, both fiction and non-fiction. I was first introduced to the genre of fantasy by my Aunt Meg when she gifted me a copy of Rowan of Rin by Emily Rodda. I’ve been reading fantasy non-stop ever since.

“There were three major influences on my writing of Relentless. The first was the classic fantasy novel The Hobbit by Tolkien. When re-reading the story prior to the release of the blockbuster movies of the same name, I marveled at the scope of the grand adventure the unlikely companions found themselves on, but also the clarity of their journey. They knew exactly where they were going, if not what they would encounter along the way. I wanted to write a story that had a clear end destination and then unpack the risks and the wondrous/dangerous locales that the characters would journey through.

“The second major influence was Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan. I read this when I was a student at primary school and the idea of a physical adventure representing a spiritual journey was one that resonated with me. To an extent, I think all of my titles will be mirror this notion.

“The third influence and probably the clearest is one of the parables told by Jesus. For reasons of spoilers, I can’t tell you which one! I would like to think that readers familiar with the teachings of Jesus should be able to pick it when they reach the end.

Relentless is now available at all good bookstores, including Amazon.

N.B. If you like to know more about Relentless and David’s future projects, you can follow him at https://www.patreon.com/davidfolker

Cecil B. Demille’s legendary epic arrives in a spectacular Blu-Ray Digibook perfect for Easter gift-giving

Debuting March 10, 2020, Special Collector’s Edition Includes Both the 1923 and 1956 Films, Plus a 16-Page Booklet with Rare Photos and Background About Both Movies

For sheer pageantry and spectacle, few motion pictures can claim to equal the splendor of renowned director Cecil B. DeMille’s 1956 epic THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. Arriving in time for Easter gift-giving, the beloved masterpiece will be presented in a new Blu-ray Digibook on
March 10, 2020 from Paramount Home Entertainment.

This spectacular release features three Blu-ray Discs and includes not only the fully restored 1956 version of the film, but also DeMille’s original 1923 silent version, as well as a 16-page booklet featuring rare photos and historical facts about both productions. The set also includes an in-depth, 73-minute documentary entitled “The Ten Commandments: Making Miracles,” commentary on the 1956 film by Katherine Orrison, author of “Written in Stone: Making Cecil B. DeMille’s Epic, The Ten Commandments,” newsreel footage of the film’s New York premiere, theatrical trailers, hand-tinted footage of the Exodus and Parting of the Red Sea sequence from the 1923 version, a two-color Technicolor segment, and photo galleries.

DeMille’s last motion picture made Charlton Heston a superstar and remains a cinematic triumph and perennial fan-favorite. Filmed in Egypt and the Sinai with one of the biggest sets ever constructed for a motion picture, THE TEN COMMANDMENTS tells the story of the life of Moses (Heston). Once favored in the Pharaoh’s (Yul Brynner) household, Moses turned his back on a privileged life to lead his people to freedom.

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About Paramount Home Entertainment

Paramount Home Entertainment (PHE) is part of Paramount Pictures Corporation (PPC), a global producer and distributor of filmed entertainment. PPC is a unit of ViacomCBS (NASDAQ: VIAC; VIACA), a leading content company with prominent and respected film, television and digital entertainment brands. The PHE division oversees PPC’s home entertainment and transactional digital distribution activities worldwide. The division is responsible for the sales, marketing and distribution of home entertainment content on behalf of Paramount Pictures, Paramount Animation, Paramount Television, Paramount Players, MTV, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central and CBS and applicable licensing and servicing of certain DreamWorks Animation titles. PHE additionally manages global licensing of studio content and transactional distribution across worldwide digital distribution platforms including online, mobile and portable devices and emerging technologies.