Musician

Jackie Evancho’s debut album Dream With Me, produced by David Foster, will be available everywhere Tuesday, June 14. Jackie Evancho comes into her own with Dream With Me, collaborating with Foster on a repertoire ranging from classical arias to pop classics to show tunes with highlights that include two extraordinary superstar duets showcasing the young vocalist performing with Barbra Streisand and Susan Boyle.

“I can say without a doubt that working with Jackie on Dream With Me was truly phenomenal. Her natural ability and the depth of her understanding of the musical process left me speechless. I think we have created a musical experience that will thrill audiences of every age. She was a pure joy to work with and I had a front row seat to one of the next great talents of our time,” said David Foster.

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During Major Gen. Mark Graham’s 2 years as commander of Fort Carson, Colorado, he became known and loved for the way he treated others. One US Army colleague said: “I have never come across another general officer who was so compassionate and so concerned about the well-being of soldiers and their families.” After losing one son to suicide and another who was killed in action, Mark and his wife, Carol, dedicated themselves to helping soldiers and their families cope with service-related stress, depression, and loss.

In the book of Acts, a follower of Christ was well known for his care and concern toward others. His name was Joseph, but in the early church, the apostles called him Barnabas—“son of encouragement.” It was Barnabas who vouched for the newly converted Saul when others doubted the sincerity of his faith (Acts 9:26-27). Later, Barnabas brought Saul from Tarsus to teach the believers in Antioch (11:25-26). And it was Barnabas who wanted to give John Mark a second chance after his failure on a previous missionary journey (15:36-38).

Compassion is an inner feeling resulting in outward action. It should be our daily uniform of service (Col. 3:12). By God’s grace, may we be known for it.


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Superstars abound in today’s culture. Great soccer players can create such excitement that fans have been known to riot in the bleachers. Popular musicians have fans who stand with adoration throughout entire concerts. And Hollywood celebrities hire bodyguards to protect themselves from adoring stalkers.

The first-century Corinthian believers had become divided over their own “spiritual superstars.” Paul viewed such favoritism as a reflection of the sinful nature in a believer’s unyielded heart. “For when one says, ‘I am of Paul,’ and another, ‘I am of Apollos,’ are you not carnal?” he asked (1 Cor. 3:4).

The apostle’s teaching on how we view Christian leaders puts the topic in a biblical perspective that provides mutual appreciation for those who minister: “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase” (v.6). Each person did his part: Paul had planted spiritual seed through evangelism, and Apollos had watered it with his eloquent Bible teaching. But it was God alone who made the seed of spiritual life grow. He alone is the “superstar.”

We should be careful not to put any Christian leader on a pedestal. Instead, let’s appreciate how God is using a variety of spiritual leaders for His honor and His glory.

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One afternoon Angela gave her young daughter four jellybeans and let her know that was all the candy she was going to receive.

After practically inhaling the first three candies, Eliana lingered over the final one. She sucked on it, took it out of her mouth, bit into it, sucked on it some more, then gnawed at the outer shell. Knowing that this was her last jellybean, she took a full 45 minutes to ingest the treat completely.

Angela observed her little girl with amusement. It occurred to her that she was watching Eliana learn the value of savoring—enjoying taste and texture and learning to draw out every possible bit of flavor from the pleasurable experience.

When we read, “Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good” (Ps. 34:8), we can be sure that God wants us to “savor” His presence. He allows us to gain intimate and satisfying knowledge of Him. And when we meditate on His Word, we will draw out a deeper understanding of who He is (Ezek. 3:1-3). As we taste His goodness and love, He will reveal the distinctive flavor of His creativity, sovereignty, holiness, and faithfulness.

Our Father must look on with enjoyment as we learn how to enjoy and savor Him.


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Felipe Massa of Brazil should have won the Formula One Grand Prix in Singapore in September 2008. But as he drove off from a refueling stop while in the lead, the fuel hose was still attached. By the time his team removed the hose, he had lost so much time that he finished 13th.
The apostle Paul warned Timothy of another kind of attachment that would cause him defeat—“the affairs of this life” (2 Tim. 2:4). He urged Timothy not to let anything slow him down or distract him from the cause of his Lord and Master.
There are many attractive things in our world that are so easy to get entangled with—hobbies, sports, TV, computer games. These may start off as “refueling” activities, but later they can take up so much of our time and thought that they interfere with the purpose for which God created us: to share the good news of Christ, serve Him with our gifts, and bring glory to Him.
Paul told Timothy why he ought not be entangled with this world’s affairs: So that he could “please Him” (v.4). If your desire is to please the Lord Jesus, you will want to stay untangled from the world. As John reminds us, “The world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever” (1 John 2:17).

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Every year I have a physical—that periodic visit to the doctor’s office where I’m poked and prodded, screened and studied. It is something that can be easy to dread, and even to fear. We aren’t sure what the tests will show or what the doctors will say. Still, we know that we need this evaluation to understand our physical well-being and what is needed as we move forward.
The same is true spiritually in the life of the Christ-follower. We need to pause from time to time and reflect on the condition of our hearts and lives.
One place for an important self-study is at the Lord’s Table. Paul wrote to the Corinthians, some of whom were eating in an unworthy manner: “Let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup” (1 Cor. 11:28). In the remembrance of Christ’s death for us, there can be a sobering clarity of thought and understanding, for as we consider the price Jesus paid for us, it is the best time to consider the condition of our heart and our relationships. Then, with honest understanding of our spiritual well-being, we can turn to Him for the grace we need to move forward in His name.
Is it time for your checkup?

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The highly anticipated high performance series of laptops from Samsung called Series 9 just hit the market a few days before. This super slim laptop is going to make you pay $1599, but his specs will justify the price just because at the end of the day everything relies on performance.

The 13.3-inch display with SuperBright Plus makes the laptop a good entertainer besides the high processing power with its Core i5 2537M processor. The display is not the only thing to look at because the design and feel of the laptop will keep you your eyes busy for some time. It is made from the same material used to make airplanes, known as Duralumin which makes it lighter and stronger at the same time keeping the laptop having just 0.64-inch.

Samsung has proven their superior brighter display technology again with the SuperBright Plus display that has 400- nit brightness. This LED-backlit screen with the 100,000:1 contrast ratio will give you a true-to-life picture quality besides the highly useful 160-degree viewing angle. This also uses an ambient light sensor to adjust the brightness automatically with the lighting condition from the surrounding environment.

The processing power is beyond doubt as it comes with the second generation of Intel Core i5 processor. It features 4GB of RAM and also comes with 128GB SSD memory-it may sound bad for the storage, but it sounds great for the performance. The 13.3-inch model runs with Windows 7 Home Premium which looks amazing when you add an Intel HD GT2 graphic card, the best Intel Graphics Chip till now.

Longer battery life is already a common feature in most of the Samsung laptops and Series 9 could not let this down: with this battery you can use the laptop up to 6.5 hours. The battery has two charging settings: one is Battery Life Extender Mode which makes the battery last longer, but it also needs a longer recharging time and another mode called Express Charging Mode which recharges the laptop comparatively faster, but it will not be good for the battery life.

There are other attractive features in this laptop such as: USB 3.0 and Bluetooth 3.0 and this makes the laptop as a competitor to any recent laptop model from other manufacturers. Besides Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n connectivity it also comes with a built in WiMAX modem making it more mobile and less accessorized. Better than any usual laptop is also the sound system as it features two 1.5 watt stereo speakers and a 1.5 watt sub-woofer.

Samsung Series 9 Laptops are available now(starting $1599) for and it is expected to come with different models that will have other screen sizes and/or specs soon. If this beautiful duralumin made laptop has set you back with its prices you can wait because there are some other models on the way(in April) which will be featuring smaller display( like 11.1 inch) with comparatively lower specs that may be priced within your budget.

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