Pregnancy Center Attacks, National Prayer Breakfast New Leadership & Children’s Anxiety

A Florida man and woman have been indicted in U.S. District Court on charges of attacking a pregnancy support center in the Sunshine State.

Caleb Hunter Freestone and Amber Marie Smith-Stewart face charges of violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act between May and July 2022 by attacking pregnancy support centers in Hollywood, Fla., and Hialeah, Fla.

Dozens of pregnancy support centers reported attacks and vandalism in the days and weeks after the May 2022 leak of a U.S. Supreme Court case that would eventually overturn Roe vs. Wade.

Freestone and Smith-Stewart are the first two to be indicted on related federal charges.

Last week, the FBI announced a reward of up to $25,000 for information that led to arrests in cases across the country.
===

The National Prayer Breakfast is under new management, distancing the decades-old event from the secretive organization that founded it.

According to a statement sent to reporters by former Arkansas Sen. Mark Pryor, the prayer breakfast, whose highlight is typically a speech from the sitting U.S. president, is no longer run by The International Foundation, a Christian group more familiarly referred to as “The Family.” Instead, the 2023 breakfast, to be held this year on Feb. 2, has been coordinated by the newly created National Prayer Breakfast Foundation, which emerged “following numerous meetings in 2022,” according to Pryor’s statement.

Unlike past versions of the breakfast, which were hosted in a sprawling hotel ballroom with hundreds of attendees from all over the world, the new version of the gathering will only include members of Congress “plus one’s spouse, family member, or constituent guest,” wrote Pryor.
===

Good News for Today is sponsored by The Voice of the Martyrs

Good News for Today is made possible through our friends at The Voice of the Martyrs, a nonprofit organization that serves persecuted Christians around the world. Founded in 1967 by Richard and Sabina Wurmbrand, VOM is dedicated to inspiring believers to deepen their commitment to Christ and to fulfill His Great Commission — no matter the cost. Find out more and sign up for their free monthly magazine at vom.org/goodnews.
===

A recent Pew Research study said mental health topped parents’ concerns for their children, with 40 percent saying they were “extremely” or “very” worried over struggles with anxiety or depression. That was just ahead of being bullied (35 percent) and more than physical threats such as being kidnapped (28 percent), beaten up (25 percent) or having problems with drugs and alcohol (23 percent).

In a post for Lifeway Women, child and teen counselor Amy Jacobs gave four tips for parenting an anxious child.

1. Avoid the urge to accommodate. Don’t remove the hurdles that lead to growth. Remind them that they are safe and will make it through.

2. Take one baby step at a time. Become comfortable with discomfort. Face your anxiety.

3. Keep a track record. Take note of incremental steps toward facing their anxiety.

4. Anxious kids underestimate their ability to handle adversity. Tell your son or daughter they have the strength to do hard things. Remind them how they have faced challenges before, and overcome.

Read the full piece and sign up for our daily emails at Baptist Press.com.