Evangelist Marilyn Hickey passes
Teacher and Evangelist Marilyn Hickey has passed. Her passing was announced last week on the ministry’s social media pages. Hickey ministered and taught on radio and television for more than 50 years, paving the way for women everywhere to have teaching ministries in the media. She ministered in over 140 countries in her mission to “cover the earth with God’s Word” and find common ground for people of different cultures, faiths, and governments. She authored more than 100 books and ministered with her daughter, Sara Bowling, in her weekly broadcast and at various ministry events. Marilyn Hickey was 94 years old.
Christian group announces latests persecution stats
he Voice of the Martyr is reporting a rise in persecution. The organization reported various attacks on Christians in Nigeria, which occurred prior to Resurrection Sunday. Sixty Christians were killed in the attacks. Watchdog groups are calling for pressure on the Nigerian government to protect them from continued persecution. Christians were also attacked in Syria. Organizations working with Christians in that country say the number of Christians has dwindled significantly. Syria once had almost 2,000,000 Christians, but watchdogs are now reporting only 300,000 Christians remain in that nation.
President announces ceasefire
President Trump has announced another ceasefire between Israel and the terrorist group Hezbollah. The president announced recently the peace deal would extend by three weeks and used the announcement to warn Iran not to give funding to the terrorist group. He also repeated that Israel has every right to defend itself from enemies on all sides. Israeli officials did confirm the news but say they are interested in a peaceful negotiation without Hezbollah leadership.
SNBC HEALTH: What if aging isn’t decline?
Aging in later life is often portrayed as a steady slide toward physical and cognitive decline. But a new study by scientists at Yale University suggests an alternate narrative — that older individuals can and do improve over time, and their mindset toward aging plays a major part in their success. In a study of over 11,000 older Americans, lead author Dr. Becca R. Levy, PhD, a professor of social and behavioral sciences at the Yale School of Public Health (YSPH), found that nearly half of adults aged 65 and older showed measurable improvement in cognitive function, physical function, or both, over time. The improvements were linked to a powerful but often overlooked factor: how people think about aging itself. “Many people equate aging with an inevitable and continuous loss of physical and cognitive abilities,” said Dr. Levy. Improvement in later life is not rare; it’s common, and it should be included in our understanding of the aging process. Over a follow-up period of up to 12 years, 45% of participants improved in at least one of the two domains, according to the study. They found that those with more positive age beliefs were significantly more likely to show improvements in both cognition and walking speed, even after accounting for factors such as age, sex, education, or chronic disease. Dr. Levy’s prior studies have found negative age beliefs predict poorer memory, slower walking speed, higher cardiovascular risk, and biomarkers associated with Alzheimer’s disease. The authors hope their findings will reverse the popular perception that continuous decline is inevitable and encourage policy makers to increase their support for preventive care, rehabilitation, and other health-promoting programs for older persons that draw on their potential resilience.