After enduring two weeks in the hospital for a bleeding brain aneurysm, Aimee Powell, wife of Third Day lead singer Mac Powell, was released from the hospital, the Christian Post reports.

“Thank you, Lord! We are so incredibly grateful to all the doctors and nurses that have provided excellent care to Aimee. And we can never say thank you enough to our family, friends and brothers and sisters in Christ who have prayed, taken care of our children and blessed us with gift cards, food, flowers and cards,” Mac said. 

The mother of five was admitted to the hospital after she felt unbearable pain from a headache. As Christian Headlines previously reported, a CT scan revealed bleeding in her brain. Doctors rushed her into surgery and placed two coils in her brain to stop the bleeding.

Aimee was initially told that she would experience pain for another 4 to 6 weeks, but she has recovered much faster.

“There’s no doubt in our hearts and minds that God is listening to all of our prayers and healing Aimee,” Mac said. “The doctors are amazed at her progress and how well she’s doing.”

Despite being on his Christmas tour, Mac continued to visit Aimee in the hospital until she was discharged. He is now back touring while she recovers at home.

The couple have been married for over 20 years and have five children, two of which were adopted. Christmas is an important time for their family. In 2013, she wrote a…

A series of violent storms—stretching from the Midwest and Deep South to New England—have killed at least 15 people, with tornados wiping out large swaths of neighborhoods, including a Christian school where 18 children were evacuated just moments before it was obliterated.

The children were attending classes Monday at Hope Baptist School in Alexandria, Louisiana when the weather spawned a tornado warning.

“Just before the tornado made it’s way through the school, leaving nothing but the restrooms standing, the students were moved into the sanctuary to safety; if not, this would be a totally different story,” according to a GoFundMe account set up for the school and church. “Everyone walked away, no injuries reported, but the Church and the school are at a total loss.”

CBS News reported the children huddled under pews as the tornado passed by.

“Afterward, fire rescue crews wrapped the students in towels and blankets and walked them from the wreckage to safety,” the CBS report said.

Aerial photos on Hope Baptist Church’s Facebook page show the school was leveled, while about a third of the church’s roof was missing. Another structure across the parking lot was also missing about half its roof. The only text accompanying that post was Psalm 147:3:

He heals the brokenhearted

and binds up their wounds.

“The damage to our church/school/parsonage is extensive and will take…

Residents of an Iowa town packed a city council meeting Monday to speak out against the removal of a Nativity scene off the courthouse lawn, although their opposition didn’t change the stance of council members.

The Nativity was placed on the Appanoose County Courthouse lawn in Centerville Nov. 18 but was moved to a private lot Dec. 9 following a complaint, according to KCCI. 

Most of the residents who were present wanted the Nativity placed back on the courthouse lawn.

“I would die for my God!” Centerville resident Kathy Perry said.

Perry blamed Centerville officials.  

“I feel like the council members that were involved with this, that did have a say, were cowards,” she said.

More than 1,000 people signed a petition supporting the Nativity’s return to the courthouse lawn, according to KCCI.

But Centerville city council members said the Nativity would stay on private property.

“We do not rule by majority, because if there was one person that lived in Centerville, then we have to represent them as well, even if it does not agree with your particular (view),” said council member Jay Dillard.

Beau Reeves, a self-described atheist, supported the council’s action.

“I shouldn’t have to see baby Jesus on the courthouse lawn,” Reeves said.

Justin Scott, the state director for the American Atheists organization, told the Associated Press that if the council returned the Nativity…

A Texas judge is suing the state after she was warned earlier this year that she could not refuse to perform same-sex marriages.

According to CBN News, Waco judge Dianne Hensley received a public warning by Texas’ State Commission on Judicial Conduct after she refused to officiate same-sex marriages.

Hensley is a “Bible-believing” Christian who told reporters that her conscience kept her from performing same-sex weddings. She said she felt she had a “religious exemption” from performing the ceremonies.

Same-sex couples who went to Hensley’s office to be married were referred to others who would perform the wedding, but a complaint was filed against Hensley.

“For providing a solution to meet a need in my community while remaining faithful to my religious beliefs, I received a ‘Public Warning.’ No one should be punished for that,” she wrote in a statement.

Hensley is being represented by First Liberty Institute, a group that specializes in religious liberty cases. First Liberty Institute says the State Commission violated state law when it admonished her for her beliefs on same-sex marriage.

The State Commission did not fine Hensley, but she said the warning “substantially burdened the free exercise of her religion, with no compelling justification.”

The State Commission told the Texas Tribune it had no comment, but the commission had been served with…

Christian music star Lauren Daigle visited and performed at the Angola State Penitentiary in Louisiana last week and gave thousands of dollars, as well as a message of hope, to inmates.

“In the middle of the pain, in the middle of your problems, in the middle of you being the worst of who you are, He comes and He sits next to you in the process,” she said to the inmates. According to Faithwire, many of the inmates at Angola – the largest maximum-security facility in the US – are serving life sentences. “He doesn’t point the finger, He doesn’t give you shame, He sits with you. I think that’s why He’s called the Savior of the world,” Daigle said during her performance.

On Giving Tuesday this year, Daigle hosted a fundraiser to raise money for the inmates. She encouraged fans to give cash donations for the prison to use toward purchasing clothing and phone calls. The Grammy Award-winning artist and her fans ultimately raised $17,000.

“These are luxuries to inmates and not every person can afford to call home for the holidays, connect with their families and hear the voice of a loved one,” Daigle said. “There is also a need for loungewear for the women. Help comfort them this season and let them know there are people who care and have not forgotten them.”

She also encouraged the inmates, telling them that she hopes that “their paths one day cross, if not here, then on…

The Florida Education Department has publicly shared its concern after the Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) denied two Christian high schools the opportunity to pray on the loudspeaker before a football game at the Citrus Bowl Stadium, according to the Christian Post.

“Policies that are overbroad or restrictive may deny students their constitutional right to private religious expression,” said Commissioner of Education Richard Corcoran in a letter sent to the FHSAA. “Such policies must be immediately repealed and replaced with policies that are consistent with the religious freedoms guaranteed under the Constitution.”

He continued, stating that the decision concerning Cambridge Christian School of Tampa and University Christian School of Jacksonville’s requests was “deeply troubling” and that “the state must not censor private religious speech of its students.”

However, this is not the first time that the FHSAA has barred Christian schools from praying over a loudspeaker. In 2015, two other Christian schools—Cambridge Christian and University Christian—were similarly rejected.

“In Florida Statutes, the FHSAA (host and coordinator of the event) is legally a ‘State Actor,’ we cannot legally permit or grant permission for such an activity,” said Roger Dearing, the head of the FHSAA in 2015. Because the Citrus Bowl was “predominantly paid for with…

VATICAN CITY (RNS) — Pope Francis on Tuesday (Dec. 17) ushered in a new era of transparency and accountability for the Catholic Church by releasing what was described as a historic document removing pontifical secrecy for cases of sexual abuse and cover-up, allowing lawful authorities to have access to reports, testimonies and documents.

“This is an epochal decision regarding the legal arrangement of the pontifical secret, and it comes at just the right time,” said Archbishop Charles Scicluna of Malta, the former Vatican prosecutor for cases of sexual abuse, in an interview published Tuesday (Dec. 17) on Vatican News.

In February, Pope Francis called for a Vatican summit on the question of clerical sexual abuse, during which all the major ecclesial representatives, survivor networks and advocates gathered to address the ongoing crisis plaguing the Catholic Church.

On Feb. 20, roughly a dozen sexual abuse survivors from all over the world met with the top leaders at the Vatican, from U.S. Cardinal Blase Cupich to Jesuit priest Hans Zollner, who heads the Center for Child Protection at the Gregorian University in Rome.

The survivors asked the Vatican to enact practical actions to ensure justice for the many who suffered and suffer still because of clerical sexual abuse. Finally, they got their wish, on the day of Francis’ birthday and in the days leading up to Christmas.

“It’s good…