Surprise! Marriage isn’t always a "happily ever after" afterall; At some point nearly every married person thinks "something needs to change." 

Perhaps you don’t want a new marriage, but a renewed one, a rejuvenated relationship - one with better understanding and communication.

If you've every taken a moment to look at marriage statistics and the lives of those around us it tells us that marriages need help and lots of it! 

Whether you’re married or single, JOIN US as we uncover the secrets to healthy, satisfying and successful marriages and relationships, as we kick off the New Year.

Ordination of Atlanta Teen Called to Preach at Age 5 Sparks Debate About 'Needing a Degree to Preach God's Word'

By Nicola Menzie , Christian Post Reporter

Jared Sawyer Jr., a 16-year-old from Atlanta, Ga., who has been preaching for more than half of his life, was ordained as an associate minister at his Baptist church over the weekend and among supporters on Facebook offering him praise were others concerned about his lack of formal theological training.

"I like his ambition but he really should get a seminary degree first or study Theology....too many incompetent self-proclaimed pastors here," wrote Marion Morris on WSB-TV's Facebook page featuring video coverage of Sawyer's ordination. The news item had about 5,700 "likes" and more than a thousand shares, and the on-going about debate about Sawyer's ordination has led to hundreds of comments.

"You do not need a 'degree' to preach God's word. When He (God) calls and we answer, the only documents we need comes from the word of God, not a seminary," wrote Dennis Bates, who made frequent comments on the social network in defense of Sawyer.

The Atlanta teen, who has been helming his own ministry for six years (Jared Sawyer, Jr. Ministries), was ordained by leaders at Center Hill Baptist Church in northwest Atlanta on Sunday, in a moment his mother, Sabrina Sawyer, said she never thought would have been realized.

"I never would have thought the end of this would be happening," said Sawyer's mother. "I'm grateful that I'm alive to see my son do something he's always said that he was called to do."

His mother says minister Sawyer started praising God at age 2, started reading the Bible at age 3 and was baptized at age 5, the same time he told her he wanted to be a preacher.

"I'm very grateful to be in this particular position," the young minister told WSB-TV. "I'm very grateful to be called by God to be in this position because I could be doing something else."
"What I've been doing for the past 10 years of me preaching is definitely right, and it's what God has called me to do," Sawyer added.

The teen, who has his sights set on Morehouse College, reportedly plans to study Theology and Religious Studies when the time comes.

Critics, however, insist Sawyer should have received theological training before being placed in the pulpit, where he once preached at the age of 11 on the sermon subject, "Even Though I Am Young Send Me."

"Too many self-proclaimed pastors don't have sufficient knowledge of the Scriptures," added Marion Morris, countering a commenter who suggested that "the education of man is not what guides us as leaders in the word of God."

"Educational theological background is necessary to teach and preach," Morris continued. "While the young man's interest in becoming a minister is commendable, he needs to understand that a 'calling' doesn't make one a good pastor."

There were others who responded to news of Sawyer's ordination by suggesting that he could be a "great preacher" with or without a seminary degree.

"A few here have said he needs to study Theology or go to seminary school," wrote Andrew Mckinney. "I agree and disagree. I have known many preachers (great preachers) who didn't go to school to be a minister and preached the Word like it is supposed to be preached. Now, if he chooses to go to seminary....great for him...nothing wrong with that."

Despite the debate over whether he might have put the cart before the horse, Sawyer thanked supporters online for their well-wishes.

"Today was a life changing event. So much love. So much support," the teen minister wrote on his Facebook page. "New level in my ministry. Ordained Minister! God bless all those who have blessed me for 16 years and in my ministry for 11 years!"

Sawyer, who published last summer I Belong to God: Staying On the Christian Path to Success, stands among several other young men who say they have been called to preach or pastor. Last year, 19-year-old Courtney Meadows, who has been preaching since he was 6 years old, was installed as pastor of First Missionary Baptist Church in White Hall, Ala. The youngest ordained minister in the U.S., Ezekiel Stoddard, is just 12 years old and hails from his parents' independent Fullness of Time Church in Capitol Heights, Md.

 

Is Animal Planet Trying to Create Its Own 'Duck Dynasty'?

Animal Planet's own wilderness-loving, gun-toting, God-fearing family will be hitting cable reality television this spring.

A six-episode series, "Alaska Bush Family," will center around the Brown family, Ami and Billy, and their nine children who live in rural Alaska.

The Browns, who live in relative isolation in the nation's largest state, moved to Alaska after a series of events that began with Billy's parents dying when he was just 16. After he met Ami, the couple traveled around the lower 48 states before discovering Alaska.

"When Alaska opened up to us it was like a readymade home to us," Billy told the Television Critics Assocation winter press tour on Thursday.

"Our family is doing what is natural for human beings to do. We survive on what we hunt, fish, trap and barter for," he added.

The couple's youngest daughter, Rainy, 11, said that she loves the "freedom" that the woods offers her.

"There's not never-ending concrete. It's trees. It's free. You can do whatever you want," she said.
Her mother agrees. "We figured out we didn't need modern society... we could live off the ocean and the forest," said Ami.

The Browns were discovered through Billy's writing - work that he did as part of his and his wife's homeschooling of their children. After one of his sons uploaded one of his stories online, producers found it and reached out to the family.

Gabe, 24, said that viewers may be surprised with how the family lives.
"It's not like we're backwards or cavemen even though our lifestyle can be quite primitive," he said.
But the rugged outdoor conditions have had little impact on the family's ability to bond with one another.

"Our family is a lot like a wolf pack or a clan 'cause we stick together. We're like the three musketeers, actually. It's all for one and one for all," Bear, 26, said.

What does Billy hope viewers will take away from the show?

"God and family values. Not putting anybody down, [but] I think it's something we're losing today," he said.

"We spent 30 years of our life trying to stay as far away as we could from this stuff and people," Brown added. "[But] we think it's cool to show people how we live."