While some cultures embrace a "just be normal" mentality to avoid disappointment, this perspective may stifle human longings for greatness.

Feel like you have nothing left to give? Even the smallest act can spark joy and refill your soul. Here’s a prayer to help you bless others—right where you are.

Most of us don’t like being told “No.” This seemingly harmless two-letter word can unleash a tsunami of emotions we may have neatly packed away and labeled with a Sharpie, “off limits.” The reality is we often hear more than is being said when we find ourselves on the sending or receiving end of a “no.” While a person may simply be setting a boundary, we may hear a challenge to our identity and authority, which can feel scary and potentially threatening. I remember the first time my cute, little, fat-cheeked, can-do-no-wrong, 1-year-old exercised his human autonomy and told me, “No!” His favorite word quickly became my least. It was as if he proudly pinned a golden badge on his chest, signaling to us all there was a new sheriff in his toddler town who wielded the power to set down the law. My heart questioned how dare this little rascal, who I labored 47 hours to get here, tell me what he was unwilling to do. Blindsided by his response, I forgot the basic truth that God hardwired each of us to start setting boundaries at an early age. Psychologists contend that between 1 and 3 years of age, toddlers begin asserting their independence. With a child’s first “no,” parents gain clarity and insight into their child’s true desires and wants, requiring fewer assumptions. According to the famous developmental psychologist Erik Erickson, a parent’s response to their toddler’s newfound autonomy is pivotal and can affect their development well into adulthood. Critical responses from a caregiver signal to children it is risky to set boundaries, while patient and loving responses communicate that setting boundaries is safe and important. If you struggle with setting boundaries and saying no, you are not alone. A recent study determined almost 60% of Americans have difficulty informing others that a request, action, or behavior is not acceptable. This statistic begs the question, if we are wired by God to set boundaries as children, why are they so hard to set as adults? Some of our hesitance can be traced back to our past experiences. When attempts to set boundaries are met with rejection, disappointment, or anger, old hurts, and wounds can surface, causing us to feel reluctant to set boundaries in the future. Photo credit: ©GettyImages/kupicoo

This Thanksgiving, move beyond perfect meals and decorations to embrace a heart of gospel-centered gratitude that overflows into loving and serving others. Discover practical ways to make your home a welcoming sanctuary where Christ's love is evident in everyday acts of generosity and grace.

With attention fixed on organizing a great Thanksgiving dinner for loved ones, sometimes we forget to actually give thanks. Gratitude is more difficult for some than others, but it is healing in so many ways. Psalms of ThanksgivingWhen we find reasons to give thanks, we also find reasons for hope. And, as Christians, we have someone to thank who cares deeply for us. Scripture is filled with examples of how we can express gratitude to God. Here are ten Psalms of Thanksgiving which apply to us today.Photo Credit: ©Getty Images/Kristen Prahl

breakdown of law and order

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From our watchtower here at the Media Research Center, we have identified a recent and nasty trend emerging from the Elitist Media. It’s called “Trumpwashing”: that phenomenon wherein the media withhold covering some Democrat scandal until President Donald Trump opines on it, with President Trump’s statement being covered as if it were the scandal, rather than the underlying and until now suppressed Democrat event. The latest instance of a Trumpwashed scandal: the video, published by six Democrat members of Congress calling on members of the Armed Forces and Intelligence Agencies to disobey unspecified “illegal” orders. The media held their tongues on the video until Trump spoke up, and the rest is history. As an evidentiary sample, we submit for your consideration the totality of the Trumpwashed report aired on NBC Nightly News (click "expand" to view full transcript): NBC NIGHTLY NEWS 11/20/25 6:37 PM TOM LLAMAS: Now to the outrage from Democrats after President Trump lashed out, saying some of them should be arrested and even put to death. The White House defending the president tonight. Here's Garrett Hake. GARRETT HAAKE: President Trump facing outrage from Democrats tonight after demanding the arrest of a half- dozen democratic lawmakers, suggesting they be executed for posting this video… MARK KELLY: You want to speak directly to members of the military? HAAKE: …where six Democrats, all with national security backgrounds, urged members of the military to disobey any illegal orders from President Trump. ELISSA SLOTKIN: No one has to carry out orders that violate the law… CHRISSY HOULAHAN: …or our Constitution. HAAKE: Referring to the video, President Trump writing: “seditious behavior from traitors. Lock them up.” And, “seditious behavior, punishable by death.” Later reposting a comment in which someone wrote, quote, “hang them. George Washington would.” Democrats condemning the comments, calling for extra security for the members involved. CHRIS MURPHY: This is perhaps the most reckless, irresponsible thing that he has done all Congress, and it's going to get a lot of us killed. We have kids. NANCY CORDES: Does the president want to execute members of Congress? KAROLINE LEAVITT: No. HAAKE: The White House firing back. LEAVITT: You're suggesting, Nancy, that the- the president has given illegal orders, which he has not. And to, to suggest and encourage that active duty service members defy their chain of command is a very dangerous thing for sitting members of Congress to do, and they should be held accountable, and that's what the president wants to see. HAAKE: And tonight, Michigan Democrat Elissa Slotkin, who appears in the video, said she has received close to a thousand threats, and now has 24/7 security. Tom. LLAMAS: All right, Garrett. Thank you. This was, mercifully, the shortest of the nightly news items across the broadcast dial. But it achieved its purpose. Tom Llamas’s introduction didn’t even address the video. Viewers are left to believe that Trump just lashed out and that Democrats are rightfully outraged. Correspondent Garrett Haake does a quick set with the video, some of Trump’s statements, a bit of the exchange between White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt and CBS’s Nancy Cordes, before closing out with increased security for Slotkin. The report achieves its purpose in Trumpwashing the wildly inappropriate video by making Trump’s reaction to the video the greater scandal. WATCH as ABC Trumpwashes the highly inappropriate video published by Slotnik, et al (potentially violative of 18 USC § 2387), framing President Trump's reaction as the greater scandal. pic.twitter.com/7xZ97yBC5H — Jorge Bonilla (@BonillaJL) November 21, 2025 Over at ABC, David Muir and Rachel Scott work overtime to establish Trump’s reaction as the greater scandal. Scott validates the video’s premise for the viewing public. David Muir makes references to “this environment”, as if “this environment” wasn’t conservatives being shot by deranged furry-adjacent leftists.  CBS’s report was only slightly less ridiculous, John Dickerson’s introduction notwithstanding. This is because the report aired more of the exchange between Cordes and Leavitt. Across the board, there was little to no examination or questioning of the video itself. For all the caterwauling over President Trump’s use of the words “sedition” and “treason”, no one seems to have considered that the legislators did, perhaps, place themselves in legal jeopardy. Per 18 USC § 2387: Whoever, with intent to interfere with, impair, or influence the loyalty, morale, or discipline of the military or naval forces of the United States: (1)advises, counsels, urges, or in any manner causes or attempts to cause insubordination, disloyalty, mutiny, or refusal of duty by any member of the military or naval forces of the United States; or (2)distributes or attempts to distribute any written or printed matter which advises, counsels, or urges insubordination, disloyalty, mutiny, or refusal of duty by any member of the military or naval forces of the United States— Shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both, and shall be ineligible for employment by the United States or any department or agency thereof, for the five years next following his conviction. It isn’t treason or seditious conspiracy, but it isn’t nothing, either. Cue the inevitable media howls of “retribution” if this thing ever gets tried in federal court Click “expand” to view the full transcripts of the aforementioned reports as aired on their respective networks on Thursday, November 20th, 2025: ABC WORLD NEWS TONIGHT 11/20/25 6:35 PM DAVID MUIR: Tonight The White House dialing back President Trump's own words today, the president calling several Democrats in Congress, most of them veterans, “traitors” in a post, and then in another post saying “this is punishable by death”, after they put out a video telling service members they can refuse, quote: “illegal orders.” The White House was asked, in this environment, what is the president suggesting? Here’s Rachel Scott. RACHEL SCOTT: Tonight, President Trump criticized by members of both parties after calling six Democratic members of Congress “traitors" and accusing them of seditious behavior punishable by death. It came in response to video released by the lawmakers, all of whom served in the military or in U.S. intelligence. MARK KELLY: I was a captain in the United States Navy. ELISSA SLOTKIN: Former CIA officer. CHRIS DELUZIO: Former Navy. SCOTT: In the video, the lawmakers reminding members of the military they should not obey illegal orders. KELLY: Our laws are clear. You can refuse illegal orders. SLOTKIN: You can refuse illegal orders. DELUZIO: You must refuse illegal orders. SLOTKIN: No one has to carry out orders that violate the law… CHRISSY HOULAHAN: …or our Constitution. SCOTT: The lawmakers did not specify which orders they were talking about. But the president, enraged, posting a flurry of messages on social media saying “they should be arrested and put on trial. Their words cannot be allowed to stand”, adding: “an example must be set.” The president then writing, “Seditious behavior, punishable by death”. And he reposted a message from another account that said “hang them, George Washington would.” Democrats accusing the president of inciting violence. CHRIS MURPHY: This puts all of our lives in jeopardy. What are we all doing right now? Democrats in Congress are on the phone with their chiefs of staff, beefing up our security for this weekend and next week because the president has a lot of unhinged supporters out there. SCOTT: Republicans clearly uncomfortable. MIKE JOHNSON: The words that the president chose are not the ones that I would use, OK? Obviously, I don't think that this is -- these are crimes punishable by death or any of that, okay? SCOTT: Republican senator Rand Paul was blunt. RAND PAUL: That kind of rhetoric isn't good. It stirs up people among us who may not be stable, who may think (unint) traitors, what we do with traitors, it’s the death penalty, maybe I’ll just take matters into my own hands, which is not something we should be encouraging. SCOTT: At The White House, Press secretary Karoline Leavitt was asked to explain. NANCY CORDES: Just to be clear, does the president want to execute members of Congress? KAROLINE LEAVITT: No. Let's be clear about what the president is responding to. SCOTT: Leavitt saying the six Democrats are the ones inciting violence. LEAVITT: They are literally saying to 1.3 million active duty service members not to -- to defy the chain of command. SCOTT: I spoke with Congressman Jason Crow, a former Army Ranger who was in that video.  What would your message to the president be? JASON CROW: I don't do fear and intimidation well and I am not going to stop. SCOTT: In that video, Democrats cited what they called threats to the Constitution, insisting that the Trump administration is pitting our military against American citizens, but they didn't provide any specific examples. Congressman Crow telling me they felt the need to start a conversation after the President made what he called “disturbing statements.” David. MUIR: Rachel Scott, lined up on The Hill tonight. Rachel, thank you. CBS EVENING NEWS 11/20/25 6:31 PM JOHN DICKERSON: It came to this at The White House today. The chief spokesperson for the president, who swore to execute the laws of the land, was asked if he wanted to execute some of the men and women who make those laws. MAURICE DuBOIS: The question came up because President Trump, in an extraordinary post, accused a group of democratic lawmakers of committing a crime, he said, is punishable by death. Nancy Cordes is at The White House. MARK KELLY: I was a captain in the United States Navy. ELISSA SLOTKIN: Former CIA officer. CHRIS DELUZIO: Former Navy. JASON CROWW: Former paratrooper and Army Ranger. NANCY CORDES: This is the video that prompted President Trump's threat. SLOTKIN: We know you are under enormous stress and pressure right now. CORDES: Six Democratic lawmakers with a provocative message to U.S. troops. MARK KELLY: Our laws are clear. You can refuse illegal orders. SLOTKIN: No one has to carry out orders that violate the law. CORDES: They didn't elaborate on which orders they meant, and for Trump, it didn't matter. At 10:21 A.M. Eastern time, he accused them of seditious behavior, punishable by death. CHUCK SCHUMER: I don't know any president who has gone this low. CORDES: Democratic leaders quickly called on Trump to recant his violent rhetoric before he gets someone killed. CHRIS MURPHY: He just told his supporters that we should be hung -- we should be hung! CORDES: Trump didn't repeat the threat, but he didn't delete it, either. Just to be clear, does the president want to execute members of Congress? KAROLINE LEAVITT: No. CORDES: White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt. LEAVITT: Let's be clear about what the president is responding to. They are literally saying to 1.3 million active-duty service members not to -- to defy the chain of command, not to follow lawful orders. CORDES: Actually what they said is you can refuse an illegal order, which is in the Uniform Code of Military Justice. LEAVITT: They are suggesting, Nancy, that the president has given illegal orders, which he has not. CORDES: The six lawmakers say they posted the video because troops have concerns about the legality of recent strikes on Venezuelan drug boats, and about Trump's deployment of troops to U.S. cities. SLOTKIN: It has been a bit of a wild morning... CORDES: Michigan senator Elissa Slotkin and the other five have now been granted extra security. SLOTKIN: And I'm not going to shut up because Donald Trump is threatening me. CORDES: Trump's comments come at a time when threats against lawmakers are already at record highs. Just a few weeks ago, a man was arrested for threatening to kill Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries, and Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene says even her son got death threats after Trump recently called her a traitor. DICKERSON: Nancy Cordes at The White House. Thank you, Nancy.