This Valentine’s Day, here’s something to consider about romance: Cupid’s arrow lasts far longer if it’s coated in faith and daily prayer. While this might sound less thrilling or passionate than moonlit smooches or intimate fireplace cottage getaways, Harvard School of Public Health found a 50% reduction in divorce for those couples regularly attending religious services. Given the hostile takeover of our counseling industry by secular 'experts,' it’s worth asking: Does botched, secular marriage counseling drive couples apart? The American Journal of Family Therapy reported couples’ prayer reduces martial conflict, and several other studies confirm prayer bonds couples tightly. This makes intuitive sense. Prayer is an emotionally intimate act. It’s pouring out the vulnerabilities of our souls, expressing our deepest gratitude and needs. While there are no Christian theological grounds for belief in one true soulmate, there’s strong evidence that engaging in prayer with a spouse who deeply cares for your soul can be a true soulmate. Valentine’s Day has been hijacked into a nearly $28 billion affair, with superficial consumerism trumping deeper connection. Too often, we spend more time wining and dining — nothing wrong with those of course, within reason — than cultivating the substantive soul ties that last beyond chocolate boxes, champagne toasts, and rose petals. It is a social travesty that every marriage counseling session does not recommend daily prayer. It could save shattering heartache, broken families, and childhood suffering, not to mention costly legal bills (estimated to average $30,000 for lawyering up in a divorce, per the Marriage Foundation). The societal cost of broken families is enormous, especially when parents become single, further straining our bloated $1.6 trillion welfare social safety net. Single parenthood is one of the strongest, if not the strongest, factors linked to welfare use. But sadly, our counseling industry is devoid of spiritual understanding and has been taken over by secularists who deny God’s healing power. For example, Sociology of Religion reported that psychologists are the least religious of professors, with 61% reporting themselves atheist (50%) or agnostic (11%). This is nearly the exact opposite of what people actually believe. Gallup found that 81% of Americans believe in God. Thus, we’re being fed “solutions” to deep, soul-filled problems by people who quite often don’t even believe in souls. This negatively impacts marriages. American divorces skyrocketed as our country secularized. Scholars Brad Wilcox from the University of Virginia, Amy Burdette from Florida State, and Christopher Ellison from University of Texas-San Antonio also note in the Journal of Marriage and Family that couples who attend church together “are significantly less likely than others to use drugs, to have conflicts over sexual infidelity, or to experience domestic violence.” They also have better parent-child relationships. Psychiatric Times published a literature review of hundreds of studies, which found significantly less depression and substance abuse among religious people. Both women and men attending weekly religious services are significantly less likely to die “deaths of despair” — suicide, drug overdose, or alcohol poisoning — according to research from Harvard University's School of Public Health led by professor Tyler VanderWeele, a devout Catholic whom the left tried to cancel for sharing his views on traditional marriage. Staying married significantly shields our mental health. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, along with numerous other places, notes that men and women who are divorced are significantly more likely to die by suicide than married people. The Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health reported that divorced and separated men were nearly 2.4 times more likely to kill themselves than their married counterparts. The Good Book had it right: “What God has joined together, let no one separate.” Matthew 19:6 is Jesus commanding Christians in a passage about marriage. Given the hostile takeover of our counseling industry by secular “experts” who are clueless about integrating God into their treatments, it’s worth asking: Does botched, secular marriage counseling drive couples apart? Couples who pray together stay together. This Valentine’s Day, take that candlelight dinner; buy those earrings or tech gadget for your spouse. But in the name of saving romance, marriages, and lives, it’s time to return God to the center of our romantic relationships. He’s far wiser and more loving than anything we can contrive.

The Trump administration trolled critics of its immigration policy through a comical Valentine's Day card on social media, but many on the left didn't find it humorous at all. The card included images of President Donald Trump and his border czar, Thomas Homan, with the message reading: "Roses are red, violets are blue, come here illegally and we'll deport you." 'F*** Trump and everyone who supports him and this s***.' The tweet garnered more than six million impressions in just a few hours. Supporters of the president's mass deportation orders were thrilled by the image, but his critics were outraged and expressed their anger on social media. "You may not take your job seriously, but we do. Your deportations are inhumane, they're killing the American economy and they're separating our families," replied the account for the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. "Roses are red Violets are blue. Donald Trump and Tom Homan — We’re embarrassed by you," said Bill Kristol. "Genuinely despicable administration. The worst in US history and it’s been 3 weeks. This isn’t even about the policy. The messaging here, the levity, disgusting," responded a user identifying as Canadian. "The White House, once a symbol of hope, a beacon of freedom and liberty across the world, had been reduced down to an angry incel high school boy. F*** this country," said another critic. "I thought this was a parody account[.] I hate it here," read another message. "This is f***in’ disgusting and so s****y. This is an official government account posting this hate filled bull****. This country is so beyond f***ed. F*** Trump and everyone who supports him and this s***," replied another detractor. Here's the tweet that launched a thousand meltdowns: — (@) Homan told Blaze Media co-founder Glenn Beck on his show that he jumped at the chance to help enforce border law but that he was concerned that cartels may respond with violence against border officials. “If anybody thinks the cartels are not going to respond in some fashion with some violence, they're crazy. It's going to happen,” he said before adding, “If they harm a single Border Patrol agent or soldier, President Trump is going to rain hell down on them, and I think he'll wipe them off the face of the Earth.” Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

NHL player Brad Marchand spoke out about the recent trend of Canadian hockey fans booing the U.S. national anthem.Multiple attendees at the 4 Nations Face-Off game between Team USA and Finland reported that some fans at the Bell Centre in Montreal were booing "The Star-Spangled Banner."The boos are an ongoing reaction to the tariff battle between Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and President Donald Trump.The day after the American team played its game against Finland, Marchand, who is from Canada, took the opportunity to defend the U.S. players."They should not be booing the Americans during that anthem. They have nothing to do with the political things that are going on," Marchand said, per the Athletic's Chris Johnston.Marchand added, "I do feel bad for those guys in that moment. I don't think it's right."Although Marchand was born in Nova Scotia, Canada, he has played his entire career with the Boston Bruins, appearing in multiple All-Star Games, and has won one Stanley Cup. — (@) 'It's always a great atmosphere.'American captain Auston Matthews was also booed in Montreal, likely both for the fact that he is American and also because he plays for the Toronto Maple Leafs, a historical rival to the Montreal Canadiens. "I mean, we play here quite a bit, and obviously it's always a great atmosphere," the 27-year-old said in response, per OutKick.Matthews, who has many high-profile sponsorships with food companies and a bank, took a lighter approach to the controversy."I think it's something you just embrace and have fun with. I mean, if you're getting booed, you must be doing something right, so in the end, these are moments, games, situations that you kind of dream of playing in, so I don't think there's really any issue in that."In February, similar situations occurred in Vancouver and Ottawa. Before the Vancouver Canucks lost to the Detroit Red Wings 3-2, fans at Rogers Arena booed the U.S. national anthem. Before an Ottawa Senators 6-0 win over the Minnesota Wild, fans at the Canadian Tire Centre also booed the U.S. anthem.It was quickly noted that both franchises had a majority of non-Canadian players leading their teams in scoring.For Ottawa, this included: Brady Tkachuk from Scottsdale, Arizona; Josh Norris from Oxford, Michigan; Adam Gaudette from Braintree, Massachusetts; Drake Batherson from Fort Wayne, Indiana; and Shane Pinto from Franklin Square, New York.At the same time, the Canucks had just two Canadians in the their top 13-highest point-scorers.Many Canadians have strongly condemned President Trump over the threat of 25% tariffs, despite Canada having had tariffs on U.S. dairy for decades, in the range of 200%-300%.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Vice President JD Vance minced no words in his Friday address at the Munich Security Conference in Germany, putting various European nations on blast for their heavy-handed suppression of political movements and ideas unfavorable to their respective ruling classes; for their dismissal of citizens' concerns and common sense; for their routine attacks on religious liberties; and for their ruinous mass migration policies. "The threat that I worry the most about vis-a-vis Europe is not Russia. It's not China. It's not any other external actor," said Vance. "What I worry about is the threat from within." Vance's speech clearly struck a chord, prompting German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, a member of the Social Democratic Party, to spend some of his time onstage refuting the suggestion that democracy and free speech are on the decline in his and other European nations. "I had a speech I prepared today," said the German socialist. "It was supposed to be about security in Europe. But I cannot start in the way I originally intended." "This democracy was called into question by the U.S. vice president," continued Pistorius. "He speaks of the annulment of democracy, and, if I understood him correctly, he compares the condition of Europe with the condition that prevails in some authoritarian regimes. Ladies and gentlemen, this is not acceptable." Pistorius staked his claim on shaky ground. Alternative for Germany is a right-leaning populist party founded in 2013 by free-market economists keen to strengthen German sovereignty and enraged by the European Union's bailout of Greece and other debtor nations. It has since also taken aim at mass migration, open borders, climate alarmism, Islamization, and gender ideology. The AFD has enjoyed considerable success in recent elections, placing second in the European Parliament election in June and enjoying representation in 14 of the country's 16 state legislatures. Recent polls indicate that where the upcoming German election is concerned, AFD has a lock on second place. 'In our democracy, every opinion has a voice.' While Pistorius suggested that democracy is strong in Germany and the country's political establishment protects the rights of those who disagree with it, German authorities have worked feverishly to ban, vilify, disarm, de-bank, and criminalize the party. In certain German states, such as Saxony and Thuringia, the AFD has been classified as a "right-wing extremist" group. Not only has the German establishment taken aim at the AFD, it has also clamped down on members' factual assertions deemed hateful by the powers that be. Blaze News previously reported that Marie-Thérèse Kaiser, a member of the popular Alternative for Germany party, was convicted of a "hate crime" in May for sharing statistics about the disproportionate number of gang rapes committed by immigrants. Pistorius suggested that the Europe described by Vance — where establishmentarians dismiss citizens, shut down elections, and run in fear of their own voters — "is not the Europe, not the democracy where I live and where I conduct my election campaign right now, and this is not the democracy that I witness every day in our parliament. In our democracy, every opinion has a voice." Germany's Bundestag was just weeks ago debating banning the AFD. Evidently panicked over the alliance of the AFD and the Christian Democratic Union party on immigration, 124 parliamentarians introduced a motion urging an investigation into whether the platforming of certain voices in the German democracy is unconstitutional. Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

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