Keystone Church & Ministries Inc

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High school in the mid-90s was easy for me. I was a 4.0 student, had a job working 25 hours per week, was a top rated musician in the state, played basketball, and as far as vices, I didn't swear, drink, do drugs, or have sex. I think I was a pretty good kid. I did, however, have a horrible relationship with my parents. My father was a workaholic. I, typically, only saw him 2 minutes in the morning and a few minutes in the evening. My stepmother hated me, and eventually, I hated her right back. The tension my brother and I were in their relationship could be felt as soon as you drove up the driveway to our upper middle class home.
The bad blood between my stepmother and I came to a tipping point when I was a senior in high school. She slapped my brother (a year and a half younger than me) across the face for putting his fork in the dishwasher tines down instead of tines up. Up to this point, I was obedient with a somewhat bad attitude - I did what I was told but typically with a muted huff and puff.
Read more: Other people's great stories can be your stories!

October 18, 2010 | by Tommie Murray - Teacher
As our country continues to cry out for change, I am reminded that God has always chosen man to carry out his will. Change occurs only through action. It does not come from the complaints of many or frustrations with circumstance, neither from the minds of great intellects, nor the hopes of visionaries. Rather, change comes from the remnant few whose character and values implore them to serve, to solve, to act. We seldom hear anyone say that they aspire to keep things the same. Why? Because, something deep inside urges us to make a difference, to create change, to make this world a better place for the next generations.This is the calling I heard many years ago. This is the inner longing that beckoned to be a part of something bigger than myself. I heard the voice of eternity that God had placed in my heart at the beginning of time it called out make a difference.
But how? How can one person make a difference? I stumbled upon a quote from Henry Brooks Adams that resonated and echoed with the longing God had put inside of me. A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops.That was it! I was meant to be a teacher!
Read more: A Teacher Affects Eternity

October 12, 2010 | by Kristie Putt
On one of my many lunch duties, at Park Forest Middle School, I gazed around the cafeteria completely confused and dismayed by what I saw. There was a barrage of visual stimuli that almost seemed unfriendly to me. The space made me uncomfortable and I concluded that others must feel uncomfortable as well. Aside from the obvious absence of windows, the room felt claustrophobic with all the dark, and disorganized images. I thought about the importance of the space. I thought about the use of the space. How many people used this space daily? There were many outside groups who used the commons area after school and on the weekends. Church also gathered here on Sundays. After much thought, I decided to propose an entire makeover. It would start with a mural. My vision was for the mural to be a representation of the State College area and show the four seasons.
Read more: The David Award 2010

October 04, 2010 | by Brian D. Baker - Security Consultant
In previous articles, I wrote about home guardianship: self awareness and security in layers. In this article, I want to discuss frankly some ideas and mistakes people make when planning for the physical defense of their homes. Most peoples worst fear is being vulnerable inside their own home. Though the likelihood of such violence is low for many of us, it is not unreasonable to be prepared for such an emergency.
I recently participated in a firearms recertification program for security professionals. I enjoy the experience to meet different instructors and learn better practices from people in tune with national trends in security and gun safety. In the 20 plus years Ive been working with firearms, this is the first time I heard a credible instructor emphasize the importance of responsible gun stewardship for experienced men and women in my industry. If we, as proficient tactical shooters, are given this advice then I was struck by how important and relevant safety must be to the average family that keeps a gun for self defense.
Read more: Guardian Choices in Home Defense

The simplest home security rests in your own personal awareness and cues in your neighborhood. Cues are factors that tell us something is wrong by giving us that funny feeling. For example, a stranger walking up and down the street may be lost, or may be looking for homes that arent occupied. You might make a note of the persons description, or call a neighbor to warn them, or better yet call the police. Many crime victims have admitted to ignoring that divine gut check alerting them to danger.
Beyond being personally observant, the physical defense of your home may be understood through the concept of security in layers. In this concept, protection of your home begins at the outermost layer, the property line. This line is the transition from public property to private property and is the first step an intruder must cross.
Read more: Our Keys to Home Guardianship

A few weeks ago Ben Babb gave us the message on the keys to Gods Kingdom and the importance of spiritual security. We have a similar challenge when it comes to protecting our homes and family from dangers such as crime. There are several easy steps to take when considering improvements to your home security. To begin, we must understand some things about the threat of crime.
Crime rates and trends indicate that our community is relatively safe from predatory violence such as assaults, armed robbery, or home invasions. Your likelihood of being a victim of violent crime is more a matter of the risks you take in your own lifestyle. But with property crimes such as burglary and theft, your home and property may be an attractive target without your knowledge or control. Property crime offenders are statistically strangers to their victims and the decisions involved while selecting a target are actually unsophisticated.

Bald Eagle Valley set to take star turn when 'Unstoppable' rolls into town Bald Eagle Valley set to take star turn when 'Unstoppable' rolls into town PORT MATILDA — Cameras rolled as helicopters swooped, explosions rocked the area and a runaway movie train speeded down the Bald Eagle Valley — over and over again.

Thousands get to view history Thousands get to view history UNIVERSITY PARK — Most Penn State fans at Saturday’s game were excited to see Joe Paterno notch his 400th win, but Thon volunteers including Jony Rommel were out to steal at least a little bit of the show.

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Disney to Build Shanghai Theme Park Disney to Build Shanghai Theme Park Walt Disney signed an agreement with a company backed by the Shanghai government to build a $3.59 billion theme park in the Chinese financial hub.

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Elections 2010 and the Deliberative Nature of the 2012 Senate Elections 2010 and the Deliberative Nature of the 2012 Senate Looking ahead to 2012, Zoller charts possible progress but urges vigilance from the newly elected and from future voters.