I am so pleased that our six-part series on Alzheimer's received such positive response. Not only did we receive very encouraging comments online, but so many people approached me at church to tell me they had seen Dr. Bresky's interviews and were grateful. These were folks that I didn't even know were regular Touch of Encouragement viewers! So Dr. Bresky has clearly touched a chord with many of you and it reconfirms Alzheimer's broad reach, affecting families everywhere.

Remember, the interviews listed below are also archived on our website and are there to review and also to send along to others if you discover in the future that there is someone in your life who needs this kind of encouragement.

Finally, if you enjoyed this series and have ANOTHER topic you'd like discussed, let me know. This is your website, too, and the things that matter to you are important and are worth exploring with the faith and the friendship that I hope you find here every week.

Blessings and love to all,
Martha

Averting Alzheimer's: Brain Tune-Up
Averting Alzheimer's: Keeping the Brain Alive
Averting Alzheimer's: 9 Points for Prevention
Averting Alzheimer's: Brain Exercises
Averting Alzheimer's: Over Fifty Without Fear
Averting Alzheimer's: Memory and the Soul

Dear Friends,

I don't know the exact quotation, but I recall words very much like these: "Anyone can be great, because anyone can serve." Whatever the specific words were, that message from Martin Luther King, Jr. is clear - each on of us has something to offer and through the service of that gift to others, we become greater than we are and the world becomes a little greater, too.

Dear Friends,

This has been an extraordinary day in the history of American finance. I can't begin to understand it all, but I know that many are worried about the future tonight. I think it's all made even more distressing when we consider that so much of this current tumult is a result of greed and poor judgment on the part of people who have been entrusted with other people's money and, therefore, with other people's dreams. It can be very frightening when we feel betrayed by people and institutions that we trust. I imagine more that a few of us will go to bed tonight wondering what on earth is going to happen tomorrow. And the day the day after that. And the day after that....

Dear Friends,

We have received a number of comments regarding the unfortunate appearance of an advertisement for a film entitled "Religulous" that has recently been playing side by side with my Moments with Martha videos. I, too, am quite distressed to see it running on our page. We have been in contact with Beliefnet.com and are doing everything possible to have this ad removed. In no way does its appearance on A Touch of Encouragement suggest our support or promotion of this film. Thank you so much for your understanding.

Martha

This week Beliefnet.com released the "official" announcement of "A Touch of Encouragement" to the media. Obviously it was a big day for us, and it was made all the more special for me when I discovered that on the very same day, Randy Travis released his first mainstream country album since 1999.

Now, as some of you know, I'm a big Randy Travis fan. I love his voice, I love his music, I love his honesty, I love his genuine humility and commitment to his faith. He's the only country musician I listen to. Sometimes I wonder if he's the only true country music singer left. But that's another blog....

In recent years, Randy has been recording inspirational gospel music and blessing us all by adding his incomparable voice to words of praise and worship.

Whether or not you are a country music fan, whether or not you have ever downloaded a song on your computer, whether or not you have ever heard country superstar Randy Travis perform, this would be a good day to check out his website www.randytravis.com

As many of you many remember, Randy was the most popular and most frequent guest star on "Touched By An Angel" during the nine years that the show aired on CBS. I've always believed that he was and remains so popular because he is, as David Letterman once described him, "the real deal."

Dear Friends,

We're going back in time today. I'm attaching links to a two-part interview that Dinah Shore did with Paddy Chayefsky back in 1977. Part 1, Part 2

First, notice how much TIME she gave him to make his points, without interruption, without trite attempts to turn his sincere observations about the future of television into punchlines. Notice how she RESPECTED his work, his art, his intelligence. How she listened.

A Parade Magazine Poll has named Rosie O'Donnell The Most Annoying Celebrity of 2007. I can remember a time when I'd grab the Sunday newspaper and search for the Parade Magazine insert and more often than not I'd find a story or two about our most inspiring celebrities, not to mention the inspirational stories of "ordinary" people.

Somewhere in Texas there's a little boy named Logan who broke my heart this morning.