Articles from the Week of April 25, 2025

As we celebrate the week in history that changed the world forever (Christ’s death and resurrection), here is some of the news that occurred this week.

To our Catholic brothers and sisters in Christ, our heartfelt condolences for the loss of your Pope.

Explanation: Although I scan the Internet primarily for counseling articles, in the process I run across quotes and interesting facts that I sometimes include in these first two sections. If you’re just interested in the counseling articles, you can skip these first two sections and go directly to the section called Counseling Articles. HV

Interesting Quotes

"The important thing is not to stop questioning."

Albert Einstein

"If I had my life to live over again, I would have made a rule to read some poetry and listen to some music at least once every week."

Charles Darwin

“Patience is the companion of wisdom.”

Augustine of Hippo

"Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear—not absence of fear."

Mark Twain

Tact is the art of making a point without making an enemy.

Isaac Newton

Fascinating Facts

[If you’re a person who struggles with anxiety, you may want to skip these next two articles.]

These Large, Snake-Like Fish Are Invading the United States—and Authorities Want You to Kill Them

This sounds like something out of science fiction, but these walking fish are very real. They are three-foot-long fish that can breathe air, walk on land, and survive out of water for several days. They are invasive and have been spotted in several states (fortunately not in Florida yet). But authorities encourage anyone seeing one to kill it (the article describes three ways to do so). So it might be a worthwhile topic to be informed about in case you encounter one when visiting another state.

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Florida home shockingly found two alligators at front door

Although we don’t have to be concerned about three-foot-long walking fish here in Florida we do have to be cautious of alligators, who sometimes visit homes (one even visited a woman’s kitchen uninvited).

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Factory Pre-Built Homes that Can Be Set Up in One Day

The next generation of homes, that can come with appliances and everything installed and ready to be set up are now being developed. They will eventually include any size homes and can have a variety of room arrangements. Units can include washer/dryer unit, fridge, stove, bathroom, kitchen, outlets, HVAC, and more. The following article shows a house being constructed in moments. As you can see from the suggested prices, these factory-built homes may make them more affordable for young couples. The article also gives you an opportunity to invest in the company that’s making them, but you can just watch the article to see how this process works.

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Counseling Articles

The death of Pope Francis

The world awakened on Monday morning to news of the passing of 88-year-old Pope Francis. Although this is not a counseling article, some of you are Catholics and most of you probably counsel Catholic clients, so this information is relevant. This article by Albert Mohler insightfully talks about the impact of Pope Francis. Pope Francis made many comments that seemed open to more liberal views of Christian doctrine but did not change many (if any) of the moral doctrines of the Catholic church. He did, however, appoint many more liberal cardinals to the church, which did concern many of the more doctrinally conservative leaders. Depending on who is elected the next Pope, we will find out in coming years the effects of those changes.

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The Manufactured Consensus Around Trans ‘Medicine’

One thing that has mystified many is how most of the professional medical associations have come to support the transgender philosophy even though many of their individual members say that it is impossible for men to become women or vice-versa. This article from Breakpoint, drawing on the research done by other researchers, explains part of the reason for this supposed consensus.

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More Young Women Will Pursue Family Life If Good Men Step Up

I think this title doesn’t give readers a good idea of what the article is about. The author, a Christian female scholar, calls both men and women to develop spiritual maturity so they can be prepared to be part of healthy marriages. Worthwhile reading.

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Family Structure Matters for Rich Kids, Too

Some might believe that healthy family structures are less important for rich kids, where families often have the financial resources to provide many additional caretaking and educational experiences for their children, but the research shows that even in rich families, children who grow up in intact families do better during adulthood.

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The Joy of Inefficiency: Teaching My Kids How to Read

This mother spends countless hours teaching her children how to read and then reading to them. Many modern parents would consider this an inefficient use of their time, but I think it could be a good model for many of our young parents to realize that it is one of the best ways to invest their time. See what you think.

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A Survey of Polish Parents Highlights the Rewards and Costs of Raising Kids

This interesting survey of Polish parents found that ¾ of them believed the rewards of raising children outweighed the costs. Many middle-aged parents of other countries would agree, but it seems that young adults in many countries, including the U.S., need to be convinced that having and raising children is a choice they wish to make.

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Discover the Secret to True Happiness with Family

The joys of having and spending time with children are highlighted in several ways by this research by Burchfiel. He discovered that adults found time spent with their children more rewarding than time spent with others, that time with children was less stressful than time spent with others. As any parent can attest, undoubtedly there are specific moments during child-rearing when this is not true, but these results along with the Polish study above remind us that investing in raising the next generation can indeed be very fulfilling.

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Trump mulls $5K ‘baby bonus’ for moms in bid to reverse declining birth rates: report

Declining birth rates are a major cause of concern in most developed countries, including Communist China. In a bid to reverse declining marriage and birth rates here in the U.S. the Trump administration is considering giving $5,000.00 bonuses for couples having children and other incentives. Time will tell whether any of these incentives will be passed, and more importantly, whether they will make a difference.

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Utah Hands Parents the Keys to the App Store

Many parents assume that the descriptions of apps accurately describe the ages for which an app is appropriate. But an investigation by the Wall Street Journal found that many of the apps for 13+ teens contained predatory or sexual material, and some apps even for children 4 to 9 used AI that could introduce children to questionable material. The state of Utah recently passed a social media requirement that designers of apps give more accurate information about the apps they produce. Let’s hope other states will follow suit and that these laws will be enforced.

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“How to Smooth the Time & Space Between Daily Activities: Transition Tips for Parents”

Youth with ADHD may have more difficulty than other children making the transition from one activity to another. Here are some good suggestions for parents to help them make the transitions for their child smoother.

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Back From the Brink: Two Families’ Stories of Oppositional Defiant Disorder

Children with Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) frequently also have ADHD or Autistic Spectrum Disorder. ODD is characterized by having serious tantrums, often several times a day, and as you can imagine, this is terribly disruptive to family routines. Here is the story of how two families navigated this challenge.

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Why Did I Walk into This Room? Bipolar Disorder and Brain Fog

Many people have instances where they lose their train of thought or forget what they started to do, but it happens more frequently for those with bipolar disorder. Here are a few suggestions for them.

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Technology use may be associated with a lower risk for dementia, study finds

We have seen several studies that suggest that too much use of social media, such as “mindless scrolling” can be harmful. But this meta-analysis, based on several years of studies suggests that moderate use of digital media may be associated with lower rates of mild cognitive decline and dementia.

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Parental Rights on the Chopping Block at Supreme Court

I mentioned this issue in a previous mailing, but on April 22 of this week the Supreme Court heard arguments about whether parents have the right to have their children opt out of classes that would encourage them to choose a gender identity other than their natal sex. Lawyers brought up the fact that children as young as four years of age were being introduced to concepts that encouraged the idea that gender is not objective but is something that could be decided by the child themselves. Those who listened to the proceedings this week and the justices’ follow-up questions are hopeful that the court will rule in favor of religious parents (and perhaps even more broadly in favor of all parents) being able to opt out of having their children be able to not attend lessons on sexuality and gender that parents find objectionable. Please pray that the Supreme Court justices will make a fair decision.

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Fairfax County Doubles Down on Keeping Secrets from Parents

This article indicates that the battle over school boards keeping secrets from parents (and transitioning students from one gender to the other without parental knowledge or approval) is far from resolved. It sounds like we may need a Supreme Court decision on this issue as well.

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Dreamless Nights? What Your Brain Is Trying to Tell You

Here is one of the more complete descriptions of how and why people dream, the importance of dreaming as part of sleep, and things that interfere with dreaming and methods that people who don’t dream can use to increase their quantity of dreams.

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Faith and Resilience Amidst Unimaginable Loss

Those of us who saw the television coverage of Patty Morin’s heartbreaking account of her daughter’s brutal assault and murder this week will not quickly forget it. But another part of that story is how her strong faith is providing resilience for her in the face of her loss.

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Kennedy’s Comments About ASD Draw Backlash

Robert F Kennedy Jr. is the Secretary of Health and Human Services. Several of his recent comments about those on the autistic spectrum are causing concern, such as when he said “These are kids who will never pay taxes. They will never hold a job. They’ll never play baseball. They’ll never write a poem. They’ll never go out on a date. Many of them will never use a toilet unassisted and we have to recognize we are doing this to our children and we need to put an end to it.” I think most of us know autistic individuals who hold jobs, date, get married, pay taxes and live healthy, independent lives.

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We Are Seeing More Autism, and It’s Mostly Genetic

Mr. Kennedy has plans to identify the cause(s) of autism within the next few months. Many physicians and researchers believe that the causes are complex and will take longer than this to objectively identify. This is a good summary of what physicians and researchers know about the causes of autism in 2025. At the present time the view is that about 80% of autism is caused by genetic factors (although we don’t know the exact genetic mechanisms), with the remaining 20% due to other factors.

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What I Love Most About You (and Your ADHD, Too)

When non-ADHD partners were asked what they loved most about their ADHD partners, here are some of the heartwarming answers they gave.

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‘Anti-Christian Bias Task Force’ Has Inaugural Meeting

In an action that is sure to encourage Christians, President Trump early in his administration established a task force to investigate anti-Christian bias occurring in the federal government. At the first meeting top officials were present, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, FBI Director Kash Patel, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, and Education Secretary Linda McMahon. The task force is supposed to report examples of anti-Christian bias they find within their departments and come back with reports in the next 90 days.

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I’d like to close out this week of Easter with this excerpt of a devotional that I think will help you see Psalm 23 in a way you probably have not seen it before.

Finding God’s Peace by Understanding Psalm 23

“The late Steve Farrar believed Psalm 23 was the most dangerous Psalm in the Bible – dangerous because we know it so well that it loses its deep meaning and significance. The Psalm is only six verses long, but each one is potent and pregnant with meaning.

“David, who wrote Psalm 23, could have written from the perspective of the shepherd. Instead, he wrote it from the perspective of the sheep. God’s people are called “sheep” over 200 times in the Bible. Why? Because sheep:

• Are dirty.
• Need rest.
• Easily get themselves into trouble
• Need a shepherd to lead them to safety.

“Meanwhile, the shepherd:

• Stays in front of the sheep to lead them.
• Leads the sheep through dark valleys.
• Protects the sheep from predators.

“When we immerse ourselves in the truth of Psalm 23, we can say with confidence, “Whatever comes into my life – whether negative events, circumstances, or heartache – I can rely on the goodness and mercy of God.”

[Excerpt from Jim Daly’ Focus on the Family’s message.]

Have a wonderful week!

Henry Virkler