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Emily Colson looks back on her father's public fall from glory and redemption in Christ. __________ For more resources to live like a Christian in this cultural moment go to Breakpoint.org.
You have heard it said that the Lord works in mysterious ways. On today's classic edition of Family Talk, Dr. James Dobson concludes his heartwarming conversation with Emily Colson and her dad, the late Chuck Colson, about her extraordinary life with her autistic son, Max. Never underestimate the power of God to answer your prayers in the most unorthodox ways. Luke 18:17 says, Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/707/29
According to Psalm 127:3, Children are a heritage from the Lord. Oftentimes, parents of children who have special needs experience a unique joy and perspective that other parents may never encounter. On today's classic edition of Family Talk, Dr. James Dobson interviews Emily Colson and her dad, the late Chuck Colson, about Emily's son, Max, who has autism. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/707/29
The story behind “Heart by Max” begins during the lockdown days of COVID-19.
The lockdown of the last few years affected all of us in one way or another. Emily Colson and her son Max, who has autism, were stripped of outside community and the team who helped them. Desperate to find things for Max to do, Emily cleared the dining room table, got out all the paints, and let Max play with the colors. What happened after that has surprised everyone. Join us as we hear Emily and Max's journey of how God has loved and led them through this all. Heart by Max with The Colson Center Heart by Max website Dancing with Max: A Mother and Son Who Broke Free by Emily Colson and Chuck Colson Walking on Water: Reflections on Faith and Art by Madeline L'Engle Erin and her husband, Brett, run Maven which “exists to help the next generation know truth, pursue goodness, and create beauty, all for the cause of Christ.” Check out more about Maven here: https://maventruth.com/ The Strong Women Podcast is a product of the Colson Center which equips Christians to live out their faith with clarity, confidence, and courage in this cultural moment. Through commentaries, podcasts, videos, and more, we help Christians better understand what's happening in the world, and champion what is true and good wherever God has called them. Learn more about the Colson Center here: https://www.colsoncenter.org/ Visit our website and sign up for our email list so that you can stay up to date on what we are doing here and also receive our monthly book list: https://www.colsoncenter.org/strong-women Join Strong Women on Social Media: https://www.facebook.com/StrongWomenCC https://www.facebook.com/groups/strongwomencommunitycc/ https://www.instagram.com/strongwomencc/
Emily Colson explains how her view of God has changed, through years of struggling to raise an autistic son as a single parent. She describes painful situations she's encountered in public, where people have been rude or hostile to Max because he is not acting normally. She says “God doesn't want Max to be 'normal', He wants him to be more like Jesus.” (Part 2 of 2) Get the book "Dancing With Max" for your donation of any amount! Get more episode resources here. If you've listened to any of our podcasts, please give us your feedback here.
Emily Colson explains how her view of God has changed, through years of struggling to raise an autistic son as a single parent. She describes painful situations she's encountered in public, where people have been rude or hostile to Max because he is not acting normally. She says “God doesn't want Max to be 'normal', He wants him to be more like Jesus.” (Part 1 of 2) Get the book "Dancing With Max" for your donation of any amount! Get more episode resources here. If you've listened to any of our podcasts, please give us your feedback here.
Frequent readers and listeners of Breakpoint know about Max. The grandson of Chuck Colson and subject of a book called Dancing With Max, authored by Emily Colson (Chuck's daughter and Colson Center board member), Max is a remarkable young man who has autism. The last few years have been difficult for Emily and Max, especially since the COVID lockdowns disrupted their routines and canceled their helpers. The last few years were particularly hard on full-time caretakers. And yet, in the middle of the challenges and disruptions of the last few years, God gave Max a ministry of encouraging and blessing others, a ministry now reaching people whose lives have been disrupted by war. Here's how Emily Colson described this remarkable story in a recent email: We didn't have a plan: We had a prayer. “How can we be a blessing to others?” More than two years later, God continues to answer that prayer beyond what we could ask or imagine, bringing hope around the world. Even into a war zone. It was COVID shutdown 2020 when Max began to hand-paint colorful heart yard signs and deliver them around our community. Max wasn't an artist: Autism had made fine motor a lifelong challenge. God often uses the most unlikely individuals to accomplish His purposes so that the story is unmistakably His. Our dining room became a workspace with plastic wrap stretched across the table and paint dripping into places that won't be found for another decade. Our home began to look as if we'd invited Jackson Pollock to dinner. It was there, in the ache and loss and isolation of shutdown, that Max would paint his joy-filled hearts. Max has given away more than 250 heart yard signs now, and he is still painting. The hearts have made it onto note cards, 36,000 cards in circulation so far, with all proceeds going to charity. His hearts grace the front of shirts, each one packaged with a message of God's love and the value of every life. With every shirt purchased a duplicate is given to a life-affirming charity. And a “heart exhibit” is traveling to different gallery locations, telling the story of what only God can do. Of how He can multiply blessings. As incredible as all of that is, there's now another chapter to this story, which began when Emily's friend April sent her a message. She'd been watching the war break out in Ukraine on live television. She prayed, and God pressed an idea into her heart like a hot wax seal: Send Max's hearts to Ukraine. Our church leapt at the idea. Our printer, Spectrum Designs, a company employing the most amazing team of individuals with autism, jumped just as quickly, printing the first 1,000 shirts. A team of highly caffeinated volunteers began folding and packaging each shirt with a message of God's love and hope—all translated into Ukrainian. But…where would we send these? Who would receive and distribute these shirts in Ukraine? That answer began 50 years ago, in the brokenness of Watergate. My dad, Chuck Colson, served as Special Counsel to President Nixon... When my dad was released from prison he founded Prison Fellowship ministries, which became the largest prison ministry in the world, reaching millions of people in the darkest places around the globe with the hope and love of Jesus Christ. Even reaching Ukraine. The ministry he founded 50 years ago through the brokenness of Watergate would carry his grandson's hearts, born of the brokenness of COVID, to bring hope to those in a war zone on the other side of the world. James Ackerman, president of Prison Fellowship USA, traveled to Romania... and (with) a team of ministry leaders and volunteers carried the shirts and other supplies deep into Ukraine, delivering them to children of prisoners, and to people in a Ukrainian refugee center. Emily received a photo of one little boy who was holding Max's picture, and wearing a shirt printed with Max's hearts and the words, “Beloved by God.” Both of his parents were killed in the war. As Emily said, When I saw this little boy's face, I cried for days... God cares. He aches for the brokenness of this world. He is close to this little boy, just as He is close to Max. God was even leaning over Max's shoulder as he began to paint, knowing He would carry these hearts—and His hope—around the world. You can learn how to join Max and Emily in their mission at www.heartbymax.com.
Today on the Elder Law Report, we have special guest, Emily Colson, director of the Union County's Senior Nutrition Program. This program provides meals to individuals 60 and over throughout Union County. Call 704-292-2567 or go to unioncountync.gov/seniormeals#elderlaw #seniors #volunteers #community #estateplanning #nutrition #healthylifestyle
When we value human beings because they are created in God's image, it changes our perspective on children born with special needs. Hear how Emily Colson learned to see her son's autism in a positive way, and how God is using her son to bless others.
Sometimes a difficult season of life can make us wonder if God REALLY cares. Emily Colson shares about a very dark time in her life, when she was a house-bound single mom of a boy with autism.
When we value human beings because they are created in God's image, it changes our perspective on children born with special needs. Hear how Emily Colson learned to see her son's autism in a positive way, and how God is using her son to bless others. Book by guest: Dancing With Max.
Sometimes a difficult season of life can make us wonder if God REALLY cares. Emily Colson shares about a very dark time in her life, when she was a house-bound single mum of a boy with autism. Hear how God answered Emily's desperate cry for help. Book by guest: Dancing With Max.
Listen to Sarah and Erin reflect on part two of their conversation with Emily Colson, author of Dancing with Max. Emily Colson Reflection Show Notes - Part Two Emily's Website Dancing with Max by Emily Colson Heart by Max Card Heart by Max Onesie Join Strong Women on Social Media: https://linktr.ee/strongwomencc Erin and her husband, Brett, run Maven which “exists to help the next generation know truth, pursue goodness, and create beauty, all for the cause of Christ.” Check out more about Maven here: https://maventruth.com/ The Strong Women Podcast is a product of the Colson Center which equips Christians to live out their faith with clarity, confidence, and courage in this cultural moment. Through commentaries, podcasts, videos, and more, we help Christians better understand what's happening in the world, and champion what is true and good wherever God has called them. Learn more about the Colson Center here: https://www.colsoncenter.org/ Visit our website and sign up for our email list so that you can stay up to date on what we are doing here and also receive our monthly book list: https://www.colsoncenter.org/strong-women
Emily Colson, artist and author of Dancing with Max, joins us today on the podcast. Her story is a powerful and engaging testimony of God's faithfulness through the joys and struggles of life. Emily also shares about her dad, Charles Colson, who founded the Colson Center and also about her son, Max, who is diagnosed with autism. Emily Colson Show Notes - Part Two Emily's Website Dancing with Max by Emily Colson Heart by Max Card Heart by Max Onesie An Antidote to Pandemic Loneliness article by Jennifer Marshall Patterson Author Dave Barry Loving God by Charles Colson Born Again by Charles Colson The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom Join Strong Women on Social Media: https://linktr.ee/strongwomencc Erin and her husband, Brett, run Maven which “exists to help the next generation know truth, pursue goodness, and create beauty, all for the cause of Christ.” Check out more about Maven here: https://maventruth.com/ The Strong Women Podcast is a product of the Colson Center which equips Christians to live out their faith with clarity, confidence, and courage in this cultural moment. Through commentaries, podcasts, videos, and more, we help Christians better understand what's happening in the world, and champion what is true and good wherever God has called them. Learn more about the Colson Center here: https://www.colsoncenter.org/ Visit our website and sign up for our email list so that you can stay up to date on what we are doing here and also receive our monthly book list: https://www.colsoncenter.org/strong-women
Listen to Sarah and Erin reflect on part one of their conversation with Emily Colson, daughter of Chuck Colson. Emily Colson Reflection Show Notes - Part One The Strong Women Podcast 100th Episode Giveaway! Emily's Website Dancing with Max by Emily Colson Prison Fellowship Angel Tree Christmas Join Strong Women on Social Media: https://linktr.ee/strongwomencc Erin and her husband, Brett, run Maven which “exists to help the next generation know truth, pursue goodness, and create beauty, all for the cause of Christ.” Check out more about Maven here: https://maventruth.com/ The Strong Women Podcast is a product of the Colson Center which equips Christians to live out their faith with clarity, confidence, and courage in this cultural moment. Through commentaries, podcasts, videos, and more, we help Christians better understand what's happening in the world, and champion what is true and good wherever God has called them. Learn more about the Colson Center here: https://www.colsoncenter.org/ Visit our website and sign up for our email list so that you can stay up to date on what we are doing here and also receive our monthly book list: https://www.colsoncenter.org/strong-women
Emily Colson, artist and author of Dancing with Max, joins us today on the podcast. Her story is a powerful and engaging testimony of God's faithfulness through the joys and struggles of life. Emily also shares about her dad, Charles Colson, who founded the Colson Center and also about her son, Max, who is diagnosed with autism. Emily Colson Show Notes - Part One The Strong Women Podcast 100th Episode Giveaway! Emily's Website Dancing with Max by Emily Colson The Colson Center for Christian Worldview The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson Remembering Chuck Colson Join Strong Women on Social Media: https://linktr.ee/strongwomencc Erin and her husband, Brett, run Maven which “exists to help the next generation know truth, pursue goodness, and create beauty, all for the cause of Christ.” Check out more about Maven here: https://maventruth.com/ The Strong Women Podcast is a product of the Colson Center which equips Christians to live out their faith with clarity, confidence, and courage in this cultural moment. Through commentaries, podcasts, videos, and more, we help Christians better understand what's happening in the world, and champion what is true and good wherever God has called them. Learn more about the Colson Center here: https://www.colsoncenter.org/ Visit our website and sign up for our email list so that you can stay up to date on what we are doing here and also receive our monthly book list: https://www.colsoncenter.org/strong-women
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“It’s been my hope and my desire for Max to be a mighty man of God... and that’s exactly what God has done."How do family dynamics shift when a child with autism becomes an adult? For special needs parents, worry about your child’s future can begin at any age. What will happen when my child ages out of the school system? How will they transition to adult services, college, or work?This week on the podcast Emily Colson is talking about her son Max’s transition from boyhood to adulthood, and how through each season of life God has supported their family. Because even as Max became an adolescent, Emily began to fear graduation, wondering what would happen without their provided services and routines. But with the support of her church, Emily has learned to celebrate each victory as she’s navigated issues in the adult world and found meaningful activities for her son (including a new ministry of encouragement birthed during the pandemic).With paying jobs, volunteer work, and a day program, Max’s days have been full. And both Emily and Max have discovered how much he is needed by his employers and the church. Be encouraged by Emily’s conversation and how God answered her prayer that Max would grow to be a mighty man of God. Order Helping with Life’s Transitions:Engaging Young Adults with Disabilities into the Life of Your ChurchLearn More About Joni and Friends' Church Training ResourcesOrder Your Heart by Max Cards Questions or comments? Email Crystal at podcast@joniandfriends.orgSupport Joni and Friends to help make this podcast possible.Follow Joni and Friends on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter.Thank you for helping others find this podcast by leaving us a 5-star review! *Joni and Friends envisions a world where every person with a disability finds hope, dignity, and their place in the body of Christ. Together, our mission is to glorify God as we communicate the Gospel and mobilize the global church to evangelize, disciple and serve people living with disability.Joni and Friends was founded in 1979 by Joni Eareckson Tada who in a diving accident was left a quadriplegic at 17 years old. Ministry began as Tada, joined by friends around her kitchen table, responded to letters she received from people with disabilities in search of support. For more than 40 years, the ministry has grown to serve thousands of people impacted by disability worldwide: delivering more than 191,000 wheelchairs and Bibles through Wheels for the World and provided Christian care to 64,000 special needs family members through Family Retreats. The organization also equips individuals and churches with disability ministry training and provides higher education courses through the Christian Institute on Disability. For more encouragement, download the Joni and Friends Radio Program podcast in English or Spanish, and view inspirational videos on the Joni and Friends website.www.joniandfriends.org*
April is Autism Awareness Month and we’re celebrating with a special podcast conversation featuring author and speaker Emily Colson. Emily and her 30-year-old son Max who lives with autism are on a heart-filled mission for you! Like many families living with disability, their world shifted in an instant when the pandemic shut down all systems of support. But as they faced a new normal during a challenging quarantine, Emily prayed: “How can we be a blessing to someone else every day?”With this prayer, she and Max began to paint. As Max painted beautiful joy-filled hearts on yard signs, he and Emily began delivering these encouraging hearts across their community. Now months later, listen as Emily shares God’s creative answer to her prayer and how the blessing of Max’s heart ministry has reached further than she could have imagined.Order Your Heart by Max CardsLearn More About Joni and Friends' Church Training Resources Questions or comments? Email Crystal at podcast@joniandfriends.orgSupport Joni and Friends to help make this podcast possible.Follow Joni and Friends on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter.Thank you for helping others find this podcast by leaving us a 5-star review! *Joni and Friends envisions a world where every person with a disability finds hope, dignity, and their place in the body of Christ. Together, our mission is to glorify God as we communicate the Gospel and mobilize the global church to evangelize, disciple and serve people living with disability.Joni and Friends was founded in 1979 by Joni Eareckson Tada who in a diving accident was left a quadriplegic at 17 years old. Ministry began as Tada, joined by friends around her kitchen table, responded to letters she received from people with disabilities in search of support. For more than 40 years, the ministry has grown to serve thousands of people impacted by disability worldwide: delivering more than 191,000 wheelchairs and Bibles through Wheels for the World and provided Christian care to 64,000 special needs family members through Family Retreats. The organization also equips individuals and churches with disability ministry training and provides higher education courses through the Christian Institute on Disability. For more encouragement, download the Joni and Friends Radio Program podcast in English or Spanish, and view inspirational videos on the Joni and Friends website.www.joniandfriends.org*
An Interview with Emily Colson
Emily Colson continues her story and shares the challenges, joys and amazing experiences that happen when we see all people, regardless of abilities as made in God’s image! See .
Emily Colson - author, speaker and daughter of Chuck Colson shares her story, special memories about her father and life as a single mother with her son Max who has autism. Inspiring! See .
Every person has important gifts that need to be shared with others and the church, but many families face real challenges with finding acceptance and a place to serve. Today on the podcast, Crystal is sharing a powerful message of hope from Emily Colson, daughter of the late Chuck Colson and mother to Max, her adult son who has a diagnosis of autism. Emily’s perfect world turned upside down following a painful divorce when Max was just a baby. As Max grew, challenges with autism became increasingly difficult for Emily…she was able to go out less and less and eventually even stopped going to church altogether. Emily never imagined that she’d be so disconnected from the spiritual life of the church because of Max’s diagnosis. But God used the words of Joni Eareckson Tada to encourage Emily’s heart: “Your church would be so blessed to have people with autism running up and down the aisles.” Emily took those words to heart and decided to find a way for her family to cross the threshold of the church. Listen as Emily shares how she ventured out in a creative way and how her church has been blessed through accepting and embracing Max as an indispensable part of the body of Christ. ...Do you know someone who has been disconnected from the body of Christ because of disability? We would love to connect you with a Christ-honoring, disability-friendly church in your area. Email podcast@joniandfriends.org.Are you a leader who wants to learn more about how you can embrace people with disabilities in your church? Learn how you can grow a special needs ministry or connect to a ministry mentor. ...Other questions? Email Crystal at podcast@joniandfriends.org*Joni and Friends was founded in 1979 by Joni Eareckson Tada who in a diving accident was left a quadriplegic at 17 years old. Ministry began as Tada, joined by friends around her kitchen table, responded to letters she received from people with disabilities in search of support. Over the past 40 years, the ministry has grown to serve thousands of people impacted by disability worldwide: Joni and Friends has delivered more than 150,000 wheelchairs and Bibles through Wheels for the World and provided Christian care to 63,000 special needs family members through Family Retreats. The organization also equips individuals and churches with disability ministry training and provides higher education courses through the Christian Institute on Disability. For more encouragement, download the Joni and Friends radio podcast in English or Spanish, and view inspirational videos on the Joni and Friends website.www.joniandfriends.org*
Last week in Reykjavik, Iceland, The Women Leaders Global Forum gathered to recognize and celebrate women making a positive difference in the world. The “Trailblazer Award” honored women who've won high political office. Others were recognized for their work in easing various stigmas and discrimination women face around the world. There was even a category for female Nobel Prize Laureates—an award on top of an award, if you will. While I am happy to say congratulations to them all, I couldn't help but think of the amazing women who are at least as worthy of recognition yet are never mentioned at any of these secular events. The women I am thinking of have at least one thing in common: In their various causes and through very different work, they speak up for those who, in our culture, have no voice: the unborn, those with disabilities, or victims of the sexual revolution. In doing so, they stand courageously against powerful cultural norms. If they worked on behalf of culturally acceptable causes, their names would be celebrated with the others. Obianuju Ekeocha, or “Uju” as her friends call her, is the founder and president of Culture of Life Africa. A Nigeria-born biomedical scientist, she's devoted her life to promoting the sanctity of life, the beauty of marriage, and the blessing of family in Africa. In fact, Uju is one of the main leaders of the pro-life movement on that continent. Her bold declarations in defense of the unborn and against progressive sexual ethics is confronting what she calls Western ideological imperialism. By the way, Uju will be speaking at our 2020 Wilberforce Weekend this May, and trust me, you won't want to miss it. Another heroine to know: Rachael Denhollander. This gymnast-turned lawyer brought down USA Gymnastics doctor and serial abuser Larry Nassar. In doing so, she enabled hundreds of his victims to have a voice, and is now spending her time as a wife, a mother and a crusader for the dignity of women and girls, especially calling the church to take sexual abuse seriously. We recently interviewed her on the BreakPoint Podcast. Then there's Lila Rose, president and founder of Live Action. Lila is one of the most influential voices in the modern pro-life movement, and the unquestioned media leader. From her undercover work exposing Planned Parenthood to her defense of the pro-life cause in mainstream media, she's a powerhouse—and proof that the pro-life movement is, in many ways, being led by a younger generation. There's Katy Faust, an author, a children's-rights activist, and founder of the organization Them Before Us. She's challenging one of the foulest lies of the sexual revolution: that the desires of adults trump the rights of children, especially their right to have a mom and dad. In one of our recent “What Would You Say?” videos, she debunks the popular but poisonous idea that love is the only thing required to make a family. She'll also be at our next Wilberforce Weekend. Making the same case at the scholarly level is Helen Alvare, associate professor of law at George Mason University and a champion of life and the family in the legal sphere. She's one of the intellectual heavy-hitters of our time—including in amicus briefs to the Supreme Court—that marriage is worth preserving, children deserve parents, and unborn life is worth protecting. I feel like the author of Hebrews here. I'm running out of time to talk about Reggie Littlejohn, founder and president of Women's Rights Without Frontiers, and the world's leading opponent of sex-selective and forced abortion in China. And of course, Emily Colson and Joni Eareckson-Tada, who have dedicated their lives to honoring the dignity of those with disabilities, especially in recent years, leading battle against selective abortion, assisted suicide and euthanasia. Through books and speaking they've made the case, like few else can, that a society that welcomes the vulnerable is a beautiful place worth living in. These women are forces of restoration. Not only do they deserve recognition for the incredible work they do. They deserve recognition because the causes they represent and the groups for whom they speak aren't popular in this culture. God bless these worthy women. If I were on an award committee, they'd have my vote.
Emily Colson continues her story and shares the challenges, joys and amazing experiences that happen when we see all people, regardless of abilities as made in God’s image! See EmilyColson.com
Emily Colson- author, speaker and daughter of Chuck Colson shares her story, special memories about her father and life as a single mother with her son Max who has autism. Inspiring! See EmilyColson.com
Today's podcast features Emily Colson, daughter of Colson Center founder, Chuck Colson. In today's program she asks the question: How can the Church gain true credibility when it comes to defending life? Her answer is that a good place to start would be to openly welcome those with disabilities into our congregations. Emily, whose son Max has been diagnosed with autism, recently spoke to the staff of Focus on the Family about her journey with Max, and how one church in particular affirmed life by affirming the value of Max. Resources Dancing with Max Emily Colson, Zondervan, 2012
In this episode, my mom, Christine, David St Germain and I talk a little about what happened at the Joy Conference. We also talked about overcoming fears and I even have a challenge for you at the end! Links Mentioned: Emily Colson and Dancing With Max A YouTube Video Of The Concert At First Baptist Concord Joni and Friends Irresistible Church Resources Patterson Park Church - Beavercreek, OH Big news coming up soon! You won't want to miss it! Support Me And My Podcast! Please help by supporting me and my podcast through Patreon, a crowd-funding website where you--the patron--can support a creator, which is in this case, me. Please visit This Link to sign up and support me! Thanks so much for listening, and we'll talk to you next week!
At the 2016 Evangelicals for Life conference, Daniel Darling moderated a panel discussing how to shape a pro-life, whole-life Christian ethic. The panelists included John Stonestreet, Trillia Newbell, Karen Swallow Prior, Emily Colson and Ron Sider. They discuss how being pro-life doesn't mean championing for unborn life alone, but rather, advocating for life at all stages, regardless of race, age and level of ability.
Jim Campbell of Alliance Defending Freedom brings us up to date on the Supreme Court's upcoming decision on same-sex marriage (1:15). President of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary Albert Mohler looks at the latest from Pew Research on the decline of marriage (5:20). John Stonestreet continues the dialogue on marriage (13:00). Brad Dacus of the Pacific Justice Institute talks about why Planned Parenthood is teaching Sex Ed in high school classes (21:50). Eric Metaxas speaks with John Stonestreet (27:45) and Emily Colson about Chuck Colson's life and his legacy (30:55).See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Emily Colson on her son and her life with Angel Tree. Bob Filner comes in studio to talk about all things politics. Judy Collins on music and her relationship with Steven Stills.
Hear more about a drone that recently crashed in Iran. And Will Ron Paul run as a third party candidate? Emily Colson, artist, writer, and daughter of Charles Colson talks to Mark about her book "My Dance With Max". And the latest on a Grenade attack in Belgium. All this and more! Don't miss a minute!