As of the day I am writing this there are 130 active rental listings on the MLS in Ahwatukee and 416 have been rented in the past six months.

Two old friends paid me a visit last week. The first slipped in without a word, freezing my mind for an instant, like the shock of ice cream gulped down too eagerly on a hot day. As we visited for a while, I noticed the familiar voice is edged with a steely insistence, somehow sharpened rather than blunted by a hunger for news of trouble, and the scent of brewing chaos. By God’s grace and through His perfect timing, there, just in nick of time, was another beloved friend knocking on the door of my heart, gently enfolding me in loving arms. This beloved voice speaks quietly, yet perfectly clearly, sharing a different story, at once both old and fresh. The voice carries words brimming with abundant life, like a lush oasis in an otherwise barren and hostile desert. Such is the power of moments of fear to paralyze our senses, and to leave us feeling isolated and lost. Such is the power of the unparalleled peace found through our faith in Christ Jesus, our Lord, in the comforting words of Scripture.

Norris Vaughan looked at peace sitting at his desk in the football office after a recent spring football practice.

Our family bought a sofa a couple of years ago. It was a frustrating experience. I won’t go into it other than to say when my wife and I finally agreed on one, I thought a burden had been lifted. Then the salesman forces another decision: “So which protection plan do you want?”

Keystone Montessori • 1025 E. Liberty Lane

According to the majority of the media and most of our elected officials we are not supposed to judge all Muslims by the acts of a few “crazies.” But the acts of a few American “crazies” are enough to judge all Americans who own guns.

The Norwegian directing team of Joachim Roenning and Espen Sandberg, whose biopic of World War II resistance fighter Max Manus was a huge hit on home turf, have turned to another native hero for "Kon-Tiki." One of the most-vaunted escapades of the 20th century, Thor Heyerdahl's 1947 Peru-to-Polynesia expedition by raft gets glossy big-screen treatment in this efficiently told action-adventure. Delivering visual drama and understated character study, sometimes in disappointingly formulaic fashion, the feature has its incisive moments but falls short as both epic and intimate portrait.

New Valley Church in Ahwatukee is offering Financial Peace University, a well-known program, for those wanting direction in how to save, spend and get out of debt.

In the wake of last week’s tragedy in Boston, what are the images that stayed with you? The pillowing smoke? Blood on the streets? Shell-shocked victims in wheelchairs? Our hearts have been broken again. And since the footage is shown over and over, we’re traumatized each time, just like when the twin towers burned on 9/11.

Charles Robinson passed away peacefully on Monday, April 15. He was 82 years old. He was born in Hamburg, Iowa, to Charles and Ruth Robinson. He was married to Sylvia for 58 years before she passed in 2010.

Samantha Blau has travelled outside of the country before, but an upcoming trip this summer is particularly nerve wracking.

Weekends are made for moving a little slower, taking time to enjoy oneself and reconnect with whatever’s been put on the back burner during a hectic work week.

The Campus Crusade for Christ (CRU) emphasizes the difference between traditional religious practices in the past and how newer Christian clubs, like CRU Downtown, an Arizona State University religious organization, have changed the mentality of worship.

The United States has seen a deluge of much-needed attention to the issue of bullying in the last decade. Horrific examples of young people harassing and abusing their peers — sometimes to the point that the victims commit suicide — have forced parents and educators to begin thinking about the issue and to initiate or expand bully prevention efforts. What is often missed in these discussions, however, is the problem of adults who bully young people.

You may better know her sister, Dakota, from box-office smashes like “War of the Worlds” and “The Twilight Saga,” but 14-year-old Elle Fanning has already made quite a name for herself among the arthouse set, appearing in such acclaimed works as “Babel,” “Somewhere” and “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.” This month, she takes center stage in a new drama from writer/director Sally Potter entitled “Ginger & Rosa” – a coming-of-age tale set in 1962 London as the threat of the Cuban missile crisis looms overhead.

Jo Ann Anderson passed away peacefully in her home in Ahwatukee on April 8. She was 73 years old. She was born in Des Moines, Iowa, to Ernest and Ruth King. She was married to Dr. Gorlyn Anderson for 55 years. She was mother to Bradley Joseph and twins, Sherry and Shelly.

Rebuffed in his bid for oversight of Colorado City marshals, Attorney General Tom Horne now wants taxpayer funds for another police agency to patrol the polygamous community.

House Bill 2204 helps to continue health care benefits to families that have lost a police officer, firefighter, or corrections officer in the line of duty. The bill was signed into law Friday by Gov. Jan Brewer.

Being sick — taken out of the game of life’s commitments — is so tough. But sometimes that’s what it takes for God to show us that He’s working through us, in us, and even in spite of us.

State lawmakers edged closer Wednesday to allowing armed staffers in some public schools.

Everyone has that one person they just can’t stand. Not for any particular reason other than “you just don’t.” That’s OK, we are human after all.

It’s that time again. Between the flurry of the holidays and the energy of spring is tax season, the chance for people, including young people, across the country to organize their finances and prepare their returns.

This is a hot topic these days, and for good reason. Long-term care is a growing concern for baby boomers and their parents. Long-term care insurance, as a result, is gaining quite a bit of attention.