Thousands of churches in the US have been asked to set aside time in their services April 17 in order to pray for persecuted Christians around the world. The Voice of the Martyrs is one of the ministries behind this effort, called “Stand With the Persecuted Sunday.”

I’m your average young American. I grew up in a house with four bedrooms and plenty of food to eat every day. I worked hard in high school to get into a good college, and my parents taught me to treat others with kindness and respect. I love going to the movies, coffee is an everyday necessity and I spend way too much time on my phone.

Last year author Tom Doyle and his wife JoAnn were guests on VOM's weekly radio program (You can listen to Tom's interviews here and here; listen to JoAnn here). One of the things both of them challenged listeners to do was to reach out to Muslims living right here in the United States by inviting them into our homes. Tom shared the joy of one Muslim family they'd invited over who said in seven years living in the U.S. it was the first time they'd ever been inside an American's home. But how do we make sure our hospitality is a blessing? What do we need to know to make our Muslim friends feel welcome and not trip over any cultural differences? Here's advice from "Anna," who lives and works among Muslims in the Middle East:

In a couple of months, I will be moving. The stress of moving in today’s world can be overwhelming; questions like ‘How do I move my couch?’ and ‘Who will help me move?’ are only a couple of the worries.

I recently returned from an iCommit conference hosted in the state of Washington. While there I heard a young man named Gilbert Hovsepain share his testimony. Gilbert is one of the sons of Rev. Haik Hovsepian, who was martyred in 1994 in Iran. The documentary A Cry From Iran , tells the story of Rev. Haik and his family.

I really like elephants. I have spent hours riding on the backs of elephants in different countries, and I am always amazed by their sheer strength and mass. Riding atop an elephant makes many people feel like a king. Other riders are too distracted by the sheer terror of the experience to spend much time reflecting at all!

Last summer VOM asked our readers to send a letter to Kim Jong Un, the brutal dictator of The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. Not just any letter, either, but a letter of confession. Each letter began with the words, “I am a Christian.”