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How a U.S. couple helped 25 Iraqi Christian families escape ISIS threats
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More than 100 Iraqi Christians fled to Europe to escape terror threats. An American couple played a large role in that. - photo by Payton Davis
For an American husband-and-wife team, helping Iraqi Christians find promise elsewhere and escape threats from ISIS was a cause worth pursuing.

So Joseph and Michele Assad played a role in arranging for 25 families 149 refugees total, including 62 children to board a plane Dec. 10 and arrive in Slovakia.

That's where the refugees will be granted asylum in the next month. Michele Assad praised the country for exhibiting courage, and ABC News reported she hopes the story will inspire other countries to follow suit.

"We are so proud of Slovakia," she told ABC News. "They were very courageous to make this decision, and it wasnt an easy one to make, yet they did. We hope other countries will have similar courage."

Newser detailed the strife Christian refugees in the Middle East face in particular.

"Muslims have other Muslims nations that they can turn to," Newser quoted Joseph Assad as saying. "They can go to other Arab countries. They can resettle there. Christians are having a much more difficult time resettling in some of these Arab countries."

Newser's report indicated the Assads, both former U.S. counter-terrorism officers, worked with Iraq's Mar Elia Chaldean Catholic Church for months to make the plan reach fruition.

Yet the evacuation nearly didn't happen, Mindy Belz explained for World.

World reported that Russian airstrikes prompted northern Iraq authorities to close airspace. However, when airspace reopened, the flight departed.

Most of the refugees had never flown before, World reported.

So why did the Assads make the Iraqi Christians' dilemma their cause?

ABC News' article indicated their experience overcoming religious persecution prompted them to play a role.

"(Joseph) Assad, an immigrant to the U.S. from Egypt, said he and his family came to the states after fleeing religious persecution," the report read. "Motivated by their own Christian faith and the suffering they have seen, the Assads have made saving the Mar Elia refugees their personal mission."

Faith leader Johnnie Moore was also involved in the evacuation, accruing $12 million to go toward it, World reported. And Kevin Porter wrote for The Christian Post of Moore addressing Saddleback Church in regards to why the move proved crucial.

The suffering of Christians in the Middle East is at a high, Moore said, the Christian Post reported.

"The church in the Middle East looks like the first century church," the Post quoted Moore as saying. "It's a church where people are being beheaded and crucified, where churches are being destroyed, where people are losing their lives, where people are being imprisoned for their faith along, where people are being threatened with forcible conversion or death. The Christian community has suffered as they have rarely suffered in all of Christian history."
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How to avoid 'sharenting' and other paparazzi parenting habits
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A recent study revealed parents often spend up to two hours staging a single photo of his or her child to post online. - photo by Amy Iverson
Before having kids, some people just dont appreciate their friends baby posts. But after having a child of their own, three fourths of new parents jump right on the parental social media bandwagon. If you have become a member of this group, there are some rules to follow for posting responsibly.

Much of a parents worry is how to teach their children to use social media responsibly. We talk with our kids about privacy, oversharing, and setting restrictions on their devices to keep them safe. But parents themselves need to look in the digital mirror once in a while. Before having children, it doesnt take as much effort to think about what to post online. Its up to us to decide what we share about our own lives. But once you become a parent, there are many questions to think about regarding what is appropriate to post about your kids on social media.

In a recent survey, kids clothing subscription company Mac and Mia surveyed 2000 new parents to find out how they are documenting their kids lives on social media, and what concerns they may have.

First of all, people without children seem to feel a bit differently about the onslaught of baby pictures online than those who are parents. 18 percent of people say before they had kids, they were annoyed by their friends baby posts. But after having children of their own, 73 percent admit they post progress pictures of their little ones every single month.

Not only are new parents letting the world know each time their baby is a month older, but they are posting about their kids every few days or so. Men and women report they post 6-7 times per month about their baby.

And while 70 percent of new parents say the benefit of using social media is how easy it is to help family and friends feel involved, there are some downsides. Here are a few tips to avoid the pitfall of becoming paparazzi parents.

Dont miss the moment

In the Mac and Mia survey, some parents admitted to spending up to two hours to get the perfect shot of their baby. That seems a little extreme. New and old parents alike should be careful about spending so much time taking pictures and videos that they dont enjoy the moment. Years ago, I decided to never live an experience through my phone. A study by Linda Henkel, a psychology professor at Fairfield University in Connecticut, found that when people took pictures of objects in an art museum, they didnt remember the objects as well as if they simply observed them.

This photo-taking impairment effect can happen to parents as well. If we are so consumed by getting the perfect photo, we can miss out on the moment all together, and our memory of it will suffer.

Dont forget about privacy

60 percent of couples say they have discussed rules and boundaries for posting their babys photos, according to the Mac and Mia survey. Even so, men are 34 percent more likely to publish baby posts on public accounts. If parents are concerned about their childrens privacy, keeping photos off of public accounts is a given.

In the Washington Post, Stacey Steinberg, a legal skills professor at the University of Florida, and Bahareh Keith, a Portland pediatrician, wrote that sharing too much information about kids online puts them at risk. They write that all that sharenting can make it easier for data thieves to target out kids for identity theft. Check that your privacy settings are where they should be and never share identifying information like full names and birth dates.

Dont be paparazzi parents

36 percent of parents say they take issue when their childs photo is posted online by someone else. Responsible social media users will always ask permission before posting a photo of another child. But parents should also think about whether their own children will take issue with their own posted photos a few years down the road.

When parents are constantly snapping pictures and throwing them on social media, it can be easy to forget to pause and make sure the post is appropriate. I always use the billboard example with my kids. I ask them to picture whatever they are posting going up on a billboard in our neighborhood. If they are okay with that, then their post is probably fine. Parents should ask themselves this same question when posting about their children. But they should also ask themselves if their child would be OK with this post on a billboard in 15 years. If it would cause embarrassment or humiliation, it might be best to keep it private.

Once children reach an appropriate age, parents should include them in the process of deciding what pictures are OK to post. Researchers at the University of Michigan surveyed 10- to 17-year-olds and found children believe their parents should ask permission more than parents think they should. The kids in the survey said sharing happy family moments, or accomplishments in sports, school and hobbies is fine. But when the post is negative (like when a child is disciplined) or embarrassing (think naked baby pictures or messy hair), kids say to keep it off social media.
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