by Angele Tanyeri
The Collyde Summit is a gathering of passionate believers in the NY, NJ, and PA area, who love Jesus and are convicted to become world changers. Collyde turned out to be a life-changing experience for me! To gather and worship in this way was profound. It also gave me a chance to ‘collide’ with individuals I may not have had an opportunity to meet otherwise.
by Elise Daly Parker
So for pretty much the 30+ years my beloved and I have been married, we have been “working” on our finances. Initially, it was just a matter of trying to be responsible with our money and not get in over our heads with debt. Truth be told, our success was short term. Some of this was circumstantial – unanticipated life and salary changes threw us for a loop. But, really? We overspent.
by Kathleen Whittam
There is a nickname for people who only go to church on Christmas and Easter--a ChrEaster. My mom has long been a fan of the Christmas cactus, a plant that, oddly enough, blooms around Christmas as well as Easter. I started calling them a ChrEaster Cactus.
By Beth Stiff
I wanted to start from the beginning...
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.~ Genesis 1:1-2
My focal point was going to be on the three words God says over and over again in the first chapter of Genesis: “…it is good."
He looked at all He created and said it was good. ~ Genesis 1:31
Starting from the beginning sounded like a good plan because I’m currently reading from the Book of Genesis and those three words jumped off the pages as I read. If we believe everything He said as truth, and he says those three words several times, I’m thinking those words are rather important. [Continue Reading...]
by Elise Daly Parker
Even if you don’t go for a big New Year’s Eve celebration, the New Year can mark a fresh start, a new beginning, a shift in focus. It’s a good time to take a look back at the past, and consider a vision for the year ahead.
Many people choose a New Year’s resolution or two… [Continue Reading...]
by Susanne Ciancio, LPC
Stress is defined as "a state of mental or emotional strain or tension resulting from adverse or very demanding circumstances." However, anxiety is a reaction to that stress. Anxiety includes worry about what "may" happen. Mark Twain is quoted as saying, "I am an old man and have known a great many troubles, but most of them never happened." It's commonly believed that 90% of things we're anxious or worried about never come to pass!
By Susanne Ciancio, LPC
The most joyous season of the year is upon us and, although it's cold and dark outside, there is a promise of warmth from glowing fireplaces, twinkling lights, amazing aromas, and some of the best food offered in the entire calendar year! Yet we know this season among all seasons can be the most stressful of all. Why is that?
By Susanne Ciancio, LPC
This month I'll finish up by discussing what may be going wrong in fulfilling our desire to have a renewed mind. God has a part to play. He won't do our part and we’re not supposed to "try" to do His part.
by Susanne Ciancio, LPC
In John Ortberg's book, The Life You Always Wanted, he discusses the difference between training for change and trying to change. This concept has been very helpful to me in my personal life, so I've outlined some steps below to illustrate what training might look like.
by Susanne Ciancio, LPC
I've been doing a series about personal change and how difficult it can be. This month, I'm going to focus on God's plan to transform us. First we'll look into the Word and then talk about some practical applications. What is God's plan to transform us?
By Susanne Ciancio, LPC
Is it really possible to make long-lasting changes? One of the big reasons we don't see changes in our lives is due to an offended heart! We can be offended at God for permitting something to happen or for not making something else happen. We are seriously offended at times by what people say and do or neglect to say and do.
by Susanne Ciancio, LPC
Why do we struggle so much with the change process? Do we really know God's plan for change? I do know that godly women are frustrated with things we want to change about ourselves and our lives. We all share in this all too human struggle!
by Susanne Ciancio
Television shows like Everyone Loves Raymond are extremely popular because they hit upon a tender spot in the reality and culture of our family dynamics. Truth is stranger than fiction for sure and sometimes the Barone family problems pale in comparison to what we ourselves and our friends and neighbors are struggling with.
by Susanne Ciancio, LPC
Getting married is the most remarkable, significant, meaningful commitment most human beings ever make. Many young people dream of their wedding day their whole lives. If couples put as much time preparing for their marriage as they do their five- to eight-hour event, the divorce statistics would be immensely reduced. The wedding is a wonderful event, but the marriage is a challenging lifelong journey.
by Susanne Ciancio, LPC
In Part 1 of this series, we discussed the research of marriage counselors and psychologists John and Julie Gottman on married couples, which revealed Four Predictors of Divorce. The Gottmans refer to these predictors as the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, which include criticism, defensiveness, contempt, and stonewalling. This month we will look at a couple of strategies the Gottmans suggest using to avoid these predictors.
by Susanne Ciancio, LPC
The Gottmans say they can predict whether or not a couple may be heading for divorce within the first 15 minutes of interviewing them. They call these predictors the "4 Horses of the Apocalypse." Take a look at these predictors to discern if your marriage is in trouble.
by Susanne Ciancio, LPC
Above all, as followers of Christ, we know He is seeking an intimate relationship with us forged by devotion to the Word, prayer, worship, and fellowship with other believers. Those disciplines connect us on a deeply personal level with His voice and direction. Scripture ties in hearing the voice of God with abundance and soul prosperity.
by Susanne Ciancio, LPC
On any given day, I'm a daughter of The Most High with all the resources of Heaven available to me...but at times I may not be accessing any of those resources because I don’t see myself the way God does. I also don’t see my problems the way God sees them.
God wants to talk to you. The supreme, sovereign King of the Universe longs to have an intimate relationship with you and me. INTIMATE...not just rule-following, church-going, service-oriented Christianity, but intimate relationship! That kind of relationship includes dialogue! [Continue Reading...]
By Susanne Ciancio, LPC
In my early days of seeking God, in pursuit of hearing His voice, I heard this message quite frequently, “You have two ears and one mouth!” This was my first clue as to what is most important to God...talking or listening? Think about it for a moment, do we need to tell God the minute details of our situations as if He needs to be informed? Nothing wrong with pouring out our hearts to God and expressing our feelings, as a matter of fact it can be very cleansing indeed. However...if we want to hear from God we need to stop talking! [Continue Reading...]
by Susanne Ciancio, Licensed Professional Counselor
When I listen only with the intent to reply, I'm missing the entire message of the speaker - the content, intent, feelings, and so much more. My focus is me and my thoughts, feelings, and reactions. There's a guarantee the speaker won't feel heard, understood, or connected to me. When we practice that kind of listening, we are truly ineffective listeners. So how can we change that? [Continue Reading...]
By Susanne Ciancio, LPC
So, does your husband listen to you?
I know that can be a loaded question! At the base of much marital conflict there is an issue of not listening well to each other. More than that, couples often struggle with giving the time and attention required to really hear what their spouse is saying. Want to make a wife happy? Give her a husband who devotes focused time listening to her - hearing her heart, her hopes, and her dreams...not to mention her frustrations. Of course, the same is true for our husbands. [Continue Reading...]
by Licensed Counselor Susanne Ciancio
In Part 1 of this series we looked at the common phenomena where we misinterpret other people's opinions, criticisms, and judgments as a clue or definition of who we are and our value/worth. The point was: it's not about you. In fact, other people are telling us who THEY are and NOT defining OUR value or worth! [Continue Reading...]
In a recent series of articles about friends breaking up, I said that sometimes it feels like people are giving us clues about who we are and our value/worth. But actually they are telling us who they are. I'd like to expand on that.
People are rarely telling you who YOU are but are frequently telling you who THEY are. [Continue Reading...]
by Susanne Ciancio, LPC
Part 1 and Part 2 of Do Friends Break Up? addressed the kinds of friendships that sometimes end in a breakup, how to have a godly breakup, and what reconciliation might look like. Part 3 addressed the question, “What if I'm the one being broken up with?” Here we’re talking about a pattern of breakups. [Continue Reading...]
