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 Denise Trio
For overplayed Christmas music that would make even the jolliest listeners into Scroogy humbugs. So today, I will present a roundup of five great Christmas albums. These records are from a variety of artists, filled with their unique renditions of familiar Christmas songs that are also blended with original songs that stay true to the artists’ individual styles. [Continue Reading...]
Is there a book that you just can't seem to put down, that's teaching you a profound spiritual lesson, or making you laugh amid your struggles? We want to hear about it!
There are two ways you can join us here on First Friday Book Faves! Tell us in the comments what you are reading or use the LinkUp below to share your blog post about a favorite book you've read. [Continue Reading…]
by Amy Carroll and Tanya McAvoy
As a member of the Proverbs 31 Ministries speaker team, I have the advantage of being surrounded by women who have blazed a path in front of me. When I needed help creating a message, Micca Campbell and Karen Ehman helped me. When I felt reluctant and unsure about promoting that message, I was trained along with our team by marketing experts and our fearless leader, Lysa TerKeurst.
I love lots of things about being part of a ministry team, but mostly I love not being alone. [Continue Reading...]
by Elise Daly Parker
‘Tis the season for gift giving. And we’ve come across some unique gift sites we thought you’d like to know about. They’re non-profits that pay it forward every time you buy a gift through them.
by Denise Trio
Ladies and gentlemen, the captain has just alerted us that we’ve reached our cruising altitude. You’re now free to move about the cabin,” the flight attendant chirped over the loudspeaker in our tiny airplane heading from Ft. Lauderdale, FL, to Nassau, Bahamas.
What seemed like less than five minutes later, I heard her voice again announcing that we had begun our initial descent and anyone moving about the cabin had to return to their seats with seat belts securely fastened. Our flight time that August morning lasted a total of 26 minutes. [Continue Reading...]
by Kimberly Amici
On Oct. 29 multi-platinum Christian artist Chris Tomlin released his first live DVD project. The two-disc Burning Lights Deluxe Tour Edition, includes a previously released studio album plus a DVD of his show performed at the famed Red Rocks, the open-air amphitheater, just 10 miles west of Denver, Colorado .
We have teamed up with Capitol Christian Music Group to give away three copies of Burning Lights: Deluxe Edition CD/DVD. [Continue Reading...]
That's the question we will be asking COF contributors and you, our readers, each month. Is there a book that you just can't seem to put down, that's teaching you a profound spiritual lesson, or making you laugh amid your struggles? We want to hear about it!
There are two ways you can join us! Tell us in the comments what you are reading or use the LinkUp below to share your blog post about a favorite book you've read. [Continue Reading...]
In our Spotlight this month is Beth Nelson, Owner and Director – Visiting Angels, Caregiver Extraordinaire
“When you can’t be there, our angels can.”
I was heavily influenced by my mother’s faith and her endless gratitude. Even in the difficult times she would strongly express her thanks. “Thank you God for this sunny day, the flowers, the ocean…” This foundation of praise that my mom passed on to me led me to my own faith…I never doubted God was real. [Continue Reading...]
So here we are…one year after our launch of Circles of Faith, Where Faith, Life, and Community Intersect.
We think that’s cause for a celebration. Don’t you?
Over the past year, we’ve had over 150 posts by fabulous, passionate writers from all over the globe on a variety of topics such as missions, marriage, relationship, parenting, God-stories, music, and books. We’ve made it our mission to share with you stories and articles of excellence from both known names in global ministries and voices you may never have heard of; each with something important to say. [Continue Reading...]
Review By Micalagh Beckwith Moritz
I first heard the buzz about Rachel Held Evans last Christmas when a friend of mine emceed a youth conference where she was a keynote speaker. I soon began following her blog. Then when another friend received for her birthday Rachel’s book, A Year of Biblical Womanhood, I was first in line to borrow it once she finished. I am happy to say that the book did not disappoint. [Continue Reading...]
by Chelle Wilson
Starting today we will be hosting a Facebook Prayer community; a place where we can join together to share our prayer needs and our testimonies of God’s provision. It is a forum for us to share what we are believing God for, so that we can knit our faith together.
Prayerfully, thoughtfully, with hearts broken open, we seek those who would not only help us build our community but... [Continue Reading...]
by Denise Trio
Mandisa, who was nominated twice for a Grammy and competed on American Idol’s fifth season, delivers her fourth studio album entitled Overcomer.
It is appropriately named not only because Mandisa did not win American Idol, but also because she has overcome harsh feedback and negativity with her positive and empowering albums. On this album, her songs, saturated with biblical truth and God’s promises, boast synthy, pop, and dance-infused beats and instrumentation that support memorable and singable melodies. Vocally, she is impressive and inspiring, with her gospel roots evident. [Continue Reading...]
by Susan Panzica
What makes a writer, a writer? A writer writes. It’s that simple.
It may be for publication or for personal reflection, but putting pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) to express one’s thoughts on a page qualifies. Because writing tends to be a solitary endeavor, it’s essential for writers to gather together for encouragement and accountability. [Continue Reading...]
by Diana Jones
One day while author Sheri Rose Shepherd was snuggling on the beach with her 3-year old Jacob, he looked at her and said: “Mommy, can you marry me?” Sheri responded by saying that she would love to, but mommies can’t marry their little boys. Jacob cried and said, “Then who am I going to marry?” In an instant, something in her shifted; she realized that she was responsible for raising someone’s future husband. At that very moment, Sheri led Jacob to pray about his future wife. [Continue Reading...]
Last weekend, I spent more than 10 hours traveling to Rhode Island and back on the summer traffic-jammed roads to attend a 5 ½ hour conference. Was it worth it?
Yes it was!
I attended Living Proof Live (LPL) with Beth Moore, Travis Cottrell and the LPL praise team. Beth’s application of The Word was [Continue Reading...]
For as long as I can remember, I’ve gone to church. I have fuzzy memories of being in the church nursery and learning about the Bible characters with felt boards (pun intended). I was a shy, quiet, and submissive middle child to two parents who loved me dearly. I followed in the shadow of my older, “more perfect” sister, and cast my own shadow on my younger brother.
My mom always told us, “Follow Jesus!” One Easter Sunday, my pastor gave an altar call and I felt the Holy Spirit stir in my heart for the first time, prompting me to respond and commit my life to Him. I rose my shaking, little, 10-year-old hand and accepted Jesus into my heart that morning. [Continue Reading...]
Worshipping with Phil Wickham was a highlight of the 2013 Collyde Summit we attended and told you about in June.
On Friday night, after a day full of awesome keynotes, labs, and workshops, we knew the worship concert with Phil Wickham was still ahead. However, both Kimberly and I had agreed earlier we would probably head out before it started. In the end,we decided, why not stay? We were both glad we did. Worship is good for the soul! [Continue Reading...]
Did You Miss the Powerful and Inspiring Collyde Summit 2013? Here’s a glimpse of what we experienced when over 400 passionate believers gathered in our area…
Though the clouds were dark and the rain poured down, the 2013 Collyde Summit was bright with the promise and hope of believing that God is good, He’s on our side, and He never leaves us or forsakes, no matter what.
Together, Circles Of Faith Managing Editor Kimberly Amici and I attended the 2-day summit, Only Believe. We were excited that this was happening within an hour of our homes and did not want to miss it. [Continue Reading...]
The Shanes have done it again.
Shane Barnard and Shane Everett have become famous for their acoustic-rock based songs, featuring killer harmonies. They released their eighth full-length record, Bring Your Nothing, on May 14 of this year. It was uniquely written, born out of the songwriting classes that they teach at Oaks School of Leadership in Red Oak, TX. Each week, Barnard challenged his students to write a song based on the weekly Bible-based topic. He joined them in their songwriting challenge… the result, Bring Your Nothing. [Continue Reading...]
My FAITH story? There wasn’t a time when faith wasn’t a constant in my life. My dad was ordained into the ministry when I was four; I literally grew up in church. For much of my life, faith was habit. Calling faith a habit is not to diminish its value in any way. Habits are a good thing.
Hebrews 12:11 reminds us that, No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.(NIV).
I remember my adult decision to connect to a body of faith. [Continue Reading...]
