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 Noelle Rhodes
Do you know how many people ask me, “Oh, were you born on Christmas Day, Noelle?” Assuming that’s how my parents came up with the name. You should see the look of disappointment on their faces when I break their hearts with my response: “Nope. I was born in August.”
Besides having a name that doesn’t match the season in which I was actually born, there a few complications and misfortunes that comes with having a “summer” birthday. [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...]
by Susanne Ciancio, LPC
This month I'd like to talk about those stuck areas of our lives that prevent us from feeling like the fully redeemed sons and daughters of the Most High God that we are. I'm talking about those issues that just never seem to get completely resolved like bad temper, lateness, irritability, weight issues, fears, procrastination, insecurities, depression, anxiety, and chronic relationship issues. [Continue Reading...]
by Micalagh Beckwith Moritz
In the morning sow your seed, and at evening withhold not your hand, for you do not know which will prosper, this or that, or whether both alike will be good. (Ecc. 11:6, ESV)
At the end of the school year, I was having a conversation with a teacher at one of the schools where I worked as a social worker. We were talking about a student who has had a difficult year academically, and was struggling to keep up with her classmates. [Continue Reading...]
An opportunity for a little self-reflection…
This past June at the Collyde Summit I attended a workshop by Joan Ball.Joan is the author of Flirting with Faith: My Spiritual Journey from Atheism to a Faith-Filled Life.
She has a fascinating story that we’ll be sharing in the future here at Circles. Joan spoke with great enthusiasm. She was interesting and straight talking. What really struck me was her challenge to answer the question, “Who am I?” [Continue Reading...]
by Beth Stiff
When my son left for boot camp to become a sailor, the only item he was allowed to bring was a Bible. He had never owned one as we had not been a church-going family. I determined that if all he was allowed was a Bible, then a Bible he would have.
I purchased a small Sailor's Bible and stuffed it with photos. Post-it notes were also stuck to various pages telling him how proud we were of him and how much [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...]
It all started when I sent my kids off to their very first Vacation Bible School.
At the end of the week, they came home with a set of dog tags. Each tag featured a different Scripture they had learned. I could hardly believe it when my then three year old was able to recite more than one Bible verse to me, complete with body movements. “Wow, this is awesome!” I thought, then over the next few weeks I taught my kids a few more Scriptures. [Continue Reading...]
But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. James 1:6 (NIV)
Author Anne Lamott, whose words regularly bring me to tears, writes that the first two of the three essential prayers are “Help” and “Thanks.”
Interesting. The hospital chapel again.
We’ve spent more than our fair share of time there lately. We are no strangers to praying together, this family. When we walk, when we play, in the car, before we rest, we pray together. [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...]
When I was younger, I tended to see myself with glasses that were much too dirty. When I looked at myself, all I saw was a flawed being. Someone who didn’t have much to offer especially after making so many mistakes. When I developed a relationship with Jesus, read His Word, and let it permeate from the inside out, I realized that I had come into agreement with lies about my worth. The truth is that I’m a gift and have specific gifts that I can use to glorify God and bless others.
What is a gift?
The dictionary’s definition of a gift is something bestowed or acquired without any particular effort by the recipient or without it being earned. It is also a special abilty or capacity, natural endowment, and/or talent. [Continue Reading...]
Years ago, I remember my mother laughing at a commercial of a father dancing through the aisles of Staples (office supply store), as he filled his cart with school supplies for his children. The father had a huge smile across his face as he galloped through the store. The music that played in the background was It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year. The commercial aired near the end of August - approaching the coming school year. My mother was laughing so hard, I think I spotted tears escaping her wearied from the summer break eyes. Back then, I was the offended child wondering how my mother could be so coldhearted. Didn’t she enjoy me being off from school all summer long?
Now, I stand as the sympathetic parent secretly wishing that year-round schooling was available. [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...]
In May, we discussed the difficulties of
Dealing with angry teens, Part 1. The key point was to distinguish between when someone is expressing anger—which is normal and needs a healthy, boundaried outlet—and disrespect—which is using our anger against people with disparaging, condescending, mean comments. We focused on changing the behavioral dynamic in the family between parents and teens and the importance of role modeling and owning our own anger before we can help our teenagers (or anyone else for that matter) with theirs. We also talked about how our teens need to learn to express their anger in appropriate ways. We ended with the question: Should we permit anger at all?
And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years, Genesis 1:14 ESV
A new day dawns. Sun rises. Birds sing. Flowers grow…It’s a new day. It’s as if all of creation knows, as if all of creation grows…today is a new day for my daughter.
Today, after years of preparation—hard work, sleepless nights, APs, SATs, ACTs, essays, extra help, extracurricular, education—today she decides where she will spend the next four years of her life. [Continue Reading...]
Just like the baby birds in the nest outside my window, Amelia is getting ready to fly. She’s the youngest of four. The last to soar. Will she make the right decision? What is the right decision?
The last bell rings and the kids run out out school screaming: “Last day of school!!” They are full of joy and enthusiasm as they anticipate what their summer will bring.
As a full-time working mom, my reaction isn’t quite as joyful as my children’s…okay it’s a lot different. What I feel is a bit of happiness mixed with larger doses of apprehension! Don’t get me wrong, I love spending quality time with my children. However, a lot of the time my kids are home, I will be in front of a computer working. So I’ll be spending the time minus the quality.
By Noelle Rhodes
Bathing suit shopping is evil. I am convinced of this. If you need to torture me, all you need to do is kidnap me and make me shop for bathing suits with a 21-year-old, size 2, fashion model. I’ll talk! I’ll turn! I’ll hand over any and all the classified information that is in my possession.
Just please - be merciful. Don’t make me go bathing suit shopping!
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...]
I held the rod as carefully as I could, melting the glass, slowly turning, round and round, in the blazing orange flame, hoping to create as perfectly round a glass bead as possible. It was my first time. I was afraid of getting burned, but so enamored with the melting stick of glass, that I found myself moving closer to the flame. The edges of the bead glowed bright orange in the flame, and I sat mesmerized. [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...]
