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 Kim Hyland
The choices before us when it comes to raising our children are unprecedented, and that can be both a blessing and a curse. Not only is the decision about where and how to educate our children logistically demanding, it can be emotionally draining as well. With all these options, we moms can easily find ourselves feeling isolated and unsupported. [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 Elaine O'Neill
New Jersey rivers flooded, not once but four years in a row. Rising waters overcame the same homes and neighborhoods, over and over again. Personal belongings were strewn across lawns waiting for the local trash collectors to gather and dispose of forever. Collectables, photos, furniture, clothes, toys, and other assorted memories were destroyed and thrown away. [Continue Reading...]
By Angele Tanyeri
At last, summer is here! Hopefully, you are finding time to slow down and soak up the sun. While some may be enjoying a stay-cation this season, others may be gearing up to travel abroad.
Before you leave good ole’ U.S.A., take a peek at my ever-growing list of things I wish I knew before traveling internationally. [Continue Reading...]
by Kimberly Coyle
I discovered most of my friends’ hidden talents by accident. I walked into a café and found a dear friend’s photographs hanging proudly on the walls, a label in the right hand corner of each frame alerting me her work was for sale. One friend stood up to sing karaoke during a summer evening out, and we sat wide-eyed when she blew us away with her singular voice. Another wrote and published a novel before I even realized she was a writer. [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 Elise Daly Parker
Are You Having an Affair?
Well I was. I didn’t know I was. In fact, it came as quite a shock…
It was one of those periods when I was particularly critical of my husband; every little thing he did bugged me. He got his hair cut too short. He wasn’t loving enough. His chewing was bothering me. And appreciation that he was willing to empty the dishwasher wasn’t my first thought…No, instead I thought about how annoying it is that he always leaves one thing out. You know, he puts all the cups, plates, silverware, utensils away…but he leaves the one lone bowl out, below the cabinet where it belongs. [Continue Reading...]
How do we prevent the values, beliefs, and expectations we have for our family from getting lost in the shuffle of our modern-day life?
That’s the question my husband and I asked ourselves just a few months back. We talked about what we wanted our family to look like; it wasn’t the over scheduled, disconnected, and burnt out family we were becoming. So we decided the best way change our course was to create a family mission statement and have a discussion about family culture. [Continue Reading...]
By Elaine O’Neill
A few years ago, I met a woman whose words changed my heart and life. She said to me, “I need to go to church to fulfill my weekly requirements.” Her words grieved me and made me look at my spiritual life in a new way. [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 Cathy Baker
For several years, our family has had lots of fun with this simple idea during the summer months. You take the letters of the alphabet and you come up with 26 activities – one for each letter of the alphabet.
So you don’t have to think of all the ideas on your own, I’ve compiled a huge list of them into this ebook, A to Z Summer Fun, available on amazon. The activities range from free to adventurist, and are adaptable for preschoolers through teens. My girls are already making plans for this summer’s list! [Continue Reading...]
By Susan Panzica
The command to observe the Sabbath is the fourth among The Ten Commandments, found in Exodus 31:15. This is a commandment with by far the most instruction but, even within Christian circles, it seems to be dismissed as optional by our busy society. [Continue Reading...]
by Kimberly Amici
Blogs are more popular then ever before. And while it’s exciting to have so much content, information, and inspiration to choose from online, it can also leave us thinking, How do I read it all?
Many of us don’t have time to stop by and read the latest posts on the blogs we follow regularly. What happens if we want to read something new from a new writer, on a different topic than our usuals? [Continue Reading...]
by Kimberly Amici
Things turning out the way I planned.
When my husband and I first got married, we talked about many wonderful ideals for our family. We wanted a welcoming home with an open-door policy, a family that loves and serves God together, a simple life that prioritizes relationships.
Years later, the values, beliefs, and expectations we had for our family were getting lost in the shuffle of our modern-day suburban life. [Continue Reading...]
By Noelle Rhodes
Make no mistake about it, I absolutely love living in Ireland! There is truly no place as beautiful as this island. Yet I still suffer from occasional bouts of homesickness. From time to time, I pine for the place that I call “home.” I dream of the scenes, the smells, the faces that I have been far away from. I begin to feel lonely…and disconnected from both the place I miss and the place where I presently live.
Here are a few things that I have done to cure my occasional bouts of homesickness. [Continue Reading...]
by Tiffany at Don't Waste the Crumbs
Our kitchen was filled with all sorts of boxes that were supposed to be food, but very little food itself. This was the result of a year worth of couponing and stocking up when the prices were too good to pass up. Of course it was never my intention to feed my family boxes, but manufacturers don't issue coupons for bananas or beans or whole chickens. We were on a very tight budget, so I used coupons and bought only what was on sale. Unfortunately, that meant we were buying mostly food that came in boxes. [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...]
By Noelle Rhodes
“You want a wee cuppa, Noelle?”
She has one of the friendliest faces you’ll ever see. Her eyes are full of life. The smile she wears is carried with ease and yet brims full of grace. It is not a common thing to come across a truly joyful person. When you do, you cannot help but feel completely safe in their presence. [Continue Reading...]
by Gayle M. Irwin
You've probably seen the TV ads: sorrowful eyes staring out from cages. You've heard the plea: help shelter pets. You may have even heard the longing in your child's voice, “Can we PLEASE get a dog?!” All pluck at your heart like a harp string, making you seriously consider adding a dog to your household.
But, you have questions – good for you! Your pondering shows responsibility, and that’s crucial of a dog owner. What else? [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...]
