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...]
Our vision is to inspire, empower, educate one another through ongoing community exchange. One of the ways we’re doing this is through our Friday Community column, in a monthly series called In Your Words. We reach out to our contributors and guest writers to ask them a question once a month. What will you miss most about the summer?
by Kristin Hill Taylor
While circumstances change, the foundation of joy that only God can give doesn’t waiver. We’ve been in a season of transition around my house. In the spring, my husband moved his main office and opened a new office. In May, we met a local birth mom through a friend and have been working with her to make an adoption plan for the baby girl she’s expecting soon.
"…He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart…" Isaiah 40:11 NIV
Heart, circumcised the gentile wraps herself cozily in a wide tall it fingers the knotted tzit' tzit one by one and remembers the ordinances
by Susan Panzica
Milestone birthdays have a way of doing that – making you feel old. But when I stopped to evaluate the big picture, I had a realization. I might look old, but I sure don’t feel old. I’m doing more now than I’ve ever done.
by Mel Schroeder
I think, like most new parents, we just assumed we’d have more. Having Mae was a struggle as fertility is pretty much never in my favor, but we didn’t see a life with one child. We figured that if God could give us this one, certainly He could (and would) give us more.
by Kimberly Coyle
Around the time my youngest child turned two, when we lived in the thick of toddler tantrums, I began having meltdowns of my own. My daughter’s usually occurred in the toy aisle at Target, but mine were mostly behind closed doors. I could be found quietly sobbing in the bathtub or lying in bed at night, blood pulsing hard and my thoughts a roar into the silence.
What are you 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!
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 Micalagh Beckwith Moritz
As I write this, it is about three months since I gave birth to my first baby, Hudson. I feel that I am still emerging from what I like to call, “Babyland.” It’s a twilight zone where days and nights fuse into one, where sleep is a coveted and little-known resource, where there is little time for anything other than feeding, changing, rocking, cuddling, and repeating that process.
By Mel Schroeder
And though we don’t often talk about it anymore, it’s a strange existence to have two homes in opposite hemispheres that span oceans. It creates longing and homesickness that fall into categories that can’t quite be described. Some days I try, but most days I just accept that this is the way life will always be.
by Elise Daly Parker
We gathered in a circle, the team members of Circles of Faith, to pray over the evening. And we were off…Time to greet the attendees of Circles of Faith LIVE – Women of Influence. Each woman who joined us seemed eager to meet others, hear an inspiring message, break bread together, and cross over bridges of separation - denomination, race, age - to connection.
By Toni Campbell
Every day I work with people who are forced to make choices. Pay their rent, or buy food. Put gas in the car, or buy food. Keep the lights on, or buy food. With 1.2 million food insecure people in New Jersey alone, you very likely know someone making these types of tough decisions. So what can one person do in the face of such an overwhelming problem?
by Susan Panzica
I’m an accidental abolitionist. At this point in my empty-nester life, I thought I’d be winding down from work and from ministry, but I find myself busier than ever. What began as a passing interest has multiplied into a ministry that has had a global reach.
Our vision is to inspire, empower, educate one another through ongoing community exchange. One of the ways we’re doing this is through our Friday Community column, in a monthly series called In Your Words. We reach out to our contributors and guest writers to ask them a question once a month.
by Kristin Hill Taylor
I started blogging in 2001 after a friend nudged me to join this new technology craze, not long after I graduated from college with a print journalism degree. I figured I’d have an online journal for a while and then move on. Obviously, that didn’t happen.
by Barbara Ruglio
On June 26, 2015, nine men and women in Washington, D.C., ruled that marriage between two men and two women was a right in all 50 states of the USA that could not be denied. In their decision, they declared in lofty beautiful language that love wins.
by Kim Hyland
It wasn’t long ago when this evil hit my radar. And I went through all the emotions. I wanted to forget or to somehow make it not true. I desperately wanted to turn my face away, but I couldn’t. So I prayed. And as I prayed, my shock was turned to awe.
by Toni Campbell
The following spring, I presented the proposal to church staff. They gave me a laundry list of things to investigate. Another year passed. I went back with additional facts, but the staff still wasn’t convinced. Fast-forward to late fall. A man drove into the parking lot and approached two of our pastors with an unexpected question.
by Wodline Hippolyte
I was sick and tired of sending my resume out and getting no response, As a result, my faith was shaken. I was a single mom with a college education who felt rejected and unwanted. Going on social media didn’t help at all. There I would read posts of young adults sharing the successes of their businesses or how God opened doors for them.
WHAT ARE YOU 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!
