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 Elise Daly Parker
I sought clarity, but confusion was my constant companion as I made categories – home, work, social, physical, emotional, financial – and lists within those categories trying desperately to get control of my schedule and get it all done.
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 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.
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 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 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 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 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 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 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 Angele Tanyeri
It is only natural to think about aging, the expected end-of-life experience and/or the unexpected accident or illness. Anyone who has ever loved and lost knows how very difficult it is to honor the life of our loved ones, especially when we are overcome by grief. The Five Wishes format is a popular living will that allows you to start important conversations and structure your wishes in everyday language.
by Chelle Wilson
I’ve endured numerous painful conversations lately with people who love the Lord AND who love me, but who want to believe that things are not the way they are. People who with every good intention need to believe that #BlackLivesMatter is more charged and divisive than relevant, that racism is no longer dangerous, is no longer omnipresent in our lives, that everything in America is okay.
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 Kristin Hill Taylor
I almost always have a to-do list near me. If a notebook isn’t physically near me, I’m emailing myself something I want to remember or making a mental list. One of my greatest fears is that I will forget. So I make lists. But I don’t want to forget to live with you, Summer, either.
by Kimberly Amici
A great way to keep God’s Word on our lips and in our thoughts is through Scripture memory. Memorizing Bible verses fills our mind with truth and builds our faith. Over the years, I have found a few things that make Scripture memory easy and fun.
by Kimberly Coyle
When we think of change, our minds often turn to the big and the noteworthy. We think of the day we got married or the day we became a mother. We look back on the year we moved out of our parent’s house, or our first day on the job, or the night we accepted Jesus as our Savior. We often forget that our everyday lives are cyclical, peppered with changes small and the opposite of noteworthy
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 Noelle Rhodes
Marriage is a journey you travel with someone. It’s not always perfect but that’s okay. We are meant to grow together and get better at being “better people for each other.” I am glad Troy and I haven’t had it all figured out since the beginning of “us.” What a boring story we would have to tell you now if we were always perfectly in love and never fighting! It’s the victories in the tough struggles that give hope.
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 Kimberly Amici
When most people think about Easter, they think of fancy dresses, bunnies, and chocolate eggs. As Christians, we know it’s a celebration of so much more - the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, one of the cornerstones of our faith. Holy Week is a time to prepare our hearts to rejoice in this epic story of triumph. Here are just a handful of ways we prepare for Easter in our family.
