Family

“Parent Compass” Series Shows Real Families Overcoming Real Problems

Michael Foust
1 Jun 2016
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The social media age has helped families build relationships with new friends and re-establish contacts with old ones, but it also has had an interesting side effect: Everyone’s life on Facebook and other platforms seems, well, perfect. It is rare, indeed, to read about a person’s struggles at work or at home. Instead, we see pictures of smiling parents and happy children, living their seemingly seamless lives. It is enough to make families wonder: Does anyone else share our struggles? A new 12-episode Christian family series seeks to break through the façade, showing real families facing real challenges in life […]

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Standing Up to the Challenge

Shelly Pond
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In recognition of their accomplishments, this month South Florida students walk up to receive their diplomas and step out into a world of opportunity. Each class has a personality of its own, but this class “has a passion to do things bigger than themselves and connect with others to make things happen,” said Chris Lane, executive director of First Priority, a ministry that supports faith-based clubs in the public schools.   Finding what’s real and genuine Michael Dube, upper school principal at Jupiter Christian School, agreed. “In this particular group of students, I have seen a commitment to serve and […]

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challenge

How Does Instinct Affect a Child’s Behavior and Learning

Steve Davis
5 Apr 2016
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Newly hatched sea turtles crawl up through the sand, and run lickety-split straight to the ocean. Their mother is gone; no one taught them to do that; it’s instinct. Newborn baby kangaroos instinctively climb into their mother’s pouch, different species of birds display amazingly diverse nest building habits, and the fighting and courtship behaviors of every living creature is happening all over the planet…by instinct. An instinct is an un-learned behavior, a fixed action pattern (FAP). Someone asked me this month, “How does instinct affect my child’s learning?” Beautiful question! This is at the heart of my doctoral studies (EdS, […]

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Adopting from Colombia: The Road to a Forever Home

Melissa Presser
1 Apr 2016
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When Nidia M. Sica, Director of Social Services and International Programs for Adoption by Shepherd Care (ASC) speaks about the agency’s Colombian exchange program, you can’t help but feel God’s love. Adoptions by Shepherd Care which began in 1980 has expanded its reach and God’s calling to care for the orphan by bringing children from Colombia right here to the United States for a one of a kind Summer Program which allows families to meet the children and the children to meet potential adoptive families. “The program is especially focused on Colombia because of the social crisis which is currently […]

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Difference Makers: Florida Guardian Ad Litems

Terry Morrow
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  While the horrors of child abuse and neglect are all too common in South Florida, one organization utilizes caring and committed volunteers to stand in the gap for God’s children. A Guardian ad Litem is a volunteer appointed by the court to be a voice for abused, abandoned and neglected children and make independent recommendations to the court by focusing on the needs of each child she or he represents. Here’s why these volunteers are so critical.   Child Abuse and Neglect in South Florida  The Miami Herald’s “Innocents Lost” documents the stories of 477 children who were killed over a six-year period […]

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Difference Makers:  Florida Guardian Ad Litems 

Terry Morrow
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While the horrors of child abuse and neglect are all too common in South Florida, one organization utilizes caring and committed volunteers to stand in the gap for God’s children. A Guardian ad Litem is a volunteer appointed by the court to be a voice for abused, abandoned and neglected children and make independent recommendations to the court by focusing on the needs of each child she or he represents. Here’s why these volunteers are so critical.   Child Abuse and Neglect in South Florida  The Miami Herald’s “Innocents Lost” documents the stories of 477 children who were killed over a six-year period at […]

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His Caring Place Celebrates 30 Years of Saving Lives

Shelly Pond
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his caring place

  Now celebrating 30 years, His Caring Place has offered love, encouragement and guidance to about a thousand young women struggling with crisis pregnancies since its inception. Whether deciding to parent their newborns or release them for adoption, His Caring Place provides young, single women with the opportunity to complete their pregnancies, accomplish personal goals and discover God’s plan for their lives. It all started in 1977 when Julie West Sorrelle became pregnant at age eighteen while she was in college. Frightened and feeling hopeless, she scheduled an abortion. Just days before her appointment, she decided, instead, to complete her […]

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Father-Daughter Dance Makes Memories

The Good News
30 Mar 2016
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On Saturday night, Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church was transformed into a bustling dance hall filled with fathers escorting their daughters dressed to the nines in their favorite glittering gowns. Overflowing the dance floor, hundreds of fathers danced for hours with their daughters.  Sounds of laughter emanated the room as many fathers illustrated God’s love by creating long-lasting memories with their daughters. These little girls grow up constantly being told stories of princesses and their rescuers. While these stories are fairytales, Saturday night brought a little bit of that magic to life. Whether taking a silly photo or performing an uncoordinated […]

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Balancing Accountability and Grace in Broward County

Terry Morrow
2 Mar 2016
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Florida youth who have committed a community offense are benefitting from services that promote positive change and redemption through the Faith and Community Network and the PROMISE Program. While some believe that all those who commit a crime or community infraction should pay for their offense, others understand that each of us have made regretted mistakes and are in need of grace or a second chance to learn from those mistakes. Matthew 6:14-15 states, “If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive […]

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Lessons Learned in Sportsmanship

Vickie Estler
1 Mar 2016
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The spring schedule of sports and the arts are in full swing. As parents, we desire to give our children a variety of experiences to broaden their horizons. Whether sports or the arts, getting along with others is imperative for any group activity.   Play well with others Sportsmanship is the appropriate and fair behavior used while participating in a competition; it should be a life goal. The “gets along well with others” skills our children learn at a young age will carry them through middle and high school, college and into the adult years of jobs, board rooms, committees […]

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