Life

Preventing, Testing and Treating COVID-19

Andrew Ta, M.D.
10 Apr 2020
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Whether you turn on the television, listen to the radio, pick up a newspaper or go online, COVID-19 is the headline. Questions about this relatively unknown coronavirus are dominating global communication as public health professionals worldwide are working diligently to protect patients, visitors, caregivers, staff and society as a whole.  Everyone shares some responsibility for the success of our combined efforts. While each of us can control only what is within our reach, the cumulative effect of our actions can have far-reaching and dramatic results.  Two crucial questions have overshadowed all others: Who is at risk and what can we […]

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What do We Do Now?

Lisa May
7 Apr 2020
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As you know, we find ourselves at a time and place that is unprecedented in our generation. Floridians have grown accustomed to the frenzy of the grocery in preparation of a hurricane, but the Coronavirus is a different, more trying challenge. Storms are over quickly, and we can move on with our lives. Both impacts us physically and emotionally, but the difference is the longevity of the impact. The longer we experience the physical and emotional stress, the more challenging our relationships become. As pressure mounts, our emotions begin to leak verbal and sometimes toxic behavioral flares. Yesterday I had […]

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In Uncertain Times, You Set The Tone

Dr. Bob Barnes and Torrey Roberts
2 Apr 2020
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time

(Scroll down to leave a comment on what kind of tone do you set with your kids) The last few weeks, parents in our communities have faced some unprecedented things. There has been widespread fear for our health and the health of our loved ones. Panic to prep our households in case of quarantine. Long lines and craziness at stores. We are now facing school closures, work closures and for some reason toilet paper is nowhere to be found. Where were you? For our children this may be their “Where were you on 9/11?” moment. This level of upset may […]

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The Best Time To Invest

Rob Hoskins
5 Mar 2020
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From the day a child is born until they turn 18, there are about 940 weeks. When they’re little, the days seem long, but as they grow time seems to speed up. Our influence lessens and grows with the passing of each week. We recently did a major study with Barna on the major factors influencing the spiritual growth of a child during the formative ages of 6 to 12 years old. We found that where a child and family spend their time plays a major role in determining the child’s future. “The key is in not spending time, but […]

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Take Out the Trash

Lisa May
4 Mar 2020
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trash

One of our most provocative communication tools is Taking Out the Trash. I’ve hesitated to share it in this format because it is also one of the most emotional tools. The Dialogue Guide was designed to facilitate disagreement. It comes with relational intensity, but it doesn’t necessarily generate the same level of emotional depth that the Trash Can tool elicits.   Swimming Laps versus Scuba Diving My reason for swimming toward deep waters is due to several evaluations we received from our recent RECL(AIM) marriage workshop. Several couples, with tears, shared that they wished we had started with the Trash […]

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An Open Letter For Parents

Dr. Bob Barnes and Torrey Roberts
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To my teenager, I just finished reading about another victim of our social media era. You don’t know her, but you probably know other girls like her. Jessica was a teenager in Ohio who texted a photo of herself naked to her boyfriend. This photo was forwarded to other students in other high schools in her city. Jessica was so humiliated and so devastated by the violation that she committed suicide. She felt she couldn’t go on living with that photo of her naked body posted on the web for all to see for the rest of her life. As […]

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Communication, Communication, Communication

Norm Wise
20 Feb 2020
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“Let your speech always be with grace, [as though] seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person” (Col 4:6 NASB).   “but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all [aspects] into Him who is the head, [even] Christ” (Ephesians 4:15 NASB).   They say that the three most important things in having a healthy relationship with another person is communication, communication, and communication. What makes communication to another person so hard? The first problem is that most people are not good listeners. We don’t really focus and really […]

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How to Teach Your Child to Love

Dr. Bob Barnes and Torrey Roberts
4 Feb 2020
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This being the “Love Month” the topic of love is worthy of discussion … even in a parenting article. In fact, teaching children the proper understanding of love might be one of the most neglected areas of parenting. And, that neglect might be very damaging for a child’s future success in life. At first glance it sounds very worldly to challenge a parent to raise a child to “be a great lover.” But should we let our children gain this expertise by encouraging them to watch television shows like The Bachelor or The Bachelorette? This is what the world around […]

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What’s Love Got to Do With It?

Robyn Wilk
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February is the month of love. There are more songs written about love (or the lack of love) than any other subject on the planet. In the 1980’s, Tina Turner sung, “What’s Love Got to Do With it?” That is a very good question. The celebration of love on Valentine’s day is typically seen as a “couple’s” holiday. We express our love for another person by giving them cards, candy, flowers, candy hearts, taking them out to dinner or maybe just staying home and cooking them a nice meal. When we think about love and who we love, most of […]

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Stop, Look And Listen = You Matter

Lisa May
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Whether you’re talking to a child, a co-worker or the love of your life, when we stop, look and listen to them, we’re giving them our full attention, which says YOU MATTER! All three actions are keys to having meaningful, connected conversations which in turn leads to significant, connected relationships.   What does it mean to stop? Stop means purposefully ending whatever you’re doing to give someone undivided attention. Close the laptop, lay down the phone, put it on silent, remove the earbuds, stop folding the clothes and turn off the television. STOP means to remove yourself from anything that […]

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