Life

All I Want for Christmas is Our Home Back

Patricia Hartman
1 Dec 2015
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It’s 6:30 a.m. The alarm shocks you as you just fell back to sleep after being awakened at 3 a.m. again when Johnnie came home, talking on his stupid Smartphone and banging around in the kitchen. You thought you were done with 3 a.m. feedings. He’s sleeping on the sofa, game controller in hand, clothes and dishes everywhere. You thought you were done picking up his toys. You have to get to work, so you can support his lazy behind. He can’t find the “right job” – which is kind of hard to do when he stays up all night […]

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The Most Expensive Time of the Year

Jeff Masters
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  Wow, I can’t believe it is that “expensive” time of the year again! Christmas is supposed to be the season to have fun while enjoying the holiday with family and friends. However, the cash crunch and credit card bills arriving in January seem to ruin the joy. It’s no wonder that the holidays are actually one of the most stressful times, especially from a financial perspective. Smart spending and creating a Christmas budget can reduce the financial burden and alleviate some of that unwanted stress. But let’s be real, its way too easy to get caught up in the […]

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What Should We Tell Our Children About Santa

Dr. Samuel Lamerson
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Christmas brings with it a number of ethical questions: how should Christians engage in what certainly can be a holiday of excess, pride, selfishness and greed? How can we make sure our children realize the far greater importance of Easter and the resurrection when culture has made Christmas so much more important? These are important questions, but one small but niggling question is asked of me every year by parents who are members of the Kingdom of God and want to know the opinion of a pastor and professor. The question is, Should we tell our children that Santa is […]

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Wow Date Nights…Mission Possible?

Patricia Hartman
25 Nov 2015
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Men, your mission—should you chose to accept it—is to create a WOW date night with your wife. Why? If you and your wife are like most: You are busy with your career(s). You are busy with your kid(s). You are busy watching or playing sports. Your marriage has become routine and lacks vision. You spend more time interacting with your phone than with your wife. Your wife is not as available as you would like her to be. You spend less than three minutes daily meaningfully interacting with your wife.   Are you falling in or out of love? In […]

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Affordable Care Act Takes a Bite

Bill Kohn
5 Nov 2015
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Some people say that the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) is a dog.  Well, for 2016 this dog finally has developed some sharp  teeth.  Maybe you noticed when you did your 2014 taxes this year that you had to pay a small penalty for not having health insurance.  The penalty you will be paying shortly for not having insurance in 2015 may be more than three times  the 2014 amount, and it will more than double in 2016.  Ouch! So what does this mean?  In 2014 if you didn’t have health insurance, you only had to pay a penalty of 1 […]

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Churches Pitch In to Build SafePlace Playground for Kids in Crisis

Shelly Pond
3 Nov 2015
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When abused, abandoned or neglected children must be removed from their homes, 4KIDS of South Florida welcomes them to SafePlace, a temporary shelter where they are lovingly cared for while arrangements are made for appropriate placement in foster homes. Because this is an often scary and confusing time for children, SafePlace desires to provide a warm retreat from the storm. However, a necessary relocation of their facilities recently left SafePlace without an outside area for children to play and run off the stress of their situation, until two churches stepped in to help build them a playground. “It’s about the […]

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What to Do When the Stock Market Crashes

Jeff Masters
6 Oct 2015
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  We all experienced a lot of market ups & downs recently. We know that markets rebound from crises over time. However, the recent market volatility has affected investors more than anytime since the Great Recession in 2008-2009. This volatility can be very unsettling, but it is a natural part of the market. We have to remember the big picture and put volatility into perspective so you will stick to your long-term financial plan you have created. Here are some thoughts on how to do that.   Stay invested Over 66 years historically (14 bull markets and 13 bear markets), […]

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Mending a Broken Family with Some Spiritual Superglue

Brody Howell
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As a kid growing up in the 70’s, family sitcoms gave wonderful and idealistic family values — two-parent families with lots of love, laughter and light-hearted humor such as “The Brady Bunch” and “Happy Days.” Family dramas included biblical and moral values such as “Little House on the Prairie” and “The Waltons.” But, perhaps the television version of family in those days was more of an escape from my reality, which was that I was the youngest of four siblings who lived in a blended family, as my mom and dad divorced when I was not just two years old. […]

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10 Simple Ways to Improve your Health

Andrea Goff
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  Who doesn’t want to feel healthy, full of vigor and with an energetic zest for life? God wants us to live the abundant life but all too often failing health hinders our goals and dreams. The Bible refers to our body as a temple of the Holy Spirit, and as my trip to Israel last year reminded me, temples take some consistent maintenance if they are to last for the duration. Doctors told me I would be on medication for the rest of my life, but I would like to share a few simple tips that have helped me […]

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Is Your Bride Worth 8 Cattle?

Patricia Hartman
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  We just returned from a mission trip to Africa, visiting four safari camps in Botswana. (Our mission: relax and enjoy God’s creation.) We usually ask our married guides about their marriages because they are required to be away from their spouses for extended periods of time. Three guides had fiancées but were working to get the bride price (Lobola) required by the fiancée’s parents. One’s fiancée was working to pay it. All three already had at least one child.   What is a bride price? This is money or property given by the groom to the parents of the […]

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