Life

Is That All There Is?

Patricia Hartman
6 Jul 2017
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In 1969, Peggy Lee sang a haunting song questioning life. After seeing a house go up in smoke as a child, was that all there was to things? After going to a circus, was that all there was to the big top? After being dismissed by a boyfriend, was that all there was to love? It highlights our disappointment with things, achievement, pursuing vain pleasures and loves. It’s the kind of thinking that fuels mid-life crisis. The fingerprints of midlife crisis on marriage are all around us: midlife men of God giving up their pulpits and wives in shame, midlife […]

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Defeating Depression

Norm Wise
27 Jun 2017
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What is depression? It is the most common psychological problem faced by humanity. At some time nearly every human being suffers a season of depression as he or she journeys through this life. For some it becomes a lifestyle and condition that they rarely escape. But what exactly is depression? Depression is a deep feeling, attitude and thought process in which we are captured by a conviction that all hope is lost. Depression is hopelessness. It is defeat projected to every possible future moment. It is despair. Sadness is a response to some past or present loss. It can be […]

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Interruptions

Stephan Tchividjian
26 Jun 2017
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interruptions

My wife and I were having an important discussion a number of years ago, one of those husband and wife discussions that center on schedules, budgets, decisions, etc.  Important stuff, right? Our three-year-old daughter did not hesitate to interrupt our discussion because she was thirsty and she needed her “dink” right now.  She would not stop interrupting until we stopped our conversation to meet her immediate need. Lisa and I were out of town on vacation when our beach day was interrupted by a text from our daughter that stated, “Just so you both know… I refer to the time I was […]

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Can Money Buy You Happiness?

Jeff Masters
8 Jun 2017
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Many say that money can’t buy happiness; nearly everyone wants to test that theory. Most people believe they would become happy if they only had more money; however, lottery winners provide telling case studies of what happens when people’s financial dreams come true. The stories of financial ruin, divorce, misery and even murder of those who win lotteries seems to be the norm. We still believe money will make us happy. Many argue, like Jimmy Stewart in the movie “It’s a Wonderful Life”, when he asked the Angel Clarence if he had any money — the angel said: “we don’t […]

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Summer Hosting Gives Colombian Orphans a Chance to Experience Family

Shelly Pond
5 Jun 2017
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colombia

For the Past 10 years, Adoption by Shepherd Care has brought a small group of orphan children ages 9 to 14 from Colombia to South Florida. This Summer Hosting Program gives the kids an opportunity to experience life with a family in the United States for a few weeks when they will go on outings to the beach, attend a pool party and visit the Wow Factory indoor playground and party center. “We give them a nice two weeks,” said Nidia Sica, director of international programs for the adoption agency. However, the events are designed as an opportunity for families […]

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Vacation Bible School Provides Play, Praise and Passion

Gabriella Morris
1 Jun 2017
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Every summer since I was five years old, I would anxiously await the beginning of the week where I got to don a brightly colored shirt every morning and join the sea of children my age wearing the same shirt. The drive to church was specifically allotted for memorizing the energetic motions and lyrics of the thematic songs that I would sing with all my peers during every worship time. I still memorize those songs one week out of every summer, but now it’s to teach them to five year olds dancing in the same place I did thirteen years […]

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Pastor Owens Urges Men to Step Off the Sidelines

Shelly Pond
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men

What is the most important factor in changing a man spiritually, from immaturity to maturity? Discipleship. This was the conclusion reached by the founders of Promise Keepers, Bill McCartney, then football coach for the University of Colorado, and Dave Wardell, Ph.D., who birthed the movement more than 25 years ago. It sparked a revival among Christian men who were willing to take a stand for God in their marriages, families, churches and communities. Darrell Owens, senior pastor of Christ the Rock Community Church in Cooper City, lives out that model in the local church. He has made men’s ministry a […]

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EPIC Approach Places Powerful Tolls in the Hands of Parents

Shelly Pond
16 May 2017
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  Kids in the foster care system are survivors. Due to no fault of their own, they have faced abuse, neglect or abandonment, often having to learn how to cope on their own at a young age in whatever way they can. In some cases, these children experience Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD, which can produce symptoms such as irritable behavior, angry outbursts, problems with concentration and sleep disturbances, among others. These behaviors can present a challenge for even the most loving and well-intentioned foster parents. That’s why 4KIDS of South Florida has developed a therapeutic model for parenting […]

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epic

Taking Women’s Health Off the Back Burner

Andrea Goff
10 May 2017
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National Women's Health Week

  May 14-20 celebrates National Women’s Health Week, a health initiative sponsored by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. This campaign correlates with Mother’s Day to remind us that women often put their own health on the back burner while multi-tasking and caring for those around them. Indeed, today’s woman is often working, raising a family, caring for aging parents, juggling household chores, church or social responsibilities, and eating on the run. Nutritional deficiencies, lack of exercise and the effect of stress on hormones can quickly lead to chronic health problems. When drugs are medically prescribed, side effects […]

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A Mother’s Day to Remember

Melissa Presser
3 May 2017
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It was Mother’s Day 2013 when I stood before an altar in an empty church and accepted Christ into my life. I realized back then in that moment that Jesus picked that day for a specific reason. My doubt, my pain, my reason for living was all tied up in my role as a mother; it was why I was created. I didn’t understand the full significance of God’s reasons and timing in that moment, but I have since learned so much from him about why it had to happen that way.   Doubt You see, we as mothers continually […]

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