Women

Mother’s Day HERoes

Many women in the Christian community work faithfully in the shadows of their high profile husbands. In honor of Mother’s Day, we wanted to shed some light on a few outstanding women who are making a difference through their own ministries, acting as mentors to other women and serving their families well. They share some challenges and rewards of mothering along with a few words of advice.  Rosemary Barnes Rosemary Barnes has been teaching the word of God to women at Sheridan House Family Ministries and at several South Florida churches for more than 40 years. She leads a weekly […]

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In Women’s History Month, Look Back Gratefully But Also Look Around

As I peruse the fascinating resources collected for Women’s History Month, I thank God for the suffragists and other pioneers in our land of opportunity, a land where opportunity hasn’t always abounded for all. But as I look back with gratitude, I also look around me to see many women today who inspire us by using the gifts God gave them: serving and leading, untethered by the stereotypes and expectations of culture. Consider some of the encouraging ladies we see within the Palm Beach Atlantic community.  Best Women at PBA Among many key female leaders at PBA, here are two […]

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Trust Builds Love

For months we’ve had rioting in the streets, elections at the highest level in our nation inundated with accusations of fraud, churches fractured over leadership decisions, a news media that’s increasingly biased by personal opinion, a pandemic that’s gripped the world, and a tragic suicide bombing on Christmas morning.  Fear and lack of trust are rampant. How did we get to this point? Satan. Satan always aims at trust when he wants to divide because trust affects love. The more intimately we trust someone, the more capacity we have to love them. The less we trust them, the harder it […]

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Pause or Pursue

It’s Fall! A glorious season full of family, celebrations and romance! Hannah Felding, a romance novelist, recently sent out a survey polling the readers’ choice for the most romantic season of the year. Fall came in at 43 percent, followed by Spring at 31 percent. Of all the brides surveyed, a whopping 28 percent got engaged on a holiday or other special occasion. So while others are thinking about pumpkins and turkey, I’m encouraging those that are hoping this will be a season of romance to pursue clarity in your dating relationship so you’ll have discernment regarding whether to hit […]

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Take Out the 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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Stop, Look And Listen = You Matter

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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Maintain And RECL(AIM) Your Relationships

(Scroll down to leave a comment on how you maintain your relationships) The Christmas season is over, and the challenge of mastering our New Year Resolutions is upon us. Every year I take some time to reflect on the previous year; my accomplishments, failures, and all that I have to be thankful for. Then I begin my list of aspirations for the coming year. What do I want to accomplish, what do I want to do differently, what new leaf will I turn over, and what do I want to continue? Without fail, every year the same three things make […]

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Be Refreshingly Uncommon

My dad told me a long time ago, “Find out what everybody else is doing and don’t do it.” I have found this little bit of advice to be beneficial at times. As a pastor sometimes I observe other pastors and preachers and I read about church leadership, church growth, vision-casting and fundraising, and I do the exact opposite. Be refreshingly uncommon at times. For example, my wife and I see a marriage counselor and have no problem sharing that publicly. How can I counsel couples on the importance of checking in with a counselor when I’m not willing to […]

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Cohabitation Versus Marriage

Last month we explored the trend of Christian couples living together from a faith perspective.  We know what Jesus says about premarital sex…. it’s a big no; it’s a sin. The assumption is if you’re living together, you’re having sex. Let’s explore what the secular, academic communities research reveals versus what we choose or want to believe because it’s convenient and culturally accepted.  Cohabitation has been practiced for generations but for a variety of reasons. In colonial days ministers and officiates were less available, so couples formed homes and families without a legal declaration. This was the birth of common […]

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Unleashed Women’s Event Encourages Women to Deploy their Gifts

More than 500 women gathered at Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church on January 25 and 26 for Unleashed. The multi-church women’s event spearheaded by Dede Lomenick, of Rio Vista Community Church, explored how women can walk in the freedom that only Christ can give. Unleashed featured local women, who are community leaders, in panel discussions and displayed resources from nonprofits in their Resource Room during breaks. Lomenick also announced the launch of a new website www.unleashed1.com, which is being developed as a curated collection of local women’s Bible studies, Christian mental health professionals, non-profits and more resources for South Florida women. […]

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