By Rick Poleck After what feels like a long and dreary season, winter is always somehow coerced into giving up its shades of steely gray to peeks of warming sunshine, welcome blue skies, intermittent dots and splashes of color, and the fragrances of floral displays called “spring.” The senses come alive, awakening a body’s dormant
By Ricinda Perry I have really enjoyed our time together over this series, and my family has definitely benefitted since it made me more aware of my own bonding opportunities. In concluding this series, I want to share with you the center hub of family bonding … the dinner table. What do these things have
By Ashley McIlwain Something that frequently comes up in correspondences from people relate back to their inner circle. Your inner circle is that group of people that you most frequently surround yourself with, seek counsel from, confide in, and that influences you most significantly. We all have an inner circle whether it’s two people or
By Ricinda Perry In Part 1 of my Family Bonding Series, I shared with you the importance of church-going. This week I wanted to talk with you about our breakneck speed society. School and after school activities galore … I have heard time and again about the moms who feel that they are constantly on
By Dr. Jeff Klick Every couple fusses and argues now and again. I once served on an elder board where a man said that he and his wife never had an argument in all the years they were married. Really, come on, sixty years and no fights? What he meant is that he and his
By Ashley McIlwain In a world of social media and smart phones, the concept of privacy is becoming extinct. We’re constantly being pulled into a self-revealing state of mind that beckons us to share that, post this, and all around put our private lives on public display. But how much is too much? I open
By Ashley McIlwain I cannot control life. My circumstances, the good and bad, my relationships, outcomes, the extent of my success – these are all things that are out of my control. Despite my best efforts, daily, I realize just how limited I really am. While frustrating, confusing, and sometimes angering, I find myself coming
By Ricinda Perry Over the past couple of weeks, I have been hearing so many sad family stories. These stories grieve me because I know how much I treasure my family time and how much joy is added to each day from my family ... everyone should have this. I will never have the answers
By Ashley McIlwain Having grown up in Central Pennsylvania, I am a country girl at heart. While living there, I didn’t always appreciate the small town environment, in fact, I downright hated it, but now that I live in the crazy, chaotic, and crowded Southern California, I can look back with clarity and admiration for
By Stephanie Tracey The dining room. Many homes have one, but it is not often used for dining. Usually it ends up as place to drop things to temporarily get them out of the way … backpacks, magazines, school papers, the coat that I’ll need quickly because “I’m going out again in an hour, and
