by Angele Tanyeri
The Collyde Summit is a gathering of passionate believers in the NY, NJ, and PA area, who love Jesus and are convicted to become world changers. Collyde turned out to be a life-changing experience for me! To gather and worship in this way was profound. It also gave me a chance to ‘collide’ with individuals I may not have had an opportunity to meet otherwise.
by Elise Daly Parker
So for pretty much the 30+ years my beloved and I have been married, we have been “working” on our finances. Initially, it was just a matter of trying to be responsible with our money and not get in over our heads with debt. Truth be told, our success was short term. Some of this was circumstantial – unanticipated life and salary changes threw us for a loop. But, really? We overspent.
by Kathleen Whittam
There is a nickname for people who only go to church on Christmas and Easter--a ChrEaster. My mom has long been a fan of the Christmas cactus, a plant that, oddly enough, blooms around Christmas as well as Easter. I started calling them a ChrEaster Cactus.
By Beth Stiff
I wanted to start from the beginning...
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.~ Genesis 1:1-2
My focal point was going to be on the three words God says over and over again in the first chapter of Genesis: “…it is good."
He looked at all He created and said it was good. ~ Genesis 1:31
Starting from the beginning sounded like a good plan because I’m currently reading from the Book of Genesis and those three words jumped off the pages as I read. If we believe everything He said as truth, and he says those three words several times, I’m thinking those words are rather important. [Continue Reading...]
by Elise Daly Parker
Even if you don’t go for a big New Year’s Eve celebration, the New Year can mark a fresh start, a new beginning, a shift in focus. It’s a good time to take a look back at the past, and consider a vision for the year ahead.
Many people choose a New Year’s resolution or two… [Continue Reading...]
by Micalagh Moritz
I first experienced an extended time of silence when I was entering college. It was during a pre-Orientation 10-day backpacking trip called, appropriately, Exodus. I had recently begun my own “exodus” from my bustling, suburban hometown of Montclair, New Jersey, where I had spent most of my life, to a small, rural town in Pennsylvania.
by Angele Tanyeri
I was a teenager about to embark on the journey of freedom, and experience the privilege, growth, and independence the high school experience had to offer. Like many young girls, I had dreams, goals, and plans for the next four years of my life. It started out picture-perfect.
by Satin Pelfrey
When I introduce myself as flawed and messy, it’s because I’m truly just that. My past is tattered with two failed marriages, physical and emotional abuse, and adultery. I used to be in church ministry, attended regularly, and was betrayed there as well. I’ve made mistakes I’m not proud of, hurt people I never intended to hurt, and been wounded by people I trusted far more than I should have.
by Megan Romeo
I can remember vividly the moments of growth I have had in my spiritual life with my Heavenly Father. As is often the case, my heart was tugged and the soul stretched. It brought a fire, a renewed spirit, and a drive to seek more of Him and less of me.
by Kim Hyland
There were hospitalizations, neonatal intensive care units, needles, lines, words I'd never heard before…and a peace and intimacy that took me totally by surprise. During that time I walked nearer to God, or He walked nearer to me, than I ever thought was possible. It was not a "Pollyana-ish," manufactured, everything will be alright, fake faith. But a solid rock surety of God's sovereignty no matter what the outcome. Even death. Easy to say, I know. But that's what we were facing.
by Kristin Hill Taylor
“God, please let us become pregnant” was replaced with questions about what adoption would mean for us. This came after 22 months of trying to conceive. A doctor who knew far more than we did told us our best odds of getting pregnant would come with in-vitro fertilization – which was our self-imposed boundary to let go of trying to become parents biologically. We thanked him for the information and headed home.
by Toni Campbell
It had been one of those days. I was being pummeled from all sides–finances, work, the kids, and my estranged husband.My shoulders heaved uncontrollably as I wept, and the tears that cascaded down my cheeks obscured my vision to the point that I was struggling not to drive off the road. As I gulped for air in between the racking sobs all I could manage was, “Oh God, oh God, oh God!”
by Kimberly Coyle
My own story doesn’t have the flash or the dramatic appeal of these broken ones. It’s the story of a slow burn, how God scooped me up as a child fresh from my mother’s womb and how He carried me every day since. In my story, there is no conversion experience or years of running or dark night of the soul. There is three-year-old me singing my little songs to Jesus.
i begin many of my writings
with these few words,
“i was born broken.”
if this is my truth,
by Sheri Stewart
if i stand by this today
as i have my entire life,
then where does that leave God?
by Kimberly Coyle
Every December, I buy a new daily calendar for the year ahead. And every January, I sit down and fill in the blanks—the birthdays, anniversaries, school dates, and vacations we planned in advance. I find it comforting to know a few of the things that lie ahead, giving me something to look forward to as I flip the year’s pages.
by Kathleen Whittam
Last week I was thrown from my high horse. My vision of my angelic child was shattered. Indeed, he is not perfect. I caught him in a lie. A big fat lie. A lie he repeated over and over again for a month. Lest we all get too excited, the lie was about wearing retainers nightly even though they were actually lost at summer camp.
By Jennifer from Swing Whistle Zing
We started out with the best of intentions, but as the clock ticked by and the minutes passed, frustration began to rear its ugly head. My arms began to ache from being extended indefinitely while my husband ran into a roadblock of sorts trying to get the final pieces to lock into place. We both gritted our teeth and pushed on.
On Mondays, at Circles of Faith, we talk about FAITH - stories, testimonies, and God moments to inspire you. Today we are sharing our most popular and favorite posts from 2014. If you have some time, why not catch up on some you have missed. And when you are done share with us in the comments your favorite post from the past year.
by Elaine O'Neill
My lonely heart hurt with quiet feelings of sadness. Instead of the noise and laughter I experienced when we took in these needy souls, a heavy silence hung over my home. I felt depressed. We lacked the joy that a foster child brought to our home during the Christmas season.
By Tracie Miles
It had been a few years since God healed my heart of the shame and regret of past mistakes, and now He was calling me to a new purpose. I believed God could never use me for anything special, because I felt I had nothing special to offer in light of my past.
by Kimberly Ann Coyle
My son entered the world of light and noise and oxygen on a day when the windows stayed open. A breeze blew the curtains back and sun streamed across my bed as I labored, bent over and breathing heavy at the foot of it. It was April in London, and I have yet to see another sunny April day there since. I birthed my boy into light, rivers of it washing through the upstairs bedroom of the little house with the blue front door.
by Micalagh Beckwith Moritz
In many places around North America, it’s getting cold. It’s natural to dream about warm places as you bundle up in your winter clothes. So is planning a dream vacation to a tropical location, where you can lay on the beach and relax, escaping from the cold and stress of day-to-day life. Sounds pretty nice, right?
by Elaine L. O'Neill
When we exchanged our marriage vows, we both meant it when we said we would commit to each other from that day forward: In sickness and health, rich or poor, till death do we part. It was the part about loving and cherishing I had to learn more about. My dreams and goals did not always line up with my husband’s. As a result. I struggled with humility and resisted putting aside my plans to minister to and walk with my husband.
by Toni Campbell
Whatever the issue, I was keenly aware something was going on with the woman at the end of my pew. How? Well, it could have been the arms folded so tightly across her chest a crow bar couldn’t pry them open. Or maybe it was her sour look and eyes that glared, “Don’t mess with me today.”
By Kimberly Coyle
I hear her talking from across the coffee shop. I’ve seen her there before, circled close to the same group of older gentlemen clutching coffee cups. They come here often to talk about the latest headlines, their medical problems, the grandkids, and, occasionally, their faith. As a serial eavesdropper, my ears fine-tune to the tenor of their conversation, and I listen in.
