Picking up the Pieces

Written by Linda McCutcheon

Are you hurting and facing unbearable pain? We can pray for you.

“Our Lord, You Always do Right” (Psalm 119:137-160 (CEV).

As a woman who actively seeks to obey God, there have been confusing times when I read these words and wonder with a breaking heart feeling like the wind has been knocked out of me. It goes on to say that “your decisions are fair”.

How can I believe these truths when humans disappoint or hurt us deeply? How do I pick myself up and put one foot in front of the other? How is it that we are left grabbing our hearts trying to breathe? How can I understand that the Lord ‘who always does right’ watches me as I am left crumpled and defeated? It doesn’t feel it was a right decision.

Where Are the Fathers?

We face an unprecedented crisis in America today—the physical and emotional absence of fathers.

by Dave Boehi  

You see it in the awe-struck eyes of young boys in the inner city who look up to local gang members as their only role models.

You see it in the weary eyes of a mother trying to put her three young children to bed while her husband watches ESPN in the family room.

You see it in the downhearted eyes of a single mom whose former husband found another woman and moved across the country, leaving her with two angry teenage boys.

And you see it proud eyes of young men who feel they prove their manhood by impregnating teenage girls.

What you see, in short, is a cultural crisis that is more serious than many people realize—the absent father syndrome. Today's media often portrays the "New Father"—present in the delivery room, involved in raising the children, sharing household chores. But statistics tell a different story. Thanks to rising rates in divorce and illegitimate births, increased acceptance of premarital sex, and a growing confusion over male and female family roles, one can safely say that a growing number of "New Fathers" today are physically or emotionally removed from the lives of their children.      

It's as if America is determined to test the relevance of a philosophy satirically voiced by playwright Oscar Wilde: "Fathers should be neither seen nor heard. That is the only proper basis for family life."

Broken on the Back Row

Written by Sandi Patty

In the backseat the younger three kids—toddler Erin in her safety seat and the kindergartner twins, Jonathan and Jennifer sitting beside her—were quiet for once. They didn’t understand why yet another change had to happen in their lives but they trusted me to keep them safe and make things okay. Beside me in the front seat my oldest child, Anna, a second-grader, kept up a cheerful running commentary speculating on which friends she might see that morning.

I gripped the steering wheel with one hand and chewed a fingernail on the other a little nervous about what I was doing but knowing it was necessary. In that season of my life I felt very far away from God. It was not a comfortable place to be but it was nobody’s fault but my own. Wrong and sinful choices do that, they move you further away from God.

Making a House a Home

by Ameerah 

(USA)

Keeper of the Home

"She looks well to how things go in her household, and the bread of idleness (gossip, discontent, and self-pity) she will not eat" -Proverbs 31:27 (AMP)

Is there still respect for the art form known as Christian homemaking? Or is keeping one's home merely a mundane task that is more often rushed through and resented rather than treasured and honored?

Can You Afford to Switch Careers?

By Suze Orman 

Q: I'm a 51-year-old massage therapist, and while I love my job, my body hurts from the hard physical work. I'm considering going back to school to get a nursing degree. I have around $80,000 in savings from an inheritance and $100,000 in equity in my home. But I'm also the single parent of a college-bound 14-year-old daughter. Should I change careers now? 


A: It's likely that you'll be working into your 60s, so if you can't imagine staying with massage long-term, now is a fine time to make a switch. Given the high demand for skilled nurses, it's likely that you'll be able to find full-time work. My suggestion? Focus on youreducation, not your daughter's. Your financial security must take precedence. If becoming a nurse helps you better support yourself, that's the best move for you both. 


If you decide to return to school, carefully plan how you'll pay for it. Do you have an emergency savings fund equal to at least eight months of living expenses? If not, then the inheritance must go toward that first. Will you be able to work full-time while you study? If not, you need to calculate how much savings you'll need to get by. Finally, seek out the right loans. Federal Stafford and PLUS loans are preferable to private loans because the interest rates are fixed. 


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