Eight Strategies to Strengthen Your Marriage

Recently, our community experienced the outer bands of Hurricane Irma. Though we didn’t suffer a direct hit, as expected, we spent the days before the storm preparing for the winds and rain that were threatening our homes and families. I began to wonder, “Do we spend the same amount of intentional energy on protecting and safeguarding our marriages?” Though the news doesn’t cover it, and it is unlikely that we will see hourly visual updates on the projected paths of the storms brewing in our lives, threatening winds and rains threaten our marriages on a daily basis. God promises protection […]

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When Storms Hit Hard

Last month, South Florida experienced the effects of what many expected would be a devastating hurricane. As we prepared for a direct hit from a category 4 or 5 storm, schools and businesses closed so we could prepare for the wind and potentially flooding rain. Prayers were lifted for the storm to move and spare us. . .  and, almost miraculously overnight, the path of the hurricane shifted west to stay mostly in the ocean. Our prayers had been answered. While we were still impacted by the outer bands of the hurricane, most homes and families weathered the storm relatively […]

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The State of the Union

The number of people getting married in the United States is decreasing. According to W. Bradford Wilcox of the National Marriage Project, marriage rates have declined over 50 percent in the last 45 years. Additionally, the divorce rate in America is nearly twice what it was in 1960. For a variety of reasons, Americans are wondering why they should get married. In a culture that touts the value of autonomy, financial freedom, personal happiness, and the importance of professional status and material luxuries, it is understandable how individuals might ask, “Marriage…what’s in it for me?” As fewer men and women […]

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Hope in the Wilderness: Walking Through the Pain of Miscarriage

According to the American Pregnancy Association, the chances of having a miscarriage for women in their childbearing years is 15 – 20 percent and women who are 35 – 45 have a 20 – 35 percent chance of miscarriage. Before I had a miscarriage I assumed it was rare for a woman to miscarry. We hear a lot about family planning. From my view, it seemed that couples just decided when they wanted to have a child, and they got pregnant soon after. Like many women who personally understand the aforementioned statistics, my experience was very different. I kept saying […]

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Sunrise Police Build Trust in the Community

Communities across the nation are struggling with fractured relationships between police departments and the communities they are charged with protecting. While the potential for conflict between police and community members is always present, building and maintaining trust between the public and police is essential for the health of a democratic society. One local police department has taken a proactive approach to developing trust and strengthening ties between their officers and the individuals they seek to serve. Building trust The City of Sunrise Police Department has created multiple initiatives designed to build relationships, create pathways for open dialogue and promote partnerships […]

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Critical Skills Needed for a Changing Workforce

It is becoming clear that the skills needed for the 21 Century workforce are different than those that promoted success in the previous century. A recent study by PEW Research found that 55 percent of graduates from four-year colleges say that their education was “very useful in helping them prepare for a job or career.” An American Society for Training and Development study found that just 51 percent of employers surveyed believed that the skills of their current employees did not support changes in their organizations markets, strategies, goals and business models. Daniel Pink, author of A Whole New Mind: […]

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Finding Purpose through Trial

Each of us have found ourselves in seasons where we wonder, “Why me, God?” For some, it is a financial crisis. For others, it is abuse or addiction. Others find that their relationship is shattered or unraveling. When faced with a trial, how will we respond? Jose Flores offers us an inspiring model of how one young man has risen up to fulfill his unique purpose. In his early teens, Jose Flores was diagnosed with a health condition that would eventually cause him to lose the use of his legs. He was told that he would likely be in a […]

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Difference Makers: Florida Guardian Ad Litems

  While the horrors of child abuse and neglect are all too common in South Florida, one organization utilizes caring and committed volunteers to stand in the gap for God’s children. A Guardian ad Litem is a volunteer appointed by the court to be a voice for abused, abandoned and neglected children and make independent recommendations to the court by focusing on the needs of each child she or he represents. Here’s why these volunteers are so critical.   Child Abuse and Neglect in South Florida  The Miami Herald’s “Innocents Lost” documents the stories of 477 children who were killed over a six-year period […]

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Difference Makers:  Florida Guardian Ad Litems 

While the horrors of child abuse and neglect are all too common in South Florida, one organization utilizes caring and committed volunteers to stand in the gap for God’s children. A Guardian ad Litem is a volunteer appointed by the court to be a voice for abused, abandoned and neglected children and make independent recommendations to the court by focusing on the needs of each child she or he represents. Here’s why these volunteers are so critical.   Child Abuse and Neglect in South Florida  The Miami Herald’s “Innocents Lost” documents the stories of 477 children who were killed over a six-year period at […]

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Women of Influence: Running the Race Marked Out For You

Most of us aspire toward a life of meaning, purpose and contribution. Heroic acts of compassion by people such as Mother Theresa and Dorothy Day invite our spirits to rise up a notch. Great competitive athletes and performers inspire us to pack stadiums, arenas and living rooms across the globe. Many of us even put on their work uniforms – their jerseys – and buy shirts and hats with their names on them. Something in us is drawn to greatness. Most of us have heard of the Proverbs 31 woman. She is virtuous, strong, wise, entrepreneurial, the perfect mother, the […]

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