Perhaps even more amazing is the fact that God’s mercy stretches into our inner struggles as well. No matter how badly we mess up, or the number of mistakes we’ve made, God’s mercy provides for us, lifts us up, and carries us through. May God grant you a glimpse into the immensity of his mercy and love for you, and may it fill you and carry you through whatever life throws at you! Above photo from http://inhabitat.com/kentucky-noahs-ark-encounter-opens-amidst-severe-flooding/ “Take the world, but give me Jesus! All its joys are but a name. But his love abides forever, Through eternal years the same. Oh, the height and depth of mercy; Oh, the length and breadth of love! Oh, the fullness of redemption, Pledge of endless life above!” (CW, 355) Lezlie España is a summer RA who recently graduated from Wisconsin Lutheran College with a BS in Psychology and Computer Science. She is currently working at the Medical College of Wisconsin in the Brain Injury Research Program.
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Looking at the devotion titled, “All Together Now,” by Miriam Drennan it teaches us a very valuable lesson. Australian turtle eggs are buried at all different depths, yet they all hatch at the same time. It’s a mystery as to why that is. We can look at that and see in this world everyone is at different ‘depths’ when it comes to knowing about God. Some do not know him at all, which is why we need to spread God’s word so that everyone can ‘hatch’ at the same time when it comes to the last day and we can rejoice in heaven. Proverbs 27:17 says, “As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend.” As believers we should not keep our faith and knowledge of God to ourselves. It is our job to get out into the world and help others get to the same level in order for us all to ‘hatch’ and be taken to heaven together. Holly Holm is a Resident Assistant as well as the Intern here at New Beginnings. She is pursuing her BS degree in human social services and will be graduating this December. School was nearing an end and I did not know what to do. My family lives in Arizona and for the past 5 summers, I have always gone home & found jobs there to save up money. This year however, I had been blessed with a very good job during the school year that I did not want to give up. After a lot of praying, I was given my answer.
Fast forward 3 months... These women that I work and live with have become family. It has become such a blessing to have this experience in my life. It has taught me so much about the field I wish to pursue and has given me the tools to best serve God through my work. This past semester of college was rough. There were many things that had not fallen into place for me. When I was unsure about where I was going to go this summer, God stepped in and led me the way that he wanted me to go. I am so thankful to know that God truly does have a plan for me. Eden Ehlers I am from Peoria, AZ. I'm a currently a Junior at WLC, double majoring in Psychology & Human Social Services. I aspire to become a social worker in a medical setting. I am thankful for New Beginnings & the experience it is giving me. It has been a great blessing. When the time came for me to look for an internship for the summer, I sat down with my advisor and we talked about my options and all the places she had contacts with in order to help place me in just the right place. After going through about five different areas, we came across New Beginnings and I knew right then that that was the place I wanted to pursue my first internship.
Thinking about my time here, which has only been a month so far, I have already learned so much and have had my eyes open to the world around me. Being in this environment, God’s love is seen everywhere. Through nightly devotions, group nights, friendship Sundays, and all the fun activities that happen here I can really see the work of God being done and how truly blessed we all are to be children of God. We recently had a baby shower here where all the residents got together to play games and support the mother of the child who will shortly be with us. Just sitting back and watching and listening to all the conversations going on, you can really see how everyone truly cares about one another and how we all are like family. I have been so blessed to have become part of the New Beginnings family and I cannot wait to continue my journey here! Holly Holm - Summer Intern and Resident Assistant
The residents at New Beginnings are influenced by mentors that appear in the staff, teachers, volunteers, and many others who are able to help them learn how they can reach their full potential. All of these people are working together in their lives so that the residents can be successful and reach the goals the program sets for them, along with reaching their personal goals. Each person is dedicating their time and energy in order to make the journeys of the residents as smooth as possible. When I started at New Beginnings my goal was to really be able to say that I inspired the residents in a way that led to a perceivable change, but recently I realized that they were having the same effect on me. Some people might think that the residents are the only ones who are benefitting from New Beginnings, but I know that that is not true. In fact, the staff at New Beginnings is touched by the residents in different but equal ways. Whether residents ask thought-provoking questions during devotions, display great diligence in achieving their goals, or persevere through their obstacles, they have the ability to inspire me and the rest of the staff members every day. There are so many instances and circumstances where both staff and residents are able to see that God has plans for New Beginnings, and that his will is being done here. God has blessed me through everyone at New Beginnings, and this experience has allowed me to really appreciate New Beginnings and everyone who is involved in the organization. Leah Whitson is a junior Human Social Services major at Wisconsin Lutheran College, and the Resident Support Intern here at New Beginnings. After college she plans to pursue a Master's in Social Work, and one day she hopes to use her experience at New Beginnings as a good foundation . During her free time Leah likes to travel, play with her dogs, and spend time with her fiancé.
Everyone can name things about themselves that they don’t like. The time we spend analyzing those qualities that we don’t like can be never-ending. It is easy to stand in front of a mirror and critique ourselves. “If only I was smarter, then I wouldn’t have to spend so much time on studying.” “If I was a more natural disciplinarian, my children would behave better at school.” “I’ve gained so much weight, I don’t even want to be seen in public.” Whether it is weight, grades, athletic ability, or negative personality qualities, everyone has a list of things that they want to change about themselves. Why do we have such negative views about ourselves? First of all, everyone naturally compares themselves to others. When we see someone who has a great quality, we admire and focus on that. While we’re concentrating on how great they are at that specific thing, we neglect seeing anything else about them that they might need to improve. Another reason might be that our society says that we should not only appear perfect, but our perfection should also seem effortless. No matter what your flaws are, hating yourself is not healthy. Focusing on your flaws and hating yourself isn’t something that God wants. Everyone does have positive and negative qualities, but we are all blessed that God made us so wonderfully. He created us the way that we are for a purpose, and that purpose is to utilize our gifts and live for Him. Psalm 139:14 says, “I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.” Leah Whitson is a junior Human Social Services major at Wisconsin Lutheran College, and the Resident Support Intern here at New Beginnings. After college she plans to pursue a Master's in Social Work, and one day she hopes to use her experience at New Beginnings as a good foundation . During her free time Leah likes to travel, play with her dogs, and spend time with her fiancé.
For the past 10 weeks, I have had the awesome opportunity to spend almost every Thursday evening with the great people at New Beginnings as part of my nursing clinicals for public health nursing. While here, I have been able to participate in some great activities and discussions. One activity planned for me was to provide health education to the group for two of my sessions. Last week was the first one! After discussing with the residents and staff about what topics might be interesting, I decided to talk about nutrition. Everyone who was present, myself included, was at a different stage of life; whether it was never having had a baby, being pregnant now, having just had a baby, or having had a baby a several months ago. So, I focused the information around nutrition at all of these stages: Nutrition in pregnancy, nutrition in postpartum, nutrition for infants, and nutrition for women at all stages of life. Together, we had a great discussion about how to take care of our bodies by eating well! One of my favorite parts of every visit to New Beginnings is that we have a group Bible story and devotion after dinner. Since my first day here, we have been working through Jesus' life on earth. These devotions are great for all included -- I love (and need!) the chance to review these incredible stories, and even learn some new facts! The devotion and nutrition discussion -- though they may not seem connected -- actually go hand-in-hand, and it's perfect that we had one right after the other. We often think of good nutrition and a healthy lifestyle to be good things, but earthly things. And yes, ultimately they are earthly things simply because they are not things we will have to worry about in heaven. But while we are still here on earth, we need to remember that our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, and ought to be treated as such. When we learn something new about modern medicine and science, it's so exciting because of the possibility to better care for bodies that have been injured or sick. If we are willing to go so far for injured or sick bodies, why not healthy bodies, too? We should not only clean up the mess and rebuild after the temple has begun to fall. We should work every day to keep it in its strong, beautiful state. It's God's desire that we honor Him with our bodies in every way, every day. Keep yourself healthy, and keep your temple strong! Rachel Kelly is a senior level nursing student at Wisconsin Lutheran College. She has been working at New Beginnings to fulfill her Public Health Nursing clinical. She currently lives in Milwaukee and works as a nursing assistant at Froedtert Hospital, and will be getting married this October. Rachel is excited to graduate in May, and is looking forward to continuing her career at Froedtert Hospital shortly thereafter.
In life, there will be times that are not ideal. Not necessarily rough times, not happy times, just times that might be described as blah. You might be ready to move into a bigger house, working an entry level job just to get a promotion, or waiting until you’re done with school so that you can jump into a career you’re passionate about. You’re ready to take the next step, but the next step isn’t quite within your reach. These times can often lead to feelings of stress, discontentment, or lack of trust in God. There is this mentality that says something like, “Lord, I just want the promotion. Then I will be happy.” What people don’t understand is that being content is something that is practiced; it doesn’t come with achievement. For some, the more you achieve, the more things you will want. Being content is something that all Christians should strive for because God gives us more than we could ever deserve. There will be in-between times during many parts of our lives, with something in them that we’re not content with. What’s important is realizing how important it is to thank God for everything that we do have, and work to God’s glory to achieve our goals. The residents at New Beginnings are working through a time in their life that might seem never ending. Continuing education, meeting with professionals, and setting goals can get to be frustrating, but these mothers realize that this is the best way that they can be a loving Christian parent to their children. I look up to the mothers at New Beginnings, because they know that in order to achieve their goals they need to work hard, trust in God, and be thankful for the opportunities that they have. Leah Whitson is a junior Human Social Services major at Wisconsin Lutheran College, and the Resident Support Intern here at New Beginnings. After college she plans to pursue a Master's in Social Work, and one day she hopes to use her experience at New Beginnings as a good foundation . During her free time Leah likes to travel, play with her dogs, and spend time with her fiancé.
Philippians 2:3-5 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus. Some people think that in order to be successful you need to push others to the bottom so that you are able to climb to the top. This is especially common in American culture. The thought is that if others are as successful as you are, then you are not successful; you are average. No one wants to be average. However, the reality is that if everyone was raising each other up, the world would be a much better place. God warns us of the dangers of trying to be successful for recognition or glory. He tells us that we are to value others more than we value ourselves; their needs are to be more important than ours. Taking the time to care about others and putting them before ourselves seems hard. Everyone is busy with work, school, kids, and family, but it is important to remember that God wants us to love each other more than ourselves. Therefore, we ask the question: How can we value others?
Leah Whitson is a junior Human Social Services major at Wisconsin Lutheran College, and the Resident Support Intern here at New Beginnings. After college she plans to pursue a Master's in Social Work, and one day she hopes to use her experience at New Beginnings as a good foundation . During her free time Leah likes to travel, play with her dogs, and spend time with her fiancé.
It has been a busy few weeks at New Beginnings as the Resident Assistants (RAs) and residents have all started their spring semester classes. This is the residents' first semester of school since coming to New Beginnings, so it has been a major adjustment in their schedules- one that brings both challenges and opportunities.
To learn more about Carin Clark, click on the button below. It will take you directly to her website. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers. Galatians 6:10 A Former Resident Supervisor
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