God works in mysterious ways. Actually, He doesn’t just work in mysterious ways; He moves in mysterious ways as well. Let me tell you a story about how God’s mysterious workings saved the life of one of my relatives. To be fair, expecting an older gentleman, a fourteen-year-old girl, and one middle-aged man to effectively and safely move a full-sized fridge up a set of narrow basement stairs is asking a lot. True, my dad is an army veteran, but even he can’t fight my great-uncle’s enduring stubbornness. As a result, my dad and I were helping my great-uncle move the fridge instead of waiting for a more appropriate workforce, lest my great-uncle try to move the thing himself. At first, things went pretty well. It was only when my Dad had reached the top of the steps and paused to adjust his grip on the dolly that the great fridge-moving endeavor got out of hand-quite literally. His hand slipped, the dolly lurched forward, and suddenly my great-uncle, who had been standing at the bottom of the stairs, was lying on the floor with his leg pinned under the fridge. Things moved pretty quickly after that: My dad moved the fridge off my great-uncle, my great-aunt called 911, and I got an ice pack to put on the nasty bruise that was forming on the back of his head. Oh, and did I mention the blood? In addition to the bruise on his head, my great-uncle had pretty big cut on his leg. This is the part of the story where God comes in. A few days after my great-uncle’s exciting afternoon and resultant ambulance trip, my family found out that multiple blood clots had been discovered in my uncle’s leg when his cut was getting patched up. Even though he was already on a blood thinner, the clots had formed anyways. If his leg wouldn’t have been injured by the falling fridge, the blood clots likely wouldn’t have been discovered in time to prevent him from having a heart attack. In other words, God took an adverse situation and used it for good. Though I have seen plenty of other instances where God intervened in mind-boggling manner, none of them were ever as dramatic as the situation I described above. In short, if you ever find yourself wondering why God has placed you in a sticky situation, remember this: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28, NIV) No matter what God sends your way, Elizabeth Scheibl is the Promotional Writing and Editing Intern at New Beginnings. A student at Wisconsin Lutheran College, she is pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in English with a minor in History. In her free time, she enjoys reading, writing, and practicing martial arts.
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1. We do the work that we do because we love our God and we love the people we serve. Every decision we make in our ministry should ultimately be out of love for our residents and with their best interest in mind. We should constantly be praying for God’s wisdom as He guides us on this mission He’s called us to. “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.” James 1:5. Each mother comes in with her own strengths, weaknesses, and story. They are all children of God and we should strive to learn about them and help them in any way that we can. 2. It is important for us to take care of ourselves as well. Compassion fatigue is real. Even if you are in another line of work, the stresses of life or your job can negatively impact your ability love your neighbor the way God expects you to. Satan uses those moments to creep into our lives and fight against what God is trying to work within us. So, practice self-care. When you feel yourself getting bogged down in work or in your personal life, take a deep breath (literally) and say a prayer. It works wonders! It can also be incredibly beneficial to seek the help of a professional. If these negative feelings aren’t going away, they warrant the attention of someone who’s been trained to help others work through them. 3. While the pro-life mission as a whole is far from over, our message is gaining ground and God is working in the hearts of people around the world to further His purpose. Babies are being saved! This is one of the many reasons we do what we do. At New Beginnings, we provide mothers who have chosen life for their children with resources and a stable home. By changing the life of one mother, we change and shape the lives of generations. The work we do, with your help, will extend throughout entire family trees.
Taleya Williamson is the Operations Manager at New Beginnings. She was born and raised in Puyallup, Washington and attended Evergreen Lutheran High School. Taleya recently graduated from Wisconsin Lutheran College with a Bachelors of Science in psychology with a minor in anthropology. In her free time, Taleya enjoys spending time with her husband, David. On April 6th, we were treated to a highly informative presentation about child nutrition by Jenny Luedke, a senior nursing major at Wisconsin Lutheran College. Jenny, who is a mother herself, walked us through the basics of child nutrition from birth to five years. Everyone learned something new, and Jenny received plenty of questions.
Toddler Nutrition: Twelve Months to Five Years Once a child is a year old, he or she is ready for cow’s milk. For the first two years of life, children should drink whole milk; however, low-fat milk is also acceptable once the child is past two years of age. Some foods to avoid during this stage are strawberries and honey, because children can choke on the strawberry seeds and honey has botulinum spores that make children sick.
Group Night is held at New Beginnings. Every Thursday, we meet as a group to discuss important life skills and educational topics. Discussions are led by community volunteers and can cover a broad range of topics. New Beginnings – A Home for Mothers offers group classes to the mothers residing in the program every Thursday night. For one of our Thursday night group sessions, a group of three nursing students from Wisconsin Lutheran College educated staff and residents on choking prevention and infant CPR. The nursing students are a part of the Nursing Association on the WLC campus, and one student, Lori Bowman, served as a Resident Assistant at New Beginnings in 2015. We were excited to see Lori and to learn about the importance of choking prevention and first aid. As a part of the presentation, the students brought in a life-like doll that we used to practice CPR. One of our mothers, Jasmira, was brave and practiced on the doll in front of the group! The essentials that we gathered from the presentation can be broken into 3 main parts:
Infant Choking If a child is choking, he or she will not be able to talk, cry, or breathe. For infants younger than 1 year, first aid for infant choking includes alternating between giving 5 back slaps and 5 chest thrusts. An important note is that 911 should be called FIRST. Infant and Child CPR Should the child become unconscious, begin infant CPR. The three steps for infant CPR include (1) Open Airway, (2) Give Rescue Breaths, and (3) Give Chest Compressions. Again, 911 should always be called first. The nursing students gave staff and residents a handout that details all of the life-saving steps. Please follow the link below to view the handout: http://www.wheatonpediatrics.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Choking-Prevention-and-First-Aid.pdf. We would like to thank the nursing students at Wisconsin Lutheran College for giving such an informative and professional presentation. The staff and residents at New Beginnings learned vital information that could help save lives! Group Night is held at New Beginnings. Every Thursday, we meet as a group to discuss important life skills and educational topics. Discussions are led by community volunteers and can cover a broad range of topics. On March 23rd, we were able to have a bible study with Wisconsin Lutheran College’s Pastor Wayne Shevy, who works in the campus ministry office. Together, we studied Isaiah 46:7, which reads “They lift it to their shoulders and carry it; they set it up in its place, and there it stands. From that spot it cannot move. Even though someone cries out to it, it cannot answer; it cannot save them from their troubles.” Considering the subject matter, one of our most important topics of discussion was all the things that can be idols in our life, whether clothes, food, money, fame, or earthly relationships, just to name a few. The 6 D’s of Temptation We also learned about the 6 D’s of temptation: ways idols can creep into our lives. Whether through disguise, doubt, disagreement, deceit, desire, or destruction. Temptation can have harmful, even devastating, effects on our lives. Worse, there are many times where sin does not even look all that bad at first. However, the worst fact about idols is that when we fall prey to them, we risk our soul for something that can’t even help us when things really go wrong. The most important thing we learned, however, was that God is far better than any idol, and He can deliver us from temptation to worship them. God can rescue us from the slavery sin brings, which one of the most important things to remember about our relationship with Him. Group Night is held at New Beginnings. Every Thursday, we meet as a group to discuss important life skills and educational topics. Discussions are led by community volunteers and can cover a broad range of topics. Why would we feel improvised in God? He has unlimited resources, and tells us throughout the Bible to ask and receive. There are many verses on receiving from God, here are a few: Matthew 7:7 “Ask, and it will be given to you...” Matthew 21:22 “If you believe, you will receive…” Luke 11:9 “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given you…” John 16:24 “Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive…” What do you want today? Is it to be more conformed to the likeness of Jesus Christ? Do we want our will brought into perfect conformity to the will of God? Do we want our desires to be on heavenly things? Our Heavenly Father will give freely – 2 Corinthians 9:9-11. Let’s ask these things of God. Let’s ask as Solomon did, he asked for wisdom.
Karen O'Leary is the the Program Manager at New Beginnings. She has her BA in Bible Theology and her Masters of Divinity. She has 8-years of experience as a Social Director at a non-profit organization helping those in crisis with financial assistance, brief supportive counseling, and being a spiritual presence in their time of need. In her free time Karen enjoys reading, cooking and traveling. “Hi. How are you doing today?” “I’m good. How about you?” “Fine, thanks.” This dialogue, or something like it, is such a common fixture in our society that we hardly even think when we say the words, let alone listen to the response. If we’re on the receiving end of these words, we say “fine” or “good”, no matter what’s going on in our lives. In the rushed, overscheduled world we live in, it’s easy to think about the next task, even as we are struggling to complete the current one. As a result, we don’t often make time to really listen to other people.
Elizabeth Scheibl is the Promotional Writing and Editing Intern at New Beginnings. A student at Wisconsin Lutheran College, she is pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in English with a minor in History. In her free time, she enjoys reading, writing, and practicing martial arts. “To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven: . . . a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance.” (Ecclesiastes 3:1-4).
The past year has brought some of the greatest moments of my life so far: Graduate from college? ✔ Spend time traveling in the US and abroad? ✔ Find a fulfilling job in my dream industry? ✔ But alas, with the highs come the lows: Watch most of my friends move away? ✔ Struggle with “adulting”, bills, and multiple jobs? ✔ Not get to visit family and home as often? ✔ If you’re anything like me, it’s often easier to spend time focusing on those low points instead of the highs. It’s hard to celebrate accomplishments or be grateful for all the good, when there’s change, stress, or struggles on the ride with you too! Sometimes it takes a little reminder that we can’t control the track--that’s in someone else’s hands--but we can learn to “maximize the best moments” while “minimizing the bad ones.” Check out these five tips for doing so from Lead Life Well!
(Source for tips: http://leadlifewell.com/blog/5-tips-help-survive-ups-downs-life/) From a Former Resident Supervisor.
My husband and I recently adopted a puppy from our local Humane Society and I couldn't have been more thrilled. She is so sweet and loves playtime and snuggles. Because she's a puppy, she also enjoys being naughty from time to time. She'll get into things she's not supposed to and she loves using our shoes as chew toys! We've been working on training her so that we can minimize these bad behaviors but training is an ongoing (and sometimes tiring) process. It requires consistency, time, and sometimes more patience than I currently possess. Sometimes it seems as though she's choosing to do things she knows she shouldn't. For example, she will grab a sock out of the dirty laundry bin and run away after making eye contact with us - frustrating!
Lord, thank you for the grace and mercy you continue to pour out on me despite my sins. Thank you for sending your Son, Jesus, to purify me of those sins and to suffer the punishment for them so that I do not have to. Lord, I am truly sorry for my sins and pray that you continue to forgive me for the sake of your Son, Jesus. Almighty God, guide me according to your path that my life might reflect your love and mercy. In Jesus’ name, Amen Taleya Williamson is the Operations Manager at New Beginnings. She was born and raised in Puyallup, Washington and attended Evergreen Lutheran High School. Taleya recently graduated from Wisconsin Lutheran College with a Bachelors of Science in psychology with a minor in anthropology. In her free time, Taleya enjoys spending time with her husband, David. The statsDid you know that according to recent research in metro-Milwaukee, about 72% of families in poverty were headed by single mothers in 2009? Research also shows that generationally-poor children are more likely to continue in a cycle of poverty, which results in an increased likelihood of dropping out of school and an inability to obtain employment with self-sustaining wages. These numbers are scary. In addition, a recent article in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel highlighted the fact that babies born to African-Americans in Milwaukee are dying at a rate that exceeds three times that of babies born to Caucasians. The reason for the disparity is unknown, however the article indicates that premature birth is the cause of about 60% of infant deaths and that chronic stress has been shown to be a key cause of premature births. Chronic stress in the lives of Milwaukee African Americans comes from such sources as poverty, uncertain supplies of food and housing, unemployment and violence. how new beginnings helpsThe model of New Beginnings was created to combat these scary statistics! New Beginnings actively works to reduce the stress in the lives of its mothers by providing them with secure housing while they take advantage of the provided opportunities to increase their education and vocational skills. By focusing on educational tracks that lead to a professional career with a median salary of around $50,000, New Beginnings prepares mothers for a self-sufficient life. Additionally, once mothers are equipped with a self-sustaining career, the stressors of affording secure housing, purchasing food and supplies, and unemployment are substantially alleviated. By coupling faith-based programming with educational advancement and preparation, New Beginnings prepares mothers for a self-sufficient life rooted in Christ. What You Can DoBy supporting the ministry of New Beginnings, you put a dent in the statistics. Every mother that succeeds at New Beginnings breaks the cycle of poverty for herself, her child, and future generations. There is power in ONE person. Together we provide strength in numbers. The statistics are scary, but together we can work to break the cycle! To donate or get involved, please visit www.homeformothers.com. The difference is YOU!
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