An updated edition of a trusted resource on the all-too familiar topic of infertility. Includes questions at the end of each chapter, lists for recommended reading, case histories, and personal testimonies.
From her own experience, Flowers understands the struggle and anguish infertile readers go through, and she gently points out some strategies that will help bring true peace and joy in the midst of the disappointment.
One of the most devastating losses a family can experience is the loss of a child. Whether the loss is through illness, accident, drugs, suicide, or other tragedy, the pain is overwhelming and often paralyzing. Often we think of "loss" as death. However, in our broken world there are many ways to suffer the loss of a child. This book discusses how a family can learn to cope with loss of a child due not only to death, but also to a custody battle, addiction (and other choices a child makes), chronic illness, crime (human trafficking, kidnap), and other issues where hopes and dreams disappear. Wright helps readers through the grieving process and assists them in finding God's grace and comfort during this very difficult time of life. This book is unique as it is for parents as well as grandparents.
In No Easy Choice, Ellen Painter Dollar tells her gut-wrenching story of living with osteogenesis imperfecta (OI)a disabling genetic bone disorder that was passed down to her first childand deciding whether to conceive a second child who would not have OI using assisted reproduction. Her story brings to light the ethical dilemmas surrounding advanced reproductive technologies. What do procedures such as in vitro fertilization (IVF) and preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) say about how we define human worth? If we avoid such procedures, are we permitting the suffering of our children? How do we identify a "good life" in a consumer society that values appearance, success, health, and perfection? Dollar considers multiple sides of the debate, refusing to accept the matter as simply black and white. Her book will help parents who want to understand and make good decisions about assisted reproduction, as well as those who support and counsel them, including pastors and medical professionals.
Hannah’s Hope is intended as a guide to assist you in making wise decisions as you struggle through your grief of not yet conceiving, losing a child, or struggling through the adoption process.
The gospel of Jesus Christ—the heartbeat of the Bible—brings life-changing hope and power to real people with real problems. Inspired by that conviction, The Gospel for Disordered Lives provides an introductory guide to the theory and practice of Christ-centered biblical counseling. Intended to serve as a foundational textbook for students in Christian colleges, universities, seminaries, and graduate schools, the book also provides a useful overview that working counselors can reference in their ministry contexts. Additionally, it can serve pastors and current counseling practitioners as a helpful refresher and a resource for common counseling problems.
A Year in the (Infertility) Life By: Nikki Zurawski Infertility. It usually takes a year or more of “trying” to get pregnant to get to that word, and no one wants to hear it. Once the doctor says it out loud, life can change as you know it. Poking and prodding. Early morning appointments. Ovulation tracking. HSG dye tests. Ultrasounds. Expensive Consultations. Fertility drugs that you can’t even pronounce. Painful procedures. Fertility clinic referrals. Treatment cycles. Intrauterine insemination. Polypectomy. Too many follicles. Cysts. Injections. Hormone Support. Surgeries. Consultations on in-vitro fertilization. Even loss. That’s just the physical side of it. The emotional side? Trying to navigate rescheduling work meetings for last-minute appointments based on baseline data each cycle. Tough conversations with friends, family, and your boss. Deciding when to allow your body a “break” from treatment cycles, even if just to give your health savings account a chance to catch up. Overthinking. Sleepless nights. Worrying that in the end, none of it will work. Trying to find a way to stay sane in the midst of all of it while literally filling your body with hormones.
Pastors and church leaders genuinely want to care for people in their congregations and communities. But pastors cannot care for an entire church, and most laypersons don't have the training to do it. The Caring Congregation Ministry is a model for person-to-person care that's been proven to work in small and large churches across the U.S. It is a laity-centered ministry, where laypersons receive rigorous training and then are commissioned to serve as Congregational Care Ministers, caring for others in their own congregation and their extended community. This remarkable approach to congregational care was first developed by author Karen Lampe and her team at The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection, in Kansas City. It has been tested, refined, and strengthened, and is now being adapted in all sorts of congregational settings. One early adapter was co-author Melissa Gepford, who launched a Caring Congregation Ministry in her own rural church. Together, they have created this immensely practical guide for any pastor or leader seeking to create a congregational care ministry. This Implementation Guide is the main book for getting started. It introduces the ministry model and explains the Five Essentials which form the ministry's foundation. It is extremely practical, full of checklists and other tools to help pastors and other leaders understand (and explain) this way of providing congregational care. The Implementation Guide also includes a section focused on the crucial component of this ministry–the Congregational Care Minister, or CCM. This section fully describes the characteristics of CCM's, how to recruit people to this ministry, how to discern if candidates are a good fit, and how to conduct the CCM training over a multi-week period. It details the critical information CCM's must know, and the behaviors and habits they must practice in order to be effective. Note that the companion book, The Caring Congregation Ministry: Care Minister's Manual, is required for the CCM training. It serves as a training workbook, which then becomes the CCM's personal reference manual.
THE RIGHT WORDS FOR EVERY SITUATION, AT YOUR FINGERTIPS. Pastors and congregational care ministers of all kinds must offer the right words and presence in any place, at a moment’s notice: Words of scripture offering comfort, encouragement, and wisdom. Words of truth providing accurate information. Words of prayer offering connection with God. And a calm, capable, attentive presence. The Concise Guide for Congregational Care is the tool for the task. This easy-to-use book provides words of scripture and prayer, along with important information to share with people in hospitals, care centers, and homes. The full texts of scripture, poetry, and prayers are included, so there’s no more flipping back and forth in your Bible or other books. The small size makes the book easy to carry in your bag or pocket, and appropriate to use in the most intimate settings and sacred moments. Part 1 offers quick reminders of the foundations for care, including key points on theology, boundaries, procedures, and the use of technology. Part 2 provides scriptures, prayers, and other relevant words for times of crisis and events or situations during which people need care. It is organized by situation, including addiction, anxiety, cancer, COVID-19, death, depression, divorce, infertility, sexual assault, and suicide. Part 3 equips you to be a meaningful spiritual guide in important moments beyond crisis care. These include adoption, blessing of a home, graduation, retirement, and many other transitions, milestones, and seasons of life. This section includes words of scripture and prayer for each situation, plus instructions for conducting a simple service of anointment. Melissa Gepford is an ordained deacon in The United Methodist Church and serves as the Intergenerational Discipleship Coordinator for the Great Plains Conference, UMC. She launched Caring Congregation Ministries at churches in Kansas and Nebraska, and is an organizational consultant for The Caring Congregation, which strives to create excellence in church care ministry across the United States. Contributors Laura Berg and Joy Dister-Dominguez provided original prayer texts and helped to shape the scripture selections for this book. Laura Berg is an ordained deacon in full connection in the Florida Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church. She has served as a minister of congregational care, hospice chaplain, and chaplain for the fire & police departments of New Smyrna Beach, FL. She co-established a congregational care ministry in her church and has worked with leaders and laity in churches across the U.S. to develop care ministries for their communities. Joy Dister-Dominguez serves as associate pastor at Arlington Heights United Methodist Church in Ft. Worth, TX, where she oversees congregational care and discipleship and preaches regularly. Joy is an elder in full connection in the United Methodist Church. She is an ICF trained coach and uses those skills to guide leaders and congregations in creating strong, sustainable ministries of care.
Loved by Choice offers a clear and uplifting look at adoption from virtually every perspective. It is comprised of true stories that reflect the joys and the difficulties of those touched by adoption. Families working out an overseas adoption, those creating interracial families, grandparents, birth mothers, and even birth fathers are among the many who tell their stories. Two appendices define adoption terms and outline resources that will be helpful to those exploring adoption. The emphasis of Loved by Choice, though, is to demonstrate how adoption can complete a family. It's a poignant celebration of adoption, led by those who understand it best. This book's pro-life, positive, and upbeat message will be a welcomed source for women facing pregnancy choices, anyone working with unwed mothers, adoptees, adoption advocates, pro-life advocates, couples considering adoption, and anyone else interested in stories that celebrate adoption. It is an ideal book for bookstores and libraries to display in November, which is Adoption Awareness Month. Loved by Choice will also be popular at the many adoption-related conferences, book readings, and fairs that take place around the world.