It hurts so good! 

Have you ever heard the expression? 

In my last blog we saw that reaction or behaviour is less dependent on the events that occur but more about our perspective of the event or our mindset. Our reaction to a situation often depends on the level of pain it is being stirred by. But is pain always bad? 

Pain can be described as an unpleasant sensation that can range from mild, localized discomfort to agony. I remember hearing my son moaning in the middle of the night due to the pain he was experiencing in his legs, an uncomfortable soreness located in his calves and thighs.  It was growing pains. His eight year old muscles were stretching to accommodate his lengthening bones. As much as I wanted to stop my son’s suffering, I understood that his pain was a sign of growth. 

Here’s another example. When I exercise after a long “gym sabbatical,” I wake up the next morning with a definite soreness in muscles I...

What Sabbath Taught Me About Rest  

When my daughter was little, she did everything to avoid napping. She desperately needed to nap every afternoon, and everyone knew it except her. When she caught herself nodding off, she would fidget and look around to see if there was a party happening to which she had not been invited. She continually resisted the rest that she most needed. Most grown-ups struggle with the same thing. It took me years to realize that my day off work--which I called my Sabbath--was merely a time for me to catch up on the things I did not do during the week, such as sorting clothes, sorting toys, taking my kids out on a date, paying the bills, preparing my next garage sale, selling stuff online, vacuuming, doing the laundry, planning meals, or writing a paper for a class. Checking off items from my to-do list brought me some temporary peace of mind but never really rest.

According to the American Center for Disease Control, 80% of doctors' visits...

It has come to my attention that I have not posted on my blog for a little while. In the past months, my family moved from Vancouver, British Columbia to Sherbrooke, Quebec, where I serve as lead pastor of a church with my husband Pascal. We have been wanting to do ministry together for a while and we are delighted for this opportunity. Such transition also comes with its load of challenges; from helping our three teenagers adjust to a new school and make new friends in a different environment and culture. The main thing that made the most impact on my capacity to adjust and embrace this new life has been my mindset — that’s a trendy word I know. In the next few weeks, I will share with you several mindsets that can help you not only endure but thrive in the midst of changes in your life. 

First, what’s a mindset?

A mindset is a set of attitudes held by someone.  Your mindset reflects your way of thinking, influences the way you process and...

In the fall of 2015, my husband and I made one of the hardest decisions of our lives. 

At the time, we were preparing to move our family of five to Port-au-Prince, Haiti to do humanitarian work. We took various non-profit management and cultural integration classes, filled out countless forms, and worked tirelessly on a fundraising campaign that would provide financial support for our family and funds to invest in a water well project. We even gave our employer letters of resignation.

We had a strong sense that God was calling us to the people of Haiti. We had served in Port-au-Prince for a full year at the beginning of our marriage and always had the desire to go back. We were nearly fluent in Creole, the main spoken language, and loved the culture. It also seemed to be the right time as our kids were at a good age to participate in such a bold move. We were all ready for the challenge.

Then, the unexpected happened. We discovered that two of our kids had...

Over the years I've had the opportunity to speak on topics like leadership, parenting and relationships. I observed that one of the biggest emotional drainers is this:

We tend to absorb the moods, emotions and reactions of those around us.

Let me give you an example. One of my children used to come back from school emotionally charged, and often vented his anxiety and frustrations by yelling at everybody in the house. I would often get stressed out and end up yelling back at him, “Stop yelling!”

Each of us have people in our lives that tend to be anxious and very reactive to their environment. We often feel that we are walking on eggshells when we are around them, as we don’t know what will irritate them or trigger an explosive emotional reaction.  

We may have done our very best to help them develop new coping skills but, at the end of the day, we have to come to terms with the facts:  We can't control or change others. We can’t “fast...

Sometimes we don’t realize how fast we are going until we have to stop.  I am a mother of 3 (1 preteen and 2 teenagers). Our minivan is always full of stuff: a basketball, Mc Donald’s leftovers, school backpacks, lunch boxes, hockey gear and theatre scripts…  you get the idea.  If I’m driving at 20 km/h and come to a sudden stop, the transition is pretty easy. But if I am driving at 120 km/h and have to hit the brakes, every loose item is propelled to the front and becomes a hazard. A pencil becomes a sharp arrow; a bottle becomes a rocket; a basketball becomes a meteorite.  The point is, sometimes our life is so fast paced that we don’t even notice until something unexpected comes along that forces us to slam on the brakes.  And then, all the “stuff” comes flying at us. That is exactly what happened to me in 2015.

My Story

My mother died from cancer when I was 9 years-old. My father did shift work at the local...

In this spontaneous interview, Caroline answers four questions about children ministry.

1. I can we encourage my children's ministry leaders?
2. How do we best reach the heart of children?
3. How can we measure success in kids ministry?
4. How to help children transition from children to pre-teen ministry in your church?

Watch the interview here: Interview with Caroline at Elevate Conference 2011

Click the Link to view the interview

Connecting Parents To Your Children's Ministry