Irmo, South Carolina is a special place to me. It’s the place where, four years ago, my husband and I were assigned on Call Day at the Seminary to Hope Lutheran Church. It’s where we brought both our daughter and son home. It’s where I now call home and where I have been blessed to be part of a congregation that is on fire to serve its surrounding community.
But our church had a problem that many churches can experience.
While we wanted to serve others around us, we were missing a straight-forward, accessible, and meaningful approach for serving our community.
Are you thinking about becoming a foster parent? Has God planted that whisper in your heart, too?
I’d like to share some of the myths and some of the joys that I’ve experienced as a foster mom—by far my favorite “job” that I’ve ever had.
Understanding what an abusive relationship looks like is a key step toward getting help.
But abuse can be hard to spot, especially when it is not easily visible. When we think of abuse, it is common to think of physical abuse because it results in scars and bruises that we can see.
Yet physical abuse is just one kind of abuse that can happen. Abuse can also be emotional, sexual, psychological, financial, or spiritual. For Emily, the abuse she endured was emotional and financial.
How to help survivors of domestic violence
Knowing how to help a survivor of domestic violence or intimate relationship violence can seem like an overwhelming challenge. Several questions can flood your mind when you are presented with the opportunity to help someone who confides in you that they are surviving abuse.