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Um, Babe, I’ve Written a Book… And It’s Sort of About Us
Read more: Um, Babe, I’ve Written a Book… And It’s Sort of About UsHi my friends, Ann here. Ok, now I’m going to tell you the back-story to this book, and how I shared it with Bryce. Let’s go back nine years ago. Bryce and I were in our early forties then and we were in the thick of our SUM situation. He would take the boys out…
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Would He or Wouldn’t He? Would My Husband Join Me in Faith?
Read more: Would He or Wouldn’t He? Would My Husband Join Me in Faith?I believed I had been given a promise from God that my husband would join me in faith, and we would be of one mind. It seemed God was giving me signs. But was it truly a promise from God, or was it my imagination? I was sufficiently convinced. So, I decided to believe the…
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It Was So GOOD. I Read It In a Day
Read more: It Was So GOOD. I Read It In a DayA Pair-Shaped Promise SUM Nation….. What happens when a life-time atheist asks God if He is real? This story is Ann’s real and true-life story of this very thing!!! This book is hilarious. I laughed OUT LOUD, many times. I couldn’t put it down and read it all, several times, in one sitting. It’s an…
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Introducing Ann’s New Book
Read more: Introducing Ann’s New BookHello friends, Ann here Over the last few years, I have been writing my testimony up into a book, and it is finally about to be published! Here it is — The Pair-Shaped Promise: A True Story of Faith and a Promise Kept. It is a story of my own coming to faith, it is…
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Easter is the Centrality of Love
Read more: Easter is the Centrality of LoveEaster, the death and resurrection of Christ, is an event that altered the fabric of humanity. Easter is the centrality of love. By this everyone will know that you are… Easter, the death and resurrection of Christ, is an event that altered the fabric of humanity. Easter is the centrality of love. By this everyone…
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The Upper Room
Read more: The Upper RoomToday I would like to challenge you to read the Upper Room Discourse, John, Chapter 13-17. These chapters are some of the most meaningful, powerful and life-transforming in the entire Bible. I become lost in pondering these passages. For example, a couple of weeks ago one of my prayer clients asked me, “How to do…
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Easter, And A Break in Our Relationships Study
Read more: Easter, And A Break in Our Relationships StudyEaster is next Sunday so we will take a break from our Healthy Relationships Study. Let’s focus our time on the Greatest Event in History, the Holy Week. It’s Monday for most readers here at Sum. Today marks the Triumphant Entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. Jesus Comes to Jerusalem as King 11 As they approached Jerusalem…
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God’s Unique Mix of Traits
Read more: God’s Unique Mix of TraitsSandra BleserElkhorn, WisconsinMarried 20 years – no children“I’m not short, I’m fun-sized!” “The humble will see their God at work and be glad. Let all who seek God’s help be encouraged.” (Psalm 69:32) Thank you so much for your dedication to this ministry. I can say that God spoke to me through a comment within…
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Prolonged Abuse
Read more: Prolonged AbuseKendra Leathen is a mental health counselor at Elite DNA Behavioral Health, where she works with individuals and families healing from trauma, addiction, and relational wounds. With a background in teaching and a Master of Science degree in Mental and Clinical Health Counseling from Palm Beach Atlantic University and Master of Arts in Theological studies…
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What I Know For Sure
Read more: What I Know For SureBarb Twigg here with another What I Know For Sure GO with or without him
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Long Term Marriage – Dismissive Avoidant
Read more: Long Term Marriage – Dismissive AvoidantREMINDER: The information shared in this series of posts, Healthy Relationships, is to add to our understanding of our relationships and with some specifics to marriage. The information I share has been vetted to the best of my ability. I may not have the full scope of practices or ministries of which I’ve obtained information…
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Patterns of the Heart, Part Two: A Faith-Based Reflection
Read more: Patterns of the Heart, Part Two: A Faith-Based ReflectionIn part one, I shared some of my personal experiences with relational patterns that left deep emotional and spiritual marks on my life. Circling back to Lynn’s question about a faith-based study on narcissism and personality disorders, while I have spent years researching the clinical aspects of these dynamics, I have not deeply studied the…
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Crisis & Resilience
Read more: Crisis & ResilienceHi SUM Nation, Lynn Donovan here. Last November I was honored to share with my long-time SUMite friend on her Podcast, Warrior Words, about thriving in a mismatched marriage. You can hear that here. Heather invited me once again to share another story on her podcast. I share how our faith carries us through a…
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Patterns of the Heart (Healthy Relationship Series)
Read more: Patterns of the Heart (Healthy Relationship Series)Part 1: My Personal Experience Hello SUMite family, Joy here. When Lynn mentioned the possibility of a faith-based study on narcissism and personality disorders, I felt deeply led to share more from my own lived experience. I believe the term narcissism is one of the most loosely used personality labels in our culture today. It’s…
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Seek to Understand; Not to be Understood
Read more: Seek to Understand; Not to be UnderstoodDuring the summer Bible study that Lynn, Ann, and Ian led on the book of Psalms, I wrote a guest blog entitled, King David’s Heart was Like a Pitcher, to show that David poured out all his emotions to God, both positive and negative. (Psalm 142:2) I also told the heartbreaking story of Maria and…
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What I Know For Sure
Read more: What I Know For SureHi everyone. This is Barb Twigg with another What I Know For Sure Be Quick To Listen!
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It’s About to Get Very Real
Read more: It’s About to Get Very RealHi Sum Family, Wasn’t Ann’s post on Monday amazing? I’ve pondered and prayed to try to determine what to share about personalities, emotional health and healthy boundaries. I’ve undertaken hours of review and study from the psychological/educational pundits to gain some small understanding of the vast amount of information available. It’s a lot! What I…
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The Gift of Others!
Read more: The Gift of Others!Lent! We’re now 2 weeks into this annual pilgrimage to meet Jesus at the Cross and then to experience His resurrection of that wonderful Easter Sunday. For those of you who’ve been here for a while, you’ll know I love Lent. For me, it’s always a season to recalibrate, to assess my relationship with Jesus.…
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Let’s Talk About Abuse and Reconciliation
Read more: Let’s Talk About Abuse and ReconciliationHello my friends, Ann here. Lynn is talking about such an important topic at the moment: Difficult personalities in families. I think many of us deal with a situation or two in our family where there is someone with a difficult personality. Would that be true to say? If I look at Bryce’s and my…
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What Is A Healthy Relationship
Read more: What Is A Healthy RelationshipWHAT IS A HEALTHY RELATIONSHIP Read Personality Disorders here, Post One.Read: What a Response, Post Two, here. I will admit that until recently, due to an unexpected exchange with a family member, I hadn’t explored personality issues outside of spiritual implications. I know there are many people who struggle with mental health that do not…
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What I Know For Sure
Read more: What I Know For SureDivine Love Hello! This is Barb Twigg with another What I Know For Sure
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What A Response!
Read more: What A Response!Well….. WOW! It appears that exploring personality traits and difficulties is a topic of great interest. The overwhelming vote was “yes” to explore some challenging topics in relationships. I also respect those of you who didn’t want to look at this aspect of relationships. And those who cautioned about labeling anyone with a negative personality…
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For Such a Time as This
Read more: For Such a Time as ThisLynn here. I am so glad that several of you have applied to be guest authors. Joy, has written for SUM before. Today she is bringing another great article. Be encouraged. Hugs, Lynn Joy: There are moments in life when we look around and wonder how we got here. I’ve often questioned why I moved…
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Gentle and Humble in Heart
Read more: Gentle and Humble in HeartHello, everyone. Ian here from sunny Sydney. We trust everyone’s 2026’s have started well. With the beginning of a new year, it’s often a good time to re-set and re-assess our relationship with God. Perhaps more so with all that’s going on in the world. Much of it not good making these times a little…