For example, I remember the day a few months ago when I read the email that said I had received the Promotional Writing and Editing internship position I’d interviewed for at New Beginnings. Coincidentally, the entry for that day in the student devotional I used daily was entitled “New Beginnings”. While I did know that I would have a great time being the intern at New Beginnings, at the time I didn’t know just how great my experience would be, and how it would be a “new beginning” for me as far as my career ambitions and personal relationships were concerned. While I have learned what I expected to-more about professional writing and communication, as well as how a fundraiser is organized-I’ve also learned some other great things. In the past three weeks alone, I’ve observed and participated in group activities so I could write about them later. Doing so has allowed me to spend time getting to know the residents and their adorable babies, in addition to spending time in God’s Word. As a result, my idea of what a work environment should look like has been transformed in a positive way, and I often find myself paying closer attention to my personal relationships to make sure they grow and flourish. Even though I don’t know what God has in store for me throughout the rest of my internship, I do know that it will be beyond amazing. I can’t wait to see what my future looks like with God in it! Can you? ![]() 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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In all your times, times of joy, thanksgiving, sorrow, disappointment, trouble, just have a plain simple talk with God. Yes, prayer is talking to God. When you are with your best friend do you try not to talk to them? No, you want to talk to your friend, you want to tell him your hopes and plans, to ask for his help. Well, when you have faith in God you know that He is your best friend through Jesus Christ. God is always there, always ready to listen to you. There is nothing you can’t tell Him. Of course, He knows everything already, but He still wants us to pray to him. Though God desires to talk to us and spend time with us through prayer, it is also for our benefit, because we need a relationship with God. The point is, talk to God, because that is prayer. Sometimes when I can’t seem to get my thoughts together enough to pray, I write down what I am feeling, what I am saying to God. Don’t forget to listen too, to be quiet before God. You don’t have to be constantly telling Him something, or asking Him for something. “Be still and know that I am God” – Psalm 46:10. Be aware of God’s power and our security in Him. He is omniscient (all knowing), omnipresent (present everywhere), and omnipotent (all powerful). Because God is who He is, we can trust Him and surrender to His plan. Some people think that a church is the only place to pray, and God is happy when you talk to Him there. But that is not the only place God will listen to your prayers. Jesus prayed alone in quiet places (Luke5:16), He prayed with others (Luke 9:28), He prayed at the home of his disciples and followers. He prayed in nature, in the garden and in the desert, on a mountain (Luke 6:12). He prayed at all times, He prayed in the morning, at noon, and in the evening. He prayed regularly, Luke 5:16 says, Jesus often prayed. Jesus prayed for himself, as we see in John 17 and Jesus prayed for others (John 17:9). Not all our prayers will be answered the way we expect. Someone once told me, there is no unanswered prayer, God either answers yes, no, or wait. Wait and no can be a challenge! Once again we look to Jesus, to see how He handled it. In Matthew 26:36-44 we see that He prayed and said to God “Yet not as I will, but as you will.” (NIV). ![]() 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. It can be very easy to get caught up in the commotion of life. There are a million different things going on around us and through our minds each and every day. So where does this leave us? For many, it can be easy to get distracted and pulled away from the true reason we are all here. God has always been apart of my life. My parents baptized me and brought me up in the Word from birth. As I have grown up, I have learned that this is not the case for most. In fact, as Lutherans, we are the minority in many cases. I have always wanted to live in such a way that my faith shows through. I love that New Beginnings has given me this opportunity. I have never really had the privilege of working with mothers in this capacity. Learning their stories and hearing about their hopes and dreams has been an amazing experience. I have been able to not only share my own faith but also see them grow in their own.
I will be graduating from Wisconsin Lutheran College in 2018 with a degree in both Human Social Services and Psychology. I will then be going on to graduate school to get my masters in social work. The opportunity that New Beginnings has given me not only has prepared me for that line of work, but also has solidified for me the fact that I want to work with children. I am very thankful for my position here and know that I will leave here with so much more than I ever could have thought. ![]() Eden Ehlers I am from Peoria, AZ. I'm a currently a Junior at WLC, double majoring in Psychology & Human Social Services. I aspire to become a social worker in a medical setting. I am thankful for New Beginnings & the experience it is giving me. It has been a great blessing. "'Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed,' says the LORD, who has compassion on you." (Isaiah 54:10) Sometimes we feel like life is getting the best of us. We feel hopeless, overwhelmed, and overworked. Our thoughts become jumbled and frantic as we struggle to keep up with all of our responsibilities and others' expectations. It's always one thing after another and we feel as though we are being pulled in every direction. Rather than focusing on being thankful for the good in our lives, we find ourselves feeling beaten down and defeated by all of the bad. We may begin to question the path we've chosen or lash out in anger and frustration at those for whom we care most.
"Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:6-7) Next time you are feeling helpless, seek comfort in God's Word. Go to your Heavenly Father in prayer and ask for His guidance. Only He can grant us true peace from the anxieties of this world. "Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you." (1 Peter 5:7) "The LORD gives strength to his people; the LORD blesses his people with peace." (Psalm 29:11) ![]() 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.
![]() SINFUL HUMANS CAN BE SELFISH In this world, it is so easy to get caught up in ourselves, our life, our actions; what WE did. Success always seems to be internalized as something WE accomplished. Let’s address the other extreme – blaming God for our misfortune. What an interesting change of heart! I think we all can recognize how easy it is to praise our fortunes as our own, but blame our bad luck on God. Don’t let yourself become infected with self-pride, but rather be a humble servant of Christ. “For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you” (Romans 12:3).
LIVE TO THANK JESUS! I am sure that not many of us have thought of our life as an assignment from God. But God tells us that we are all called for His purpose. Ah yes, Romans 8:28 may be coming to mind now… (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). So let’s ask the WELS question: What does this mean? LIVE YOUR ASSIGNMENT Whether your talents and gifts are money, time, or a specific talent, use it to glorify God and His purpose for your life. Ultimately, use your gifts to bless others, but never forget to say, “Thank you Jesus”! Do you have a gift or talent that you could use to serve the mothers and babies at New Beginnings? ![]() Brianne Hansen is the Executive Director at New Beginnings. She grew up in Marshall, WI and graduated from Lakeside Lutheran High School. Brianne has a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee. In her free time, she enjoys singing, camping, refurbishing furniture and spending time with her husband, Daniel.
Ways to encourage cognitive growth. Read books aloud to your baby and recite nursery rhymes, choose books that have brightly colored pictures that show common objects, point and make noises – say the animal sounds to go along with the animal pictures. Babies enjoy cloth books with different textures, and flaps. Have meaningful conversations with your baby, react to their coos and smiles, they are expecting you to respond. Provide lots of fun bath toys. Give your baby toys that let him push a button to make something happen, or activities like shaking or banging objects. Your baby wants to see the results of his actions, this helps him learn the “if-then” reasoning. As you can see, babies are not only growing physically during their first years of life, but also cognitively (mentally). It’s never too early to help your baby become all that they can be. ![]() 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. It is the beginning of a new year! It is a year to start over, start fresh, and have a new beginning. Many people make New Year’s resolutions to achieve something that they want that they don’t already have. Your new year’s promise to yourself could be to stop smoking, lose some weight, finally get those bills paid, take that trip that you have putting off, or many other things that you want to achieve in the coming year. While setting goals for ourselves is good and healthy to do, we shouldn’t lose sight of the things that we already have. God has blessed each and every one of us richly but sometimes we are so focused on what is to come, we fail to see what we already have.
Do you have any blessings or thoughts that you would like to share with us? Comment in the section below to tell us what God has blessed you with this year. ![]() Christina Pritzlaff is married with two children. She has completed Early Childhood 1 & 2 classes, Infant Toddler classes, and completed the coursework for her Associates degree in Child Development. Christina splits her time between spending time with her family and working at New Beginnings. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her children, camping, fishing, reading, and doing counted cross-stitch. As I write this, I am sitting on a plane to travel home for the holidays. I had an interesting experience prior to boarding this flight that made me consider the type of Christmas spirit we should have as Christians approaching December 25th.
“And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.” (Luke 2:8-11). ![]() 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.
![]() DeShanna Turner- Smith Is the intern here at New Beginnings. She is pursuing her associates degree at Milwaukee Area Technical College in human services and will be graduating in December. While juggling school and work she enjoys spending time with her daughter. She's so excited and thankful to be a part of the New Beginnings team! ![]() “…consider what great things he has done for you.” 1 Samuel 12:24 It’s so easy to dwell on what’s not right, with ourselves, with others, with life. Right now, let’s consider what great things He has done for us. * We are loved by God, not because of who we are or because of what we have or haven’t done, but because we are reconciled to God – we can approach Him as a friend, through His gift to us of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. * He has given His Spirit to be our guide. * He has given us His Word to be our GPS…I know I‘d be lost without it. Let’s consider these things, and praise Him for the past, and trust Him for the future. ![]() 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. |
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