December 9th, 2024

Brandi Hawthorne

27 POSTS
Brandi Hawthorne is a women's Christian Development & Lifestyle Coach. She blogs at Woman, Live! When she's not teaching women to love God & live their dreams, she's somewhere laughing loudly with friends & family.

Exclusive articles:

The Regret Wish List: Tomorrow is Not Promised, Now What?

What would you regret if today was your last day on earth? Create a regret wish list and action plan, and get on track to living your best life now.

3 Simple Ways to “Prepare Him Room”

The Christmas song says, "Let every heart prepare Him room." Is there room in your heart for Jesus? Here are 3 ways to keep our lives open and available.

A Time to Heal: How the Stories You Tell Yourself Make You Sick

What stories have you told yourself that keep you stuck, sick, or bound? Here's how to free yourself from past thoughts and negativity.

David & Absalom: Are You Still Avoiding the Hard Conversations?

Peace cannot be found by avoiding conflict, just ask King David and Absalom. Have the hard conversations with yourself and others to truly live in peace.

A Peace You Can Feel in 4 Simple Steps

Ever wish you could prepare for peace before times of chaos and uncertainty? Here are 4 steps you can take to find the peace you need, when you need it.

Breaking

Trolls Band Together in Theaters November 17th

Nothing's Stronger Than Family Harmony About This holiday season, get ready...

Are State Laws the Solution to Kids’ Access to Porn?

As data continues to show the harms of viewing porn, particularly for children, support for stricter legal limits on pornographers has grown.

The Burial: A Glimpse Into the Life of William Gary

The Burial: Based on a True Events About Inspired by true...

Pandemic Restrictions Had No Lasting Effect on Churches, Study Finds

Even in states where regulations were severe, most congregations moved on quickly. Jeff Schoch was ready to be done with COVID-19 health safety regulations. Like most ministers in the US, the pastor of Crossroads Bible Church in San Jose, California, did his best to comply with the many pandemic rules imposed by state and local governments. But as soon as they were lifted, he wanted to put them all behind him. He quickly tore down the state-mandated signs about social distancing, hand washing, and masks. “I got rid of every visual reminder in the church,” Schoch told CT. “I was anxious, personally, to make that a memory.” Across the country, Protestant congregations are dealing with the long-term impacts of the pandemic. A new, extensive study by Arbor Research Group and ChurchSalary, a ministry of Christianity Today, found that a lot of pastors are still in crisis. Some furloughed staff members haven’t gone back to work. And even when attendance numbers have rebounded, there are still people missing from many congregations. Christian leaders will likely be grappling with the fallout from COVID-19 for years to come. But, surprisingly, state-level pandemic restrictions had no measurable, lasting impact on American churches. Even in places like San Jose—where the county government imposed some of the strictest rules in the country, the restrictions changed frequently, and authorities aggressively went after churches they said failed to comply—pastors like Schoch were able to just move on. The data doesn’t show any adverse effects from the government regulations. Eric Shieh, a research consultant for Arbor Research, said that surprised him. “You would think that the restrictions made things tougher for churches. They didn’t meet as much, and so you’d ...Continue reading...
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