Keynotes, Seminars & Workshops


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THE WORKPLACE
   
“Men at Work”:  Gender Differences on the Job
Typically men and women have different patterns of interacting, priorities, and expectations in the world of work. These differences often lead to miscommunications and frustration. Learn the differences, thereby increasing your ability to work well with the other gender.
 
Stress Busters
Eighty-five percent of Americans suffer from stress-related illnesses, costing businesses billions of dollars in absenteeism and reduced productivity.  Common problems like boredom, forgetfulness, and procrastination result from stress, along with more serious illnesses such as cancer, arthritis, and coronary heart disease.  Join us in learning to identify your body’s stress signals, and then practical tools to turn stress into an advantage.  

Wake Up Refreshed
A recent study found three-fourths of Americans wake up ready for bed.  Seventeen percent say they take an entire hour to wake up, resulting in lowered concentration and poor productivity.  The elusive refreshing night’s sleep is really within reach -- closer than the coffee pot.  The human body craves good sleep, and when it is deprived, almost every system is effected.  There are many sleep aids that don’t come in a bottle -- by simply making a few shifts in your day, you could soon be waking up energized.

Dealing with Difficult People
Every organization’s got a few:  those who raise your blood pressure just by walking in the room.  Learning to handle those difficult people in your life is an art that can be mastered.  You no longer have to see your boss in your nightmares, or kick the dog because of your officemate.  This interactive workshop is a must for customer service representatives.  

Work Out:  Body Language and Negotiation
Research indicates up to 95% of communication is nonverbal.  Everyday negotiations and conflict resolution require “reading” others accurately, as well as conveying the exact message you wish to send.  This experiential workshop is designed to decipher what we’re really trying to say.  Once you learn body language you'll enjoy less conflict and greater negotiation abilities.  

Managing Humans
Effective managers are created. The importance of Emotional Intelligence in the workplace- the ability to get along with others, work as a team, handle conflict effectively, etc. can make or break your career. Two people with the same IQ will progress at different rates up the corporate ladder if their people skills are different. Come learn the basics of doing people splendidly. Become one of those people everyone wants to work with, enjoys working with, and recommends highly. A corporation's success truly does depend upon the people skills of its employees just as much as their technical skills.  
Personality Typing
Since you have never been anyone else, often it becomes difficult to understand how others look at life.  When you understand the different personality types, interacting with others can be a rewarding, curious journey, instead of a frustrating mysterious task.  You’ll learn your personality type as based on the Myers-Briggs Personality Type Inventory, and learn how your personality typically works best, some common stuck places, and benefits.  

Brain Sex
Men can read maps and women can read character.  Typically men and women have different patterns of interacting, priorities, and expectations in the world of work. These differences often lead to miscommunications and frustration.  Find out why a man often can’t think like a female, and visa versa.  Gaining an understanding of the differences reduces puzzlement and frustration, increasing your ability to work well with the other gender. Knowing how the other half thinks is vital to a productive work group.  

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Can I Do This!?
Ah, the Imposter Syndrome! Did you know most people are faking it? Most of us fear that if the truth were revealed, everyone would see that we’re really just a 12-year-old pretending to know what we’re doing. How do you motivate yourself to succeed? We’ll take a look at motivation, at power and success – and find how to fuel your days – even when you think you can’t do this. Yes, you can!

Prospecting in a Down Economy
Where does the business come from? How do you make it work when nothing’s working? Fear, sleepless nights, a dwindling bank account. Come learn how to find those sales leads, how to pull in more business from a thin market, and how to become your customers’ hero so they won’t jump ship. Now, more than ever, we need the powerful tools psychology offers for any people-based business.

Rediscovering Your Passion
Remember it? Remember that feeling that shot you out of bed in the morning? If it was a first love, a stimulating job, a project potential – humans are built for passion. We crave it and will hunt for that feeling in so many places until we find it. Come learn how to move that passion from the non-productive Shopping Channel or the wii, to fulfilling endeavors that lead to a lifetime of success.

Fair Fighting
Conflict is a natural and potentially healthy aspect to all work relationships.  Problems arise when conflict is resolved in ways that create distance and hard feelings instead of camaraderie and mutual understanding.  A variety of tools will be presented helping to understand the dynamics of conflict resolution and move toward productive work relationships. We will be role-playing, so bring your boxing gloves!  

Courageous Communication
Communication is a basic, but rarely do we step back long enough to improve this building block of corporate America. In this seminar we'll learn how to clear up misunderstandings before they turn into costly mistakes, give constructive criticism to peers, subordinates and superiors, and manage differences to win-win solutions.  Once utilized, these powerful communication tools improve not only the quality of business interactions, but easily translate into family life.  

Take Your Family to Work
You do take your family to work every day, whether you like it or not.  Have you ever found yourself instantly "put off" by a colleague?  Or unable to resolve a subordinate's procrastination, because she's just "so nice, and I can't get mad at her"?  Most of us learn how to behave - our work ethics - from our parents and carry these messages into the office as adults. What inhibits you from being the most productive member of your organization? Leave behind ineffective habits, allowing you to enjoy work more and more.  

After Shock
With changes both inside organizations and out, flexible employees are succeeding, while those who don't know how to grieve the change and go on, are wasting time and energy living in the past. Teaching employees grief tools and flexibility shortens the time between major changes and getting back on track. Explore tools to make the transition smoother and turn a potentially splintering situation into a time for corporate unity.  

Working on Yourself:  Self-Esteem and Assertiveness in the Office
Americans often tie work with self-image, so when we fail at a task or don’t get the promotion, our very selves may be shaken. Your self-esteem even impacts your length of stay on this planet. Take a moment and look at you: your self-image probably doesn't reflect reality 100%. Learn concrete steps to assertively get what you want, as we encourage your positive traits and learn from the negative ones. And when you don’t achieve your wants, learn how to keep your self-esteem intact.

Guilt:  The Parental Hormone
This experiential workshop explores the guilt, stress and fears of raising healthy kids in the 90’s. Enhance your creativity in finding quality-time activities to do with your children, while attending to your needs.  Ideal for working parents, and families with multiple children.  

Family Ties: What Builds a Healthy Family?
Building a strong, emotionally and psychologically healthy family is one of life’s greatest challenges.  We’ll gain an understanding of healthy family dynamics, and how to strengthen the areas in which your family may be struggling.  Healthy family ties can change the lives of generations to come-- learning about them is the first step.  

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Systematic Training for Effective Parenting (STEP)
Choose from either a short introduction to the training, or a complete 4-8 week course of training.  This is one of the most widely used and effective parenting programs in the country.  Created by Dinkmeyer and McKay, STEP is for parents of children and adolescents. There are so many creative and healthy tools for parenting young children.  Join us as we take a look at some of the most effective.  You can pick and choose, mix and match.  The greatest gift you can ever give your child is to be the best possible parent.  

Child Safety
Often parents struggle with how much “Stranger Danger” information to give their children, without sacrificing the child’s peace of mind. Explore how to keep your child safe in an unsafe world without creating paranoia and panic.  

“Men at Work”:  Gender Differences on the Job
Typically men and women have different patterns of interacting, priorities, and expectations in the world of work. These differences often lead to miscommunications and frustration. Learn the differences, thereby increasing your ability to work well with the other gender.

Role Reversal:  Caring for Aging Parents
Whether foreseeable or unexpected, caring for your elderly parent(s) can produce extreme physical, emotional, and mental stress.  Issues of daily needs, emotional support, relocation, parent-child role reversal can end in irreconcilable differences.  Explore this phenomenon and learn new skills for growing together instead of apart.  

Effective Parenting Through Life Transitions
As if parenting isn’t hard enough -- the major transitions seem to hit from nowhere.  The move, the death, the teenage rites of passage.  These transitions often put a strain on the entire family, and have lasting negative effects.  Prepare now for transitions you know are going to be coming. We’ll look at the healthiest ways to get through them.  

Blending Families
A large segment of the population struggles with putting two families together, often taking several years before equilibrium is reached.  As new partners attempt to find out what their marriage is going to be like, the children are often going through some of the toughest issues of their young lives.  The Brady Bunch it is not.  Come learn the best management skills for this family transition, creating a special, new family.  

Power, Manipulation and Independence
We manipulate constantly.  Manipulation skills are learned very early in life, but become rather troublesome during adolescence.  Take a fresh look at your teen and learn to improve relationships through specific, practical tools based on understanding teen manipulation tactics.  Confused by the miscommunication with your teen?  As adolescents search for autonomy, adults perceive them as speaking a foreign language.  Come learn effective methods for talking to your teen.  This seminar is designed to prevent the “we didn’t talk for several years” syndrome.

Battling the Blues
When is it depression and when is it just feeling down?  Every person goes through periods of feeling blue, and those who know the best skills bounce back rather unharmed.  Pick from a wide variety of coping strategies presented to make your own personalized smorgasbord of blues busters.  

Holiday Madness
Does November trigger instant stress?  Approaching the Holiday season, pressures from family and friends often collide, producing many casualties.  Gather some fresh approaches to handling the holiday hurricane.  Come prepared to experience innovative relaxation techniques and ideas for managing the merriment.  

Birth Order
Why are the majority of US Presidents first born, and most social revolutions started by later-born children?  Does your order of birth impact your current life? Your promotions? Your relationship with your boss? Find out how you can use an understanding of birth order to improve your life at work and play.

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STRESS MANAGEMENT
 
Stress Busters
Eighty five percent of Americans suffer from stress-related illnesses, and Christians are not immune.  Even common problems like boredom, forgetfulness, and sexual difficulties result from stress - which also contributes to more serious illnesses like cancer, coronary heart disease, and arthritis.  The good news: people who put their spirituality into practice regularly, report fewer stress-related illnesses. Join us in learning to identify your body’s stress signals, how to utilize your spiritual life and other tools to turn stress to your advantage.

 
Hypnosis and Stress
The Judeo-Christian Bible says, "Whatever is true, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things." Hypnosis is the process of dwelling on truths. Learn how to put the power of your subconscious to work as we explore various ways to de-stress with hypnosis. You’ll learn how to write your own basic hypno-script, and the major elements how to put yourself into a state of hypnosis (and how to bring yourself back out). 

Harness Your Habits
Break (or create) any habit in 21 days. People are creatures of habits.  In this unique workshop, you can begin to get rid of unwanted habits and replace them with productive habits. Everyone has habits that seem to take control like overeating, tardiness, nail biting, smoking, etc.  It doesn't matter what it is, you can "kick" any habit in just 21 days. You can also instill new habits that may have been elusive such as paying bills on time or exercising.  Understand what sabotages your best efforts and why you developed those habits to begin with.
 
Healing Faith
How do you know prayer and faith help? We'll show you astounding research identifying the benefits: less depression, cancer, heart disease, anxiety disorders, infectious diseases, and so on and so on. There's even an experiment that found when plants are prayed for, they grow faster! Come learn how powerful faith can be.

 

RELATIONSHIPS
   
Relationship Connection
Why do opposites attract?  Why do the same conflicts keep coming up over and over again?  Discover your personality type, that of your partner, and how they interact. Both genders are a reflection of God, but often we have a difficult time understanding each other. In discovering your temperament, you learn to nurture and prize the differences between yourself and your partner.  Singles and couples welcome.
  
The Psychology of Attraction
Why are you attracted to the same type of person?  We all form a picture of the perfect mate, but why do we all come up with different pictures?  Come explore the world of attraction and learn what you want and need from love. Some search for significance through love, work, church activities, etc., but in this seminar, we'll explore the hidden needs behind our attractions.

Walls of Intimacy
Most people think of establishing boundaries as putting up walls and not allowing others into your world.  "Come, let us reason together," the Bible tells us. Healthy boundaries actually create long-lasting intimacy, while allowing each partner to have their own identity.  Simple to understand, and difficult to put into practice, boundaries can be one of the most life-changing concepts you may ever learn.

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RECOVERY
 
Abuse Defined
With so much of popular press focusing on abuse, rarely do we step back to look at what constitutes abuse. Is spanking abuse? Or what about the emotionally distant parent?  What is 'spiritual abuse'? What does abuse look like in all various parts of life? Explore the effects and types of abuse, the difference between assertiveness and abusiveness, and the line between anger and rage. Learn the three things you need to do to become a perpetrator.

The Disease
Addiction with any face - food, drugs, sex, alcohol, work, gambling, relationships - cheat us out of major portions of the human experience.  The disease can progress so far as to take our very lives.  This discussion focuses on the most current research, the most effective techniques, and the greatest “stuck places” in addiction recovery.  The "12-Step" approach has had great success, mostly due to its spiritual nature. We'll look at the benefits and blunders in using spirituality to conquer addictions.
 
Stuffing It:  Eating Disorders in the 90’s
Explore the relationship between unresolved trauma and food, the newest research on brain chemistry and eating disorders, and how God makes it all logical. This powerful topic is one of the quietest and most prevalent issues of our day.  From overeating to restricting, both men and women often find consolation, reward, punishment, and even love, in food. We’ll attempt to understand the complex, and potentially deadly dynamics of disordered eating.
   
Sexual Abuse
Priests accused. Baseball coaches accused. Father’s joining the False Memory Syndrome foundation. Daycare workers indicted. All are frequent images on the nightly news.  What is sexual abuse, what are the effects, signs and symptoms, and what about false memory?  Conservative estimations say one out of three women and one out of seven men will be sexually abused at one time in their lives.  This issue is full of controversy, and definitely in need of exploration.  Join us as we attempt to make sense of the nonsense.

Child Safety
Often parents struggle with how much “Stranger Danger” information to give their children, without sacrificing the child’s peace of mind. Explore how to keep your child safe in an unsafe world without creating paranoia and panic. Do you know God says “Fear not” 365 times in the Bible – one for each day of our year. Let’s take a look at keeping our kids free from danger, and free from fear at the same time.
 
Role Reversal:  Caring for Aging Parents
Whether foreseeable or unexpected, caring for your elderly parent(s) can produce extreme physical, emotional, and mental stress.  Issues of daily needs, emotional support, relocation, parent-child role reversal can end in irreconcilable differences.  Explore this phenomenon and learn new skills for growing together instead of apart.
 
Effective Parenting Through Life Transitions
As if parenting isn’t hard enough -- the major transitions seem to hit from nowhere.  The move, the death, the teenage rites of passage.  These transitions often put a strain on the entire family, and have lasting negative effects.  Prepare now for transitions you know are going to be coming. We’ll look at the healthiest ways to get through them.
 
The Psychology of Pregnancy
The ambivalence.  The excitement.  The intense fear.  The relationships changes.  When a couple becomes a threesome, the family begins and the world evolves.  The loss of the previous relationship alone can be a devastating blow. And with no time to talk anymore, the couple can slowly (or rapidly) grow apart. The ideas and tools presented may help you successfully re-negotiate your relationship, and manage the new stress of parenthood.
 
Blending Families
A large segment of the population struggles with putting two families together, often taking several years before equilibrium is reached.  As new partners attempt to find out what their marriage is going to be like, the children are often going through some of the toughest issues of their young lives.  The Brady Bunch it is not.  Come learn the best management skills for this family transition, creating a special, new family.
 
Raising Christians
Parenting is one of the most difficult, important, and yet potentially rewarding jobs you will ever have.  Take a look at what the Bible says on parenting styles and techniques.  Research indicates people who have  a strong faith live longer, are more satisfied, have fewer illnesses and diseases, recover faster from surgery, and have much lower incidences of smoking, alcoholism, suicide, and depression. Focusing on faith while parenting is tough with all the chaos, so come find out how spirituality can turn into a powerful mechanism for solid family functioning.

Spirit-Filled Relationships
Created for couples who want to reach a deeper spiritual level with each other, this seminar examines  the basics of your relationships - the foundations.  Every human being communicates on a variety of levels: mental, emotional, physical and spiritual.  Learn what you and your partner need in order to feel more spiritually fulfilled, and how you can encourage richer and more rewarding relationships.
   
Relationship Connection
Why do opposites attract?  Why do the same conflicts keep coming up over and over again?  Discover your personality type, that of your partner, and how they interact. Both genders are a reflection of God, but often we have a difficult time understanding each other. In discovering your temperament, you learn to nurture and prize the differences between yourself and your partner.  Singles and couples welcome.

↑ back to top

The Psychology of Attraction
Why are you attracted to the same type of person?  We all form a picture of the perfect mate, but why do we all come up with different pictures?  Come explore the world of attraction and learn what you want and need from love. Some search for significance through love, work, church activities, etc., but in this seminar, we'll explore the hidden needs behind our attractions.
 
Brain Sex (The Real Difference Between Men and Women)
Men can read maps and women can read character.  Did God create the sexes different, or is it all a figment of our imagination?  Come find out why a man often can’t think like a female, and visa versa.  For example, do you know that men have better depth perception, but women have wider peripheral vision? Translate that into a scene where he's driving -- if a car approaches from the side too quickly, she gasps, and he gets irritated because 'That car was no where near us' (he couldn't see it in his peripheral vision yet), or when he stops on a dime, she complains, unaware of the fact that he knew exactly how much room he had because of his superior depth perception. Gaining an understanding of the differences takes some of the mystery and frustration out of relating to the other half.
 
Courageous Communication
We are called as Christians to be people in relationship with God, and with those around us. Therefore, communication is a basic, but many of us live everyday with only surface relationships.  This seminar is designed to explore tools that allow you to say what you want and need to say, as well as how to be an effective listener.  Increase intimacy in your relationships through clarity, courage, and even anger expression.

Fair Fighting
Conflict is a natural and potentially healthy aspect to all relationships.  Problems arise when conflict is resolved in ways that create distance instead of intimacy.  A variety of tools will be presented helping to understand the dynamics of arguing and move toward healthy conflict resolution. Sometimes even the church itself can be guilty of anger-phobia. Many Biblical passages, as well as Jesus' life, give us insight into dealing with this troublesome emotion. We will be role-playing, so bring your boxing gloves!  
  
Personality Typing
Since you have never been anyone else, often it becomes difficult to understand how others look at life.  When you understand the different personality types, interacting with others can be a rewarding, curious journey, instead of a frustrating mysterious task.  You’ll learn your personality type as based on the Myers-Briggs Type Inventory, and learn how your personality typically interacts, the common stuck places, and the benefits.

Walls of Intimacy
Most people think of establishing boundaries as putting up walls and not allowing others into your world.  "Come, let us reason together," the Bible tells us. Healthy boundaries actually create long-lasting intimacy, while allowing each partner to have their own identity.  Simple to understand, and difficult to put into practice, boundaries can be one of the most life-changing concepts you may ever learn.
 
Stress Busters
Eighty five percent of Americans suffer from stress-related illnesses, and Christians are not immune.  Even common problems like boredom, forgetfulness, and sexual difficulties result from stress - which also contributes to more serious illnesses like cancer, coronary heart disease, and arthritis.  The good news: people who put their spirituality into practice regularly, report fewer stress-related illnesses. Join us in learning to identify your body’s stress signals, how to utilize your spiritual life and other tools to turn stress to your advantage.
 
Hypnosis and Stress
The Bible says, "Whatever is true, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things." Philippians 4:8. Hypnosis is the process of dwelling on the truths.  Learn how to put the power of your subconscious to work as we explore various ways to de-stress with hypnotic trance.  You will learn how to write your own basic hypno-script, and the major elements of inducing your own trance. 

Wake Up Refreshed
A recent study found three-fourths of Americans wake up ready for bed.  The elusive refreshing night’s sleep is really within reach -- closer than the coffee pot.  The human body is created for good sleep, and when it is deprived, almost every system is effected.  There are many sleep aids that don’t come in a bottle -- by simply making a few shifts in your day, you could soon be waking up energized.

Break (or create) Any Habit in 21 Days
People are creatures of habits.  In this unique workshop, you can begin to get rid of unwanted habits and replace them with productive habits. Everyone has habits that seem to take control like overeating, tardiness, nail biting, smoking, etc.  It doesn't matter what it is, you can "kick" any habit in just 21 days. You can also instill new habits that may have been elusive such as paying bills on time or exercising.  Understand what sabotages your best efforts and why you developed those habits to begin with.
   
Dealing with Difficult People
Every organization’s got one:  those who raise your blood pressure just by walking in the room.  Learning to handle those difficult people in your life is an art that can be mastered. There are many helpful "psychological tools" that are really re-named Christian principles. You no longer have to see your boss in your nightmares, or kick the dog because of your officemate.
 
Work Out:  Body Language and Negotiation
Research indicates up to 95% of communication is nonverbal.  Everyday negotiations and conflict-resolution requires “reading” others accurately, as well as conveying the exact message you wish to send.  This experiential workshop is designed to decipher what we’re really trying to say. Wear comfortable clothes - we'll be experimenting with you!
 
“Men at Work”:  Gender Differences on the Job
Typically men and women have different patterns of interacting, priorities, and expectations in the world of work. These differences often lead to miscommunications and frustration. Learn the differences, thereby increasing your ability to work well with the other gender.

↑ back to top 


Take Your Family to Work
…You do take your family to work every day, whether you like it or not.  Have you ever found yourself frustrated by or unable to work with certain people?  Most of us learn what work should be from our parents - and carry these messages into our offices as adults.  Explore what you personally struggle with, allowing you to enjoy work more.
 
Working on Yourself:  Self-Esteem and Assertiveness in the Office
Americans often tie work closely with self-image.  So when we fail at a task or don’t get the promotion, our very selves may be shaken.  Come explore your patterns of interaction at work, learning concrete steps to assertively get what you want.  And when you don’t obtain your wants, learn how to keep your self-esteem intact, by implementing your faith into every working moment.

The Disease
Addiction with any face - food, drugs, sex, alcohol, work, gambling, relationships - cheat us out of major portions of the human experience.  The disease can progress so far as to take our very lives.  This discussion focuses on the most current research, the most effective techniques, and the greatest “stuck places” in addiction recovery.  The "12-Step" approach has had great success, mostly due to its spiritual nature. We'll look at the benefits and blunders in using spirituality to conquer addictions.
 
Stuffing It:  Eating Disorders in Modern America
Explore the relationship between trauma and food, the newest research on brain chemistry and eating disorders, and how God makes it all logical. This powerful topic is one of the quietest and most prevalent issues of our day. From overeating to restricting, we often find consolation, reward, punishment, and even love, in food. We’ll attempt to understand the complex, and potentially deadly dynamics of disordered eating.
   
Furious Femmes: Women and Anger in the 90’s
Women receive many unhealthy messages about anger, such as ‘nice girls don’t get mad,’ or ‘showing anger is unattractive.’  However, anger represents our systems’ natural signal that we’re being hurt or that a need is not being met.  When we ignore this signal, we learn to not take care of ourselves, which produces more anger, and so on and so on. Sometimes even the church itself can be guilty of anger-phobia. There are many Bible passages, as well as examples from Jesus' life, that give us insight into dealing with this trouble emotion.  Come learn to reclaim healthy anger, instead of cutting out a vital part of your self.
 
The Unique Value of a Woman
Did you know that women have better peripheral vision than men?  They are also a much better judge of character.  Women today are realizing more and more the uniqueness of being female, and how that fits into God's plan.  The special features that women possess have been more recently studied, and females are beginning to realize that they don’t have to be men to succeed.  Come find out all of the unique and fascinating aspects of womanhood.

Brain Sex (The Real Difference Between Men and Women
Men can read maps and women can read character.  Did God create the sexes different, or is it all a figment of our imagination?  Come find out why a man often can’t think like a female, and visa versa.  For example, do you know that men have better depth perception, but women have wider peripheral vision? Translate that into a scene where he's driving -- if a car approaches from the side too quickly, she gasps, and he gets irritated because 'That car was no where near us' (he couldn't see it in his peripheral vision yet), or when he stops on a dime, she complains, unaware of the fact that he knew exactly how much room he had because of his superior depth perception. Gaining an understanding of the differences takes some of the mystery and frustration out of relating to the other half.

The Disease
Addiction with any face - food, drugs, sex, alcohol, work, gambling, relationships - cheat us out of major portions of the human experience.  The disease can progress so far as to take our very lives.  This discussion focuses on the most current research, the most effective techniques, and the greatest “stuck places” in addiction recovery.  The "12-Step" approach has had great success, mostly due to its spiritual nature. We'll look at the benefits and blunders in using spirituality to conquer addictions.
 
Stuffing It:  Eating Disorders in Modern America
Explore the relationship between trauma and food, the newest research on brain chemistry and eating disorders, and how God makes it all logical. This powerful topic is one of the quietest and most prevalent issues of our day. From overeating to restricting, we often find consolation, reward, punishment, and even love, in food. We’ll attempt to understand the complex, and potentially deadly dynamics of disordered eating.
   
Furious Femmes: Women and Anger in the 90’s
Women receive many unhealthy messages about anger, such as ‘nice girls don’t get mad,’ or ‘showing anger is unattractive.’  However, anger represents our systems’ natural signal that we’re being hurt or that a need is not being met.  When we ignore this signal, we learn to not take care of ourselves, which produces more anger, and so on and so on. Sometimes even the church itself can be guilty of anger-phobia. There are many Bible passages, as well as examples from Jesus' life, that give us insight into dealing with this trouble emotion.  Come learn to reclaim healthy anger, instead of cutting out a vital part of your self.
 
The Unique Value of a Woman
Did you know that women have better peripheral vision than men?  They are also a much better judge of character.  Women today are realizing more and more the uniqueness of being female, and how that fits into God's plan.  The special features that women possess have been more recently studied, and females are beginning to realize that they don’t have to be men to succeed.  Come find out all of the unique and fascinating aspects of womanhood.

↑ back to top

Brain Sex (The Real Difference Between Men and Women
Men can read maps and women can read character.  Did God create the sexes different, or is it all a figment of our imagination?  Come find out why a man often can’t think like a female, and visa versa.  For example, do you know that men have better depth perception, but women have wider peripheral vision? Translate that into a scene where he's driving -- if a car approaches from the side too quickly, she gasps, and he gets irritated because 'That car was no where near us' (he couldn't see it in his peripheral vision yet), or when he stops on a dime, she complains, unaware of the fact that he knew exactly how much room he had because of his superior depth perception. Gaining an understanding of the differences takes some of the mystery and frustration out of relating to the other half.

Puppy Dog Tails:  What is a Man Today?
What is healthy masculinity?  Models such as Rambo, Woody Allen and Colin Powell present very differing images of manhood.  Explore how the images of Warrior, Healer, Visionary and Teacher help encompass the essence of what it means to be a man, and how all of these can be found in the stories of Jesus' life on earth.
 
Steel Magnolias: Powerfilled Women
Is it possible for women to get their needs met, their wants fulfilled, and their voices heard? What are the typical blocking elements of the media, society in general, and women themselves?  Oddly, in the information age, women remain relatively uninformed on themselves and the impact of family and societal messages on their mental health. In this discussion we’ll take a look at the messages that enhance life, or hinder growth. As Christian women, we are called to be of a certain temperament, have certain qualities, and teach the younger generations how to live Godly lives. Are we spending enough energy on those goals, or the goals that society tells us are worthwhile.

Good Grief?
God wants to draw us near when we feel grief, but often we don't recognize losses until they are stifling our creativity, spiritual lives, and enjoyment of life. The dog dies, the favorite TV show goes off the air, the divorce finalizes.  The daily losses range from the simple unspoken uncomfortable feelings, to the weak-kneed devastation following a death or divorce.  We deal with loss every day regardless of how smooth our lives are. Learning healthy grieving tools, lessens the toll on your system, family, and walk with God.
 
After (Moving) Shock
The dishes are put away, and the dog is exploring uncharted territory in the back yard. Everything’s done, right? Not quite. The stress involved with a move can take its toll on the whole family. Come learn some of the stress warning signs for child, teen, husband and wife. Explore tools to make the transition smoother and turn a potentially splintering situation into a time for family unity.
 
Handling the Holidays
This seminar is designed for those who have experienced the death of a loved one for which the holidays can hold many unexpected feelings and burdens.  Whether it be the death of a parent or a miscarriage, we’ll talk about how to handle the merriment when you don’t feel merry, how to handle insensitive comments, how to deal with not having that loved one around on these traditionally family-oriented days, and how to draw strength and comfort from the Source.
 
Guilt:  The Parental Hormone
This experiential workshop explores the guilt, stress and fears of raising healthy kids in the 90’s.  This seminar is designed to enhance your creativity in finding quality time activities to do with your children, while attending to your needs.  Ideal for working moms and dads, and families with multiple children.

 
Family Ties – What Works?
Building a strong, emotionally and psychologically healthy family is one of life’s greatest challenges.  We’ll gain an understanding of healthy family dynamics, and how to strengthen the areas in which your family may be struggling.  Healthy family ties can change the lives of generations to come—learning about them is the first step.
 
Telling the Kids: Separation or Divorce
Children process the world differently than adults, and with separation or divorce, usually children will think they are to blame.  It is extremely important to understand how a child thinks before talking to your child about this topic.  This seminar focuses on specific steps to take in addressing divorce.  Role play demonstrations will be utilized in order to practice the techniques taught.  Discussions concerning the impact of divorce on children will also serve to give parents a well-rounded view of this sensitive issue.
 
Birth Order
Why are the majority of US Presidents first born, and most social revolutions started by later-born children?  Does your order of birth impact your current life?  Find out how you can use an understanding of birth order to improve your parenting skills, relationships and life.
 
Systematic Training for Effective Parenting (STEP)
Choose from either a short introduction to the training, or a complete 4-8 week course of training.  This is one of the most widely used and effective parenting programs in the country.  Created by Dinkmeyer and McKay, STEP is for parents of children and adolescents. STEP has a built-in, Bible-based component, relating scriptural truths to the problems of child-rearing.
 
Power, Manipulation and Independence
We, as social beings, manipulate constantly.  Manipulation skills are learned very early in life, but become rather troublesome during adolescence. Take a fresh look at the teenage years and learn to improve relationships through specific, concrete tools based on understanding teen manipulation tactics.

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(Mis)communicating with the Kids
Confused by the amount of miscommunication with your teen?  As adolescents search for autonomy, adults may perceive them as speaking a foreign language.  Since we are called to be people in relationship, and the best stabilizing relationship in a teen's life is usually with a healthy parent, communication is critical. Come learn effective methods for talking to your teen.  This seminar is designed to prevent the “we didn’t talk for several years” syndrome.

The Psychology of Attraction (for Dating Teens)
Why are you attracted to certain types of people?  As we grow up, we formulate our own pictures of the perfect mate.  But why do we all come out with different pictures?  What do you want emotionally, physically, spiritually, and intellectually? Come investigate the world of attraction and learn what you want and need from love.

The Date From Hades:  Boundaries in Dating
Dating can help you learn about who you are and what you expect out of life. This workshop focuses on keeping yourself safe emotionally, mentally, spiritually, and physically.  Your rights and duties, healthy boundaries, and self-exploration will all be addressed.  Hopefully you’ll be able to prevent too many “dates from Hell”, and ward off serious issues like date rape, peer-pressure, and rumor-spreading.

The First Love; The First Broken Heart
Teens experience the same intensity of emotion during a break-up as some adults do during a divorce.  But adults usually discount the experience as insignificant in the “real world.”  This seminar is designed for both teens and parents of teens.  We will explore the grief, pain, anger and abandonment involved, as well as coping skills for handling them.  Warning signs of suicide, depression, and anxiety disorders will be addressed.

Peers
Friends are some of the most important influences during the adolescent years.  The messages from teen to teen can be powerful mechanisms for positive self-image and growth.  Most people who come to be Christian were saved in their teen years. This workshop focuses on teaching adolescents how to utilize their skills for the support of others and their own personal connection.

Life 101
There are basics of doing life well.  This straightforward talk is designed to stimulate, educate and encourage.  Discussions of family, religious, and societal influences will lead to a better understanding of how you want to “do life.” We’ll look at everything from love to loss, from stress to school.  Everyone should have an instruction manual on life -- get yours!
 
Assertive Living Even When You Feel Like Crawling in a Hole
Getting your needs met without being aggressive, passive or passive-aggressive is a challenge. Learn the art of being assertive, helping to improve relationships, and building self-esteem.
 
Battling the Blues
When is it depression and when is it just feeling down?  Every person goes through periods of feeling blue, and those who know the best skills bounce back rather unharmed.  Pick from a wide variety of coping strategies presented to make your own personalized smorgasbord of blues busters.

Dealing with Anxiety
God says, “Fear not” 365 times in the Bible – one for each day of our year. But that’s difficult when the stress comes. From panic attacks to headaches, our bodies vary in their expression of anxiety.  Anxiety is equivalent to the common cold: everyone will experience varying doses of it many times.  The wonderful thing about anxiety is that there is so much you can do about it. The tools are simple and with practice, can change your life.
 
Mirror, Mirror -- Gaining a Positive Self-Image
Your self-description impacts everything you do.  Relationships, job, even your length of stay on this planet.  Take a moment and look at who you think you are, how you feel about yourself, and how God sees you. Your self-image probably doesn’t reflect reality 100%.  We’ll attempt to get to know who we are, and then learn how to encourage the positives and learn from the negatives. We'll also try to learn why we rarely see ourselves as God sees us.
 
Holiday Madness
Does November trigger instant stress?  Approaching the Holiday season, pressures often collide, producing many casualties. During this time of Christ's birth, we often concentrate more on the sale at Macy's. Gather some fresh approaches to handling the holiday hurricane. Come prepared to experience innovative relaxation techniques and ideas for managing the merriment. God has to be somewhere hidden under all that tinsel.
 
Was That Assertive, Aggressive, or Passive-Aggressive?
Getting your needs met without being aggressive, passive or passive-aggressive is a challenge. Most people will classify themselves incorrectly, and will also be way off in rating the actions of others. You may be alienating people at work and home, without being aware of the reasons. The good news: these are teachable skills. So come learn the art of being assertive, helping to improve relationships, and building self-esteem.
 
Body Language
Learn what we really say to each other in this fun and informative seminar.  Studies indicate that sometimes as much as 95% of communication is nonverbal.  So learn what others may have been “screaming” at you for years. 

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PARENTING AND FAMILY
 
Telling the Kids: Separation or Divorce
Children process the world differently than adults, and with separation or divorce, usually children will think they are to blame.  It is extremely important to understand how a child thinks before talking to your child about this topic.  This seminar focuses on specific steps to take in addressing divorce.  Role play demonstrations will be utilized in order to practice the techniques taught.  Discussions concerning the impact of divorce on children will also serve to give parents a well-rounded view of this sensitive issue.

 
Systematic Training for Effective Parenting (STEP)
Choose from either a short introduction to the training, or a complete 4-8 week course of training.  This is one of the most widely used and effective parenting programs in the country. Created by Dinkmeyer and McKay, STEP is for parents of children and adolescents. STEP also has an available Bible-based component, relating scriptural truths to the problems of child-rearing.
 
Parenting 101
There are so many creative and healthy tools for parenting young children.  Join us as we take a look at some of the most effective.  You can pick and choose, mix and match.  One of the greatest gifts you can ever give your child is to be the best possible parent on all five levels of being human: physical, mental, emotional, social, and spiritual. Sound like a tall order? It is. This seminar is designed to distill it down to very simple, everyday tools.
 
Child Safety
Often parents struggle with how much “Stranger Danger” information to give their children, without sacrificing the child’s peace of mind. Explore how to keep your child safe in an unsafe world without creating paranoia and panic. Let’s take a look at keeping our kids free from danger, and free from fear at the same time.
 
Role Reversal:  Caring for Aging Parents
Whether foreseeable or unexpected, caring for your elderly parent(s) can produce extreme physical, emotional, and mental stress.  Issues of daily needs, emotional support, relocation, parent-child role reversal can end in irreconcilable differences.  Explore this phenomenon and learn new skills for growing together instead of apart.
 
Effective Parenting Through Life Transitions
As if parenting isn’t hard enough -- the major transitions seem to hit from nowhere.  The move, the death, the teenage rites of passage.  These transitions often put a strain on the entire family, and have lasting negative effects.  Prepare now for transitions you know are going to be coming. We’ll look at the healthiest ways to get through them.
 
The Psychology of Pregnancy
The ambivalence. The excitement. The intense fear. The relationships changes. When a couple becomes a threesome, the family begins and the world evolves. The loss of the previous relationship alone can be a devastating blow. And with no time to talk anymore, the couple can slowly (or rapidly) grow apart. The ideas and tools presented may help you successfully re-negotiate your relationship, and manage the new stress of parenthood.

Blending Families
A large segment of the population struggles with putting two families together, often taking several years before equilibrium is reached.  As new partners attempt to find out what their marriage is going to be like, the children are often going through some of the toughest issues of their young lives.  The Brady Bunch it is not.  Come learn the best management skills for this family transition, creating a special, new family.
 

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ADOLESCENTS
 
Power, Manipulation and Independence
We manipulate constantly.  Manipulation skills are learned very early in life, but become rather troublesome during adolescence.  Take a fresh look at your teen and learn to improve relationships through specific, practical tools based on understanding teen manipulation tactics.  Confused by the miscommunication with your teen?  As adolescents search for autonomy, adults perceive them as speaking a foreign language.  Come learn effective methods for talking to your teen.  This seminar is designed to prevent the “we didn’t talk for several years” syndrome.

(Mis)communicating with the Kids
Confused by the amount of miscommunication with your teen?  As adolescents search for autonomy, adults may perceive them as speaking a foreign language.  Since we are called to be people in relationship, and the best stabilizing relationship in a teen's life is usually with a healthy parent, communication is critical. Come learn effective methods for talking to your teen.  This seminar is designed to prevent the “we didn’t talk for several years” syndrome.

The Psychology of Attraction (for Dating Teens)
Why are you attracted to certain types of people?  As we grow up, we formulate our own pictures of the perfect mate.  But why do we all come out with different pictures?  What do you want emotionally, physically, spiritually, and intellectually? Come investigate the world of attraction and learn what you want and need from love.
  
The Date From Hades:  Boundaries in Dating
Dating can help you learn about who you are and what you expect out of life. This workshop focuses on keeping yourself safe emotionally, mentally, spiritually, and physically.  Your rights and duties, healthy boundaries, and self-exploration will all be addressed.  Hopefully you’ll be able to prevent too many “dates from Hell”, and ward off serious issues like date rape, peer-pressure, and rumor-spreading.

The First Love; The First Broken Heart
Teens experience the same intensity of emotion during a break-up as some adults do during a divorce.  But adults usually discount the experience as insignificant in the “real world.”  This seminar is designed for both teens and parents of teens.  We will explore the grief, pain, anger and abandonment involved, as well as coping skills for handling them.  Warning signs of suicide, depression, and anxiety disorders will be addressed.

Peers
Friends are some of the most important influences during the adolescent years.  The messages from teen to teen can be powerful mechanisms for positive self-image and growth.  Most people who come to be Christian were saved in their teen years. This workshop focuses on teaching adolescents how to utilize their skills for the support of others and their own personal connection.

Life 101
There are basics of doing life well.  This straightforward talk is designed to stimulate, educate and encourage.  Discussions of family, religious, and societal influences will lead to a better understanding of how you want to “do life.” We’ll look at everything from love to loss, from stress to school.  Everyone should have an instruction manual on life -- get yours!
 
Assertive Living Even When You Feel Like Crawling in a Hole
Getting your needs met without being aggressive, passive or passive-aggressive is a challenge. Learn the art of being assertive, helping to improve relationships, and building self-esteem.  

↑ back to top

MISCELLANEOUS
 
Battling the Blues
When is it depression and when is it just feeling down?  Every person goes through periods of feeling blue, and those who know the best skills bounce back rather unharmed.  Pick from a wide variety of coping strategies presented to make your own personalized smorgasbord of blues busters.
 
Dealing with Anxiety
From panic attacks to headaches, our bodies differ in their expression of anxiety.  Anxiety is equivalent to the common cold: everyone will experience varying doses of it many times. The wonderful thing about anxiety is that it’s well-researched. So there are time-tested tools to combat it. The tools are simple and with practice, can change your life.

Mirror, Mirror -- Gaining a Positive Self-Image
Your self-description impacts everything you do.  Relationships, job, even your length of stay on this planet.  Take a moment and look at who you think you are, how you feel about yourself, and what others say. Your self-image probably doesn’t reflect reality 100%. We’ll attempt to get to know who we are, and then learn how to encourage the positives and learn from the negatives. We'll also try to learn why we rarely see ourselves accurately, or even as others see us.
 
Was That Assertive, Aggressive, or Passive-Aggressive?
Getting your needs met without being aggressive, passive or passive-aggressive is a challenge. Most people will classify themselves incorrectly, and will also be way off in rating the actions of others. You may be alienating people at work and home, without being aware of the reasons. The good news: these are teachable skills. So come learn the art of being assertive, helping to improve relationships, and building self-esteem.

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See our Contract Agreement to book Megan Johntz for your next Presentation or Seminar.