Christ Community Church of Abrahamsville, 623 Callicoon Road, Damascus, PA (2026)

04/07/2026

From Diane Houghtaling

Hope for the Day. Lasting Change.

Why is lasting change so hard to attain? Sure, we make efforts to work on changes in our lives, but many times it seems that our best efforts fall short. We do well for a while but then life happens and we’re back to old ways.
I recently read through some notes and journal entries I’d made twenty years ago. I was shocked to see that I’m still dealing with some of the same things I was back then. Yes, I’ve made progress in many areas, but there are still some issues I haven’t received victory over.
But I’m happy to report there is one area that I’ve struggled with for years that the Lord recently helped me with. I’ve had boxes of some things that I just haven’t known what to do with. I didn’t really want to get rid of them, but I didn’t know what to do with them if I kept them. God finally showed me it was time to get rid of them because they no longer serve a purpose for me. On the contrary, a lot of painful memories were attached to them.
This time it was different when I thought about getting rid of them. Now that I know why it is best to get rid of them, I settled it in my mind that they are going. And that’s what it took to make this change. Once I decided it was best for me to get rid of them and it was set in my mind, the hard part was over. They are still here because I haven’t had a chance to take them out yet, but in my mind they’re gone and not a problem anymore.
The Lord is teaching me that the only way to make lasting changes in our lives is to start with the decisions in our minds. We skip over that part usually. When we want to change something, we get right to action. We muster up all the will power we can and work hard at trying to stick with changing our behavior. But these changes are usually only temporary unless we’ve first settled it in our minds.
A good place to start when we want to deal with issues and make changes is to think about it first and answer some questions. Why do we want to change this behavior? How would it benefit our lives to make this change? Do we really want to change and are we ready to make the change? How will it affect our lives and others if we do not change?
Once we have it settled in our minds that this is the best thing for us and others, it makes it much easier to put action to what needs to be done to make the change. As we focus on renewing our minds, it naturally leads to changed outward actions. There is actually a science to this process.
Changing our thinking changes our beliefs. Changing our beliefs changes our expectations. Changing our expectations changes our attitudes. Changing our attitudes changes our behavior. Changing our behavior changes our performance. And changing our performance changes our lives. It all starts in our minds and how we think.
Romans 12:2 encourages us to let God transform us into new people by changing the way we think. Ephesians 4:23 tells us to let the Spirit renew our thoughts and attitudes. This is where lasting change comes from.

Hope Ministries is a Christian counseling center, and we are here to help. If you would like to speak confidentially with someone, give us a call at 845-482-5300.

03/24/2026

From Diane Houghtaling

Hope for the Day. Combatting Worry.

We all must combat worry and anxiety in the turbulent times we live in. We are surrounded by wars and rumors of war, violence and riots, political unrest, diverse natural disasters, health scares, ever rising prices, addiction, and the everyday problems of life. But all of our worry put together cannot change or help a single thing.
Worry is based in fear and many times follows the words “what if…”. What if this happens or what if that doesn’t happen? Worry and anxiety take fear beyond the normal concern when thinking about problems, and it becomes hard to focus upon anything else.
But God has shown us in His word how we can combat worry. In Matthew 6:25-34 is a list of many things we worry about. Yet God tells us in this passage not to worry about any of these things because God already knows what we need and He will provide and take care of us.
Philippians 4:6-7 tells us not to worry about anything but to pray about everything and thank God for all He’s done. Then His peace that goes beyond our understanding will guard our hearts and minds, helping us to let go of worry. 1 Peter 5:7 instructs us to cast all our cares and worries upon God because He cares for us.
I recently heard a story that was a great illustration of worry and anxiety. A six-year-old little girl was getting ready for school, and the bus would soon be there to pick her up. She was trying to quickly tie her shoelaces but they ended up in a tangled mess of knots. As she sat there anxiously working on those laces, knowing the bus would be there in a few minutes, she started to cry. Her father watched as she finally dropped her head to her knees and began to sob.
The little girl’s father had been standing beside her the whole time ready to help her, but she never asked for his help. She continued to try to figure it out herself, worried that the bus was coming, until she was overwhelmed with anxiety and gave up.
Does this scene describe how we sometimes deal with our worries and problems. We are so fixated on our tangled-up messes that we never lift our eyes off them to see our Heavenly Father standing there right beside us ready to help. He’s just waiting for us to ask. He alone knows the best way to deal with the things that worry us.
There are some practical steps we can take to combat perpetual worry and anxiety. Start by keeping a worry diary. Write down every worry and anxious thought over a few days to a week. Then as you review them, take note of what shows up the most. Do you worry most about finances, health, your family or job? Is there some underlying fear attached to what you worry most about?
Also in your review, ask how many times your worries became a reality. Most of the time what we fear and worry about never does happen. Worry doesn’t help us in any way, nor does it accomplish anything beneficial for us. We need to trust God to meet our daily needs. The moment a worry or concern surfaces, surrender it to God and ask for His help. This is truly the best way to combat worry and anxiety.

Hope Ministries is a Christian counseling center, and we are here to help. If you would like to speak confidentially with someone, give us a call at 845-482-5300.

03/05/2026

From Diane Houghtaling
Hope for the Day. Belief – A Powerful Weapon.

What we believe in the core of our beings affects our entire lives. Our beliefs control what we think and speak. Our beliefs control our actions and how we treat others. What we believe propels us into the future, whether for good or negative.
Usually our core beliefs, what we belief deep within our beings, stems from our childhoods. It is easier to shape a child’s belief system when they are young, and these beliefs can stay with them for all their lives, again for good or negative.
Children who are treated as if they are worthless, stupid, not worth loving, and won’t amount to anything usually prove that to be so in living out their lives. Not because that was true, but because they believed it to be true.
Some people groups teach their children from the earliest age to hate other people groups, and their main goal in life is to eliminate those despised others. They are taught that the greatest good they can do for mankind is to even die while eliminating those who are despised.
Throughout the ages, many have been targeted like this, and whole races have been exterminated because of hatred. One person’s hatred of another group can change a whole nation, as history has shown. This poison can permeate the culture and change belief systems.
There have also been cult leaders who had such tremendous control over their followers that they believed whatever they were told. When the time came that the leader announced, “It’s time to drink the poison,” they drank the poison and died for what they believed.
There have been countless thousands who have died for what they believed throughout the ages. Some of those beliefs were based on lies, some on truth. But this shows that belief can be used as a very powerful weapon and can change the course of a life, a nation, or all mankind.
The belief that did the most good to change all of mankind’s eternal destiny is the belief that Jesus Christ is the Savior that came into the world, fully God and fully man, to die for our sins. He was raised from the dead to make a way for us to be forgiven and to spend eternity with Him in Heaven if we believe. This single belief has done more to shape the world than any other.
This is the belief that can change lives. It’s the belief that can speak truth to all the lies we’ve believed up to that point. It can cause those children who have been told all their lives that they are worthless to finally receive the love of God that shows them their true worth, that they are worth dying for.
This is the belief that can turn hatred towards other people groups into love for them. It is the belief that instead of being willing to die to eliminate them, they might be willing to die for the Savior who wants all to know of His great love and sacrifice.
Belief in Jesus can give those who are lost and lonely, discouraged and in despair, desperate, hopeless, and searching for a reason to live, something and Someone to believe in. Someone who will never leave them nor forsake them. Someone who gives peace and joy. Someone who loved us so much that He was willing to sacrifice His life so we could live. That’s Someone who is worth believing in.

Hope Ministries is a Christian counseling center, and we are here to help. If you would like to speak confidentially with someone, give us a call at 845-482-5300.

Address

623 Callicoon Road
Damascus, PA
18415

Opening Hours

9:30am - 11am

Telephone

+15702247601

Website

http://christccoa.org/

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