Connections with Mike Thom and Colleen Houde

Life is filled with changes that keep many in a constant state of anxiety, even more so nowadays as we deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. With more than 25 years of experience in the mental health field, board-certified neuropsychologist and author Dr. Michelle Bengtson offers a biblically based prescription for finding peace from worry or anxiety. She shows readers how to recognize that anxiety ori...

Prayer is our most powerful, life-changing tool, but all too often, it feels like a struggle. Bestselling author and beloved speaker Sheila Walsh helps women reignite their relationship with God, and to embrace the life-changing effects of prayer in her new book, Praying Women: How to Pray When You Don’t Know How. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ken Graves is the Senior Pastor of Calvary Chapel in Bangor, Maine. He left home at the age of sixteen to pursue training in ministry, by the age of 22 he was led by God to return to his hometown to present the gospel and build a church. That church has now grown into a healthy body of believers and church plants. Besides being the senior pastor of Calvary Chapel, Ken travels throughout the United...

Ken Graves is the Senior Pastor of Calvary Chapel in Bangor, Maine. He left home at the age of sixteen to pursue training in ministry, by the age of 22 he was led by God to return to his hometown to present the gospel and build a church. That church has now grown into a healthy body of believers and church plants. Besides being the senior pastor of Calvary Chapel, Ken travels throughout the United...

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to unravel around the world, Samaritan's Purse has launched a major medical response to help overwhelmed hospitals. Just over 3 weeks ago Samaritan's purse opened up a 68-bed emergency field hospital in Cremona, Italy. The mobile medical facility was airlifted to Italy on March 17 and opened March 20 after being fine-tuned into a specialized respiratory care unit...

The global COVID 19 pandemic has disrupted the grieving process for many across Canada. A number of restrictions, including putting a limit of 10 or less on gatherings has lead funeral homes and other services, to find alternative ways to hold funerals and celebrations of life. "In our funeral home, we're just amazed at how quickly things have changed when it comes to physical distancing. We're li...

April 2 is World Autism Awareness Day. In 2008, The United Nations General Assembly unanimously declared April 2nd as World Autism Awareness Day – many countries around the world light up their landmarks blue to help increase understanding and acceptance of people with Autism. In 2012, the Canadian Parliament passed the World Autism Awareness Day Act recognizing April 2 as World Autism Awareness D...

Across Latin America, from the plains of Mexico to the jungles of Paraguay, live a cloistered Germanic people. For nearly a century, they have kept their doors and their minds closed, separating their communities from a secular world they view as sinful. The story of their search for religious and social independence began generations ago in Europe and led them, in the late 1800s, to Canada, where...

An unprecedented environment has record numbers of employees suddenly working remotely to protect themselves and others. This transition has proven to be a difficult task for some employers who do not have established policies. However, those organizations with the ability to deploy their normal in-office employees to work remotely have found it to be easier from a business continuity perspective...

Staying regulated as parents is the most important way that we can ease anxiety in our children. This is not easy to do during this overwhelming and uncertain time. The COVID-19 pandemic has created anxiety in all of us. Anxiety wears us down both physically and mentally, making it difficult to sleep, eat, and pay attention. It can lead to overreaction and irrational decisions. We want to manage o...

Concerns are being raised by community organizations over how to help the homeless stay safe during the COVID-19 pandemic. Across the country, the common worry is that the virus will spread like wildfire through the homeless population because proper screening protocols and housing options aren't available. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Popular writer and blogger Kara Lawler shows women how to embrace the sacred in the everyday so that they can see the holy and the beautiful--and in the process, discover themselves. Life doesn't have to be lived on grand mountaintops for it to be meaningful. We can find holiness in the small, moss-covered rocks along the paths of our everyday lives. We can see God at work right where we are: in o...

With school closures due to COVID-19, children who are at home will potentially have more unrestricted time online. The Canadian Centre for Child Protection, through its program Cybertip.ca, is urging families to have conversations about internet safety and to work together to implement strategies that ensures everyone’s digital well-being. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Relationships can be challenging at the best of times, but even more so in situations like the COVID-19 pandemic that we're dealing with in the world right now. Just over a month ago many couples celebrated their love for one another during Valentines day, but Doug & Tracy Amouzouvi say it's important to keep that love going year-round. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For many this week will be the start of something new and challenging. Numerous families have already started working from home due to the COVID-19 pandemic and starting this week their children will join them as daycares and schools across Canada close. This means many parents will now take on the role of being their child's teacher, something that not everyone is prepared to do. See omnystudio.c...

Spring cleaning is exciting to those seeking a fresh start to a new season. However, many dread it because of the enormity of the projects, time, and effort it takes to complete. Whatever their outlook on spring cleaning, most people agree it’s a wonderful feeling when we can enjoy our finished work and sense of accomplishment. Perhaps just like your home and lawn, it’s been a long winter season f...

Rose's lifelong dream was to move with her husband and her pottery studio to a Caribbean island, enjoying her morning coffee on the beach and taking her ocean-inspired ideas back to her studio. Her husband would make use of the skills he honed in restaurants in a more laid-back, ocean-side setting. Isla Mujeres, a little island off the coast of the Yucatan Peninsula, seemed to fit the bill. But, o...

Countries around the world have been shut down, and life as we know it has drastically changed due to COVID-19. All of these things can take a toll on our mental health, but there are ways to stay calm in the midst of a storm. Sean Miller is the executive director of the Canadian Mental Health Association, central region. He tells us why people are feeling the way they feel and gives us some advic...

I STILL BELIEVE, the latest film from Lionsgate, Kingdom Story Company and Mongrel Media released in Canadian theatres on Friday, March 13. The new biopic on Christian contemporary artist Jeremy Camp, I Still Believe, was the number 1 movie on Friday raking in $4 million. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dr. David Thompson's story begins at the age of 14 in Cambodia where he witnessed a man die, after being injured in a car accident. Moments before he passed, his father, a missionary, sat next to him and attempted to share the gospel with him, but the dying man only wanted medical help. From that moment on he set his sights on becoming a missionary doctor. Dr. Thompson would find a way to help the...

Only God can bring a dead man back to life. On the outside, Cody Bates appeared as any other normal kid on the playground. But abuse, prescription drugs, and bullying had produced anything but a normal human being. Before long, his preteen drug addiction and young offender incarcerations transitioned into narcotic trafficking, gangs, murder, and life in a maximum-security prison. See omnystudio.co...

Dr. Hormoz was born in Iran to a Muslim family but had the ability to come to the U.S. after the Islamic Revolution in 1979. He became a Christian while getting his Ph. D. in Computer Science at USC in 1980. His passion to reach Muslims is partially fueled by the murder of his brother by the Iranian government. Instead of seeking vengeance, God showed Dr. Hormoz that the best retaliation is to ded...

Globally, the two most-reported persecutions used against Christian women and girls globally are sexual violence and forced marriage. Both were identified by 84% of respondents from the top 50 countries where it is most difficult to live as a Christian, according to Open Doors’ annual World Watch List (2020), published in mid-January. Open Doors International released its third Gender-Specific Rel...

Daylight Saving Time begins on March 8. It is a yearly routine that results in adjustments not only to our watches but also to our internal clocks. What is the impact of time change? How does it affect our sleeping patterns and how significantly do these changes in sleep affect our health? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There is a crisis of faith in today’s world, but it’s probably not what you think. The crisis isn’t that people have stopped believing, it’s that believers don’t have deep, personal connections with what they believe in. The concepts of faith and belief have been relegated to holy books filled with stories that happened a long time ago. Believers may revere the book, but never read it. They may be...