Good News - May 2021

you never know when that last day may be. Finally, love hard and love long. It’s all about perseverance. As Dory says, just keep swimming! Tchividjian family from Left to right: Back row: Zeke Tchividjian, Stetson Tchivid- jian, Steve Saliba, Leon Sal- iba, Caden Saliba, Hope Saliba, Jacob Sherry, Charlee Sherry, Matt Sherry, Levi Sherry; Front Row: Zooey Tchividjian, Stephan Tchividjian, Mia Tchividjian, Lisa Tchividjian, Blesi Tchividjian Lisa Tchividjian Lisa Tchividjian is actively involved in her home church, Calvary Chapel Fort Lauderdale, with her husband of 34 years, Stephan Tchividjian, president and founder of the National Christian Foundation South Florida. “I encourage women through the Word of God to seek all that God may have for them with love and grace,” said Lisa. She also works for an organization called Every Mother’s Advocate (EMA), which was founded by her daughter Charlee Tchividjian. “Our mission statement is advocating for every mother in crisis to achieve lasting stability for their family. We work with women who live below the poverty line that are at risk for having their children placed in the child welfare system or are striving to be reunified with children already in care. We have methodically designed our programs for mothers in crisis to have equal, easy, and free access to immediate support. Every element of the program is built to empower mothers to increase resilience, overcome risk factors, and achieve lasting stability.” Lisa and Stephan Tchividjian have five children and seven grandchildren. They’ve also fostered seven children, adopting their fifth child, Zooey, from foster care. Do you have a goal or mission statement for your family? Lisa: Our priority as parents has always been to encourage our children to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. What Bible verse encourages you as a mother? “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, do not lean on your own understand- ing, in all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your path straight” (Proverbs 3:5-6) What has been your most challenging time as a mother? Lisa: Teenagers/Young Adults – Trying to give them the space to find their way in the world and pray they don’t make too many mistakes along the way. Charlee’s short story is that she was my rebel teen, not the least bit interested in God or doing anything that she was supposed to do. We said she could drop out of high school on the condition that she look into doing some kind of mission work. She went to Africa for six months with OneHope, and it changed her life. She met the Lord. She found what she wanted to do with her life. Somebody put a newborn baby in her arms that the mother had delivered then disappeared, and the Lord just pricked her heart. She thought what if someone could have helped this mom? Would this child know her mother? She came back, got her GED, went to Liberty University, and she went from a failing student all through high school to an A student all through college, got her degree, and started the ministry of EMA as a college student. For Charlee, I think for a lot of kids, the Christianese doesn’t work. It’s not enough. They need to see it, feel it, sleep it, eat it. They have to own it, so I think that’s why the rest of my answers are give your kids grace. Give them time. Let them find their way. It’s not up to me to save my kid. That’s God’s job. I’ve just got to love them regardless of the choices they make and pray that they’re not too big a mistake along the way. What is your most rewarding time as a mother? Lisa: Seeing your children become parents. What advice or insight would you offer other women? Lisa: Let grace be your guide. Children will challenge you, disappoint you and be the greatest gift God has ever given you. But grace will make the journey full of joy. No family is perfect, no person is perfect, no life is perfect. But with Jesus it can be an adventure of love and joy. Brookins family from left to right: Chase Jackson, SarahAnne Jackson, Jacob Brookins, David Brookins, Joshua Brookins, Pastor Brian Brookins, Beth Brookins, Mariel Brookins, Daniel Brookins, Caleb Brookins Beth Brookins Beth Brookins serves alongside her husband Pastor Brian Brookins at Riverside Church in North Lauderdale. The Brookins have six children and two grandsons, in- cluding two sons adopted fromAccra Ghana in West Africa, where their church as- sisted an orphanage. Beth is founder and executive director of Classical Education Day at Riverside (CEDAR), a program to support home educating parents with ac- ademically challenging courses. Now in its 15th year of operation, CEDAR enrolls 160 students in 4th through 12th grades, and is accredited with Palm BeachAtlantic University and Ohio Christian University to offer dual enrollment courses. After home educating all six of her children, Beth continues to operate CEDAR because she said, “I am so passionate about home education. I want to encourage parents to do it because they can take their kids so much farther, and they are the best peer influence on their child, not the system.” Beth and Brian also breed golden retriever puppies, filling their home with activity again when their children headed off to college. Do you have a goal or mission statement for your family? Beth: Our mission statement was to love God, to love one another and to love learning. Brian always said, “If we get to the end of the journey and we’ve succeeded in academics but we’ve failed in character, we’ve truly failed.” What Bible verse encourages you as a mother? “Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added unto you” (Matthew 6:33). What was your most challenging time as a mother? Beth: I would say 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. was always the witching hour – just the end of the day. As a home educating mom, you’re thinking about the lesson plans for the next day, getting dinner ready, but also making myself presentable for my husband when he’s going to walk in the door. I feel like my role was to keep the house in order and a peaceful place for him to come home to after a really stressful day. I wanted home to be a place of refreshment and blessing to him. I can’t say that I always suc- ceeded in it, but that was my goal. What was your most rewarding time as a mother? Beth: Every day. Every day that they were home. And now seeing them soar and living their dreams. What advice would you offer mothers? Beth: Every day, as hard as it is, is a gift. When they are little, they tie up your feet. When they are older, they tie up your heart. I think parenting older, adult children is almost more difficult. But every day with them in the house when the kitchen table is filled is a gift and then one-by-one they all start going. Now I say Lord, those years went by so fast; I loved it. I would tell moms enjoy. Don’t wish it away. Don’t wish for them to be in high school. Don’t wish for summer break to be over. Don’t wish for winter break to be over. COVER STORY 33 MAY 2021 www.goodnewsfl.org Good News • South Florida Edition (Continued from page 32) (Continued on page 34) Good News thanks Sheridan House Family Ministries for hosting our Mother’s Day cover photo shoot at their residential Sheridan House for Boys in Davie. The mission of Sheridan House is “Honoring Christ by serving the needs of children and families in need.” sheridanhouse.org