Are you hurting inside? Do you feel as if there's nowhere to turn for help? Or are you perhaps hoping to help someone you know and care about deal more effectively with major life issues such as depression, addiction, divorce and domestic abuse?
If so, help is on the way.
The Ruth Graham & Friends ministry will help you find real answers to real life issues at the "Get Real" conference, to be presented Oct. 20-21 at the First Baptist Church of Indian Rocks, 12685 Ulmerton Road, Largo. Conference hours are Friday, Oct. 20, 7 to 9 p.m., and Saturday, Oct. 21, 8 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. Cost for the two-day event is $49 for individuals and $85 for couples.
Sub-themed "A Real God for A Real Life," the conference aims to help people better cope with a variety of life issues by providing expert advice from a number of speakers and workshop presenters. The conference is open to women and men alike, with discount pricing available for couples.
Ruth Graham, conference leader, author, founder of the Ruth Graham & Friends ministry, and daughter of the Rev. Billy Graham of Christian evangelical prominence, opens the conference from 7-9 p.m. Friday evening. The Reverend Tom Crow will serve as master of ceremonies for the conference.
Saturday's day-long series of events includes morning keynote speeches by Jan Dravecky, nationally known author and wife of former Major Lague Baseball star pitcher Dave Dravecky, whose baseball career was ended by cancer; and Lysa TerKeurst, award-winning author of several books and expert on Christian marriage, family and women's issues. Conference attendees will have their choice of participating in a variety of informative and instructive breakout sessions led by some of the keynote speakers and other respected experts. Topics and leaders for the breakout sessions include:
Addictions - Breaking the Ties that Bind (Dr. Sara Dormon)
Pornography and Sexual Sin (Dr. Mark and Deb Laaser)
Domestic Violence Treatment and Prevention (Jacqueline Skog)
Divorce, Being Single and Loneliness (Ruth Graham)
What Every Wife Should Know (Lysa TerKeurst)
What to Say When the Unthinkable Happens (Dr. Nancy Heche)
Depression - Find the Way Out (Jan Dravecky)
Telling Yourself the Truth - Understanding Anger (Steve Wiese)