I’m Laura Howe
Social Worker, Founder of Hope Made strong
Biblically-Based learning to help your leaders care for others
Online Learning
Courses that equip and strengthen ministry leaders to care and support others.
In-person training
Laura brings a fresh voice and practical strategies to create conversations leading to hope, strength, and resilience in staff and volunteer leaders.
Resources
Why is listening so important?
Active listening is listening with curiosity. Guiding the person with questions so they can unwrap and open boxes themselves, where eventually they will find the core issue. I have put together a cheat sheet of curious questions to help you guide people as they tell their stories.
Flipping your lid
“Flipping your lid” is a simplified explanation that I often refer to when describing what happens in the brain when people experience stress. Once you learn this concept you will begin to see if everywhere. The frustrated customer, angry neighbour, the exhausted parent. Your response to this human experience will be forever changed, and you build self awareness resists that urge to flip your own lid.
Using scales to support
If the person you’re supporting is having difficulty describing their feelings, or the meeting is lacking focus or if it’s a struggle to keep people on track, use a number or color scale as it provides common ground and language to build upon.
What to say when you don’t know what to say
If it hasn’t happened to you yet, there will be a day when you enter a situation and you have no idea what to say and people will be looking to you for support and hope. Often times it’s when others are facing tragedy. You feel helpless, Words are worthless....
What is Compassion Fatigue?
It’s no surprise that research studies are finding that a ministry leader’s well-being is negatively impacted by the work of serving and caring for others. This is not a fault of the leader or even of ministry itself. Compassion fatigue is not a result of...
4 Steps to quit smoking
Most people I know want to quit smoking. That means that an estimated 34 million adults in America have either thought of quitting or tried and failed. But most people don’t realize that nicotine is just as hard, or even harder, to quit than heroin. So it’s no...
About Hope Made Strong
Testimonials
“The concepts Laura explained were well articulated and practical. The group project was time well spent, and gave us all practical ways to apply the word of God.”
“It was great to see relevant examples from the Bible of key people who fell easily (or were on the path to fall) into the trap of a cycle that would lead to burnout and anxiety.”
“Great pace! The sessions flew by. Laura has created interactive sessions that incorporated not just teaching, but practical activities, group discussions, and music.”