Join us for the CREATE Workshop on Saturday, May 20, 2023. You'll discover what it means to be a creative, how we get stuck, and what success may look like. Registration begins in April.
Our first PRODIGAL workshop was held on Saturday, March 11. This small group workshop explored the prodigal's journey, what a parent goes through watching their prodigal, and different truths and strategies from God's word and Doug Weiss's book Prodigal Parent Process. The day included testimonies, prayer, fellowship, and food. Please consider joining us next Fall when we will offer the workshop again.
AFFIRM Ministries serves who struggle with being validated.
What does it mean to feel validated? Validation is acknowledgement. It is best demonstrated when we notice another's heart. Many of us didn't receive that kind of notice nor did we learn how to give it to others.
AFFIRM Ministries explores acknowledgment through THE NOTICE podcast, one on one mentoring, speaking, teaching and workshops, addressing topics and issues infrequently discussed.
At the heart of AFFIRM Ministries is Susan Hoekstra. At Maple Ridge PLACE, she hosts a variety of workshops, specializing in working with those who have been betrayed, abused, grew up fatherless, creatives, etc. utilizing the principles found in her book A FIRM GRASP - Feeling validated in a notice-me world.
After years as a professional classical musician, she experienced the outpouring of the mercy of God and began songwriting, leading small groups, teaching bible studies, speaking at women's retreats, writing, and lay counseling. She has been featured writer in Just Between Us magazine, Christian Devotions and is a featured guest on PROCLAIM FM radio and numerous podcasts. She is host of God stories LIVE, and THE NOTICE podcast. Her book A FIRM GRASP - Feeling validated in a notice-me world explores the need for acknowledgment and approval and how the God of mercy satisfies! In the Spring of 2022, she and her husband purchased Maple Ridge PLACE, a 14 acre property that has become the home of AFFIRM Ministries and Freedom Farm Ministries, offering workshops, one on one mentorships, praise gatherings, equine therapy, gardening and more.