Let Us Pray!

Waking up this morning - more world disasters in the news! Chile had a huge earthquake - Hawaii is on alert for a Tsunami - Well, we all know, or should know, that disasters like these are only more signs of the "end times". Stand ready - let us pray - for our world, for the fallen, for all who doubt!! Let Us Pray!!!

We Can't Be Friends--

Started thinking today - long overdue! Love my daughter so much and now she is a teenager. From 12 to 13, what a change! She will turn 14 this year and I have decided it is time to be the mother and not be a friend. You know I just want her to love me for who I am and guess what, that is probably what she wants too! As much as I still feel so young inside this older body, I cannot be her friend! I mean the love is strong, but, I have to kick back and let "her" be who "she" is with her friends - She really doesn't need us to play with her anymore-- So we can't be friends, not in the "friend" world, but, being her mother is an honor I hope to fulfill.

It is hard letting go already - alot of prayer to let go, and to hold on tight in my heart!

Our Church Burned Up!

                                                                                                          


     This past Monday; Feb 15.2010, our church burned up! The entire inside was gutted! The cause was determined to be a short in an extension cord going to the organ. Apparently the cord had been spliced a number of times, and had been getting warmer and warmer un-noticed. The result was devastating.
     Sometimes we can have isuues in our lives, or flaws in our personalities, that need to be dealt with but aren't. Instead,they lie smoldering.The easier choice is to ignore them until they too, become larger than they should have been.Consequently,the damage they inflict is more pronounced. Resolve now to deal with matters in a timely fashion, before they cause irreparable harm!
     " A man's own folly ruins his life, yet his heart rages against the Lord." Proverbs 19:3

How Is Your Teen Wired?

How Your Teen Is Wired


by Joe White, Larry Weeden

Is your teen on the track to a meaningful future? Are you finding out what a joy it can be to help make the most of how God has wired him or her?

Many of us want to help our teens dream big, fulfilling, God-honoring dreams. But how do we do that?

The first step is to understand the great experiment known as your teen. In all of human history, there's never been another person with your teen's exact mix of God-given personality, talents, interests and spiritual gifts. As the two of you get to know that unique wiring through self-tests like the ones in the book Wired by God, you'll start to see which kinds of dreams might make a good fit.

Your Teen's Basic Bent
Here are some questions you can use anytime to find out how God has wired your young person:

•"What really drives you?"

•"What's the most fun you've ever had helping someone else?"

•"What dreams do you think God has given you?"

•"What can you do that most people can't?"

•"What ability would you most like to develop? Why?"

•"If God hired you for a summer job, what would you hope it would be? Why?"

And this one from Doug Fields, a youth pastor: "If you could design a specific way to serve God and knew you wouldn't fail, what would you do?"

Remember that your purpose is to listen and learn, to better understand and appreciate your teen's uniqueness. This is not the time for lectures and advice. Figuratively speaking, you need to have big ears and a small mouth, tough skin and a tender heart.

Another way to learn by questioning is to talk with others in your teen's life: teachers, youth group leaders, coaches, school counselors, Scout leaders, Sunday school teachers, parents of close friends. Ask what they've observed about your child's likes and dislikes, interests and passions, abilities and aptitudes.

Often these people will confirm your own observations. Sometimes, though, they'll describe a side of your teen that you hadn't noticed — or offer an insight you'd overlooked.

Your Teen's Interests and Passions

Here's a way to help your teen pinpoint his or her interests and natural abilities. It's based on "The Vision Quest," a tool developed by Tim Sanford, a counselor at Focus on the Family who works with a lot of young people.

Give your teen these instructions:

On a piece of paper, list the things you've done since the fourth grade. We're talking about academics, sports, social events, the arts, student government, hobbies, interaction with family and friends, personal adventures, youth activities, socials, special events, camps, worship, leadership, volunteer work, mission trips, "helping out," clubs, service projects, job duties, volunteer or assigned tasks, and chores.

You don't have to compile your whole list at once. Allow two or three weeks, adding to it as new memories come to mind. If you don't know whether to include something in the list, go ahead and put it down anyway.

Now give each activity a "positive" or a "negative" rating. How did it turn out? How did it affect you?

After several days, pull your worksheet out and think again about the events to which you gave a negative value. Look for patterns. For example, if events connected with mechanical things (fixing the car, building something, helping with props at the school play) consistently ended in disaster, you're probably not the mechanical type.

Now move to the positive side of the worksheet. Ask yourself the questions below as you look over those events.

•"Is there a pattern or anything these events have in common?"

•"Are some of the activities things I'd like to pursue more?"

•"How can I begin doing more of these kinds of activities?"

•"What kinds of qualities, talents, character traits and skills do these activities require?"

•"Do I have some of those qualities and traits?"

•"Are any circumstances or events missing from my worksheet? If so, what are they, and why might they be missing?"

•"Are there any activities I've never done before, but I'd like to try?"

Adapted from Wired by God: Empowering Your Teen for a Life of Passion and Purpose by Joe White with Larry Weeden, Copyright © 2004, Tyndale House Publishers. Used by permission

Happy Valentines Day!

                                                  




   "Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave Himself for it; that He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the Word." ---Ephesians 5:25 & 26---
   With another Valentines Day upon us, these are (as always), important words to keep in mind. Guys, we should never take our women for granted. In the course of day to day life, we all get caught up in various activities that seem to be more important than our relationship at the time. We should try to make the ladies feel special on more than one day a year. Just taking time to thank them for all they do to keep the family together, emotionally and physically, goes a long way! Think about it!
  

Teens & Pregnancy

   Our  13 year old daughter recently came home with a baby!! Before anyone out there jumps to conclusions about bad parenting etc.; let me tell you that it was a "computerized " infant  for a class at her school.
Most of the kids that had to do this were able to take the "child" for just one school night. However, wanting for the experience to be more like "real life", she elected to bring this "child" home for the weekend! Yes,3 nights; Friday,Saturday & Sunday night. Well, let me tell you after several days of sleep deprivation, her nerves are on edge big time. She never dreamed it would be as hard as it has been.
   I think these types of programs are very useful,in order to give the kids at least some understanding of the responsibility that having a child invloves! Suffice it to say that any idea of the "fun" involved has gone out the window,& I have no doubt this; in addition to similar reinforcement at home,will make her think twice about experimenting with sex before marriage!

Tim Tebow & SuperBowl Ad Controversy

 

                                                           

                                                                                                                      

By Garey Ris

By the time Super Bowl XLIV rolls around, millions of words will have been written about the three quarterbacks involved. Of course Peyton Manning and Drew Brees will get more than their fair share. The third signal caller has never played an NFL down.

Associated Press

Tim Tebow wants to talk to you about your uterus.Pro prospect Tim Tebow, just off his stellar career at Florida, will appear with his mother in a controversial pro-life ad that CBS plans to run. As commercials go, it’s already generating lots of conjecture. In other words, it’s probably not the standard Super Bowl spot that aspires merely to be funny, such as the “office linebacker” commercials.
Tebow relishes being a role model. The devout Christian does missionary work, wears eyeblack with Biblical verses and promises to remain a virgin until marriage. In the commercial, by the conservative group Focus on the Family, Tebow’s mother, Pam, will recount how she ignored medical advice to have an abortion when medical problems threatened her life and gave birth to Tim, her fifth child.
Not everyone is happy with the Tebows’ message. “What both Tebows appear to miss in their passionate pro-life advocacy is that it was always Pam Tebow’s choice as to what to do with her pregnancy: though doctors advised her to terminate it, they couldn’t force her to do so,” Latoya Peterson writes at Jezebel. “The Tebows are now taking the stance that the only permissible option is to not terminate pregnancies, effectively denying other women the choice that Pam Tebow herself was able to exercise.”
At Real Clear Sports, Art Spander writes of the changing dynamic for athletes. “Sport used to be so clear. Athletes were athletes,” Spander writes. “They played games, signed autographs and were invited out to dinner by alums who might have been breaking NCAA rules but it wasn’t like robbing a bank or anything. These days are different. Players question coaches, support political candidates and prove they got something out of school other than a letterman’s jacket.”
The Orlando Sentinel’s George Diaz doesn’t like mixing politics and sports, preferring commercials with “talking frogs. Dancing lizards. Clydesdale horses falling in love. Danica Patrick getting her sexy groove on for GoDaddy.com.”

DawgSport’s T. Kyle King defends Tebow’s choice to appear in the ad.

FanHouse’s Jay Mariotti, who isn’t interested in Tebow’s views during the Super Bowl, thinks there’s a lot of downside for any team that drafts him. “Tebow is raising eyebrows across the NFL, where league and team executives must be conscious of public relations within their communities,” Mariotti writes. “When kept in a proper context and equilibrium, the missionary and humanitarian work done by the Tebow family is breathtaking. But to grandstand on the biggest stage in the world makes me wonder if Tebow is more interested in crusading than playing the game.”

However, Yahoo’s Jason Cole argues that Tebow’s popularity could have an immense benefit when the NFL draft comes around.

As for whether Tebow’s actually good enough to quarterback an NFL team, Digital Sports Daily’s Travis Duncan says it’s premature to make much out of Tebow’s early struggles in practice for the Senior Bowl college all-star showcase.

Children & Obedience

"Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. And ye fathers,provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonnition of the Lord." Ephesians 6: 1&4...KJV

  There is a fine line in discipline invloving children. We want to be "good parents",but that involves the right kind of discipline. Spanking not beating, can produce a healthy respect for rules. Beating or spanking beyond what is necessary to ensure compliance,will alienate kids & in the long run, most likely cause a
lack of respect.
  Conversly, too little discipline can cause the same result! We want our kids to like us,& be friends with us,but at times we must stop being the "friend" and act as the "parent" once again. This back & forth as "friend" then "parent" again, seems to be the norm for most successful child raising. Along with this goes a"healthy example" the parents should set, involving their own behavior!
  Respect for the other spouse in the marriage relationship is vital as well, in setting a good example of a working marriage, that hopefully, the kids will grow up to emulate!