I love getting away to re-charge the batteries!
But it’s now back to reality!! WE had an amazing vacation…and I have just returned from an inspiring youth team get-away!
I’ll be posting a lot of my thoughts/ideas/ from the past month starting on Monday…until them have a relaxing weekend and be blessed!!
Taking a break for a week or two…..
Looking forward to clearing the mind – grabbing some clarity…and spending a large quantity of quality time with my wife and kids!!
See ya in a few – peace out!!
Rather than writing a rather lengthy article on the ever-changing pace and face of social media – take a look at this:
What are your thoughts? Have you bought in? How are you currently “SOCIALLY” connected?
From http://www.realworldparents.com/starters/
Why talk about the Ten Commandments with your son or daughter? For one, our kids need to understand God’s standard for right and wrong in order to get how amazing His grace really is. The Ten Commandments is a good…
Read More:
http://www.realworldparents.com/starters/article/the_ten_commandments/
The changes and challenges of adolescence can leave many parents feeling overwhelmed at times with fear, confusion, frustration, and a lack of understanding. But here you’ll find hope to help you understand and effectively parent your teen. Dr. Walt Mueller brings more than 30 years of adolescent research (and his own parenting experience) to help you through the tumultuous years of adolescence.
Receive 20% off The Space Between using coupon code RWPN107 by August 30th, 2009.
http://www.realworldparents.com/store/item/the_space_between/
BION = Text message short for, “Believe it or not.”
RAWK! = RAWK is the slang spelling of ROCK, originally used by metal fans. 1) RAWK is used to express joy, as in a rallying cry. 2) It can also mean congratulations.
This non-linear romantic comedy brings lots of artful indie charm, has won over secular critics, and is likely to appeal to older teens. It finds…
Read Review:
http://www.realworldparents.com/movies/review/500_days_of_summer/
Master animator Hayao Miyazaki built his latest film on the structure of Hans Christian Anderson’s classic tale “The Little Mermaid.” But the story exists within…
Read Review:
http://www.realworldparents.com/movies/review/ponyo/
85% of those 18-23 who make a commitment to God did so before age 14 [Fuller Youth Institute]
http://fulleryouthinstitute.org/2009/08/the-85-statistic-is-back/
Why are coming of age movies about grown-ups now? [Washington Post]
http://www.mercurynews.com/movies/ci_13207099
Abercrombie & Fitch: Worst Recession Brand? [Time]
http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1918160,00.html
Within the covers of the Bible are the answers for all the problems men face.
- Ronald Reagan
It’s been a busy week! Meetings with all-staff, meeting with parents, football, fall planning, planning the family service this Sunday – and did I mention football? Throughout this past week the verse that keeps coming to mind is Matthew 12:30which states, “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength.”
It’s easy to read those words but it can be so difficult for us to actually live them out in our lives. There is a good chance that many of us have been guilty of simply giving Jesus a place in our lives – and not all of us. When we get to that point of full surrender that’s where life truly becomes different!
Recently I have been studying the lives of teenagers from the Bible…trying to figure out who they were, what they faced and how they overcame insurmountable odds. What did they come to understand that so many of our youth today do not?
These young teens within scripture decided to be different. Instead of conforming to the world around them, instead of repeating the sinful patterns present in their families, instead of going along with the crowd that defied God—they stood up and declared, “I will be different.”
Romans 12:2 is blatantly clear when it says that we all have a choice. You can be “conformed” to this world or you can be “transformed” by God into something individual, unique, and wonderful.
The more time I spend with “Christians” the more it appears that we have bought into the lie that the Bible offers us a cookie cutter faith. That every believer has to look the same, act the same, and do the same work. I personally believe that nothing could be further from the truth.
If you read the rest of Romans 12, you’ll discover that God has given each and every one of His children a unique package of spiritual gifts. These are abilities supernaturally empowered by the Holy Spirit that allow you to serve others in the church and to help build Gods kingdom.
Psalm 139:14 says that each person was “fearfully and wonderfully” made. We are unique. We are all special. We are all important to God! He has given you a specific package of gifts and talents that make you one of a kind. Now the challenge is for us to open that package and tap into those gifts and talents so that we can be transformed into the person that God created us to be.
Whether you are a grandparent, parent or child, the world wants you to pursue conformity—the boring old sameness. Our culture demand s that we all squeeze ourselves into the mould which it has created. When we do this—we deny God the opportunity to shape our lives in a unique and powerful way.
As we head into this ministry/school year at CSC – may I encourage you seize the opportunities to be empowered by those individuals who God has put in your path but more importantly to be empowered by God himself! Be blessed!
Here are some questions to consider individually and as a family.
Think:
1. Am I trying to be myself or am I trying to be like someone else?
2. How many masks am I wearing? (Take the time to name them…and then surrender them to God)
3. Why do others pressure me to be like them?
4. What does this pressure make me do?
Twitter Analysis
Information Gathering
Network Building & Management
Twitter Management
Sharing Tools
Organisation & Productivity
Life Tools
Business & Finance
Health
Blogging
Bonus: My 5 Faves that are not on above list
From http://www.realworldparents.com/starters/
How convinced is your Christian child that they belong to the Father, that His love for them is absolute? It’s not unusual for Christian kids to experience a crisis of faith, especially those who trusted in Jesus for salvation at…
Read More:
http://www.realworldparents.com/starters/article/spiritual_confidence/
The changes and challenges of adolescence can leave many parents feeling overwhelmed at times with fear, confusion, frustration, and a lack of understanding. But here you’ll find hope to help you understand and effectively parent your teen. Dr. Walt Mueller brings more than 30 years of adolescent research (and his own parenting experience) to help you through the tumultuous years of adolescence.
Receive 20% off The Space Between using coupon code RWPN107 by August 30th, 2009.
http://www.realworldparents.com/store/item/the_space_between/
good hang = Someone who is fun to hang out with
sloth-cloth = An old tee-shirt you wear while hanging around the house.
“Bandslam” is one of the best-reviewed teen films in a long time, but it got killed at the box office its opening weekend. Thanks to…
Read Review:
http://www.realworldparents.com/movies/review/bandslam/
For a high-concept film with a delayed opening and mediocre reviews, “Wife” is doing okay at the box office. Those who have read Audrey Niffennegger’s…
Read Review:
http://www.realworldparents.com/movies/review/the_time_travelers_wife/
Gamers aren’t all teenage geeks [TG Daily]
http://www.tgdaily.com/content/view/43646/98/
Phys Ed: Does Exercise Reduce Your Cancer Risk? [New York Times]
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/08/18/phys-ed-does-exercise-reduce-your-cancer-risk/?hp
Longitudinal study investigates cocaine’s impact on adolescent development [Biotech News]
http://www.genengnews.com/news/bnitem.aspx?name=60851383
They say that God is everywhere, and yet we always think of Him as somewhat of a recluse.
- Emily Dickinson
Over the past few months:
Within me there is uneasiness…confusion…frustration – at the same time I am experiencing excitement, optimism, adrenaline…what is happening internally in my life is slowly beginning to make it’s way to the surface.
A great friend from England (Dave…you da man!) sent me this link this morning…watch it and then let me know your thoughts; agree / disagree / what will it take for the churh in North America to step up and be a 7 day experience rather than a 1 day spa treatment?
Dave Gibbons
The world will stop and say that is beautiful when we love people that are not like us.
How do we do this;
*leader focused on the misfit not the masses.
*Fringe leads us…not the masses.
*Dooce – blog..check it out – house wife from saly lake has thousands of followers on twitter.
Vision is often circular…God’s vision starts on the outside with the fringes.
*Who is the outsider?
*FOCUS ON THE FRINGE.
How do you define success? It’s all about the metrics!!
We all want the up and to the right picture! It’s an illusion…
Failure is success to God…it is your platform from God to humanity.
Success is not understood but failure is!
More than the gifts test….more importantly it’s peoples storiesQ
Relationships trumps vision!
We need more relationaries than visionaries…
How Dave changes his life: 70% – 30% principle
1.Priority shifts
- leadership development / open house philosophy
-medici effect….hang out with people I am not comfortable with
2. let the local leader lead the way
Obedience is more important than passion.
4 acts of obedience:
Denial:
*Dismiss / Rationalize / Mitigate / Confront
*Cultivate unflinching honesty – face the facts
*Revisit your methods….what’s working what’s not.
*Listen to the renegades – welcome dissent, learn from the positive dissidents
Strategic Options:
*tend to clutch at the familiar
*generate new alternatives…change way more exciting then standing still.
*diverge a lot before converge…ideastorm.com
Deconstruct: (the way we do church)
*look at your programs – what hasn’t change? And why?
*compare your church to other churches in your area.
“The longer you are in your trench the more you mistake your edge of the rut for the horizon.” – Gary Hamel
*Am I more committed to redemption – than programs and processes of your church?
Not going to happen with top-down autocratic leadership
*Dangerous to give a few people (veterans) the power to decide and create change when they are not in tune with the head-snapping changes of our world.
*alternative: Gore company…goretex
*People are drawn to a church that’s not about corporate – but about cause.
* Maybe we need a little dis-organized religion?
We want to change lives – we have to change the way we do church!
The Heath Brothers – bringing change when change is hard
Misconception that change is bad….some changes happen…other changes excruciating
Change is filled with conflicts…
Two systems in our brains….human rider sitting on a 6 ton elephant
Successful change = emotional appeal
2 kicking / 5 working / 2 sucking….stay focused on the 2 kicking and find out why?
Look and examine the bright spots!!
… a lot of stuff TBU (true but useless)
What areas are God blessing….what do we need to leave behind?
“Big problem = small solution”…shrink the change!
How do we keep momentum?
We need to prepare people for the tough times.
Hope +———————————Valley of Insight (dip)———————confidence +
Mountain top experience to valley to mountain top experience
Built in the process there must be a tolerance for failure.
Failure is an early warning sign for success.
Person problem versus a situation problem…we judge the person instead of their situation.
Sculpt the path…what hays society/culture built in that we can embrace.
With it being National Junior High Week and the fact that I still am passionate about jr high ministry…the first thing that popped into my mind about jr high is their lack of personal hygeine. Over the past twenty years I’ve acquired a taste for deodorant humour. Therefore I felt it was only appropriate to add this article to my blog today!!
1. Be thankful for your foul body odor. According to anthropologist Louis Leakey, it might be responsible for early man’s survival. Leakey’s theory claims that most predators avoided feasting on humans because our body odor was “too repugnant.”
2. Not only did the ancient Egyptians give us pyramids and flush toilets, they also pioneered the field of deodorants. Egyptians were the first to popularize the idea of applying scents to armpits, usually using cinnamon and other spices that wouldn’t turn rancid in the heat.
3. The Roman poet Ovid preferred a more proactive solution. In Book III of the “Art of Love,” he cautions women against carrying goats under their arms.
4. Antiperspirants are classified as drugs by the FDA. Technically, they affect and/or alter your body’s natural functions.
5. When Kurt Cobain wrote the lyrics for Nirvana’s breakout song “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” he didn’t know Teen Spirit was a popular deodorant brand. The Mennen Company, which produced the deodorant, wouldn’t say whether the song caused sales to spike, but six months after the single debuted, Colgate bought the company for $670 million.
6. The first modern brand of antiperspirant, EverDry, hit drugstores in 1903. The original formula was so acidic that it regularly ate through clothing.
7. Of course, modern antiperspirants can also ruin your clothing. Aluminum chloride, the ingredient that blocks glandular openings and prevents sweating, is notorious for turning T-shirts yellow. So, blame your antiperspirant for your pit stains, not your body.
8. Offensive body odor is actually illegal in libraries in San Luis Obispo County, California.
9. One thing modern antiperspirants don’t do is cause degenerative diseases. Medical science has found no conclusive evidence that absorbing aluminum chloride through the skin can lead to memory loss or slurred speech.
10. Aoki, a Japanese company known for its menswear, has developed a deodorant suit that supposedly absorbs sweat and neutralizes odors all over the body.
11. But that’s nothing! The greatest Japanese innovation in the fight against B.O. is Fuwarinka scented gum. The so-called “functional candy” contains aromatic compounds that cause your skin to release “Fresh Citrus” or “Fruity Rose” aromas for up to 6 hours after chewing.
12. In May 2008, actor Matthew McConaughey revealed that he never uses deodorant or antiperspirant. The next day, he received a year’s supply of deodorant body spray from the Axe Company, along with a note on why he might want to start.
by the mag – Eric Alt
