[reallifenewsletter] FCC - YS Student E-mail Newsletter #174

Ski trip was excellent!
My best run of the day was when I went down The Wall - on my rear end -
laughing all the way.
Thanks to Michael P for being an additional driver.

I hope to have pics up soon. Let me know what your favorite run was.

TTYL
-Nathanael

YS STUDENT E-MAIL NEWSLETTER #174
February 28, 2005

Contents
1. Something for Your Heart
2. Surf Report
3. Forgettable Fact
4. Potent Quotables
5. Parting Shot

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HAVE YOU EVER TRIED TO UNDERSTAND YOUR PARENTS?
There are many books about how parents need to understand their teens
better. Here's a book that flows in the opposite direction! Veteran
youth worker Wayne Rice brings interesting stories, practical
information, and specific action plans to help you improve their
relationship and communication with your parents.

http://www.YouthSpecialties.com/linker/index.php?id=5110

Also available in your local Christian bookstore.

=================================

1. SOMETHING FOR YOUR HEART

It happened a year ago this week. In a small town near Memphis,
Tennessee, a 15-year-old boy had recently gotten his learner's permit.
So sometime after his family went to sleep one Saturday night, he got
up, took his father's keys and went for a drive. He soon picked up six
other friends--including four girls who sneaked away from a slumber
party to go with him.

At 2:30 A.M. a motorist came upon the car, totaled, with all seven
teenagers dead. The vehicle had apparently gone airborne after topping a
small hill at a high rate of speed and had hit a tree. No skid marks
were found. Four of the passengers were 15; one was 14; the other two
were 13.

When the driver's father woke up at about 5 A.M. and found his son
missing, he called the boy's cell phone. A policeman at the crash scene
answered.

According to the adults who knew them, these were good kids. They went
to church. There was no evidence of alcohol use in connection with the
wreck. They were out for a little innocent fun. Yet one night of trying
to flaunt the rules a bit will result in a lifetime of painful memories
for the people who knew those seven good kids.

Many of us have done something similar, if not worse. We want to be
free. Independent. Cool. And there's nothing wrong with that. Where we
get in trouble is in disregarding the instructions of parents or other
authorities. Believe it or not, adults don't make rules just because
they want to impose misery on our lives. Their instructions usually come
from their CONCERN for us. They know from experience that one of the
hardest-to-learn lessons of life is that bad things don't just happen to
OTHER people.

"Obedience" sounds like such a churchy, old-timey word. But it's for
good reason that God wants children to obey parents, citizens to obey
authority and all of us to obey him. It's hard to willingly submit to
the authority of another person. Yet Jesus proved it was possible--and
beneficial--while living as a human being on earth. He remained in
complete submission to his Father's will throughout his entire lifetime.
He certainly didn't get to do everything he might have WANTED to do. And
he could have bailed at any time in order to avoid the rejection and
death he experienced. But he didn't. (And we should thank him every day
for his obedience.) As a result, we can find forgiveness and second
chances for our own disobedient, non-submissive behavior.

Seven teenagers want to go for an early-morning drive. One has a
driver's permit. It's ALMOST a license--practically as good. The roads
will surely be empty at 2:00 in the morning. What could go wrong?

When we consider all the potential alternatives of our everyday choices,
obedience doesn't seem like such a bad option after all.

On your own ...

Read Luke 2:41-52.
http://biblegateway.com/cgi-bin/bible?language=english&version=NLT&passa
ge=Luke+2%3A41-52

After a stimulating debate with a roomful of religious teachers, Jesus'
parents abruptly put an end to his fun. How did Jesus respond?

2. SURF REPORT

~ Ask Dr. Dave
Do you ever feel as though you have so many questions about life, God
and life-in-God that you don't even know where to start? Here's some
advice that might help you.
http://community.gospelcom.net/Brix?pageID=7068

~ Drop That Name
Have you ever had a brush with greatness? A personal encounter with a
celebrity? If not, here's the next best thing: stories of people who
have encountered the famous (and infamous).
http://play.dropthatname.com

3. FORGETTABLE FACT

There are 41 references to dogs in the Bible ... and most of them are
negative.

4. POTENT QUOTABLES

Obedience is the mother of success, the wife of safety.
- Aeschylus

Only he who believes is obedient; only he who is obedient believes.
- Dietrich Bonhoeffer

I find the doing of the will of God leaves me no time for disputing
about his plans.
- George MacDonald

5. PARTING SHOT

I just got lost in thought. It was unfamiliar territory.

Copyright 2005 Youth Specialties

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