A blog dedidicated to the happenings and interests of the Freedom Center Church Youth Group and friends!
Yo,
From the department of reminders department in the redundant repetitions division, we are needing responses for the summer trip. So far Jon, Chris and Tessa have responded. Don't miss out. If you are interested, let me know, even if you are unsure about being able to fund the trip. We are right now just needing to know who wants to go and try to schedule around as many conficts as possible.
So let me know if you are interested, yes or no, and if yes if you have any dates in the range of late June, early July that you would not be able to make.
Thanks!
-Nathanael
YS STUDENT E-MAIL NEWSLETTER #182
April 25, 2005
Contents
1. Something for Your Heart
2. Surf Report
3. Forgettable Fact
4. Potent Quotables
5. Parting Shot
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Also available in your local Christian bookstore.
=================================
1. SOMETHING FOR YOUR HEART
Here's a brief reflection on the song "Me Against the World" by Superchic[k]
"Back again one more time
Couldn't keep me down last time
Leaving what I know on faith
To take on the world and make waves."
Have you ever stepped out in faith? I'm the kind of person who always wants all the answers first. But more than once God has said, "Come on, girl. Let's go!" And because of my love for him, I went. And you know, each time I've been glad. Even writing these devotions is an example of obeying when I didn't have all the answers. And what a blessing they've been to me.
When we step out, not knowing where we're going, it's called a "faith walk." One of the best accounts of a faith walk is that of Abraham. One day God came to him and said:
"Leave your country, your relatives, and your father's house, and go to the land that I will show you" (Genesis 12:1).
How would you like it if God said, "Leave all you know and start off, say, east, to a place I will show you?" He didn't even tell Abraham where he was going, how far it was or anything about it. As far as we know, Abraham had never heard from God before. But the next verses tell us Abraham went. He stepped out in faith.
The disciples Jesus called to follow him left their families, homes and livelihoods to do so. The prophets of the Old Testament (with the exception of Jonah) went the first time God said, "Go." Do you have such faith? Do I?
In the song "Me Against the World," Superchic[k] sings that they are going to pursue God in spite of the odds and the world against them. You can do the same. If you know God is asking you to do something new today, do it. It could be as simple as calling someone and telling them about Jesus. It could be to try a new class or a new school. It could be to take a new job or move to a new city. Whatever it is, know this: If God calls you out from where you are, he intends to take you to where you need to be. Trust him today.
(Suzy C.)
Daily Reflections from Solid Sounds, copyright 2005 The Good News Broadcasting Association, Inc. (Solid Sounds). Used by permission. To receive daily Reflections by e-mail or to read on-line, visit:
http://www.solidsounds.org
2. SURF REPORT
~ Billy Graham's Story
Before he became the best-known evangelist of our time, Billy Graham was a skeptical teenager who thought Christianity was "hogwash." But then he encountered Christ for himself.
http://passageway.org/go.asp?initial_page=31
~ The Official Flat Stanley Project
Flat Stanley hung out with Clint Eastwood at the Academy Awards. He traveled into space on the Space Shuttle. He attended a series of briefings at the White House and had his picture taken with the president. He visited a Willie Nelson recording session. And he's traveled to all seven continents. Who is this amazing character? Find out for yourself.
http://flatstanley.enoreo.on.ca
3. FORGETTABLE FACT
Ears of corn always have an even number of rows of kernels.
4. POTENT QUOTABLES
Regret looks back.
Worry looks around.
Faith looks up.
- John Mason
Removing all risks from your life renders faith unnecessary. Faith requires risks!
- Ken Mahaynes
Faith makes it possible, not easy.
- Sally Nguyen
5. PARTING SHOT
Anything not nailed down is a cat toy.
© 2005 :: Youth Specialties
YS STUDENT E-MAIL NEWSLETTER #181
April 18, 2005
Contents
1. Something for Your Heart
2. Surf Report
3. Forgettable Fact
4. Potent Quotables
5. Parting Shot
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http://www.youthspecialties.com/product/25678X
Also available in your local Christian bookstore.
=================================
1. SOMETHING FOR YOUR HEART
Whenever the topic of suicide comes up, some people can usually make pretty good arguments in favor of it. They say it's their life to end whenever they choose. They argue that death is an eventual certainty, so the “when” part doesn't really matter. They sound convincing as they proclaim that quality of life is just as important as length of life.
But consider a recent news item from Rome. A woman had a stroke and went into a coma. Her husband visited the hospital every day for a month ... and another ... and another. His grief was intense and unrelenting. In the fourth month after his wife's stroke, unwilling to go on without her, he killed himself. Then, JUST TWELVE HOURS LATER, the woman came out of her coma and immediately asked to see her beloved husband. If he had waited one more day, there would have been happy endings all around instead of another senseless tragedy.
Teenagers have a too-high rate of suicide because you don't always have enough life experience to put dark times into context. When something goes wrong--when a series of miserable experiences comes in rapid-fire--sometimes the best alternative seems to be to bail out. But even though the suicide option may SEEM like a clear answer, it's the result of short-sighted thinking.
Almost any adult can recall times of intense loss, misery and despair. But in looking back, adults see that those problems were overcome through any number of unexpected ways: a financial windfall, meeting someone who became a lifelong friend (or spouse), a new job that brought balance and energy back to life or simply the passing of sufficient time.
Suicide is irreversible. It prevents God from showing us a way up and out. It indicates we have given up on him--that we believe our problems are too much for him to handle. But God is ALWAYS there for us. As we learn to wait for him--to act in his timing--life takes on an element of hope that can carry us through our darkest moments.
One other thing to consider: it's NOT just your life. God created us to be interlinked--dependent on one another. The loss of one person's life and gifts affects a circle of people much wider than you might expect. Friends and family members are the hardest hit, but the shock wave that rips through a school after a teenage suicide leaves few people unaffected. Their lives go on, but never the same after being forced to deal with a peer's premature decision to die.
Sometimes life isn't everything we want it to be. But it's LIFE. Each life is a gift from God, and he will see us through it. As we learn to focus on him more than our problems, we begin to see the good things more clearly. And when that happens, the bad stuff just doesn't seem to matter as much.
On your own ...
Experience teaches us that our worst situations can improve in dramatic and unexpected ways. Christians, especially, should know that God can step into any set of circumstances and make even seemingly impossible conditions bearable and maybe even wonderful. Just ask Job ... or Jonah ... or Isaac (after Abraham untied him and took him off the altar).
Think of your favorite story of faith. (Daniel in the lions' den? Joseph in prison? Esther approaching King Xerxes?) Look it up, reread it, and see what got the person through his or her crisis situation. Then pray that God will increase your own faith and make you an available friend for others who might be contemplating suicide or other harmful decisions.
2. SURF REPORT
~ Christian Teenz 4 God
This is a site where Christian teens can just hang out. What more could you ask for?
http://www.teens.christian.nu
~ The Mariner's Museum
This online arm of the Mariner's Museum in Newport News, Virginia, allows you to look at maritime artifacts from all over the world. You'll find photos of Titanic remnants, nautical prints, navigational aids, maps, and anything else used on a ship.
http://www.mariner.org
3. FORGETTABLE FACT
The reason your eyes don't freeze in winter is that you have a lot of salt in your tears.
4. POTENT QUOTABLES
Suicide is the worst form of murder, because it leaves no opportunity for repentance.
- Churton Collins
The divinity who rules within us forbids us to quit this world without his command.
- Cicero
The man who, in a fit of melancholy, kills himself today, would have wished to live if he'd waited a week.
- Voltaire
5. PARTING SHOT
I was going to get my teeth whitened, but I figured it would be easier just to get a tan.
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© 2005 :: Youth Specialties
Here is the email newsletter I tried to send last week, but it got held
up...
Howdy! At long last the pictures from the ski trip are now posted
online!
You can either view them from the link on the youth page on the church
website (http://www.fconline.net) or here is a direct link (you'll
probably have to cut and paste it into your browser address bar)
(http://www.fconline.net/skipics05/index.htm)
When asked about favorite runs Jon said:
All the runs were great but my favorite run was Maple Leaf
David said:
My favorite run of the day was my second to last run down of the day
down Morningstar. It was a technically excellent run...
The next activities we are looking to are seeing a play and going on
another paintball trip.
This summer, Debbie is planning the youth trip to be in the Bahamas.
She is looking to rent a house out on a small island somewhere. Our
only transportation will be a boat and stores and restaurants are hard
if not impossible to find...just us and the water, sand and sealife.
When she went previously, there were rays in the water to swim with and
lots of fish and things to see in the water.
For those of you interested in music and perhaps forming a Christian
band, read the article below under the "Surf Report" about the band
"Overflow". Pretty interesting!
TTYL!
-Nathanael
YS STUDENT E-MAIL NEWSLETTER #179
April 4, 2005
Contents
1. Something for Your Heart
2. Surf Report
3. Forgettable Fact
4. Potent Quotables
5. Parting Shot
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=================================
1. SOMETHING FOR YOUR HEART
"April is the cruelest month, breeding
Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing
Memory and desire, stirring
Dull roots with spring rain."
- T.S. Eliot
T.S. Eliot had his reasons for thinking April is the cruellest month.
Perhaps you have your own. Chances are, your Aprils may be worse than
Eliot's ever were. For one thing, you probably have to contend with much
more sadistic jokes on April Fool's Day than he ever did. And Eliot,
being a British subject, never had to endure the "spring ahead" clock
setting, forcing him to get up an hour earlier every day as April rolls
in.
Another popular quote about April isn't any more promising: "April
showers bring May flowers." The month of May gets credit for the best
nature has to offer--bright colors and sweet floral scents. But April?
Showers. Gray skies. Storms. The calendar says it's spring already, but
the lingering snow and ice in many parts of the country beg to disagree.
When the sun comes out, the air is still chilly. And when it warms up,
the clouds roll in and pour down rain.
In addition, April is about the time you start looking forward to
summer. Yet you have another couple of months of school to finish. And
not ordinary school, either. These next two months bring due dates for
all the big assignments you've been putting off ... and final exams ...
and stress and exhaustion. If T.S. Eliot thought April was cruel a
century ago, he should try being a teenager in 2005!
Of course, it's easy to talk in generalities and arrive at some bleak
conclusions. Sure, April brings rain, daylight savings time, numerous
school commitments and (for you working types) income tax. Yet when we
move beyond the general malaise of weather and responsibilities, we
should be able to list a number of specific antidotes to the "cruelty"
of April.
This year, especially, we should cling to the power of the Easter story
we celebrated at the close of March. We should be propelled into cruel
April with the promise that no matter what tends to knock us down, God
offers us the power to get back up and prevail.
April may be the cruellest month. Your boss may give you the cruellest
chores at work. Your math teacher may be the cruellest grader. Your
so-called friends may give you the cruellest treatment. No matter. Your
God is an infinite source of kindness, mercy and strength. HIS gifts are
all "good and perfect" (James 1:17). His mercies "begin afresh each day"
(Lamentations 3:23).
If you find yourself looking around this April and resenting the cruelty
of the early mornings, the weather or anything else that creates a sense
of despair or frustration, you're not seeing the whole picture. God's
goodness is all around. You're just not looking hard enough.
On your own ...
Read Habakkuk 3:17-19.
http://biblegateway.com/cgi-bin/bible?language=english&version=NLT&passa
ge=Habakkuk+3%3A17-19
These verses are the prophet's expression of faith in God even when
circumstances (and weather conditions) were not what he would have
wished. Create your own statement of faith in God's sovereignty by
substituting your own "cruel" circumstances in place of Habakkuk's.
(Those of you with your own fig trees and olive crop won't need to adapt
the passage.)
2. SURF REPORT
~ Overflow: A Better Place
Five friends started a band for their youth group. Now they're playing
to churches across the nation. Meet Overflow.
http://www.family.org/teenguys/breakmag/features/a0035671.html
~ Comedy Tragedy Masks
You've seen them--the pair of masks that represent drama. One's happy
and one's sad. And both are creepy. Here's where you'll find everything
you need to know about the masks--including where to order your own.
http://www.angelfire.com/art/masks/menu.html
3. FORGETTABLE FACT
The Pacific Ocean is twice as big as the Atlantic ... and bigger than
all the continents combined.
4. POTENT QUOTABLES
'Tis a month before the month of May, and the Spring comes slowly up
this way.
- Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Hope keeps the heart whole.
- Antony Brewer
For all your days prepare, and meet them ever alike:
When you are the anvil, bear--When you are the hammer, strike.
- Edwin Markham
5. PARTING SHOT
Bigfoot IS blurry, that's the problem. It's not the photographer's
fault. He's a large, out-of-focus monster, and that's extra scary to me.
(c) 2005 :: Youth Specialties
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