New Series on Prayer: "Can You Hear Me" 05/17/2012
 WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT: Here is an overview of what we’re talking about. Listed below the summary is a “parent cue” to help you dialog with your child about the session. The question is intended not just to be asked by you, but to be responded to by BOTH of you. Use this opportunity to find out what God is teaching your child, and allow your child to see what God is teaching you as well. CAN YOU HEAR ME? Series Overview Doesn’t it seem like there should be more to prayer than just our typical “Help me, bless me, protect me, give to me” prayers? Prayer has to be more than just talking to God—because He knows our thoughts, right? It has to be more than just us making our requests known to God—because doesn’t He already know everything that’s going on in our lives? It’s like there’s some secret, some mystery we hope to unlock so we can “get through” to God. If we could just say the right words, maybe we can break the code and get a “yes” to all our requests. But what if prayer was something much bigger than that? What if prayer went beyond us getting what we wanted, and became about how to grow closer to God’s heart instead? What if prayer wasn’t just about changing our present situation, what if it was about changing us? Session One (May 20th) Have you ever noticed how relationships seem to drift apart when we don’t get to spend time together? There’s just something significant that happens when we intentionally carve out time to connect with a friend or a family member. We get to hear what’s on their minds and hearts. We get to see the person beyond just what he or she can do for us, and see who he or she really is. That’s the heart of prayer—it’s our chance to connect with God in a way that goes beyond “Help me, bless me, protect, give to me.” Session One Parent Cue: Do you have time every day or every week when you intentionally carve out time to spend with God? How do you guard that time? What are some challenges in keeping that time? Session Two (June 3rd) If we spend time with God intentionally, if we make time for Him, then what do we say to Him when we get alone with Him? What are the things we talk about? After all, He knows everything about us, our lives and our world. It’s not like we have any “news.” It’s not like we have to give Him an update on how things are going. So what do we talk about? In the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus focuses on three things, and leads us through a process that will not only change our perspective about what is going on around us, but also our perception of God. Session Two Parent Cue: How does spending time with God put things going on in my life into perspective? How can we do a better job of honoring this time and making it a priority? Session Three (June 10th) We can’t talk about prayer without addressing the obvious question—what happens when God doesn’t answer? Jesus has a surprising response to that—you keep asking. Because if something is that important to you, if something has captured your heart that strongly, then it’s something that you can’t let go. It’s something you can’t simply walk away from. So keep asking. And Jesus says that maybe, just maybe, God will honor your persistence. Session Three Parent Cue: Is there anything on my heart, anything that I feel so strongly about, that I would keep asking God about . . . even if He doesn’t answer for a long time? Add Comment After reading this chapter, what jumps out at me is how even after sinning David finds a way worship God. Throughout my life, I have found myself running FROM God after sinning instead of running TO God as David does here. Looking "Through the Window" of time 3000 years ago, David teaches us that we can bring a sacrifice to God of a broken spirit and regretful heart (v. 17). This pleases God and it's an acceptable way to worship Him even after sinning. Learning to run TO God, no matter what we have been through, honors Him and is always proper worship. Happy 2012! January News 01/03/2012
Christmas 2011-Thoughts 4 Parents 12/22/2011
Be a Student of Your Student What was it that used to make the holidays special when you were a kid? Was it the chill in the air signaling that Christmas break was right around the corner? Baking and decorating ginger bread cookies with a sibling or your mom or dad? Or, maybe it was that feeling you got on Christmas Eve as you waited for the morning when you could finally tear into those beautifully wrapped packages underneath your tree. Whatever may have made the holidays a special time for you, there is one thing that tends to define the Christmas season for most of us: family. When we are young, our families define what Christmas looks like from the traditions they keep to the way they express the story of Jesus to those around them. And, for those of us who are now raising families of our own, we are now defining Christmas for our families. It can feel a bit overwhelming establishing the values, traditions and attitudes that revolve around this idea of Jesus’ arrival on this Earth. While most students may be able to tell us the “real” meaning of the season, they aren’t necessarily connecting it to the value of the Christmas story. Developmentally, our students are in a place where it is difficult to think outside of their own world and their own lives. They may have head knowledge of the Christmas story, but in order to take that and bring it down to heart level, there has to be an experience that they can call their own. This is especially important for those of us with middle school and younger high school students who are still in the developmental stage of egocentric abstraction. During this stage, your student is the center of his or her own world and is not easily able to identify with ideas and concepts that are not personally connected to their own feelings. However, when they have the chance to experience the joy of reaching out to others in the midst of other’s true needs, they can personally identify with the value of the Christmas story. For those of us with older high school students, now is the time when they are beginning to widen their worldview and understand the world outside as more than the sum of their own feelings and experiences. For them, the experience of reaching out to others is a chance to put legs to the social and global concerns that are already stirring in their hearts. Once the meaning of the Christmas story is tangible through personal experience, it isn’t easily forgotten in the mind of your teen. Another thing to remember is that though developmentally your students are in a place where they may not fully “get” the meaning of the Christmas story, we as the adults in their lives are. It is necessary for us to set the example and show them the importance of the Christmas story. So, we may need to take some time on our own to reflect on the value of Jesus’ arrival on Earth before we can begin to define that for our students. Action Point This Action Point is where we, as parents, can start to define what Christmas is truly about through the traditions we establish and the way we express the Christmas story—in our homes, in our schools, in our churches, in our neighborhoods and to the world at large. This is not just an exercise for the Christmas season, but rather a great time to start refocusing our family’s attention on putting Christ back into His rightful place. So, this Christmas as you and your family settle into the usual gate of the holiday season, take a moment to pray, reflect and search your heart for how you want to represent the Christmas story to your family. And then, do something together as a family that will allow those values to be expressed in a way that will forever shape the way they “do” Christmas. Here are some ideas for ways you and your family can connect to and define the Christmas story together:
As well, here is an encouraging blog post entitled “10 Reasons to Escape Excessive Consumerism” by Joshua Becker. Check it out at: http://www.becomingminimalist.com/2011/08/03/escaping-excessive-consumerism/ 1. Online Registration for Pilgrimage 2011 is open through Sunday, October 23rd. Please go here to register: http://www.reach42.com/pilgrimage-registration.html 2. We're starting a new series this Wed. (10/19/11) entitled "Voices" . . . (view bumper video below) Series Overview This is going to sound weird, but every one of us hears voices in our heads. It’s the voices that say, “Life would be easier if only I could or had . . . ” It’s the voices that whisper when we look in the mirror or compare ourselves to someone else. These voices are trying to lead each one of us somewhere, but is it somewhere we really want to go? Or is there a better voice to follow? Yes, there is a voice that has our best in mind. A voice that knew us before we uttered our first cry. A voice that is designed not to bring out the worst in us, but the best. 3. If you haven't already, please email Jody of youth that will be participating in Stop Hunger Now this Saturday, 10/22/11. See what youth will be doing by viewing the video below. Pilgrimage 2011 Event-Initial Details 10/05/2011
 Parents & Support Team, We will talk more about this at our meeting on Oct. 16th, but I wanted to go ahead and give you some information on Pilgrimage. I sent home a flyer tonight with youth that attended our Wednesday Night meeting (Oct. 5th). 1. Pilgrimage is November 11-13th (click the picture above to visit the Pilgrimage website) 2. A deposit of $20 is needed by October 16th to reserve a spot for the trip. Further registration forms will then be given later. 3. Instead of doing the mall as a Saturday afternoon activity, we will be having lunch buffet and participating in activities at Camp Rockfish (zip line, wall climbing, high ropes course, canoeing, etc). Visit www.camprockfish.org for more details. This again includes lunch and is factored into the cost. 4. The ministry will use money raised from our November 23rd chili luncheon to pay for everyone's Pilgrimage registration ($20) 5. We are staying at the Double Tree by Hilton Hotel in Fayetteville. Visit the following site to preview the hotel: http://doubletree1.hilton.com/en_US/dt/hotel/FAYDTDT-DoubleTree-by-Hilton-Hotel-Fayetteville-North-Carolina/photoGallery.do 6. Total Cost: regular attenders-$80 (attend 75%, 9 out of 12, meetings & events between Oct. 9th-Nov. 9th) all others-$100 *the total balance needs to be paid by November 9th *these rates include the deposit (ex. regular attender pays $20 by Oct. 16th, then they'll owe $60 by Nov. 9th) 7. A detailed schedule, additional meal money info., chaperone list, and registration forms will be given at the Oct. 16th parent meeting. Jody reach42youth@gmail.com Reach 42 Series Announcement: "Upside Down" 09/04/2011
 UPSIDE DOWN: Series Overview In the Upside Down series, we are going to look at something Jesus talked a lot about—the kingdom of God. Many of the people who heard His message firsthand thought that He was talking about a kingdom where Jesus would be in political power, and that their lives would be easier than their present circumstances under Roman rule. But Jesus was talking about something bigger than that—a kingdom where His desire for broken things to be restored is met. Jesus was talking about ushering in an upside down kingdom. Inverted Reality (Wednesday, 9/7/11) Last will be first. Give to receive. Lose to gain. People who mourn are blessed. All statements Jesus made, yet they seem so opposite from how our world functions and even how we are wired, don’t they? But the kingdom of God is upside down compared to the kingdoms we seek to establish. The life Christ calls us to counters every natural and selfish inclination we have, but His way, His kingdom, is far better than anything we could have in mind. And when we surrender to God’s kingdom, we begin to live this upside down life that somehow brings more fulfillment, more peace, more satisfaction than the reality we live in every day. An Upside Down World (Wednesday, 9/14/11) It’s easy to think that God’s kingdom is just about Him and us. It’s easy to forget that we are part of something bigger, something more vast that just our relationship with Him. We are part of His kingdom both some day, and now. We are a part of His mission to restore things that are broken, whether that’s in our own lives or in the lives of those around us, or those half way around the world. And when we live with a future kingdom in mind we can start to make it a more present reality. Reach 42 Wednesday (post-hurricane) Plans 08/30/2011
Reach 42 will meet tomorrow (Wed., 8/31) regardless of what the school system does. Instead of having a typical meeting, we will use the time to clean up tree debris from Salem's campus. We will also be working on moving everything out of an upstairs classroom that received water damage. Parents are invited to stay and help or they can drop youth off. Our official Reach 42 launch will be delayed to next Wed. with the teaching series "Upside Down". Also, please remember that we will not meet this Sunday evening due to the Labor Day holiday. Sunday night programming will begin Sept. 11th. We will have pizza for supper, from Rocco's, and are asking for a donation of $3.00/person to help with the cost. I think we'll be the only group meeting so there will not be the typical meal provided. We will stay on schedule as planned. We will eat from 5:45-6:15 in the Paramore Building and do clean-up starting at 6:15. We will end at 7:30 and students should be picked up then, if applicable. Please bring gloves, rakes, wheel barrels, tarps (for moving leaves), and clothes you don't mind getting messed up. Please reply to this email and let Jody know which youth or parents will be attending to help with food estimates. I hope everyone has gotten through Irene o.k. Thanks and let me know if you still have a need that I may be able to help with. Jody Summer Oasis 2011 Photos! 07/30/2011
 We had a great camping retreat! Click the following link to view the photos: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150251424921973.323731.215057141972&l=e2a7275e9e | AuthorJody Paramore ArchivesMay 2012 Categories |
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