I am an all out supporter of Dove due to their recent ad campaigns! The church (at large) should be ashamed that we haven't been the instigators of such wonderful truths. However, every time you find something good about a thing, there are others present to point out the bad... So, while I am still a supporter of what Dove is doing, you ought to check this out: DOVE VS. AXE My hope is that this will bring up some broader conversations between you and your teens about self-esteem, body image, God's love for them, the sinfulness of seeing women or men as objects, etc.
Discuss.
Friday, January 2, 2009
World's favorite disproportioned doll...
Here is an interesting article on what corporate execs at Mattel are going to be doing with Barbie in the upcoming year. Most notably, their intention is to take the trendy out of her and make her trend-setting again. With this, will be an all-out marketing campaign aimed at Tween and Junior High girls.
Barbie Article
Barbie Article
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Some thoughts while your teens are on Christmas Break...
I know the craziest time of the year is here for your household...Christmas Break! Today's goodie is a newsletter brought to you by Youth Specialties that will arm you with some extra fuel for raising your teens during the Holidays.
Here is a link to The Parent Link - December Edition.
Here is a link to The Parent Link - December Edition.
Friday, December 12, 2008
Youth Group News for December 14
If your teen is still interested in going to Winterfest, January 16-18, there are still Registration forms available on the Youth Information Board in the Hallway! IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN BEING A CHAPERONE, PLEASE SIGN UP AS WELL!!! Winterfest-Arlington brings about 7,000 teenagers associated with the Churches of Christ together for a weekend of spiritual growth spurred on by times of worship, artists, well known speakers, concerts, acting groups, and comedians at the Arlington Convention Center!
If your teen has recent accomplishments, awards, or honors that have been recently bestowed upon them, please let me know so we can begin featuring our teens and their accomplishments in a special segment of the Youth Group News!
Tonight’s Youth Group Small Groups will be from 5:30 – 8:00 pm. Junior High will be at the Bittle’s, Senior High will be at the Farmer’s. Guys bring a treat that is salty; Ladies bring a treat that is sweet!
The Youth Group Christmas Party will be Dec. 19th from 6:00 – 10:00 pm at the Collier’s home. Mike and LuAnn Farmer have volunteered to provide the main dish, but we still need all of the parents to provide additional food items and desserts. There is a sign up sheet for food items on the Youth Info Board across from the water fountain. Each teen needs to bring a $5 or less “White Elephant” gift for the gift exchange.
Teens are encouraged to help with the Christmas Musical, The Most Inconvenient Christmas. If you are able to help with set design and building, or would like to have a bit part in the musical, contact Greg or Cheryl Stites immediately.
Check in weekly with the BLOG, setup especially for parents of 6th-12th students at Arlington Heights: www.ahyouthparents.blogpsot.com
The youth calendar that goes through the end of the year is still available in the Kiosk located in the foyer. Please pick one up if you haven’t already!
“According to his critics, Jesus ‘did God’ all wrong. He went to the wrong places, said the wrong things, and worst of all, let just anyone into the kingdom. Jesus scandalized an intimidating, elitist, country-club religion by opening membership in the spiritual life to those who had been denied it. What made people furious was Jesus’ ‘irresponsible’ habit of throwing open the doors of his love to the whosoevers, the just-any-ones, and the not-a-chancers like you and me.”
“If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.”
If your teen has recent accomplishments, awards, or honors that have been recently bestowed upon them, please let me know so we can begin featuring our teens and their accomplishments in a special segment of the Youth Group News!
Tonight’s Youth Group Small Groups will be from 5:30 – 8:00 pm. Junior High will be at the Bittle’s, Senior High will be at the Farmer’s. Guys bring a treat that is salty; Ladies bring a treat that is sweet!
The Youth Group Christmas Party will be Dec. 19th from 6:00 – 10:00 pm at the Collier’s home. Mike and LuAnn Farmer have volunteered to provide the main dish, but we still need all of the parents to provide additional food items and desserts. There is a sign up sheet for food items on the Youth Info Board across from the water fountain. Each teen needs to bring a $5 or less “White Elephant” gift for the gift exchange.
Teens are encouraged to help with the Christmas Musical, The Most Inconvenient Christmas. If you are able to help with set design and building, or would like to have a bit part in the musical, contact Greg or Cheryl Stites immediately.
Check in weekly with the BLOG, setup especially for parents of 6th-12th students at Arlington Heights: www.ahyouthparents.blogpsot.com
The youth calendar that goes through the end of the year is still available in the Kiosk located in the foyer. Please pick one up if you haven’t already!
“According to his critics, Jesus ‘did God’ all wrong. He went to the wrong places, said the wrong things, and worst of all, let just anyone into the kingdom. Jesus scandalized an intimidating, elitist, country-club religion by opening membership in the spiritual life to those who had been denied it. What made people furious was Jesus’ ‘irresponsible’ habit of throwing open the doors of his love to the whosoevers, the just-any-ones, and the not-a-chancers like you and me.”
- Michael Yaconelli, Messy Spirituality
“If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.”
- Jesus, John 15:18-19
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Youth News for Sunday, November 23
YOUTH GROUP NEWS
The next Youth Group Small Groups will be December 14th. Junior High will be at the Bittle’s, Senior High will be at the Farmer’s. Guys bring something salty, Ladies bring something sweet!
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Youth Specialties Parent Newsletter #40
PARENT NEWSLETTER #40
October 29, 2008Subscribe here:
http://www.youthspecialties.com/freeresources/newsletters_subscribe
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DON'T BUY THE LIE
"I'm going to call a psychic." "I want to cast a spell on my boyfriend." "Let's have a séance tonight." Thousands of people make comments like this every day often thinking they're just jokes and not knowing it's all a big trap. TV and movies portray the supernatural as innocent, fun, even cool.
Don't buy the lie. It's not all fun and games.
This book shows your kids how to think for themselves. They'll learn how to discern what's real and what's not. With this book, they'll be armed and ready to take on the lies that come their way.
Learn more about and purchase "Don't Buy the Lie" here:
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*Save 30% off the retail price of "Don't Buy the Lie" when you use Coupon Code YPNOT5 and order by 11/12/08.
================================
FOR PARENTS
With Halloween just days away, author Mark Matlock offers answers to questions that your kids may have about ghosts, vampires and werewolves.
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
ARE GHOSTS REAL?
Ghosts are a big part of the increase of supernatural themes in movies, TV, and books. The most common worldview presented in stories about ghosts is that they are the spirits of people who died with unfinished business left on earth.
So, in The Sixth Sense, a little boy sees--and helps--dead people who need to fix something before they can leave to the great beyond. In Ghost, a popular movie from the early '90s, Patrick Swayze sticks around to love and protect Demi Moore after he dies. Nicole Kidman's The Others shows ghosts who don't realize they're the ones doing the haunting.
In the real world, evidence for ghosts is scarce. People who take them seriously talk about psychic energy and show photographs with strange lights or colors. But most of the real research suggests that living people tend to create ghosts, either out of fear, grief, or for profit.
For instance, the strangest ghost stories are rarely told by the people who believe they've experienced an encounter with a ghost--unless those people are getting paid. The tellers are almost always people who heard it secondhand.
In addition, people who claim to hear voices or see dead relatives almost always stop experiencing those things when they take antipsychotic medications. That suggests either that ghosts don't like medication or that people who are having intense emotional and psychological problems are more likely to see things that aren't there.
The Bible leaves little room for the existence of ghosts. It never, ever talks about the spirits of dead humans lingering here. Paul wrote that for Christians, to be away from the body is to be present with God (2 Corinthians 5:8). And the Bible describes very specific judgments for unbelievers--judgments that do not include becoming a haunting spirit on earth (2 Thessalonians 1:9).
WHAT'S UP WITH VAMPIRES AND WEREWOLVES?
Our current ideas about supernatural creatures called vampires and werewolves come primarily from entertainment sources: the original Dracula movies of the 1930s and dozens of sequels and adaptations since then; the books of Anne Rice; and the world created by the popular shows Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel.
According to the myth, a vampire is a demon who inhabits the body of a human. They need to drink blood to stay alive; they're very strong; they can live forever; but they can be killed by sunlight, a stake through the heart, or being exposed to religious symbols like crosses or holy water. Oh, and they can turn other people into vampires if they want.
Werewolves are mythical creatures that appear human during the day, yet turn into ferocious and dangerous wolves when the moon is full. A person bitten by a werewolf will become one, and then he or she can only be killed while a wolf by a silver bullet. (They hate garlic, too.)
It's possible that these monsters of movies, TV, and books got their start in the real world. According to a great book by James Watkins called "Death and Beyond" (Tyndale, 1993), researchers at the University of British Columbia have studied a rare disease called porphyria. Victims of this illness can't produce heme, the red pigment in the blood's hemoglobin.
They believe some early sufferers tried to alleviate their symptoms by drinking blood. In addition, without that substance in their blood, these people are painfully sensitive to light. Sunlight causes sores that deform their hands; the skin of the face gets thin and tight, causing the teeth to stick out. And the body tries to protect itself with increased (wolf-like?) hair growth.
Finally, people with this disease are also violently allergic to garlic. It's possible that the legends grew out of a real-world illness.
The Bible, of course, teaches that demons are very real and that they can, in fact, possess unbelievers, making them violent and giving them supernatural strength. However, the Bible doesn't ever talk about these people living unnaturally long lives.
**
Mark Matlock has been working with youth pastors and students for nearly twenty years. Mark is the president of WisdomWorks Ministries and speaks at their PlanetWisdom student events across the country each year. He's the author of several books, including "What Does God Want From Me?," "Living a Life That Matters," "Don't Buy the Lie," and "Freshman." Mark lives in Texas with his wife, Jade, and their children, Dax and Skye.
Learn more about and purchase "Don't Buy the Lie" here:
http://www.youthspecialties.com/shop/product_info.php?products_id=163
*Save 30% off the retail price of "Don't Buy the Lie" when you use Coupon Code YPNOT5 and order by 11/12/08.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
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