The second book in the Live Free series has received a finalist nomination for the Christian Retailers Choice Awards in the Youth/Teen category. Winners will be announced this coming Monday, July 13, during the International Christian Retail Show (ICRS) in Denver.
An excerpt from the press release: Continue reading
Take an American girl who has lived outside of the U.S. for a few years, reintroduce her back into this culture, and what you’ll get is an enlightening perspective of the crazy road we might be traveling down. Meredith Whitmore is a new writer for Plugged In Online. She wrote a three-part article—lengthy, but well-worth the reading—about what she has observed since returning to the U.S. Continue reading
Good Friday. It isn’t called that everywhere. Those in Germany call it Karfreitag, meaning Mourning Friday. Not surprising. God’s hand was raised against the darkness of sin that day long ago when Jesus was led to the cross. And it became a grievious day of loss for those who loved their friend and servant-master and did not yet understand this act of love as Immanuel–God in the flesh giving his life for us. Continue reading
What do you do when someone tells you they are self-injuring?
Most just want you to be there to listen, but realize that more often than not, they may share their story gradually. They’ll test the waters, see if they can trust you, but also if they can trust themselves to handle telling the story. Doing so may be difficult, painful, or shameful for them. For some, the anxiety they feel while even speaking about their struggle could trigger the compulsion to self-injure again.
More tips . . . Continue reading
Yesterday I spoke in a Youth Counseling class at William Jessup University. Part of what we talked about included the trends of self-injury and how those involved in youth organizations and ministries can best be aware of and help a teen who self-injures.
The class asked how you know someone is engaged in self-harming behavior. Typical signs might be the presence of frequent injuries, covering up with long sleeves and pants, multiple scars. You may notice a depressive mood. But self-injury is often secretive. It can even be hidden behind smiles and a life that seems, on the outside, to be going well. How do you widen your awareness? Continue reading
To offer hope to the hurting teen takes deep commitment, starting with what we do to be certain we have hope to give, the hope they need most.
1 Peter 3:15 says: “But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect” (NIV).
An invitation to give real hope is tucked into that verse. It’s not just about logically being able to talk about who Jesus is and his gospel of salvation. There’s another layer that is just as important . . . Continue reading
Just back from the Children’s Pastor’s Conference (INCM) that took place in Nashville, Tennessee. Patrick Snow (from SuperStart), Sean Sweet, and I did a preconference on preteen ministry, with my focus being, not surprisingly, the at-risk child or preteen. I was also able to give an additional workshop during the conference. I’ll be doing it again at CPC’s February conference in San Diego.
A few thoughts I shared during my workshops:
The stats we see for junior high/high school at-risk behavior are representative of life challenges that are likely already happening during the childhood/preteen years. To make an impact, we should act now, not later.
Our work and ministry to children and youth is most effective when we keep a pulse on the issues of today’s world and teen culture, especially in consideration of the individual and his or her personal questions and struggles.
Reaching the child, preteen, teen, or young adult involves caring about their family. We do that, at least partly, by developing a ministry philosophy that actively and practically nurtures the respect and communication between the members of the family, and nourishes the faith in that home.
In order to offer real purpose and hope to those we teach in our ministries or love in our homes and communities, we must daily go deeper in our relationship with Christ through prayer, reading God’s words, and intentionally living out what he shows us.
More to come, but I invite your thoughts. Let’s keep the dialog going.
Connections. Deepening relationships. Choosing. Changing. Growing. Slowing down enough to think, to feel, to know I have purpose beyond daily existence. God matters to me. I matter to him. Others should matter to me.
An entire day can go by. When my connections consist primarily of digital activities, online friends, technology–how does that impact who I am as a person? What I take in of life or give out? Continue reading
During a radio interview yesterday morning, I heard a call-in’s story of being out with a friend who was constantly on his cell. Clearly frustrated, the call-in wondered what would come next in technology to further bring down the quality of relationships. How, he wanted to know, could he create a better situation with his friend?
On air we talked about having an honest conversation with his friend, coming up with the solution hopefully together; if needed, requesting that phones be turned off.
But this is also one of those opportunities for the holiday challenge mentioned in the last post. Compared to many, I probably use my cell phone rarely and struggle more with my online time. Still it wouldn’t hurt to evaluate my own habits and watch for any ways my cell use keeps me from fully enjoying the relationships of those I’m with.
Take a couple days to raise your awareness of how your cell phone use impacts your personal relationships. What would you be willing to reduce or change–for the next couple weeks or generally?
This past summer, as I waited for a flight, I saw a family sitting on the floor near the window. I guessed that the five children were easily under ten, some closer to age five or six (might have been friends or cousins). All, including the parents, were either on a cell phone or playing a video game. Yes, one of the younger ones was on a cell phone. No conversation with one another at all. I wondered if that was unusual or typical–for this family and families in general.
Since at that time Eyes Online, Eyes On Life was close to its release date, my thoughts turned to teens and young adults who have grown up with computers, video games, cell phones. Even if they don’t own the latest technology, they know how to use it. “Technology” is close to a first language for them, and that’s not going to change.
But I continue to have a nagging question (potentially a hot button issue for some): How can we use technology differently (and maybe less) so that we’re connecting more to life, more with those around us? And why does that matter?
I see the approaching holidays as an opportunity for individuals and families to reduce time with their technology at least 25% (hours will vary!) and get creative with spending time with friends and family, enjoying an old pastime, or learning something new (and non-technological).
Over the next couple weeks I will be posting and twittering on this topic, adding thoughts and ideas and sharing those that others come up with (while at the same time reducing my own technology time by at least 25%).
Join me?
