Hey Parents,
Good Tuesday morning!! Can you believe that it's already November 14th!! Thanksgiving is right around the corner and I hope your family is making plans to spend some quality time together over the next few weeks! Here's what's going on with our youth family over the next week:
1. IGNITE is tonight...and we're starting a new series called Reversing Darwin...Have you every felt weak? Powerless? Abandoned? Overlooked? We've all felt this way at one time or another. And when we feel like the world doesn't see us and we are less than fit to make it, we start to believe that only the strong survive. But God doesn't work that way. Because God sees the hurt, the neglect, and the times that we have been ignored and taken advantage of. God sees past the labels we give ourselves - and others. And because God sees, we are no longer powerless. Because God sees, God will act on our behalf. We'll break this down tonight using everything from Survivor to Twilight to Taylor Swift! We'll also play a game called Superman and just have a good time hanging out together! Doors to The Attic open @ 5:45!!
2. Next Wednesday night, November 21st we will have NO ACTIVITIES going on in honor of Thanksgiving week!!
3. Wednesday night, December 5th we will have our BIGNITE Christmas Party at the Kelly house (right across the street from the church) from 5:30 - 7:30. More info to come on that next week!
4. On Sunday night, December 2nd we will be having a church-wide Christmas Dinner for Missions. This will be a great night to come and fellowship together as a church and for you as a family to choose a mission project to donate to that night. The meal is free so even if you don't usually come on Sunday nights, please try to make plans to join us that night...It has the potential to be a really special night for your families!!
Thanks guys and have a great week!
Jeff
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
This Week @ FBCG: Corn Maze Edition
Parents,
Just a short message for you this week! We're taking the students to Shuckle's Corn Maze in Hendersonville tonight. We'll leave the church at 5:30 and be back around 8:15. The cost for tonight is $10. It's gonna be a cold one so make sure students dress warmly!
Also, this coming Sunday night will be our last night of The Feast for 2012...we'll be filling Sunday nights with some seasonal celebrations throughout the rest of November and December! I hope you all have a great Wednesday and hope to see your students tonight!
Jeff
Just a short message for you this week! We're taking the students to Shuckle's Corn Maze in Hendersonville tonight. We'll leave the church at 5:30 and be back around 8:15. The cost for tonight is $10. It's gonna be a cold one so make sure students dress warmly!
Also, this coming Sunday night will be our last night of The Feast for 2012...we'll be filling Sunday nights with some seasonal celebrations throughout the rest of November and December! I hope you all have a great Wednesday and hope to see your students tonight!
Jeff
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
This Week @ FBCG: A Normal Week? Edition
Happy Wednesday, Parents!
We are in the middle of a "normal" week if you can believe that!! Just a few short notes for you:
1. IGNITE is TONIGHT! We'll be up in The Attic @5:45 closing out our "Blessed" series. The last few weeks we've established what blessing is not - the stuff we have - and what it truly is - the relationship we possess - we are going to take this idea of blessing one step further and look at the more uncomfortable - but truly remarkable - side of God's idea of blessing: that God's blessing are not meant just for us but are meant to be shared. And this isn't something we always on board with. But when we live by the truth that we are blessed in order to bless others, we suddenly realize that real blessing comes from giving ourselves completely to the God who made us! We'll play some Clusters and Corners and dive into Bible study! Hope to see your students tonight!
2. Sunday mornings we have Sunday School at 9:30 AM and on Sunday nights at 6 PM we have our "Feast" Bible study for students looking to learn a little more and dive a little deeper into God's Word.
3. MNF @ BWW happens every Monday night at 7:00 at Indian Lake. Come hang out, eat, and watch some football.
4. There will be NO IGNITE next Wednesday night, October 31st. Instead, we'll all be at Moss Wright Park for the Pumpkin Festival. Students are welcome to come out and hang!
5. On November 7th, BIGNITE will be loading up and heading to Shuckle's Corn Maze in Hendersonville. We'll meet at the church at 5:30 to leave and will return Sunday night at 8:30 PM. The cost is $10.
I hope you all have a great week!
Jeff
We are in the middle of a "normal" week if you can believe that!! Just a few short notes for you:
1. IGNITE is TONIGHT! We'll be up in The Attic @5:45 closing out our "Blessed" series. The last few weeks we've established what blessing is not - the stuff we have - and what it truly is - the relationship we possess - we are going to take this idea of blessing one step further and look at the more uncomfortable - but truly remarkable - side of God's idea of blessing: that God's blessing are not meant just for us but are meant to be shared. And this isn't something we always on board with. But when we live by the truth that we are blessed in order to bless others, we suddenly realize that real blessing comes from giving ourselves completely to the God who made us! We'll play some Clusters and Corners and dive into Bible study! Hope to see your students tonight!
2. Sunday mornings we have Sunday School at 9:30 AM and on Sunday nights at 6 PM we have our "Feast" Bible study for students looking to learn a little more and dive a little deeper into God's Word.
3. MNF @ BWW happens every Monday night at 7:00 at Indian Lake. Come hang out, eat, and watch some football.
4. There will be NO IGNITE next Wednesday night, October 31st. Instead, we'll all be at Moss Wright Park for the Pumpkin Festival. Students are welcome to come out and hang!
5. On November 7th, BIGNITE will be loading up and heading to Shuckle's Corn Maze in Hendersonville. We'll meet at the church at 5:30 to leave and will return Sunday night at 8:30 PM. The cost is $10.
I hope you all have a great week!
Jeff
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
This Week @ FBCG: Recharge Edition
Good Morning Parents,
Well I hope you and your students have either enjoyed Fall Break or are currently still enjoying it for a few more days! We are in full-on "Recharge" mode after a fantastic UNITE 2012 retreat. We have over a 110 students and leaders gathered together this past weekend and I believe that it was in impacting and important weekend in the lives of our students! God allowed us to have a beautiful weekend and the weather was awesome for all the outdoor activities that our students got to participate in (make sure you ask your students about the "helium stick")!
We missed all those students who were traveling and couldn't join us and look forward to seeing them tomorrow night or Sunday morning!! Although we are recharging, we still have important info for you guys so here goes..
1. IGNITE is TOMORROW NIGHT!! We'll jump into our 2nd session in our "Blessed" series and we'll have some fun with some Oreo's. Doors open to The Attic @ 5:45 PM!
2. Sunday School is every Sunday morning at 9:30 AM. We have some of THE BEST Sunday School teachers EVER so send your students to come and fellowship and dive into God's Word!
3. The Feast will be back on this Sunday night from 6:00 - 7:00 up in The Attic. This is a seriously focused time of deep Bible Study and Theology...it's a chance for our students to dive deeper into their understanding of the God we serve and what we say we believe. Due to the deep nature of our study, we understand that some students might not be interested...but last week we had OVER 20 STUDENTS!!! Praise God! Hope to see everybody back this Sunday night!
4. Our November BIGNITE will be Wednesday, November 7th and we'll be heading out to Shuckle's Corn Maze in Hendersonville. More info will be coming next week but go ahead and mark your calendars!
A few notes for you as your students are diving into a better understanding of the word "Blessed" this month:
Be a Student of What They are Learning
Maybe we get that our "stuff" isn't what determines God's blessing in our life. And maybe we even understand that what God is doing in us and through us is more important than any "thing." But what about the idea that God's most extravagant blessings can be found in the ordinary, everyday - and maybe even the annoying - people that we find ourselves surrounded by? What if we counted our blessings not by "what we have but by "who" we have; by those ordinary and extraordinary relationships that God weaves into our lives? We just might find that we are more blessed than we ever imagined!
Have a great week!
Jeff
Well I hope you and your students have either enjoyed Fall Break or are currently still enjoying it for a few more days! We are in full-on "Recharge" mode after a fantastic UNITE 2012 retreat. We have over a 110 students and leaders gathered together this past weekend and I believe that it was in impacting and important weekend in the lives of our students! God allowed us to have a beautiful weekend and the weather was awesome for all the outdoor activities that our students got to participate in (make sure you ask your students about the "helium stick")!
We missed all those students who were traveling and couldn't join us and look forward to seeing them tomorrow night or Sunday morning!! Although we are recharging, we still have important info for you guys so here goes..
1. IGNITE is TOMORROW NIGHT!! We'll jump into our 2nd session in our "Blessed" series and we'll have some fun with some Oreo's. Doors open to The Attic @ 5:45 PM!
2. Sunday School is every Sunday morning at 9:30 AM. We have some of THE BEST Sunday School teachers EVER so send your students to come and fellowship and dive into God's Word!
3. The Feast will be back on this Sunday night from 6:00 - 7:00 up in The Attic. This is a seriously focused time of deep Bible Study and Theology...it's a chance for our students to dive deeper into their understanding of the God we serve and what we say we believe. Due to the deep nature of our study, we understand that some students might not be interested...but last week we had OVER 20 STUDENTS!!! Praise God! Hope to see everybody back this Sunday night!
4. Our November BIGNITE will be Wednesday, November 7th and we'll be heading out to Shuckle's Corn Maze in Hendersonville. More info will be coming next week but go ahead and mark your calendars!
A few notes for you as your students are diving into a better understanding of the word "Blessed" this month:
Be a Student of What They are Learning
Maybe we get that our "stuff" isn't what determines God's blessing in our life. And maybe we even understand that what God is doing in us and through us is more important than any "thing." But what about the idea that God's most extravagant blessings can be found in the ordinary, everyday - and maybe even the annoying - people that we find ourselves surrounded by? What if we counted our blessings not by "what we have but by "who" we have; by those ordinary and extraordinary relationships that God weaves into our lives? We just might find that we are more blessed than we ever imagined!
Have a great week!
Jeff
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
This Week @ FBCG: Fall Break and Unite 2012 Edition
Parents,
Well Fall has definitely arrived as the cooler weather has hit us and I have to admit I absolutely love it! It's an exciting weekend around here, so here's the info for this week!
1. IGNITE is Tonight! We're kicking off a new series called "Blessed" at 5:45 up in The Attic! You know the phrase, "God Bless you", we say it all the time in all sorts of situations. But what does this little word "blessed" actually mean? All too often, we use it when we feel good and everything is going our way. But if this is our definition of being blessed, what happens when things aren't picture perfect? What do we do when we feel more stressed than blessed? Because ultimately, being blessed isn't about the things we have or the way we feel. It's about becoming who God is shaping us to be. We'll unpack this a little bit tonight, so it's gonna be good! Hope to see your kids tonight!
2. UNITE 2012 is this weekend. We'll leave the church at 5:00 Friday afternoon and if your student is going, make sure you followed the packing list and have filled out the release forms that we mailed you. We need all those forms turned in by Friday afternoon! Also we need all balances paid by Friday afternoon, so let me know if you have a situation that won't allow that and we'll make it work! It's gonna be a great weekend and I truly believe that God has some amazing things planned for us! We'll return Sunday afternoon between 3 - 4 PM.
3. Sunday School will still be happening for any students who aren't able to attend the retreat this weekend. Students will in The Attic just like normal!
4. There will be no Sunday night Bible study for students this week.
5. MNF @ BWW will be happening this Monday night @ 7 PM...Come hang out!
I hope you all have a great day, and if you have any questions about UNITE, please let me know!
Jeff
Well Fall has definitely arrived as the cooler weather has hit us and I have to admit I absolutely love it! It's an exciting weekend around here, so here's the info for this week!
1. IGNITE is Tonight! We're kicking off a new series called "Blessed" at 5:45 up in The Attic! You know the phrase, "God Bless you", we say it all the time in all sorts of situations. But what does this little word "blessed" actually mean? All too often, we use it when we feel good and everything is going our way. But if this is our definition of being blessed, what happens when things aren't picture perfect? What do we do when we feel more stressed than blessed? Because ultimately, being blessed isn't about the things we have or the way we feel. It's about becoming who God is shaping us to be. We'll unpack this a little bit tonight, so it's gonna be good! Hope to see your kids tonight!
2. UNITE 2012 is this weekend. We'll leave the church at 5:00 Friday afternoon and if your student is going, make sure you followed the packing list and have filled out the release forms that we mailed you. We need all those forms turned in by Friday afternoon! Also we need all balances paid by Friday afternoon, so let me know if you have a situation that won't allow that and we'll make it work! It's gonna be a great weekend and I truly believe that God has some amazing things planned for us! We'll return Sunday afternoon between 3 - 4 PM.
3. Sunday School will still be happening for any students who aren't able to attend the retreat this weekend. Students will in The Attic just like normal!
4. There will be no Sunday night Bible study for students this week.
5. MNF @ BWW will be happening this Monday night @ 7 PM...Come hang out!
I hope you all have a great day, and if you have any questions about UNITE, please let me know!
Jeff
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
This Week @ FBCG: Texas Bound Edition
Hey Parents,
I'll be heading to Texas for a little down time this coming weekend so here's all the info that you guys need in the mean time!
1. IGNITE will still be happening tomorrow night. Josh will wrap up our Forward Motion series with the youth so send your students for some Bible Study in The Attic @ 5:45.
2. Sunday night, we'll be starting a new Bible study called "The Feast" from 6:00 -7:00 up in The Attic. This is going to be an intense, deep time of Bible study and discussion on theology, so it's going to be a great chance for your students to really grow in their understanding of their faith. We are letting the students know that this study won't be driven with games or videos, but rather some serious Bible study and real discussion about our walk with the Lord. We hope that your student will want to join us!
3. An information letter was sent out to all parents of students who have signed up for UNITE 2012. Sign-ups ended yesterday, and t-shirts were ordered today. Look for that letter to arrive tomorrow or Thursday and please let me know if you have any questions about any of the information inside!
Thanks and have a great rest of the week and weekend!
Jeff
I'll be heading to Texas for a little down time this coming weekend so here's all the info that you guys need in the mean time!
1. IGNITE will still be happening tomorrow night. Josh will wrap up our Forward Motion series with the youth so send your students for some Bible Study in The Attic @ 5:45.
2. Sunday night, we'll be starting a new Bible study called "The Feast" from 6:00 -7:00 up in The Attic. This is going to be an intense, deep time of Bible study and discussion on theology, so it's going to be a great chance for your students to really grow in their understanding of their faith. We are letting the students know that this study won't be driven with games or videos, but rather some serious Bible study and real discussion about our walk with the Lord. We hope that your student will want to join us!
3. An information letter was sent out to all parents of students who have signed up for UNITE 2012. Sign-ups ended yesterday, and t-shirts were ordered today. Look for that letter to arrive tomorrow or Thursday and please let me know if you have any questions about any of the information inside!
Thanks and have a great rest of the week and weekend!
Jeff
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
This Week @ FBCG: SYATP Edition
Good Tuesday morning!
I don't know about you folks, but I'm loving this fall weather...hope it lasts for a good while before winter hits us in the face with cold weather! Here's what's going on this week in our student ministry @ FBCG!
1. Tomorrow morning at school campuses across the nation SYATP will be taking place. What is SYATP? See Ya At The Pole has been around for almost 20 years now and it's a chance for our students to openly pray for their classmates, families, schools and nation around their flagpoles at 7:00 AM! This is a great way for our students to take a stand for Christ so I encourage you as parents to encourage your kids to get up a little earlier maybe and get there! I'll be leading worship for the event at Merrol Hyde and look forward to hearing how the event goes across the rest of our county!
2. IGNITE is tomorrow night. We'll take the second step in our Forward Motion series. The goal of every Christian is to become more like Jesus (or at least that should be our goal). But the problem comes when we think we're going to achieve that today. It's a lifelong journey, a process, a walk. Following Jesus is about the steps we take every day, and as Christians, we have divine help in taking those steps - the Holy Spirit. What is the step God is asking you to take? What's holding you back from taking it? Those are some questions that we'll be walking through together tomorrow night in The Attic at 5:45!
3. Generation Change is still going on every Sunday night in The Attic at 6:00. Come hang out with Kathy and the crew as we continue studying how to live wisely with God's money!
4. Our Unite 2012 retreat is only a few weeks away!! The dates are Oct 12-14th and it's going to be awesome. Our high school students are coming out in force but we need to encourage several of our middle schoolers to join us as well. I know a retreat away from home can be a scary thing to a middle schooler, but I promise you, once they join us for a retreat they'll never look back!! It's a great way for them to continue getting to know their fellow youth mates as well!! Sign-up on the church website (fbcgoodlettsville.com/students) by October 1st with the $100 balance due on Sunday, October 7th. I apologize for the letter not having gotten out to you guys in the mail just quite yet, but it will be out by the end of this week once we have all the information and details ironed out!
I hope you all have a great week!
Jeff
I don't know about you folks, but I'm loving this fall weather...hope it lasts for a good while before winter hits us in the face with cold weather! Here's what's going on this week in our student ministry @ FBCG!
1. Tomorrow morning at school campuses across the nation SYATP will be taking place. What is SYATP? See Ya At The Pole has been around for almost 20 years now and it's a chance for our students to openly pray for their classmates, families, schools and nation around their flagpoles at 7:00 AM! This is a great way for our students to take a stand for Christ so I encourage you as parents to encourage your kids to get up a little earlier maybe and get there! I'll be leading worship for the event at Merrol Hyde and look forward to hearing how the event goes across the rest of our county!
2. IGNITE is tomorrow night. We'll take the second step in our Forward Motion series. The goal of every Christian is to become more like Jesus (or at least that should be our goal). But the problem comes when we think we're going to achieve that today. It's a lifelong journey, a process, a walk. Following Jesus is about the steps we take every day, and as Christians, we have divine help in taking those steps - the Holy Spirit. What is the step God is asking you to take? What's holding you back from taking it? Those are some questions that we'll be walking through together tomorrow night in The Attic at 5:45!
3. Generation Change is still going on every Sunday night in The Attic at 6:00. Come hang out with Kathy and the crew as we continue studying how to live wisely with God's money!
4. Our Unite 2012 retreat is only a few weeks away!! The dates are Oct 12-14th and it's going to be awesome. Our high school students are coming out in force but we need to encourage several of our middle schoolers to join us as well. I know a retreat away from home can be a scary thing to a middle schooler, but I promise you, once they join us for a retreat they'll never look back!! It's a great way for them to continue getting to know their fellow youth mates as well!! Sign-up on the church website (fbcgoodlettsville.com/students) by October 1st with the $100 balance due on Sunday, October 7th. I apologize for the letter not having gotten out to you guys in the mail just quite yet, but it will be out by the end of this week once we have all the information and details ironed out!
I hope you all have a great week!
Jeff
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
This Week @ FBCG: Forward Motion Ediiton
Good Tuesday morning parents!!
Tomorrow night we'll be starting a new series with our students called Forward Motion. So many times we look at our lives with great expectation, thinking we should be leaps from where we are. We expect perfection. We expect to arrive at some level. The reality is that following Christ isn't about leaping to instant perfection. We're walking with Him daily - a walk that involves steps, not leaps. Following Jesus Christ is about the small steps we make every day- steps of obedience, steps in relationship with Him. Sometimes those steps are small, sometimes they are big - but they are all still steps, moving us forward.
We'll begin to break this down with our students tomorrow night at IGNITE. We'll have some music, give away some See Ya At The Pole gear and dive into God's Word...all starting at 5:45 in The Attic.
Speaking of See Ya At The Pole, this is a great event that is taking place next Wednesday morning, September 26th on campuses throughout the city. Most schools meet around the flagpole at 7:00 AM, but you might want to remind your student to check out their school's specific plans. We will be encouraging our students and our church to participate and pray for our schools, students, teachers and country together on that morning!
Early next week you guys will receive some information in the mail about our Unite 2012 Fall Retreat that is taking place October 12-14. The cost for the weekend is $100 and students need to be signed up by October 1st. You can sign your students up through the church website (fbcgoodlettsville.com/students) and payments will be required by Sunday, October 7th.
Our students are still going through a Generation Change study about money on Sunday nights with Kathy Decker and it's been a great time! We still have a few more weeks so all students are welcome to join us in The Attic on Sunday nights at 6:00.
Hope you all have a great week!!
Jeff
Tomorrow night we'll be starting a new series with our students called Forward Motion. So many times we look at our lives with great expectation, thinking we should be leaps from where we are. We expect perfection. We expect to arrive at some level. The reality is that following Christ isn't about leaping to instant perfection. We're walking with Him daily - a walk that involves steps, not leaps. Following Jesus Christ is about the small steps we make every day- steps of obedience, steps in relationship with Him. Sometimes those steps are small, sometimes they are big - but they are all still steps, moving us forward.
We'll begin to break this down with our students tomorrow night at IGNITE. We'll have some music, give away some See Ya At The Pole gear and dive into God's Word...all starting at 5:45 in The Attic.
Speaking of See Ya At The Pole, this is a great event that is taking place next Wednesday morning, September 26th on campuses throughout the city. Most schools meet around the flagpole at 7:00 AM, but you might want to remind your student to check out their school's specific plans. We will be encouraging our students and our church to participate and pray for our schools, students, teachers and country together on that morning!
Early next week you guys will receive some information in the mail about our Unite 2012 Fall Retreat that is taking place October 12-14. The cost for the weekend is $100 and students need to be signed up by October 1st. You can sign your students up through the church website (fbcgoodlettsville.com/students) and payments will be required by Sunday, October 7th.
Our students are still going through a Generation Change study about money on Sunday nights with Kathy Decker and it's been a great time! We still have a few more weeks so all students are welcome to join us in The Attic on Sunday nights at 6:00.
Hope you all have a great week!!
Jeff
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
This Week @ FBCG: OMC Take 2 Edition
Good Afternoon Parents,
A few quick notes for you this week..
1. Tomorrow night we will give our OMC event a second try....obviously we were rained out last week so we'll give it another go tomorrow night. The event will be just as messy and crazy as it was going to be last week, so students will want to bring an extra set of clothes and they need to wear something they don't mind getting a little messed up. We'll be back out at the Pavilion at 5:45! Like last week, we could use some extra pairs of hands to help with our event so if you're free and can help let me know!
2. This coming Sunday, September 16th, is Back to Church Sunday. We'll be combining for 1 Worship Service @ 10:00 AM. Also, there will be NO SUNDAY SCHOOL this week!
3. There also will be NO SUNDAY NIGHT activities for the students this week!
4. Unite 2012 is the name of our Fall Retreat this year and it will be October 12-14 in Coker Creek, TN. The cost for the retreat is $100 and students can begin signing up now on the church website (fbcgoodlettsville.com/students). Sign-ups will end on October 1st with the balance for the retreat due on October 6th. A letter will be sent out later this week with more information about the weekend and what students will need if they are planning on attending.
5. Last night was our first MNF @ BWW! Basically each Monday night we get together to watch some football, eat some wings and just hang out! Last night we had a great group of about 22 who came to hang out and it was great! Parents are welcome to come and hang too so if you're free next Monday come join us!
Have a great week guys!
Jeff
A few quick notes for you this week..
1. Tomorrow night we will give our OMC event a second try....obviously we were rained out last week so we'll give it another go tomorrow night. The event will be just as messy and crazy as it was going to be last week, so students will want to bring an extra set of clothes and they need to wear something they don't mind getting a little messed up. We'll be back out at the Pavilion at 5:45! Like last week, we could use some extra pairs of hands to help with our event so if you're free and can help let me know!
2. This coming Sunday, September 16th, is Back to Church Sunday. We'll be combining for 1 Worship Service @ 10:00 AM. Also, there will be NO SUNDAY SCHOOL this week!
3. There also will be NO SUNDAY NIGHT activities for the students this week!
4. Unite 2012 is the name of our Fall Retreat this year and it will be October 12-14 in Coker Creek, TN. The cost for the retreat is $100 and students can begin signing up now on the church website (fbcgoodlettsville.com/students). Sign-ups will end on October 1st with the balance for the retreat due on October 6th. A letter will be sent out later this week with more information about the weekend and what students will need if they are planning on attending.
5. Last night was our first MNF @ BWW! Basically each Monday night we get together to watch some football, eat some wings and just hang out! Last night we had a great group of about 22 who came to hang out and it was great! Parents are welcome to come and hang too so if you're free next Monday come join us!
Have a great week guys!
Jeff
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
This Week @ FBCG: Football Season Is Back Edition
Hey Parents,
It's football season!! This is one of my favorite times of the year and I hope you and your teams have gotten off to a great start this season. Crystal and I had a great mini-vacation last week as we travelled to Knoxville to meet nephew number 3, Eli Jameson Walker and we got to spend some quality time with the family. On Friday we rolled down to Atlanta to support the Vols in a great win to start the season. However, it was a tough night for us to focus...we were sitting in section 211 and the young man that fell from section 311 landed about 5 rows behind us. It was a tough scene to witness and one I won't forget.
We have a lot of things coming up in the next week so wanted to get everybody on board with what's happening at FBCG this week:
1. Tomorrow night is BIGNITE: OMC. We'll have Chick-Fil-A and drinks and a wild, crazy and messy night planned for our students. I would HIGHLY suggest they bring a change of clothes with them to the event and they should probably wear some old stuff they don't mind getting pretty messed up in. How messy are we talking? Well let's just say that ketchup, mustard, mayo, chocolate syrup, maple syrup, peanut butter and eggs will be involved so you can take it from there. We'll be out at the Pavilion starting at 5:45 and we'll be done by 7:00. I still need some folks willing to help out tomorrow night, so if you're free please let me know ASAP!! Call, text or email me and let me know!
2. Generation Change will be back on Sunday night. We're only 2 weeks into our study and some of our students are already beginning to think and look at money differently. It's not too late for your kids to come and join us in The Attic at 6:00 PM!
3. MNF @ BWW is back!! This is one of our students favorite things that we do....we get together, we socialize and visit, we eat wings and we watch football. Times vary each Monday night due to game schedules, but this coming Monday we'll kick off the season together at BWW at Indian Lake @ 6 PM and be there until 8:30 PM. Students and parents are welcome to join us and hang out!!
4. Our new series Forward Motion will kick off next Wednesday night, September 12th. More info about that next week!
5. Our Fall Retreat for our students is going to be the weekend of October 12-14th and we will be traveling to Coker Creek Village in Coker Creek, Tennessee. It's gonna be a beautiful weekend in East Tennessee and we want your students to join us to be a part of it. The cost is $100 and that covers all meals, lodging, and t-shirts. We will be partnering with 3 churches from the Knoxville area for a great weekend. Sign-ups will start this week and all students going MUST be signed up by October 1st. Balance payment will be due on October 7th. More info to come next week.
Hope you guys have a great week and we look forward to seeing your students tomorrow night....don't forget if you're free to help tomorrow night, please call, text, or email me ASAP!
Jeff Kelly
Jeffkelly@fbcgoodlettsville.com
615-838-9755
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
This Week @ FBCG: Finally!! School is on!
Hey Parents,
What a long crazy couple of weeks we've had (at least for our Sumner Co. kids) but we finally have gotten the 2012-13 school year underway! Fall is fast approaching and summer will be in the rearview mirror before we know it....what a perfect time to make sure that your student is getting off to a good semester both academically but also spiritually!! And we want to help with that @FBCG....so please make it a priority to send your students on Wednesday and Sundays!! The last 2 Wednesday nights we've averaged 37 students (Awesome!!) but we are still missing many familiar faces (both old and new) so send your students to be a part of what God's doing in our ministry!!
A few things for ya:
1. INTERSECT concludes tomorrow night at IGNITE. Hopefully if your students have been with us the last 2 weeks they have gotten the idea that God chose to intersect with the world. And hopefully they understand that because of Jesus' death and resurrection, we have become the temple of God. But the question that always shows up now is, "Now what?" And the answer lies within each of us. Because, through God's choice to dwell inside of us, we are now partners with God in bringing heaven to earth. We are the way that God has chosen to show Himself to the world. So when we are frustrated, angry or hurt - or when we are broken-hearted for someone else who is - we can pray with the confidence that God is working to make things right. And we can live in the wonder of a God that wants to use us to make that future hope a present reality! We'll be talking with students about the idea of what praying "Heaven come now..." means for them...gonna be a good night as we'll have some music, we'll play "Slide Your Buns" and do some Bible study...doors to The Attic open @ 5:45!
2. Sunday nights students can be a part of our Generation Change study where we examine the principles surrounding money from a Biblical view. This curriculum put out by Dave Ramsey can be an excellent resource in giving your students some very valuable principles that will come to serve them throughout life! Kathy Decker is leading this time in The Attic from 6-7 so we'd love to see your students!
3. Next Wednesday night, August 29th, we'll be having a "Crash Time" at Moss-Wright Park...we'll toss some frisbee, play some volleyball and just crash for an hour....students can and should meet at Moss-Wright volleyball court at 5:45 and can be picked up from the park at 7:15. Students are welcome to bring a sack dinner with them.
4. On Wednesday night, September 5th we will be having our BIGNITE:OMC. This is going to be a wild and crazy night for our students. We will provide food and music for them and then we'll play a school vs. school round of OMC which stands for Organized Mass Chaos. It's gonna be crazy messy so students might want to bring an extra set of clothes or some trash bags for the ride home!
To close out a few thoughts for you guys as parents:
As parents, you guys set the stage for the way our families view and interact with the world. And this is especially true for our kids. How we spend our money, our time, our resources - our lives - sends a clear signal to our families about what is most important to us. Throughout our Intersect series your students have been learning about their role as co-laborers with God. And what this means is that your student has an important role to play in God's story. Just as they are. As young as they are. As silly as they are. As creative as they are. They are the exact person God wants to use to effect change in this world. And your ability and willingness to support them can give wings to their God-given desire to reach out and make a difference.
So, take a moment to dig deep and reflect on how you can support your son or daughter's role as a co-laborer with God as you answer these questions:
1. Where have you seen your student get fired up to serve or to impact change in their world? Maybe it's been through a service opportunity with their youth group or a passion that was fueled after seeing a film about the needs of people half way around the world. Think about the thing that breaks your student's heart or gets them excited. Then, think about the gifts that you have seen expressed in their lives since they were little. How can these passions and gifts come together to make a change? Take some time this week to tell your student where and how you them putting together their passions and gifts to make a difference in their world.
2. How can you encourage that desire and create opportunities through your community, work relationships, church relationships, etc..? After you have talked about the issues your student is passionate about and the gifts they possess, brainstorm some resources that you have as a family. Maybe there are people you know that are directly involved with a particular cause. Or, maybe you have the skills to navigate the internet and make calls to get the ball rolling for your student. Think through ways you can support your student's involvement in God's story of reconciliation. It may even be as simple as praying with them over the things that are close to their heart - whether it's a global issue or a close friend who they are concerned about.
The bottom line is that when your student feels encouraged and supported by you in both word and deed, they will be able to take the amazing ideas and gifts that God has placed in them and do amazing things. And you will get to share in the joy of watching them bring God's heavenly kingdom to Earth
Have a great week!
Jeff
What a long crazy couple of weeks we've had (at least for our Sumner Co. kids) but we finally have gotten the 2012-13 school year underway! Fall is fast approaching and summer will be in the rearview mirror before we know it....what a perfect time to make sure that your student is getting off to a good semester both academically but also spiritually!! And we want to help with that @FBCG....so please make it a priority to send your students on Wednesday and Sundays!! The last 2 Wednesday nights we've averaged 37 students (Awesome!!) but we are still missing many familiar faces (both old and new) so send your students to be a part of what God's doing in our ministry!!
A few things for ya:
1. INTERSECT concludes tomorrow night at IGNITE. Hopefully if your students have been with us the last 2 weeks they have gotten the idea that God chose to intersect with the world. And hopefully they understand that because of Jesus' death and resurrection, we have become the temple of God. But the question that always shows up now is, "Now what?" And the answer lies within each of us. Because, through God's choice to dwell inside of us, we are now partners with God in bringing heaven to earth. We are the way that God has chosen to show Himself to the world. So when we are frustrated, angry or hurt - or when we are broken-hearted for someone else who is - we can pray with the confidence that God is working to make things right. And we can live in the wonder of a God that wants to use us to make that future hope a present reality! We'll be talking with students about the idea of what praying "Heaven come now..." means for them...gonna be a good night as we'll have some music, we'll play "Slide Your Buns" and do some Bible study...doors to The Attic open @ 5:45!
2. Sunday nights students can be a part of our Generation Change study where we examine the principles surrounding money from a Biblical view. This curriculum put out by Dave Ramsey can be an excellent resource in giving your students some very valuable principles that will come to serve them throughout life! Kathy Decker is leading this time in The Attic from 6-7 so we'd love to see your students!
3. Next Wednesday night, August 29th, we'll be having a "Crash Time" at Moss-Wright Park...we'll toss some frisbee, play some volleyball and just crash for an hour....students can and should meet at Moss-Wright volleyball court at 5:45 and can be picked up from the park at 7:15. Students are welcome to bring a sack dinner with them.
4. On Wednesday night, September 5th we will be having our BIGNITE:OMC. This is going to be a wild and crazy night for our students. We will provide food and music for them and then we'll play a school vs. school round of OMC which stands for Organized Mass Chaos. It's gonna be crazy messy so students might want to bring an extra set of clothes or some trash bags for the ride home!
To close out a few thoughts for you guys as parents:
As parents, you guys set the stage for the way our families view and interact with the world. And this is especially true for our kids. How we spend our money, our time, our resources - our lives - sends a clear signal to our families about what is most important to us. Throughout our Intersect series your students have been learning about their role as co-laborers with God. And what this means is that your student has an important role to play in God's story. Just as they are. As young as they are. As silly as they are. As creative as they are. They are the exact person God wants to use to effect change in this world. And your ability and willingness to support them can give wings to their God-given desire to reach out and make a difference.
So, take a moment to dig deep and reflect on how you can support your son or daughter's role as a co-laborer with God as you answer these questions:
1. Where have you seen your student get fired up to serve or to impact change in their world? Maybe it's been through a service opportunity with their youth group or a passion that was fueled after seeing a film about the needs of people half way around the world. Think about the thing that breaks your student's heart or gets them excited. Then, think about the gifts that you have seen expressed in their lives since they were little. How can these passions and gifts come together to make a change? Take some time this week to tell your student where and how you them putting together their passions and gifts to make a difference in their world.
2. How can you encourage that desire and create opportunities through your community, work relationships, church relationships, etc..? After you have talked about the issues your student is passionate about and the gifts they possess, brainstorm some resources that you have as a family. Maybe there are people you know that are directly involved with a particular cause. Or, maybe you have the skills to navigate the internet and make calls to get the ball rolling for your student. Think through ways you can support your student's involvement in God's story of reconciliation. It may even be as simple as praying with them over the things that are close to their heart - whether it's a global issue or a close friend who they are concerned about.
The bottom line is that when your student feels encouraged and supported by you in both word and deed, they will be able to take the amazing ideas and gifts that God has placed in them and do amazing things. And you will get to share in the joy of watching them bring God's heavenly kingdom to Earth
Have a great week!
Jeff
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
FBCG This Week: School's Still Out for Sumner!
Hey Parents,
That blog title is a lot more fun when you sing it to the Alice Cooper tune, but yes, school is somehow still out for Sumner schools. I know your students (and you guys too) are itching to get back out of the house, out of the "boredom" of no school so that 3 weeks from now they can talk about how much they hate school and are ready to be out again....it's a vicious cycle!
In other news, here's what's going on @FBCG this week:
1) Tomorrow night is our second session of our Intersect series...more about that in a minute...but the short version is we are going to talk about when something starts as a good idea but ends up being less than that. Send your students to The Attic @ 5:45 for some good stuff.
2) Sunday mornings our Sunday School classes kick off at 9:30 so we hope to see your students there!
3) This Sunday night, we will be starting our Sunday night Bible studies back up and we're going to be going through a series called "Generation Change" from Dave Ramsey. We'll be talking about money and money principles from a Biblical standpoint and hopefully helping to build a solid foundation for your students and their finances moving forward. This series will be taught by myself and Kathy Decker and it'll be up in The Attic from 6 -7.
4) Wednesday September 5th will be BIGNITE and we'll be getting messy playing some OMC as schools...in other words...send your kids and their friends for some good food and make sure they bring a change of clothes cause they're gonna need it! More info coming!
Now back to our Intersect series.....Tomorrow night your student is going to walk through the New Testament to get a better understanding of the temple (we walked through a bit of the Old Testament last week). But not just the temple as the building where God chose to meet with His people; they will also be studying and journeying through the idea of the ways that God chooses to intersect with His people - to intersect with us - and the purpose He is serving through that intersection: to bring the kingdom of heaven to Earth through us. We're going to be challenging them to think about their own role in bringing the particular elements of God's kingdom - peace, justice, mercy - to the world around them. And in doing this, we also recognize the major role that you, as their parent, play in this.
So, in order to move into a deeper understanding of your role as an encourager of your student's desire to be a partner with God in communicating God's kingdom here on Earth, we are going to take a quick look a roundtable discussion conducted by the Fuller Youth Institute...check this out:
I was midway through my Wednesday night youth group clean up routine. Working with a team of student leaders and adult volunteers, we were stowing away our sound system, stacking up chairs, and scooping up the candy wrappers and smashed paper cups that littered our youth room floor.
But then came a not-so-routine conversation, one that forever altered the way I involved parents in justice and service. Two mothers walked up to me, both of whom were concerned about their 14-year old sons.
The mother who reached me first shared her anxiety: "Ever since the series that you taught on missions, my son keeps saying he wants to go to Guatemala on a short-term missions trip this summer. I lay awake at night, worried that something bad will happen to him. He's only 14 and I'm afraid that he'll get hurt."
The second mother, having overheard the first mom, sighed and shared one of the more convicting statements I've ever heard one parent share with another. "I wish that was my problem. My son doesn't want anything to do with church or God anymore, and I think his friends are into drugs. I'd give anything to have a son who wants to serve the Lord in Guatemala this summer."
Was the first mother wrong to be concerned about her son's safety? Of course not, but seeking to right wrongs through acts of justice and service are always risky on some level. Perhaps the deeper issue was her hesitation about justice work in the first place. God was inviting her son to participate in the kingdom through acts of justice, but allowing her son to RSVP to that invitation felt way too uncomfortable.
As youth workers, the justice invitation we extend doesn't stop at the in-box of the 14-year old. Like pretty much everything else we do in youth ministry, our impact on both the 14-year-old and our planet will be magnified when we do the hard work of adding parents' names to our invitation list.
Look, here's why parents matter. In 2006, MTV conducted a nationwide survey in order to understand how and why youth in America are already active in social causes. Here's what that study found:
In the midst of these findings, one theme emerges: Justice needs to hit kids close to home. It needs to hit close to home thematically as we help students understand how particular injustices relate to their lives. But it also needs to hit home literally as we invite parents both to exemplify and to encourage their own kids to right wrongs around them.
Have a great Tuesday and we hope to see your students tomorrow night....also remember by text box, email box and office door is always open if you guys ever want to chat about your students or whatever you want!
Jeff
That blog title is a lot more fun when you sing it to the Alice Cooper tune, but yes, school is somehow still out for Sumner schools. I know your students (and you guys too) are itching to get back out of the house, out of the "boredom" of no school so that 3 weeks from now they can talk about how much they hate school and are ready to be out again....it's a vicious cycle!
In other news, here's what's going on @FBCG this week:
1) Tomorrow night is our second session of our Intersect series...more about that in a minute...but the short version is we are going to talk about when something starts as a good idea but ends up being less than that. Send your students to The Attic @ 5:45 for some good stuff.
2) Sunday mornings our Sunday School classes kick off at 9:30 so we hope to see your students there!
3) This Sunday night, we will be starting our Sunday night Bible studies back up and we're going to be going through a series called "Generation Change" from Dave Ramsey. We'll be talking about money and money principles from a Biblical standpoint and hopefully helping to build a solid foundation for your students and their finances moving forward. This series will be taught by myself and Kathy Decker and it'll be up in The Attic from 6 -7.
4) Wednesday September 5th will be BIGNITE and we'll be getting messy playing some OMC as schools...in other words...send your kids and their friends for some good food and make sure they bring a change of clothes cause they're gonna need it! More info coming!
Now back to our Intersect series.....Tomorrow night your student is going to walk through the New Testament to get a better understanding of the temple (we walked through a bit of the Old Testament last week). But not just the temple as the building where God chose to meet with His people; they will also be studying and journeying through the idea of the ways that God chooses to intersect with His people - to intersect with us - and the purpose He is serving through that intersection: to bring the kingdom of heaven to Earth through us. We're going to be challenging them to think about their own role in bringing the particular elements of God's kingdom - peace, justice, mercy - to the world around them. And in doing this, we also recognize the major role that you, as their parent, play in this.
So, in order to move into a deeper understanding of your role as an encourager of your student's desire to be a partner with God in communicating God's kingdom here on Earth, we are going to take a quick look a roundtable discussion conducted by the Fuller Youth Institute...check this out:
I was midway through my Wednesday night youth group clean up routine. Working with a team of student leaders and adult volunteers, we were stowing away our sound system, stacking up chairs, and scooping up the candy wrappers and smashed paper cups that littered our youth room floor.
But then came a not-so-routine conversation, one that forever altered the way I involved parents in justice and service. Two mothers walked up to me, both of whom were concerned about their 14-year old sons.
The mother who reached me first shared her anxiety: "Ever since the series that you taught on missions, my son keeps saying he wants to go to Guatemala on a short-term missions trip this summer. I lay awake at night, worried that something bad will happen to him. He's only 14 and I'm afraid that he'll get hurt."
The second mother, having overheard the first mom, sighed and shared one of the more convicting statements I've ever heard one parent share with another. "I wish that was my problem. My son doesn't want anything to do with church or God anymore, and I think his friends are into drugs. I'd give anything to have a son who wants to serve the Lord in Guatemala this summer."
Was the first mother wrong to be concerned about her son's safety? Of course not, but seeking to right wrongs through acts of justice and service are always risky on some level. Perhaps the deeper issue was her hesitation about justice work in the first place. God was inviting her son to participate in the kingdom through acts of justice, but allowing her son to RSVP to that invitation felt way too uncomfortable.
As youth workers, the justice invitation we extend doesn't stop at the in-box of the 14-year old. Like pretty much everything else we do in youth ministry, our impact on both the 14-year-old and our planet will be magnified when we do the hard work of adding parents' names to our invitation list.
Look, here's why parents matter. In 2006, MTV conducted a nationwide survey in order to understand how and why youth in America are already active in social causes. Here's what that study found:
- Of the kids they surveyed, 70% say it's important to help others in need. Only 19% are "very involved" in doing so.
- 62% say the issues that matter most to them are those that have touched them or someone they know.
- 70% of kids involved in activism report that their parents' encouragement played a major factor in their choice to get involved.
In the midst of these findings, one theme emerges: Justice needs to hit kids close to home. It needs to hit close to home thematically as we help students understand how particular injustices relate to their lives. But it also needs to hit home literally as we invite parents both to exemplify and to encourage their own kids to right wrongs around them.
Have a great Tuesday and we hope to see your students tomorrow night....also remember by text box, email box and office door is always open if you guys ever want to chat about your students or whatever you want!
Jeff
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
This Week @ FBCG: INTERSECT
Hey Parents,
Well it was supposed to be the start of school this week for most of our students, but looks like you get them for a few more days at least!! Need to get them out of your hair for a few hours??? Then make sure they come to IGNITE tomorrow night!!
We are starting a new series tomorrow night called Intersect. The wonder of God is all around us. But sometimes we're too overloaded with answers to see the beautiful mystery behind all our questions. For the ancient Hebrews, the wonder of God was present in their very history - in the God-stories they passed from generation to generation. And when the God of those amazing stories chose to dwell within the temple - when He chose to reveal Himself to His people - that wonder was accessible to them 24/7. But God didn't stop there. He sent His son so that the temple, the place where He chose to dwell, could move from a place to a person. Because of Jesus, we have become the temple. Because of what Jesus did, we are the tangible representation of God to the world. We are now the place - we are the way - that God chooses to intersect with the world.
We're gonna have a great time of beginning to explore that truth this week...we'll have the worship band, some videos and some small group discussion time...and also a new look to the stage for this series so come check it out....doors open to The Attic at 5:45 PM
Also, just a reminder that all of our new 6th graders are welcome to come and start their time with the youth tomorrow night as well....goodbye .kids and hello IGNITE!
A few other bits of info for you...
1. This Sunday morning, all 6th graders will be moved up into our youth Sunday School department....we've made a few changes in our staff and I want to let you know about those, so here's our roster of teachers for this year:
Middle School Group Time : Josh and Lydia McMillan
6th-8th Guys - Marty Meadows and Mark Klassen
6th-8th Girls - Michelle Carpenter and Lesia Brown
High School Group Time: Jeff Rush and Jeff Kelly
9th Guys - Andrew York and Mike Allen
10th-12th Guys - David Carpenter and Jeff Rush
9th-10th Girls - Jackie Norman and Melissa Meadows
11th-12th Girls - Crystal Kelly and Janet Bowman
Our Sunday School Coordinator will be Lisa Brooks.
Our classes get going right at 9:30 so try to get their on time!
2. Sunday night, August 19th we will be starting a new series called Generation Change from Dave Ramsey. This is a curriculum aimed at helping your students begin to understand that money doesn't grow on trees in the backyard and it approaches the subject of money from a Biblical standpoint. Kathy Decker and Jeff Kelly will be leading our students through this series and we encourage you to send your students to help them get a jump start on dealing with their personal finances!! We'll be meeting in The Attic on Sunday nights @ 6 PM
3. BIGNITE for September 5th is going to be an OMC night...OMC stands for "Organized Mass Chaos" and it is a 22 minute, messy, crazy, all around good time. We are going allow the students to compete as school groups, so we are encouraging our students and you as parents to get out and invite some friends and families to come and watch the madness that is OMC....more info to follow!
Hope everyone has a great week and as always please text, call, Facebook, or tweet me if you have any questions about anything going on!!
Jeff
Well it was supposed to be the start of school this week for most of our students, but looks like you get them for a few more days at least!! Need to get them out of your hair for a few hours??? Then make sure they come to IGNITE tomorrow night!!
We are starting a new series tomorrow night called Intersect. The wonder of God is all around us. But sometimes we're too overloaded with answers to see the beautiful mystery behind all our questions. For the ancient Hebrews, the wonder of God was present in their very history - in the God-stories they passed from generation to generation. And when the God of those amazing stories chose to dwell within the temple - when He chose to reveal Himself to His people - that wonder was accessible to them 24/7. But God didn't stop there. He sent His son so that the temple, the place where He chose to dwell, could move from a place to a person. Because of Jesus, we have become the temple. Because of what Jesus did, we are the tangible representation of God to the world. We are now the place - we are the way - that God chooses to intersect with the world.
We're gonna have a great time of beginning to explore that truth this week...we'll have the worship band, some videos and some small group discussion time...and also a new look to the stage for this series so come check it out....doors open to The Attic at 5:45 PM
Also, just a reminder that all of our new 6th graders are welcome to come and start their time with the youth tomorrow night as well....goodbye .kids and hello IGNITE!
A few other bits of info for you...
1. This Sunday morning, all 6th graders will be moved up into our youth Sunday School department....we've made a few changes in our staff and I want to let you know about those, so here's our roster of teachers for this year:
Middle School Group Time : Josh and Lydia McMillan
6th-8th Guys - Marty Meadows and Mark Klassen
6th-8th Girls - Michelle Carpenter and Lesia Brown
High School Group Time: Jeff Rush and Jeff Kelly
9th Guys - Andrew York and Mike Allen
10th-12th Guys - David Carpenter and Jeff Rush
9th-10th Girls - Jackie Norman and Melissa Meadows
11th-12th Girls - Crystal Kelly and Janet Bowman
Our Sunday School Coordinator will be Lisa Brooks.
Our classes get going right at 9:30 so try to get their on time!
2. Sunday night, August 19th we will be starting a new series called Generation Change from Dave Ramsey. This is a curriculum aimed at helping your students begin to understand that money doesn't grow on trees in the backyard and it approaches the subject of money from a Biblical standpoint. Kathy Decker and Jeff Kelly will be leading our students through this series and we encourage you to send your students to help them get a jump start on dealing with their personal finances!! We'll be meeting in The Attic on Sunday nights @ 6 PM
3. BIGNITE for September 5th is going to be an OMC night...OMC stands for "Organized Mass Chaos" and it is a 22 minute, messy, crazy, all around good time. We are going allow the students to compete as school groups, so we are encouraging our students and you as parents to get out and invite some friends and families to come and watch the madness that is OMC....more info to follow!
Hope everyone has a great week and as always please text, call, Facebook, or tweet me if you have any questions about anything going on!!
Jeff
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
BIGNITE is TONIGHT
Parents,
August is here and so is BIGNITE....tonight we'll be having a Crazy Costume Skate Party at Rivergate Skate Center. Students are welcome and encouraged to dress as crazy as they want to and to come out for a fun night of fellowship! We'll be leaving the church at 5:45 and returning about 8:10. The cost is $5 plus extra money for snacks from the snack bar if they want them. Hope to see your students there!
Here's a parenting thought for you guys...have a great afternoon!
A House Divided
It used to frustrate me as a kid.
I would ask my parents if I could stay up later than my bedtime to watch TV or to play Nintendo or to talk on the phone (back when people used phones for that...). If I didn't get a "No," I would usually get "I have to check with your dad."
Having a devious kind of mind, I would go to my dad before mom could get to him hoping to find a chink in the armor. As soon as I asked the question, my dad would respond with, "What did your mom say?"
It was always with some resignation in my voice that I'd say, "that I have to ask you..." my voice trailing off at the end.
Sometimes, I would flip between my parents as the "messenger" three or four times to try to get an answer and would only hear, "It depends on what your mom/dad thinks." By the end of it, I was so tired I either wanted to go to bed or couldn't remember what I was asking about in the first place.
While that's a bit frustrating for you when you're 8 years old, my parents had a great strategy going: stay united. They realized that kids can spot division a mile away and enjoy driving trucks through whatever division they find.
What I've discovered through conversations with parents is that it's incredibly difficult work to stay on the same page as your spouse sometimes. Even though it's difficult, being on the same page as parents is so incredibly important.
So how does division between spouses happen? While there are more than a few causes, here are three practices that can lead you and your spouse off the same page:
Different approaches to parenting between parents: Chances are one of you is "strict" and the other more permissive. Believe it or not, your kids can sense that, and they'll use it to their advantage. Your different approaches to parenting get revealed over time and in specific situations. You might have started parenting thinking you had identical approaches. Only over time and testing do you realize you are worlds apart.
Snap Decisions: Your kids always want an answer now. Ever notice they rarely ask when your spouse is in the room? Because they see their need as urgent, you think you need to respond in an instant. Only later when you connect with your spouse do you learn how upset they are at the decision you made.
A focus on the short term: Every time your child or teen make a request, they are only thinking about the moment. As a parent, it's tempting for you to answer in the moment. If you want to foster an inconsistent approach to parenting and escalate conflict between you and your spouse, only focus on the short-term implications of every request you get. While the division between you and your spouse might not be that wide to start out with, a great way to ensure a giant chasm erupts is to only focus on the short-term implications of every request that comes your way. After a few years of this, you will be increasingly dissatisfied with where your family is heading and be increasingly resentful of your spouse.
What other practices have you noticed that get you and your spouse off the same parenting page?
Have a great week,
Jeff
August is here and so is BIGNITE....tonight we'll be having a Crazy Costume Skate Party at Rivergate Skate Center. Students are welcome and encouraged to dress as crazy as they want to and to come out for a fun night of fellowship! We'll be leaving the church at 5:45 and returning about 8:10. The cost is $5 plus extra money for snacks from the snack bar if they want them. Hope to see your students there!
Here's a parenting thought for you guys...have a great afternoon!
A House Divided
It used to frustrate me as a kid.
I would ask my parents if I could stay up later than my bedtime to watch TV or to play Nintendo or to talk on the phone (back when people used phones for that...). If I didn't get a "No," I would usually get "I have to check with your dad."
Having a devious kind of mind, I would go to my dad before mom could get to him hoping to find a chink in the armor. As soon as I asked the question, my dad would respond with, "What did your mom say?"
It was always with some resignation in my voice that I'd say, "that I have to ask you..." my voice trailing off at the end.
Sometimes, I would flip between my parents as the "messenger" three or four times to try to get an answer and would only hear, "It depends on what your mom/dad thinks." By the end of it, I was so tired I either wanted to go to bed or couldn't remember what I was asking about in the first place.
While that's a bit frustrating for you when you're 8 years old, my parents had a great strategy going: stay united. They realized that kids can spot division a mile away and enjoy driving trucks through whatever division they find.
What I've discovered through conversations with parents is that it's incredibly difficult work to stay on the same page as your spouse sometimes. Even though it's difficult, being on the same page as parents is so incredibly important.
So how does division between spouses happen? While there are more than a few causes, here are three practices that can lead you and your spouse off the same page:
Different approaches to parenting between parents: Chances are one of you is "strict" and the other more permissive. Believe it or not, your kids can sense that, and they'll use it to their advantage. Your different approaches to parenting get revealed over time and in specific situations. You might have started parenting thinking you had identical approaches. Only over time and testing do you realize you are worlds apart.
Snap Decisions: Your kids always want an answer now. Ever notice they rarely ask when your spouse is in the room? Because they see their need as urgent, you think you need to respond in an instant. Only later when you connect with your spouse do you learn how upset they are at the decision you made.
A focus on the short term: Every time your child or teen make a request, they are only thinking about the moment. As a parent, it's tempting for you to answer in the moment. If you want to foster an inconsistent approach to parenting and escalate conflict between you and your spouse, only focus on the short-term implications of every request you get. While the division between you and your spouse might not be that wide to start out with, a great way to ensure a giant chasm erupts is to only focus on the short-term implications of every request that comes your way. After a few years of this, you will be increasingly dissatisfied with where your family is heading and be increasingly resentful of your spouse.
What other practices have you noticed that get you and your spouse off the same parenting page?
Have a great week,
Jeff
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
This Week @ FBCG: End of Summer Edition
Parents,
Wow, I can't believe it but summer is ending and school is right around the corner...I'm sure some of you are rejoicing at the thought of your students going back to school while some might have actually enjoyed having them around for a few months!
I wanted to let you know a few tidbits of info about some things coming up in the next few weeks:
1. IGNITE is TONIGHT @ 5:45...we'll close out a discussion on Mormons that has been eye-opening for our students...send your kid to grab some knowledge tonight!
2. Bible Study, Lunch and Swimming tomorrow, Thursday from 12 - 3:15. Students need to bring a lunch, drink, Bible and towel with them...this will be our last Thursday Bible study of the summer.
3. Next Wednesday night, August 1st, will be BIGNITE...and we'll be having our Crazy Costume Roller Skating Fiesta at the Rivergate skate center...cost is $5 for skate rental and kids can bring snack money to eat on if needed!
4. Wednesday night, August 8th, INTERSECT begins in the Attic at 5:45...your students are not gonna want to miss this!!
Just a quick prayer note for you parents this week....Josh McMillan will be having back surgery next Tuesday morning so please be in prayer for him and Lydia as they go through the recovery process over the next several weeks!
Here's a thought for you to close out:
Unpacking by Jenna Scott
Wow, I can't believe it but summer is ending and school is right around the corner...I'm sure some of you are rejoicing at the thought of your students going back to school while some might have actually enjoyed having them around for a few months!
I wanted to let you know a few tidbits of info about some things coming up in the next few weeks:
1. IGNITE is TONIGHT @ 5:45...we'll close out a discussion on Mormons that has been eye-opening for our students...send your kid to grab some knowledge tonight!
2. Bible Study, Lunch and Swimming tomorrow, Thursday from 12 - 3:15. Students need to bring a lunch, drink, Bible and towel with them...this will be our last Thursday Bible study of the summer.
3. Next Wednesday night, August 1st, will be BIGNITE...and we'll be having our Crazy Costume Roller Skating Fiesta at the Rivergate skate center...cost is $5 for skate rental and kids can bring snack money to eat on if needed!
4. Wednesday night, August 8th, INTERSECT begins in the Attic at 5:45...your students are not gonna want to miss this!!
Just a quick prayer note for you parents this week....Josh McMillan will be having back surgery next Tuesday morning so please be in prayer for him and Lydia as they go through the recovery process over the next several weeks!
Here's a thought for you to close out:
Unpacking by Jenna Scott
Our family is in the middle of an epic seven week Camp KidJam summer tour. With kids aged 4-9, that means Dan and I are doing most of the important packing for them. To ensure that they have enough underwear, sturdy shoes and a toothbrush rather than only stuffed animals, stickers or 13 pounds of Legos.
Mid tour, we stopped for a mini vacation at my parents’ log cabin. We threw our giant duffle bags on the floor and sought out familiar couches, books, toys and cabin nooks. I was tempted to let everyone dig their own clothes out of the carryalls for the week, this was vacation, right?
But after the first request for a bathing suit, I quickly realized that despite careful packing, our clothes had become a crazy, jumbled mess on the long, bumpy, road trip.
Each time we had pulled into a new camp, we had burst out of the van eager to explore the grounds. But each week I had diligently taken the time to slow down, unpack everyone’s clothes, and organize them so they could easily see, choose, take, and use.
And I’m glad I did, because in the frenzy of the camp week, it had been totally worth taking the prep time to set my kids up to successfully navigate quick changes of clothes between transitions in the camp “schedule” in an unfamiliar space.
As I tore myself away from the cozy chair on the cabin’s sun porch to deal with the bags of clothes yet again, I couldn’t help but see a parallel as clearly as the sunbeams on the rustic wooden floor: that unpacking and preparation ought to be done as diligently and carefully in our kids’ spiritual lives as their physical ones.
As a parent, I’m responsible to set my children up for success. If I’m being intentional about passing on my faith, I’m not just handing them a Bible and expecting them to figure it all out on their own.
Until they can do it on their own, it’s my responsibility to carefully sort and set out the tenets of our faith in easy to reach pieces, to teach my children to pray like I taught them to put on their own socks, to carefully guide them in the art of curling up in God’s promises like a beloved fleece blanket, to invite them to delight in Psalmy worship like twirling in a freshly-laundered puffy skirt. To make the Bible and God’s character easy for them to see, choose, take, and use.
Like choosing clothes that fit my children and are appropriate for the season of the year, I ought to be making the Word of God and how to have a relationship with Him accessible to them on a level they can understand. Setting them up to succeed at this faith thing no matter the frenzy of life or schedule that is swirling around them.
How are you unpacking spiritual things to make it easy for your children to see, choose, take, and use?
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
FBCG This Week: Recovery Edition
Hey Parents,
What a great week we had last week during VBS and G-Fuge. Our students worked their tails off and had a great time while doing it! I've already received numerous comments from VBS teachers and those we helped out during G-Fuge who had expressed great thanks at the hard work of the students so I couldn't be prouder of them! Each day we had a solid crew of over 30 students who we sent out into the community to show the love of Christ!
Not only was it a week where our students put in a lot of hard work, but it was also a week where God really spoke into their lives through our times of worship each night. My good friend, Cesar Correa led us through the book of Jonah and our students were challenged by what they heard. I'm praying that this week will be one that we can remember back to as a "mile-marker" week in the spiritual lives of our students.
If your students are anything like me, after last week (and certainly after the Lock-Out) they have been in need of some rest and downtime this week and so we don't have much going on at church this week to allow time for some recovery!
However, there are a few bits of info for you to know:
1. IGNITE is TONIGHT! We'll meet in The Attic @ 5:45 to continue our look at the story of Job. We'll also play some "Poop Deck" so send your students for some good fellowship and most importantly some good time looking into God's Word!
2. This Saturday evening we will be hosting the Goodlettsville Community Help Center dinner here at the church and we will be in need of some youth who would be willing to help us out...I will give them more details tonight @ IGNITE and I will also email you as parents as I receive more info in the next day or two.
3. As Centrifuge approaches, you will be receiving some paperwork in the next week with all the info you'll need about summer camp. We ask that you guys would be diligent in helping to settle your balances BEFORE camp if at all possible...that helps us out tremendously in projecting all other costs for the rest of the trip. If you have any questions please let me know.
That's it for this week! Here'a something for you to think on this week!
Entitled Parents
It's one thing to work on helping your kids fight an attitude of entitlement like we talked about earlier this week, but let's face it, to some extent, they learned the behavior from us.
If that's true, what can you dod to fight entitlement in your own life? The more you live out the values you want to see in your kids, the better chance your kids have of living that out too.
It's so critical we combat entitlement in ourselves and our kids because entitlement kills our ability to experience two critical things in life: gratitude and joy. None of us would sign up our kids to live their lives without gratitude or joy, yet it's surprising how many adults live without either. Entitlement does that.
First, entitled people are never grateful people. If you believe you have something coming to you, it's hard to receive it as a gift, a bonus, an unexpected benefit or even a surprise. In your mind, someone owes it to you. It had better be good. In fact, you might believe more should have been done for you. How can you ever be grateful as a result?
Second, entitled people experience very little joy. Because gratitude is absent, so is delight. It's so very hard to find pleasure in what you have because you had it coming to you, it's yours, and you live in a quiet fear of losing it. Entitled people fight so hard to get what they want that they can't imagine life without it. That fear alone robs them of any joy.
So what do you do? Here are 3 things that have helped me fight entitlement when I feel it creeping in:
1. Decide that no one owes you anything. No one owes you a job. No one owes you love or respect. No one owes you kindness. In fact, God doesn't owe you anything (that's actually quite sound biblically, you know). Instead, start to see everything that comes to you as a gift. You will cherish and value your job, your family, your possessions and even your relationship with God much more deeply. I promise!
2. Be generous. Entitled people don't share well. In fact, they hoard. They hoard credit (but aren't afraid to assign blame), they hang onto possessions, are stingy givers and have a "fixed pie" mindset. Giving money away and sharing the things you have can help break the back of greed and the idea that you deserve everything that's come your way.
3. Hold what you have loosely. I regularly remind myself that all the work I do, the relationships I have, and the possessions I have are a privilege and a trust given to me by God and other people around me. I am fortunate to be able to do what I do and have what I have. And if they are taken away, that is fine, because I will have what matters most: a deep relationship with God and the people closest to me. Holding things loosely reminds me that they are on loan, and not entirely deserved.
Theses 3 things help me combat entitlement in my own heart.
I hope that as I have kids, they will see me battle entitlement in my life and that it will help them battle it in theirs. How about you?
Have a great week!
Jeff
What a great week we had last week during VBS and G-Fuge. Our students worked their tails off and had a great time while doing it! I've already received numerous comments from VBS teachers and those we helped out during G-Fuge who had expressed great thanks at the hard work of the students so I couldn't be prouder of them! Each day we had a solid crew of over 30 students who we sent out into the community to show the love of Christ!
Not only was it a week where our students put in a lot of hard work, but it was also a week where God really spoke into their lives through our times of worship each night. My good friend, Cesar Correa led us through the book of Jonah and our students were challenged by what they heard. I'm praying that this week will be one that we can remember back to as a "mile-marker" week in the spiritual lives of our students.
If your students are anything like me, after last week (and certainly after the Lock-Out) they have been in need of some rest and downtime this week and so we don't have much going on at church this week to allow time for some recovery!
However, there are a few bits of info for you to know:
1. IGNITE is TONIGHT! We'll meet in The Attic @ 5:45 to continue our look at the story of Job. We'll also play some "Poop Deck" so send your students for some good fellowship and most importantly some good time looking into God's Word!
2. This Saturday evening we will be hosting the Goodlettsville Community Help Center dinner here at the church and we will be in need of some youth who would be willing to help us out...I will give them more details tonight @ IGNITE and I will also email you as parents as I receive more info in the next day or two.
3. As Centrifuge approaches, you will be receiving some paperwork in the next week with all the info you'll need about summer camp. We ask that you guys would be diligent in helping to settle your balances BEFORE camp if at all possible...that helps us out tremendously in projecting all other costs for the rest of the trip. If you have any questions please let me know.
That's it for this week! Here'a something for you to think on this week!
Entitled Parents
It's one thing to work on helping your kids fight an attitude of entitlement like we talked about earlier this week, but let's face it, to some extent, they learned the behavior from us.
If that's true, what can you dod to fight entitlement in your own life? The more you live out the values you want to see in your kids, the better chance your kids have of living that out too.
It's so critical we combat entitlement in ourselves and our kids because entitlement kills our ability to experience two critical things in life: gratitude and joy. None of us would sign up our kids to live their lives without gratitude or joy, yet it's surprising how many adults live without either. Entitlement does that.
First, entitled people are never grateful people. If you believe you have something coming to you, it's hard to receive it as a gift, a bonus, an unexpected benefit or even a surprise. In your mind, someone owes it to you. It had better be good. In fact, you might believe more should have been done for you. How can you ever be grateful as a result?
Second, entitled people experience very little joy. Because gratitude is absent, so is delight. It's so very hard to find pleasure in what you have because you had it coming to you, it's yours, and you live in a quiet fear of losing it. Entitled people fight so hard to get what they want that they can't imagine life without it. That fear alone robs them of any joy.
So what do you do? Here are 3 things that have helped me fight entitlement when I feel it creeping in:
1. Decide that no one owes you anything. No one owes you a job. No one owes you love or respect. No one owes you kindness. In fact, God doesn't owe you anything (that's actually quite sound biblically, you know). Instead, start to see everything that comes to you as a gift. You will cherish and value your job, your family, your possessions and even your relationship with God much more deeply. I promise!
2. Be generous. Entitled people don't share well. In fact, they hoard. They hoard credit (but aren't afraid to assign blame), they hang onto possessions, are stingy givers and have a "fixed pie" mindset. Giving money away and sharing the things you have can help break the back of greed and the idea that you deserve everything that's come your way.
3. Hold what you have loosely. I regularly remind myself that all the work I do, the relationships I have, and the possessions I have are a privilege and a trust given to me by God and other people around me. I am fortunate to be able to do what I do and have what I have. And if they are taken away, that is fine, because I will have what matters most: a deep relationship with God and the people closest to me. Holding things loosely reminds me that they are on loan, and not entirely deserved.
Theses 3 things help me combat entitlement in my own heart.
I hope that as I have kids, they will see me battle entitlement in my life and that it will help them battle it in theirs. How about you?
Have a great week!
Jeff
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
This Week @ FBCG: G-Fuge Edition
Hey Parents,
Next week is going to be a full week in the life of our church and our student ministry here at FBCG. We will be hosting VBS and G-Fuge. I trust most of you know what VBS is but below you will find all the info you need for G-Fuge and how your kids can plug in. So here we go....
1. IGNITE is TONIGHT - we're gonna look at Job and talk about what true character is and ask the question "Does God ever consider me?....." Send your youthies to The Attic tonight @ 5:45 to learn what that question means!
2. All the below information about G-Fuge will be coming to you in a letter form by the end of this week....we wanted to make sure there was no excuse for you parents not to have it....so you can read it now here on the blog, or wait until your letter arrives....or both!!!
G-FUGE 2012
Parents,
Next week, June 4-8, we’ll be hosting our G-FUGE 2012 event, corresponding with the church-wide VBS. Here’s what you need to know:
What is G-Fuge?
G-Fuge is a week long experience where our students will have the opportunity to serve our community through working in VBS and afternoon mission projects. Our evenings will be filled with a group time of worship and Bible study and will conclude with students going back to host homes to “crash” for the night.
What’s the Schedule for G-Fuge?
Monday -Thursday Friday
9:00 - Arrive for VBS 9:00 - Arrive for VBS
9:00 - 12:00 - VBS @ FBCG 9:00 - 12:00 - VBS @ FBCG
12:00 - 1:00 - Lunch provided @ FBCG 12:00 - 1:00 - Lunch provided @ FBCG
1:00 - 4:00 - Depart FBCG for mission projects 1:00 - Students picked up from FBCG
4:30 - Students picked up from FBCG 6:30 - Students arrive for Lock-Out
7:00 - Worship in The Attic (picked up Saturday morning @ 8AM)
8:30 - Students leave for host homes
G-Fuge Parent Notes
- Cost is $80 which includes t-shirt, lock-out expenses, lunches, our speaker for the week, work materials for mission projects.
- Each afternoon we are asking parents to pick students up at 4:30 PM @ FBCG. This will allow the students time to go home, shower, and eat dinner. We realize this might be a problem for some families (picking students up at 4:30 and driving them back down each night by 7:00)...so we encourage families to carpool and work together to give our G-FUGE host homes an afternoon break and to cut down on expenses.
- Also, if there is absolutely no way you can pick your student up, Mike and Ann Allen have agreed to allow students to come and crash at their house during the afternoons and we can even provide dinner for your child....all we ask is that you let us know each day if your child will be going to Mike’s.
- Your students will need to bring clothes that they can work in and get dirty in, snacks for evening crash times, a Bible, sleeping bag and pillow. We also may ask students to bring some specific tools to help with our projects.
- Our host homes will be the Norman’s, and Brooks’ for the girls and the Allen’s for the guys.
- We understand that some students will need to miss parts of the week due to work schedules, sports and family issues. Students are welcome to come and go as needed as long as they have informed Jeff or Josh of their need to be gone.
- We are requiring students to have participated in at least one day of G-FUGE activities (VBS or G-FUGE during the day and then the Worship time in the evening) to be eligible to go to the Lock-Out.
- Your $80 is due on Thursday, June 7th. Also PLEASE TAKE THE TIME TO SIGN YOUR STUDENTS UP ON THE CHURCH WEBSITE....this will allow us to get a correct and accurate t-shirt order placed. You can find the sign-up at http://fbcgoodlettsville.com/gfuge
- As always, if finances are a cause of concern for you at this time, please let Jeff know as we have several senior saints who would love to sponsor a student in need of a little help.
- Lock-Out activities will include a movie (Snow White and The Huntsmen rated PG-13), swimming at the Roettger’s, Laser Quest downtown, bowling at Circus World in Hendersonville, and then breakfast and dodgeball back at the church. Marty Meadows and Jeff Kelly will be transporting the students with the church bus and church van throughout the night. NO STUDENTS WILL BE ALLOWED TO DRIVE DURING THE LOCK-OUT.
- Our guest speaker for the week will be Cesar Correa who served as Jeff and Crystal’s youth minister at Mt. Olive Baptist Church in Knoxville TN. Jeff worked alongside Cesar for 6 years as he got his start in the ministry. Cesar has recently left Mt. Olive as he is feeling God to use him to plan a new church in the city of Knoxville. Cesar, a native Brazilian has a huge heart for the nations and for God’s missional call in all of our lives. He has led groups to Brazil and Africa and has a heart for the lost. Our students are going to have a great week walking through the story of Jonah with Cesar during our worship times each evening!
- If you have any questions or concerns please contact Jeff through his cell (615-838-9755) or through email Jeffkelly@fbcgoodlettsville.com
We are looking forward to a great week and we hope you are planning and ENCOURAGING your student to be a part of the week!
In His Service,
Jeff
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
This Week @ FBCG: End of School Edition
Parents,
Well the end of school is here and that also means the start of summer is here too!! Praise the Lord!! This is one of the last "quiet" weeks that we will have for a while so let me get you caught up on all the info you need to know:
1. IGNITE is tonight....we'll meet in The Attic @5:45 and finish up our conversation on our identity in Christ. Tonight we're gonna walk through what our purpose is from a Biblical foundation...we'll also play some Charades...gonna be a good night!
2. This coming Sunday is Memorial Day....we'll have Sunday School and Sunday morning worship and then we'll take the evening off so there will be no Bible studies!
3. Coming up the first week of June (June 4-8) we will be hosting VBS and GFUGE hear at FBC. If your student has not already signed up to work VBS they can still come and hang out. We also have our GFUGE sign-up link up and live on the church website (fbcgoodlettsville.com/gfuge.com). Students can begin signing up and also I will be sending a letter out that you will receive at the end of this week with all the info that you will need!
The cost for the entire week is $80 which covers a t-shirt, lunch all week long, expenses for materials for the work week, our fantastic speaker that's coming in and also a lock-in to beat all lock-ins on Friday night!! It's gonna be a great week!!
That's all I'm gonna give you this week...please let me know if you have any questions! Have a great week!
Here's some food for thought for you this week:
5 Ways to Fight Entitlement in Your Kids
Like most parents, you feel this terrible tug.
On the one hand, you want to provide your child with every advantage. On the other hand, sometimes it feels like when you do that, you're feeding an incredibly unhealthy characteristic in our culture.
For whatever reason, we're living in the midst of an entitlement epidemic. Probably more than any other generation before us, our generation feels as though we have a right to things that used to be defined as wants, or even privileges.
Here's how the cycle starts:
On the day your child is born, it's easy to decide as a parent that you need to give your child every advantage.
So you compete. You made sure he had bright colors in his nursery and exactly the right kind of mobile to stimulate his brain, but now it's an all out frenzy to ensure your preschooler can swim, skate, hit a ball, paint frame able art, read, write, and speak classical Greek before his 4th birthday.
And don't worry, because by the time you're done with the race to kindergarten, the culture has taken over feeding the frenzy. Your child has now seen enough advertisements and made enough friends to believe that his or her every desire not only can be met, but should be met. The boots that every other stylish kid is wearing are not a privilege, they are a right. Or so you've been told.
And then other inalienable rights emerge: the right to a phone for texting, iPhones, Facebook and so much more.
Somewhere in the mix, you found yourself realizing that you are tempted to pay your kids every "act of service" rendered in the house, from emptying the trash to picking up each sock.
And you realize something is desperately wrong. And you would be correct in that.
So, what do you do to fight entitlement in yourself and in your kids? Here are five suggestions:
1. Be clear on wants and needs. Shelter, Food, Clothes...Take time to explain what is actually a need and what a want is. Culture will never explain it to them. You need to.
2. Reclaim special occasions. There is nothing wrong with not buying wants for your kids in every day life. Save the special things for special occasions like birthdays, Christmas and the like. You don't need to indulge for no reason. In fact, you probably shouldn't.
3. Set a budget and let them choose. With back to school shopping and seasonal purchases, start setting a budget with your kids early and let them choose how they would spend it. They become much more frugal shoppers when all of a sudden they realize that money is limited and they can get more if they shop around.
4. Establish an allowance and expectations. An allowance is a great way for kids to learn responsibility. My father encouraged me and my sister to give 10 percent of every thing we earned, to save 10 percent, and live off the rest. Explain what gets covered and not covered out of that allowance.
5. Be clear about what you will never pay them for. There are some things that you do because you are part of the family. You can decide where that lands in your home. Make a list of responsibilities that no one gets paid for that you do because you are part of the family. To help with this, why not ask your kids what a reasonable list looks like. Involving them will help them own the decision. Second, make sure you follow up. And hold them responsible for what you all agreed to do. Otherwise you will be tempted to pay for everything or just roll your eyes daily and do it yourself.
Approaches like these can help you to raise kids who see life as a series of privileges, who live gratefully, and realize their responsibility to others.
How is our entitlement culture impacting your family? And how have you learned to battle it?
Jeff
Well the end of school is here and that also means the start of summer is here too!! Praise the Lord!! This is one of the last "quiet" weeks that we will have for a while so let me get you caught up on all the info you need to know:
1. IGNITE is tonight....we'll meet in The Attic @5:45 and finish up our conversation on our identity in Christ. Tonight we're gonna walk through what our purpose is from a Biblical foundation...we'll also play some Charades...gonna be a good night!
2. This coming Sunday is Memorial Day....we'll have Sunday School and Sunday morning worship and then we'll take the evening off so there will be no Bible studies!
3. Coming up the first week of June (June 4-8) we will be hosting VBS and GFUGE hear at FBC. If your student has not already signed up to work VBS they can still come and hang out. We also have our GFUGE sign-up link up and live on the church website (fbcgoodlettsville.com/gfuge.com). Students can begin signing up and also I will be sending a letter out that you will receive at the end of this week with all the info that you will need!
The cost for the entire week is $80 which covers a t-shirt, lunch all week long, expenses for materials for the work week, our fantastic speaker that's coming in and also a lock-in to beat all lock-ins on Friday night!! It's gonna be a great week!!
That's all I'm gonna give you this week...please let me know if you have any questions! Have a great week!
Here's some food for thought for you this week:
5 Ways to Fight Entitlement in Your Kids
Like most parents, you feel this terrible tug.
On the one hand, you want to provide your child with every advantage. On the other hand, sometimes it feels like when you do that, you're feeding an incredibly unhealthy characteristic in our culture.
For whatever reason, we're living in the midst of an entitlement epidemic. Probably more than any other generation before us, our generation feels as though we have a right to things that used to be defined as wants, or even privileges.
Here's how the cycle starts:
On the day your child is born, it's easy to decide as a parent that you need to give your child every advantage.
So you compete. You made sure he had bright colors in his nursery and exactly the right kind of mobile to stimulate his brain, but now it's an all out frenzy to ensure your preschooler can swim, skate, hit a ball, paint frame able art, read, write, and speak classical Greek before his 4th birthday.
And don't worry, because by the time you're done with the race to kindergarten, the culture has taken over feeding the frenzy. Your child has now seen enough advertisements and made enough friends to believe that his or her every desire not only can be met, but should be met. The boots that every other stylish kid is wearing are not a privilege, they are a right. Or so you've been told.
And then other inalienable rights emerge: the right to a phone for texting, iPhones, Facebook and so much more.
Somewhere in the mix, you found yourself realizing that you are tempted to pay your kids every "act of service" rendered in the house, from emptying the trash to picking up each sock.
And you realize something is desperately wrong. And you would be correct in that.
So, what do you do to fight entitlement in yourself and in your kids? Here are five suggestions:
1. Be clear on wants and needs. Shelter, Food, Clothes...Take time to explain what is actually a need and what a want is. Culture will never explain it to them. You need to.
2. Reclaim special occasions. There is nothing wrong with not buying wants for your kids in every day life. Save the special things for special occasions like birthdays, Christmas and the like. You don't need to indulge for no reason. In fact, you probably shouldn't.
3. Set a budget and let them choose. With back to school shopping and seasonal purchases, start setting a budget with your kids early and let them choose how they would spend it. They become much more frugal shoppers when all of a sudden they realize that money is limited and they can get more if they shop around.
4. Establish an allowance and expectations. An allowance is a great way for kids to learn responsibility. My father encouraged me and my sister to give 10 percent of every thing we earned, to save 10 percent, and live off the rest. Explain what gets covered and not covered out of that allowance.
5. Be clear about what you will never pay them for. There are some things that you do because you are part of the family. You can decide where that lands in your home. Make a list of responsibilities that no one gets paid for that you do because you are part of the family. To help with this, why not ask your kids what a reasonable list looks like. Involving them will help them own the decision. Second, make sure you follow up. And hold them responsible for what you all agreed to do. Otherwise you will be tempted to pay for everything or just roll your eyes daily and do it yourself.
Approaches like these can help you to raise kids who see life as a series of privileges, who live gratefully, and realize their responsibility to others.
How is our entitlement culture impacting your family? And how have you learned to battle it?
Jeff
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
This Week @ FBCG: Mother's Day Edition
Hey Parents,
Hope you're May has gotten off to a great start....we're coming up on Mother's Day this Sunday (don't worry, I'll gently remind your kids about that tonight @ IGNITE), Graduate Recognition, and Summer, so there's a lot of info that you will want....so here it is!
1. IGNITE is TONIGHT....We'll kick off at 5:45 up in The Attic so we hope to see your students tonight....we're going to tackle the question "Who Are You" and challenge students to take a long look at themselves so it's gonna be good stuff!
2. We have NO BIBLE STUDIES this Sunday night due to Mother's Day! That way moms, we can make sure the whole family has plenty of time to take you someplace nice!!
3. Sunday, May 20th we will be having our Graduate Breakfast during Sunday School (which all of you should have received a letter in the snail mail in regards to what foods we need you to help provide). We also will recognize our seniors during the 10:30 AM Worship service. We have a great group of 8 students graduating this year and we are very proud of them!
4. If you are the parent of a graduating senior, you should have received a special email from me today concerning senior pictures and video preparations. I need you to respond to me ASAP if you're senior is to be included in the morning's festivities!
5. Friday night, May 18th we'll be having a camp-out/bonfire at the Boxwell Springs boy scout campground. Students will sleep in cabins and I will have more details for you next week in the blog so check back!!
6. We are still in need of 4-5 houses willing to house students on the evenings of June 4-7 (Mon-Thurs) for our GFUGE event. Host home families will not have to provide any meals and will only be needed to help possibly transport students from the church to the homes after our evening worship times (around 8:30 PM) and back to the church in the mornings for VBS....PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE think and pray about being willing to help make this weekend a bigger success for our student ministry by hosting some students!!
7. If you're student in going to Centrifuge with us this summer than we need your second payment installment of $100 by this Sunday...if you need to make other financial arrangements, please let me know. Also, if you are transferring money over from a Kroger account, please email me (Jeffkelly@fbcgoodlettsville.com) or Elizabeth (elizabeth@fbcgoodlettsville.com) to let us know of your intentions!
Hope you all have a great week...and below another thought for your Wednesday:
5 Ways to Build Integrity as a Parent
Last week we identified five signs that show you might lack integrity in your parenting. Integrity is such a core issue. Like a building that's well constructed, a leader who has integrity survives storms in tact. And integrity is compelling. We all want to be around people of integrity. Why would our kids be any different?
The more integrity you have as a parent, the more your kids will appreciate your leadership in their lives. Don't get me wrong, having integrity doesn't mean everything goes swimmingly as a parent. It's just better for everyone in the end, and you end up becoming far more of the person God intends you to be.
So, how do you build integrity? Here are 5 suggestions that can help you build integrity....
1. Park your pride.
There actually is a world of difference between wanting great things for your kids and wanting to be known as a parent of a child who does great things. Parents should encourage and at times even push their kids, but the best way to handle this, that I know of, is to do a motive check: Why and I pushing her? Why am I encouraging him? If it's more about you than it is about them, get on your knees and confess it. God has a way of dealing with our selfish motivations.
2. Become the person you want your child to become.
It is so much easier to see the faults in others than it is to admit our own and deal with them. Start working on your own character as much as you work on your kids' character. Enlist a friend. Go see a counselor. Educate yourself. Make it a personal priority. The healthier you get, the better chance your kids have of seeing what life can really be.
3. Get on the same page as your spouse.
Yes, this is hard work. And no, it can rarely be done in the moment. Sit down with your spouse when there's no "issue" to debate and talk about your differences. Be respectful, prayerful, and kind. Decide together you are not going to quit at this until you can find some common ground. Go see a counselor. Talk to friends. This is incredibly difficult work, but it's so worth it. And where disagreement still exists, agree with what your partner said publicly and then address it afterwards privately, when the kids aren't around. Your kids want you to be on the same page. They really do.
4. Do what you said you were going to do.
Doing what you said you were going to do when you said you were going to do it is actually the foundation of trust. If you have a habit of making empty promises, stop. Your kids can only handle so much disappointment. Be on time. Under-promise. Over-deliver. Become an expert at time and project management. Often, parents fail on coming through on promises not because they intended to lie, but because the budget got out of control, they lost track of time or they had too many things going on to do them all. Get a calendar. Keep a budget. Find a good to-do app on your phone. The more organized you are, the more you'll be able to do what you said you were going to do when you said you were going to do it. Your kids will learn to trust you.
5. Be authoritative, not authoritarian.
Authoritative parents encourage independence (that's where your child is heading anyway, right?), but enforce boundaries and limits. Authoritarian parents rarely present choices, options, independent thought or freedom. They like control. Don't confuse being authoritative with being permissive - authoritative parents might have the same boundaries as authoritarian parents. They just believe that by pursuing discussion, questions and by listening as well as speaking, their children will come to share the values they share. Most often, they do.
These are some strategies to help us weather the storms. What would you add? What have you learned?
Hope you're May has gotten off to a great start....we're coming up on Mother's Day this Sunday (don't worry, I'll gently remind your kids about that tonight @ IGNITE), Graduate Recognition, and Summer, so there's a lot of info that you will want....so here it is!
1. IGNITE is TONIGHT....We'll kick off at 5:45 up in The Attic so we hope to see your students tonight....we're going to tackle the question "Who Are You" and challenge students to take a long look at themselves so it's gonna be good stuff!
2. We have NO BIBLE STUDIES this Sunday night due to Mother's Day! That way moms, we can make sure the whole family has plenty of time to take you someplace nice!!
3. Sunday, May 20th we will be having our Graduate Breakfast during Sunday School (which all of you should have received a letter in the snail mail in regards to what foods we need you to help provide). We also will recognize our seniors during the 10:30 AM Worship service. We have a great group of 8 students graduating this year and we are very proud of them!
4. If you are the parent of a graduating senior, you should have received a special email from me today concerning senior pictures and video preparations. I need you to respond to me ASAP if you're senior is to be included in the morning's festivities!
5. Friday night, May 18th we'll be having a camp-out/bonfire at the Boxwell Springs boy scout campground. Students will sleep in cabins and I will have more details for you next week in the blog so check back!!
6. We are still in need of 4-5 houses willing to house students on the evenings of June 4-7 (Mon-Thurs) for our GFUGE event. Host home families will not have to provide any meals and will only be needed to help possibly transport students from the church to the homes after our evening worship times (around 8:30 PM) and back to the church in the mornings for VBS....PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE think and pray about being willing to help make this weekend a bigger success for our student ministry by hosting some students!!
7. If you're student in going to Centrifuge with us this summer than we need your second payment installment of $100 by this Sunday...if you need to make other financial arrangements, please let me know. Also, if you are transferring money over from a Kroger account, please email me (Jeffkelly@fbcgoodlettsville.com) or Elizabeth (elizabeth@fbcgoodlettsville.com) to let us know of your intentions!
Hope you all have a great week...and below another thought for your Wednesday:
5 Ways to Build Integrity as a Parent
Last week we identified five signs that show you might lack integrity in your parenting. Integrity is such a core issue. Like a building that's well constructed, a leader who has integrity survives storms in tact. And integrity is compelling. We all want to be around people of integrity. Why would our kids be any different?
The more integrity you have as a parent, the more your kids will appreciate your leadership in their lives. Don't get me wrong, having integrity doesn't mean everything goes swimmingly as a parent. It's just better for everyone in the end, and you end up becoming far more of the person God intends you to be.
So, how do you build integrity? Here are 5 suggestions that can help you build integrity....
1. Park your pride.
There actually is a world of difference between wanting great things for your kids and wanting to be known as a parent of a child who does great things. Parents should encourage and at times even push their kids, but the best way to handle this, that I know of, is to do a motive check: Why and I pushing her? Why am I encouraging him? If it's more about you than it is about them, get on your knees and confess it. God has a way of dealing with our selfish motivations.
2. Become the person you want your child to become.
It is so much easier to see the faults in others than it is to admit our own and deal with them. Start working on your own character as much as you work on your kids' character. Enlist a friend. Go see a counselor. Educate yourself. Make it a personal priority. The healthier you get, the better chance your kids have of seeing what life can really be.
3. Get on the same page as your spouse.
Yes, this is hard work. And no, it can rarely be done in the moment. Sit down with your spouse when there's no "issue" to debate and talk about your differences. Be respectful, prayerful, and kind. Decide together you are not going to quit at this until you can find some common ground. Go see a counselor. Talk to friends. This is incredibly difficult work, but it's so worth it. And where disagreement still exists, agree with what your partner said publicly and then address it afterwards privately, when the kids aren't around. Your kids want you to be on the same page. They really do.
4. Do what you said you were going to do.
Doing what you said you were going to do when you said you were going to do it is actually the foundation of trust. If you have a habit of making empty promises, stop. Your kids can only handle so much disappointment. Be on time. Under-promise. Over-deliver. Become an expert at time and project management. Often, parents fail on coming through on promises not because they intended to lie, but because the budget got out of control, they lost track of time or they had too many things going on to do them all. Get a calendar. Keep a budget. Find a good to-do app on your phone. The more organized you are, the more you'll be able to do what you said you were going to do when you said you were going to do it. Your kids will learn to trust you.
5. Be authoritative, not authoritarian.
Authoritative parents encourage independence (that's where your child is heading anyway, right?), but enforce boundaries and limits. Authoritarian parents rarely present choices, options, independent thought or freedom. They like control. Don't confuse being authoritative with being permissive - authoritative parents might have the same boundaries as authoritarian parents. They just believe that by pursuing discussion, questions and by listening as well as speaking, their children will come to share the values they share. Most often, they do.
These are some strategies to help us weather the storms. What would you add? What have you learned?
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
This Week @ FBCG: Kickball Edition
Hey Parents,
It's Wednesday, so it's time for this week's blog with all the info you need for the week!
1. BIGNITE is TONIGHT! We're gonna be grilling out dogs and burgers and playing some kickball over at Moss-Wright park from 5:30 - 7:30. We'll be meeting up near the sand volleyball courts so that's where you can drop off and pick up your students. The event is free so bring your kids and bring a neighbor's kids!
2. Sunday morning, our students will be diving into the book of Luke again during Sunday School....we get cranked up at 9:30!
3. Sunday night both our guys and girls Bible studies will be meeting at 6 PM (girls at the Kelly house, guys at the McMillan house).
4. All of you should receive a letter in the mail sometime this week about our Graduate Recognition breakfast that we will be having on Sunday morning, May 20th. Please be prepared to help us out in honoring our seniors by providing a breakfast dish as instructed in the letter. If you are the parent of one of our seniors, please know that we don't expect you to cook anything...we just want you to come!
5. Parents of Seniors - I need 10-12 pictures of your seniors ASAP to put together the Senior video...it would be best if you could bring me a digital copy if you have one, but if not I can scan them in. Also we want to invite you to come in (at your earliest convenience) to record a audio message to your senior that we will play behind the pictures. You can call me (615-838-9755) or email me (Jeffkelly@fbcgoodlettsville.com) to set up a time to do this.
6. If your student is going to Centrifuge with us this summer, we need to get the second payment in towards their balance. This is a $100 payment. If you are using Kroger funds, please email me at the address above or Elizabeth (elizabeth@fbcgoodlettsville.com) to let us know so we can get the funds moved. If you have not paid your $50 deposit that was due last month, we will need a payment of $150 this week to hold your student's spot. After this coming Sunday we will begin the process of dropping spots that have been left unpaid (if we don't it ends up costing the church an extra $50 per student spot that we hold onto that is left vacant). Please contact me if we need to work out additional payment options for you and your student, and we'll be happy to do so!
7. During the week of June 4-8 we will be hosting VBS and GFUGE here at FBCG. As part of our GFUGE event we are in need of 4-5 homes that would be willing to let 8-12 students crash at their homes on Mon-Thurs evenings. You would not be responsible for feeding any meals to students, but rather simply allowing a place for them to crash and sleep in the evenings. We also would need you to help us transport them to the church for VBS each morning and to help get them back to your homes each evening. I know this is a lot to ask (4 whole nights!!!) but this is a crucial component of the social aspect of the event. If you would be willing to help us by hosting a group of students please let me know ASAP!
8. Friday night, May 18th we will be having a campout and bonfire at the Boxwell Springs Boyscout campground. This will be a co-ed event with students sleeping in cabins. We'll grill on the bonfire, play some capture the flag and have a great night of fun...more details TBA next week.
That's a lot of info so let me know if you have any questions....below you'll find a little self-check for you as parents this week:
5 Signs You Lack Integrity as a Parent
We all want to see our kids become the kind of people we imagine they can become. To some degree we want to see that in their careers, but at the most basic level we want to see that in their character and heart.
How do you do that? I recently heard Mary DeMuth summarize it beautifully, "Become the person you want your child to become."
Two words: "Wow" and "Exactly." That's it, isn't it? The problem, of course, is that for many of us, we long to see in our kids things we don't see in ourselves. And that's an issue - an integrity issue.
And the older your kids get, the easier it is for them to spot an integrity issue in you as a parent. If you want them to be something or do something and they don't see it in you, things fall apart pretty quickly.
Integrity is about making it through trauma. The Latin root for the word simply means "in tact." In the same way we speak of a building that survived a hurricane as having structural integrity, a person shows they have integrity when they survive a crisis or stand up to a test. And sometimes parenting feels like a non-stop series of tests. It tests everything we've got.
While there are many things that compromise our integrity, here are five signs that how your integrity as a parent needs to grow:
1. It's about you, not them.
Do a heart check. It's great to want your child to be honest or responsible. But why? Is it because you want to see that in them? Or is it also because you want to be known as a mom or a dad with great kids? If it's about you more than it's about them, they'll eventually realize it and it will lessen their trust in you.
2. You aren't modeling what you're saying.
It's one thing to tell your kids to control their temper. It's another thing to control yours. It goes without saying that what you do carries far more influence than what you say, unless what you say is consistent with what you do.
3. You and your spouse aren't on the same page.
I realize this is almost an epidemic in parenting, but you simply need to do the hard work of getting agreement on key issues with your spouse. The older your kids get, the more important this is. Not only will your kids learn to manipulate the gap they see, the gap itself is confusing and disappointing to them. Although they might never admit it, they want you to be on the same page.
4. You fail to do what you said you were going to do.
This isn't just about keeping promises; it's about keeping your word in everything. Better to say nothing and surprise your kids by delivering something great than blurt out an intention you can't fulfill. Don't promise a trip to Disney when you can't even afford a trip to Dollywood. Don't say you'll be there at 3:30 and show up at 3:45. Ultimately, your kids lose confidence in you when you fail to deliver. It's a trust issue. Under-promise and over-deliver.
5. You are a controlling parent.
Controlling parents ultimately lose the hearts of their kids. If you don't believe me, ask yourself this question: how do you as an adult like it when someone tries to control you? Precisely. Why would your kids be any different? You can be authoritative without being authoritarian. If you are trying to control everything your child does, you might be successful when your kids are in preschool, but when high school comes along, it will be a whole other story. Control incites either compliance or rebellion. It never creates healthy relationships.
If you start to address issues like these, you will grow in integrity. You will become more of the person you want your child to become!
What insights have you guys gained on parenting with integrity? What would you add to this list?
Have a great week!
Jeff
It's Wednesday, so it's time for this week's blog with all the info you need for the week!
1. BIGNITE is TONIGHT! We're gonna be grilling out dogs and burgers and playing some kickball over at Moss-Wright park from 5:30 - 7:30. We'll be meeting up near the sand volleyball courts so that's where you can drop off and pick up your students. The event is free so bring your kids and bring a neighbor's kids!
2. Sunday morning, our students will be diving into the book of Luke again during Sunday School....we get cranked up at 9:30!
3. Sunday night both our guys and girls Bible studies will be meeting at 6 PM (girls at the Kelly house, guys at the McMillan house).
4. All of you should receive a letter in the mail sometime this week about our Graduate Recognition breakfast that we will be having on Sunday morning, May 20th. Please be prepared to help us out in honoring our seniors by providing a breakfast dish as instructed in the letter. If you are the parent of one of our seniors, please know that we don't expect you to cook anything...we just want you to come!
5. Parents of Seniors - I need 10-12 pictures of your seniors ASAP to put together the Senior video...it would be best if you could bring me a digital copy if you have one, but if not I can scan them in. Also we want to invite you to come in (at your earliest convenience) to record a audio message to your senior that we will play behind the pictures. You can call me (615-838-9755) or email me (Jeffkelly@fbcgoodlettsville.com) to set up a time to do this.
6. If your student is going to Centrifuge with us this summer, we need to get the second payment in towards their balance. This is a $100 payment. If you are using Kroger funds, please email me at the address above or Elizabeth (elizabeth@fbcgoodlettsville.com) to let us know so we can get the funds moved. If you have not paid your $50 deposit that was due last month, we will need a payment of $150 this week to hold your student's spot. After this coming Sunday we will begin the process of dropping spots that have been left unpaid (if we don't it ends up costing the church an extra $50 per student spot that we hold onto that is left vacant). Please contact me if we need to work out additional payment options for you and your student, and we'll be happy to do so!
7. During the week of June 4-8 we will be hosting VBS and GFUGE here at FBCG. As part of our GFUGE event we are in need of 4-5 homes that would be willing to let 8-12 students crash at their homes on Mon-Thurs evenings. You would not be responsible for feeding any meals to students, but rather simply allowing a place for them to crash and sleep in the evenings. We also would need you to help us transport them to the church for VBS each morning and to help get them back to your homes each evening. I know this is a lot to ask (4 whole nights!!!) but this is a crucial component of the social aspect of the event. If you would be willing to help us by hosting a group of students please let me know ASAP!
8. Friday night, May 18th we will be having a campout and bonfire at the Boxwell Springs Boyscout campground. This will be a co-ed event with students sleeping in cabins. We'll grill on the bonfire, play some capture the flag and have a great night of fun...more details TBA next week.
That's a lot of info so let me know if you have any questions....below you'll find a little self-check for you as parents this week:
5 Signs You Lack Integrity as a Parent
We all want to see our kids become the kind of people we imagine they can become. To some degree we want to see that in their careers, but at the most basic level we want to see that in their character and heart.
How do you do that? I recently heard Mary DeMuth summarize it beautifully, "Become the person you want your child to become."
Two words: "Wow" and "Exactly." That's it, isn't it? The problem, of course, is that for many of us, we long to see in our kids things we don't see in ourselves. And that's an issue - an integrity issue.
And the older your kids get, the easier it is for them to spot an integrity issue in you as a parent. If you want them to be something or do something and they don't see it in you, things fall apart pretty quickly.
Integrity is about making it through trauma. The Latin root for the word simply means "in tact." In the same way we speak of a building that survived a hurricane as having structural integrity, a person shows they have integrity when they survive a crisis or stand up to a test. And sometimes parenting feels like a non-stop series of tests. It tests everything we've got.
While there are many things that compromise our integrity, here are five signs that how your integrity as a parent needs to grow:
1. It's about you, not them.
Do a heart check. It's great to want your child to be honest or responsible. But why? Is it because you want to see that in them? Or is it also because you want to be known as a mom or a dad with great kids? If it's about you more than it's about them, they'll eventually realize it and it will lessen their trust in you.
2. You aren't modeling what you're saying.
It's one thing to tell your kids to control their temper. It's another thing to control yours. It goes without saying that what you do carries far more influence than what you say, unless what you say is consistent with what you do.
3. You and your spouse aren't on the same page.
I realize this is almost an epidemic in parenting, but you simply need to do the hard work of getting agreement on key issues with your spouse. The older your kids get, the more important this is. Not only will your kids learn to manipulate the gap they see, the gap itself is confusing and disappointing to them. Although they might never admit it, they want you to be on the same page.
4. You fail to do what you said you were going to do.
This isn't just about keeping promises; it's about keeping your word in everything. Better to say nothing and surprise your kids by delivering something great than blurt out an intention you can't fulfill. Don't promise a trip to Disney when you can't even afford a trip to Dollywood. Don't say you'll be there at 3:30 and show up at 3:45. Ultimately, your kids lose confidence in you when you fail to deliver. It's a trust issue. Under-promise and over-deliver.
5. You are a controlling parent.
Controlling parents ultimately lose the hearts of their kids. If you don't believe me, ask yourself this question: how do you as an adult like it when someone tries to control you? Precisely. Why would your kids be any different? You can be authoritative without being authoritarian. If you are trying to control everything your child does, you might be successful when your kids are in preschool, but when high school comes along, it will be a whole other story. Control incites either compliance or rebellion. It never creates healthy relationships.
If you start to address issues like these, you will grow in integrity. You will become more of the person you want your child to become!
What insights have you guys gained on parenting with integrity? What would you add to this list?
Have a great week!
Jeff
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
This Week @ FBCG: The Normal Edition
Hey Parents,
I thought I would give your eyes a break from the orange blog background...so hope you enjoy the new sleek blue and black!!
Ok, well we finally have a normal "week" around FBCG, but we still have some great things going on church-wide that we want you to be aware of so here we go....
1. IGNITE is TONIGHT!! We'll be closing out our 3-week series on dating tonight by talking about being single...I know, I know....it seems weird to talking about being single while talking about dating, but the truth is that this is the "relationship status" that most of our students currently find themselves in...so we're gonna talk about being okay with being single (your welcome, dads!) and how that lines up with the world's view of singles. We'll have some good discussion and some good fun so SEND YOUR YOUTH!! Doors to The Attic open @ 5:45!
2. Sunday will be a fun day here at FBCG....during Sunday School our students will be diving back into the book of Luke, which they started last week.....we'll be dedicating our new Sanctuary in both services, and following the second service we'll be getting together as a church family for a picnic lunch at Moss-Wright park. Praying for some sunshine and good weather!
3. We will not have Bible studies this Sunday night.
4. Next Wednesday night, May 2nd we will be having BIGNITE at Moss-Wright Park where we will play some kickball and also grill out some burgers and dogs...it's free to the students and we'll be at the park from 5:30-7:30. More info coming your way next week!
That's all for this week...Here's some food for thought as we close out:
Turn Off the Lights by Carey Nieuwhof
There are two kinds of people who live in a house: People who leave the lights on, and people who turn the lights off after others who have left the room and forgotten to.
I am the second type. I spend most of my free time walking around our house turning off lights (okay, maybe that's an exaggeration.), but I must confess that something bad happens inside me when I see an empty room with the lights on. I start wondering: "How could responsible, mature people be this inconsiderate and this irresponsible? I mean, really, how difficult is it to remember to turn the lights off when you leave a room? You seem to be able to remember to turn them on. How could your memory be that horrendous?"
I think, honestly, this describes something that happens to almost all of us with the people we know the best. Their little quirks, shortcomings and character flaws annoy us more than they ought to.
Which makes it very difficult to truly honor the people we live with, doesn't it? Isn't it strange that it's easier for most of us to honor someone we don't know than it is to honor someone we see all the time?
It's easier to gather in a public forum to honor a hero we've never met who has come home from service overseas than it is to honor a hero in your own home.
Why is that? The answer, I think, is that we simply know the people we live with better.
If we got around the strangers and acquaintances we hold in high esteem, we would learn that they have their shortcomings and character flaws. They may have done some remarkable things, but often it was within the context of a sea of mistakes, just like the rest of us.
Now, watch what happens to most of us. Because we don't know the strangers we honor well, we fill in the gap of information that we don't know by assuming the best about them. I'm sure they turn off all the lights when they leave the room, after all, they received a congressional medal of honor.
And for many of us, that's the difference - we assume the best of people we know the least, and as difficult as it is to admit, we assume the worst of the people we know best.
When faced with a gap in information at home, we assume that they did the wrong thing, not the right thing. The lights are on in the living room and you don't even need to be told who did it; you KNOW, because he/she always, always, always leaves the lights on.
Now tell me, when you confront them about the lights, how does that conversation usually go? Exactly. It's a no-win.
So why not change your assumption about the people you live with? Why not decide there's a perfectly good explanation as to why they forgot to turn off the lights/empty the dishwasher/do their homework? Why don't you assume they meant to, but forgot? Got called away by something urgent? Left the room to help someone else? Were coming back to get it done but you just happened to walk in early?
Three things will happen.
I thought I would give your eyes a break from the orange blog background...so hope you enjoy the new sleek blue and black!!
Ok, well we finally have a normal "week" around FBCG, but we still have some great things going on church-wide that we want you to be aware of so here we go....
1. IGNITE is TONIGHT!! We'll be closing out our 3-week series on dating tonight by talking about being single...I know, I know....it seems weird to talking about being single while talking about dating, but the truth is that this is the "relationship status" that most of our students currently find themselves in...so we're gonna talk about being okay with being single (your welcome, dads!) and how that lines up with the world's view of singles. We'll have some good discussion and some good fun so SEND YOUR YOUTH!! Doors to The Attic open @ 5:45!
2. Sunday will be a fun day here at FBCG....during Sunday School our students will be diving back into the book of Luke, which they started last week.....we'll be dedicating our new Sanctuary in both services, and following the second service we'll be getting together as a church family for a picnic lunch at Moss-Wright park. Praying for some sunshine and good weather!
3. We will not have Bible studies this Sunday night.
4. Next Wednesday night, May 2nd we will be having BIGNITE at Moss-Wright Park where we will play some kickball and also grill out some burgers and dogs...it's free to the students and we'll be at the park from 5:30-7:30. More info coming your way next week!
That's all for this week...Here's some food for thought as we close out:
Turn Off the Lights by Carey Nieuwhof
There are two kinds of people who live in a house: People who leave the lights on, and people who turn the lights off after others who have left the room and forgotten to.
I am the second type. I spend most of my free time walking around our house turning off lights (okay, maybe that's an exaggeration.), but I must confess that something bad happens inside me when I see an empty room with the lights on. I start wondering: "How could responsible, mature people be this inconsiderate and this irresponsible? I mean, really, how difficult is it to remember to turn the lights off when you leave a room? You seem to be able to remember to turn them on. How could your memory be that horrendous?"
I think, honestly, this describes something that happens to almost all of us with the people we know the best. Their little quirks, shortcomings and character flaws annoy us more than they ought to.
Which makes it very difficult to truly honor the people we live with, doesn't it? Isn't it strange that it's easier for most of us to honor someone we don't know than it is to honor someone we see all the time?
It's easier to gather in a public forum to honor a hero we've never met who has come home from service overseas than it is to honor a hero in your own home.
Why is that? The answer, I think, is that we simply know the people we live with better.
If we got around the strangers and acquaintances we hold in high esteem, we would learn that they have their shortcomings and character flaws. They may have done some remarkable things, but often it was within the context of a sea of mistakes, just like the rest of us.
Now, watch what happens to most of us. Because we don't know the strangers we honor well, we fill in the gap of information that we don't know by assuming the best about them. I'm sure they turn off all the lights when they leave the room, after all, they received a congressional medal of honor.
And for many of us, that's the difference - we assume the best of people we know the least, and as difficult as it is to admit, we assume the worst of the people we know best.
When faced with a gap in information at home, we assume that they did the wrong thing, not the right thing. The lights are on in the living room and you don't even need to be told who did it; you KNOW, because he/she always, always, always leaves the lights on.
Now tell me, when you confront them about the lights, how does that conversation usually go? Exactly. It's a no-win.
So why not change your assumption about the people you live with? Why not decide there's a perfectly good explanation as to why they forgot to turn off the lights/empty the dishwasher/do their homework? Why don't you assume they meant to, but forgot? Got called away by something urgent? Left the room to help someone else? Were coming back to get it done but you just happened to walk in early?
Three things will happen.
- First, you'll have a lot less conflict in your home.
- Second, you'll feel better about the people you live with, and they'll feel better about you. You will begin to honor each other.
- Third, people might actually start turning off the lights. Because you've treated them as responsible people who tend to do these things. People have a way of becoming what we believe about them.
What have you learned about assuming the worst of believing the best? Why do you think you find it difficult to believe the best about the people around you?
What do you guys think....you know we have a comments section here on the blog so feel free to interact, let me know if you agree or disagree and your experiences!
Have a great Wednesday!
Jeff
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
This Week @ FBCG: Starting Luke Edition
Hey Parents,
We've had quite a busy few weeks here in the life of our church at FBCG, so it's nice to welcome a "normal" week this week! Here are a few bits of info for you this week:
1. IGNITE is TONIGHT! Last week we started a new series on dating and we will continue that tonight as we talk about break-ups and how to go through it or initiate it in a way pleasing to God. We'll also play some Bear, Hunter, Ninja! Doors to The Attic open @ 5:45...hope to see your student there!
2. This coming Sunday morning, we'll be starting a new study on the book of Luke during our Sunday School time. After 5 weeks of "sex talk", I think we all will welcome a new direction!!
3. Sunday night Bible studies are still going for our guys and girls even though all of our adult classes have ended for the semester. Bible studies start at 6 PM and are at the Kelly house (girls) and McMillan house (guys).
4. The week of June 4-8 we are going to be hosting 2 exciting events here @FBCG. We will be hosting VBS and GFUGE. More information will be coming your way about GFUGE in the upcoming weeks, but we are looking for 4 to 5 homes that would be willing to let students crash in the evenings during the week. If you would be willing to consider hosting a group, please let me know!
That's it for this week! Check out a thought for you guys below:
Honor: Who We Are Not What We Do
We're approaching the time of the school year when we'll honor our young people: from high school graduates in their cap-and-gowns and life-will-change-forever speeches to kindergarteners earning ribbons for tying their shoes to "participation trophies" for you name the sport. It's pretty easy to get honored by somebody during this season of accomplishment.
Honor, though, is more than a shelf full of trophies or even a yearbook full of accolades.
True honor comes not because of what someone has done, but because of who someone is.
Lexographer Samuel Johnson defined honor in this 18th century old-school way: "nobility of soul....magnamity.....a scorn of meanness." I like that last one....wouldn't we all be better off if we had a "scorn of meanness?" Honor is about a quality of virtue, not a quantity of accomplishments.
When we define honor that way, it doesn't come and go with seasons of approval and distress. When we honor people because of who they are instead of what they have done, honor becomes a permanent attitude, an enduring way of regarding someone with hope and respect.
Stuff may lose value over time, but not people. If we see people the way God sees people...If we allow honor to flow from our own relationship with God...we'll be less likely to practice a strings-attached honor and more likely to reflect His unconditional care and compassionate understanding.
One of the best ways we can honor God is by honoring those who reflect the image of God, and that's everybody. For our kids, that means we can teach them from an early age to live out Romans 12:10: "Love each other deeply. Honor others more than yourselves."
When someone understands the principle of honor, it changes the way they treat everyone.
We've had quite a busy few weeks here in the life of our church at FBCG, so it's nice to welcome a "normal" week this week! Here are a few bits of info for you this week:
1. IGNITE is TONIGHT! Last week we started a new series on dating and we will continue that tonight as we talk about break-ups and how to go through it or initiate it in a way pleasing to God. We'll also play some Bear, Hunter, Ninja! Doors to The Attic open @ 5:45...hope to see your student there!
2. This coming Sunday morning, we'll be starting a new study on the book of Luke during our Sunday School time. After 5 weeks of "sex talk", I think we all will welcome a new direction!!
3. Sunday night Bible studies are still going for our guys and girls even though all of our adult classes have ended for the semester. Bible studies start at 6 PM and are at the Kelly house (girls) and McMillan house (guys).
4. The week of June 4-8 we are going to be hosting 2 exciting events here @FBCG. We will be hosting VBS and GFUGE. More information will be coming your way about GFUGE in the upcoming weeks, but we are looking for 4 to 5 homes that would be willing to let students crash in the evenings during the week. If you would be willing to consider hosting a group, please let me know!
That's it for this week! Check out a thought for you guys below:
Honor: Who We Are Not What We Do
We're approaching the time of the school year when we'll honor our young people: from high school graduates in their cap-and-gowns and life-will-change-forever speeches to kindergarteners earning ribbons for tying their shoes to "participation trophies" for you name the sport. It's pretty easy to get honored by somebody during this season of accomplishment.
Honor, though, is more than a shelf full of trophies or even a yearbook full of accolades.
True honor comes not because of what someone has done, but because of who someone is.
Lexographer Samuel Johnson defined honor in this 18th century old-school way: "nobility of soul....magnamity.....a scorn of meanness." I like that last one....wouldn't we all be better off if we had a "scorn of meanness?" Honor is about a quality of virtue, not a quantity of accomplishments.
When we define honor that way, it doesn't come and go with seasons of approval and distress. When we honor people because of who they are instead of what they have done, honor becomes a permanent attitude, an enduring way of regarding someone with hope and respect.
Stuff may lose value over time, but not people. If we see people the way God sees people...If we allow honor to flow from our own relationship with God...we'll be less likely to practice a strings-attached honor and more likely to reflect His unconditional care and compassionate understanding.
One of the best ways we can honor God is by honoring those who reflect the image of God, and that's everybody. For our kids, that means we can teach them from an early age to live out Romans 12:10: "Love each other deeply. Honor others more than yourselves."
When someone understands the principle of honor, it changes the way they treat everyone.
- They tend to see people that are typically overlooked by society, with a different kind of value.
- They tend to see those who are in authority with a different kind of respect.
- They tend to see their peers with a different kind of appreciation.
People start showing honor when they understand those around them were created by God, and in the image of God. As parents, you have an opportunity to teach our children to look at the people around them in a different way and value them not for their accomplishments, but for their true worth.
Have a great week,
Jeff
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