Hey Parents,
I hope today's blog post is finding you in the middle of a wonderful week! Now, to give you guys some important info about things this week!
1. BIGNITE is TONIGHT!! We'll be having some Domino's and playing some Just Dance on the XBOX Kinnect tonight...should be a good time! We'd love to see ya so feel free to drop in! Doors to The Attic open @ 5:45!
2. Starting this Sunday morning, we'll begin a 5 week series called Pure Sex....hopefully each of you received some information concerning this series last week in the mail. This week we'll be discussing the topic of "What is Purity" and if it's still possible in this day and age. As always, if you have any questions or would like to see a copy of any information that we are covering, please let me know! We feel this is a very important series and so we hope you do to and will make it a point to send your students each week!
3. This Sunday night, March 11th is the Winter Jam concert at Bridgestone Arena. This is always a great time and our students always look forward to this event each year. We'll be leaving Sunday afternoon at 4:30 PM from the church and we'll return sometimes between 9:00 - 9:30 PM. The cost for this event is $10 which students pay at the door. Parents are welcome to join us if you need to get your concert fix too!
4. Due to Winter Jam, our girls and guys Bible studies will take this Sunday night off and meet back again on the 18th. Also our parents fellowship time, "Recess" will also take this week off while the students are at the concert.
5. Speaking of "Recess"....I just wanted to let you all know that we had a great group of 20 folks Sunday night to kick off our Parents time!! It was awesome! We played some Taboo where the ladies beat the guys by 1 point (thanks Mike!), ate some sweets provided by Julie and Kathy and had a good time sharing about our students. The most important thing that happened Sunday night was when we all went to the Lord in prayer for our kids....and we look forward to getting together to do it next Sunday, March 18th. If you couldn't make it this last week, make plans to join us on the 18th...it's gonna be good.
6. Sign-ups for summer camp, Centrifuge at Panama City Beach from July 9-13 are open on the website. The Cost for the trip is $296 and we need a "Hold My Spot for Camp" deposit of $50 by Sunday, March 25th. Just head over to fbcgoodlettsville.com/students to get your students signed up!
Another good and busy week here in our Student Ministry so make sure to have your students be a part of it! I pray for safe travel and good weather to all our families who will be heading out for a little down time during Spring Break! Check out a few thoughts below, and always if you have any questions, thoughts, or concerns please give us some feedback!
A Story Worth Telling
Sometimes we don't like the stories that we're unwittingly written into. At other times, we realize that it may not be the story we imagined, but it's our story and we're going to find a way to live that story to its greatest potential.
Rick and Abbie Smith are examples of the "it's our story and we're going to live it well" idea.
When their son, Noah, was born with Down Syndrome, the Smiths realized they had a choice to make. That choice, to make a surprising story a better story from themselves and others, is being catalogued in Rick's blog, Noahsdad.com.
Rick and Abbie want to change attitudes about children born with Down Syndrome, a condition that occurs when the body has an extra chromosome. That one chromosome makes a difference, but the bigger difference comes from the people who aren't exactly sure how to respond or react to those who have it.
Noahsdad.com is working to change that. Change comes when stories are told, and Rick realized that Noah's story could be told in one-minute video segments and thoughtful blog posts from a father smitten with his infant son.
In one of his recent posts, Rick wrote about "3 Things Our One-Year-Old Son Wants You to Know About the Power of Story." What we can learn from this one-year-old applies to every area of our life where story is important, which is to say it's important for every area of our life.
Here are the three things:
1) Your story is powerful
2) Stories remove the veil of fear from people's lives.
3) Hidden behind the veil of fear is hope.
"Your story has power," Rick says. "Tell your story. Trust me. You may think no one is listening. You may think that no one cares. You may think your story doesn't have any impact. You may think you don't even have a story to tell. Guess what....you are wrong."
Rick's right. Many of us somehow know we have a story to tell. Some of us might even realize we have a great story to tell. But when a story has an edge of greatness about it, we might feel overwhelmed in trying to tell it. Rick's telling an amazing, overwhelming story one minute at a time. He captures one moment one day, another moment the next day. When those moments are woven together, the story's being told in its grand magnitude.
The Smith's story is being heard. Just a couple of weeks ago, Rick praised a recent Target ad's positive treatment of kids with Down Syndrome on his blog and it went viral. It has gotten coverage from news agencies and networks around the world, and in just the last couple of weeks alone, millions have been introduced to Noah's story.
As a parent, you've got a director's chair view of the stories your children are living, and no one knows their stories better than you do. Take a cue from Rick and Abbie Smith. Help your kids interpret their story to realize that they are important, that they are loved, that they have a place, and that they have a powerful narrative to share with the rest of the world.
Have a great Wednesday!
Jeff
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