Hey Parents,
Hope you're having a great week...here's some info about what's going on in our student ministry this week:
1. IGNITE is TONIGHT! We'll have some worship, play Look Up, Look Down, and close out our study series on the elements of the Easter story and how they play out through the whole of Scripture. Doors for The Attic open @ 5:45 PM...hope to see your students there!
2. This Sunday morning, we'll be talking about masturbation with our students. This is one of the most dreaded topics of discussion for parents, students....well just about everybody. So why are we talking about it?? That's easy...because it's something our students struggle with right now, or will struggle with in the upcoming years. Our girls will also be talking a little bit about how God designed the heart of a woman and will discuss the importance of guarding not only their bodies, but their hearts as well!
It should be an interesting morning...make sure to send you students Sunday morning!
3. Sunday nights, we have been having a great time in our "Recess" class. We've had some great discussion, talked through some tough issues and most importantly, we've lifted our kids up in prayer. I really want to encourage you as parents to come give it a try...we only have 2 more weeks together before the summer schedule hits, so come this Sunday night and hang out! We start up at 6:00 in The Attic....and you can drop your students off for their Bible studies as well!
We've been averaging about 15 girls on Sunday nights and 6 guys....and about 17 parents!!
4. This past week, our first Centrifuge deposit was due. If you forgot to pay or just missed out getting your student signed up, you can do so this week. Right now we have a group of about 25 going, but there are still plenty of spots available.
Also, we have folks in the church who are offering to sponsor any students who want to go to camp, but just can't afford it right not, so please don't let finances be a roadblock to your student coming to camp!
I hope you all have a great week...a thought for you as we close out today:
Forget About It
In the February issue of Scientific American Mind they had an article all about your memory and learning how to erase distractions. It challenges the idea that the brain is simply a "passive storage unit." The editors suggested that your mind "behaves like a seamstress who sews concepts from the threads of vital information while snipping away extraneous material."
According to the special report, "the best memory is not the one that holds the most data, but the one that can deftly distinguish between the pieces to keep and those to discard." The brain is evidently intricately designed to prioritize information. Without that ability our memories would be overloaded with so much negative, superfluous and competing content that we would ultimately shutdown or go insane.
The brain is amazing. What you can learn to forget or remember definitely helps you survive. It's the reason why-
You forget the details of walking in on your parents when they were....
A baby doesn't remember getting circumcised.
A wife is willing to give birth to another child.
Someone can love again after they have been deeply hurt.
People can start over after a natural disaster.
No one really remembers a politician's promises.
I'm thankful for my brain's ability to filter through so much irrelevant and negative information. The mind's skill to prioritize may be more critical than we realize.
How to stay focused on what is most important may be the most important thing you ever teach your kids. Life is really about sorting through and organizing countless experiences, relationships, and even extraneous material so that whatever is most critical is never forgotten. There are a number of ways we communicate what's important to our kids.
The questions we ask.
What we do with our time.
The stories we tell.
I wonder sometimes what our kid's brains will remember as the important stuff. I had a discussion with my parents a few weeks ago about things I remember growing up and things I don't. It's interesting how some of the things they reminded me of I had completely forgotten. I could make a list right now, but I suspect your brain would discard it pretty quickly. So, I will just give you one memory that I have never forgotten.
When I was eight, I heard my dad stand in front of a group of kids and explain how he became a Christian. It is a very vivid and clear memory even though it happened 26 years ago. For whatever reason, my brain logged it as critical data and it was permanently stamped into my memory. Since then, millions of pieces of information have been discarded, but not that one.
There's a book out called Sticky Faith written by Dr. Kara Powell. Over the past few years, her team has done countless interviews with teenagers. One of her leaders recently asked a group of teenagers individually if their parents had ever told them the story of how they became a Christian. They were surprised that not one teenager knew how or when their parents had started pursuing a relationship with God.
I happen to believe the spiritual dimension of a child's life is important. And although a lot of us are not sure how to talk about spiritual issues with our children, one simple way would just be to tell the story of how your faith started. I personally think it will be something your children will always remember.
With all of the stuff they will hear while they are living in your house, that one piece of information will probably stick in their brain. It did in mine. It's just a thought. What if you can act on it, before you forget it?
Have a great week,
Jeff
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