Keeping you aware of trends

It seems like trends among teenagers change everyday, but as I hear and read things I want to keep you up to date on certain trends that we know are happening.

These are all related to drug use in some way.  There are some crazy things happening (Like K2 being smoked in the place of marijuana), so take time to read these articles and familiarize yourself with these new trends.

K2- should it be outlawed?

I-Doser- Using sound to get high?

Prescription Drugs- not a new concept but still growing in use

Be aware of what’s happening in the world your students live in, and be aware of changes in your child’s behavior.  I pray that none of your students will ever fall into these traps!!!

Chatroulette: A new fad among students

Just saw this on yahoo…wanted to pass it along…Chatroulette

Watch it here

Basically people can visit random peoples webcams and chat!  Scary thought huh? 

What’s your initial reaction to this?

UPDATE FEB. 24th: Just found this article about Chatroulette…a little more detail or understanding of the site and its consequences…here is the article

Youth Ski Trip

We do need parents to help drive, so if you are willing to help, please let Scott know!!!

Mobile Protector

How would you like to be able to effectively take over your teen’s phone and manage it’s use?  Maybe you want to disable the phone while your student is driving so they can’t text or talk on it?  What about when they get it taken away- you can disable it so it can’t be used at all?  Or maybe you just want to be able to punch a button and have the phone disabled during dinner so you can actually talk to your kids!

The stun gun maker TASER is offering just that…and more.  They are offering “Mobile Protector”.  According to Taser chairman and co-founder Tom Smith, what they want to do is to take “old fashioned parenting and bring it into the mobile world”

With different levels of protection- I mean after all, protecting your child at age 12 is different than protecting them when they are in college…or at least it should be- you can decide how and when your child receives calls, what numbers they can receive calls from, and you can shut their phone down.  It even provides an option for you to listen to their conversation (not secretly, but by announcing to both parties).

Here’s the article.  What do you think?

Survey says, “our kids might be spoiled”!

I found this article on yahoo that I thought was an interesting discussion starter.  PNC Wealth Management recently surveyed a sampling of wealthy Americans and found that 35% of wealthy Americans are concerned that their children may be “too spoiled by money and have too many material possessions.”  Read the article for yourself.

So are we raising a group of self-centered spoiled kids?  I guess to answer that question we have to define what spoiled is.  What do you think a spoiled child is? How do we balance providing needs for our children and teaching the value of material possessions?  Don’t we all want our kids to have it better than we had it growing up?  Is that healthy? 

I don’t know.  But I am interested to here what you have to say.  Please leave a comment and let’s get this discussion started!

Big Grace

Taken from the website http://www.realworldparents.com

Big Grace
One of the challenges of parenting for Christians is that we want our kids to be as excited about God’s unbelievable grace and forgiveness as we are—but we still want them to perform. We pray they’ll be absolutely convinced that their place in God’s family (and ours) is not conditional on how well they follow Christ or obey us, but we still stress repeatedly and doggedly that their best option is to follow and obey.

Paul could relate. We’re pulling our talking point for this week from the very beginning of his letter to the Christians and the church in Corinth. It’s a letter that spells out in explicit detail everything they’re doing wrong as individuals and as a group in how they are “doing church.” He uses some harsh-sounding words to reveal their selfish, selfish hearts. He derides them for misunderstanding God’s grace to mean they should have the right do whatever feels good all the time.

But Paul begins his letter to these sinners by expressing his deep assurance that the Corinthians Christians were sanctified receivers of God’s grace enriched with the Holy Spirit and spiritual gifts. He states unequivocally—before dismantling their wrongdoings—that God will keep them strong to the end so that they will be blameless on the day of the Lord. He wanted them to choose to do right not to earn God’s love but because they already had it and were empowered to imitate it in serving Him and each other.

We encourage you to read these first nine verses, maybe with your child, and to use the opportunity this week to emphasize God’s endless, perfect grace for His flawed, selfish children. And since we’re just weeks away from Christmas, it will be easy to point to that event as evidence of God’s grace and love in spite of all of our selfish sinfulness.

Talking Points
Why do you think God loves anyone?
Is there anyone that God does not love?
What can we do to make God love us—or love us more? [Parent: Emphasize that we cannot do anything to earn God’s love or increase it.]
What can we do to make God love us less? [Parent: Again, emphasize that God loves us because that’s who He is, not because we deserve it. Just as we can’t earn His love, those of us who are in Christ—saved by trusting in Jesus alone—cannot do anything to lose God’s love.]
If Christians are fully loved and accepted by God no matter what, why should we care whether we obey and follow Him or not? [Parent: Good luck! No, actually, it is helpful to emphasize that with His love, God also gives His children the power to live like Jesus. Why would we reject that opportunity to love God and others as Jesus did?]
In 1 Corinthians, Paul explains to a group of Christians many of the ways they are being selfish toward God and each other, even though they are unconditionally loved and accepted by God. But before He starts, He explains to them that they are already “sanctified in Christ Jesus.” How would you explain the word “sanctified”? [Parent: It means that Christian have been set apart as people who are for God alone.]
Paul also writes that they were given grace as a gift from God. How would you describe God’s grace? [Parent: Grace is God giving us all the treasures of His love and heaven even though we do NOT deserve it. Emphasize that nobody can earn grace.]
Why do you think so many people get confused about the idea that going to heaven and being loved by God depends on what we do, not on what God did for us?
How is Christmas evidence of Gods’ grace to us?
Paul wrote to these Christians—people who were not doing very well at following Jesus—that God would keep them strong to the end so they would be blameless then. Do you believe that as a Christian you will be blameless when you stand before God? Why or why not?
What makes us blameless? [Parent: Emphasize that we are only made blameless because Jesus took all of our blame when He was punished and died on the cross; we can’t work our way to being blameless.]
Have you noticed any ways that God has started to give you His power or make you stronger in Christ? [Parent: Emphasize that growing strong in God can take time but includes things like using our spiritual gifts, resisting temptation, and loving and serving others without being selfish.]
Do you believe that God will finish making you strong like Jesus, that He will finish what He has started in you? [Parent: Emphasize that God’s grace for everyone who has genuinely trusted in Jesus for salvation means that He absolutely will finish what He has started in us.]
Will God finish what He started in us because we’ll finally get our act together and start working at being like Jesus—or because He is faithful? [Parent: Think about reading 1 Corinthians 1:9 to help provide a final answer to this question.]

Understanding Your Teenager

 
Think about your teen.  Do you have a teen who:
          – seems unaware that there is an off switch on all electronic devices?
          – has chosen “early landfill” for his or her bedroom decor
          – is allergic to chores, homework, getting up in the morning, and sometime…you?
          – has caused you to turn into your parents?

Then you need to attend UNDERSTANDING YOUR TEENAGER.  If you see the value in staying close to your kids during the teen years and maintaining a good relationship while you help become teh kind of young men and women that God created them to be, then you should plan on attending this event hosted by Grace Bible Church in Canal Winchester.  Here is some of the details:

       When- Saturday, November 7th 9:30a.m. – 12:30pp.m.
       Location: Grace Bible Church
       Cost: New lowered price of $20 per familyIf you want more info, click here

Ignite ’09

I want you to imagine your student going to a school that it seemed like every student had a personal relationship with Christ.  When you ask your teen how their day went, you get to hear stories of how he or she got to share their faith with a classmate today.  And how at lunch students spent time praying for their school- not in some weird group, but as a student body.  How cool would that be?  Well all it takes is one student willing to stand for Christ.

That’s why your student needs to attend Ignite ’09 You can check out the band SINCLAIR HERE

Do you know what your teen is texting?

Did you know that there are currently more than 2,000 texting abbreviations? (LOL, TTYL, NSFW)  And there are more created each day as students look for new ways to shorten messages and give them a cryptic code so there parents have no idea what they are talking about.

It is so tough to stay in the know about texting lingo amongst teenagers as well as all the other things that students are doing.  The Wall Street Journal just recently published this great article about the cultural world that is texting, twitter and the shorthand that has been created.  I recommend every parent reads this article.

Oh, and then for fun, LG (the phone manufacturer) is trying to help people out when it comes to translating text shorthand.  They have created  a website, http://dtxtr.com/, that allows you to type in a text shorthand, (PAW, POS, KUTGW, SWU) and get the translation into “normal” English.  You can also type in a phrase and it will let you know if there is a txting way to say it, like laugh out loud is LOL and talk to you later is TTYL.

So go have fun. And if you have a shorthand definition that doesn’t come up, you can add it!

EXTREME WEEK 2009

I have waited all year for this!  Extreme Week is finally upon us!!!  And it is going to be AWESOME!!!!  For those you who have never experienced Extreme Week, I can’t really explain it.  But maybe this video from last year can….

Extreme Right?  Well that is like the toddler version compared to this year!  Here are the details you need to know for 2009 Extreme Week:
Dates: Sunday, August 9th – Thursday August 13th at Sycamore Creek Church
Time: 8:30pm to 10:30pm (yea that’s right!  It’s Extreme….at Night!!!)
For Who:  Any student entering 7th grade – class of 2009 high school graduates
Cost:  FREE!!! (but if you want to help purchase supplies, see the very bottom)

What else?  Oh yeah.  Each night has a theme.  Click on the list below to see the themes for the nights!

Need a 2009 Medical Release Form?  Click here
Want to help with the needed supplies? Click EXTREME WEEK 2009 SUPPLY LIST. Just do me a favor- let me know what you are providing so I don’t buy it!