The Journey
Teens may sign up for the winter retreat that is Jan. 18-20 by turning in a signed and notorized medical release form along with their $30 payment. Registration deadline is Wednesday, Jan. 9.

Girls Revolve Tour
Final payment for the Girls Revolve Tour is Sunday, Jan. 13. Please make checks payable to LRC. Only those paid in full will be registered unless you’ve spoken with me about payment arrangements.

Parent/Teen meeting
Hopefully you have received a letter detailing Jan-May plans as well as listing some of our summer 2008 ideas. We will meet Sunday, Jan. 13 immediately following our morning worship gathering to go over those plans. Lunch will be provided in the Nichols Ministry Building.

Tonight is the last Refuge of 2007. Refuge will resume on Wednesday, Jan. 9.

RAMP Groups are taking a break until Sunday, Jan. 13. All RAMP groups will resume meeting in the Nichols Ministry Building then with a study of Song of Solomon for teens.

THIS WEEK (Dec. 2-8)

Sunday AM Bible class (Dec. 2) – We will continue our 7-12th grade combined class this Sunday morning. We’re currently focusing on how to meet the physical needs of others as an expression of the good news of Jesus Christ. As part of our study the teens are participating in the intramural food can challenge. One of our teens is also organizing a blanket drive. See below for more details.

RAMP Groups (Dec. 2) – RAMP Groups will meet Sunday night. Check with your child’s RAMP leader for details.

Refuge (Dec. 5) – We will have Refuge as usual this Wednesday night from 6-8 PM.

LOOKING AHEAD

Blanket Drive (Now-Dec. 12) – One of our students, Katie Keen, is organizing a blanket drive at her school and we’d like to support her by participating. You are invited to donate new or slightly used sheets and blankets. Katie said she’d even wash them for you. Blankets and sheets will be passed out at the Salvation Army in Little Rock. We will try to arrange a time for the teens to help with that.

Winter Retreat (Jan. 18-20) – Information and medical release forms for our annual winter retreat are available on the table at the back of the auditorium. Please return a signed and notorized medical release form for your child along with the $30 registration by Wednesday, Jan. 9 to sign up.

Girls’ Day Out (Dec. 8 ) – Girls in grades 7-12 are invited to join Deana for a girls’ day out on Saturday, Dec. 8. The girls will meet at LRC at noon, go eat together and shop. They will return to LRC around 6 PM. See Deana for details.

Don’t forget to check the youth web site. You can keep up with different aspects of our youth and family ministry there. We try to post what we’re discussing, share pictures of events and it’s a great place for prayer requests.

I have the following three quotes next to my desk in my office.

“When you welcome a child you welcome me.” - Jesus

“If you reach the family, you reach the world.” - Bill Bright

“The role of the Church is to mentor parents, the role of the parent is to mentor their children, and the legacy of faith continues to the next generation.” - Ed Cole

These quotes serve as daily reminders to me of what we are to be about as parents and a church family.

The first reminds me of my call to ministry and why I do what I do. Though I spend a lot of time teaching, explaining, giving advice, or offering guidance it is I who learn so much from our teens. I learn about Christ, God, real faith and many other things. I think in this way, I discover more about who Jesus is than in just about any other way.

The second reminds me that a family who loves the Lord deeply is one that can be agents of transformation. Your teens’ friends in your home, your relationships with your neighbors, your participation in your childrens’ schools are ways in which you can be salt and light in this community.

The third reminds me that we should raise our children in the community of faith. That’s the essence of what Moses shared with the Israelites just before they entered the Promise Land. His command was to remind the children of all God has done and to teach them how to follow him. The charge was to all of them. I want to be a part of a church family that encourages and supports us parents as we do our best to teach our children and disciple them.

That’s why I think last night was important. It’s all too easy to focus exclusively on youth events. It’s good to occasionally slow down, pause and remind ourselves and our children that the parents are the biggest spiritual influence in our children’s lives.

So, I want to say thanks for being at Refuge last night. What you saw is what we do every Wednesday night. We try to create a space for teens to feel safe, experience the love of Christ through one another, and slow down long enough to consider God and worship him. I’m so grateful you could be there last night.

Happy Thanksgiving! I’m in Houston at Deana’s parents spending time with her family. We’ll be home Saturday. I hope all of you are having a great weekend with family. Here’s what’s going on in our student ministry for the next few weeks.

This week (Nov. 25-Dec. 1)

RAMP Groups (Nov. 25) - Your teen needs to check with his/her RAMP leader to find out what they are doing Sunday night.

Refuge (Nov. 28) - We are having Refuge this Wednesday, Nov. 28. You’re encouraged to join us for the night. Students eat free. Adults pay $2.

Looking ahead

Revolve (Feb. 22-24) - So far, I have 5 students and 4 adults registered for Revolve. I will reserve seats this week, so please let me know Sunday if you and/or your daughter is planning to attend.

What I want

In the movie Bruce Almighty, there’s a scene where Bruce is talking to God. God has given Bruce the job of being God for a short time. Bruce can’t handle all the prayer requests so he simply says yes to everyone’s request. Chaos and pandemonium is the result. In this scene Bruce tells God that he gave everyone what he wanted. God replies, “since when has anyone ever had a clue about what they really wanted?”

That movie scene keeps coming to mind as I consider the text our teens will look at in RAMP groups Sunday night. James 4:1-12 opens with James examining our motives for what we desire and the consequences. He challenges his readers to quit being so selfish. This text is on the heals of his challenge to seek godly wisdom. If you remember, godly wisdom is based on pure motives. It seeks the good of others first. So, in RAMP groups students will look at this text and ask some questions about what they desire and why they desire it. I encourage you to talk with your teen about submitting our desires to God’s desires for us. A couple of questions you could discuss include:

What does it mean to submit our desires to God?

How are we at putting the needs of others in our family before our own?