I don't know what it's called when you re-blog a blog.  In this case, I am re-blogging from my big sister's blog!  Besides being a retired teacher, she serves as a lay preacher in the Longview, TX area where she and her husband are members at 1st Presbyterian. She is also a regular contributor to the local paper in Longview.  Read on and be blessed!

Hanging on our bedroom wall is a bright yellow canvas dominated by a big, green smiley-face heart. Its bold words proclaim, “God is Good.” The simplicity of the statement belies the powerfulness of the message.

The artist was a child – a homeless child at Newgate Mission. He painted it during the “Healing Art Project” held at the mission last summer, and I was fortunate enough to purchase it. 

I wish I had met that child. I wonder how, especially in his circumstances, can he already know that God is good? After all, his hopes probably don't even include presents on Christmas morning, just breakfast. 

How can he already know that in the “moment” – that place where children live, move and have their being – that God is there too, and is always good, no matter what? 

Somehow this homeless child must have already caught a glimpse of this truth – maybe felt the brush of angel's wings or sensed the still, small voice in the storm whispering it to him. 

I wonder why we sometimes forget this truth as adults. Perhaps we let it become clouded by failed hopes and dreams, or even by too many successes. Maybe it becomes dulled by the debris of misplaced priorities or a sense of entitlement.

How can this child already know what can take a lifetime to learn, and what some of us never learn – that God is good,nevertheless and come what may. 

I heard those words from the pulpit of my good friend and former pastor, Dr. Bill O'Neal, every Sunday until he retired fifteen years ago. They were powerful and filled me with the assurance of God's goodness.

Years later I discovered the truth of those words by going through the fire and coming out on the other side of them. 

Four years ago my husband and I went through the fire with the onset of our daughter's mental illness, triggered by the birth of her first child. Now, we're about to start through it again with the recent diagnosis of early onset Alzheimer's in my husband. 

Fire clarifies and rids us of our false sense of self-sufficiency. It brings us face-to-face with our total lack of control over our circumstances – health, prosperity, even life itself. We discover there is no “happily ever after.” 

But when that door closes we also discover there's something even better... “joyfully ever after.” Joy is not close to the surface and dependent on circumstances, like happiness is. Joy runs deep, soul-deep. It can't be touched by anything of this world. 

Joy is why the homeless child can say, “God is good.” Joy is why we can say, “God is good.” 

Joy is the spring from which flows “nevertheless and come what may.” 

The spring from which joy flows is Jesus, one who knew what it was like to be homeless. 

JOY to the world, the Lord is come! 

“If the Lord is indeed our shepherd,then everything goes topsy-turvy. Losing becomes finding and crying becomes laughing. The last become first and the weak become strong. Instead of life being done in by death in the end as we always supposed, death is done in finally by life in the end. If the Lord is our host at the great feast, then the sky is the limit.
(Frederick Buechner, author and theologian)

For more check out this link: http://www.networkedblogs.com/blog/dotspot

As I sat in Shartel Café eating breakfast this morning, I had the opportunity to visit with a Dad who has teenage daughters close in age to my girls. In talking about our kids a phrase that was often repeated was “what are they thinking?”  

Whether we talk about teenage girls or boys, they do think differently!

Maybe it is because I am so passionate about teenagers’ and the stage of life they are in that I find articles on their sociological and neurological development interesting.  I recently read an article by Robin Nixon writing for LiveScience titled “10 Facts Every Parent Should Know About Their Teen’s Brain”.  The author also quotes extensively from a book written by Sheryl Feinstein:  Inside the Teenage Brain: Parenting a Work in Progress (Rowman and Littlefield, 2009.)

One significant change that occurs in the brain of a child entering their teen years is the ability to think abstractly. According to research in the Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences published in 2004, as teens become better at thinking abstractly, their social anxiety increases! Abstract reasoning makes it possible to consider yourself from the eyes of another.  

My own experience in hanging out with teens is that most of our kids spend a lot of time considering what others are thinking about them.  Add to this social media for the expression of these thoughts and it can become a real challenge for our kids.  Even though we tell our kids not to worry about what others may think or say, studies show that “peer approval” is highly rewarding to the teen brain!

There are also benefits to this peer centered stage of life.  Friends provide teens with opportunities to learn skills such as negotiating, compromise and group planning. "They are practicing adult social skills in a safe setting and they are really not good at it at first," Feinstein said. So even if all they do is sit around with their friends, teens are hard at work acquiring important life skills.

So what do we do as parents?  Here are some of Feinstein’s suggestions, "They still need some structure and are looking to their parents to provide that structure," she said. "The parent that decides to treat a 16 or 17 year old as an adult is behaving unfairly and setting them up for failure." 

One of the most influential ways to parent your teen, in addition to being a good listener, is to be a good role model, especially when dealing with stress and other life difficulties, as teens are actively trying to figure out their own coping strategies.

"Your adolescent is watching you," Feinstein said. “One of the tasks of adolescence is separating from the family and establishing some autonomy, but that does not mean a teen no longer needs parents – even if they say otherwise”.

I definitely agree with the statement, “teens need parents”.  They also need other adult voices who will reinforce your same values and beliefs, and that is where our church wants to partner with you, the parent, to help our teens grow in to mature, Christian adults.  Fortunately for both adults and teens, God is not done with any of us and I look forward to sharing the journey with you! (Philippians 1:6)

I recently read this article by Reggie Joiner, a long time family pastor for Northpoint Community Church in Atlanta, and thought it was worth sharing.

If your goal is to push your kids away as soon as possible, then I have a few tips for you. These are guaranteed not only to drive your kids away from your home, but to keep them away for a significant period of time.

1. Try to be their best friend

Master the art of smothering them. Why would they need anyone else in life besides you? You should be there to meet their every need. Oh, and it’s okay to expect them to meet your needs as well. If that doesn’t work, you can always try to be best friends with their best friends.

2. Manipulate their emotions

Guilt works. It worked on you when your parents used it, right? So you should definitely pass it on to your children. The goal is to make them feel so bad they will start being good. This works especially well if you want them to appreciate you more as a parent. Use phrases like, “You know I won’t always be here,” or “I can’t believe you would do something like that to me.” Maybe one day this will help them build a healthy relationship with their own children.

3. Compare them to whoever you want them to become

Everyone needs a tangible example they can use as a yardstick to measure themselves. How else will they know the specific attributes you want them to develop? Make sure you point it out in someone else, especially someone they see everyday like a sister or a brother.

4. Create more drama than they do

If they pitch a fit, pitch a bigger one. You are the adult. Don’t let them out-argue, out-debate, or out reason you. By the way, your body language can really help you make your point. Freely expressing your anger and frustration only implies that you are a very passionate and caring parent. And always remember, the louder you speak the more you will be heard.

5. Live your dreams through them

Push them to do what you wanted to do but never did. This could be your chance to prove to everyone what you could have done. It doesn’t really matter if it is something they don’t want to do. They can learn to be passionate about something that matters to you. Besides, you just want what’s best for them.

6. Nag them until they do it your way

If you don’t remind them of their imperfections and weaknesses, they may never improve. You don’t want them to settle for mediocrity. They need a consistent voice in their ear challenging them to get it right. It’s your job to conform them to the image of the future that you have pictured for them.

7. Fight a lot with your spouse

Your kids should see you stand up for your rights as often as possible. If you don’t want them to grow up and be a wimp in their marriage, then make sure you are quick to put your spouse in his or her place. If you want respect from your kids, you should probably demand it from your partner.

Any ideas? I’m sure you can think of more creative ways to get your kids to run for the door.

Don’t judge this question too quickly as I hope to make a point about our church and the families here. Let me also point out a lot of what I am sharing comes from a book I read recently called Think Orange by Reggie Joiner. Here are some Halloween facts:

• Halloween is 2^nd only to Christmas in the volume of decorations sold
• Candy sales will exceed $2 billion.
• More than 93% of children go trick-or-treating every year. (There is nothing at church that comes close to that percentage of participation)

Most families love Halloween.  Right or wrong there is something about Halloween that grabs a child’s imagination and engages parents to participate with them.  I personally loved taking my kids trick or treating.  There was something special about walking through the neighborhood with them and connecting with other families out with their children.

Why can’t church be more like that?  It seems like organizations outside of the church tap into the power of families more than we do.  If you don’t think that is true, ask the “imagineers” at Disney.  They banked their existence on the idea that families love to spend time to together.   Here at Westminster Presbyterian Church I believe our greatest asset is our families and their commitment to each other.

Imagine the impact we can make in the lives of kids when church and family combine.  As your children grow up here at Westminster there is a strategy in what we are teaching at various stages of their lives as we hope to engage them with a sense of wonder, discovery, and passion.

Preschool:  God made me, God loves me, and Jesus wants to be my friend forever.

Children:  I need to make the wise choice, I can trust God no matter what, I should treat others the way I want to be treated.

Students:  I am created to pursue an authentic relationship with my Creator, I belong to Jesus Christ and define who I am by what He says, I exist everyday to demonstrate God’s love to a broken world.

It is my hope if you are a parent reading this article that you will consider yourself invited into this partnership that is going to fight for the future of our children.  If you are a student, I hope you will be challenged to help the church "BE" the church in the future.

I grew up fascinated by planes and airports; maybe because my father traveled constantly.  Maybe that is why shortly after college I became involved in the travel industry and considered myself quite the expert traveler.  Contrary to the high opinion I had of my travel expertise, I managed to show up at the airport without my ticket more than once, and even managed to board the wrong flight (fyi, Lubbock and Denver are nothing alike!).  

My point is that the DESTINATION really does matter.  Scripture clearly presents God's desire for us to experience "life to the full" (John 10:10) and provides boundaries that always have to do with our protection or provision.

I still have to remind myself everyday that God is deserving of my trust when it comes to my destination. I tend to get in hurry to get where I think I should go and miss out on the great destinations God has in store for me.