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Mema and Poppa
Today is Valentine’s Day. I’m not exactly what you would call a sappy romantic when it comes to showing how much I love the ones I love the most (just ask my wife!). So I thought I’d share about my Mema and Poppa today. They’ve been on my mind a lot lately. Mema died a week ago.
I’ve never seen two people who were more in love with each other than Mema and Poppa (not even in the movies). I can remember as a snotty nosed little boy being grossed out by the mushy kind of love they shared with each other. They actually told me once when I was spending the night at their house that they liked to crank the air conditioning up at night so the house would be cold…that way they could snuggle with each other and keep each other warm. GROSS right?
For as long as I can remember, Mema’s eyes would light up a little more than usual anytime you mentioned Poppa. They held hands all the time. They kissed. They hugged. They had sweet names they called each other. Poppa always seemed to have his arm around her. In most of the pictures of them they preferred to look into each others’ eyes instead of at the camera. They were truly, madly, deeply in love with each other.
Today I’m missing my Mema. And I know Poppa is missing Mema. Today I’m thinking about them. I thank them for loving each other like they did and for constantly modeling for me what true love is. I love my wife more than I every thought I could love anybody. I hope I can learn to show her love like my Poppa showed Mema love. I hope someday I can gross out my kids and grandkids by the way I show my love for her. I hope I can live out love like Mema and Poppa.
Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. (1 Corinthians 13:4-8 ESV)
Happy Valentines Day
13 Again
I was reading a blog post from a friend of mine today. Her topic was “who you were at 13.” She listed a few things she wished she had known at 13. It got me thinking, what would 35 year old me tell 13 year me if I could?
How about you, if you could go back in time and tell 13 year old you some stuff, what would you say? What do you wish you had known at 13? (or 14, or 15, etc.?)
Share in the comments.
XP3: Angry
WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT:
Here is an overview of what we’re talking about. Listed below the summary is a “parent cue” to help you dialog with your child about the session. The question is intended not just to be asked by you, but to be responded to by BOTH of you. Use this opportunity to find out what God is teaching your child, and allow your child to see what God is teaching you as well.
Angry:
Series Overview
What ticks you off? Traffic? Long lines? People who don’t follow through on their promises? It’s amazing how we all can do an emotional 180 when life fails to meet our expectations. For the next three weeks, your student will be challenged to redirect their anger from the stuff that doesn’t really matter to the stuff that does. They will be exploring the things that make God angry, and they will be working on ways to move outside themselves and begin doing something about bigger problems in the world.
Session One (November 7)
You may see the title of this session and think this series is about helping students deal with anger in their relationships—that’s a future series. We want students to realize that we all get angry. It’s normal and natural. But are we getting angry about the things we should get angry about? Is it worth verbally tearing someone to shreds over an inconvenience to us when there are bigger issues in the world—issues that make God angry? (This session focuses on experiencing wonder and discovery.)
Session One Parent Cue: Why did a good God give us the ability to get angry? Is it because there is something good that comes from our anger? This week you may want to ask your student about their pet peeves or the things that make them most angry. Try to strike up a conversation about why those things really get to them, and be willing to share the things that make you angry as well.
Session Two (November 14)
This session uses all three of our XP3 elements—wonder, discovery and passion. As Christians, we focus a lot on what Jesus saved us from, but He also saved us for something. As followers of Christ, we can be a part of what God is doing in the world.
Session Two Parent Cue: Students will be challenged to figure out what makes God angry. They will be looking for things in the world and in your community that just don’t seem right compared to God’s standard. Ask them about the things they find most troubling from God’s perspective. They will also be working on creating a plan to do something about one specific thing that makes God angry. Ask them about their group’s plan. See if you can help make their project a success!
Session Three (November 21)
This session is all about passion, aligning our hearts completely with God. We want to move students beyond getting angry about the things that make God angry to doing something about it in our communities and in our world.
Session Three Parent Cue: This week, students will be challenged to come together as the people of God to do something BIG. Instead of meeting in small groups, students will respond to the session by participating in a group-wide experience, called The XP, as well as an activity with their small group. Ask them about their experiences. Encourage them to continue looking for ways to be a part of something bigger than themselves. What are some ways you can do this together as a family?
XP3…ATTACHED
I’m so excited about XP3! If your teen hasn’t made it yet make sure they are here this Sunday at 5:30 as we will be starting a new series.
WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT:
So what are we talking about at XP3? Here is an overview of the new series as well as summaries of each week’s discussions. Use this information as a cue to prompt discussion with your teen.
Attached:
Series Overview
Every one of us is attached to something—some person, thing or experience. The trouble with our attachments is that sometimes they let us down. For the next three weeks your students will be exploring the attachments that become part of their identity, and uncovering the truth about their identity in Christ.
Session One (October 10)
This session has one primary objective—for students to discover what they are attached to. Every one of us is attached to something—some person, thing or experience that brings us great joy and contentment. On the flip side, it can also leave us feeling discouraged. We don’t expect a student to walk into XP3 and walk out clearly knowing what this “something” is. But we want this session to prompt that search, to help students start looking around their lives and find out where they attach their contentment.
Session One Parent Cue: Students will be challenged to look at their lives and consider the things that require the greatest amount of their time, money and attention. In their small groups, they will take a quiz that will help them begin to identify attachments that may be shaping their identity. It is not a time for critique or judgment, but a time to peel back the curtain and look honestly at places of attachment. This week you may want to ask your student about attachments that they see in their lives—and be willing to confess the attachments you see in your own.
Session Two (October 17)
Attached Session 2 picks up where last week left off—by discovering where we’re attached. This session takes that discovery and builds a sense of wonder as we encourage students to attach themselves to something that doesn’t change—God.
Session Two Parent Cue: Students will be challenged to find their identity not in the things of the world—things that always change and have the potential to let them down and break their heart—but to find their identity in knowing that they are the beloved children of an awesome God. You may want to ask them what they heard the speaker say, and ask them what it means to be attached to a relationship with Jesus Christ. You may also want to take this opportunity to share some of your own attachments to things other than God, and how those things let you down and what you learned from those experiences.
Session Three (October 24)
This session helps students experience both wonder and discovery. Last session we challenged them to attach themselves to Jesus Christ, but this week we’ll talk about the reality of what that looks like. It sounds like a great concept, but for each one of us, to fully lean into Jesus Christ seems risky. We want to rely on ourselves or something else. It’s an illusion, a myth, because leaning into Christ is the safest place we can be. But living in a world that can temporarily meet every need we have, it feels risky to trust in someone you can’t see when you can trust in someone or something you can see.
Session Three Parent Cue: Now students have identified the things they are attached to, and have recognized potential dangers associated with creating an identity based on things that do not last. They have considered the truth that they have already been given an identity as the beloved child of God. Students will now be challenged to lean fully into Christ by fostering a growing relationship with their Creator. That feels risky to a student—and even to an adult. It’s not the reality, because trusting in God is never a real risk, but it sure feels that way sometimes. You may want to talk to your student about ways that you try to lean fully into Christ and things that make it really difficult for you.
That Was Hard!
This morning I had the privilege of taking my baby girl to school for her first day of kindergarten. It was also my wife’s first day of school as a teacher this year, so she wasn’t able to go with us. She had been saying for awhile that this was going to be really hard for her to miss dropping Isabel off for her first day. And of course in my less than sensitive kind of way I assured her it was no big deal…Isabel would be fine…after all, she’s been going to preschool for 2 years now…I’ll take her, snap a couple of pictures, and we’ll get this first day behind us with no problems.
So this morning after eating a good breakfast together, having a devotional time, fixing hair, packing lunches, and taking lots of pictures, it was time for me to man up and take Isabel to school. And by man up, I mean walking her into her class, watching her find her cubby and get started coloring a picture, having to talk myself into actually leaving her there (my baby girl…all alone…with only 2 awesome teachers and 19 other kids and a gazillion other excellent teachers and administrators), and sobbing uncontrollably all the way to the car. Yeah…that’s right! I had to man up. That was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do.
Last week I saw a twitter post from another pastor. He talked about his kids’ first day of school and referred to them as “little missionaries.” That term really resonated in my mind. I talked to Isabel about her kindergarten year last night and again on the way to school this morning. We talked about all the things she will learn this year. We talked about doing your very best, obeying the teacher, being a helper, respecting everybody…but mostly we talked about being a little missionary. She knows that while she’s learning and playing and making friends at school God wants her to help other people know about Jesus. I can’t even begin to tell you how excited that makes me as a daddy!
So here I am. 30 minutes after dropping off my little missionary for her first day of kindergarten. Still sobbing. But full of joy as I know my baby girl is a mighty warrior princess, more than a conqueror (Romans 8:37), launching an all out attack against the pathetic prince of darkness (Ephesians 6:12) at her school.
In The Know
As parents we have to be committed to know what’s going on in our kids’ lives. That’s not always easy. Here are a few suggestions for staying “in the know.”
- Join Facebook and make sure your kids are your friends on Facebook
- Make your house an inviting and welcoming environment for your kids’ friends
- Have real conversations with your kids…show genuine interest and don’t talk down to them or belittle what’s important to them
- Know your kid’s Facebook and/or Myspace username and password…no matter what they say, it’s not an invasion of privacy, it’s parenting
- Visit CPYU often. These guys are students of youth culture and committed to communicating youth culture to parents
What are some other ways you have stayed connected to what is going on in your teens’ lives?
MPact Deposits
MPact deposits of $50 are due this Sunday, May 16. Please turn in the deposit and registrations so we can purchase tickets and make hotel reservations as necessary. If you need financial assistance for your teen to go on this trip contact the youth ministry office. Thanks!
E3 Shirts Now Available
We just got our new E3 Student Ministry shirts in! These are 100% cotton American Apparel shirts with the E3 logo printed on the front. These shirts will be available to anybody for $5 in the youth ministry office or in The Lounge at 6:00 on Wednesday.
