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{Heart4Teens.com} *True Love?* ______________________________________ If you enjoy this free email service, I encourage you to spread the word to family and friends that we may bring inspiration into the lives of teenagers everywhere! If you are not on the list and this has been passed along to you, you can join Heart4Teen.com readers around the world by sending a blank e-mail to: Heart4Teens-subscribe@myinjesus.com or visit: http://www.Heart4Teens.com Visit our inspirational web site to read all the past articles in our archives and view the tons of resources we have there for teens! http://www.Heart4Teens.com/Teen_Stories ____________________________________________ Be sure to check out our other inspirational email list and web site! http://www.HeartTouchers.com To subscribe send a blank email to: HeartTouchers-subscribe@myinjesus.com _________________________________________ Good morning Heart4Teens subscribers! Good morning Heart4Teens.com subscribers! Our family just returned from a wonderful vacation in sunny Florida where we visited with my in-laws! They have a house in the country with five acres of woods and trails to explore. Caleb and Connor, my two young boys, just love it there. They spent half their time catching frogs and lizards and the rest of their time swimming in Grandma and Grandpa's pool. During our vacation we were able to get up close and personal with not only the frogs and lizards, but also with large snakes like the Coach Whip and the Black Racer. We also became aquainted with many gopher tortoises, Armadillos (Caleb used to call them "Dillar Dollars" when he was younger), 10-foot long alligators in the river we walked along, and dolphins frolicking in the surf while taking a boat to a remote island beach in one of Florida's State Parks. As a family, we love the outdoors and spend most of our vacations camping in Northern Wisconsin, so we had a great time! But we also spent a great deal of time just relaxing, talking, and reading. I was able to catch up on a lot of reading I wanted to do, especially a book by Max Lucado called "Next Door Savior." If you haven't read it yet, be sure to pick up a copy. When we got home, Caleb, my eight-year-old decided to make himself a bowl of cereal using a gallon of milk that had been in our refrigerator the whole time we were gone. Yes, it was fun to watch him as he had his first experience with milk that has passed its expiration date... lots of gagging and vomiting sounds as he got his first whiff of it... ahhhh.... the joys of being a father! Make sure you and your family are taking time to get away and relax, whether it is a full blown vacation or a day or so away from the hustle and bustle of life. Everyone needs time to unwind, take it easy, and meditate on what God is doing, or wants to do, in your life. From my family to yours, Michael P.S. For those of you teens who live in the Southern Wisconsin/Northern Illinois area we will be discussing Teen Suicide "Too Young To Die" with our youth group this Sunday night. Among other things, we have a young lady who will be sharing about the tragedy of her younger brother who committed suicide. If you or someone you know is struggling in this particular area we would love to have you there at 6:30 PM at Faith Community Church (2931 Lucerne Dr.) here in Janesville. _________________________________________ What is True Love? By Dawson McAllister "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails." I Corinthians 13:4-8a (NIV) This verse describes the characteristics of true love. These qualities can certainly be found in the person of Jesus Christ, and they can be found in all truly loving relationships. The problem with trying to "find" love in our dating lives, is that too often we don't look for these characteristics. Rather we look at physical appearance, popularity, or wealth. These are not the qualities that God looks at and neither should we."But the LORD said to Samuel, '...The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.'" I Samuel 16:7b (NIV) Love is best seen as devotion and action, not an emotion. Love is not exclusively based on how we feel. Certainly our emotions are involved, but they cannot be our only criteria for love. True devotion will always lead to action - true love."Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with ACTIONS and in truth." I John 3:18 (NIV) Christ was devoted to us enough to give his own life for us (Romans 5:8), even when he didn't feel like it (Matthew 26:39). Sex is not love! Our culture has taught us that sex and love are one in the same. This is a lie. Sex is a beautiful God-given activity that is wonderful when practiced within the boundaries of a Biblical marriage. Sex is the completion of the binding of two people within Biblical marriage; it is a God-given gift. PRE-MARITAL SEX Because premarital sex is not love, it only leads to pain and disappointment for those who are seeking that love. The Bible says that when two people are married, they become one flesh (Ephesians 5:31). Sex is consummation of that union. When two people break off their relationship after having sex, it is like ripping apart flesh. This is why two teenagers will struggle so much and become so dependent on those they give their bodies to. In light of I Corinthians 13:4-8 (above), it is easy to see that premarital sex is not patient, it is not kind, it does not protect, it is self-seeking. It is not love! IDENTIFYING TRUE LOVE We can only identify true love and know when we have found it, based on the Word of God. When we match our relationships up to what the Bible says that love is -- and we are honestly prepared to make a life-long commitment to that person -- then we can say that we are truly "in love." The three keys to that statement are: We have to... 1) look at the Word of God 2) be completely honest with ourselves 3) understand the level of commitment that comes with true love. Copyright © 1997, Dawson McAllister Live! Used by permission _________________________________ Thought For The Day: "I would rather fail in the cause that someday will triumph than triumph in a cause that someday will fail." --Woodrow Wilson Verse for the Day: "Now thanks be unto God, which always causes us to triumph in Christ."--2 Corinthians 2:14 Teen's Thought for the Day: "You can always become like those teens at school who are pressuring you to have sex and give up your purity. However, they can never turn back the clock and become like you!" -- Michael T. Powers Parent's Thought For The Day "Gentleman, try not to become men of success. Rather, become men of value.." --Albert Einstein Coach's Thought For The Day "The player who won't be advised, can't be helped." Deep Thought For The Day: Where do forest rangers go to "get away from it all"? _________________________________________ Let's Go Surfing Dude! ~ I Believe "There is a limit to the amount of horrendous sins a 5-year-old can commit, but it was the beginning of the greatest journey I'll ever take." Check out the story of how Wilson discovered what Jesus is all about. http://www.passageway.org/link.asp?believe.asp?loadpage=believe/story.asp?s=154 __________________________________________ Author MICHAEL T. POWERS www.Heart4Teens.com Contributing Author to Chicken Soup for the Teen's Soul on Love and Friendship and 19 other inspirational books. "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me." Galatians 2:20 _________________________________________ ALL-STAR Ministry --The Youth Church of Faith Community Church in Janesville, WI If you are in 6-12th grade and live in the southern Wisconsin/northern Illinois area and would like to check us out, we meet every Sunday night from 6:30-8:30 PM at Faith Community Church which is located at 2931 Lucerne Dr. in Janesville, WI. (About 3 blocks south-east of The Skating Place.) Currently we have students from Fort Atkinson, Milton, Janesville Craig, Janesville Parker, Marshall, Orfordville, Clinton, Beloit Memorial, Beloit Turner, South Beloit, and Hononegah. E-mail me back if you have any questions about our weekly meetings or would like to come to any of our events that are listed below... We have way too much fun and then, most importantly, talk about issues that are relevant to you as a teenager. THIS WEEK: All-Stars: Too Young To Die _______________________________________________ UPCOMING EVENTS: Monday May 24: 7:00-8:15 PM Rock TV hosted by Faith Community Church! Wednesday July 7: Trip to Great America! Friday July 9: Lock-In at Central Christian Church! Saturday July 24: Canoe Trip down the Sugar River (Guys only) September 18-20: Youth Fall Retreat at Phantom Ranch! October 29-30: Mall of America Trip! (Ladies only) ________________________________________________ All-Stars has extended its time to 6:00 - 8:30 PM on Sunday nights. 6:00 - 6:30 will be time for the youth to chat and discuss anything they want with the youth leaders or each other. 6:30 - 7:00 PM will be for games or fun activities and then 7:00 - 8:30 PM will be for the lesson and discussion time. Students are still welcome to "hang out" after 8:30 PM if they want, as the leaders are usually at the church until at least 10:00 PM, and some nights even later. (For the past couple of months the students have continually complained that we are running out of time before we get to really discuss the topics in full and asked if we could have longer teaching times... I know, most of you are probably now getting back up off the floor from the shock. have been most encouraged that the teens have been wanting to stay longer to be able to discuss the lessons more fully.) The Outlet: "Get plugged into Jesus Christ!" (Teen Cell Groups) Wednesday night community groups for teens. The groups are limited to no more than ten teens and will be originally split into Jr. High and High School ages. This night is for those teens who want to dig deeper than what we do in All-Stars, but may not be ready to be a part of the Extreme Teens. These cell groups will also be doing special activities with each other as the year goes on to build community. "Extreme Teens" meet Wednesday nights from 6:30 - 8:00 PM at the church. (September -May) This group is very extensive with weekly homework, memorization, service projects, etc. Students interested in this group will have to fill out an application, provide references as to why others think they should be involved with this, and sign an agreement as to what is expected of them. We are very excited at what God is doing with our youth! _______________________________________________ Reading Books, Changing Lives! For those of you who love to read or love to give out books as gifts... You can now order a number of different autographed best-selling inspirational books for the same price you would get them in the store, the shipping to you is paid for, and you are helping change the lives of teenagers and those they come in contact with! If you love to read inspirational stories, these books are most likely those you will eventually buy anyway. And how cool would it be to be able to buy books like those in the Chicken Soup series for your friends and family with a personalized autographed message by one of the contributing authors! How's that for a unique gift! Check out this link to find out more! http://www.HeartTouchers.com/books |
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Touching Lives - One E-mail at a Time! Author Michael T. Powers - HeartTouchers @ aol.com
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