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{Heart4Teens.com} *The Baby Wildebeest* ______________________________________ 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 and 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 _________________________________________ 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! And best of all, every penny from the book sales are going to youth ministry to help pay for a life-changing missions trip to Guatemala this summer! 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! Not only are you changing lives through supporting a youth ministry, but every book included on our website has the power to make a difference in the lives of those you give the books to. Check out this link to find out more! http://www.HeartTouchers.com/books _________________________________________ The Baby Wildebeest By Wayne Rice Wildebeests, a type of African antelope also known as gnus, migrate yearly in huge herds to the plains of Tanzania's Serengeti to mate and to birth their young. Also on the Serengeti Plain roam vicious predators, including the hyena. In this hostile setting a newborn wildebeest has about 15 minutes to get up and run with the adult herd. Slow starters risk becoming hyena lunch. Discovery Channel showed film of a wildebeest giving birth on the Serengeti. Her baby barely had time to get used to breathing when the mother nudged it to get it standing. Picture the newborn on wobbly hind legs with its forelegs still bent underneath its bobbing head. Between the mother's nudging and the baby's inexperience, the newborn is worn out after five minutes of repeated attempts to stand. Then the camera picks up a hyena approaching stiff-legged with lowered head and slightly bared teeth. The mother wildebeest bravely steps between the hyena and the baby, but another hyena appears, followed closely by a third. The mother lunges at the newcomer. Although it backs away, another skulks in closer to the helpless infant. Before long a circle of hyenas occupies the mother wildebeest while other hyenas eat the baby. Meanwhile, spread out nearby, literally thousands of other wildebeest graze, now and then lifting their heads to watch the desperate mother attempt to fight off the hyenas. Any of them could easily help save the newborn, but not a single one does. Satan, like the hyena, is on the prowl. He also has lots of help. If you try to stand up to him alone, you're almost guaranteed defeat--just like that mother wildebeest. You can't survive spiritually without other Christians who support you, encourage you, pray for you, and help you grow into a strong follower of Jesus Christ. That's why, when you become a Christian, you are adopted into the family of God (Ephesians 1:5). That's why God created the church. Our habit in today's world is to live our lives alone. To stay out of each other's affairs. To keep our distance. That's not God's way, though. He asks us to love each other and to care for each other, as brothers and sisters in Christ. We weren't made to be like all those wildebeest in the herd that stood off to the side watching one of their own get eaten alive by hyenas. Wayne Rice wayne@uyt.com Wayne is the founder and director of Understanding Your Teenager. He is a 35-year veteran of youth ministry and co-founder of Youth Specialties, the largest youth ministry training organization in America. He has authored numerous books on youth, youth ministry and parenting including Junior High Ministry, Up Close and Personal, Hot Illustrations for Youth Talks, Enjoy Your Middle-Schooler and Cleared for Takeoff. He is a graduate of Bethel Theological Seminary (San Diego) and lives in Lakeside, California with his wife Marci. Their three children are now young adults. For more information about Wayne, visit his personal web site at: http://www.waynerice.com _________________________________________ LET'S GO SURFING DUDE! Truth Quest - http://www.truthquest.sbc.net/ Twelve Christian teenagers take a journey up the Southern California coast to apply their faith in the real world. In this Christian reality series, the student's "quest" is to seek a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ and to share their truth, through mission activities and encounters with people in unusual settings like the coffee house for troubled teenagers in the Haight-Ashbury district of San Francisco; and rock climbing in Yosemite National Park. __________________________________________ Thought For The Day: "Most of the shadows of this life are caused by standing in one's own sunshine." --Ralph Waldo Emerson Verse for the Day: "A man's pride shall bring him low: but honor shall uphold the humble in spirit." Proverbs 29:23 Teen's Thought For The Day: "Every job is a self-portrait of the person who does it. Autograph your work with excellence." Parent's Thought For The Day: "Mother's arms are made of kindness, and sweet sleep blesses the child who lies therein." -- Victor Hugo Coach's Thought For The Day: "The best and fastest way to learn a sport is to watch and imitate a champion." --Jean-Claude Killy Deep Thought For The Day: "The Bible has a word to describe 'safe' sex: It's called marriage." _________________________________________ 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 6:30-8:00 PM at Faith Community Church which is located at 2931 Lucerene Dr. in Janesville, WI. (About 4-5 blocks south-east of The Skating Place.) Currently we have students from Fort Atkinson, Milton, Janesville Craig, Janesville Parker, 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: No Compromise The Outlet: Sacrifice _______________________________________________ UPCOMING EVENTS Saturday June 21: Bowling at Blackbridge Bowl. 1 - 4 PM. Wednesday July 9: Trip to Great America! ___________________________________________ Change Is Here! All-Stars will be extending 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. We 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. "The Extreme Teens" (formerly the Core Group) meets from 5:00 - 6:00 PM at the church. 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. (If your teen will also be attending All-Stars that night, they are encouraged to bring a sack lunch or snack to tide them over until 8:30.) We are very excited at what God will be doing with our youth! _________________________________________ Author MICHAEL T. POWERS www.Heart4Teens.com "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 ___________________________________________ Would you like to see your story in Heart4Teens.com? Writer's guidelines can be found on our Web site here: http://www.Heart4Teens.com/guidelines/ __________________________________________ Do you feel as if life has no meaning for you? http://www.greatcom.org/english/four.htm __________________________________________ |
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Touching Lives - One E-mail at a Time! Author Michael T. Powers - HeartTouchers @ aol.com
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