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{Heart4Teens.com} *Honor Thy Mom and Dad*

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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

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http://www.HeartTouchers.com

To subscribe send a blank email to:

HeartTouchers-subscribe@myinjesus.com

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Honor Thy Mom and Dad

by Allison Stevens


Listen ... to your father's instruction and do not forsake your mother's teaching" (Proverbs 1:8).

Sally could hardly stand living in the same house with her parents for the summer. College could not come soon enough. Her parents were still setting what she thought was a too early curfew. She felt accused of things she had never done. At times, they would prohibit her from attending church activities because it interfered with family activities. Sally was beginning to resent her parents.

Sally wondered how she could possibly obey the command to honor her mother and father. Although she knew her parents loved her and were committed to protecting her from making some of the same mistakes they had made, she felt they were being completely unfair.

For most of us the road from childhood to adulthood is quite bumpy. We are trying to become independent people, but our parents seemingly treat us as if we were still eight years old.

We will experience turbulence (self-doubt, tension with our parents, peer pressure) as we spread our wings and learn to fly on our own. Maturing requires that we learn the balance between our personal freedom and our responsibilities toward God, others, and ourselves. As we grow toward independence and maturity, the Lord wants us to continue honoring and respecting our parents.

Sadly, some parents don't seem to deserve that honor. They may be addicted to drugs or alcohol, or they may be abusive. Scripture says we need to honor them. But how? We may need to ask for a counselor's or teacher's advice on how to hold our parents accountable for their actions. If we love Christ and know the immensity of His grace, we won't allow anyone to repeatedly abuse us.

Honoring our parents means that we willingly submit to their God-given authority by loving them, and by encouraging them to be more like Christ. Obeying their rules, listening to their wisdom gained from life experience, and respectfully expressing our viewpoints to them are all ways of honoring our parents who are committed to us and who love us.

Allison Stevens
Used by permission from Soul Journey. Visit their website at: www.soul-journey.org

Here are some questions to ask yourself: ~ How can I honor my parents when I disagree with them? ~ In what ways can I improve the level of respect I give my parents? ~ What can I learn (or what have I learned) from my parents' wisdom?

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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!

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

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LET'S GO SURFING DUDE!

~ Money Matters for Kids
How's your cash flow? More importantly, how are you doing at honoring God with what you've been given? This is the place to find out. http://www.mm4kids.org/teens/teens_index.html

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Thought For The Day:

"Choice, not chance determines human destiny."

Verse for the Day:

"...I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live." --Deuteronomy 30:19


Teen's Thought For The Day:

"Learn by experience. Preferably other people's."


Parent's Thought For The Day

"I use to have to walk to school in the bitter cold. Uphill both ways. And I kept a warm baked potato in my pocket to keep my hands from freezing. Then I ate that for my lunch later in the day... Wait a minute... That was my dad not me." -- Michael T. Powers


Coach's Thought For The Day

A boss says, "Get Going!" While a leader says, Let's GO!"


Deep Thought For The Day:

"Do you think that when they asked George Washington for ID that he just whipped out a quarter?"

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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 6:00-8:30 PM at Faith Community Church which is located at 2931 Lucerene 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, Edgerton, 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: 9/7 -- Fresh Start

The Outlet: 9/3  -- Discussion on the Deity of Christ

Important Note: Both the Jr. High and Sr. High small groups will be meeting at the Powers house this week!

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UPCOMING EVENTS

The last Summer Challenge is this Friday September 5th at Tedi's house!

The Summer Challenge is for those students who would like to develop good spiritual habits.  We have been meeting every other Friday night from 6:30- 8:30 PM  throughout the summer.  Those that make it through the challenge will be rewarded with a special all-expense paid two day trip at the end of the summer.

For Those Students Who Pass the Summer Challenge:

We will be attending the Michael W. Smith/Mercy Me concert in Milwaukee on Thursday, October 16. We will also be heading to the Dells on Friday night October 17th and then returning Saturday night October 18th. The only money you would need to bring would be for snacks and souvenirs if you wanted to buy them!



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Upcoming Topics:


9/7        Fresh Start (Also welcoming new 6th graders)

9/14 Creation/Evolution   6:30-- 8:30 pm

9/19      Special: Creation/Evolution   7pm -- 8:30 pm

9/20      Special: Creation/Evolution   9 am - Noon

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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" (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 is doing with our youth!

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Author MICHAEL T. POWERS
www.Heart4Teens.com

Contributing Author to Chicken Soup for the Teen's Soul on Love and Friendship and 15 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