February 25, 2008
1. 180 News
2. Something for Your Heart
3. Surf Report
4. Birthdays
5. Video of The Week
6. Forgettable Fact
7. Potent Quotables
8. Parting Shot
1. 180 NEWS
30 Hour Famine
The Famine has come and gone, but the change continues. God did great things in our lives over this last weekend. The Rally was exciting, the worship was great, serving at Northwest Children's Outreach was fun (did your see us on KATU?), the REAL. LIFE. Experience was impacting, the games were crazy, and the meal was wonderful.
See all our pics here.
Thank you Stephen Fiddes for the video!
2008 MEXICO OUTREACH
Yesterday was the start to your Mexico Outreach season. The dates of this year's trip are July 29-August 8. If you are currently in 8th grade or high school begin now to ask God if there is any reason why you should not join us on this life changing mission trip.
Learn more about this year's trip at our Mexico Outreach web site, and be sure to check out the Video Of The Week down below. Applications are available at the Info Table in the Youth Center.
2. SOMETHING FOR YOUR HEART
*Download a FREE mp3 of this meditation and listen along as you read, for a different kind of devotional experience.
Meditation.
Scripture.
TALK TO ME
Guided Meditation
It's a normal day like any other. You're busy doing what you do. But as you go about your daily routine, you sense someone wanting to spend time with you. He wants you to come to him. He wants you to be with him. You definitely recognize his voice, but it's been a while since you've spent any real time together. Doesn't he know how busy your life can be? After all, you've been busy doing what you do.
He sits there, hunkered down in the corner of your room waiting for you. He's certainly not pushing himself on you, but you can definitely tell he longs to spend some time with you. You tell him that you don't think you'll have time to meet with him today as you head out the door again.
When you get back from your day, he's there again, waiting for you. He smiles at you as you come in the door and asks you how your day has been. He invites you to sit down and rest for a while. You can tell he wants to hear about your day and everything else you've got going on in your life. He seems very proud of who you are becoming. He asks you about what seems to be pressing in on you and weighing you down. You can tell he genuinely cares about you. He wants what's best for you. So you finally decide to sit down for a few minutes to talk with him.
You start by telling him that you can't talk long because you still have a lot to do before bedtime. But after a few minutes of talking together, your whole world and all the worries of your day seem to simply melt away. You haven't felt this relaxed in a long time. You find yourself pouring your heart out to him. And then he looks you right in the eyes and tells you how proud he is of you. He tells you how much he loves you and enjoys spending time together.
At that moment you realize this friend who has been waiting to talk with you day after day is Jesus. He has never made you feel guilty about blowing him off day after day. He looks at you and smiles. It's at that moment that you can tell for the first time in your life that you have a true friend who cares about you for who you are. The time seems to fly by as you continue talking together late into the night.
Journal Entry [spend some time journaling your thoughts]
Scripture Guides Us
Would it surprise you to hear that Jesus enjoys spending time with you? He loves you like crazy and just enjoys being with you. But he'll never force himself upon you. He'll simply wait until you're ready to be with him. And somehow it always ends up being some of the best time of your entire day.
Take a few minutes to "chew on" the following Scripture verses, allowing God's Spirit to speak to you.
MATTHEW 11:28-30
"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."
PSALM 16:7-10
"I will praise the LORD, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me. I keep my eyes always on the LORD. With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure, because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, nor will you let your faithful one see decay."
PSALM 32:6-7
"Therefore let all the faithful pray to you while you may be found; surely the rising mighty waters will not reach them. You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance."
PSALM 62:1-2
"Truly my soul finds rest in God; my salvation comes from him. Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken."
1 THESSALONIANS 5:17
"Pray continually."
Questions for Reflection
1. What does it look like for you to spend time with Jesus? What do you enjoy most about your time with him? What are some of the obstacles that prevent you from spending time with him?
2. Think about some of the best times you've had connecting with God. What made them so special? How could you make that happen more often?
3. How does busy-ness and your schedule keep you from spending time with God? What things could you stop doing in order to spend some more time with him?
4. What does Matthew 11:28-30 say about the yoke Jesus offers us? What does it make you feel like to know that Jesus is carrying that yoke along with you?
5. What does it mean for God to be your hiding place? Where are some of your favorite places to spend time with him?
6. What do you think it means to pray continually? Is that even possible? And if it's not possible, why would God tell us to do it?
**
Taken from "Chew on This" by Dave Ambrose, copyright 2008, Youth Specialties/Zondervan. Used by permission. Order the book here.
**
3. SURF REPORT
~ Black History Month: Get all the Info
~ Dodgeball at the Stride Gum Factory
4. BIRTHDAYS
This week we have one birthday shout out and it goes out to Cameron Kennedy! We wish you the BEST Cameron!
5. VIDEO OF THE WEEK
Will you be in our next Mexico Outreach video?
6. FORGETTABLE FACT
Kite flying is a professional sport in Thailand.
7. POTENT QUOTABLES
"I don't want a Black History Month. Black history is American history."
~Morgan Freeman
"Defining myself, as opposed to being defined by others, is one of the most difficult challenges I face."
~Carol Moseley-Braun
===========our sponsor===========
YOU HAVE TO CHEW TO GET TO THE GOOD STUFF
Meditation essentially means to chew on something over and over again. This month long devotional provides you with the stuff to chew on that will take you deeper--to the really good stuff.
Learn more about "Chew on This" and purchase the book here.
Also available in your local Christian bookstore.
=================================
8. PARTING SHOT
Seven days without a pun makes one weak.
2. Something for Your Heart
3. Surf Report
4. Birthdays
5. Video of The Week
6. Forgettable Fact
7. Potent Quotables
8. Parting Shot
1. 180 NEWS
30 Hour Famine
The Famine has come and gone, but the change continues. God did great things in our lives over this last weekend. The Rally was exciting, the worship was great, serving at Northwest Children's Outreach was fun (did your see us on KATU?), the REAL. LIFE. Experience was impacting, the games were crazy, and the meal was wonderful.
Going without food for 30 hours wasn't even all that hard either!
See all our pics here.
Thank you Stephen Fiddes for the video!
2008 MEXICO OUTREACH
Yesterday was the start to your Mexico Outreach season. The dates of this year's trip are July 29-August 8. If you are currently in 8th grade or high school begin now to ask God if there is any reason why you should not join us on this life changing mission trip.
Learn more about this year's trip at our Mexico Outreach web site, and be sure to check out the Video Of The Week down below. Applications are available at the Info Table in the Youth Center.
2. SOMETHING FOR YOUR HEART
*Download a FREE mp3 of this meditation and listen along as you read, for a different kind of devotional experience.
Meditation.
Scripture.
TALK TO ME
Guided Meditation
It's a normal day like any other. You're busy doing what you do. But as you go about your daily routine, you sense someone wanting to spend time with you. He wants you to come to him. He wants you to be with him. You definitely recognize his voice, but it's been a while since you've spent any real time together. Doesn't he know how busy your life can be? After all, you've been busy doing what you do.
He sits there, hunkered down in the corner of your room waiting for you. He's certainly not pushing himself on you, but you can definitely tell he longs to spend some time with you. You tell him that you don't think you'll have time to meet with him today as you head out the door again.
When you get back from your day, he's there again, waiting for you. He smiles at you as you come in the door and asks you how your day has been. He invites you to sit down and rest for a while. You can tell he wants to hear about your day and everything else you've got going on in your life. He seems very proud of who you are becoming. He asks you about what seems to be pressing in on you and weighing you down. You can tell he genuinely cares about you. He wants what's best for you. So you finally decide to sit down for a few minutes to talk with him.
You start by telling him that you can't talk long because you still have a lot to do before bedtime. But after a few minutes of talking together, your whole world and all the worries of your day seem to simply melt away. You haven't felt this relaxed in a long time. You find yourself pouring your heart out to him. And then he looks you right in the eyes and tells you how proud he is of you. He tells you how much he loves you and enjoys spending time together.
At that moment you realize this friend who has been waiting to talk with you day after day is Jesus. He has never made you feel guilty about blowing him off day after day. He looks at you and smiles. It's at that moment that you can tell for the first time in your life that you have a true friend who cares about you for who you are. The time seems to fly by as you continue talking together late into the night.
Journal Entry [spend some time journaling your thoughts]
Scripture Guides Us
Would it surprise you to hear that Jesus enjoys spending time with you? He loves you like crazy and just enjoys being with you. But he'll never force himself upon you. He'll simply wait until you're ready to be with him. And somehow it always ends up being some of the best time of your entire day.
Take a few minutes to "chew on" the following Scripture verses, allowing God's Spirit to speak to you.
MATTHEW 11:28-30
"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."
PSALM 16:7-10
"I will praise the LORD, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me. I keep my eyes always on the LORD. With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure, because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, nor will you let your faithful one see decay."
PSALM 32:6-7
"Therefore let all the faithful pray to you while you may be found; surely the rising mighty waters will not reach them. You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance."
PSALM 62:1-2
"Truly my soul finds rest in God; my salvation comes from him. Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken."
1 THESSALONIANS 5:17
"Pray continually."
Questions for Reflection
1. What does it look like for you to spend time with Jesus? What do you enjoy most about your time with him? What are some of the obstacles that prevent you from spending time with him?
2. Think about some of the best times you've had connecting with God. What made them so special? How could you make that happen more often?
3. How does busy-ness and your schedule keep you from spending time with God? What things could you stop doing in order to spend some more time with him?
4. What does Matthew 11:28-30 say about the yoke Jesus offers us? What does it make you feel like to know that Jesus is carrying that yoke along with you?
5. What does it mean for God to be your hiding place? Where are some of your favorite places to spend time with him?
6. What do you think it means to pray continually? Is that even possible? And if it's not possible, why would God tell us to do it?
**
Taken from "Chew on This" by Dave Ambrose, copyright 2008, Youth Specialties/Zondervan. Used by permission. Order the book here.
**
3. SURF REPORT
~ Black History Month: Get all the Info
~ Dodgeball at the Stride Gum Factory
4. BIRTHDAYS
This week we have one birthday shout out and it goes out to Cameron Kennedy! We wish you the BEST Cameron!
5. VIDEO OF THE WEEK
Will you be in our next Mexico Outreach video?
6. FORGETTABLE FACT
Kite flying is a professional sport in Thailand.
7. POTENT QUOTABLES
"I don't want a Black History Month. Black history is American history."
~Morgan Freeman
"Defining myself, as opposed to being defined by others, is one of the most difficult challenges I face."
~Carol Moseley-Braun
===========our sponsor===========
YOU HAVE TO CHEW TO GET TO THE GOOD STUFF
Meditation essentially means to chew on something over and over again. This month long devotional provides you with the stuff to chew on that will take you deeper--to the really good stuff.
Learn more about "Chew on This" and purchase the book here.
Also available in your local Christian bookstore.
=================================
8. PARTING SHOT
Seven days without a pun makes one weak.
February 18, 2008
Contents
1. 180 News
2. Something for Your Heart
3. Surf Report
4. Birthdays
5. Video of The Week
6. Forgettable Fact
7. Potent Quotables
8. Parting Shot
1. 180 NEWS
30 Hour Famine
The Famine hits this weekend! We are geared up and excited about this year's 30 Hour Famine and hope you are as well!
Here are a few last minute details to keep in mind:
• Make lunch on Friday your last meal.
• Please be at the church no later than 7:00 PM on Friday and have with you all collections and if needed a completed 2008 Release Form.
• Bring with you your favorite juice to drink.
• Be sure to bring a sleeping bag and any other needed items for an over night stay.
• Plan to be picked up on Saturday at 6:45 PM.
• Be praying for God to do great things! Come expecting them to happen!
Here is how it all went down last year. See you at the Famine!
2008 Release Forms
Have you turned one in yet? Please remember we must have a new 2008 Release Form on file before you can attend any of our monthly events. The 2007 Release Forms are no longer valid.
If you will be joining us this week for our 30 Hour Famine and have not yet turned one in, please be sure to bring it with you on Friday.
They are available here for download.
2. SOMETHING FOR YOUR HEART
DECISIONS, DECISIONS
Decisions come in all shapes and sizes. Some are minor and have little or no lasting impact: What should I have for lunch? What should I do this weekend? Others can affect your life in a major way: Where should I go to college? Whom should I marry? Some decisions seem minor at first, but turn out to be quite major. Others seem major, but turn out to be no big deal.
The average person makes hundreds of decisions every day, often without even realizing it. Should I keep my cool or lose my temper? Should I speak up or keep my mouth shut? Should I help that person or ignore his need? Those are just some of the choices we make instinctively.
Of course, not all decisions are made this way. Some require serious thought. Some involve scary leaps of faith. Some can tie your stomach into knots and keep you awake at night.
Situations like those can make you forget how amazing it is to be able to make decisions at all. Especially when you consider the alternative. God, with all of his wisdom and power, could have laid out our lives like an instruction manual: START AT POINT A. GO TO POINT B. PROCEED TO POINT C. He could have preprogrammed every moment of our lives. He could have made us robots, slaves to his commands.
But he didn't do that. When he placed Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, he gave them one rule: Don't eat from the forbidden tree. But then he left it up to them to decide whether or not to obey him. He gave them the freedom to choose.
Freedom of choice separates humans from the rest of God's creation. Animals have no such freedom. They're driven by instinct and opportunity. When an animal in the wild gets hungry, it eats whatever is available. When an animal is threatened, it attacks--or runs away. When an animal is in heat, it mates. It doesn't consider the benefits of monogamy. It doesn't make plans to meet its future in-laws.
We humans certainly have our share of instincts and drives too. But what makes us different from the animals is our capability to control our urges. Humans are able to look at situations from different perspectives. We can weigh the pros and cons before taking any action. We have the freedom to choose.
I waited 23 years--until I was married--to have sex. It was difficult, but I did it. My sex drive was strong, but it didn't overwhelm the decision-making process. I weighed the pros and cons of the situation, and I decided that my long-term purity was more important to me than any short-term pleasure.
God wants us to choose wisely. He's equipped us to choose wisely. But if we still choose unwisely, God won't interfere. Consider the two thieves who were crucified next to Jesus. (You'll find their story in Luke 23:32-43.) One thief mocked and hurled insults at Jesus. The other thief responded, in essence, "Why are you mocking him? You and I are getting what we deserve, but this man is innocent." He then turned to Jesus and said, "Remember me when you come into your kingdom."
"Today you will be with me in paradise," Jesus promised him.
One man chose to accept Jesus; the other chose to reject him. Notice that Jesus honored both choices. He didn't pressure the first thief to change his opinion. He didn't make threats. And he didn't beg. ("I really am God's Son--the only way to heaven! Please, please, please believe me!") Instead, Jesus allowed the man to make up his own mind. That's how freedom of choice works.
Of course, with freedom comes responsibility. Every choice contains an if and a then: If you choose to do this, then that will happen; if you choose to do that, then this will happen.
The end result is called a consequence, and it's why I'm writing this book. If you want to make wise choices, then you have to consider the consequences of your decisions. Some consequences are positive (as the faithful thief on the cross discovered), some are negative (as the other thief discovered), and some are neutral.
The good news is God has given us plenty of guidance and resources for making good decisions with positive consequences. He filled his Word with wisdom. He created us with brains capable of computing and processing the choices life throws our way. And he made it possible for us to consult and explore his will before we make any decision.
**
Taken from "Wisdom On...Making Good Decisions" by Mark Matlock, copyright 2008, Youth Specialties/Zondervan. Used by permission. Order the book here.
**
3. SURF REPORT
~ President's Day Quiz--Do you know your Vice-Presidents?
~ Presidential Paintball--You may not be old enough to vote, but you can fight it out in a paintball challenge!
4. BIRTHDAYS
We've got one birthday this week and want to throw out the best of birthday wishes to Zak Boyle! Hope you have a great one Zak!
5. VIDEO OF THE WEEK
The next member of the 180 Worship Band?
6. FORGETTABLE FACT
Each nostril of a human being registers smell in a different way. Smells that are made from the right nostril are more pleasant than the left.
7. POTENT QUOTABLES
"To be prepared for war is one of the most effectual means of preserving peace."
~George Washington
"It is easier to do a job right than to explain why you didn't."
~Martin Van Buren
===========our|sponsor===========
DON'T DO ANYTHING STUPID!
You get to make a lot of decisions in your life--even decisions that can have a big impact on your future. There's no "magic" formula to getting it right. Making good decisions takes wisdom, and in this book you'll learn how to gain more wisdom and put it to use in the choices you make.
Learn more about "Wisdom On...Making Good Decisions" here.
Also available in your local Christian bookstore.
=================================
8. PARTING SHOT
If you want to forget all your other troubles, wear too tight shoes.
1. 180 News
2. Something for Your Heart
3. Surf Report
4. Birthdays
5. Video of The Week
6. Forgettable Fact
7. Potent Quotables
8. Parting Shot
1. 180 NEWS
30 Hour Famine
The Famine hits this weekend! We are geared up and excited about this year's 30 Hour Famine and hope you are as well!
Here are a few last minute details to keep in mind:
• Make lunch on Friday your last meal.
• Please be at the church no later than 7:00 PM on Friday and have with you all collections and if needed a completed 2008 Release Form.
• Bring with you your favorite juice to drink.
• Be sure to bring a sleeping bag and any other needed items for an over night stay.
• Plan to be picked up on Saturday at 6:45 PM.
• Be praying for God to do great things! Come expecting them to happen!
Here is how it all went down last year. See you at the Famine!2008 Release Forms
Have you turned one in yet? Please remember we must have a new 2008 Release Form on file before you can attend any of our monthly events. The 2007 Release Forms are no longer valid.
If you will be joining us this week for our 30 Hour Famine and have not yet turned one in, please be sure to bring it with you on Friday.
They are available here for download.
2. SOMETHING FOR YOUR HEART
DECISIONS, DECISIONS
Decisions come in all shapes and sizes. Some are minor and have little or no lasting impact: What should I have for lunch? What should I do this weekend? Others can affect your life in a major way: Where should I go to college? Whom should I marry? Some decisions seem minor at first, but turn out to be quite major. Others seem major, but turn out to be no big deal.
The average person makes hundreds of decisions every day, often without even realizing it. Should I keep my cool or lose my temper? Should I speak up or keep my mouth shut? Should I help that person or ignore his need? Those are just some of the choices we make instinctively.
Of course, not all decisions are made this way. Some require serious thought. Some involve scary leaps of faith. Some can tie your stomach into knots and keep you awake at night.
Situations like those can make you forget how amazing it is to be able to make decisions at all. Especially when you consider the alternative. God, with all of his wisdom and power, could have laid out our lives like an instruction manual: START AT POINT A. GO TO POINT B. PROCEED TO POINT C. He could have preprogrammed every moment of our lives. He could have made us robots, slaves to his commands.
But he didn't do that. When he placed Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, he gave them one rule: Don't eat from the forbidden tree. But then he left it up to them to decide whether or not to obey him. He gave them the freedom to choose.
Freedom of choice separates humans from the rest of God's creation. Animals have no such freedom. They're driven by instinct and opportunity. When an animal in the wild gets hungry, it eats whatever is available. When an animal is threatened, it attacks--or runs away. When an animal is in heat, it mates. It doesn't consider the benefits of monogamy. It doesn't make plans to meet its future in-laws.
We humans certainly have our share of instincts and drives too. But what makes us different from the animals is our capability to control our urges. Humans are able to look at situations from different perspectives. We can weigh the pros and cons before taking any action. We have the freedom to choose.
I waited 23 years--until I was married--to have sex. It was difficult, but I did it. My sex drive was strong, but it didn't overwhelm the decision-making process. I weighed the pros and cons of the situation, and I decided that my long-term purity was more important to me than any short-term pleasure.
God wants us to choose wisely. He's equipped us to choose wisely. But if we still choose unwisely, God won't interfere. Consider the two thieves who were crucified next to Jesus. (You'll find their story in Luke 23:32-43.) One thief mocked and hurled insults at Jesus. The other thief responded, in essence, "Why are you mocking him? You and I are getting what we deserve, but this man is innocent." He then turned to Jesus and said, "Remember me when you come into your kingdom."
"Today you will be with me in paradise," Jesus promised him.
One man chose to accept Jesus; the other chose to reject him. Notice that Jesus honored both choices. He didn't pressure the first thief to change his opinion. He didn't make threats. And he didn't beg. ("I really am God's Son--the only way to heaven! Please, please, please believe me!") Instead, Jesus allowed the man to make up his own mind. That's how freedom of choice works.
Of course, with freedom comes responsibility. Every choice contains an if and a then: If you choose to do this, then that will happen; if you choose to do that, then this will happen.
The end result is called a consequence, and it's why I'm writing this book. If you want to make wise choices, then you have to consider the consequences of your decisions. Some consequences are positive (as the faithful thief on the cross discovered), some are negative (as the other thief discovered), and some are neutral.
The good news is God has given us plenty of guidance and resources for making good decisions with positive consequences. He filled his Word with wisdom. He created us with brains capable of computing and processing the choices life throws our way. And he made it possible for us to consult and explore his will before we make any decision.
**
Taken from "Wisdom On...Making Good Decisions" by Mark Matlock, copyright 2008, Youth Specialties/Zondervan. Used by permission. Order the book here.
**
3. SURF REPORT
~ President's Day Quiz--Do you know your Vice-Presidents?
~ Presidential Paintball--You may not be old enough to vote, but you can fight it out in a paintball challenge!
4. BIRTHDAYS
We've got one birthday this week and want to throw out the best of birthday wishes to Zak Boyle! Hope you have a great one Zak!
5. VIDEO OF THE WEEK
The next member of the 180 Worship Band?
6. FORGETTABLE FACT
Each nostril of a human being registers smell in a different way. Smells that are made from the right nostril are more pleasant than the left.
7. POTENT QUOTABLES
"To be prepared for war is one of the most effectual means of preserving peace."
~George Washington
"It is easier to do a job right than to explain why you didn't."
~Martin Van Buren
===========our|sponsor===========
DON'T DO ANYTHING STUPID!
You get to make a lot of decisions in your life--even decisions that can have a big impact on your future. There's no "magic" formula to getting it right. Making good decisions takes wisdom, and in this book you'll learn how to gain more wisdom and put it to use in the choices you make.
Learn more about "Wisdom On...Making Good Decisions" here.
Also available in your local Christian bookstore.
=================================
8. PARTING SHOT
If you want to forget all your other troubles, wear too tight shoes.
February 11, 2008
Contents
1. 180 News
2. Something for Your Heart
3. Surf Report
4. Birthdays
5. Video of The Week
6. Forgettable Fact
7. Potent Quotables
8. This Week Is...
1. 180 NEWS
30 Hour Famine
30 Hour Famine season is in full swing, and it's happening February 22-23. If you have not yet picked up a fundraising packet, do so this week and make plans now to be a part of this great event!
Kids just like you are seeing their friends and families die from hunger - 29,000 every day, gone for good. They're counting on us to care. We know your own life is busy, but do you have room to care for someone else as well? If so, join us.
Be Seen. Be Heard. BE HUNGRY!
2008 Release Forms
Have you turned one in yet? Please remember we must have a new 2008 Release Form on file before you can attend any of our monthly events. The 2007 Release Forms are no longer valid.
If you will be joining us next week for our 30 Hour Famine and have not yet turned one in, be sure to do so soon!
They are available here for download.
2. SOMETHING FOR YOUR HEART
FOR THE GIRLS...
BOOGERS, BELCHES, AND BUGS--Guys and Grossness
booger (n) mucus from or in the nose, either green and gooey or green and crusty
belch (v) to eject gas noisily from the stomach through the mouth, to eructate.
(n) an eructation
bug (n) any terrestrial or aquatic insect with piercing, sucking mouth parts, wingless or with two pairs of wings, as the stinkbug, squash bug, or bedbug
(v) to annoy or bother
"Why do guys act so immature?"
- Samantha, 17 - Christine, 14 - Brianna, 14 - Nicole, 16 -
Stacy, 15 - Hanna, 15 - Steph, 15 - Carrie, 14 - Sammie, 16, etc.
"Guys are rude and gross."
--Amanda, 16
"I hate to say it, but guys can be pretty slobbish."
--Pastor Dave, 42
Fact: The female body and the male body both have the same digestive system.
Fact: The female body and the male body both have the same sinus drainage system.
Fact: The female body and the male body both produce digestive gasses, sometimes known as "burps" and "toots"
Fact: The female body and the male body both produce sinus mucus sometimes known as "snot" or "boogers."
So why, then, does it seem like guys have the market on gross bodily fluids and gross bodily noises?
Almost every single girl who filled out the guy and girl survey for this book had these questions on their minds: "Why are guys so gross? Why are guys so immature? Why do guys think stupid things are so funny? Why do guys laugh at dumb jokes? Why do guys think body noises are such a big deal?"
Those questions may not seem related at first glance, but read them again. Do you see a connection? Did you know that guys mature slower than girls? It's true. Teen guys are about one to two years less mature than teen girls. Since the word immature sounds so critical, let's use the words less mature to try to see how all those questions you just read are related.
--Teen guys are less mature than teen girls.
--Since teen guys are less mature than teen girls, things that seem childish or silly to the girls might seem funny to the boys.
--Since things like body noises, dumb jokes, and gross things are somewhat childish and silly, teen guys, who are less mature than teen girls, might think those things are funnier than teen girls do.
Do you see the connection?
Several years ago some scientists got together with some museum people who then got together with a writer named Sylvia Branzei, and they created something called "Grossology." It was a traveling science exhibit that was presented all over the United States, and here are some of the facts it presented:
Burps and toots are results of gas buildup in the body.
A toot is not a backward burp.
Burping is officially known as "eructation."
Tooting does not have an official name. It is sometimes referred to as "farting," "passing gas," "breaking wind," "ripping one," and "cutting a puffy," among others.
Burps originate in the stomach and result from excess air combined with digestive acids.
Toots originate in the large intestine and result from the gas that is produced by the bacteria that digests food.
People, both male and female, pass gas an average of 14 times a day.
Ants, by the way, do not burp.
Snot is produced when the mucus in your nose combines with bacteria-killing chemicals. Snot coats the tiny hairs in your noise, which then help trap the dirt you breathe, keeping it from getting into your lungs. You proceed to swallow the dirty snot throughout the day, and then it is destroyed in your stomach. The nasal area of a human being is one of the cleanest areas of the body.
On average, people, both male and female, manufacture and swallow about one quart (about one liter) of their own snot a day.
The act of nose picking is officially referred to as "rhinotillexomania."
Don't you feel smarter now?
A few summers ago about 25 ninth graders from my town took a trip down to Chicago. On the second morning of the trip the male and female leaders were both sleepdeprived, exhausted, and haggard-looking. The male leader said to the female leader, "You look awful. What happened last night?" The female leader said, "The girls were up all night talking about boys, picking out their outfits for today, comparing their shoes, trading clothes, modeling their swimsuits for each other, painting their nails, plucking each other's eyebrows, telling stories, and doing their hair. I didn't get any sleep. You look awful, too. What happened to you?"
The male leader said, "I was up until four in the morning while the guys all tried to outfart one another. I didn't get any sleep, either, but I did have a few good laughs."
No one is able to say for sure why guys and girls have such a different viewpoint on body noises and function, but here are a few possibilities:
- Girls, as we said earlier, mature sooner than guys. But eventually the guys catch up. When was the last time your dad burped out loud at a restaurant? You see, they do grow out of it.
- Girls tend to be more inhibited because they have higher levels of the brain chemical serotonin, which works like the brakes in a car. It's easier for girls to say to themselves, "My stomach is really churning right now. This could be a problem. What am I going to do? One thing's for sure. I'm not going to do anything in public that might be embarrassing."
- The part of the brain that keeps a person interested and attentive is less sensitive in guys than girls, so they get bored more easily. When they get bored, they often start acting up, wiggling, being silly, etc. In a girl's brain the "thinking" part more easily overrides the "reacting" part than it does in a guy's brain.
One of the problems with understanding guys during the teenage years is that their bodies often look mature, but their brains aren't quite at the same developmental level. In other words, their bodies are grown, but their brains aren't. Because of that the mantra of many teen girls when they're with teen guys is, "Would you just grow up already?!"
Actually, some girls start saying this as early as kindergarten when boys have been known to pull on a girl's braids as a way to get her attention, to chew up his food and then display it to the entire class on the tip of his tongue, or to pick his nose and then promptly consume whatever it is that's dangling from the tip of his finger.
Television commercials and sitcoms often make it seem like guys never grow out of the less mature stage. The media seems determined to portray guys both young and old as immature, childish, silly, sports-fanatical, car-crazy, toy-loving creatures who, like Peter Pan, never grow up. And it must be good for sales; otherwise the media would stop doing it.
The fact is, however, that there are lots of teenage guys who never burp in public, never tell silly jokes, aren't interested in gross things, and act rather mature for their age. If there are 15 guys and 15 girls in a high school class, and if only two or three of the guys act immature and love to make body noises in public, the 15 girls will usually define the entire teenage male population as "immature, disgusting, and gross" based on those few individuals.
Likewise, if only two or three of the girls in the class talk nonstop about shopping, gossip about other people, and don't know how to change a tire on their cars, the 15 boys will usually define the entire teenage female population as "backbiting, shopaholic ditzes" based on those few individuals.
Not only do girls often broadly categorize all guys as gross and immature, but they also tend to forget that many members of their own gender fit the same description. I had three roommates in college who could beat any guy in a burping contest. I've been in cars and buses and classrooms with girls who could clear out a football stadium with the body sounds and smells they produced. And I've been at sleepovers with senior high girls who giggle and laugh and whisper and tell secrets just like third graders.
The biggest difference between the gross level of guys and girls is that girls tend not to brag about their skills. Guys, you may remember, are very competitive. So of course, if there are gross body noises being discussed, there will naturally be a contest to see who's best . . . or worst, as the case may be. A guy may congratulate his friend on a magnificent burp, but he will then immediately proceed to try and outburp him. A girl, on the other hand, will probably just congratulate her friend and leave it at that.
Another thing to keep in mind is that, for as long as anyone can remember, society has looked to females to be genteel, refined, and polite. That's not to say that people expected males to be the opposite. Rather they expected that the gentle and refined politeness of females would encourage males to follow suit. Does it really work this way?
That's a little hard to say. Certainly, if a guy has a crush on a girl and he finds out that she thinks burping is disgusting, he might change his behavior, at least when he's in her presence. Then again he might decide he's not quite ready to give up this exciting pastime and that girls can wait for a while. Truly, girls, this issue is a bit of a mystery, even to the guys themselves.
I met with a group of guys (all different ages) and told them that girls didn't understand why guys thought body noises and silly things and gross stuff and childish behavior were such a big deal. The guys laughed, pushed each other around a little bit, joked, and then one of them burped. Loudly.
Then I asked them if they could tell me why so many guys did those things, and they were at a loss for words. "I don't know." "Just because it's fun, I guess." "We just do, that's all." Those were as precise as the answers got. One senior guy said, "It's just something we do, but as we get older, we stop. Or at least we do it less." And then I noticed that it was mostly the younger guys who were acting silly and trying to burp the alphabet. The older guys were considerably more polite.
This difference in age behavior showed up in the guy and girl surveys. The younger guys who filled out the survey often wrote down sarcastic, silly, ridiculous answers.
For example, one young guy gave these answers--
Name some things that guys (in general) are better at than girls: Everything
Name some things that girls (in general) are better at than guys: Nothing.
Another young guy gave these answers--
Name some things that guys (in general) are better at than girls: spitting, burping, farting, going to the bathroom standing up.
Name some things that girls (in general) are better at than guys: cooking, cleaning, having babies, being crabby, being annoying.
Many of the older guys, on the other hand, seemed to have more thoughtful and honest answers. One older teen guy wrote:
Name some things that guys (in general) are better at than girls: I don't know . . . some are better at sports. Some aren't. Some are better at mechanical things. Some aren't. It all depends. I do think we're better at letting go of a problem or conflict once it's over with.
Name some things that girls (in general) are better at than guys: I think girls are really good at building close friendships. They understand relationships better than guys, I think. They're also better at understanding and relating to other people's feelings.
Can you see the difference between these answers? Clearly, as guys get older, their maturity starts to become apparent. It just arrives a little bit later than it does for most girls.
So what can you do about a guy whose immaturity is starting to really get you down? I think it's very appropriate for girls to let a guy know if he's doing something that's rather impolite. If a guy walks up to you, makes a crude joke, and then laughs, you have every right to say, "You know, I don't really appreciate that at all. Please don't talk to me that way." That's going to accomplish much more than saying, "You jerk. You're so stupid. Why don't you just grow up and stop being such an animal." If you say something like that, he might just laugh and think, "Wow, that was awesome! Maybe if I do the same thing tomorrow, she'll scream and make a girly scene."
In the end, girls, this is what it comes down to:
- Not all guys are gross, disgusting slobs who think boogers are for bouncing, bugs are for smashing, and burps are for communicating.
- The guys in your school (or family or church) whom you consider to be "immature, gross, disgusting slobs" probably still have some maturing to do. Be patient.
- The fact that you are annoyed by some guys' behavior doesn't make you better or superior. Nor does it give you a right to trash guys.
- Most guys grow up to be decent and kind men . . . even the ones who, right now, think it's cool to make fake farting sounds by sticking one hand under their armpit and then pumping their elbow up and down really fast.
- No one asked you to be the politepolice. If you are a well-mannered, mature young woman, good for you. The world needs more people like that. But let your behavior be your example to others instead of resorting to lecturing, eye-rolling, tsk-tsking, and the ever famous, "Just grow up, will you!?"
TO READ--
Proverbs 13:20
TO THINK ABOUT--
1. Do you think the girls or guys in your grade act more mature? Why?
2. In what ways have you noticed guys your age maturing over the past few years?
3. Think of some examples of commercials that portray guys as being dumb, immature slobs. How do you react when you see these? Why do you think advertisers portray guys like this?
4. Why do people think body noises are ruder coming from a girl than from a guy?
**
Taken from "What's Up With Boys?" by Crystal Kirgiss, copyright 2004, Youth Specialties/Zondervan. Used by permission. Order the book here.
**
FOR THE GUYS...
MARKING THE LINES
You and your friends want to play some pickup football (touch, flag, tackle--whatever you prefer). You've got a ball. You've got a wide-open place to play. And you've got even teams.
Before you start the game, though, there's one important thing you have to do. You have to set your boundaries--sidelines, goal lines, and end lines. You have to determine what's inbounds and what's out-of-bounds.
You could try playing without boundary lines, but things would probably get frustrating and confusing pretty quickly. If you're going to play the game right, you need to know how far you can go. You need to know how much room you have to work with.
The same goes for sex.
WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY "SEX"?
God's plan is for guys and girls to save sex until marriage. (That sound you hear is millions of Christian parents and church leaders nodding their heads in agreement.) But that leads to a pretty obvious question: What is sex? And what, exactly, are you supposed to save?
To put it in football terms, where are the boundary lines? How much room do you have to work with? How far can you go? (That sound you hear is millions of Christian parents and church leaders going, "Um, um...")
It's not like there's a shortage of opinions on the subject. Lots of Christian guys have set boundaries for themselves, sexually speaking. The problem is finding agreement on where those boundaries belong.
Tony
When the Bible talks about sex, it's talking about intercourse. Or whatever you want to call it. That's what "two people becoming one flesh" means. That's what I'm saving for marriage. So if somebody asks me if I'm a virgin, I say yes. Even though I've had oral sex and stuff like that. Because those things don't count. They're not really sex.
Luis
I think there's a difference between teasing and sex. Teasing is when you're just messing around. You know, exploring bodies and stuff. How else are you gonna learn? You've gotta find out what feels good to a girl. Otherwise your wife's gonna be bummed on your wedding night. I say as long as you don't have an orgasm, it's not really sex.
Justin
I believe there's a difference between having sex and making love. I don't think God wants people doing it just because they feel like it or because they're drunk or whatever. But if you love someone, it's different. Then it's making love. It's something beautiful instead of something sleazy.
Michael
I think it depends on the person. There are some things I can do and not feel guilty about. But if another guy does the same thing, he might feel guilty. You have to be true to yourself. Don't make decisions based on what other people do or what other people tell you is right. Do what's right for you--and the person you love.
Shon
I don't really have a choice. My girlfriend won't let me do anything more than kiss her. I tried to get a little more a couple times, but she threatened to dump me. So now I'm a good boy. Well...almost. I told her I'd do the kissing thing. But I also told her she had to make it worth my while. And she has. She's a great kisser.
Kip
I made a pledge to save sex for marriage. To me that means not doing anything with a girl that I wouldn't want my future wife doing with another guy. I know it sounds weird. Especially since I have no clue who my future wife will be. But it just seems fair, you know?
How do your views of what's "too far" compare with these? How would you explain your boundaries when it comes to sex?
How do you think God feels about your boundaries? Think carefully before you answer. Raging hormones and wishful thinking have been known to cloud guys' judgments. With enough incentive, you could justify an orgy. And if you're really good, you could even make it sound biblical.
But God isn't swayed by lame excuses or desperate rationalizations. And fooling yourself is never a good idea, especially when the stakes are so high.
MYTH BUSTING
So how does an unmarried guy like you come up with a clear guideline for his love life? How can you enjoy the pleasures of the opposite sex without misusing your body?
You can start by finding out for yourself what God expects of you. You'd be surprised by how many well-meaning Christian guys have set sexual standards for themselves based on myths and mistaken ways of thinking when it comes to God and his Word. To help you avoid that mistake, let's take a look at three of the most common myths that can trip you up.
Myth #1: The Bible's silence is our gain.
You can search every book of the Bible and not find a verse that says oral sex before marriage is a sin. Nor will you find a passage about undressing a girl or tongue kissing. In fact, you won't find many specific guidelines about what's okay and what's not for sexually curious guys.
Some people use this fact to support the argument that (almost) anything goes. Their attitude is: If the Bible doesn't outlaw it, I'm allowed to do it.
The problem with this line of thinking, however, is that it assumes the Bible is nothing more than a rule book. A list of do's and don'ts. A fat book with countless ways God wants to ground us. And that's a really lame way to look at God's Word.
The Bible is actually more like a treasure map. A detailed plan for discovering the awesome things God has planned for you. A guide for making the best possible choices for yourself in every situation.
There's an old story about comedian W.C. Fields, who was quite well-known for his drinking, fooling around, and unwise lifestyle choices. Toward the end of his life--while Fields was living in a sanatorium--a friend entered his room and found Fields thumbing through a Bible. The friend was astonished. "Bill, I've never seen you with a Bible or within a mile of a church. What are you doing?" he asked.
"Looking for loopholes," Fields answered.
That story's kind of amusing as a joke, but it's tragic as a human episode. Now, if you are looking for loopholes in God's Word, you're missing about 99.9 percent of what it has to offer.
Besides, the Bible isn't nearly as silent on sexual matters as some people would like to believe. You can find plenty of clues scattered throughout Scripture that reveal God's attitude toward sexual experimentation.
One of the first clues can be found in 1 Corinthians 6:18: "Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body."
Look at that first sentence again. Run away from sexual immorality. Think of it as a ticking bomb at the beginning of an action movie. The people who see it and run away as fast as they can will probably survive. But the arrogant "expert" who thinks he can defuse it by himself will end up getting smeared across the room.
That's the kind of danger sexual temptation presents. If you're conceited enough to believe you can mess around with it safely, you're in for a nasty surprise. It's a matter of direction: If you're running away from sexual temptation, you're heading in one direction. If you're trying to see how close you can get to the boundary line without going over, you're heading in the opposite direction. And you have to admit that doing the opposite of what God commands is always a bad idea.
Clue number two can be found a few books later in the New Testament: "But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God's holy people." That's what Ephesians 5:3 says. Not even a hint. Talk about setting the bar high!
Guys can make all the pitches they want about why certain things technically shouldn't be considered sex. But if those things have even a hint of sexual immorality, they're off limits.
Ephesians 5:3 makes that crystal clear.
And then there's clue number three, which comes courtesy of Colossians 3:5: "Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry."
That doesn't sound like a God who's wishy-washy when it comes to his people playing around with sex. As far as he's concerned, you're in a fight to the finish with sexual sin. If you don't destroy it, it will destroy you. No matter how harmless it may seem right now.
Like it or not, God isn't going to spoon-feed you every bit of information you need to stay sexually pure. He's not going to supernaturally highlight every relevant verse in your Bible. Discovering his truth is your job. And it's not always an easy thing to do. Especially with so many other so-called truths competing for your attention. But if you commit yourself to learning what his Word says about sexual purity, he will help you discover his truth.
Myth #2: Setting sexual boundaries for yourself will take care of your problem.
Don't get me wrong. When it comes to sex, setting physical limits for yourself is a great idea. Especially if you commit yourself to respecting those limits. But it won't solve your problem completely.
You see, your fight isn't just physical; it's mental and spiritual, too. Jesus made that clear when he said, "But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart" (Matthew 5:28). How's that for a standard?
You can keep your pants zipped from now until your wedding day, but it won't keep you safe from sexual sin. The male imagination is a state-of-the-art, industrial-strength machine--especially when it's churning out sexual fantasies. Guys are ingenious when it comes to imagining erotic scenarios. There's no situation we can't turn into a sexual one if we just put our minds to it. So no matter where you draw the line physically, you still have to contend with your eyes and your thoughts.
Myth #3: More than anything else, God wants us to enjoy his gift of sex.
Don't be fooled into thinking that your enjoyment is at the top of God's priority list. It's not. "It is God's will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable, not in passionate lust like the heathen, who do not know God...For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life." I didn't say that; the apostle Paul did in 1 Thessalonians 4:3-5, 7.
God wants you to be pure. He wants you to obey him. He wants you to honor him in the things you do and say. He wants you to live your life as an example to others. That's what God wants. You can certainly enjoy yourself doing those things. But enjoyment isn't your ultimate goal--not if you're serious about living a life that pleases God.
You see, this isn't about getting what you want. It's about giving up what you want--for God's sake. "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body." Those are Paul's words again, from 1 Corinthians 6:19-20.
God has a purpose for you. And getting as much as you can from girls isn't part of it. Living a holy life is a 24-7 commitment. You can't call time-out, go mess around for a while, and then come back to it. To be holy you have to completely change your perspective on satisfying your urges.
That doesn't mean you have to live like a monk and shut yourself off from the world. God's not boring! As I mentioned in chapter 1, he's the One who created the pleasure centers in your body. But living a holy life does mean you have to learn to say no to your body--even when it's screaming for action.
**
Taken from "When Young Men Are Tempted" by Bill Perkins and Randy Southern, copyright 2007, Youth Specialties/Zondervan. Used by permission. Order the book here.
**
3. SURF REPORT
~ Make Your Own Avatar
4. BIRTHDAYS
This week we have got two birthday shout outs! Best wishes to Micha Pierce and Haley Carlsson! Hope you both have great birthdays!
5. VIDEO OF THE WEEK
Frozen People in Grand Central Station: This is just funny!
6. FORGETTABLE FACT
A snail can sleep for three years.
7. POTENT QUOTABLES
"There is a famine in America. Not a famine of food, but of love, of truth, of life."
~Mother Teresa
"Love means loving the unlovable--or it is no virtue at all."
~G.K. Chesterton
===========our|sponsor===========
"WHAT'S UP WITH BOYS?"
If you're a girl, you've probably asked that question more than once. Get the inside scoop on why guys do the things they do, and figure out what's really going on inside their heads and hearts.
"WHEN YOUNG MEN ARE TEMPTED"
Guys look at women...and that's not necessarily bad, unless they're looking at them with temptation in their hearts. This book helps guys get real about the struggle of lust and helps them learn to deal with the temptation.
Learn more and get "What's Up With Boys?" here.
Check out "When Young Men Are Tempted" here.
Also available in your local Christian bookstore.
=================================
8. THIS WEEK IS...
Monday, 2/11 = Make a Friend Day
Tuesday, 2/12 = Plum Pudding Day
Wednesday, 2/13 = Get a Different Name Day
Thursday, 2/14 = Ferris Wheel Day
Friday, 2/15 = National Gumdrop Day
1. 180 News
2. Something for Your Heart
3. Surf Report
4. Birthdays
5. Video of The Week
6. Forgettable Fact
7. Potent Quotables
8. This Week Is...
1. 180 NEWS
30 Hour Famine
30 Hour Famine season is in full swing, and it's happening February 22-23. If you have not yet picked up a fundraising packet, do so this week and make plans now to be a part of this great event!
Kids just like you are seeing their friends and families die from hunger - 29,000 every day, gone for good. They're counting on us to care. We know your own life is busy, but do you have room to care for someone else as well? If so, join us.
Be Seen. Be Heard. BE HUNGRY!
2008 Release Forms
Have you turned one in yet? Please remember we must have a new 2008 Release Form on file before you can attend any of our monthly events. The 2007 Release Forms are no longer valid.
If you will be joining us next week for our 30 Hour Famine and have not yet turned one in, be sure to do so soon!
They are available here for download.
2. SOMETHING FOR YOUR HEART
FOR THE GIRLS...
BOOGERS, BELCHES, AND BUGS--Guys and Grossness
booger (n) mucus from or in the nose, either green and gooey or green and crusty
belch (v) to eject gas noisily from the stomach through the mouth, to eructate.
(n) an eructation
bug (n) any terrestrial or aquatic insect with piercing, sucking mouth parts, wingless or with two pairs of wings, as the stinkbug, squash bug, or bedbug
(v) to annoy or bother
"Why do guys act so immature?"
- Samantha, 17 - Christine, 14 - Brianna, 14 - Nicole, 16 -
Stacy, 15 - Hanna, 15 - Steph, 15 - Carrie, 14 - Sammie, 16, etc.
"Guys are rude and gross."
--Amanda, 16
"I hate to say it, but guys can be pretty slobbish."
--Pastor Dave, 42
Fact: The female body and the male body both have the same digestive system.
Fact: The female body and the male body both have the same sinus drainage system.
Fact: The female body and the male body both produce digestive gasses, sometimes known as "burps" and "toots"
Fact: The female body and the male body both produce sinus mucus sometimes known as "snot" or "boogers."
So why, then, does it seem like guys have the market on gross bodily fluids and gross bodily noises?
Almost every single girl who filled out the guy and girl survey for this book had these questions on their minds: "Why are guys so gross? Why are guys so immature? Why do guys think stupid things are so funny? Why do guys laugh at dumb jokes? Why do guys think body noises are such a big deal?"
Those questions may not seem related at first glance, but read them again. Do you see a connection? Did you know that guys mature slower than girls? It's true. Teen guys are about one to two years less mature than teen girls. Since the word immature sounds so critical, let's use the words less mature to try to see how all those questions you just read are related.
--Teen guys are less mature than teen girls.
--Since teen guys are less mature than teen girls, things that seem childish or silly to the girls might seem funny to the boys.
--Since things like body noises, dumb jokes, and gross things are somewhat childish and silly, teen guys, who are less mature than teen girls, might think those things are funnier than teen girls do.
Do you see the connection?
Several years ago some scientists got together with some museum people who then got together with a writer named Sylvia Branzei, and they created something called "Grossology." It was a traveling science exhibit that was presented all over the United States, and here are some of the facts it presented:
Burps and toots are results of gas buildup in the body.
A toot is not a backward burp.
Burping is officially known as "eructation."
Tooting does not have an official name. It is sometimes referred to as "farting," "passing gas," "breaking wind," "ripping one," and "cutting a puffy," among others.
Burps originate in the stomach and result from excess air combined with digestive acids.
Toots originate in the large intestine and result from the gas that is produced by the bacteria that digests food.
People, both male and female, pass gas an average of 14 times a day.
Ants, by the way, do not burp.
Snot is produced when the mucus in your nose combines with bacteria-killing chemicals. Snot coats the tiny hairs in your noise, which then help trap the dirt you breathe, keeping it from getting into your lungs. You proceed to swallow the dirty snot throughout the day, and then it is destroyed in your stomach. The nasal area of a human being is one of the cleanest areas of the body.
On average, people, both male and female, manufacture and swallow about one quart (about one liter) of their own snot a day.
The act of nose picking is officially referred to as "rhinotillexomania."
Don't you feel smarter now?
A few summers ago about 25 ninth graders from my town took a trip down to Chicago. On the second morning of the trip the male and female leaders were both sleepdeprived, exhausted, and haggard-looking. The male leader said to the female leader, "You look awful. What happened last night?" The female leader said, "The girls were up all night talking about boys, picking out their outfits for today, comparing their shoes, trading clothes, modeling their swimsuits for each other, painting their nails, plucking each other's eyebrows, telling stories, and doing their hair. I didn't get any sleep. You look awful, too. What happened to you?"
The male leader said, "I was up until four in the morning while the guys all tried to outfart one another. I didn't get any sleep, either, but I did have a few good laughs."
No one is able to say for sure why guys and girls have such a different viewpoint on body noises and function, but here are a few possibilities:
- Girls, as we said earlier, mature sooner than guys. But eventually the guys catch up. When was the last time your dad burped out loud at a restaurant? You see, they do grow out of it.
- Girls tend to be more inhibited because they have higher levels of the brain chemical serotonin, which works like the brakes in a car. It's easier for girls to say to themselves, "My stomach is really churning right now. This could be a problem. What am I going to do? One thing's for sure. I'm not going to do anything in public that might be embarrassing."
- The part of the brain that keeps a person interested and attentive is less sensitive in guys than girls, so they get bored more easily. When they get bored, they often start acting up, wiggling, being silly, etc. In a girl's brain the "thinking" part more easily overrides the "reacting" part than it does in a guy's brain.
One of the problems with understanding guys during the teenage years is that their bodies often look mature, but their brains aren't quite at the same developmental level. In other words, their bodies are grown, but their brains aren't. Because of that the mantra of many teen girls when they're with teen guys is, "Would you just grow up already?!"
Actually, some girls start saying this as early as kindergarten when boys have been known to pull on a girl's braids as a way to get her attention, to chew up his food and then display it to the entire class on the tip of his tongue, or to pick his nose and then promptly consume whatever it is that's dangling from the tip of his finger.
Television commercials and sitcoms often make it seem like guys never grow out of the less mature stage. The media seems determined to portray guys both young and old as immature, childish, silly, sports-fanatical, car-crazy, toy-loving creatures who, like Peter Pan, never grow up. And it must be good for sales; otherwise the media would stop doing it.
The fact is, however, that there are lots of teenage guys who never burp in public, never tell silly jokes, aren't interested in gross things, and act rather mature for their age. If there are 15 guys and 15 girls in a high school class, and if only two or three of the guys act immature and love to make body noises in public, the 15 girls will usually define the entire teenage male population as "immature, disgusting, and gross" based on those few individuals.
Likewise, if only two or three of the girls in the class talk nonstop about shopping, gossip about other people, and don't know how to change a tire on their cars, the 15 boys will usually define the entire teenage female population as "backbiting, shopaholic ditzes" based on those few individuals.
Not only do girls often broadly categorize all guys as gross and immature, but they also tend to forget that many members of their own gender fit the same description. I had three roommates in college who could beat any guy in a burping contest. I've been in cars and buses and classrooms with girls who could clear out a football stadium with the body sounds and smells they produced. And I've been at sleepovers with senior high girls who giggle and laugh and whisper and tell secrets just like third graders.
The biggest difference between the gross level of guys and girls is that girls tend not to brag about their skills. Guys, you may remember, are very competitive. So of course, if there are gross body noises being discussed, there will naturally be a contest to see who's best . . . or worst, as the case may be. A guy may congratulate his friend on a magnificent burp, but he will then immediately proceed to try and outburp him. A girl, on the other hand, will probably just congratulate her friend and leave it at that.
Another thing to keep in mind is that, for as long as anyone can remember, society has looked to females to be genteel, refined, and polite. That's not to say that people expected males to be the opposite. Rather they expected that the gentle and refined politeness of females would encourage males to follow suit. Does it really work this way?
That's a little hard to say. Certainly, if a guy has a crush on a girl and he finds out that she thinks burping is disgusting, he might change his behavior, at least when he's in her presence. Then again he might decide he's not quite ready to give up this exciting pastime and that girls can wait for a while. Truly, girls, this issue is a bit of a mystery, even to the guys themselves.
I met with a group of guys (all different ages) and told them that girls didn't understand why guys thought body noises and silly things and gross stuff and childish behavior were such a big deal. The guys laughed, pushed each other around a little bit, joked, and then one of them burped. Loudly.
Then I asked them if they could tell me why so many guys did those things, and they were at a loss for words. "I don't know." "Just because it's fun, I guess." "We just do, that's all." Those were as precise as the answers got. One senior guy said, "It's just something we do, but as we get older, we stop. Or at least we do it less." And then I noticed that it was mostly the younger guys who were acting silly and trying to burp the alphabet. The older guys were considerably more polite.
This difference in age behavior showed up in the guy and girl surveys. The younger guys who filled out the survey often wrote down sarcastic, silly, ridiculous answers.
For example, one young guy gave these answers--
Name some things that guys (in general) are better at than girls: Everything
Name some things that girls (in general) are better at than guys: Nothing.
Another young guy gave these answers--
Name some things that guys (in general) are better at than girls: spitting, burping, farting, going to the bathroom standing up.
Name some things that girls (in general) are better at than guys: cooking, cleaning, having babies, being crabby, being annoying.
Many of the older guys, on the other hand, seemed to have more thoughtful and honest answers. One older teen guy wrote:
Name some things that guys (in general) are better at than girls: I don't know . . . some are better at sports. Some aren't. Some are better at mechanical things. Some aren't. It all depends. I do think we're better at letting go of a problem or conflict once it's over with.
Name some things that girls (in general) are better at than guys: I think girls are really good at building close friendships. They understand relationships better than guys, I think. They're also better at understanding and relating to other people's feelings.
Can you see the difference between these answers? Clearly, as guys get older, their maturity starts to become apparent. It just arrives a little bit later than it does for most girls.
So what can you do about a guy whose immaturity is starting to really get you down? I think it's very appropriate for girls to let a guy know if he's doing something that's rather impolite. If a guy walks up to you, makes a crude joke, and then laughs, you have every right to say, "You know, I don't really appreciate that at all. Please don't talk to me that way." That's going to accomplish much more than saying, "You jerk. You're so stupid. Why don't you just grow up and stop being such an animal." If you say something like that, he might just laugh and think, "Wow, that was awesome! Maybe if I do the same thing tomorrow, she'll scream and make a girly scene."
In the end, girls, this is what it comes down to:
- Not all guys are gross, disgusting slobs who think boogers are for bouncing, bugs are for smashing, and burps are for communicating.
- The guys in your school (or family or church) whom you consider to be "immature, gross, disgusting slobs" probably still have some maturing to do. Be patient.
- The fact that you are annoyed by some guys' behavior doesn't make you better or superior. Nor does it give you a right to trash guys.
- Most guys grow up to be decent and kind men . . . even the ones who, right now, think it's cool to make fake farting sounds by sticking one hand under their armpit and then pumping their elbow up and down really fast.
- No one asked you to be the politepolice. If you are a well-mannered, mature young woman, good for you. The world needs more people like that. But let your behavior be your example to others instead of resorting to lecturing, eye-rolling, tsk-tsking, and the ever famous, "Just grow up, will you!?"
TO READ--
Proverbs 13:20
TO THINK ABOUT--
1. Do you think the girls or guys in your grade act more mature? Why?
2. In what ways have you noticed guys your age maturing over the past few years?
3. Think of some examples of commercials that portray guys as being dumb, immature slobs. How do you react when you see these? Why do you think advertisers portray guys like this?
4. Why do people think body noises are ruder coming from a girl than from a guy?
**
Taken from "What's Up With Boys?" by Crystal Kirgiss, copyright 2004, Youth Specialties/Zondervan. Used by permission. Order the book here.
**
FOR THE GUYS...
MARKING THE LINES
You and your friends want to play some pickup football (touch, flag, tackle--whatever you prefer). You've got a ball. You've got a wide-open place to play. And you've got even teams.
Before you start the game, though, there's one important thing you have to do. You have to set your boundaries--sidelines, goal lines, and end lines. You have to determine what's inbounds and what's out-of-bounds.
You could try playing without boundary lines, but things would probably get frustrating and confusing pretty quickly. If you're going to play the game right, you need to know how far you can go. You need to know how much room you have to work with.
The same goes for sex.
WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY "SEX"?
God's plan is for guys and girls to save sex until marriage. (That sound you hear is millions of Christian parents and church leaders nodding their heads in agreement.) But that leads to a pretty obvious question: What is sex? And what, exactly, are you supposed to save?
To put it in football terms, where are the boundary lines? How much room do you have to work with? How far can you go? (That sound you hear is millions of Christian parents and church leaders going, "Um, um...")
It's not like there's a shortage of opinions on the subject. Lots of Christian guys have set boundaries for themselves, sexually speaking. The problem is finding agreement on where those boundaries belong.
Tony
When the Bible talks about sex, it's talking about intercourse. Or whatever you want to call it. That's what "two people becoming one flesh" means. That's what I'm saving for marriage. So if somebody asks me if I'm a virgin, I say yes. Even though I've had oral sex and stuff like that. Because those things don't count. They're not really sex.
Luis
I think there's a difference between teasing and sex. Teasing is when you're just messing around. You know, exploring bodies and stuff. How else are you gonna learn? You've gotta find out what feels good to a girl. Otherwise your wife's gonna be bummed on your wedding night. I say as long as you don't have an orgasm, it's not really sex.
Justin
I believe there's a difference between having sex and making love. I don't think God wants people doing it just because they feel like it or because they're drunk or whatever. But if you love someone, it's different. Then it's making love. It's something beautiful instead of something sleazy.
Michael
I think it depends on the person. There are some things I can do and not feel guilty about. But if another guy does the same thing, he might feel guilty. You have to be true to yourself. Don't make decisions based on what other people do or what other people tell you is right. Do what's right for you--and the person you love.
Shon
I don't really have a choice. My girlfriend won't let me do anything more than kiss her. I tried to get a little more a couple times, but she threatened to dump me. So now I'm a good boy. Well...almost. I told her I'd do the kissing thing. But I also told her she had to make it worth my while. And she has. She's a great kisser.
Kip
I made a pledge to save sex for marriage. To me that means not doing anything with a girl that I wouldn't want my future wife doing with another guy. I know it sounds weird. Especially since I have no clue who my future wife will be. But it just seems fair, you know?
How do your views of what's "too far" compare with these? How would you explain your boundaries when it comes to sex?
How do you think God feels about your boundaries? Think carefully before you answer. Raging hormones and wishful thinking have been known to cloud guys' judgments. With enough incentive, you could justify an orgy. And if you're really good, you could even make it sound biblical.
But God isn't swayed by lame excuses or desperate rationalizations. And fooling yourself is never a good idea, especially when the stakes are so high.
MYTH BUSTING
So how does an unmarried guy like you come up with a clear guideline for his love life? How can you enjoy the pleasures of the opposite sex without misusing your body?
You can start by finding out for yourself what God expects of you. You'd be surprised by how many well-meaning Christian guys have set sexual standards for themselves based on myths and mistaken ways of thinking when it comes to God and his Word. To help you avoid that mistake, let's take a look at three of the most common myths that can trip you up.
Myth #1: The Bible's silence is our gain.
You can search every book of the Bible and not find a verse that says oral sex before marriage is a sin. Nor will you find a passage about undressing a girl or tongue kissing. In fact, you won't find many specific guidelines about what's okay and what's not for sexually curious guys.
Some people use this fact to support the argument that (almost) anything goes. Their attitude is: If the Bible doesn't outlaw it, I'm allowed to do it.
The problem with this line of thinking, however, is that it assumes the Bible is nothing more than a rule book. A list of do's and don'ts. A fat book with countless ways God wants to ground us. And that's a really lame way to look at God's Word.
The Bible is actually more like a treasure map. A detailed plan for discovering the awesome things God has planned for you. A guide for making the best possible choices for yourself in every situation.
There's an old story about comedian W.C. Fields, who was quite well-known for his drinking, fooling around, and unwise lifestyle choices. Toward the end of his life--while Fields was living in a sanatorium--a friend entered his room and found Fields thumbing through a Bible. The friend was astonished. "Bill, I've never seen you with a Bible or within a mile of a church. What are you doing?" he asked.
"Looking for loopholes," Fields answered.
That story's kind of amusing as a joke, but it's tragic as a human episode. Now, if you are looking for loopholes in God's Word, you're missing about 99.9 percent of what it has to offer.
Besides, the Bible isn't nearly as silent on sexual matters as some people would like to believe. You can find plenty of clues scattered throughout Scripture that reveal God's attitude toward sexual experimentation.
One of the first clues can be found in 1 Corinthians 6:18: "Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body."
Look at that first sentence again. Run away from sexual immorality. Think of it as a ticking bomb at the beginning of an action movie. The people who see it and run away as fast as they can will probably survive. But the arrogant "expert" who thinks he can defuse it by himself will end up getting smeared across the room.
That's the kind of danger sexual temptation presents. If you're conceited enough to believe you can mess around with it safely, you're in for a nasty surprise. It's a matter of direction: If you're running away from sexual temptation, you're heading in one direction. If you're trying to see how close you can get to the boundary line without going over, you're heading in the opposite direction. And you have to admit that doing the opposite of what God commands is always a bad idea.
Clue number two can be found a few books later in the New Testament: "But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God's holy people." That's what Ephesians 5:3 says. Not even a hint. Talk about setting the bar high!
Guys can make all the pitches they want about why certain things technically shouldn't be considered sex. But if those things have even a hint of sexual immorality, they're off limits.
Ephesians 5:3 makes that crystal clear.
And then there's clue number three, which comes courtesy of Colossians 3:5: "Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry."
That doesn't sound like a God who's wishy-washy when it comes to his people playing around with sex. As far as he's concerned, you're in a fight to the finish with sexual sin. If you don't destroy it, it will destroy you. No matter how harmless it may seem right now.
Like it or not, God isn't going to spoon-feed you every bit of information you need to stay sexually pure. He's not going to supernaturally highlight every relevant verse in your Bible. Discovering his truth is your job. And it's not always an easy thing to do. Especially with so many other so-called truths competing for your attention. But if you commit yourself to learning what his Word says about sexual purity, he will help you discover his truth.
Myth #2: Setting sexual boundaries for yourself will take care of your problem.
Don't get me wrong. When it comes to sex, setting physical limits for yourself is a great idea. Especially if you commit yourself to respecting those limits. But it won't solve your problem completely.
You see, your fight isn't just physical; it's mental and spiritual, too. Jesus made that clear when he said, "But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart" (Matthew 5:28). How's that for a standard?
You can keep your pants zipped from now until your wedding day, but it won't keep you safe from sexual sin. The male imagination is a state-of-the-art, industrial-strength machine--especially when it's churning out sexual fantasies. Guys are ingenious when it comes to imagining erotic scenarios. There's no situation we can't turn into a sexual one if we just put our minds to it. So no matter where you draw the line physically, you still have to contend with your eyes and your thoughts.
Myth #3: More than anything else, God wants us to enjoy his gift of sex.
Don't be fooled into thinking that your enjoyment is at the top of God's priority list. It's not. "It is God's will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable, not in passionate lust like the heathen, who do not know God...For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life." I didn't say that; the apostle Paul did in 1 Thessalonians 4:3-5, 7.
God wants you to be pure. He wants you to obey him. He wants you to honor him in the things you do and say. He wants you to live your life as an example to others. That's what God wants. You can certainly enjoy yourself doing those things. But enjoyment isn't your ultimate goal--not if you're serious about living a life that pleases God.
You see, this isn't about getting what you want. It's about giving up what you want--for God's sake. "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body." Those are Paul's words again, from 1 Corinthians 6:19-20.
God has a purpose for you. And getting as much as you can from girls isn't part of it. Living a holy life is a 24-7 commitment. You can't call time-out, go mess around for a while, and then come back to it. To be holy you have to completely change your perspective on satisfying your urges.
That doesn't mean you have to live like a monk and shut yourself off from the world. God's not boring! As I mentioned in chapter 1, he's the One who created the pleasure centers in your body. But living a holy life does mean you have to learn to say no to your body--even when it's screaming for action.
**
Taken from "When Young Men Are Tempted" by Bill Perkins and Randy Southern, copyright 2007, Youth Specialties/Zondervan. Used by permission. Order the book here.
**
3. SURF REPORT
~ Make Your Own Avatar
4. BIRTHDAYS
This week we have got two birthday shout outs! Best wishes to Micha Pierce and Haley Carlsson! Hope you both have great birthdays!
5. VIDEO OF THE WEEK
Frozen People in Grand Central Station: This is just funny!
6. FORGETTABLE FACT
A snail can sleep for three years.
7. POTENT QUOTABLES
"There is a famine in America. Not a famine of food, but of love, of truth, of life."
~Mother Teresa
"Love means loving the unlovable--or it is no virtue at all."
~G.K. Chesterton
===========our|sponsor===========
"WHAT'S UP WITH BOYS?"
If you're a girl, you've probably asked that question more than once. Get the inside scoop on why guys do the things they do, and figure out what's really going on inside their heads and hearts.
"WHEN YOUNG MEN ARE TEMPTED"
Guys look at women...and that's not necessarily bad, unless they're looking at them with temptation in their hearts. This book helps guys get real about the struggle of lust and helps them learn to deal with the temptation.
Learn more and get "What's Up With Boys?" here.
Check out "When Young Men Are Tempted" here.
Also available in your local Christian bookstore.
=================================
8. THIS WEEK IS...
Monday, 2/11 = Make a Friend Day
Tuesday, 2/12 = Plum Pudding Day
Wednesday, 2/13 = Get a Different Name Day
Thursday, 2/14 = Ferris Wheel Day
Friday, 2/15 = National Gumdrop Day
February 4, 2008
1. 180 News
2. Something for Your Heart
3. Birthdays
4. Surf Report
5. Forgettable Fact
6. Potent Quotables
7. Today Is...
1. 180 NEWS
Girly Night
High School girls, your night is here. This Friday, February 8th, we'll get together for dinner, dessert and lots of good times. Remember to dress up.
Time: Friday, from 5:30pm - 11:30pm
Cost: $5
Dessert: Bring about $10 for dessert out on the town.
Check out last year's pictures here.
30 Hour Famine
30 Hour Famine season is in full swing, and it's happening February 22-23. If you have not yet picked up a fundraising packet, do so this week and make plans now to be a part of this great event!
Kids just like you are seeing their friends and families die from hunger - 29,000 every day, gone for good. They're counting on us to care. We know your own life is busy, but do you have room to care for someone else as well? If so, join us.
Be Seen. Be Heard. BE HUNGRY!
Water Bottles
MANY THANKS to all those who have been bringing in empty water bottles! We still need more!
Pastor Brian is collecting water bottles for use at the 30 Hour Famine Rally. We have a large cardboard box in the Youth Center designated for water bottles. Please collect as many empty bottles as you can and bring them with you to church over the next three weeks. You will be impressed with what happens with them!
2. SOMETHING FOR YOUR HEART
Dating, Courtship, and Arranged Marriages
During my sophomore year of college, I traveled to India and stayed there for about eight weeks. My translator was a young man named Daniel, and he and I became good friends during my brief stay. One night I asked Daniel if he had a special someone in his life. He said no, and then he added that he was going to get married in six months. Puzzled, I asked him how that could be.
"My parents are making the arrangements," he replied.
I stared at him in disbelief. Daniel was going to have an arranged marriage. "You're telling me that in six months you're going to marry a woman you've never met before?"
"Yes, the first time I see her will most likely be at our wedding," he explained. "No way!" I said. "How can you do that?"
His response was amazing. "You in the West talk about 'falling' in love, as though it were a downward experience," Daniel said. "Marriage for you is an end. For me, it will be the beginning. I trust my parents. They know who will make a good wife for me. We will rise in our love together."
His words sounded unbelievable, but they made sense. Would you trust your mom and dad to choose your life partner? Perhaps not. But in a sense, we all need help and direction from our heavenly Father to help us find the right person.
Before I went off to college, I attended a "computer dance." If you're not familiar with the concept, here's how it works. Before the dance, participants fill out surveys. The results are fed into a computer that pairs each person with his or her "best match." When you arrive at the event, you're given a numbered nametag, and you're to find the person with the same number and dance at least once with him or her. After I received my number, I searched the room and eventually found the person the computer had chosen for me--the school librarian. Great.
While I didn't appreciate the results of my computer dance experience, I liked how easy it was to find the one who'd been chosen for me. What if God gave all of us numbers at birth and then all we had to do to find his best match for us was simply find the person with the matching number? Wouldn't that be easy?
While God hasn't revealed "exact matches" for us, he's given us principles to use in our search. The principles for girls are a little different from the ones for guys, so I'll detail them separately.
First let's acknowledge that God is in control of our relationships. That's especially important to understand when relationships begin and when they end. 1 Peter 5:6-7 says, "Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you." Do you trust God to help you find the right person at the right time? If you do, you can relax in the knowledge that he cares for you and knows your needs.
Some people mistakenly believe that if they trust God to help them find their mates, then he's going to disappoint them by providing someone with a "good personality"...but not much else. But God wants us to be thrilled and fully devoted to the ones we marry. His desires for us are much greater and more complete than our own. That's why he can--and should--be trusted.
Sadly, I didn't have confidence in God when I was dating. I was either so desperate to hang on to relationships or so flippant in pursuing them that I embarrassed myself more times than I care to admit. Whether you date, court, or have an arranged marriage, you can trust God's ways because he cares for you.
Some of you may be thinking, Whoa, Mark! I'm just going on a date, and you're talking about marriage? Slow down, dude.
While I think it's important to do things with friends of the opposite sex, when it really comes down to it, most people are looking for longer-term relationships. I think we should always take dating very seriously. We need to think purposefully about any people we date with intentions of being "more than friends."
**
Taken from "Wisdom On...Friends, Dating, and Relationships" by Mark Matlock, copyright 2008, Youth Specialties/Zondervan. Used by permission. Order the book
here.
3. SURF REPORT
~ Create Your Own Comic
http://www.bkfk.com/Modules/Innovator/MeetAnInnovator.aspx?Section=sayit
~ Do Something About Teen Homelessness
http://www.dosomething.org/causes/homelessness
~ Some Good Clean Yeti Fun
http://www.miniclip.com/games/snow-drift/en/
4. BIRTHDAYS
Make sure you wish Amanda Roberts (2/6) a very happy birthday! Happy Birthday Amanda!!!
5. FORGETTABLE FACT
In the next seven days, 800 Americans will be injured by their jewelry.
6. POTENT QUOTABLES
"God destines us for an end beyond the grasp of reason."
~Thomas Aquinas
"People nowadays take time far more seriously than eternity."
~Thomas Kelly
===========oursponsor===========
GET WISE ABOUT YOUR FRIENDSHIPS
Maybe you've never thought about it, but wisdom plays a part in nearly every decision you make. In this book you'll learn how to gain more wisdom and apply it to every aspect of your relationships--from being a good friend, to dating relationships, to handling conflict. You'll find the stories and lessons in this book will help you become wise in your relationships.
Learn more and purchase "Wisdom On...Friends, Dating, and Relationships" here.
https://shop.youthspecialties.com/store/product.php?productid=565
Also available in your local Christian bookstore.
Find a Christian bookstore near you:
http://www.youthspecialties.com/store/dealers/
=================================
7. TODAY IS...
THANK A MAILMAN DAY! Make sure you tell your mail carrier thank you today! Learn all about this great day here:
http://www.holidayinsights.com/moreholidays/February/thankmailmanday.htm
2. Something for Your Heart
3. Birthdays
4. Surf Report
5. Forgettable Fact
6. Potent Quotables
7. Today Is...
1. 180 NEWS
Girly Night
High School girls, your night is here. This Friday, February 8th, we'll get together for dinner, dessert and lots of good times. Remember to dress up.Time: Friday, from 5:30pm - 11:30pm
Cost: $5
Dessert: Bring about $10 for dessert out on the town.
Check out last year's pictures here.
30 Hour Famine
30 Hour Famine season is in full swing, and it's happening February 22-23. If you have not yet picked up a fundraising packet, do so this week and make plans now to be a part of this great event!
Kids just like you are seeing their friends and families die from hunger - 29,000 every day, gone for good. They're counting on us to care. We know your own life is busy, but do you have room to care for someone else as well? If so, join us.
Be Seen. Be Heard. BE HUNGRY!
Water Bottles
MANY THANKS to all those who have been bringing in empty water bottles! We still need more!
Pastor Brian is collecting water bottles for use at the 30 Hour Famine Rally. We have a large cardboard box in the Youth Center designated for water bottles. Please collect as many empty bottles as you can and bring them with you to church over the next three weeks. You will be impressed with what happens with them!
2. SOMETHING FOR YOUR HEART
Dating, Courtship, and Arranged Marriages
During my sophomore year of college, I traveled to India and stayed there for about eight weeks. My translator was a young man named Daniel, and he and I became good friends during my brief stay. One night I asked Daniel if he had a special someone in his life. He said no, and then he added that he was going to get married in six months. Puzzled, I asked him how that could be.
"My parents are making the arrangements," he replied.
I stared at him in disbelief. Daniel was going to have an arranged marriage. "You're telling me that in six months you're going to marry a woman you've never met before?"
"Yes, the first time I see her will most likely be at our wedding," he explained. "No way!" I said. "How can you do that?"
His response was amazing. "You in the West talk about 'falling' in love, as though it were a downward experience," Daniel said. "Marriage for you is an end. For me, it will be the beginning. I trust my parents. They know who will make a good wife for me. We will rise in our love together."
His words sounded unbelievable, but they made sense. Would you trust your mom and dad to choose your life partner? Perhaps not. But in a sense, we all need help and direction from our heavenly Father to help us find the right person.
Before I went off to college, I attended a "computer dance." If you're not familiar with the concept, here's how it works. Before the dance, participants fill out surveys. The results are fed into a computer that pairs each person with his or her "best match." When you arrive at the event, you're given a numbered nametag, and you're to find the person with the same number and dance at least once with him or her. After I received my number, I searched the room and eventually found the person the computer had chosen for me--the school librarian. Great.
While I didn't appreciate the results of my computer dance experience, I liked how easy it was to find the one who'd been chosen for me. What if God gave all of us numbers at birth and then all we had to do to find his best match for us was simply find the person with the matching number? Wouldn't that be easy?
While God hasn't revealed "exact matches" for us, he's given us principles to use in our search. The principles for girls are a little different from the ones for guys, so I'll detail them separately.
First let's acknowledge that God is in control of our relationships. That's especially important to understand when relationships begin and when they end. 1 Peter 5:6-7 says, "Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you." Do you trust God to help you find the right person at the right time? If you do, you can relax in the knowledge that he cares for you and knows your needs.
Some people mistakenly believe that if they trust God to help them find their mates, then he's going to disappoint them by providing someone with a "good personality"...but not much else. But God wants us to be thrilled and fully devoted to the ones we marry. His desires for us are much greater and more complete than our own. That's why he can--and should--be trusted.
Sadly, I didn't have confidence in God when I was dating. I was either so desperate to hang on to relationships or so flippant in pursuing them that I embarrassed myself more times than I care to admit. Whether you date, court, or have an arranged marriage, you can trust God's ways because he cares for you.
Some of you may be thinking, Whoa, Mark! I'm just going on a date, and you're talking about marriage? Slow down, dude.
While I think it's important to do things with friends of the opposite sex, when it really comes down to it, most people are looking for longer-term relationships. I think we should always take dating very seriously. We need to think purposefully about any people we date with intentions of being "more than friends."
**
Taken from "Wisdom On...Friends, Dating, and Relationships" by Mark Matlock, copyright 2008, Youth Specialties/Zondervan. Used by permission. Order the book
here.
3. SURF REPORT
~ Create Your Own Comic
http://www.bkfk.com/Modules/Innovator/MeetAnInnovator.aspx?Section=sayit
~ Do Something About Teen Homelessness
http://www.dosomething.org/causes/homelessness
~ Some Good Clean Yeti Fun
http://www.miniclip.com/games/snow-drift/en/
4. BIRTHDAYS
Make sure you wish Amanda Roberts (2/6) a very happy birthday! Happy Birthday Amanda!!!
5. FORGETTABLE FACT
In the next seven days, 800 Americans will be injured by their jewelry.
6. POTENT QUOTABLES
"God destines us for an end beyond the grasp of reason."
~Thomas Aquinas
"People nowadays take time far more seriously than eternity."
~Thomas Kelly
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7. TODAY IS...
THANK A MAILMAN DAY! Make sure you tell your mail carrier thank you today! Learn all about this great day here:
http://www.holidayinsights.com/moreholidays/February/thankmailmanday.htm
