1. At the end of the day, do you pick up all your kiddos stuff? Dishes? Evil Knievel action figures? Undies? Junk in the living room? If so, I think it’s awesome that you are getting her accustomed to having an expensive personal servant when she becomes a young adult.

2. When your kiddos ask to go see The Avengers (which is awesome btw…), when they want the new KD’s or when they have to have the new Dora backpack…do you jump to it and make it happen ASAP? If so, you’re teaching him that the world owes him everything he wants without any work or effort on his part.

3. Do you let your kids disregard adults and give wimpy hand shakes. If so, your teaching them a habit of dishonor that will plague them for the rest of their lives.

4. Have you exposed your kids to Snooki and Jersey Shore? Do you STILL have the Victoria Secret catalog delivered to your home? (WAKE UP!) Do you joke with your sons about T & A? (dads, you know who you are). If so, you very well may be preparing them for a lifelong addiction to porn.

5. If you and your spouse have a throw down…do you bad mouth, dishonor and tear down your spouse in front of your son? If so, your teaching them destructive patterns they will carry into their marriage.

6. Do you encourage (hm, hm…force) your kids to play basketball, football, chess, piano, join the yearbook staff, start a band, launch a business, make straight A’s and have a boyfriend!!?! If so, you’re probably trying to make up for all your failures and inadequacies!! You’re also teaching your son to be an overachiever and a people pleaser.

7. FORCE your kids to behave like nice little Christian kids and the result is fake little Christian kids that will one day run away from Jesus!!

8. Constantly interfere in your childs’ play dates, then you will constantly interfere in your kids’ clothing choice, then you will constantly interfere in your kids’ dating life, then you will constantly interfere in your kids’ college choice only to find out that you no longer have a kid to interfere with!

9. Do you give your kids the silent treatment when you disapprove of their behavior? If so…STOP IT! That’s child abuse! Get help now.

1o. When your son is reprimanded (by a teacher, activity leader, neighbor or law enforcement officer), do you immediately assume that they are picking on your child? This teaches lack of respect, the ability to politely defend oneself, and a warped sense of prejudice leading to the feeling that “everyone is against me.”

~ ~ ~
I get Sprad’s email daily and am often tremendously blessed. Today I felt that it was simply worth passing along into our community and inspiring you to read his daily encouragement for parents. He’s raw…but I love it. Thanks Chris!

~ Pastor Bruce

Just really quickly…
I’ve got a 9 year old daughter in 3rd grade. That is where the story starts. She spent three weeks doing “after school enrichment” after school in January. But after her first day of doing Zumba with 7 other NINE YEAR olds she had a host of questions at the dinner table. Now I’ll save you the details but the long and the short of this narrative is that eight nine year olds were being taught Zumba to the song I’m Sexy and I Know It. (actually the short of the narrative is that I confronted our fabulous school and principal and a immediate change and apology was issued!)

But once again I realized the importance of staying ENGAGED with the culture. Even the culture our much younger ones…less than adolescents are being exposed to.

The above ten minute clip is OUTSTANDING and worth watch with your spouse and then with your young person. I can’t get over the importance of healthy discussions over the HARD stuph with the young people living in our homes. I pray that you’d remain relentless at protecting Home Field Advantage and winning with Faith at Home.

~ Pastor Bruce

Many of you may remember that last spring I traveled to Kenya to film a documentary. Well our Premier is next month at the Arcada on April 7. Please view the traveler. First minute or so are “stills” of our team during the filming…I’m wearing the headset most of the time. Second part is some of the footage. I can’t help but get tears in my eyes when our camera crew closes the film by getting in a plane and filming what is just one square mile of slum and yet host to one million residents. When I consider “their normal” compared to “My Normal” I am convinced…NO CONVICTED to do MORE. Join our film team on April 7th and learn more about how everyone can make a CHANGE and get involved with righting the WRONGS!

~ Bruce

OMOD Lunch Line Promo from One Meal One Day on Vimeo.

We are now just a day away from One Meal, One Day. We will join with thousands of students from around the United States who are skipping a meal on Wednesday, April 21st in order to contribute the cost of that one meal (estimated at an average of about $5 per person) and give it to help feed hungry children across the global. Here are some easy ways to join us in the effort:

1. Join us in skipping lunch or dinner on Wednesday, April 21st and donate that $5 to one of the many students from Club 56, Souled Out or TREK that are taking part in this effort. (one note: if you are unable or not interested in actually skipping the meal, you can of course still donate to the cause.)

2. If you are unable to donate through one of these students but would sill like to give, you can simply text OMOD to 90999 and it will automatically send a $5 donation to the One Meal One Day program through your phone bill. (if you chose to donate via text and are comfortable letting me know that you donated that would be great, we are trying to track how much money we were able to raise to combat world hunger. You can jot me (Sterling) a message on facebook or on email at smoore@fbcg.com).

3. Influence other to join you in the effort. I believe that this generation of students can be the one that ends the plight of world hunger if we begin to think differently and act! One of the major components of action is making others aware of the reality and asking them to make the small sacrifice of joining in this effort. If nothing else, it should open the door to some interesting conversations.

Remember, every $5 that someone gives or texts in feeds a child for 12 days!!! Every $156 feeds a person for a year. Thank you for encouraging these students to get involved.

All funds that we receive will be donated directly to Compassion International.

I want to first say that all in all I like Christmas card letters, especially the combination of pictures and letters. I like seeing kids grow up, hearing about new hobbies and adventures, and basic information that makes me feel closer to friends and re-connected to faraway friends.

Okay, that said, there are some other thoughts I have that do not exactly lift me into the Christmas spirit when I receive them. Here are three things that are sure to cause a reaction in me:

1. Letters that pretend that life is only good. It may have been a stellar year, with grades and job opportunities and vacations that could only have happened once a century, but this year happened to be it. I’m not saying we need to be negative, just more or less real. The year will come, trust me, when there seems to be nothing to write about but heartache and struggle. That has to be okay to share, but it needs to be done recognizing that in the midst of the darkness there are always rays of light… this is Christmas, after all.

2. Letters that presents a parent (usually the Dad) the chance to be clever at the kids’ expense. We get these every year, to varying degrees of intention and subtlety. Sure, we all can forgive the innocent gaff or mild tease easily enough. But there are those people, and most of the time its the same folks year after year, who cannot seem to avoid taking the Christmas letter to “joke” about their kids in a way that demeans, dismisses, or simply makes fun of them. Lay off, already. Life is tough enough for our kids. Even if the intent is to rebel against all those letters that makes each kid out to be All-State or the next Picasso, in the end they feel it, and it can’t help but sting. This is a great opportunity to honor them, and their trajectory. Bless, don’t curse, and let the world know how grateful and proud of them you are.

3. This is Christmas, so why is it so hard to remember that in our letters? The ones that are the toughest for me are those that have the token God/Christ accolades, but the rest of the letter is about kids, friends, fun, trips, money, sports, you name it. I have been especially struck this year by those letters from Christian leaders where, if the expected “Jesus is the reason for the season” paragraph was deleted, one would assume they were lawyers, sports agents, or Cubs fans.

You might be wondering where our example of the “appropriate” letter is. I don’t think I’ll share it with you… this is a blog. I’m just tossing out some ideas for you. (Besides, I’m pretty sure we have violated each of these pet peeves countless times over the years.)

(Chap Clark blog from 2008 that I have waited a year to re-post with a “little editing”)

Pie and Cake Auction

November 15
West Campus
6-8 pm
All Monies used to Support Students attending June 2010 trips to:
Roseland Christian Ministries (Chicago)
Mexico (new in 2010)
Quito Ecuador

1. Brio & Beyond

For Christian teen girls between the ages of 16 to 19, Brio & Beyond contains articles focused on strengthening their faith while living in today’s world. The article topics range from fashion and peer pressure to fitness and making faith-filled choices.

2. Breakaway Magazine

Breakaway magazine is all about encouraging Christian teen guys. Articles range from how to cope with peer pressure and sports to music and how to deal with girls.

3. Essential Connection Magazine

EC[/] magazine is dedicated to Christian teens looking to live out their faith on campus. It has a strong focus on issues and situations that Christian teens face on a daily basis and ways to remain stronger in their faith on non-Christian campuses.

4. STV Magazine

Published 9 times per year, STV Magazine is a ministry of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. It is designed to inspire Christian teen athletes to make an impact for Jesus Christ.

5. Ignite Your Faith

Formerly known as Campus Life magazine, Ignite Your Faith is written for Christian teens wanting to learn how to deal with the day-to-day issues they face at their schools. Article topics range from Christian activities and social issues to health and spiritual concerns.

6. Guideposts Sweet 16

Keeping it real, Guideposts Sweet 16 is about “Real teens. Real experiences. Real inspiration.” The Christian teen magazine covers true-live stories along with advice, celebrity news, fashion, and beauty.

7. Realiteen Magazine

A lot of Christian teens are really into music. Chock full of artist interviews, music reviews, and how music influences our faith, CCM is the must-have magazine for the music buff.

8. CCM Magazine

A lot of Christian teens are really into music. Chock full of artist interviews, music reviews, and how music influences our faith, CCM is the must-have magazine for the music buff.

9. Acquire the Fire Magazine

Looking for a magazine that also functions as a Christian teen devotional? Acquire the Fire offers a devotional that reads more like a magazine.

 If you haven’t seen the video, go here to watch it.

As the video shows, Steve reacted with shock at first, but very quickly regained his composure, then simply smiled and gave Emily a long hug. “I think she was a little startled by the reaction,” he explained. “I just wanted her to know it was OK.” According to Marc Newman of mlb.com, this story demonstrates “the real glory of the game right there, a father hugging his little girl to assure her that she did nothing wrong.”

To Think About …

Dad, how would you respond in that situation? How do you respond when your child makes a mistake, does something careless, or even disobeys or defies you? Although the example above wasn’t over an earth-shattering issue, we would do well to imitate Steve’s response: regain our composure and be quick to forgive our kids. Even when it’s appropriate that our children go through tough consequences for their actions, they need to know that we have forgiven them. That’s an important part of the fathering fundamental of loving our children.

Forgiveness provides our children with the clean slate they need; it affirms our trust in them to do better the next time. They may even do things that seem “unforgivable,” but our love for them should quickly take over and motivate us to give them what they really need, and that usually isn’t a lecture or cursing or letting them know how much they have disappointed us, but comfort and instruction. When we extend our children forgiveness, they are much more likely to do the same for others—including us. Helping our children learn from their mistakes is still important, but it can come after they are assured of our love (and perhaps after we have cooled down a bit).

(Taken from fathers.com weekly)

I’m growing up and trying to be a bit more critical about our “academy” and how movies are honored. This year along with most I am always disappointed that many are rated R and thus not very appropriate for Middle School students. However, let me suggest that parents watch Slumdog Millionaire and then take their student back in order to watch this fabulous film together!

But per the video above. Regardless of Brad Pitt’s acting, when a film is that similar to a previous Academy Award winning Film (Forest Gump, 1994)…does it suprise anyone that it would be so fabulously supported? You let me know…