Check out our Creation News Section!
Weekly articles, daily Q & A, and a Creation Comic!
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 If you enjoy this free email service, I encourage you to spread the word
to family and friends that we may bring inspiration into the lives of teenagers
everywhere! If you are not on the list and this has been passed along to you,
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Stop by our web site to view past stories or to browse through the tons of
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Finally there is a great filter to block Internet pornography and other
objectionable content! Kristi and I have used this filter for 6 years now
and want to recommend the Bsafe Online filter to you. We absolutely
love it. To find out more and get your own FREE 10-Day Trial,
just visit: http://www.Heart4Teens.com/filter
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Michael's updated book Heart Touchers "Life-Changing Stories of Faith,
Love, and Laughter," is finally here! ($13.95)
Visit the link below to preview the book. Autographed copies are available
at no extra charge and we will pay the shipping for you. An e-book is also
available for $3.25.
http://www.Heart4Teens.com/books
Be sure to let us know who you would like it autographed for and then allow
about two weeks for us to sign it and send it on its way to you.Credit card,
PayPal, Checks, and Money orders accepted! The book is also available
through Amazon.com, Borders.com, BarnesandNoble.com, and Booklocker.com
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With Prom approaching or just past, a lot of people don't think twice about
buying another dress or pair of shoes or pants. But there are
people not far from where you live who don't have enough clothes.
This chapter, from "Generation Change," by sixteen-year-old Zach
Hunter, offers you ideas on how you can make a difference in the
lives of others with the simple gift of clothing.
CLOTHING
In our culture the clothes we wear say a lot about us. People invest
a lot of time, effort, and money on clothing. We want to look good,
and we judge other people based on how they dress. People
sometimes assume that if a guy is wearing this kind of jacket
or those shoes, then he must be that kind of person. Or someone
might say, "I need to ask her where she got that!" (This is hypothetical,
guys, just bear with me!) How many decisions do we make about
people because of how they look, even before we meet them?
A Bible teacher of mine once told me about a time when an elderly
woman at the church was upset because a young man came into
church wearing a baseball cap. She was outraged--and probably
made a judgment about the kind of person he was. My teacher
reminded us that we as Christians are the church, so it's actually
more accurate to say he was wearing a hat on the church rather
than in the church. But either way, because of the woman's
judgment, the young man left the church and didn't come back.
If I'm being completely honest with myself, I have to say that
I sometimes make judgments about people based on what they
wear or how they look. I know there are some people who never
have anything nice to wear. You know how it feels to get a new
shirt or pants. And the confidence you feel from knowing you look
good? Imagine never having that feeling. Not only that, but imagine
that the clothes you do wear don't even protect you from the wind,
rain, cold, or sun.
What if you only had one pair of shoes, and they had massive
holes in the bottom? Or what if, like millions of people, you didn't
have any shoes at all? It would be really easy to cut your feet, and
they'd be vulnerable to infection and disease. How can we care so
much about whether we are wearing the latest style, when other
people have nothing at all to wear? For many people in our world,
it's not about choosing which pair of shoes to wear, it's about having
any shoes to wear. It's not about whether to wear a collared shirt or
a T-shirt, it's about having a shirt.
I'm not trying to make you feel guilty; but I think it's important to
understand that clothing is much more than a fashion issue for
many people. For someone in America, having a suit, even an
old one, could mean the difference between getting the job or not.
A clean shirt and jeans could build the self-confidence of a high
schooler living in poverty. A new pair of shoes could literally mean
an extended life for a child in Africa.
Jesus even talked about how when we clothe the poor it's as if
we've done an act of kindness to him directly. We'll talk about that
passage from Matthew 25 a bit more in the next chapter. I think
being part of Generation Change requires that we rethink some of
the things we take for granted, and how much and what we do
with our money is one of them.
CHANGE IT: SOLES 4 SOULS
The mission of Soles 4 Souls is to impact as many lives as
possible through the gift of shoes. This organization takes
donations of gently used and new shoes and delivers them to
people who don't have any. Soles 4 Souls dispatches shoes
to 16 different countries around the world. You can support
their work by donating your own shoes, hosting a shoe drive
at your school or church, or volunteering your own time.
Check out www.soles4souls.org.
CHANGE IT: YOUR TURN
"Undie Sunday"
This is a pretty cool idea (with a pretty funny name) that can
involve every age group. For a homeless or very poor person,
new underwear can be a luxury. Most thrift stores and clothing
distribution centers don't have stacks of underwear. I guess
used underwear is not something most people feel good about
donating! Schools and churches around America have been
uniting on Undie Sunday each March to solve this problem.
Families are encouraged to purchase and donate new
underwear that is distributed to people in need. Since
2006, more than 155,000 pieces of NEW underwear and
diapers have been donated.
Check out what else they're doing at www.dignityuwear.org.
BUY ONE, GIVE ONE
Here's a very simple idea to discourage materialism. It goes
like this: For every pair of shoes you buy, you give away a pair
of shoes; for every pair of pants you buy, you give away a pair
of pants, and so on. Instead of accumulating more and more
stuff, you think purposefully about what you buy, and give things
away instead of hoarding. The practice encourages us to buy less
and give more, helping us be more grateful for what we have and
more conscious of materialism.
BRAINSTORM FOR CHANGE
- Take the extra buttons that come with your shirts and assemble
sewing kits to help people in other countries mend their own
clothing, and get paid to mend clothes for others. Send these to
Extreme Response or a shelter in your area. (For more on
Extreme Response, see the chapter on Friendship.)
- Make baby blankets out of fleece. You can find lots of patterns
for fleece-fringed blankets online. My brother's class did this when
he was in first grade--it's really easy. His class donated their
blankets to a crisis pregnancy center.
- Have a Toasty Fingers and Toes drive and collect gloves and
socks. Then take them to the homeless shelter and give them away yourselves.
- Many cities do a "Blanket the City" week in which people drop
off blankets at many different stores. The blankets are given to
the homeless and people living in shelters.
- Go to a thrift store and buy up a bunch of coats in various kid
sizes. They're usually priced really well so your money will go a
long way. Then arrange with a school in an impoverished area to
distribute the coats to kids who don't have adequate clothing.
- Custom T-shirts are printed for many races, fairs, and other
community events. Often there are many shirts left over and
no way to sell them. Contact the organizers to see if you can
have them donated to a shelter or thrift store.
- For a couple more great clothing-related ideas, check out Style
Your Soul in the Creativity chapter and Princess Closet in the Friendship chapter.
**
Taken from "Generation Change" by Zach Hunter, copyright 2008
Youth Specialties/Zondervan. Used by permission. Order the book here.
https://shop.youthspecialties.com/store/product.php?productid=585
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Creation Q & A
Question: What Did the Tower of Babel Look Like?
A: The simple answer is that the Bible does not tell us. All
we know is that God intervened before the construction project
was completed. Studying the oldest buildings from the area,
archaeologists assume the Tower at Babel looked like a ziggurat.
But we can't just study later buildings and calculate backward.
The people at Babel had a unique opportunity. The incredible
engineering skills of all mankind were together in one place.
But when God split them up, each family took their talents with
them. So the later founders of Babylon and Egypt lacked the
expertise of their forefathers.
We can only imagine what their original plans looked like.
Perhaps they designed an enormous city that would require a
thousand years to complete. After all, they probably expected
to live a thousand years, as people did before the Flood.
It is possible that they had unique construction materials available
after the Flood. Thick layers of lime and other sediments may not
have hardened. Perhaps these materials could be formed into
bricks as strong as concrete blocks we make today.
Source: AnswersinGenesis.org
Creation News
Click on the Bible above or visit the web site listed below!
http://www.HeartTouchers.com/Creation_News
This new addition to our web site will give you an article on the leading news
in the Creation/Evolution controversy each day.
This section also includes a rotating Question and Answer feature and a
weekly Creation Comic strip from the people at AnswersInGenesis.org.
Be sure to come back and visit each day for an informative article that will
help you keep up to date on the latest news in this controversial area!
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Thought For The Day
"The time to repair the roof is when the sun is shining."
Verse for the Day
"Go to the ant...consider its ways and be wise! It has no commander...yet stores
its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest."-- Proverbs 6:6,8
Teen's Thought For the Day
When someone pressures you to have sex by saying, "Come on, just this once."
You say, "That's exactly what I am afraid of. I'd rather save myself for someone
who will love me for life."
Parent's Thought For The Day
"We childproofed our home three years ago...and they're still getting in!"
Coach's Thought For The Day
"Athletics hold the same potential for teaching bad values, bad attitudes, bad
behavior as they do good qualities. The equalizer is the coach." --Tom Marshall
Writer's Thought For The Day
"We write to taste life twice." --Anais Nin
Creation/Evolution Thought For The Day
"Nature is too thin a screen; the glory of the omnipresent God
bursts through everywhere." --Ralph Waldo Emerson.
Deep Thought For The Day
You didn't hear about the three big holes in the ground? Well, well, well.
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Author MICHAEL T. POWERS
Contributing Author to Chicken Soup for the Christian Teenage
Soul and 26 other inspirational books.
Over 135,000 people have listened to popular Chicken Soup
Author Michael T. Powers' free inspirational message entitled:
"Breathing Life into Others". If you aren't one of them
just visit: http://www.Heart4Teens.com and click on the link
to listen to the free streaming audio message!
"I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but
Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body I live by faith in
the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me."
Galatians 2:20
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ALL-STAR Youth Ministry
--The Youth Church of Faith Community Church in Janesville, WI
If you are in 7-12th grade and live in the southern Wisconsin/northern
Illinois area and would like to check us out, we meet every
Sunday night from 6:30-8:00 PM at Faith Community
Church which is located at 2931 Lucerne Dr. in Janesville,
WI. (About 3 blocks south-east of Menard's.)
Currently we have students from Edgerton, Fort Atkinson, Milton,
Janesville Craig, Janesville Parker, Marshall, Franklin, Clinton,
Beloit Memorial, and Beloit Turner. E-mail me back if you have
any questions about our weekly meetings or would like to come
to any of our events that are listed below... We have way too
much fun and then, most importantly, talk about issues that
are relevant to you as a teenager.
 Teen Community Groups
6:30 - 8:00 PM Wednesday nights -- These groups are limited to
no more than ten teens and are split into Jr. High and High
School ages. This night is for those teens who want to dig
deeper than what we do in All-Stars, but may not be ready
to be a part of the Xtreme Teens. These cell groups will also
be doing special activities with each other as the year goes on to
build community.
This Week May 14: Speaking on God's Behalf (Moses)
For more info on our small groups, visit: http://www.faithcommunitychurch.net/small_groups
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Do you feel as if life has no meaning for you? http://www.HeartTouchers.com/Life_Purpose |
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Transfer your photographs or old home videos over to DVD or MP4 files! Give the gift that will touch your family's heart and soul.
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