Wednesday, May 06, 2009

Youth Ministry...like adoption...is not for the faint of heart...

Gosh, I don't know which is teaching me more patience; adoption or youth ministry....both of which are extremely fulfilling, but hair raising as well. I've been "trying" to divert my thoughts from the current crises with the swine flu and the yoyo trip the poor Rumor Queen is on as of late....note, I did say "Trying"....and here is one thing that has been occupying my time besides studying for my final exam. I have been reading and thought I would share with you.....and yes I'm one of those people who reads more than one book at a time. Mind you a couple of these I haven't cracked open yet. From the top left you see:
1. "Youth Ministry" by Christine Caine. I finished this one. I love how she reminds the youth leader that we were all youth at one time and how to lighten up a tense situation in a teens life. Great encouragement and tons of statistics in this one. Great read for all leaders.
2. "Your First Two Years in Youth Ministry" by Doug Fields. I got this one because the author is the youth pastor from Saddleback Church in California where we visited on our vacation to California last fall. Doug was also the author of the best-selling Purpose-Driven Youth Ministry spun off the Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren the Pastor of Saddleback. This Month marks my two year anniversary working with the youth of our church and I still enjoy it. They say most youth leaders burn out around 15-16 months. It has it's ups and downs and heart aches but there are far more fulfilling moments and good times to reflect on than not. I have seen such amazing changes in our youth over these two years. I feel it's an honor to be their friend and mentor.
3. "Mission Tour" a guide to a Canadian short mission trip. Haven't cracked this one open yet. We have 89 more days before we take a mission trip to a northern native community. We will be hanging out with all the youth in the town of Nain teaching, worshiping, talking and just hanging out and having fun with them I"m pretty excited...We had a fundraiser last year called "The Flippin' Accessories Sale" and we raised almost 5000.00 and guess what we are doing with it to bless the youth!!!! We are purchasing all NEW band equipment, drums, amps, guitars, new mics and guitars and we are going to LEAVE IT THERE FOR THEM when we come home!!! I can't wait to see the look on their faces! YAY!
4. "Have a New Kid By Friday" by Dr. Kevin Leman. You all wonder why your child didn't come with a manual? Well this book is THAT manual! I love his take on some situations and he has a list of what ifs in the back and what is the best way to handle the situation. I wish I had this book when Jaclyn was a teenager! Dr. Leman also has a series of Children's books out one is called " My Adopted Child, There is No One Like You" He uses the illustration of brown bears and the adopted cub is a panda...it's adorable. He also wrote a book called "Making Children Mind without Losing Yours." He is lighthearted and will tickle your funny bone.

5. "Mom, Sex is NO big Deal!" by Sharon A. Hersh "But mom, it's not the same as when you were a teenager..." Uggg your daughter is right. Never before have teenage girls been so inundated with the idea that sex is a natural part of teenage relationships. The media, Internet and her peers reinforce this myth daily. In fact, most will experiment...and never before has the price of this experimentation been so costly-disease, depression, and an messed up view of them selves. This book will bring hope and empowerment to you as a mom and help you to develop a sacred view of sex. My hope as a youth leader is to encourage my girls to have open conversations with their moms about the challenges they face so they will arrive at a place of wholeness as they make decisions about how they will behave sexually during the most vulnerable period of their lives.
6. "Why Wait" by Rose Publishing. 24 Reasons to Wait Until Marriage to Have Sex. This was a resource I picked up while I am waiting for an order to come in from the book store. I ordered "The Purity Code" I wanted to read it over and see about doing a group with some of the girls who are interested in taking a pledge to be abstainate until marriage. I would love to have a ceremony when we are finished. I seen some sweet rings that say "I'll Wait" on them. Would love some ideas if any of you have ever done this or seen it done at your church. I watched a program on TV one day where the Fathers walked the girls down the isle to receive their purity rings and I cried watching it! It was so beautiful!
7. "The Five Love Languages of Teenagers" By Gary Chapman This is so far my favorite! If you have ever read his book "The Five Love Languages" it is along the same line. This book helps you to recognise what the primary love language of your child is and how you can relate to them on a deeper level and show them you truly do love them by speaking the language that grabs their attention. This one is so much fun to read cause I can almost pin point each language our individual youth speak. This is another one I wish I had when Jaclyn was living home! Oh just think how much wisdom I'll have in raising our daughter from China! not to mention the advice I'll be able to give Jaclyn when Miss K gets older!

5 comments:

Kim said...

You have been busy..
We always wish we knew then what we know now.. but then how would we learn..
Hugs..
Have a great week..

Number 6 and no more counting! said...

I am just about finished raising my fifth teenager. My last one has just turned 18! YIKES! It is a humbling experience. Do I really want to be humbled again!

LOL!

Great post.

Lea
xo

a Tonggu Momma said...

I've read a lot of these! And - I have to agree with you about the youth ministry thing. It teaches patience and humility in a big way.

Lesa said...

you have been very busy. I need that adoption book. I'm going to check it out.

Middle-Aged Moi said...

There is a book called Paul David Tripp called "Age of Opportunity" which is EXCELLENT!