Hi Parents!
Our fast-paced world puts a lot of pressure on us to produce.  Teens are expected to spend hours at school, play sports, work weekends, maintain social lives and family relationships, and still manage to find time for homework.  Parents, teachers, and bosses may push us to work harder and to achieve more.  But God calls us to be still, to rest, to listen.  "For God alone my soul waits in silence, for my hope is from him." Psalm 62:5 (NRSV)

Jesus knew that part of his work on earth was to be still and to pray.  He knew that his mission could not be fulfilled without setting aside time to be with God.  The same is true for us.  In stillness, we draw strength from God.  In silence, we hear God's voice.  Only then can we respond and obey.  So how can we be ready for what the world will throw at us?  How can we strengthen our identity in Christ and not lose it to the world?

Ask your child...
Do you have a friend or a trusted adult with whom you might walk together in faith and hold each other accountable for living your beliefs.
If you already have an accountability partner, ask God how you can support a friend who may be struggling.

Challenge your child...
Try a new prayer practice.  Begin a journal and carve out time to write down your prayers.  Remember to record when they have been answered.

Prayer...
TRY IT:  Each night this week, focus on your breathing and allow these breath prayers to carry you into sleep.
BREATHING IN PRAY: "Lord Jesus Christ, son of God,"
BREATHING OUT IN PRAYER: "Have mercy on me" (or more often, "on us") or "thank you for loving us."

Hi Parents,
We are quickly approaching the first Nebraska football game of the season under the direction of new head coach Scott Frost!  Nebraska fans are dreaming big about Frost's first year.  Can we go back to the winning team we once were?  According to USA Today Sports, "it may be more realistic to set the baseline at 6 Nebraska wins and a bowl berth, and then start planning for more to come in 2019.  Nebraska could surprise a few teams in Big Ten Conference play and get eight or nine wins, including bowl play... To get there the Nebraska team must address more than a few holes: quarterback play, the pass rush, special teams, and most of all the play of the offensive and defensive lines.  But once Frost gets his house in order the program has a cohesiveness not seen in about a generation - what the staff calls 'unity of purpose.'"

To be good at something, we have to practice and set our eyes on a goal. Hebrews 12:2 (NIV) says [Let us fix] our eyes on Jesus... For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." When we love the game or whatever we are doing, we find ways to get better at it and ways to focus while competing.  If we love God, we have to practice to keep our hearts and lives focused on the One who loves us and teaches us to love.  For followers of Christ, the test of greatness is not to see how far a few of us can go alone, but to see how far all of us can go together - in "unity of purpose" - just as the Cornhuskers, or any team for that matter, play the game.

Ask your child...
In your spiritual life, when have you lost sight of the goal?
Who helped you rediscover the joy of life with Christ?
If you play a sport, how can you be a light for your teammates?
When have you sacrificed a win or a trophy to serve and care for others?

Challenge your child...
The next time you are giving your all to a game or competition, ask yourself if you are serving God with the same kind of energy.  If not, what do you need to set aside to focus more fully on God?
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Prayer...
Father, help us to keep you as our focus; to be Christ-like in our every action and deed, glorifying you first and exhibiting humble leadership in all we do.  Amen.

Hi Parents!
Looking at all the problems in the world, I often wondered, how can we change things?  I am only one person.  Then I read John 3:8 and began to consider the power of wind.  Wind is a mighty force that can change an entire landscape.  When we stand outside and feel the wind sweep by, we can't tell where if comes from or where it might be going.  Yet we can see its effects all around us as it rustles through the trees and shakes up our surroundings. 

With God's spirit living in us, we can be like the wind so that chains no longer bind us.  We can make small decisions every day that will touch lives in a positive way.  Jesus said, "Love one another.  Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.  By this everyone will know that you are my disciples." John 13:34-35 (NRSV)
LOVE CREATES CHANGE!  Making a difference in the world does not mean putting on a big show.  Most often, the greatest change comes from the little things we do out of love.  Here are a couple of examples:

BE KIND:  Many lives can be changed dramatically if we simply choose to be kind.
OFFER A HUG OR A SMILE:  Share a smile or a hug with someone today.
FORGIVE:  Don't hold on to bitterness.  When someone hurts us, be quick to forgive.
PRAY FOR OUR ENEMIES:  Instead of complaining about others, pray for them.

Prayer...
Father, may we be filled with your Holy Spirit and may we use the gifts and abilities you have given us to serve those in need and to make us aware of the opportunities we have to show God's love to others.  Amen.

Hi Parents!
Save me, God!  I am about to drown.  I am sinking deep in the mud and my feet are slipping."

Dear Parents:
We each have a biological family, but our church is also our family.  We can choose our friends, as the saying goes, but not our family.  That's true of our church family too.  We can't choose the people who belong to our church family.  Our church includes people of different ages, with different habits and personalities.  Some members seem to have a long way to go to be like Christ and others may have it more together.  Then I think about the people who followed Jesus: militants, prostitutes, fishermen, lepers, soldiers and a few genuine, though sometimes dense disciples.  Would I have chosen Judas the betrayer? persecutor Paul? self-seeking John and James? blundering Peter?  How could Jesus love all of those people? Or me?

Hang on!  Maybe that's God's idea of love - a family to which we all belong, a home where we all fit.  Even me.  In Romans 12:4-5 we learn that the body of Christ is made up of different parts all working together.  God gave each of us unique talents. God calls on us to focus on combining our talents so that together we build up the whole body of Christ.  Ephesians 4:16b (CEV) says "Christ holds [the body] together and makes all of its parts work perfectly, as it grows and becomes strong because of love."

Ask your child...
​When have you gathered with friends or family to enjoy one another's company to talk about what God is doing in your lives?
What about this time together are you especially grateful for?
How might you encourage the group to make this a regular gathering?
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Challenge your child...
God calls us to love one another.  Identify one person at school or church whom you might not choose as family.  Make time this week to strike up a conversation.  Ask get-to-know-you-questions, and listen closely to the responses.  Try to discover something you have in common, and offer the gift of friendship.

Prayer...
God, help me build a community of friends who accept me, encourage me in my faith and challenge me to grow.  Amen.

"If you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you." Matthew 6:14 (NIV)

Hi Parents!
Sometimes we feel as if the world is against us.  A friend betrays us, we don't get the recognition we were expecting, or we are accused of something we didn't do.  Yet even in those times, God sees us - the tears we shed in hiding, the prayers we shout into the air, the cries of confusion when we wonder, "What happened Lord?"  Sometimes our pain feels like barbed wire biting into our skin or we feel like a cow chewing on its cud - chew, swallow, bring up the conversation again, repeat.  As the day wears on, that cud begins to taste bitter.  Paul David Tripp says "Harboring bitterness against people is actually confessing their sin to ourselves, over and over again."

Rather than holding on to bitterness, anger, and disappointment, rather than shouting to the wind with a clenched fist because we have been wronged, we can release our pain to the One who knows our hurt and can teach us to forgive.  We can choose our "food for thought."  We can choose what we chew on.  Careless words hurt us, and people offend us, but we don't have to chew on those words over and over.  God alone can heal our wounds.

Ask your teen...
How can you change the conversation in your own mind so that you can let go of bitterness and see the truth?

Challenge your teen...
When bitterness and ager start building up inside, step back, take a deep breath, and say a prayer.  You might discover that you were indeed wronged.  But by taking time to get some perspective, you might find a way to respond with grace instead of lashing out in the heat of the moment.  Angry words are easy to speak, but you can never get them back.
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Prayer...
Lord, help us to trust you with our pain and to release the bitterness we carry.  We want to forgive those who have hurt us.  Teach us how, Lord,  Amen.

Hi Parents!
I hope everyone had an enjoyable Memorial weekend! 

This week's blog focuses on "called to create."  God blesses each of us with unique gifts and calls us to create, but we all aren't given the same canvas or medium.  Romans 12:6a (NESV) says "We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us."  Some have the gift of photography, some drawing or painting, some dance, baking, writing, or building... whatever your gift, whenever we create, we start from nothing.  A painting begins as a blank canvas; a novel as a figment of an idea; a song, as a few musical notes.  God started the same way.  The world was "formless and empty" - hard to imagine, right?  But God saw potential for all of creation.  God sees what can be, even when it looks like nothing to us.  After creating the world and all that is in it, God asks Adam to participate in the creative process by naming each of the animals (Genesis 2:19-20a).  Although this invitation from God may have been intimidating, Adam met the challenge without hesitation. 

Adam was creating for an audience of ONE - ONE who has never criticized him or belittled his thoughts, one who lovingly invites him to try doing something he has never done before.  Like the Creator, we are designed to create, to imagine, to build - to make something new.  When we ignore the urge to create, our soul feels the void.  We should use our God-given talents to the best of our ability and for the good of others.  What creative skills is God calling you to use to make the world a more beautiful place?

Ask your teen...
What is one creative thing you've always wanted to try - baking a special dessert? writing a poem? building something out of wood? painting on a canvas? taking pictures?  
Challenge your teen...
Try it this week as a way to praise the God who created you!
Prayer...
Heavenly Father, you've given us the precious gift of creativity.  Help us to use our creative gifts to reflect your image.  Amen.

Hi Parents!
"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace.  In this world you will have trouble.  But take heart!  I have overcome the world." John 16:33 (NIV)

​Imagine surfing the big wave - or being in the wave pool at an overcrowded water park, waiting anxiously for the waves to push you along.  Now imagine how fun these activities would be without waves.  An overcrowded wave pool without waves is just an overcrowded pool.  Surfing would be impossible without waves.  Riding the waves provides adventure!

​In life, however, we don't like to experience rough, choppy waters, tossing and turning us until we gasp for breath.  We plead with God to take away the rough times and to make our lives perfectly smooth.  But that is like asking to surf in still waters.  Life doesn't come without waves.  Yet in rough times, God is with us and teaches us to ride out the waves so that we can experience the fullness of life. He tells us to "Carry each other's burdens and so you will fulfill the law of Christ." Galatians 6:2 (CEB)

​Ask your child...
Look back on the rough waters in your past.  How were you able to ride out the waves?  Where was God in these times?  What have you learned that will help you to embrace new waves when they come?

Challenge your child...
Who might be in need of your support  and encouragement?  Read I Kings 19:11-13.  Where do you hear God's still, small voice calling you?  Have you become too distracted by the big things (the wind, the fire, the earthquake) to find God in the stillness and silence?  Spend some time this week asking God to help you discern the right next step.  And once you take it, ask God to show you the next and the next.

​Prayer...
God, we know your timing is perfect.  Help us to trust that you are working in our lives in ways we might never have imagined.  Amen.

Hi Parents,
​What we believe is important.  And while our beliefs may evolve throughout our lives, our teen years are often a time when we intensely engage with the formation of many of our core beliefs.  ​Parents, peers, teachers, coaches, pastors, social media, the internet, books - all these influences shape our personalities, temperaments, and beliefs during our early years.  As teens. we begin to sort through those influences to claim what we believe - and hopefully to live so that our actions reflect those beliefs.

​What if during this crucial time of belief formation, we were more intentional about exploring and claiming our faith?  Then perhaps we too would be able to say with Joshua's confidence that "I will serve the Lord," or to proclaim with Peter's certainty that Jesus is "the Christ sent from God." (Luke 9:20b)

​Our beliefs define us.  Begin now to explore your faith, to talk with your mentors, to ask faith questions, and to claim what you believe.  I pray that you and I will be defined by a deep and abiding belief in God that will guide us throughout our lives.

Ask your child...
​Has anyone asked you what you believe?

Challenge your child...
​Find a few friends with whom you can practice having open conversations about your faith.  Discuss the devotions you've read this week or what your believe about God, Jesus, the Bible, of the church.  Create an open and respectful space for dialogue and listen without interrupting.
​Write your own statement of faith.  See page 22 in the Devozine for examples.

Prayer...
Father, give me the courage to tell others what I believe, without fear of judgment or condemnation.  Amen. 
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