Parenting in the Real World

www.realworldparents.com

Listen to the news, read the papers and it's easy to come to the conclusion that the adolescent world is in steady decline. We think that more teens are having sex, more are committing violent crimes, more are committing suicide, more are using drugs, smoking or binge drinking. Right? Wrong, according to Mark Matlock of Real World Parents.

It's no wonder that parents are discouraged! Because media has to sell papers or boost viewership they must provide stories that attract attention. The YOUtube video of teenagers pummeling each other plays at the top of every 15 minute segment. The story of the eighth grader carrying a knife in his backpack is on page one of the local paper while the news of 16 National Merit Scholars is buried on page 5 in 9 point type.

Real World Parents provides a summary of stats showing that while things are bad they are really no worse than they were 30 years ago. That's not great news but at least it is better news than what we perceive to be true.

RWP provides parents with training and resources that help them build stronger families. Visit www.realworldparents.com .

If you are at the NYWC, be sure to look for Mark Matlock and plug into RWP seminars. You'll be glad you did.

Who do you say that I am?

Youth worker, who do you say that I am?

You are Christ, the filler of my weekends.

You are Jesus, compelling me to attend meeting upon meeting.

You are Jesus who keeps me from taking vacations with my family because of the next mission trip, camp or event.

You are the Christ who presses me to get the newsletter done.

You are Jesus who demands the buzzwords of "excellence" and "leadership."

You are Christ who returns me to my home day after day with barely enough energy to find the remote and flop on my couch.

You are Jesus who puts me in positions where parents blame me whenever their kids screw up.

You are the Christ who causes my mind to race from worry to worry each night while sleep evades me.

You are Jesus who keeps me from exercise and play by making me too busy working for you.

You are the Christ who keeps me from deep relationships.

Somehow, somewhere we know these things are not Jesus, but our daily planners reveal our true beliefs.

What does your life say about how you answer Jesus when he asks, "Who do you say that I am?"

Slow down, be quiet and rest with Jesus for your strength.

Shhhhhh...

A trip to the well at NYWC

I've been doing my best sucking this straw with everything I have trying get every last drop from a cup that has not been refilled in a few years. Maybe you know the feeling? The slurping is loud and pretty gross. My cup has been bone dry for awhile.

I've been doing my best to take some drinks here and there. Books. Podcasts. Flipping the pages of my bible echoes my dryness with each crinkle of the paper. But, it's been awhile since I've been able to go to the well.

The National Youth Workers Convention has been a great well for me over these past 25 years in youth work. It has gone through significant changes and, truthfully, I do miss the old days of several hundred of us eating around tables and listening to a couple wild rebels; Wayne Rice and Mike Yaconelli. Yac made me cry year after year. They were soul-watering tears that washed away the negative attitudes and reminded me of my calling to reach teenagers to introduce them to Jesus. I wept when Mike died.

But the Lord was not done with us. In stepped Tic and Marko. They weren't my rabbis like Mike was but they carried a vision for student ministry. The tears revisited each year I saw additional growth and more and more youth workers gathering to drink from the well. Hotel ballrooms were replaced by giant convention centers, multiple cities and more and more resources.

Here I sit at the edge of the well again. Things will begin tomorrow. Tic and Marko are gone and I am an old timer now and won't know many people beyond Duffy, Chap, Tony ... but with me are three guys who work with our students back home. I've brought them to the well and can't wait to see them drink their fill. They'll come back to our room with bags of resources and new excitement for our students. They don't know what this well used to mean to me. It is brand new for them.

Breathe deep ... drink to excess ... return to ministry reminded of who you work for and revell in the fact that He really doesn't care where you parked the church van.

Need to save some money?

Who doesn't? The Elm St. Deli across form the Hyatt has giant salads and good sandwiches that won't sink your budget.

Look for CVS and Walgreens on Race Street at the 6th Street intersection. Water, Soda, snacks.

Dominos delivery - 513-471-3733 says it will deliver to Convention Center area.

Campanello's Italian Restaurant - 414 Central AvenueCincinnati, Ohio 45202 (513) 721-9833 - we ate lunch there and the food was good. Main dishes in the $6-$9 range for lunch. http://www.campanellos.com/

Quiznos, Chik-fil-a, Subway on West 4th Street between Vine and Elm.