30 Hour Famine

30 Hour Famine Info

World Vision is a registered 501c3 charity. Not only are all individual donations tax deductible but many businesses will donate to 501c3 charities as well.  If you would like to help your student to reach his or her fundraising goal for the 30 Hour Famine be sure to check with your Human Resource department to see if your company will donate to World Vision. In the past we have had corporate donors. Michigan’s place of work is donating again this year and your employer might also. The 501c3 or tax I.D. number for World Vision is 95-1922279.

I had a conversation with a parent on Sunday who wanted their child to participate in the 30 Hour Famine. However, this student has a medical condition that does not allow for fasting. That’s okay. Medically I am not able to fast from food either.  I will be packing some meals for myself & quietly slipping into the kitchen when I need to eat.  While the goal is to raise money to feed children around the world as well as give your student a little taste of what it is like to go hungry there are other things your child can fast from. You should have seen the look on this child’s face when mom mentioned fasting from their cell phone for 30 hours! It was priceless. Whatever your child chooses to fast from should be something challenging. What about giving up their cell phone for 30 hours? There will be plenty of adults & even other students with their phones to handle any emergencies. How about giving up all forms of social media for 3 days or even a week? Talk with your child & consider what might be their idol. What might come between your student & their relationship with Christ? That would be the perfect thing to use as their fast for the 30 Hour Famine.

Are you worried that your middle school student is too young & not capable of fasting? I can assure you that over the years I have seen many 6^th or 7th-grade kids doing the 30 hour fast. This is an eye-opening experience designed to create empathy, compassion & draw your child closer to our amazing God. Don’t count your child out. If you are truly concerned you could send broth with your student but I know that if you encourage your student both of you will be surprised with the results.

It is a good idea to begin avoiding sweets the week prior to the Famine. Sweets are a Catch-22 that will cause your teen to crave more sweets as well as cause their blood sugar to get wonky making it more difficult to fast. They will feel hunger faster. Another recommendation is to not overeat the morning of the fast. Protein is a really good breakfast but if they cram their stomachs full of food they will notice the emptiness that much more.

Nearly 1 in 5 people in the developing world live on less than $1.25 a day. Just $35 will feed a child for a month. $425 will feed one child for an entire year!

Finally, you hopefully you have heard of the Youth leaders’ Kiss the Cow fundraiser. Please drop some change into the donation jars in the lobby. Paper money & checks work too. The person who raises the most money will get to kiss a cow. Photos of the cow kissing will be shown in church on March 20.  Since the kids earn prizes based on the funds they raise each leader will draw the name of a student in their small group to get credit for the Kiss the Cow monies raised in their jar. To be eligible your student must have raised some funds for the 30 Hour Famine & participate in the Famine weekend.  I know I would love, love, love to get a sloppy wet kiss from a cow so be sure to stuff my donation jar!

Lady Michigan (Stephanie Bukoffsky)

Techonology

Technolgy

When my now adult daughter was 11 years old she managed to convince a 16 year old boy that she was a 16 year old girl. At least I think he was a 16 year old boy. Anyway, even though we had our computer out in the open in our family room and thought we were monitoring what she did online she got into some type of chat room and pretended to be something she was not. Her father was online one day when suddenly he began receiving flirtatious messages from this boy. When my ex-husband informed the young man he had been flirting with an 11 year old girl the teen was very apologetic. I won’t go into how we disciplined our daughter but trust me, her online persona was deleted. I would like to tell you this was the last time this child did anything untoward online but unfortunately she was a challenge up until she was an adult and no longer my responsibility.

Why am I revealing personal information about my beautiful, wonderful daughter? Because I want you to know how strongly I feel about the information I am giving you in this week’s blog. I did not write this blog. I am doing a copy/paste from Crosswalk.com. Crosswalk.com is a really great Christian website that I often use when doing biblical research. This particular article showed up in my Facebook feed and I thought it was important to pass it along to you. The article was written by Felicity Alvarez and is dated June 13, 2014.

9 Most Dangerous Apps for Kids

In 2013, a twelve-year-old girl was lured away from her home by a 21 year-old-man. Once they met, he took her to a motel and took advantage of her. How did this little girl meet this terrible stranger?

Through an app called Whisper on her handheld device (yep, the one her parents bought her). And Whisper is only one of many dangerous apps, apps that every parent should be aware of.

The Scary Truth

“The bad guy’s not just at the bus stop anymore. He has entrance right into your kid’s bedroom and hand-held cellphone device.” Sexual predators can target your children even when your child is in the room down the hall. And sexual predators aren’t the only problem. Cyber-bullying and exposures to sexually inappropriate content are additional concerns.

New apps are constantly being created, so it’s important to monitor what your child downloads. Being aware of the online tricks predators use will help you know what to look for. So here is a current list of some of the most dangerous apps:

Whisper - This app allows you to post secrets anonymously and also allows you to chat with other users in your geographic area.

Why It’s Dangerous: Many children are drawn to communicating with strangers, feeling that their secrets are safer with them than with their friends. This app is a perfect tool for ill-intentioned strangers looking to connect with young people because it allows you to exchange messages with people nearest to you (so anonymity can be easily lost).

YikYak  - All Yik Yak users are anonymous. They don’t create a profile or account, but they can post comments that are accessible to the nearest 500 people (within a 1-5 mile radius). A psychiatrist called this the most dangerous app he’d ever seen because it “can turn a school into a virtual chat room where everyone can post his or her comments, anonymously. Untruthful, mean, character-assassinating short messages are immediately seen by all users in a specific geographic area.”

Why It’s Dangerous: This app is causing problems in schools across the United States, with students maliciously slandering teacher, staff, and other students. In fact, several schools have now banned smart phones from campus because of this particular app.

Kik - A free app-based alternative texting service that allows texts/pictures to be sent without being logged in the phone history. (Similar apps: Viber, WhatsApp, TextNow)

Why It’s Dangerous – Makes it easier for your child to talk to strangers without your `knowledge since it bypasses the wireless providers’ short message services (SMS). Children also think they can “sext” without parents finding out. In addition, strangers can send your child a “friend request.”

Snapchat – Allows you to capture an image or video and make it available to a recipient for a specific time. After that time limit is up, the picture/video automatically disappears forever…or so Snapchat claims. (Similar apps: Poke, Wire, and Wickr)

Why It’s Dangerous – Kids can receive (or send ) sexually inappropriate photos. This app also makes kids feel like they can “sext” or send inappropriate pictures without consequences because the image will self-destruct automatically. The truth is that nothing sent over the internet disappears. There are always ways to retrieve and capture those images.

Vine – Allows users to watch and post six second videos.

Why It’s Dangerous –While many of the videos are harmless, porn videos do pop up into the feed, exposing your children to sexually explicit material. You can also easily search for/access porn videos on this app. Predators utilize this app to search for teens and find their location. Then they try to connect with them via other messaging apps.

ChatRoulette and Omegle– These apps allow you to video chat with strangers.

Why It’s Dangerous – Not only are users chatting with strangers, they could be chatting with a fake stranger. “Chat sites like Chatroulette and Omegle have done their best to produce systems that warns users when the people they are chatting to are potentially using fake webcam software, however developers still manage to slip under their radars with frequent updates.” So a fifty-year-old man could set up a fake webcam and use images from a 15-year-old boy that looks like a teen celebrity to convince your child to send inappropriate pictures or get information about your child’s location.

Tinder – Users post pictures and scroll through the images of other users. When they think someone is attractive they can “flag” the image. If that person has also “flagged” them in return, the app allows you to contact them.

Why It’s Dangerous – This app, and similar apps such as Down, Skout, Pure, and Blendr, are primarily used for hooking up.

Poof – Hides other apps on your phone. You select which apps you would like to hide and their icons will no longer show up on your smartphone screen.

Why It’s Dangerous – If children have apps that they want to keep hidden from their parents, all they have to do is download this app and “poof,” their screen is clear of any questionable apps. So, if you see the poof app on their phone, you may want to ask them what they are hiding.

What Now?

Remember, your child’s safety is more important than their privacy. As a parent, you aren’t being nosy by checking their cell phone on a regular basis; you are being responsible. Perhaps your family could establish family media rules, such as having to check with a parent before downloading a new app or game. Having a common charging area so you can easily check phones could also be a good system for your family.

Also, take the time to explain to them (at an age-appropriate level) why you are asking them questions and checking their phone and privacy settings. Many children do not realize just how much information they are putting out there and how dangerous it can be.

If you have an older teen, and find some questionable apps on their phone, it may be a good opportunity for a discussion. Here are a few conversation starter ideas:

Conversation starter for YikYak– What kind of things would a person want to post anonymously? How would you personally use this app? What would you post anonymously? Why?

Conversation starter for SnapChat – Why do you want to send pictures that disappear? Would you be okay with anyone seeing that pic?

Conversation starter for Whisper – Why would you tell your secrets to strangers? If you are struggling with something, will a stranger care or be able to help you? Do you think it would be safe to accept their help/friendship?

Conversation starter for any app – Are you being safe with that app? Are you encouraging others or tearing them down? Are you being bullied? Are you putting out too much information about yourself? Is this an app that brings God glory?

Christian parents are called to instruct their children in biblical wisdom (Deuteronomy 6:6-8) and today that includes teaching them to apply biblical wisdom to media. Teaching your children how to choose appropriate apps and use them responsibly is vitally important in our media-saturated world.

Internet safety is just like any other kind of safety. You don’t just teach your child how to cross the street one time; you repeat “look both ways” to them for years! Similarly, we need to talk continually about internet/app safety. How much information should you share? With whom should you communicate? What should you post?

A wonderful tool to help guide you in the internet training process is available at Netsmartz.org. They have many resources for internet safety available, including resources for different ages. And it’s all available for free! You can use their videos for jumping-off points for discussion and incorporate biblical principles into your conversation. As Christians, we’re not simply training children to keep them out of trouble, but so they can grow in wisdom as well.

“The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice; he who fathers a wise son will be glad in him” (Proverbs 23:24).

Once Upon a Time

Hi Parents,

Have you ever heard a story so good you just had to share it with someone else? Of course, Facebook has lots of stories that are very easy to share. The parables that Jesus told are kind of like that. He told some really good stories.

But, why did Jesus tell stories or parables? Were they great entertainment for the people of biblical times? Jesus told stories to force His audience to ask themselves, “Who am I in this story?” Jesus’ stories were like mirrors He held up to His audience so they could see themselves.

We are in the middle of a four week series called Once Upon a Time. Your teens and pre-teens have heard a different parable each week. Each parable can be found in the book of Luke. At the end of each lesson time our students are asked to pray for a different person or group for the week.

Learning to pray for others is a significant part of the Christian life. So is learning to pray for ourselves. This week’s lesson just happens to be about praying even when it seems as if we are not getting an answer. Jesus tells his listeners to continue praying even if at first it does not seem as if God is answering. This is a great lesson to learn in the weeks leading up to Easter.

I believe I speak for all the leaders at TNT when I say that our goal is for your kids to become closer to Jesus and stronger in their faith. We encourage you to ask your teens what they have discussed at TNT.

We also pray for your kids. Just today I got a text message from the mom of one of “my” TNT kids asking me to pray about a situation her child is having at school. What an honor to be asked to pray for that student. Please feel free to ask any of us at TNT to pray specific prayers for your children.

Have a blessed week.



Stephanie Mollenhour Bukoffsky

Choas and You

Sometimes when we meet in our small groups the kids have something on their minds that is not really the topic of the message they just heard at TNT. As small group leaders we have to balance either staying on topic or just letting the Holy Spirit take over and allowing the kids to have free reign with their questions.  This is what happened last Sunday in the 6^th & 7^th grade small group.

Somehow we went from talking about Jesus telling us He is our place of rest to the kids asking a lot of really good questions regarding heaven, our new bodies, the rapture and the New Earth. We even managed to get a little bit of Armageddon thrown in there as well. Whew!

As we wrapped up one of the students asked “Where do you learn all this stuff?” Which leads me to today’s blog. Of course, we know that to learn about God one must spend time with God in prayer, in worship, in a body of believers and in the Bible. Does your student have a Bible written in a language that he or she can understand?  Is it at an appropriate reading level for your child?

Some of you are familiar with the Life Journals that CCC used to hand out. To the best of my knowledge the church never really charged for them but an offering to cover the cost was certainly appreciated. These are a great way for you to get into the Word daily. You can pick up the reading process anywhere within the year. There is a place for you to journal a line or more about what you have just learned or what strikes you about the chapters as you read them each day. After you have completed one year in this journal you will have read through the Old Testament once and the New Testament twice. In the last six months I have been ordering these journals myself straight from the church that sponsors them. If you would like to order one let me know & I can get the information for you. If a few people go together on an order the cost per journal goes down.

Of course, for your teens this is an extremely busy time of life. They are still learning how to juggle schoolwork, after school activities, chores at home (I hope you give them chores but that’s a topic for another day) as well as a social life. For many of them adding a daily Bible reading that is 2 or 3 chapters long just might push them over the top. God wants us to long for a relationship with Him not feel burdened by it.

There are various Bible bookstores in our area that have some great studies or devotionals for teens. Your teen’s Bible just might have some devotionals in it as well. However, I would like to introduce you to another resource that might be really appeal to your teen. It seems that most teens are pretty plugged in electronically today. Whether they have a smart phone or were given laptops from school they all have access to the internet in one format or another. Many of us are enjoying using the YouVersion online Bible. YouVersion is available as an app for your phone or as a link to add to your laptop, tablet or PC.

YouVersion gives you access to multiple translations of the Bible. I often use it when I am reading my print Bible but want to read a passage in another translation to better understand it. Within the YouVersion app there are also multiple Bible reading plans. These plans offer a variety of topics and lengths. I just finished a 9 day devotional called Portraits of Women of the Bible. There is also a section of Youth plans.

In addition, as you or your teen finish each day of your chosen study you have the option of sharing what you just studied on social media. What a great way for your kids to start a conversation with their friends, “Hey Dude, what is this thing you just posted on Instagram, Facebook, etc.?”

If your student is not yet carving out a few minutes each day to spend time in God’s manual book to us I would strongly recommend you help them incorporate this into their day. Even 10 minutes is a start. Of course, “Do as I say and not as I do” doesn’t go very far with teens so if you are not in the habit of getting into the Word daily I encourage you to do so also. Start small and work your way up. What better way to equip yourself to respond to your student’s questions?

I don’t believe very many, if any, of us are called to spend 8 hours a day reading our Bibles. I do believe we are each called to open them up at least once per day. If you are struggling to find a relevant way to get into God’s word each day or to help your child get into God’s word, don’t be afraid to ask Lynette or Aaron or one of our elders for help. Also check out the link below:

http://www.a.youversion.com/free-bible-apps

           

Thank you for the privilege of working with your teens and preteens each week,

Stephanie Mollenhour Bukoffsky

“Come now & let us reason together”
Isaiah 1:18