Parent Stuff

What in the World Are You Doing?
Can you hear your mother’s voice saying that? Go ahead: let those words run through your mind a few times, trying out those different parental voices. With a touch of exasperation: What in the world are you doing? Perhaps in her last-straw, you-have-gotten-on-my-very-last-nerve voice: WHAT in the world are you DOING?! Or even in amusement: What in the world are you doing? Inflection, emphasis, tone of voice, they all communicate meaning as much as the words themselves. Here’s what we mean by those words: What. In the world. Are you. Doing

What = A word used to ask for more information, often about the purpose of something or the nature of somebody.

In the world = Can refer to planet Earth; the earth, including all its inhabitants and the things in it; society as a whole; or particular areas of human activity.

Are you = Meaning an individual you’re conversing with or people in general.

Doing = This agile little word can refer to things that one does every day, as in “Everyday doings.” It can suggest actions that require more out of us than the everyday stuff, like “That will take a great deal of doing.” It can also mean a position of accountability: “This is your doing, your responsibility.”

Put it all together and you get: Tell me more about our nature and purpose here and what we’re meant to do and be. Sounds like a big hairy philosophical question, doesn’t it?

What about our nature and purpose? God said we are made in His likeness and that we are to “fill the earth and bring it under [our] control” (Genesis 1:28, NIrV). But what does that mean exactly? Is the earth ours, to do with however we please? Or is it God’s, even though He’s made us accountable for it? Genesis 1 has some answers (which we will examine in week 1), so the question of the day will be: What in the world are you doing to take care of what God made?

But there’s more than one kind of “natural resource.” Because God created each of us in His image, we have certain qualities like His and certain abilities like His. Therefore, each of us has talents, abilities, and possessions that God has entrusted to us and that He wants put to good use. Jesus even told a parable about that (Matthew 25:14, the Bible lesson for week 2). So what in the world are you doing to use what God gave you?

Words, like talents, abilities, and possessions, can be used wisely or unwisely. They can be leveraged to build or to tear down. Ephesians 4:29 (the lesson for week 3) says, “Don’t let any evil talk come out of your mouths. Say only what will help to build others up and meet their needs. Then what you say will help those who listen” (NIrV). What in the world are you doing to encourage others with your words?

Jesus said, “‘You are the light of the world’” (Matthew 5:14, NIrV). That’s what God means for us to be: lights atop a dark hillside that draw people in, to God. In week 4 we’ll explore what that looks like in a kid’s world. What in the world are you doing to show others God’s goodness?

So, what… in the world… are you… doing? We’ll explore those and related ideas in a special two-month edition of 252 Basics designed to help kids see connections between responsibility (what we’ll be talking about in June) and service (what we’ll focus on in July).

By Melanie Williams. © 2010 The reThink Group * www.rethinkgroup.org * All rights reserved. Used by permission.

Family Ministries is excited to welcome upcoming 6th grade students to Quake & upcoming 9th grade students to High School Gathering starting Sunday, June 6th.

In preparation for our Student Ministry MoveUP Weekend, we invite all parents and upcoming students to join us on May 16th for a preview of…

Quake (6th-8th grade)

11:15 -12:15 Quake programming

12:30 -1:30 Info/Q&A meeting with small group leaders & Student Ministry staff

High School Gathering (9th-12th grade)

5:00 - 6:00 Info/Q&A meeting with small group leaders & Student Ministry staff

6:00 - 7:30 High School Gathering

The focus of this checkpoint is your students’ devotional life. The apostle Paul says that true spiritual transformation begins with a renewed mind. Only as teenagers begin to renew their minds according to the truths of Scripture will their attitudes and behavior begin to change.

Principle: When you see as God sees, you will do as God says.

Critical Question: Are your students developing a consistent devotional and prayer life?

Key Passage: Romans 12:2

Depending on when you read this, you’re probably either still bundled up against the winter chill or you’ve shed your winter woolies for cool cottons, bracing yourself against the bite of the wind or basking in the bright, warm sunshine of late spring. Come May, snow days will have become a thing of the past, but many kids (and parents) will still be paying for the pleasure of a day off with an extended school year. Kids and families (and we church volunteers!) will have to dig down deep, grin, and bear it in order to hang in there till summer vacation. What better time to talk about patience?

So that’s what 252 Basics is all about in May: Patience, which is waiting until later for what you want now. Here’s the lineup:

May 2: If you don’t wait, it could cost you. Remember what Esau traded away for a bowl of soup because he let his stomach go to his head? (Genesis 25)

May 9: Don’t get tired of doing the right thing. If only the Israelites had kept on following God instead of the crowd! (Exodus 19; 32)

May 16: Don’t miss out because you think you can’t wait. Have you ever thought about what Joshua and the Israelites would’ve missed if they hadn’t followed God’s marching orders? (Joshua 3; 6)

May 23: If you don’t wait, it could hurt others. There are “gasoline girls” and there are “water boys.” Which one are you? (Proverbs 15:18)

And for the fifth week, we’ll depart from the norm and focus on a “faith skill,” that of prayer:

May 30: Take prayer out of the box. Are you in or out of the box when it comes to prayer? (James 5:13; 1 Thessalonians 5:17; Romans 8:26)

By Melanie Williams. © 2010 The reThink Group * www.rethinkgroup.org * All rights reserved. Used by permission.

BETTER THAN. We talk about it every day. Mac is better than Windows. The Yankees are better than the Red Sox. Coke is better than Pepsi. 24 is better than Lost.* It is in our nature as humans to use our senses to compare products and ideas. And this is nothing new - the books of Psalms, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes are jam-packed with comparisons! Some of these comparisons even come as counter-intuitive. Vegetables over meat? Less rather than more? Better to meet a BEAR than a foolish man!? Just check out an abbreviated list of what the authors in these books are talking about:

Psalm 118:9 It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes.
Proverbs 15:16 Better a little with the fear of the Lord than great wealth with turmoil.
Proverbs 15:17 Better a meal of vegetables where there is love than a fattened calf with hatred.
Proverbs 16:8 Better a little with righteousness than much gain with injustice.
Proverbs 16:16 How much better to get wisdom than gold, to choose understanding rather than silver!
Proverbs 17:1 Better a dry crust with peace and quiet than a house full of feasting, with strife.
Proverbs 17:12 Better to meet a bear robbed of her cubs than a fool in his folly.
Proverbs 21:9 Better to live on a corner of the roof than share a house with a quarrelsome wife.
Proverbs 21:19 Better to live in a desert than with a quarrelsome and ill-tempered wife.
Ecclesiastes 7:8 The end of a matter is better than its beginning, and patience is better than pride.
Ecclesiastes 9:4 Anyone who is among the living has hope-even a live dog is better off than a dead lion!

In April and May, High School Gathering will be focused on the “better than” statements found in these books. Of course, we won’t be able to cover every single one, but we will tackle those that weigh heavy in importance for high school students.

High School Gathering will not meet on the evening of Easter, April 4th. Starting on April 11th, we are scheduled to meet every Sunday through May 23rd. A schedule break will take place on May 30th, for the celebration of Memorial Day.

* These statements are merely used as examples and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the PHCC Family Ministry Team.

In April, Quake will be focused on the checkpoint of Moral Boundaries. One of the most important things we can teach our students is to establish clear moral limits. They need to learn how to protect their bodies and emotions by honoring God’s plan for sex and morality. The depth of intimacy with God and others is dependent upon these standards.

Principle: Purity paves the way to intimacy.

Critical Question: Are your students establishing and maintaining godly moral boundaries?

Key Passage: 1 Thessalonians 4:3-8

IMPORTANT DATES IN APRIL

April 4: NO Quake due to Easter holiday.  Students are encouraged to attend the adult worship gathering with their parents and families.

April 11: EJ Swanson, on staff at Lake Ann Camp, will be our guest speaker. He will also be available after Quake, from 12:30 - 1:30 pm, to answer any questions parents might have about Lake Ann Camp.

April 23-24: Middle School Retreat! Click HERE for more information.