WHAT'S INSIDE
JUNIOR HIGH
- Note from Caleb
- What's Coming Up?
SENIOR HIGH
- Note from Jenn
- What's Coming Up?
JR/SR HIGH PARENT RESOURCE:
Articles by TheSource4Parents.com and HomeWord.com
WHAT'S INSIDE
JUNIOR HIGH
- Note from Caleb
- What's Coming Up?
SENIOR HIGH
- Note from Jenn
- What's Coming Up?
JR/SR HIGH PARENT RESOURCE:
Articles by TheSource4Parents.com and HomeWord.com
Hello Fall! Fall is DEFINITELY my most favorite time of the year. I love a nice flannel and those cool mornings. This fall also brings some exciting things in Junior High Ministry! We are so excited for the amazing things God continues to do in the life of Covenant Church and in the life of our Junior Highers.
During the month of October we are focusing in on an area in a teen's life that can become a real struggle during their middle school years. Between grades 6-8, teens can develop a hard pressed desire to see life through their own eyes and question the ways and influences they have been so close to before. They begin to taste what its like to be given more control over more areas of their life. This can be both frustrating and a perfect avenue to harness this newly found way of thinking for the best.
This month we will be talking about authority. Who's in charge? To who and to what have we given control of our lives? Our desire this month is to take a hard look at who and what the ultimate authority is in our lives. Whether we realize it or not, we give control to all kinds of things around us each day, but we have to take a step back and ask ourselves: to who and to what will we give authority to in our lives? We pray students will be brought into an understanding of God's sovereignty and authority over their lives. With God in control, we are brought into the amazing freedom and love that only He can provide.
BOSS: A 3-WEEK SERIES ON AUTHORITY
Raise your hand if you’ve ever wanted to scream, “You’re not the boss of me!” (You can also raise your hand if you have, in fact, actually screamed it.) Especially when we’re teenagers, we tend to push back on the people, places, and things that control and hold authority over us. But here’s the catch: whether we admit it or not, we’ve all given someone (or something) control of our lives. In this 3-week series, you’ll challenge students to consider who, or what, they’ve allowed to be their boss. Because whether it’s the god of me, the god of stuff, the god of worry, or the god of obsession, we all know what it’s like to have an authority problem.
FAMILIES! Join us on October 28th at Exploration Acres for a night of fall family fun. Exploration Acres has lots of fun family options including their famous corn maze. We will be hanging out from 4:30-7:00 pm. Cost is $8.50/adults and $7.00/children. Hot dogs and s'more supplies will be provided. See you there!
Registration is OPEN! Follow the link below to sign your student up for this year Junior High WinterXtreme.
January 18-20 at Camp Timberlee in East Troy, WI. Cost is $170 which includes all meals, transportation and lodging. This is one of the most memorable retreats and we are SO excited to see what is in store for this year.
Registration Link: https://covenantepc.breezechms.com/form/74ba769354
Parents!
Here are the dates for The Great Escape next summer! The Great Escape is our Junior High Summer camp in Green Lake, WI the week of July 8-13. More details will follow after the first of the year but wanted to make the dates available as you continue to plan for next summer!
Check out our website!
I love that we are diving into the topic of authority this month. There is so much in society that pulls us into thinking that we can be in control, make our own rules, etc. But God's BEST plan is for us to give control to Him. I believe that all of scripture is divinely inspired and gives us guidance for how we run our lives.
Senior families:
This is a new area for me, but I wanted to make sure you were aware of some important dates and deadlines. The Common App opened at the beginning of August. Did you know there are a lot of scholarships that have deadlines this month? See below for some important dates.
October 1: FAFSA opens. Complete by November 1 for early admission deadlines and several Scholarship opportunities.
November 1: Early deadline for admission. Most competitive Financial aid and early admission is due.
BOSS: A 3-WEEK SERIES ON AUTHORITY
Raise your hand if you’ve ever wanted to scream, “You’re not the boss of me!” (You can also raise your hand if you have, in fact, actually screamed it.) Especially when we’re teenagers, we tend to push back on the people, places, and things that control and hold authority over us. But here’s the catch: whether we admit it or not, we’ve all given someone (or something) control of our lives. In this 3-week series, we'll challenge students to consider who, or what, they’ve allowed to be their boss. Because whether it’s the god of me, the god of stuff, the god of worry, or the god of obsession, we all know what it’s like to have an authority problem.
FAMILIES! Join us on October 28th at Exploration Acres for a night of fall family fun. Exploration Acres has lots of fun family options including their famous corn maze. We will be hanging out from 4:30-7:00 pm. Cost is $8.50/adults and $7.00/children. Hot dogs and s'more supplies will be provided. See you there!
Save the Date for our annual Fall Retreat. Cost is $80 per person. Sign up HERE. Space is limited.
I fear that too many parents have indulged and enabled their children to such an extent that they have helped create irresponsible and even narcissistic ones. When we have weak, inconsistent discipline and poor boundaries, kids just aren’t willing to grow up. I don’t mean that kids shouldn’t be nurtured and affirmed. Every child needs parents who can be irrationally positive toward them. But they also need us to express expectations, set high standards, and hold them accountable. In other words, our kids need us to lead.
What does leadership mean? I have spoken to and studied leaders in all fields of life. One thing they have in common is a consistent message. They model what they expect and they keep on task. With an excellent leader there is seldom a doubt about who is in charge and. Parents are the leaders in their home. But the question in many homes of rebellious teenagers is “Who is really in charge?” This question must be settled, and the only healthy answer is that the parents must take the lead. Inconsistency or poor modeling will place your kids in the leadership position--that isn’t healthy for anyone. So parents must eliminate any power struggle from the relationship and. resolve authority issues. I tell people at our seminars, “Don’t argue and don’t fight with your kids.” It is much more difficult to mentor and lead if you and your children are always fighting and arguing all the time.
Cathy and I have a daughter who could win most of the arguments in our home. She is dynamic, articulate, and can argue either side of an issue. When she was a teenager she liked to argue for the sake of arguing, and she stretched the boundaries whenever possible. There were times she was just exhausting. Then one day, a therapist friend gave us two words of advice: “Quit arguing.” If you think about it, people seldom argue with their leaders. We had to hold our ground.
Holding your ground can be wearisome, but it is always worth it (although you probably already know this from your own life experience). To help communicate with our kids about discipline-related issues, Cathy and I came up “Confident Parenting Talking Points.” I wrote about them in greater detail in my book, Confident Parenting.
Learning to resist arguing with a teen who is pushing your buttons isn’t easy, but there are three phrases I’ve found to be extremely helpful to diffuse potential arguments with teens:
Excerpted from Understanding Your Teen: Shaping Their Character, Facing Their Realities by Jim Burns.