In this 2 week series, we're talking about prayer. We don't always treat prayer right, and that's because we don't really know what prayer is or what its purpose is. In the first week, we're going to talk with students about how prayer is about connecting with God, not getting stuff from him. In week two, we'll look at the Lord's prayer and see how Jesus taught us to pray and how that shows us who God is. Coupled with this, we will have prayer stations that help us better understand what this means and looks like. 

In this 13 min video from Axis Ministries, they talk about what prayer is and why it's so important. This would be great to watch on your own as a parent, or with your student and take advantage of the pauses in the video to discuss the questions they ask throughout.

“Girlfriend Effect”: This slang is born from a newer TikTok trend. That trend involves women showing a “before and after”-style slideshow with photos of their boyfriend or husband before they started dating, followed by photos of how they look now. The implication is that the “girlfriend effect” results in men looking more put-together, confident, and attractive. There’s some debate about the phrase’s subtext, with some people applauding what might have previously been called “a woman’s touch” while others criticizing the cookie-cutter, Instagram-ready styles the girlfriends are impressing on their boyfriends. If you’re curious, a “boyfriend effect” trend also exists, but generally, the result is reversed, where women post flattering photos of themselves before dating and less-flattering photos after.

It’s peak “scary movie” time, and a horror series based on the work of Edgar Allan Poe is gaining traction on Netflix. “The Fall of the House of Usher” is a gory miniseries directed by Mike Flanagan, who is known for other Netflix horror offerings, like “The Haunting on Hill House” and “The Midnight Club.” Secular review site Common Sense Media advises parents that the show contains extended and graphic sex scenes, nudity, violence, substance use, and explicit language.
+ Conversation Starter: Why do you think people like to watch scary movies and TV shows? 

Meta is being sued by at least 41 states for harming teens’ mental health with their apps. A lawsuit filed in California by 33 state attorneys general alleges negligence on behalf of the social media giant, with 8 similar lawsuits being filed in other states. This suit is connected to allegations from 2021, when a former employee of Instagram blew the whistle on how deeply Meta understood how their technology has the potential to harm young people, and how little they cared.
+ Conversation Starter: Do you think it is fair to blame social media companies for designing products to be addictive? 

Britney Spears’ autobiography, “The Woman in Me,” was released last week and contained several tragic revelations about her life in the spotlight. The pop star talks about getting pregnant at 19 with her then-boyfriend, a fellow celebrity who said he wasn’t ready to be a dad. Spears says that what happened next was one of the most agonizing experiences of her life as she took the steps to end the pregnancy. Twenty years later, Spears says that if it was up to her alone, the decision would have been different. Spears has often talked in vague terms about her faith and spiritual life, and it seems that the abortion is certainly something she didn’t take lightly—or has been able to move past.
+ Conversation Starter: Should a man who says he isn’t ready to be a father get to weigh in on whether a woman continues her pregnancy? 

“1989 (Taylor’s Version)” debuted Friday. The record features all the songs from Taylor Swift’s original 2014 recording, in addition to “vault” tracks cut from the original tracklist that have never been released before. This will mark the fourth release in Swift’s ongoing project to re-record her first six albums, in a quest to own the masters of her back catalog. Swifties stayed up until midnight, chatting about the vault tracks, and theorizing about what every modified or expanded lyric means throughout the next few weeks. 
+ Conversation Starter: Are people getting tired of seeing Taylor Swift in the news?