Texting, Driving. . . And A Great Video To Show Your Kids. . .
Spring has sprung here in Central Pennsylvania where I live. That means I’m climbing back on the bicycle. That also means that I’m spending an increased amount of time looking into the faces of the drivers I encounter on the…
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Wisdom. . . And The Lack Thereof In Social Media. . .
Jesus said that it is out of the overflow of the heart that the mouth speaks. If he was ministering in today’s world I believe he would stretch that to include what and how we speak on social media. In other…
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Girls and Sex. . . An Interview With Peggy Orenstein. . .
For some reason, releasing books on kids and sex is in season. Perhaps the reason is that the topic must be addressed because sex and sexuality have not only taken center stage in the world of pop culture, but they are at the…
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Kik. . . Some Much-Needed Social Media Awareness. . . .
One of the most horrifying news stories of recent months is the kidnapping and killing of thirteen-year-old Nicole Madison Lovell by two Virginia Tech students. Lovell desperately sought to fit in. A life-time of battling medical issues, her red hair,…
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“Mike Schmidt Can Bite Me”. . . Role Models and Sports Civility Lost. . .
Baseball’s old guys have every right to speak up about honoring the game. . . especially those who played it so well for so long. They’ve earned their right. And we should expect them to do so when the integrity…
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Brussels. . . The Garden. . . and Praying For Our Enemies
This week has offered me another one of those “perfect storms” of challenge where numerous things come together in ways that stretch me way beyond my comfort zone. It began with a trip to my parents’ house on Monday night.…
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Trauma, Holy Week, and The Cross. . .
Easter week has gotten better as I’ve gotten older. In fact, as I’ve gotten older life has gotten worse in many respects, thus leading to new experiences of the joy of Holy Week and all that it means. When I…
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Comedic Social Media Truth. . . Perhaps You Can Use These. . .
Yes, I love the comic page in our daily newspaper. Recently, I found myself scanning the comic pages and wondering, “How many of these comics would have made absolutely no sense at all if they had been published ten or…
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Fathers. . . Lest You Think Your Actions Don’t Count. . .
Fathering is a job I’ve had for over 32 years. Over the course of my years in youth ministry my own fathering resolve has been challenged by fathers good and bad. Outside of my own dad, there have been hundreds…
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Can Social Media Kill Our Kids? . . .
So maybe “kill” is too strong a word. It might be better to use words like “derail,” “suck the life out of,” or “horribly misdirect” when it comes to social media’s growing effect on our kids. Never would I say…
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Thanks For Tracking With Us! . . .
Yesterday I learned that your ongoing interest in CPYU and this “Learning My Lines” blog resulted in our inclusion in the “Top 30 Youth Ministry Blogs of 2015.” In fact, we landed at #4 on the list! We know that…
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Teen Dating Violence. . . A Helpful Infographic To Spark Discussion. . .
For today’s kids, the word “dating” and the realities of “dating” bear little resemblance to what those of us from past generations understood and experienced as we “dated”. . . even if were teenagers just ten short years ago. It’s…
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