Spiked Student Ministries

The fall here at New Horizon Church is starting off Hot.  I just got back from my Honeymoon with Laura and we had a wonderful time.  Tonight I attended our 3rd parenting class of eight that will take place.  These classes have been so full of information and well taught by Rod & Susan Clayton.  I would recommend any parent(s) to come and soak in the great stuff.

We have also started our LSD (Love, Sex & Dating Series for our middle and high school students.  Here is the line up for this series:

Oct. 9 – Love - Chris Dula

Oct. 16 – Sex - Mrs. Dula

Oct. 23 –  Dating/Relationship Tim & Raylene  Merino

Oct. 30 – Question & Answer with Dwayne & Laura Sayre/Halloween Costume Dress up

We are so pumped about what is happening here at New Horizon Church.  Hope to see you this Sunday at 11am for middle school or 4:30 for high school.

Hello Parents,

I want to share with you some info about our upcoming series in Spiked Student Ministries. 

The series is called LSD; short for Love, Sex and Dating.  Given our permissive secular culture, combined with a multitude of provocative images on television, the internet and in magazines, it is very easy for our young people to develop unhealthy and misguided ideas about the topics I’ve named above.  We are going to share with our youth a Biblical perspective that will help them understand God’s intention for these areas of their lives. 

The schedule is as follows:

October 9th – Chris Dula will lead the program on Love
October 16th – Lorna Dula will lead the program on Sex
October 23rd – Tim and Raylene Moreno will lead the program on Relationships and Dating
October 30th – Dwayne and Laura Sayre will lead a Q&A session covering all the topics

We expect this program to be a valuable experience for our young people that will help them make good choices now and in the future.  No doubt this series will provide an opportunity for many of you to speak with your child(ren) about these topics.  Our role is to provide a Biblical context that will reinforce the kind of behavior you will encourage your child to follow.

We welcome your questions and comments.  Thank you.

Earl W. Tye
Spiked Student Ministries
Parent Communications

This week I have been at New Horizon for one year and I have enjoyed everyday of that year.  I have watched and been in awe of the things God has done here.  Over the past three weeks It seems as though I can not get enough of God’s word.  It’s like everything I read from the Bible is new and so refreshing.  It’s like drinking from a fire hose and still there is so much more that I need.

Is. 26:8 In the path of your judgments,
O Lord, we wait for you;
your name and remembrance
are the desire of our soul.

I read this scripture the other day and I have been reading it everyday and listening to what God is saying through it.

Do I trust God?

God is faithful and will not disappoint us.

We have nothing if we are not in relationship with Jesus.

When we walk in obedience with God our love for God shines.

I am so excited for what is happening here at New Horizon Church.  We have such a great team of volunteers serving here in Family Ministry.  There passion and desire to learn more about God blows me away.  This fires me up because out of the overflow of their heart of kids and students are learning about real faith, God’s love and what it means to be a follower of Christ.  When we are growing, and God is doing things in our life our kids and students are seeing this.  I can not wait to see what God continues to do here at New Horizon Church at this moment and the future.  I am thankful to Him that I get to be a part of it.  WOW! There is so much more to come.

Helping students stand

BY STUART HALL

Our students live in a modern-day Babylon. Everyone is bowing down to something other than the one true God. In such an environment, our teens don’t have to be All-Americans to get attention; they don’t have to be prom queens or star football players to have influence. In Daniel 3, what made Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego stick out was not the fact that they were impressive in appearance or stature. The truth is, it’s not hard to look impressive when you’re standing up and everyone else is bowing down!

Eyes Wide Open

POSTED: 7/15/11 BY TED LOWE

1. Cut off from the outside world. No one is so important that he or she can’t be completely offline for a few weeks a year. Worried you will create tension with clients, co-workers, even family? Communicate with them before you leave. For instance, here is an automatic email reply: “Thanks for your email. I am with people who are more important than you. If you need immediate assistance, you’re out of luck. God bless and have a nice day!”
2. Look at your family often, especially their faces. Life is so busy, we forget to see those we love the most.
3. Laugh often.
4. Use this vacation time to also take a vacation from talking about or worrying about tensions in your marriage, finances, or problems with the kids. Those things will still be there when you get home, but chances are they will seem smaller because you will be refreshed—body, soul and mind.
5. Turn off or specifically limit electronics. We are the generation that tells those they love the most to “hold on.” Hold on to what? Use your vacation to hold on to each other.
6. Take a vacation from a packed schedule. Don’t feel like you have to fill every moment doing something. If you like to stay up late at night, then stay up late and sleep late the next morning. Read a book. Breathe and lose track of time.
7. Be affectionate. Hug, pat and kiss often.
8. In an unofficial way, ask great questions: What has been your “high” so far this year? What has been your “high” so far on this trip? If you were a superhero, would you rather have the power to be invisible or the power to fly? Did we mention to laugh often?
9. If you are taking your children, use the time to connect instead of correct. Other than disrespect of others, try to avoid correcting behaviors. Use the time to just be together.
10. Get alone with God. It doesn’t have to be anything elaborate. By yourself, go talk with God. Maybe get up early one morning, sit outside, go for a walk, or take a longer-than-usual shower. For the first few minutes, or maybe the entire time, just listen. Good communication is always a two-way street. Tell God what you are thankful for, and be sure to include everything you love about the people you are vacationing with. Take a break from prayers of: “God, can You fix this? Give me this. Help me with this?” Just be honest with God. Talk to Him like you want your kids to talk to you.

Too much to remember? Bottom Line: Be present. Love. Breathe. Tell God “Thanks!”

1. Get involved with your child from the beginning.
Remember, there is only one thing a father can’t do for his baby. And even then, you can still establish a role for yourself bathing, burping, comforting, and taking the baby out for a walk.
2. Prioritize fatherhood.
Some dads worry that by emphasizing family so much they will lose their edge at the workplace and not be as competitive for positions as those who lack family ties or neglect them. Research doesn’t support that fear. Plan your work around your family. Decide that father-child time is not negotiable, but work time is. With calendar or planner in hand, schedule first the activities of your children, the school events, the games, then write in your work obligations.
3. Make yourself available always.
Interrupt your meetings when anyone in the family calls. Learn to text and respond quickly. Don’t be busy all of the time. Build in opportunities for spontaneous conversations.
4. Have regular one-on-one time with each child.
Sometimes it’s fun to talk while you’re doing errands or making home repairs, but be sure there are times that you turn off the TV, put down the newspaper, and give your kids your undivided attention. Arrange solo time with your kids. Go out to eat a favorite meal or to do an activity the child enjoys or just go on an errand together.
5. Connect with your child at all levels.
Make sure you have some contact with every aspect of your child’s life. Visit the school, meet the teacher and kids and have at least a bit of contact with an after-school activity. If you have seen where your children are and met their friends, you will have more to talk about and more interesting conversations. Parent involvement during children’s schooling is critical to their school success. Work with your employer to see that your work schedule doesn’t preclude your involvement in your child’s schooling.
6. Become an expert dad.
Keep up with the language of child rearing. Talk to other dads informally, in groups, or in parenting classes. Read articles and books about good fathering. In too many families, Mom becomes the “expert” and Dad relegates his responsibilities to her. Don’t let that happen to you.
7. Teach them.
No dad has every gift or skill. Kids may learn certain things from other males in their lives. Use opportunities to share your talents. In my family, I lack auto mechanical ability, but I have passed on the gift and love of sports by personally coaching their teams.
8. Take kids to work.
This is a great way to teach them about the world of work that you are a part of. Take kids with you on business trips when possible.
9. Stay connected when you have to be away.
Sometimes work takes dads out of town. Set up a routine to stay connected. Some families schedule a specific time Dad will call that is convenient for all members of the family. When you return, bring home something special for the kids. It doesn’t have to be extravagant.
10. Show affection often.
Even if older kids seem squeamish, kids enjoy a hug and always enjoy encouraging words from their dad. I get my sons t-shirts each time I go on a trip, and they wear them proudly, even when their friends ask why they have such a random collection of shirts from so many different cities.