HUMYF Parent Central

Hey Parents,
We are so glad that you stopped by the humyf parent page. Our goal is to be a source of support and encouragement for you. With all of the challenges that you face in parenting teenagers, we hope that this page will be an invaluable resource. As you scroll down this page you will find: Great Websites, books, and other resources that can be a great help with each stage of your teenagers developement.

You are the primary source of spiritual influence in our society and culture. In a recent article i read, "the church's parenting challenge", from willow creek church, Mark holmen, a senior pastor in ventura california said, "one day i looked at a survey that hand been conducted with about 250,000 kids and was blown away to find that the number one reason why kids said they have faith was because of mom; number two was dad; number three was pastor, (not youth pastor!); number four was grandparents. Youth pastor did show up, and so did sunday school, and youth ministry, but those were, like, numbers 12-17. That's when i realized, that mom and dad were two to three times more influential than any church program."

I can remember how much of an influence my mom and dad were on my spiritual developement. And hey, it doesn't mean that you have to sit down every night and have 2 and 1/2 hours of intense bible study. there are many ways that you can be a spiritual influence. bible study and devotions are a great way of doing it, but spending time with them and modeling christian behavior and principles are another. your kid's value and respect your opinion and beliefs more than you think.

We are definately not trying to discount what we do as a youth ministry here at humc. we take our role as a spiritual influencer very seriously, but we know our place. we are a resource and support partner or assistant for you, if you will. you are the primary spiritual trainer or coach. we want to be here to encourage and support you in the challenges that you face in the home everyday. we only have them for a few hours a week. that can never replace or account for the other 168 hours in a week.

Resources:

Counseling:

Carolinas Counseling Center
This ministry is highly recommended by the pastoral staff here at HUMC. They have counseling for everyone, adults and students.

Ministy Websites:

Homeword.com
great resource on parenting and building families. A ministry of author and speaker jim burns. They also have a another site "Understanding Your Teenager"

CPYU.com
Center for Parent and Youth Understanding
CPYU is a nonprofit organization committed to building strong families by serving to bridge the cultural-generational gap between parents and teenagers.

Ask Hayley.com
Hayley DiMarco is the Chief Creative Officer and founder of Hungry Planet. She writes cutting-edge and bestselling books for teens like Dateable, Mean Girls, Sexy Girls, and Technical Virgin. She also writes books for former teens, including Marriable and Mean Girls All Grown Up. Her goal is to give practical answers for life’s problems and encourage readers to form stronger spiritual lives.

Real Relationships.com
Les and Leslie. A husband-and-wife team who not only share the same name, but the same passion for helping others build healthy relationships. In 1991, the Parrotts founded the Center for Relationship Development on the campus of Seattle Pacific University - a groundbreaking program dedicated to teaching the basics of good relationships.

Books:
Jim burns-confident parenting
George barna-Transforming children into spiritual champions
mark holmen-faith begins at home
betsy hart-it takes a parent

Check out the media section of harrisonumyf.com to find some books that your kid's might like!

Just between Us Parents february 8th, 2008
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!! Hopefully, 2008 will bring each of you peace, joy and patience. Patience, you ask? Yes, for patience. As parents of teenagers, we each experience that time when (against our better judgment) our kids make a choice. Later they find that choice was not a very good choice and now what? We have to allow them to make their own mistakes and repair the damage from those mistakes. This is where the patience comes in. We have to give them time to figure it out. We need to make sure of their safety first, then just wait, provide support and advise only when asked. I find this very difficult to do and have loss many hours of sleep because I want to rush in and repair everything right away. Thank God, he gave me my husband Paul. Paul understands the way I think and can hold me back. Pastor Tim spoke today on Love God with all your heart, with all your mind and all your strength. He also reminded us that the bible tells us to love our enemy as we love ourselves. Love your enemy…WHAT? You mean those that put our teenagers in the mess they are in, those enemies who tempt our teenagers day in and day out, those enemies who thrive on evil things, those who don’t “fit in” to our way of living, those who think differently, those who dress differently, and those who are of different race, culture or sexually orientation? YES…THOSE ARE THE ONES WE ARE TO LOVE!!!! Jesus did not put conditions on this love. He plainly said, “Love your enemies as you love yourself.” What a connection I found between this sermon and the topics we discussed in the LIFE group Paul and I attend. We didn’t use the term ‘enemy’, we used the word ‘stone’. We were asked how do you stop throwing your stones and begin to find the balance of love/truth in a relationship. How do you love your enemy? Jesus did. He did not support the behavior of an individual he met, but he loved them for who they were. He was accepting, not judgmental. I believe this is what we must do to love our enemy is to first, don’t judge. Accept who they are, then maybe, just maybe you have a door open and you can begin to love the way Jesus wanted us to love. I believe that is why when we read the bible it tells us stories. Stories are so elemental. They give us basic instructions to help us follow what God wants of us. The story we read from the bible in our LIFE group was of the women who was caught committing adultery. Escorted by the “law-makers” to meet Jesus, they challenged Jesus on the “law”. “She has disobeyed the law and must be stoned, what say you Rabbi?” As we know, the story ends that Jesus states, “Throw the stone, she broke the law, but those without sin, need to go first.” We are commanded, love your enemy. As parents, if we practice being more accepting and less judgmental, maybe we can love those enemies and be better examples for our teenagers. My prayer for each of you this year is one of happiness, joy, peace, and patience. Challenge yourselves, release your stones and love your enemies. GOD BLESS YOU AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!-Kathy Sandel

Parenting Events Calendar:
Nothing planned at this time, but stay tuned...

Adult Leaders Needed!
we need your help in many areas of ministry: sunday night live, meals, sunday school, small groups, chaperoning events, etc... some of you may think your kid's don't want you here, but the articles i read and the statistics say otherwise. we wan't and need you here!

sunday night live is growing and expanding. Due to the number of students we need more adults to be a part of the snl team. Don't worry you don't have to teach or lead anything unless you choose too. it would also be a great way for you to see first hand the ministry that your kid's are involved in. Plus, you get to join us in fun and worship.

we also need help with snl meals. you don't have to fix an elaborate meal. menu possibilities: pizza, chili, sloppy joes, chicken fingers, corn dogs, etc... We have drink mixes and coolers in the kitchen, so preparing drinks is easy. Some provide chips, fries, salad, and a simple desert. you can be fully reimbursed for your food purchases. if you are interested, contact julie curtis at jullie.curtis@harrisonumc.org.

We are exited to bring you a new resource for your family. Below is a list of family devotions that you can use with your teens and younger children during the week that goes with the Bible Studies that we are doing at Sunday Night Live.	Student Life Bible Study Famly Devos: Community Series
	Lesson1-God's Army Lesson 2-The Power of The Spirit Lesson 3-The Church Founders Lesson 4-Baptism of the Spirit Lesson 5-The Church's Message Lesson 6-Church in the World Lesson 7-Physical Opposition Lesson 8-One Community Lesson 9-Integrity Lesson 10-An Invincible Church Lesson 11-Shared Ministry Lesson 12-Martyrdom of Saints Lesson 13-God's Perfect Plan Lesson 14-An Amazing Conversion	Lesson 15-Apostle to the Gentiles Lesson 16-From Jews to Gentiles Lesson 17-A Growing Church Lesson 18-Reaching the Lost Lesson 19-Supporting Missionaries Lesson 20-Healing the Rift Lesson 21-Valuable for Service Lesson 22-Spiritual Parenthood Lesson 23-Going to Macedonia Lesson 24-Singing in Jail Lesson 25-The Unknown God Lesson 26-Sosthenes Beaten Lesson 27-The Church Expectant Lesson 28-Spiritual Opposition	Lesson 29-Internal Divisions Lesson 30-Accountability Lesson 31-The Lord's Supper Lesson 32-Gifts From God Lesson 33-Giving Lesson 34-Rebuking in Love Lesson 35-Faithfulness is Great Lesson 36-Testimony in Chains Lesson 37-An Indirect Path Lesson 38-Every Opportunity	New Student Life Series Coming in August: Covenant