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Showing posts from July, 2013

Waiting...

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Post Courtesy of StayTeen.org Sometimes it seems like everyone is doing it…especially if you’re not. But less than half of teens in high school (only 42% of girls and 43% of boys) have had sex. That means that more than half of all high school students are virgins . And the younger someone is, the more likely they’re a virgin. For example, less than one-third of teenagers age 17 and younger have had sex, while 60% of 18- and 19- year-olds have. It’s okay not to have sex. In fact, not having sex is a great idea, especially if you want to avoid pregnancy or sexually transmitted infections (STIs) .  Of course there are all kinds of birth control methods that—when used carefully, correctly, and consistently—can protect you against pregnancy and decrease the risk of STIs. But not having sex is the only 100% proven method for avoiding pregnancy and STIs. And while birth control can help protect your body, it can’t protect your feelings—and feelings are a big part of wh

Strong Fathers = Strong Churches

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Blog post courtesy of Legacy Dad . A great site empowering parents to raise spiritual champions. What impact do fathers have on the family and the local church? Consider these statistics below: 43% of US children live without their father [US Department of Census] 90% of homeless and runaway children are from fatherless homes. [US D.H.H.S., Bureau of the Census] 80% of rapists motivated with displaced anger come from fatherless homes. [Criminal Justice & Behavior, Vol 14, pp. 403-26, 1978] 71% of pregnant teenagers lack a father. [U.S. Department of Health and Human Services press release, Friday, March 26, 1999] 63% of youth suicides are from fatherless homes. [US D.H.H.S., Bureau of the Census] 85% of children who exhibit behavioral disorders come from fatherless homes. [Center for Disease Control] 90% of adolescent repeat arsonists live with only their mother. [Wray Herbert, “Dousing the Kindlers,” Psychology Today, January, 1985, p. 28] 71% of high school dropo

Why Old Skool beats New School.

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Guest Post by Mike Ziadeh, husband, father of three and Youth Pastor @ Spring Lake Methodist Church Brooksville, FL The most important part about writing is to create a clever title, something that wins in the battle of our ever restless attention span. Old school vs. New School, this could be describing any assortment of styles or competitions, but in this case I want to talk about parenting. Parenting styles have been the subject of scrutiny, study, insult, injury , and the source of blame for many generations, but none more so then our current age. This is a sign of the times. We are more introspective, more analytical, and in this highly therapeutic age, we are looking for a finger to point, and a explanation of our current behaviors. All of this leaves us, as parents, awkward, nervous, and unsure of our parenting ability. Many of us feel trapped. How do we do something that we have never seen modeled? (many men trying to be fathers) or How do we take on the task of parenting