Global Parenting System

Do you remember using a paper map to plan your vacation or to figure

out where you’re going when you’re lost? I can remember having to pull

over to the side of the road to break out the map and figure out where

we were at. You had to figure out how to read the legend, follow the

roads and intersections, and there was no zooming in to find the next

turn. After years of frustration the Global Positioning System came on

the scene and changed the world of travel as we knew it.

The GPS offered us something the map never could. It travels with us

everywhere we go, it talks to us, and tell us when to turn and what

the traffic looks like down the road. You can never get lost with a

GPS because it will show you where you’re at even if you made a wrong

turn along the way. A lot of people have even named their GPS. It’s

like a member of their family and they couldn’t survive travel without

Many of us were raised with paper map parents. They handed us a list

of rules and sent us on our way. They expected us to “just figure it

out.” However, contrary to this parenting model God has a different

parenting strategy.

4Fathers, don't exasperate your children by coming down hard on them.

Take them by the hand and lead them in the way of the Master.

Ephesians 4:6 (The Message)

Don’t get caught up on the “Fathers” part. This is a message we should

all strive toward accomplishing. God has called each of us to be a

part of the Global Parenting System. According to His word He wants us

to take our children by the hand and guide them. He wants us to travel

with them, talk to them; tell them when to turn and how to avoid

traffic and potential dangers. It’s not enough to just hand them an

instruction booklet and say good luck with life. Parents are called to

a lifelong commitment to loving and leading our children. We must get

involved and become parents we were called to be and our kids needs us

to be.

The Impact of Parents

The Partnership for a Drug-Free America reports that 1 in 5 high school students will abuse prescription drugs before they graduate.

The Partnership for a Drug-Free America also reports that, "Every day, 2,500 teens use a prescription drug to get high for the first time. 12 to 17 year olds abuse prescription drugs more than they abuse ecstasy, crack/cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine combined! Only 1 in 3 report learning about the risks of prescription drugs from their parents."

Are those reports discouraging? They should be. The deadliest form of substance absue is occurring in the very homes of teenagers.

However, there is HOPE. Over and over again, studies are showing that the most influential person in a teenager's life is the parent. Yet, the person who hesitates the most to talk to their teenagers is the parent.

Check out this link for how YOU, the parent, can begin to influence your teenager's life. You may save your child's life.

Your Faith has Healed You

Written by Greg Brooks, Executive Director:

Mark 10:48-52


48Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!" 49Jesus stopped and said, "Call him." So they called to the blind man, "Cheer up! On your feet! He's calling you." 50Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus. 51"What do you want me to do for you?" Jesus asked him. The blind man said, "Rabbi, I want to see." 52"Go," said Jesus, "your faith has healed you." Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road.

As you pursue your life’s miracle you’ll be faced with the challenge of overcoming the opinion of people. You will be rebuked by many because they don’t understand where you’ve been or where you know God is taking you. They don’t know the nights you’ve spent praying and fasting for the ability to see the light at the end of your tunnel. The opinions of people will always be there but your problem won’t.

Obliviously, Jesus had the power to heal him on the spot but he didn’t. Why? I believe that Jesus was giving Bartimaeus the opportunity to convey his faith. Is Jesus waiting on you to convey your faith? Is He waiting on you to throw off your cloak, jump to your feet and come to Him? Bartimaues was blind but he chose to walk in the dark because he heard the voice of Jesus calling him. You may need the kind of faith that moves when He calls although you may not be able to see Him. He just needs you to walk toward Him.

"When you are vague you have the advantage of feeling like you are making progress, but with none of the liabilities of a specific promise." – Andy Stanley, Choosing to Cheat

Bartimaeus didn’t ask Jesus for a general “blessing” like we so often do. He asked Jesus for a specific miracle which put Jesus on the spot. Is our faith at the place where we can ask Jesus for something specific and expect Him to come through? If not, why? Start asking Him for specific miracles and see how He’ll show up in unprecedented ways.

12 Days and Thankful Thursday.

I recently heard the story of a man who had decided to stop doing drugs and other addictive behaviors. Cold turkey. One day, someone asked how he was doing and how long it had been since he stopped, he replied "12 days". Several months later, the same person ask the man how long it had been since he had stopped, again the man replied, "12 days". Noticing that the man had replied the same way, the person asked why the man said 12 days. The man replied, "Because I never want to get to a point where I think, I've got it. Because I know when I do, I will fall. I keep saying 12 days, so, that I believe I've only begun."

There is a lot of truth in that comment. For 3 Dimensional Life students, it is vital that they never think they have arrived. Instead, they need to consider they are a work in progress.

Thankful Thursdays:

1. WARMER WEATHER!
2. Opportunities for Fathers and Sons to re-connect.
3. Grace - none of us deserve it, but we all need it.

The Importance of the Active Father

This upcoming weekend, 3 Dimensional Life will host its FIRST ever Father/Son Retreat, entitled "Well Done".

Consider the following quotes from this article:

Dr Herbert Gayle, an anthropologist of social violence, took a similar view.


"A father has four roles -- provider, protector, role model and emotional supplement to the family. Think about a father who has infant children and the state forcefully removes this parent, you understand the tremendous impact of him not performing his roles," he said. "When you remove a father who is the minister of security for his family, you create physical insecurity in his child and one of the results of that is violence."


Added Gayle: "The father is crucial. When you pull a man from a family, if the mother has a headache she doesn't have anyone to lean on. When the father is absent and abused and treated as though he is marginal, then the boy begins to see himself as marginal. Girls need to see their fathers act as a caring and loving person in order to trust the opposite sex."

When Dr. Gayle began to discuss the importance of a father, he highlighted four different roles: provider, protector, role model and emotional supplement to the family. That is a mighty tall order and really pushes how vital a father is to the family.
 
Let's connect those roles to examples:
 
Provider - "He makes the case that one aspect of a father providing for his sons involves training them to provide for their own family some day. In this day and age, the role of career training has shifted from fathers to schools (trade schools, colleges, etc.). He suggests that fathers begin taking the responsibility for instilling these skills in their sons." source.
 
Protector - Dr. Gayle notes, "When you remove a father who is the minister of security for his family, you create physical insecurity in his child and one of the results of that is violence."
 
Role Model - Dr. Gayle says, "When the father [sees himself' as] marginal, then the boy begins to see himself as marginal. Girls need to see their fathers act as a caring and loving person in order to trust the opposite sex."
 
Emotional Supplement for the Family: Dr. Gayle makes this comment: " [When a father is gone, the mother] doesn't have anyone to lean on....boy begins to see himself as marginal....girls need to see their fathers act as a caring and loving person in order to trust."


For someone to say that a father is not a vital aspect to the family, that is a sadly mistaken assumption. That is why this weekend is so important for our students and their fathers. While our students move toward adopting a lifestyle that is destructive-behavior-free, the fathers have the opportunity to reconnect and build on the relationships with their sons.

Thankful Thursdays

Here is this week's addition of thankfulness expressed:

1. Opportunities for growth: a lot of times, our students are given tasks to help them grow, to give them time to reflect. It's not always easy, but it is always beneficial.

2. Staff: I've mentioned many times what a blessing it is to have the staff team that we have - allow me to mention it again! We have a great team.

3. Board of Directors: We have an incredibly active BOD. Its amazing, really. Every week, one or more board members will be on property. And, that does not even include the constant contact they maintain with our Executive Director. There is progression in unity.

4. Rain: Some people struggle with the downpour of rain, but rain serves as a great reminder of God's faithfulness.

5. The future: The future is bright and full of promise. This is not limited to just 3 Dimensional Life, but extends to the student, his family, and beyond. When a student chooses to live a better life than the one they have been living previously, they cannot even begin to imagine what it looks like and means to live out a life that GLORIFIES the LORD.

Because He Lives...I can Face Tomorrow

Our Executive Director Greg Brooks wrote this; it is extremely encouraging and challenging.

“Unless you accept God's kingdom in the simplicity of a child, you'll never get in.” Luke 18:17 (The Message)

 I have often asked my four year son, Noah, the question: “What’s the most important thing to you?” His answer is always the same no matter what’s going on. He says, “Daddy, the most important thing is that Jesus loves me.” He doesn’t say the things many of us would say; the mortgage this month, my son’s recovery, my job.

It doesn’t matter what you’re going through this week; our answer should be the same. The MOST important thing is that Jesus loves you. At the end of the day nothing else matters. When we can understand this child-like statement is when we can live free from fear, anxiety, concern and anything else that distracts us from focusing on Him.

There’s an old hymn that says “Because He Lives I can Face Tomorrow.” Life is much easier to live when we’re submitted to loving Jesus and nothing else.