Christmas Devos For Teens // 5 Days // Free!

During this Christmas season, I’ve been receiving a number of emails with free resources.  This week Youth Ministry 360 made a five day Christmas devotion for teens available . . . for free!

Students can start them anytime this month.  The purpose of these devotions is to help students identify characteristics displayed by characters in the Christmas narrative, and challenge them to apply these in their lives.

Take advantage of this free resource  to prepare for Christmas.  Explore themes like surrender, thankfulness and trust.  A simple tool to use this season.

Click on this link to view or print the devotions:

ym360_christmas_devotions_teenagers

Some Good (& Free!) Parent Resources

Lunch Box Note from Matthew Paul Turner’s Instagram (https://instagram.com/p/6zkxRKB4WS/)

About a week ago I received an email with some free resources for parents.  After looking through the resources, I thought they were definitely worth sharing.

These resources come from a ministry called Parent Ministry.net.  They desire to help churches build an excellent parent ministry.

Around the same time I received the email, I remember seeing a lunch box note post on Matthew Paul Turner’s Instagram account. He shared a lunch box note he left for his son.  It underscored the importance of the resources that Parent Ministry shared.

The first resource is called Lunch Box Notes. They provide ideas for parents to use to leave various notes of spiritual encouragement to their children.  They offered 50 ideas for parents of children and parents of teenagers. You can view, download or print these PDF resources at these links:

Lunch Box Notes for Parents of Children.

Lunch Box Notes for Parents of Teenagers.

The second resource Parent Ministry provided was short videos for parents.  The videos are geared for parents of toddlers to parents of teens.  They deal with a variety of subjects that may speak to the specific season of parenting you may find yourself in. If some of the videos don’t apply to you, my guess is you have a friend or family member who could benefit from hearing one or more of them.

Besides, who couldn’t use some free parenting tips?!?

You can check out each of the videos below.  It is set up as a playlist and there are 8 different videos.  You can watch all 8 or just select the ones that interest you.

Water Walker Series @TedDekker

I’m always on the lookout for free books. Since I obtained a Kindle reader, I’ve been pleasantly surprised at how many free ebooks are available. I’m on a few email lists and follow links on Twitter to places that offer free and discounted books.

A couple of weeks ago I saw that NoiseTrade was offering the second book in Ted Dekker’s Water Walker for free. It intrigued me so I downloaded both the first and the second.

Then I was hooked.

Dekker wrote the series in four parts to be read as an episodic story. While you can download the entire book at once, he also makes it available in several parts, much like a weekly TV series. Once I read parts 1 & 2, I had to go to Amazon to get the last two parts of the series.

Water Walker is about a young girl named Alice who is an orphan and has no memory of her past beyond six months ago. She is kidnapped by a man who claims to be her father and says he is finally taking her home. The story shifts perspectives from time to time. One chapter will be written in Alice’s voice as she shares what she is thinking and feeling as she tries to sort out what is true. Another chapter will come from the perspective of another character in the book.

While the book is not overtly Christian, there are many Biblical principles that present themselves as the story goes. The couple that kidnaps Alice lives a very religious life, but it is a religion based on fear. Alice has to learn the power of forgiveness as the four parts unfold.

Water Walker was an excellent read. Dekker’s goal was to present an addictive, high-octane story that would bring the reader back for each episode. Not only did I finish this series, I picked up the first book in the Eyes Wide Open series, which is set up the same way as Water Walker. It’s proving to be just as engaging.