When Jenny Rose was in middle school I was given One Year Novel Adventure from Clearwater Press to review.

What a blessing!

This came with lessons on Dvd, as well as a teacher’s guide, student journal, and a sample adventure novel, The Prisoner of Zenda. This program focused on adventure which Rosie loved. The lessons were helpful, clear, and easy to apply to the novel that began to come together.

​I figured that we would count that year as our Fiction Writing Year in high school. But, then Rose and I came up with a plan.

​Decision-making can be challenging when you find yourself married to someone who thinks differently that you do.

Wanting my teens to grow up to have healthy, happy marriages, I gave them a taste of the challenge of husband-wife decision-making. And I wanted it to be fun.​​
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Here is the game I came up with.

The idea is to keep it lighthearted so everyone can laugh together. 

The game does require at least 6-10 teens with half guys and half girls.

You make a circle of chair pairs. The outer chair is empty. Each girl takes an inner chair. She will remain stationary and the guys will move girl to girl when the buzzer sounds.

Next, each teen is given the same piece of paper with four scenarios on it. Each scenario requires decision-making as a team.

Now, every guy takes a seat next to a girl. When the buzzer sounds, you will have five minutes to make a decision together. When the buzzer sounds again, the guy moves to the next girl and every team moves on to scenario two and makes the next decision together. The guys keep moving until the scenarios are finished.
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Here are the scenarios. 

One of Jesus' last commands was to make disciples "of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and to teach them to obey all I have commanded you." (Matthew 28) Everyone is called to make disciples. No one is exempt.

Which is all well and good and everything—like, kudos to all the missionaries out there that are living it out. But how am I supposed to do that? What does it even look like for an American teenager to walk out Jesus’ last command?

The most obvious way is to get involved in a mentoring relationship. If you don’t have a clue what I’m talking about, or if the only picture that pops up in your head is some kind of Big Brother program, let me explain.
A mentoring relationship is where a more mature Christian takes a new Christian under their wing and teaches them the basics of the faith. It’s a relationship that models what Jesus had with his disciples—the discipler and disciple spend time with one another, becoming friends and confidantes, praying and fasting together, seeking the Lord together, and encouraging one another to keep fighting the good fight. It’s actually a pretty complex thing that varies from church to church and relationship to relationship, but the gist of it is that the mature Christian takes care of the baby Christian.

Since I was eleven, I had been on the disciple end of the mentoring relationship, but the late summer of 2013 marked a new chapter of my life: I became the mentor.

I've had the privilege of watching a beautiful young lady mature in the Lord for nearly two years now. We talk about anything going on in our lives that’s difficult, asking for prayer and advice from one another. We discuss how our quiet times are going, what God has been teaching us through them, and questions that have risen from studying the Bible.

But our relationship doesn't end in that hour-and-a-half window.

We’re friends. We spend time with one another at events and at church, we have sleepovers. We go to the mall, to the movies, or we sit lazily in the other’s room and chat about whatever comes to mind. We're in one another's lives, and we grow closer with passing time.

The way the discipleship relationship works is quite simple, yet it requires an investment of oneself. You have to be willing to devote your time, your energy, your love, and your persistence. But it's worth it.

And it's only one of the many ways to fulfill Jesus’ last command.

Moving in the more officially sanctioned vein is starting new ministries and involving ourselves in current ones.

My brother-in-law and another one of the young men from our church started a ministry where they play basketball in a nearby neighborhood, invite the residents, and use that opportunity to share the Gospel.

I help teach Sunday School to four- to eleven-year olds, sharing Bible stories and their practical application in the kids’ lives.

My church has both a teen and a young adult program, ministries that are geared toward bringing in and building up people in those age brackets.

There are so many ministries available to us, waiting to be employed in the pursuit of making disciples. All we have to do is look, and join in. Finding a nearby ministry—whether it’s an extension of your home church, or some kind of organization that takes care of the widows and orphans and allows you to share your faith—is never all that hard. 

And once you’ve found your ministry, you dive in. Start sowing into people’s lives, caring for the broken and the needy—making disciples.

We started doing Grace Home Schoolers Friday Enrichment Classes when my oldest daughter was in middle school--back in 1997. We have enjoyed the addition to our education at home. My teens have made friends and gotten to dissect, act, sing, paint, debate, and learn psychology from a Christian perspective. 

This year, we have a great line up of classes for the 2013/2014 school year. I thought I would share them with you in case you are looking for enrichment classes. 

Interested? Contact Grace Homeschoolers through their website: http://gracehomeschoolers.com/

You teach and train your children for from birth, looking forward to the day when they graduate from high school and enter adulthood. Well, maybe not looking forward to that day so much. Maybe you are like me and you want the years to last a little longer as they fly by.

Still you know that all you do in raising and educating your children is for that eventual day when they fly out of the nest and take their place in the world. You pray for their future mates and children, looking forward to meeting your grandchildren one day. You worry, even though you know you shouldn't. You imagine and daydream about what they will be like and long to see them walk uprightly with God all the days of their lives.

It has given me great joy to graduate three daughters and to watch countless friends graduate their own children. What are these children up to? Let me introduce you to some high school grads.

My oldest daughter, Katie Beth, graduated from high school at age 16 and commuted for four years to Stetson University. As a National Merit Finalist, she could have lived on campus with her scholarship, but instead chose to drive back and forth each day so that she could stay connected to our family and to the church. She won numerous awards in her four years of college and was the outstanding senior in both of her majors, English and Spanish. Katie Beth spent a semester in Mexico her junior year, her first time away from home. After college, she worked as an editor for Harcourt for a year and then went back for her master’s degree. Right now, she is teaching freshman English at the University of Central Florida. She is still living at home and is involved in ministry at our church.

Katie Beth found that the most difficult part of college was the intense animosity toward the Lord and His Word. She found herself having to stay on her toes, being ready to defend The Truth and share her personal testimony. She found that knowing the Word of God and reading Understanding the Times helped her so much to be ready to give an answer when one could be given. Sometimes she felt lonely, especially when she saw other Christians surrender their trust in Jesus and accept the lies of the world. RIght now Katie Beth is teaching two classes of Freshman English at UCF--what a great opportunity to serve the Lord and reach out to college students!

Julianna went to Stetson University and majored in Accounting and Information Systems. She works in the Health Care Information Systems field at Aon Hewitt. During her college years, she completed a summer internship with a Christian Financial Planning Ministry, which she loved. She has a passion to help people make wise financial choices and to line up their money management practices with the Word of God. Julianna also chose to commute, rather than live on campus and managed to combine school work, school fun, ministry, and family life in an amazing juggling act. Right now, she leads a LIFE group and sings on the worship team.

When I first heard the term apologetics, I immediately thought of apologizing. It sounded like Christians were saying, "I'm sorry for what I believe." But the term apologetics refers to intellectually defending the faith. As believers in Jesus, we are commanded to give a reason for the hope that we have, to answer the intellectual questions of our day. The Bible does have an answer for the questions the world is asking.

"But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of your slander," (I Peter 3:15-16NIV).

Teens Defend Their Faith

People will ask you and your Christian teenager questions such as "Why do you believe the Bible?" or "Why do you think Christianity is the only right way to believe?" Is your teen ready to answer those questions? Maybe you are thinking, "Golly, I'm not ready to answer those questions." That's okay. You and your teen can learn together.

Where do we start in teaching our teens to defend their faith? Set apart Christ as Lord. Set Him aside as the Supreme Master of your life and home. Whatever He says goes! His Word is Truth. His commands are obeyed. He is the One we live to please, not the world, our friends, or our college professors.

Training

Next, we receive preparation or training so that we can be prepared to give an answer to those who ask. This preparation can be in the form of a class with you or your spouse. There are many wonderful books available on the subject of apologetics such as More than a Carpenter by Josh McDowell or Know Why You Believe by Paul E. Little. My husband taught an apologetics Sunday School class that we have adapted for our teens. It covers the following topics.

• Reality and Uniqueness of the Bible
• Creation and the Evolution Scam
• The Flood
• Archeology
• Prophecies of Cities' Destruction
• Prophecies of the Coming Messiah
• The Trilema: Is Jesus, Liar, Lunatic, or Lord?
• Jesus' Resurrection

"Honey, you need to rewrite this paper...."

"I hate writing!"

Tears, frustration, and raised voices...is this what teaching writing is like at your house? We often deceive ourselves into thinking that some kids are good writers and others are not. While it is true that some children are gifted writers, all teens can learn to write well.

College professors are constantly complaining about the lack of writing skills possessed by college freshman. So, now we've added the dreaded ESSAY section to the SAT. Is there a painless way to teach essay writing? Again, some teens will be extremely gifted at writing essay. But, your child can learn to write a good essay.

Let's delve into teaching writing in high school.

Writing as an Artist

"Where is that necklace," I fumed, searching frantically through my dresser drawers. I was rushing off to sound check, running late, trying to get dressed and out the door. Suddenly, I had an inspiration.  Rushing down the hall, I entered my daughter's room, opened her drawer and quickly examined the contents. There was my necklace!  I scooped it up and headed to church!

Life with Daughters

 God has blessed me with four daughters and one son. Life with five children is wonderful! I dreamed of having a big family as a little girl. The Lord has made my dreams come true!  I never imagined that Jesus would give me such amazing children. If they weren't mine, I'd want to go out and adopt them!

There are some things, though, about sharing a home with four other women that make life challenging. For example, if I get a really cute shirt, I'll never see it again...except on one of my daughters. My make-up walks on its own to another bathroom because everyone denies borrowing it--it had to get there somehow. And worst of all, I can never find my hairbrush! 

The Missing Hairbrush

Over the years I have bought hundreds of hairbrushes. I always put one in my purse and one in my bathroom drawer. Lo and behold, they always disappear within twenty-four hours of purchase! Believe me, I understand why banks have their pens on chains. I have considered chaining my hairbrush!

Partners in Ministry