BACK 2 SCHOOL SURVIVAL GUIDE PART 3- Friday, October 19, 2018

This week, we continued our series, "BACK 2 SCHOOL SURVIVAL GUIDE", by focusing on some tips for how to handle stress. A lot of students say that they deal with a lot of stress, but stress doesn't magically disappear when you get older! In fact, you start having to deal with adult problems (like providing for your family, dealing with car or house repairs). Because we'll always have stress in life, it's really important to learn how to manage it in healthy ways. These are some tips that can be a real help to you in school and beyond.

1. TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF

When I was in college, I remember that there were times where we pulled all-nighters, studying for a big exam or test or trying to finish an assignment on time. Students would consume mass quantities of energy drinks or coffee to help them stay awake, they would eat late-night fast food to keep them going, and they would inevitably end up looking like zombies in the morning. Well, as it turns out… all of those things don’t help you! If you read any article about how to deal with stress, they usually all say the same things--- put away your electronic devices at night, eat healthy food, get exercise, avoid drugs or alcohol, and get enough sleep!

In fact—there’s even this REALLY cool time in the Bible where Elijah was REALLY stressed out, and it wasn’t because he had piles of homework…he actually had his life threatened and was being hunted down by soldiers because he was telling people to turn from sin and follow God. Well things got pretty dark for Elijah…so dark that he actually prayed that God would take his life so that he could get some peace… and then 1 Kings 19:5-7 says, “Then he lay down and slept under the tree. But as he was sleeping, an angel touched him and told him, “Get up and eat!” He looked around and there beside his head was some bread baked on hot stones and a jar of water! So he ate and drank and lay down again. Then the angel of the Lord came again and touched him and said, “Get up and eat some more, or the journey ahead will be too much for you.”

This is just amazing. An angel actually hung out with Elijah and made sure that he got enough rest, food and water. The angel even baked him fresh bread! Taking care of yourself is really important!

2. DON’T WORRY

Most of you have heard my story about worry--- I was someone who was LITERALLY sick and had all kinds of crazy medical tests done on me when I was teen because I kept worrying about stuff, and ultimately, the thing that really helped me was reading Matthew 6:27 where it says, “Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?”. I had never thought about that before….but when you worry about something, all it does is keep you focused on that thing that you’re worried about it, and then you just keep worrying about it more and more! But here, Jesus says that WORRYING about stuff doesn’t actually help you! The problem won’t magically go away because you worry about it! It’ll actually just make it seem even bigger and get you more stressed!

3. DON’T PROCRASTINATE

The longer you leave important things, the more stress you'll experience. This is a lesson that I really didn’t learn until college. When I was in college, I made a decision to use my time wisely—that instead of FIRST hanging out with my friends and relaxing, I decided to get stuff done earlier than I had to. If I had study periods or spares, I used those opportunities to get work done! It really drove my friends crazy when they were freaking out because they had left things to the last minute, and I was all relaxed and had spare time because I had finished those assignments days or weeks before they were due.

4. GET SOME SUPPORT

If you’re feeling stressed, it’s important that you have people in your life who can really help and encourage you! Talk to your parents about what you’re dealing with! Surround yourselves with friends who have your back and who are looking out for you!  One of the worst things is to be surrounded by “friends” who actually encourage you to leave stuff until the last minute or who influence you in negative ways--- one of the great things about having Christian friends is that God can use them to be a real help and support to you when you need it the most! I shared about how much I appreciate my wife, Tanya, because there are a lot of times when I’ve been worried about stuff or didn’t know how to best handle a situation and she has always been there to pray for me, to give me wise advice, or to remind me about what the Bible has to say about a situation! That’s the kind of person you want in your corner!

Another way you can surround yourself with support is to know when you need extra help dealing with stuff. Talking to a doctor or seeing a counsellor to help you better handle stress is definitely nothing to be ashamed of. I used to think that NOBODY did that kind of thing because growing up, nobody ever talked about it, but these days, it’s talked about way more openly and I know SO MANY people who get regular counselling or medical help!

5. FIND PEACE & REST IN JESUS

In Matthew 11:28-29, Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light”.

Here, Jesus saying that if we’ve had our sins forgiven and have invited Jesus into our lives--- if we have a friendship with God---we can find peace and rest IN HIM! One of the reasons why I love being a part of CATALYST or being a part of church on Sundays is because it means I’m setting aside specific time to focus on Jesus instead of the stuff I’m worried or stressed about. I’m taking time to invest in my SPIRITUAL health!

In particular, for me, I love getting together and singing worship songs to God! The songs that we sing are full of Bible verses or truths about God and how much he loves us! They shift my focus off of all the stuff I might be worrying about--- and I find that even after a few songs, it feels like my BATTERIES have been recharged! I really feel more rested and less overwhelmed about stuff when I’m spending time with Jesus!

In Phillipians 4:6-7 it says, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand.”.

Here, the Bible is telling us that when we’re stressed, when we’re worried about stuff….when we’re looking for peace and rest, we should talk to God about it--- we should ask him for help….and that, when we do, he’ll even give us a SUPERNATURAL peace!  There’ve been times in my life where I’ve gone through stressful situations, and I’ve had people ask me, “Why aren’t you freaking out right now? How are you handling this so well?”—and the answer is because I have Jesus in my life helping me and giving me the strength to get through—I’m not carrying the heavy burden all by myself! I can experience peace in situations that would normally have me losing my hair!

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS FOR HOME

1. Talk to your teen about things in their lives that are stressful for them.

2. What are one or two tips that Pastor Ben shared that your teen thinks would REALLY help them better manage their stress?

3. Share a time when you've experienced the peace and rest that Jesus gives in the midst of a stressful situation.

4. Take some time to pray for your teen. Encourage them to come to you when they're stressed or are having a hard time dealing with things. Encourage them to take care of themselves physically and spiritually, so they will be better equipped to handle stress.

BACK 2 SCHOOL SURVIVAL GUIDE PART 2- Friday, October 12, 2018

After a few unexpected weeks off because our church was hit by a tornado (crazy, right?), this week we continued our series, "BACK 2 SCHOOL SURVIVAL GUIDE" by talking about work. Most teens dread school because there's a lot of stress and they have to do tons of homework, projects, essays and exams that are sometimes worth 30% of their grade. For some of our teens, they might be working at their very first part-time job (or they will be soon), so this week we focused on what the Bible has to say about the way that we do our work.

We focused on Joseph's story and read Genesis 39:1-6. Here we find Joseph doing a job that he hated. Why? Because he was actually sold into slavery and forced to do it! This wasn't what he wanted to do! But what's amazing is that Joseph is known as someone who did his very best and worked hard, and because of that, he succeeded in everything that he did.

There might be some days when your teen might REALLY hate doing chores around the house, when they have to do piles of homework or spend hours studying for a test when they would much rather play video games or watch Netflix. There might be days when your teen might even have a "dirty job" and has to do work that he/she doesn't enjoy. In fact, your teen might be tempted to grumble and complain or not do their best. Well, the Bible reminds us of a few important things that might help:

1. GOD IS WITH YOU WHEN YOU WORK
This passage reminds us that God was with Joseph, helping him, changing his attitude, giving him the strength to do the job that he hated doing. When you're facing stress over school work or aren't thrilled about a chore you've been given, you can talk to God. You can ask him to help you to do your best. You can ask him to change your attitude towards the work that you're doing!

2. PEOPLE WILL NOTICE THE WAY YOU WORK
Genesis 39:3 says that Potiphar noticed Joseph's work. Even though he was in a lousy situation, he earned an amazing reputation as someone who did his best....and because of that, he got promoted into better positions-- eventually becoming the guy in charge of Potiphar's whole house! This reminds us that when we work hard and do our best, even if we might not really enjoy what we're doing, our hard work and attitudes will be noticed! People will think highly of you!

I shared about how, when I was a teenager, I worked at Canadian Tire and earned a reputation of being a hard worker who could be trusted (unlike the person who would find a secret place in the warehouse to sleep through his whole shift). Because of the reputation that I earned, I was trusted to work overnight when nobody else was around, they continued to hire me back every summer, and the owner of the store even thanked me personally, knowing that I was someone who did my best because I loved and followed Jesus. Having a reputation of being a hard worker is something that will benefit you your whole life....and it can start right now with the way you work at school or the way you help around the house.

3. WE CAN WORK AS WORSHIP
Ephesians 3:23 says that we should work at everything we do with all of our hearts as if we were working for the Lord. This reminds us that we can work as worship! Worship refers to anything that we do that shows that we love God. That could mean singing songs in church, making the right choices in life, showing kindness to someone, or working in a way that would make God proud of you! I shared about a time when I was a custodian in a church building that had a Montessori school, so there were 70-80 preschoolers using the building every day. There were days when I dreaded going into clean the washroom. I remember times when I would be sitting in my office when a teacher would ask me to go clean up the mess after a child threw up. It definitely wasn't a glamorous job. But, I made a decision. Instead of grumbling and complaining and hating the work I had to do, I decided to do my very best as if Jesus himself had asked me to do it! When I did that work (no matter how disgusting it was) as worship, I found that it was a lot easier. It was far less painful. In fact, I even ENJOYED doing it! Whether it's schoolwork, chores around the house, or cleaning the bathrooms at McDonalds at your very first job, you can do those things as worship! You can do those things as if Jesus himself asked you to do them! You might even find that you'll work even harder and actually come to enjoy those "dirty jobs"...because you're doing those things as worship to God.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS FOR HOME

1. Parents, share a story of a "dirty job" that you once had to do. Talk about how you did your very best and did your work as worship. You can even share about a time when you got fired for not being a hard worker if that's applicable.

2. Remind your teen that EVERYONE has to do things that they might not enjoy. That might mean schoolwork, chores around the house, or working at a "dirty job", but that if we have a reputation of being a hard worker and doing our best, that's something that will benefit us in the future.

3. Is there something at school, at home, or at a job that your teen is finding really difficult and stressful? Take the time to pray for your teen, asking God to help them to do their best and to work hard when they might not feel like it.