Youth Sabbath

Last weekend I took my youth group to a weekend concert on Friday and Saturday night which left our Saturday morning and afternoon free. We were staying in a hotel for the weekend and I was debating on what to do with them during that time we were free. As I thought about it I realized that most of them had just finished school, some had already started daily summer committments and all of them lived lives with unbelieveable schedules with little opportunity for downtime. It was then that I decided we would take our first Youth Sabbath day. I told the kids we weren't doing anything during this time and that they could enjoy the pool, read a book, take a nap as long as it was something that was restful. I wasn't sure what type of response I would receive but they all welcomed the idea and took advantage of the opportunity to slow down and rest for a few hours. It was good lesson for me as well since I had been stressing a little about what we were going to do during that free time. Never underestimate the need for a little sabbath time.

MTV Awards

I typically make it a practice to watch the MTV Awards just to keep up to date on who the media has front and center for our kids to see and I must admit there is a part of me that still enjoys it. But as I watched this week I was a little overwhelmed at one point with part of the show. In the opening Sarah Silverman, the host, commented that in a few days Paris Hilton would be going to jail. Quick shot of Paris Hilton who was in the audience. For the next minute Silverman took nasty jabs at Hilton and joked about her prison sentence while Paris had to sit there and take the abuse in front of a national audience. Maybe I am just getting old, but what a destructive message that sends. Yes, Hilton shouldn't have found herself in this situation and in general I dislike the entire message she conveys with her lifestyle. But at what point did we become so callous and uncaring? What does the target audience, typically young teenagers, take away from that message? Am I scared that I sound like my Mother? Yes. But that just adds to the unsettling feeling I have after watching this verbal stabbing of a celebrity on national television for mass consumption and enjoyment. Very sad. But also motivates me to reach out more to the kids in our community and demonstrate to them a different way of interacting with people and showing them what a life with God at the Center can be like.