Drug Trends – Teen Issues

The world outside has not become less real just because the prisoner cannot see it.” J.R.R. Tolkien

Recently, several officers from the Sheriff’s Department of a large Georgia city talked with our staff concerning the drugs they were seeing emerge on the streets. As they spoke about what they were witnessing and how drugs were being made, I was struck by one of the officer’s comments: “We will never be able to do anything but play catch up. People who want to use drugs will always be ahead of us.” What a sad commentary, but how true it is that individuals who want to get high, will make every effort to do so, often with that which is most accessible.

So what is a parent to do? How are we to know what might emerge next or how can we protect our children? Think how each decade has represented a new era in drugs. In the 50’s it was alcohol, the 60’s marijuana, the 70’s psychotropic drugs like LSD and mushrooms, the 80’s cocaine and crack, the 90’s chemically made drugs like ecstasy (MDMA), and since 2000, it has been a litany of new chemically concocted drugs. A stimulant that is making much of the news lately is Crystal Methamphetamine. One of the officers, when talking about Crystal Meth made the comment that in the 80’s he had thought crack would be the death of this country. Now he would say that Crystal Meth has become far worse than crack ever was. What is even more disturbing is that people are now using fruit flavoring to entice and attract new users.

In looking back over the decades, we as parents must realize that this trend is a natural progression. The economic concept of supply and demand does an effective job of teaching us what we should expect would happen.

Think of it this way: There is a demand/desire to get high for the following reasons:

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By: Drew Read, Parent's Purpose

Lead Your Adult Children Back to Christ

If you’ve suffered the pain of seeing one or more of your adult children leave the faith, you may feel as if there’s nothing you can do to lead them back to Christ now that they’re no longer living with you. But it’s never too late to help your kids re-connect with Christ. No matter what’s happened in your children’s relationships with Christ and with you, healing and reconciliation are possible.

Here’s how you can lead your adult children back to Christ:

Set a goal and commit to doing all you can to reaching it. Aim for helping your adult kids love God with all of their hearts, put their full faith and trust in Christ for both their present and their future, and arrive in heaven to join you someday. Keep that goal in mind often as you work to encourage faith in your kids.

Read entire article

Whitney Hopler, Crosswalk.com contributor

Evangelical Responds to Cyrus Interview: Urges Parents to Be Parents

Billy Ray Cyrus recently admitted that he should have been a better parent to his famous daughter, Miley Cyrus, rather than a friend.

The president of Focus on Family, a prominent evangelical organization, agrees, saying that a parent should simply be a parent.

In a blog post Wednesday, Jim Daly suggested that Cyrus made bad parenting judgment by trying to be friends with his daughter – originally named Destiny Hope but who in her early years was nicknamed “Smiley” for her incessant, carefree grin.

Daly stressed that even though it’s natural for a parent to be liked by their children, they must they first have to ask themselves, “Do we want to be their best pal – or their parent who often has to hold firm and say ‘no’ when they desperately want us to say ‘yes’?”

Cyrus made headlines this week after he told GQ magazine that he regretted being in the popular Disney show “Hannah Montana” because it destroyed his family. He also lamented about trying to be a friend to his daughter as he had often emphasized in many interviews.

Read the entire article here.

By: Josephine Vivaldo|Christian Post Contributor

Encouragement for Single Parents with Teenagers

One of the toughest roles anyone can have in today's culture is that of a single parent. It's hard enough to rear a child- especially a teenager- with two parents; but with one the burdens and pressures and problems multiply. My hat is off to every single parent. But more than praise for the difficulty of their task, I know from talking to so many of them that they need someone to walk with them and encourage them.

In almost every case, a single parent is walking down a road they didn't plan to be on. They started with two parents, but something happened- death, divorce, abandonment- and now they are sturggling to fill two roles that their children desperately need. They are trying to do an already difficult task without all of the resources they need. (If you know a single parent, go to them adn find way to encourage them. They won't always know how to ask for the help they need, so take the initiative yourself.)

Practical Steps
There aren't any easy answers. There isn't a magic verse of Scripture that will fix all your problems. There isn't one "cure all" that will remove all of the challenges that a single parent faces. But there are some practical steps that can offere help and hope in this very difficult job.

Read the steps here.

-By: Mark Gregston, http://blogs.christianpost.com/parenting/2011/02/encouragement-for-single-parents-with-teenagers-09/

'Wolf Pack' Teen Bullying Case--Is America Getting Meaner?

Nadin Khoury was brought to the United States ten years ago by his mother to escape the cruelty that accompanied teh Liberian Civil War. Last month he was left suspended by his coat from a seven-foot-high fence after being punched, dragged, kicked and beaten in a Philadelphia suburb. His shocked mother said, "One of the reasons I came to the U.S. was (so) that these horrible things wouldn't happen to us."

Here we go again. Sadly, it seems every time we turn around there's a new case of bullying in the news. Back when I was growing up, bullying seemed to be almost a rite of passage for every new kids at school, a type of hazing to validate your acceptance. Of course, the big difference in those days was that the bullying was usually only at the schoolyard an dtypically petered out quickly. Now, in the cyber world there is no respite and bullying has taken on a much more sinister tone.

Today kids have to deal with not only physical confrontations, but are also virtually pounded 24/7 via Facebook, Twitter and cell phone by text, calls and voicemails. In some cases (think Tyler Clementi) personal situations are videotaped and posted on teh internet for all to see. In others (Phoebe Prince) the bullying lasts for months on end. In addition, as in these two caes, suicide is being seen more and more an an end result with these kids.

Read entire article here.

by: Dr. Dale Archer, FoxNews.com

Mercy Ministries

Since 1983, Mercy Ministries of America has provided hope and healing to generations of desperate young women who are seeking freedom from life-controlling issues such as:

• Physical and Secual Abuse Including Sex Trafficking
• Eating Disorder
• Self-Harm
• Drug and Alcohol Addictions
• Depression
• Unplanned Pregnancy

Their free-of-charge biblically-based program serves a diverse population of young women from various socio-economic backgrounds, ages 13-28. Many of the girls, who come to Mercy for help, are facing a combination of debilitating circumstances and have been in various treatment facilities with unsuccessful long-term results.

The ministry is committed to providing the young women they serve with the most excellent prgram services that allow them to recognize their self-worth and prepare them to reach their full potential. Their non-conventional approach to healing allows young women to permanently stop destructive cycles and prepare them to take hope out into their communities.

For more information about Mercy Ministires, visit their FAQ section here.

Girls of Grace: Conference helps teenage girls cope with today's issues

Body image? Self esteem? Eating disorders, sex and the downside of social networking?

Yuck, if you're a teenage girl, right?

Well, not if you're a teenage girl attending Girls of Grace, an exciting one-day event being held Feb. 19 at World Outreach Church in Murfreesboro, for girls 12 to 17.

"Girls and their mothers come from far and wide to attend these conferences," said Susan Niles, on behalf of the event.

Hosted by award-winning, multi-platinum selling trip Point of Grace, Girls of Grace will tackle issues teenage girls face through a fun platform that includes well-known featured speakers, lots of music and more.

"We've been singing together for many, many years, and about 8 or 9 years ago our dream came to fruition," said Shelley Breen, of Point of Grace, explaining the group's desire to start a conference for teen girls.

Breen said following their concerts, more and more girls would come to the trio for advice about tough issues.

"For us that's so hard," Breen said. "We are up on stage singing Christian music and (girls think) we have all the answers ... So many girls need a lending ear, and need answers."

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By: Sadie Fowler, Shelbyville Times-Gazette