Mother’s Day is a huge deal in Mexico. It’s practically a national holiday. Usually, Mother’s Day in Mexico falls on the 10th of May every year. It’s usually nice for us because it’s not the same day that we celebrate it in the United States. So, usually, the Sunday of Mother’s Day for Janell is different, and the restaurants are empty. But not this year.
So, we’re changing the day we will take her out for Mother’s Day this year. We’ll go sometime during the week when there aren’t as many crowds. We did celebrate a little by letting her sleep in and by not making her change dirty diapers.
Nathan and I also made her a few cards this morning while she was sleeping in. I wrote Happy Mother’s Day on a card, and then Nathan said he wanted to write it, too. He did an excellent job of writing it (see photo). He also drew Buzz Lightyear. On the inside there was a flower.
I think it was a pretty good day. We’ll have to go out to eat sometime this week.
Mike had a post about saving money in your youth ministry budget, and he referenced my 5 Places to Find Free Youth Ministry Resources post. His thoughts are great. He includes this warning…
In fact, there are so many great freebies that a youth minister could simply use freebies and not do any work. I THINK THIS IS THE WORST THING YOU CAN DO – so be careful not to become dependent on using freebie lessons!
I agree with him 100%. Even if you do use freebie resources, there are some things you can do to adapt the lessons to your own group.
Four Ideas for Adapting Lessons for Youth Ministry:
- Don’t forget to study the passage on your own – don’t depend on the included background Bible study. You can use it, but don’t rely only on what the author of the study has done to interpret the meaning of the passage.
- Use personal experiences instead of (or in addition to) the provided illustrations – think through how you have lived the lesson, and don’t be afraid to include your own illustrations. They will probably resonate more with your students than the ones in the book (or downloaded from the internet).
- Think of your students’ life situations to think up application questions – If you really want to achieve life change, think about the lives you want to be changed as a result of the study.
- Actually study the lesson before you give it – sometimes lessons are not written using the same words you would use everyday. Be sure you have transitions and wording that matches your style of speaking.
What would you suggest? What do you do to adapt “canned” or “freebie” lessons for your church?
(Image by: Jonathan D. Blundell on flickr)
Never before have I thought of the Seminary as the body of Christ as today. With the recent scare in Mexico City, we have been out of classes for a week. Many of the students left the city.
As we returned to the campus yesterday and today, there are signs up all over telling us to be sure to wash dirty clothes, wash our hands, wear masks, etc. Why? Well, because we are one body.
If one of us gets sick, we will all get sick. We must all take care of each other, doing our part to be clean. If we don’t take care of ourselves, we will affect others. I can only imagine the chaos that would take place at the Seminary if one person came down with the flu. This many people living in close quarters and sharing everything would cause our own little epidemic.
It’s the same way with the body of Christ. If one of us fails, we all fail. If one of us has success, we all have success. Let’s take care of each other.
(image by: bemky on flickr)
Mexico City government officials have lowered the Swine Flu alert level, meaning that we will be getting back to the regularly scheduled program here in Mexico. Thanks for hanging with me and reading all the Swine Flu stuff here.
The fact that the alert is lowered doesn’t mean there isn’t a threat, but it means at least that things will be a little more relaxed. Waiters and waitresses and other workers will still be wearing face masks, and the government is still encouraging their use (although their effectiveness is debatable).
As for us, Seminary starts back up with classes on Thursday. Please keep praying for us. I will be traveling throughout the city on Thursday, so I’ll still take precautions to avoid getting sick.
Pray, too, that this country can recover from the economic impact of the Swine Flu. Pray for the families as they get back into the swing of things. Pray for the parents of young children who don’t go back to school until next Monday.
Monday afternoon I was playing on the beach with Nathan in Huatulco, Oaxaca, when Janell came running up to me with my cell phone. She was talking with Randy Smith of Youth Ministry International. I took the phone, and Randy told me that the Larry King show had contacted him and wanted to put me on their show that evening (here’s his blog post about the show).
A little later, I was on the phone with one of the producers of the show. She had seen that we had blogged about Swine Flu in Mexico City and was wondering what our experience had been (she had left a comment here on the blog, but I wasn’t checking while on vacation). I told her the basic story, and she said that Larry King would like to interview me about it later that evening. Everything was set up. I was going to be on Larry King.
She asked me to send in some pictures of what we had observed in the airport with the Swine Flu as well as a photo of me. So I did. She called back and said that they would be calling me around 8:05 pm Central Time to do the interview. So I sent out a few tweets and sent emails to our family and friends.
Then, I got another voicemail. It turns out that the show decided to cancel the part of interviewing me. Nancy was super nice throughout the whole process. I imagine that she has to cancel on people all the time. I have to admit I was a little disappointed.
But, at least I have a good story to tell about the day Larry King contacted me!
