March 2010 Youth PresbyNotes

March 2010 Youth PresbyNotes

“Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the fairest of them all?” asks the beautiful yet narcissistic queen.

Without hesitation, because this question has been asked regularly now for years on end, the mirror replies, “You my queen, are the fairest of them all.”

Most of us know where these famous lines come from, don’t we? We hear them asked in the Disney tale, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Without going into too much of the plot and all the juicy details, we know Snow White’s mother had wished for a daughter “that had skin white as snow, lips red as blood, and hair black as ebony". Soon after that, the queen gives birth to a baby girl who has skin white as snow, lips red as blood, and hair black as ebony. They name her Princess Snow White. As soon as the child is born, the queen dies.

This then is where we encounter this new queen and her magical mirror. One day when the queen was in front of her mirror she asked the question again, “Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the fairest of them all?”

What started out as any other normal day quickly turned into devastation for this queen as the mirror then replied, “Queen, you are full fair, 'tis true, but Snow White is fairer than you." This happens when Snow White turns sixteen and the queen seeks vengeance and does what she can to make sure Snow White is no longer an option for the mirror but as we know, this too did not happen for even after several attempts to kill Snow White the mirror replied, “You, my queen, are fair; it is true. But the young queen is a thousand times fairer than you."

All of this started because of the queen’s infatuation with this mirror. All she apparently cared about was looking the ‘fairest in the all the lands’ and not much else. She was so consumed with her beauty that it became an obsession and led her to act irrationally. This due to what she saw in the mirror.

Our culture has a weird obsession with mirrors, don’t we?

Take some time now and think of where you have seen mirrors in your every day lives.

Bathrooms.
Kitchens.
Many rooms in the house.
Small compact mirrors in our purses.
Mirrors on the walls at the YMCA and other gyms.
Dressing rooms have mirrors.
Some ceilings are mirrors.
Restaurants have mirrors.
Mirrors are in microscopes and telescopes.
Mirrors in cars, on cars, and around cars.

Mirrors, mirrors, everywhere. Mirror, mirror what shall I wear?
Now, think about all the times you stand in front of a mirror.

Brushing your teeth in the morning…and at night.
Washing your face in the morning…and at night.
Putting on our make up…
Checking out our clothes as we walk the cat walk in our own rooms.
Running on those treadmills when you are at the YMCA.
You use the compact mirror during the day after you had lunch to make sure you don’t have food in your teeth.

I’m curious as to the number of hours a person spends in front of the mirror in a lifetime. In fact, if one of you finds out and tells me with proof, you will win $50.

Mirror, mirror on the wall, sometimes you don’t make me feel good at all.

Mirrors reflect. What you see in the mirror is what you get. Some days we are happy by this and other times, not so much. Because we use the mirror to see what is on the outside of ourselves. How strange would it be to have a mirror which can show what we look like on the inside? In fact, perhaps the closest thing we have is that little mirror dentists use to stick in your mouth to check out your molars. Even then, this is quite uncomfortable.

Much like mirrors, we can get hung up on what we see. Often times we judge ourselves by what we see, our own appearances and if we are feeling “good”, we approach the day with perhaps more confidence than if we looked in the mirror and weren’t happy with what we saw. Some days, we wish we would never have had stepped in front of the mirror because of what we knew we’d see.

Lent then is a season which is like a mirror for our lives. For forty days we pray, read, search, and pray some more as we reflect on our lives and examine them. We sort through the lies we have been told, we wrestle with those lies we have believed, and we long for the truths we know but have hidden them deep within our souls. In general, we take a step back from the routines and habits in our lives, to adjust our lives accordingly to the life of Jesus Christ.

“Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil.” ~Luke 4.1-2

This past Sunday in worship we read from the Gospel of Luke and his account of Jesus’ time in the wilderness. For forty days Jesus spent time alone with the wild beats and angels which accompanied him, and he wrestled with the Devil. Temptations were thrown at Jesus where he wouldn’t have to worry about food, where he could be powerful, and he would have all the protection in the world. As this tempter offered him these attractive baits, Jesus responded with truth, confidence, and trust God was with him. Jesus had the opportunity to fall to these temptations, to have his life become quite comfortable, but instead, he resisted. His companions, the Spirit, the Word, and the traditions of his faith comforted him and got him through these forty days.

It has been suggested that perhaps Jesus wasn’t wrestling with a half man, half cow person, who carried a pitch fork, but instead, Jesus was looking in a mirror, a mirror which revealed his heart and wrestled with what was going on internally. Perhaps this is the case and I find it to be life giving as I think about those temptations in my life which cause me loneliness and despair. Greed, unhealthy guilt, lust, selfishness, hatred, bitterness, and the list of ugly words could go don. Instead, Jesus resisted but he didn’t do it alone. He found strength and courage through the Spirit which is always with him and us, through God’s word which reminded Jesus and us of God’s faithfulness and the traditions of his faith as Jesus and yes us too, were reminded of how God loves us. Jesus fasted, prayed, wrestled, and then gained the strength to go about his ministry.

Mirror, mirror on the wall, is it possible that I am beautiful after all?

Yes, yes you are. All of us carry around those things which make us feel as if we are unbearable and there are things we have done and said which were indeed ugly. But the fact of the matter is this, beneath all of these faces we put on and the lies we tell and believe the truth is God loves you the way you are and wants you to be this person at all times. Find those things which bring out your beauty and let your true self shine. In fact, apply them daily to your life as you stand in front of mirror, reflecting on who you are. Stand in front of the mirror and with an erasable marker, write all the words you know are true about yourself: beautiful, funny, creative, kind, caring, selfless, humble, and go until your hand cramps up. Then during this season of Lent, take these words which are truths and share them with those who may perhaps cause you great pain and hurt. Trust and know God loves you and is with you wherever you go.

Friends, Lent is a time to rely on the Spirit to aid you in your exploration of your life as you reflect on where you’ve been. Like a mirror, use this time to consider what adjustments need to be made in order for you to align your life to the calling God has on your life. As you do, you might be surprised at just how beautiful you really are and in fact, those things people get hung up on, like the queen’s thought of Snow White, will not prevent you from being who God has created you to be, no matter how scary this 40 day journey may be.

March 2010 Youth Group Calendar

Thursday 4th – Sanctus Bible Study 6:30-8:00pm
Sunday 7th -- Youth Group 5-8 pm (Kirk Night—Kids for Christ Too)—Also we will be heading to the Hermitage to visit with the residence there!
Thursday 11th -- Sanctus Bible Study 6:30-8:00pm
Sunday 14th -- Youth Group 5-8 pm
Thursday 18th -- Sanctus Bible Study 6:30-8:00pm
Sunday 21st -- Mission Trip Meeting in Madisonville @ 2pm. Bus will leave at 1pm. All parents are encouraged and all Youth MUST attend.
Destination Unknown 5-8pm
Thursday 25th -- No Bible Study
Sunday 28th – Mission Trip Fundraising Breakfast for Sr. High @ 8am; meet at the church
Easter Egg Hunt will follow the 10:30 service outside in the prayer garden on Psalm Sunday.
Youth Group will be that night from 5-8pm

Happy Birthday to…
4th—Reid Thomas
4th—Brock Brubaker
19th—Adam Quine
22nd—Meredith Zengel
28th-- Jordan Walling and Hallie Walling

Happy birthday gang! I hope you have a great day!
Break Down of the Calendar
March is a pretty laid back month which also finds us in an in-between stage of weather. For most of March we will be on campus participating with the church at our Kirk Night and continuing our Lenten journey as we anticipate Easter morning. Here are a few things to take note of:

March 7th—Kirk Night host by Presbyterian Women as we celebrate the Gifts of Women in our church. Dinner will be served at 5pm and the study will begin. All groups will meet this evening! Around 6:15 we will pile in the bus and head towards the Hermitage Place where we will visit with the residents there. Come ready to have a smashing great time!

March 21st—We have our 2nd Mission Trip meeting and all students are REQUIRED to be there. The meeting will be held in Madisonville and the Madisonville Presbyterian Church. We will leave via the bus at 1 pm and the meeting will begin at 2. We shall return around 5pm. Again parents are encouraged but mission trip participants are REQUIRED!

March 28th—The beginning of Holy Week and we will kick it off by our annual Easter Egg hunt which will happen in the prayer garden, granted the weather is nice. We will gather in the prayer garden following the 10:30 am service. In the mean time, bring in plastic Easter eggs and candy, leaving them in Adam’s study!

March 28th--We are encouraged to eat breakfast every morning and we are also told this is the most important meal of the day. Sometimes it is difficult to grab that bagel, pour that bowl of cereal, or eat the yogurt and granola as you head out the door to start your day. Don’t you worry, the youth ministry will help you out with this important meal. Starting at 9 am on the 28th of March and the 25th of April, the youth will be hosting a pancake breakfast in the fellowship hall to help raise funds for our 2010 mission trip to North Carolina. The meal will be on us but we will be accepting donations. We hope you can attend as we provide an opportunity to start your day off right! (These 2 breakfast dates will be in place of the Annual Sunrise Service Breakfast. There will be NO Sunrise Service breakfast this year.)

April 4th—There will be NO YOUTH GROUP on April 4th. Happy Easter everyone!

Kids for Christ—We are in full swing again KIDS FOR CHRIST and March will be just as exciting for you all. You will meet March 7th and 28th! Some come ready to have a good time, bring a friend, and come hear about how much God loves you!
Events Down the Road
May 15th—All youth are encouraged and invited to attend the Senior Celebration Dinner which will be held at 6pm, Saturday, May 15th. On this particular evening we will be honoring Katie Duncan and Jillian Thomas and their lives as they embark on a new journey in their lives. More information will come soon.

May 15th—Our 2nd Annual Boot Sale will take place in the parking lot of First Presbyterian Church to act as a fundraiser for our varied trips. All youth are encouraged and needed to help with this great event from 6:30am-11am Saturday, May 15th.

Students in the News
Congratulations to Sydney and Wil Smith who both made all A’s the past two grading periods. Keep up the hard work!

Congratulations to Jordan Walling who made the All A honor roll at Estes elementary and Hallie Walling who made the All A/B honor roll at Estes elementary. Great work girls!

Congratulations to Sarah Bowley and her recent gymnastic achievements!

Good work to Graham and Katie Duncan, along with their parents, who participated in the KHSAA Sate Swim tournament. Keep up the great swimming!

Congratulations to everyone! Parents and youth, please remember to send me the highlights of your student’s achievements so we can recognize them in our newsletter!
Parents do not forget to check out who is preparing meals for us. You can email Adam or revisit our youth blog to see the list of who has which month. Thanks!