You could see it on the boys’ faces this morning at breakfast. The reality has set in that this is a week-long trip, and the majority is still ahead of us. Today’s challenge had less to do with the actual tasks and more to do with herding the cats to actually do the tasks. We worked so well yesterday that we left little for us to do today. The highlight of the work day was the very first thing we did - taking care of those pesky bees. We brought a can of bee-killer spray and used the whole thing. Stay tuned for the hilarious footage of 13 year old boys acting like 4 year old girls, screaming and running for their lives. We also made a trip to Home Depot to get a few bags of mulch. Aliene’s garden beds look great! Every Wednesday at the Pittsburgh Project is Homeowner Night! Every staff member says it is their favorite night of the week, and for a good reason. Every work group invites their homeowner to come back with them to TPP’s campus for dinner and Club. We get a chance to say thank you to them, and they get a chance to thank us. Many tears and hugs are usually shared! Aliene was kind enough to join us tonight, and we were happy to play host to her. We’ve been talking about Aliene all week, I figure it’s time you learn a little more about her. Aliene is an 86 year old widow, who lives in the Hill District of Pittsburgh. The Hill District was once a mecca for jazz musicians, who defined the neighborhood with their art. Today, the jazz clubs that once lined the streets have either been boarded up or torn down and replaced with row houses. The neighborhood has aged along with it’s people, and many are living in poverty. Aliene and her late husband built their house in 1971, and have lived there ever since. When her husband fell sick 10+ years ago, her daughter Joelle moved in to help take care of him. Since he passed, Joelle stuck around to help her aging mother. Fast forward ten years, both Aliene and Joelle are living with cancer. Joelle does not seem to be doing well with her pancreatic cancer, and relies on Aliene heavily. Aliene’s leukemia is progressing very slowly, and she remains quite active and nimble on her feet. She has been doing as much weeding as the rest of us, and she even demonstrated how to work the power edger! For 44 years, Aliene has called this her home, but she can no longer keep up with it while taking constant care of her daughter and herself. [ENTER]: the Pittsburgh Project. A home is a point of pride for many, and seeing it crumble around you is demoralizing. TPP restores the dignity and humanity by making elderly people's home a safe and comfortable environment for them. We are so proud to be a part of that this week. It has been wonderful to get to know Aliene and to serve her by taking care of her home. We have one more day of work ahead of us! Since we are nearly done with our projects at Aliene's home, we'll be helping the group nearby with some yard work and painting. Please continue to pray for us! Specifically, pray for Brett, as he has been feeling under the weather since around dinner time. He has been sleeping it off and improving, but we know that God can bring him complete restoration! Our first day of work is in the bag! We started bright and early with a 7:15 am breakfast. Waffles, eggs, sausage, and cereal gave us the start we needed for a full day of activity. Today was the most difficult day for getting on the road, as we had to gather supplies before leaving the Pittsburgh Project. It can be tricky to know what we need before starting the work, but the Project has an amazing work crew that handles much of that for us. TPP’s crew visits each of the homeowners that they will be serving, plans out the projects, and sets the expectations for what the various groups will be able to do each week. Some homeowners have multiple crews come throughout the Summer, but others, like our Aliene, may only have one week’s worth of help. We have three main tasks this week: 1. Yardwork. Cutting the grass, weedwhacking, trimming some bushes, etc. 2. Painting her railing. It is rusting and peeling, and needs to be cleaned and repainted. 3. Repairing her cracked sidewalk. They gave us a jackhammer. Yes, really. Once we arrived at Aliene’s home, we said good morning to her and jumped right in! We made quick work of the bushes and began working on the fence. Part of the fence had been overgrown by a shrubbery, which we quickly learned contained a bee’s nest. Thomas was the first to discover this… the hard way. Will wasn't far behind. Tomorrow, we're bringing bee killer spray with us. Much to your relief, I'm sure, we decided not to fix the sidewalk after all, which means no playing with the jackhammer. The sidewalk was in much better shape than previously thought, and we discovered that we needed permits from the city to do the job. We finished early enough to go get some ice cream! We tried going somewhere downtown Pittsburgh, but there was literally no where to park the bus. So we went a little closer to home and found an amazing local creamery. While eating our ice cream, we were approached by a homeless man, whose name we learned was Michael. He was incredibly friendly, respectful, and thankful. We spent about a half an hour with him, buying him lunch and an extra t-shirt and hat. We had only introduced ourselves once, and he remembered most of our names a while later! By the time we parted ways, we knew our names well, even when we tried to trick him.
What a great day! To start at the end - we are all safe and in good spirits. The boys are getting along great and we’re enjoying getting to know each other a little better. We got an early start this morning - my alarm had not been set that early in quite some time. Assisted by caffeine, we set off from the church this morning. Our journey went quite smoothly! We stopped for lunch at this little place called Chick-Fil-A (maybe you’ve heard of it) before arriving at 2801 North Charles Street, home of the Pittsburgh Project. We settled into our bunk rooms before heading to a large group mixer. Our students joined the 200 other junior highers and adult leaders for a great time for worship and learning from the Word. The band is amazing! They played two songs by Hillsong Young & Free and had the whole place jumping! Our speaker for the week is Dennis Allan, a pastor at North Way Christian Community here in Pittsburgh. Dennis was the lead youth pastor there when I worked at the same church part-time in college. It was a complete and welcome surprise to learn that we would be here at the Pittsburgh Project at the same time! He will be sharing messages with us this week on the Lord’s Prayer found in Matthew 6. It is something that many of us have memorized - we can recite it the same way we can our address and phone number. The negative consequence of this is that it can lose its meaning. We hope to recapture the amazing reminders and truths that Jesus taught us through that prayer. Dinner was our first meal here - hamburgers and hot dogs! Hard to complain. After dinner, we got to our real purpose of being here. We hopped in the bus and drove out to the Hill District of Pittsburgh to meet our homeowner Aliene. She is an 86 year old widow whose home is in need of repair. And that’s what we’re here for! We spent a few minutes talking with Aliene and praying with her for the week ahead. Our late evening consisted of free time - lots of fun things to do here! Foosball, four square, air hockey, ping pong, billards, board games, etc. Things have finally settled down as I type this in a dark room, shushing the giggles around me. Please pray for the work ahead of us on Tuesday! Not just the physical things we’ll be doing with our hands, but the relationship we will be building with Aliene, and the work the Holy Spirit will be doing within us! Below is a parent resource from Orange, our curriculum provider. Parents, take a few minutes to read this!
We’re Teaching This: When it comes to junk food, nearly everyone has a weak spot. Maybe for you, it’s the perfect salty bag of chips. Or maybe it’s beef jerky or those tiny pizza rolls. Maybe you have a sweet tooth and you just can’t pass on ice cream or cookies… or both. Whatever it is, we all have something that taps into our weak spot, our cravings. When it’s around us, we just can’t seem to help ourselves. And it’s more than just junk food, right? That “gotta-have-it-right-now” temptation can pop up in a lot of different areas. Gossip. Movies. Spending money. Sex… Temptation is everywhere. But what are we supposed to do about it? Most of us know that giving in never makes our lives better, so what is it about the things that tempt us that makes us feel so powerless to say no? Thankfully, Scripture has a lot to say when it comes to temptation. And while there’s no promise that it will ever go away, we can find the courage to resist it, replace it, and avoid getting hooked. Think About This: We all want our students to avoid temptation. We want them to eat right, make healthy choices, drive cautiously, be responsible and avoid things that will hurt them. But knowing how to help them navigate temptation can be tricky. The temptations our students deal with can look and feel different than the ones we faced as teenagers. And, no matter how much we know about their lives, there’s still a pretty good chance that they’re faced with some temptations that we don’t even know about. Even though we can’t know everything that entices our students, helping them learn the skills to navigate tempting situations my not be as complicated as we think. Often, the best thing we can do for our student is to be intentional our own response to their tempting situations. How we respond, our actions and reactions, not only tell students what we believe about the situation but also what we believe about them. And that’s why, even when it’s difficult, we must learn fight the urge to over-protect or under-protect our student. The urge to over-protect. Knowing the many temptations our students face, the billions of dollars spent to entice them to make unhealthy choices, it’s enough to send any parent into full on isolation mode. Obviously, we can’t keep them in a bubble forever, but maybe it’s a good idea just until they’re eighteen, right? Wrong. In fact, a number of publications by experts suggest that overprotection can lead students to increased alcohol use, obesity, social anxiety, and decreased ability to cope with temptation when the parent is not around. Basically, the opposite of what we want to happen. So, what are some ways to avoid over-protecting?
The urge to under-protect. In a world where parents are labeled “helicopters” or “hovering”, it can be tempting to think that the best thing for your student is to take a hands-off approach. But leaving teenagers with too much freedom and not enough guidance can be just as dangerous as overprotecting them.
Try This Just like any other life skill, our students are most likely to learn how to deal with temptation by paying attention to how we deal with it. This week, choose a healthy alternative to your own temptation. It can be as simple as…
Whatever your temptation, simply choose to replace it with something better for you for one week. Chances are your student is paying attention, and when he or she asks be willing to tell them why you’ve made the switch. In doing so, you may inspire them to find some healthy replacements for their own toughest temptations. When it comes to junk food, nearly everyone has a weak spot. Maybe for you, it’s the perfect salty bag of chips. Or maybe it’s beef jerky or those tiny pizza rolls. Maybe you have a sweet tooth and you just can’t pass on ice cream or cookies… or both. Whatever it is, we all have something that taps into our weak spot, our cravings. When it’s around us, we just can’t seem to help ourselves. And it’s more than just junk food, right? That “gotta-have-it-right-now” temptation can pop up in a lot of different areas. Gossip. Movies. Spending money. Sex… Temptation is everywhere. But what are we supposed to do about it? Most of us know that giving in never makes our lives better, so what is it about the things that tempt us that makes us feel so powerless to say no? Thankfully, Scripture has a lot to say when it comes to temptation. And while there’s no promise that it will ever go away, we can find the courage to resist it, replace it, and avoid getting hooked.
Nobody wants to experience tough times. We don’t hope for them and we sure don’t sign up for them, but difficult circumstances happen to everyone. Maybe for you it was the death of a family member. Or maybe it was a divorce. Maybe your toughest moments came in the form of a rejection letter or some bad results from a doctor. No matter what the cause, two things are true about our most difficult situations: They have the power to cause us great pain and they have the power to propel our faith like nothing else. Through the story of one of Jesus’ close friends, Lazarus, we find that when tough times hit, it can stretch the faith of anyone, even those who know Jesus the best. But if we’re willing to stay close to Him we may just find that we can emerge on the other side of the storm with a faith that is even stronger than before and an opportunity to help others do the same.
Who invited you to church? You can probably think of somebody. And even if you were in church from the time you were a little kid, chances are somebody helped you along the way. A pastor. A small group leader. A volunteer. Somebody. It’s true for all of us. Anytime you hear a story about someone’s journey toward God, you always hear about a relationship, not only with God but also with another person.
God uses other people to help us propel forward in our faith. But how do you make that happen? How do you get those kinds of people in your life? The book of Proverbs gives us an idea of exactly the kind of person we need in our lives in order to move forward spiritually. And if we’re willing to do what it says, not only will we find ourselves around the kind of people who help us grow, but we may also find that we become the kind of person who helps others grow as well. Below is an article from Orange, our curriculum provider. Take a minute a read up on what we'll be learning over the next month!
We’re Teaching This: When you were a kid, what did you look forward to most? Was it taking off the training wheels? Being tall enough to ride whatever you wanted at the fair? Getting to wear makeup? Or driving a car? It seems there’s something in every little kid that loves the idea of growing up. That doesn’t really go away as we get older. Middle school makes us wish for high school. High school makes us wish for college. And most of the time, we know what it takes to get from one level to the next, but what about spiritually? How do we know we're moving forward in our faith? And what are the things that help us get there? The good news is that, like any good Father, God wants us to grow. He wants to see us move forward. So, He doesn’t make it complicated. In fact, as we look at four things God uses to propel our faith, we may find that growing up spiritually can be simpler than we ever imagined. Think About This: When was your last growth spurt? No, not your teenager. You! Chances are it’s been a while since you hit a growth spurt and your height changed, but we all go through spurts or periods of time where we grow, and learn, and change. Maybe you’ve experienced a time when you were stretched and challenged to learn new things at work. Or maybe in your marriage. Or maybe with friends. And, that’s a good thing. We all need growth spurts in our lives, or time where we focus on propelling an area of our lives to a new level. That’s why so many companies provide professional development classes. It’s why gyms have fitness training programs. And, parenting is no different. Just like the rest of life, there will times when we need to stretch and grow our parenting. During this series, your students are learning about four ideas that can propel their faith forward, and the same four things they’re hearing about—but with a slight twist—have the power to propel your parenting. Four Ways to Propel Your Parenting.
Sometimes the best way to propel an area of our life forward is to figure out where we are now. Take a look at each of the four areas above and…
52 days. It’s not a long time. Less than two months. Less than half a season of your favorite tv series. Less than two units in your chemistry class. That’s how long it took Nehemiah to build a wall around his entire city—not with cranes, but with bricks and human hands. It’s really amazing. But Nehemiah didn’t do it alone. There are lists in the Bible of different people, different families who pitched in. Some of them used their specific talents. Others just jumped in where they were needed. And, in doing so, they became a picture of what the Church was meant to be. People of various talents and abilities working toward one goal—unique but unified. And we have the opportunity to do the same – to work as one body, toward one goal. As we do, we may just discover that we are becoming the people we were meant to be all along.
What is God calling you to do? Paralyzed. Have you ever felt that way at the beginning of a big project? Maybe it was a research paper or presentation for your class. Maybe it was cleaning up your room after a sleepover with your friends. Or maybe it’s something even bigger than that. Maybe you dream of doing something big with you life—something that matters. But the idea of actually doing it is really intimidating. You aren’t sure where to start. So it just seems easier to plan on back away slowly. Big results require big actions—and you just don’t feel ready for that. Nehemiah faced a similar challenge—he wanted to do something, felt called to do something, that seemed nearly impossible. But what Nehemiah didn’t let the fear take over. He didn’t stand, paralyzed, on the sideline. Instead, he discovered that the most important step you take may also be the smallest. The first step.
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