October 2009

• Leaping the hurdles You have to find something that you love enough to be able to take risks, jump over the hurdles and break through the brick walls that are always going to be placed in front of you. If you don't have that kind of feeling for what it is you are......
• Force Of The ID Addictions are a type of spiritual darkness. People repeatedly return to them, even though they are harming themselves. People in general have more addictions than they think they do. An addiction is any compulsion, but we usually call just compulsive indulgence an addiction. This is not at all honest. You......
• Updated: I heart Hollywood by Lindsey Kelk Alright. A couple of laziness on my part (meaning my work a.k.a my writing- shame on me) but at least I got to finish Lindsey’s book. Lindsey Kelk is a writer/editor and I highly suspect that she’s British. You can visit her blog on: http://www.ihearthollywood.co.uk/ “I heart” is a series......

Most addicted teens don’t consciously intend to kill themselves. But many become so depressed that they just don’t care one way or the other.

I had been smoking marijuana for 2 years but pot wasn’t doing it for me anymore. II was failing school, lost all my real friends–I hated everything. So one night I got 5 Vicodin and was drinking vodka. I remember thinking that if I do this, I may never wake up. It was funny, the thought of never waking up didn’t scare me as much as the thought of facing my life sober. So I took the pills and guzzled the vodka. I didn’t try to die — I just didn’t try very hard to live.
–James a 16 year-old high school student.

Today’s teens live in a stressful and often dangerous world. Easy access to drugs and alcohol combined with the enormous social pressures conspired to create an epidemic of stressed out, depressed teens who routinely “self-medicate” their sadness and low self-esteem. Like amateur pharmacists, some teens eagerly experiment with new drugs, frequently combining them alcohol. This dangerous attempt to alleviate the stress and pain in their lives always creates more problems than it cures. As abuse of drugs and alcohol escalates, so does their risk for overdose. For many depressed teens, drinking and drugging are a slow, quiet suicide.

Causes
Research shows that substance abuse increases the risk for depression. And, conversely, depression increases the risk for substance abuse. Here’s how. All drugs of abuse, including alcohol, act upon the same area of the brain involved in the regulation of mood. Experimentation with drugs or alcohol alters the balance key of neurotransmitters (brain chemicals) in this part of the brain. Regular use of mind altering drugs such as marijuana, cocaine and alcohol cause temporary surge in these neurotransmitters resulting is a short–lived “high.” If the young person is already depressed, the “high” will feel like a vacation from his or her emotional pain. But what goes up must come down — so the highs are followed by dramatic lows and the cycle starts over again. Tragically, most young substance abusers erroneously believe that the solution to their dark moods and life’s problems is to use more drugs or drink more alcohol.

What to do
If you are depressed or abusing drugs or alcohol take heart because these problems are highly treatable but you will need help. Talk with someone who can be objective and honest with you like a parent, trusted friend, pastor or family doctor. Treatment usually involves counseling, medication and 12 step meetings. Whatever it takes–do it. You life is precious and God has a purpose and plan for you.

• The 10 Commandments For Frugal Living The Ten Commandments are widely recognized in the Judeo-Christian faith as a list of moral imperatives that believers follow. As someone who also follows the concept of frugal living, I thought I would attempt to generate ten similar imperatives, loosely based on the original commandments. Disclaimer: I am a Christian.......
• Top 10 Dangerous Drugs Teens Commonly Abuse Drug abuse is one of the most widespread problems facing teens today. Due to peer pressure and a general feeling of invulnerability common amongst teens, as well as a natural inability to really comprehend the long term consequences of their actions that stems from brains that aren't yet fully developed,......
• Behavior Treatment - Is This The Answer For Violent ADHD Children and Teens? Sometimes ADHD kids and teens can be violent and aggressive and the despairing parents just have no idea how to deal with this. It may happen that they are suspended from school after having punched another child or they do the same thing at home with their siblings. While ADHD......

1. Help him or her recognize who God is! He is real, and He hears us, even though we cannot see Him with our eyes.
   • “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” (Hebrews 11:1)
   • ‘Without faith, it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.” (Hebrews 11:6)
2. Teach them to pray using the pattern that Jesus gave us in Matthew 6:9-15.
   • We pray to our Heavenly Father in the name of Jesus. (Matthew 6:9, John 14:6, Hebrews 4:14-5:10).
   • We praise and thank Him for who He is and what He has done. (Hallowed be Your name.) There are many varied and wonderful gifts for which to thank and praise God. In teaching our children to discover these gifts, we teach them more about God.
   • We pray for God’s will to be done in our family as well as others’ lives.
   • We ask God to provide what we need today.
   • We confess our sins, ask forgiveness from God, and one another (I John 1:9).
   • We pray that we might not give in to temptation, and that God will protect and deliver us from Satan.
3. Write down prayer requests. This will help your child as well as you to see God’s answers and give thanks for them. Your son or daughter needs to know, as you do, that God answers prayer. He does not always answer our requests on our time schedule or as we would desire Him to answer. God’s perspective and His wisdom are infinitely greater and wiser than ours.
   • “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:9)
4. Let your child know how you are specifically praying for him or her and why. As he or she observes your personal knowledge and insight of who he or she really is, your love will be apparent to him or her.
5. Study Matthew 7:7-12 with your child and discuss what you should ask from God, and why it is good that He does not always give us what we ask.
6. Help your child understand the importance of praying for others and their needs.

• A Green Friend In Need Is A Friend Indeed. Thanks everyone, the fundraiser has ended! One of our green friends needs our help, and I am hopeful you guys can chip in. Adam Shake from Twilight Earth, Jerry James Stone (from every green site on the net - the guy is a content wizard!) and myself, David Quilty from......
• Give with a plan It has been a while since we talked about giving here at Gather Little by Little. The Bible speaks about the subject of money on many, many occasions. Each time that the subject is mentioned we learn a bit more of how God wants us to order our finances.......
• What Are You Teaching Your Children About Finances? As parents, most people focus on the basic lessons of life, and may not be covering important financial lessons that could last a lifetime. Successful adults are usually those that were trained early on in proper management of their money, and developed an early respect for a dollar. If you......

Whatever you do bathe your son or daughter in prayer. Here are 10 Scriptural truths of prayer to encourage and guide your prayer life for your children:

• It is a sin not to pray for them:

“As for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by

failing to pray for you. And I will teach you the way that is good and

right.” (I Samuel 12:23)

• You should not grow weary or give up in prayer: persevere:

“Then Jesus told His disciples a parable to show them that they should

always pray and not give up.”  (Luke 18:1f)

• When you pray for your child, try to clear your mind from clutter and your heart from selfishness ( or those passions and sins that are so often uncontrolled in our lives):

“The end of all things is near. Therefore, be clear minded and self-

controlled so that you can pray.”  (I Peter 4:7)

• You should pray with faith and trust that God will answer you:

“I prayed for this child and the Lord has granted me what I asked of

Him.” (I Samuel 1:27)

• As busy parents, you can pray at any time for your child: when changing diapers, watching ball games, being a chauffer, etc. However, you should also schedule a regular, hopefully, uninterrupted, quiet time to pray for them:

“Pray at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication.”

(Ephesians 6:18)

• Prayer changes things for good for your children and you:

“The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.”

(James 5:16)

• Your character is developed and reflected in and by your prayer life:

“Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.”

(Romans 12:1-12, see especially vs. 12)

• Do whatever it takes to keep your prayers unhindered before God:

“If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.”   (Psalm 66:18)

• Since you are passionate about your children, your prayers will

become quite passionate as well; yet always remember who God is

and submit reverently to Him:

“During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, He offered up prayers and

petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save Him

from death, and He was heard because of His reverent submission.”

(Hebrews 5:7)

“Not my will, but Yours be done.” (Luke 22:42)

• In all your prayers remember that your tireless interceder in God’s presence is the Lord Jesus who sympathizes with your weaknesses, has been tempted like you, but without sin:

“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with

our weaknesses, but we have One who has been tempted in every

way, just as we are—yet was without sin. Let us then approach the

throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and

find grace to help us in our time of need.” (Hebrews 4:15-16)

I pray that these Scriptural truths will motivate and encourage you to pray for the children God has entrusted to you. By the enabling of the Holy Spirit, may these passages warn you about the enemy, your feelings of frustration and weariness, and your attitude in what you may perceive as God’s silence or lack of answers: at least the answers you expect on your time schedule. God’s answers may be different than what you want or not when you desire them. But will a loving Father give His child a snake or a scorpion? Or will He give him what He knows is best? (Luke 11:11-13) No matter the circumstances, persevere like the widow in Luke 18. You will not regret your perseverance when you stand before the Lord in heaven. When God says to a parent, “Well done, good and faithful servant,” it will most likely be the case that He will turn and say the same to the children He placed in your care: for they will be there with you!

• Get into Bed with Anida Adler (Author Interview) Come meet Anida Adler! Join us as we discuss her latest novel, The Ancient (available at Loose ID) and writing. Keira:  Morrigan sounds like Morgan Le Faye, is there any correlation? Anida: No, there's no connection.  Morrigan is a figure from Irish mythology, also known as the crow goddess. ......
• Personal Finance Tips from the Bible There are so many differing opinions about the Bible and what it means personally.  Some see it as merely a book of stories and life lessons from the characters contained therein.  Others believe in it as an explicit authority on how to live life.  Then there are those who are......
• Taking your Kids Hiking [/caption]If you are planning on going hiking, the thought of taking your kids might have crossed your mind, for a brief second, and then you might have dismissed it by just imagining the sound of their cry after fifteen minutes of walking, the whining that they are hungry, or the......