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Power Perfected in Weakness:
The Journal of Christopher J. Klicka
This is a journal of God's
grace and faithfulness to
Christopher Klicka as he
lived with the increasingly
debilitating effects of MS.
The Journal of Christopher J. Klicka
This is a journal of God's grace and faithfulness to
Christopher Klicka as he
lived with the increasingly
debilitating effects of MS.
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Parents with troubled teens often think, in desperation, "if only I could get a conversation started with my daughter maybe things would change." But the same parents have no idea how to have that conversation without it turning into a full-fledged war of words. Parents, here is hope! Rick Horne's new book, Get Outta My Face, provides biblical ways to get the conversation started. This book is not filled with platitudes. It offers practical help. The counsel in this book is born out of the rough edges of real life experience in working with troubled teens and their parents. The following excerpt is an example of the wisdom that you will find in the book.
Get Outta My Face! shows parents, youth counselors, teachers, and other teen workers how to make contact with the kind of angry, needy young people whom adults most often come across: those who are not looking for our help. The following pages discuss some of the key guidance God has given us in his Word for speaking effectively to young adults. Utilizing these principles will often get their attention, hold their attention, eliminate their "push back," obtain their commitment to change, produce rapid positive change, and provide an entrée to the heart--our most critical target. Sound too good to be true? It would be if these principles were not in sync with how God has made us. It would be if God did not teach us in his Word how to employ these principles. But he has both formed these principles in us, and taught us how to use them for our good.
These principles are not an ironclad guarantee of success with every teen. Like us, teens are individuals made in God's image. They are not some unusually sophisticated machine that can be programmed or managed by behavior modification techniques or verbal gimmicks. There is essentially just one thing that will determine how a particular teen responds to your use of these principles. Ultimately, he will respond on the basis of what he wants. The principles shared in this book often work because they allow you to connect to angry and unmotivated teens via the wants and desires of their hearts. More will be said about this in chapter 3.
This book has a narrow focus and a limited goal. It does not present a full-scale method of youth counseling or parenting. Nor does it show parents how to hold their teens accountable for their foolish choices. Others have done these things quite well. This book brings principles of the biblical Wisdom Literature primarily to the front end of the conversations you need to have with angry or complacent teens. Its purpose is to equip parents and others to take the initiative as communicators with teens who probably don't want to talk.
Solomon himself affirms the importance of the approach you will find in this book.
• "The tongue of the wise commends knowledge [i.e., makes it attractive or appealing], but the mouths of fools pour out folly" (Proverbs 15:2, emphasis added).
• "The wise of heart is called discerning, and sweetness of speech increases persuasiveness" (Proverbs 16:21, emphasis added).
• "The heart of the wise makes his speech judicious and adds persuasiveness to his lips" (Proverbs 16:23, emphasis added).
• "A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in a setting of silver" (Proverbs 25:11, emphasis added).
Most of us have been on the giving (and receiving) end of the unhelpful counsel illustrated in Proverbs 25:20: "Whoever sings songs to a heavy heart is like one who takes off a garment on a cold day, and like vinegar on soda." This out-of-touch kind of talk leaves the young person "cold" or makes him feel like he's being offered empty, unsubstantial froth. Get Outta My Face! describes how to get the conversation started with these teens. Part III gives further guidance for making the changes permanent. Permanent change, of course, involves the heart and not just behavior. It's a "truth" matter that the Spirit alone can bring to lodge in our teen's heart so that he may be "set free" (John 8:32) from the angry, complacent, self-destructive, and hurtful patterns of his life.
This coming Monday, February 2, from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m., Rick Horne will do a live radio interview about this book. The program will broadcast nationwide via the Internet. You can listen at this location:
http://www.christiantalk660.com/listen.php
Just click on the listen online button. You can even call in and ask Rick a question during the program. The phone number is 1-888-660-9535.
This week at the blog we have covered topics ranging from the US Air plane landing on the Hudson River to helping a child think about a prominent birthmark, to a new series on electronic gaming. Take a moment to stop by and let us know your thoughts on these topics.
Here is an example of one of our recent newsletters:
Shepherd Press
Newsletter 38
January 30, 2009
Getting the Conversation Started
Newsletter 38
January 30, 2009
Getting the Conversation Started
Parents with troubled teens often think, in desperation, "if only I could get a conversation started with my daughter maybe things would change." But the same parents have no idea how to have that conversation without it turning into a full-fledged war of words. Parents, here is hope! Rick Horne's new book, Get Outta My Face, provides biblical ways to get the conversation started. This book is not filled with platitudes. It offers practical help. The counsel in this book is born out of the rough edges of real life experience in working with troubled teens and their parents. The following excerpt is an example of the wisdom that you will find in the book.
Get Outta My Face! shows parents, youth counselors, teachers, and other teen workers how to make contact with the kind of angry, needy young people whom adults most often come across: those who are not looking for our help. The following pages discuss some of the key guidance God has given us in his Word for speaking effectively to young adults. Utilizing these principles will often get their attention, hold their attention, eliminate their "push back," obtain their commitment to change, produce rapid positive change, and provide an entrée to the heart--our most critical target. Sound too good to be true? It would be if these principles were not in sync with how God has made us. It would be if God did not teach us in his Word how to employ these principles. But he has both formed these principles in us, and taught us how to use them for our good.
These principles are not an ironclad guarantee of success with every teen. Like us, teens are individuals made in God's image. They are not some unusually sophisticated machine that can be programmed or managed by behavior modification techniques or verbal gimmicks. There is essentially just one thing that will determine how a particular teen responds to your use of these principles. Ultimately, he will respond on the basis of what he wants. The principles shared in this book often work because they allow you to connect to angry and unmotivated teens via the wants and desires of their hearts. More will be said about this in chapter 3.
This book has a narrow focus and a limited goal. It does not present a full-scale method of youth counseling or parenting. Nor does it show parents how to hold their teens accountable for their foolish choices. Others have done these things quite well. This book brings principles of the biblical Wisdom Literature primarily to the front end of the conversations you need to have with angry or complacent teens. Its purpose is to equip parents and others to take the initiative as communicators with teens who probably don't want to talk.
Solomon himself affirms the importance of the approach you will find in this book.
• "The tongue of the wise commends knowledge [i.e., makes it attractive or appealing], but the mouths of fools pour out folly" (Proverbs 15:2, emphasis added).
• "The wise of heart is called discerning, and sweetness of speech increases persuasiveness" (Proverbs 16:21, emphasis added).
• "The heart of the wise makes his speech judicious and adds persuasiveness to his lips" (Proverbs 16:23, emphasis added).
• "A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in a setting of silver" (Proverbs 25:11, emphasis added).
Most of us have been on the giving (and receiving) end of the unhelpful counsel illustrated in Proverbs 25:20: "Whoever sings songs to a heavy heart is like one who takes off a garment on a cold day, and like vinegar on soda." This out-of-touch kind of talk leaves the young person "cold" or makes him feel like he's being offered empty, unsubstantial froth. Get Outta My Face! describes how to get the conversation started with these teens. Part III gives further guidance for making the changes permanent. Permanent change, of course, involves the heart and not just behavior. It's a "truth" matter that the Spirit alone can bring to lodge in our teen's heart so that he may be "set free" (John 8:32) from the angry, complacent, self-destructive, and hurtful patterns of his life.
This coming Monday, February 2, from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m., Rick Horne will do a live radio interview about this book. The program will broadcast nationwide via the Internet. You can listen at this location:
http://www.christiantalk660.com/listen.php
Just click on the listen online button. You can even call in and ask Rick a question during the program. The phone number is 1-888-660-9535.
This week at the blog we have covered topics ranging from the US Air plane landing on the Hudson River to helping a child think about a prominent birthmark, to a new series on electronic gaming. Take a moment to stop by and let us know your thoughts on these topics.
Special Blog Offer - This week's special offer for our blog readers has two parts. The first part is to purchase Hints for Parents by Gardiner Spring. This book is a 19th century classic, republished by Shepherd Press. To help with application to the...