Clearance sale at Abort73

They just put several new shirts on their clearance section at their website store- check it out here.

Be a man

Here's a link to a series of blog posts on what Christian men should be like. The author's thesis is that church has effeminized faith and practice, in large part due to the decreasing numbers of men in attendance across the world-wide church. He argues that men should practice Christianity as men and that there is a masculine character intrinsic in the example that Jesus left for us.

Click here to go to the first post in the series, from which you can find the other posts.

How do we raise kids in a pornified culture?

We live in a pornified culture. So how do we raise sane, healthy children in this cesspool? What do you think?

Click here to read 8 suggestions on how to raise healthy children to have a healthy perspective on sex.

How to be 16 and Innocent

Does anyone find it just a little bit odd and humorously ironic that the show about the negative consequences on unwed and unwanted pregnancies is aired on MTV???

Just to put it in perspective:

In 171 hours of MTV programming, analysts found 1,548 sexual scenes containing 3,056 depictions of sex or various forms of nudity and 2,881 verbal sexual references. That means that children watching MTV are viewing an average of 9 sexual scenes per hour with approximately 18 sexual depictions and 17 instances of sexual dialogue or innuendo. (www.parentstv.org)

So in other words, for 167 hours a week, MTV blares out a "Hey kids! Have sex and have sex, and after having had sex, have more sex! Oh and don't worry about the consequences, because of course we'll never show that part!"

Then one hour a week: "Look kids! If you're 16 and pregnant, there's a bunch of bad stuff that gets dumped in your life!"

Continue reading here...

Follow @hbcstudent on Twitter!!

Some of you may be familiar with Twitter, but many of you probably are not. What is Twitter? you may ask:

"Twitter is a service for friends, family, and co–workers to communicate and stay connected through the exchange of quick, frequent answers to one simple question: What are you doing?" -from the Twitter.com homepage.

Basically it's a way to get information out to a lot of people very quickly. It's even easier to use than text messaging once you get used to it. So, I want you all to sign up!!! You can receive updates about events, payment deadlines, and other last-minute information without making a phone call or checking your email. By signing up for a Twitter account and following @hbcstudent, which is the twitter account that I will use for the youth ministry, you can receive text message updates and reminders about what's going on in the youth ministry.

Here's how it works:

1. You go to www.twitter.com and sign up for a twitter account. You start this by clicking the "Get Started- Join!" box on Twitter's homepage.

2. Enter your full name, e.g. "Dustin Knoedler"

3. Enter your username- this will be the name you use to sign in to access your Twitter account. I recommend using your full name, so it will be easy for people to find you, and so that you don't forget what your sign-in name is. So, if your username is "DustinKnoedler", your twitter page will be www.twitter.com/dustinknoedler, which is my personal twitter page.

4. Enter your password.

5. Enter your email address. This is where Twitter will send you notices to let you know that more people are following you or about important account updates. They do not send spam!!!

6. Enter the text from the spam-bot filter, then click "Create my account."

7. Add your mobile phone number to your twitter account if you wish to receive text messages from anyone else on twitter. This step will be necessary if you want to receive mobile updates from @hbcstudent. Click on the "Settings" tab from your twitter homepage. Then click the "Devices" tab. Enter your mobile phone number and turn mobile updates "on."

8. From your twitter account, you can search for friends, your children, or, most importantly, hbcstudent. Search for "hbcstudent" to find the youth ministry twitter account, then click "Follow." Then click the "Device updates" tab and turn the device updates "on." You should now receive text message updates from "@hbcstudent."

Twitter takes some getting used to and you only learn by using it more. Your account can easily be managed from the Twitter website. Twitter also has an extensive "Help" section on their website which should answer any questions you may have.

Please note that standard text messaging rates apply to all tweets (A text sent or received using Twitter). Twitter is a completely free service, so just be aware of your text message plan with your cell service provider.

I think this will greatly enhance our ability to keep you informed of what's going on in the youth ministry, so if you have a cell phone with text messaging, please sign up via the steps outlined above. I know a few of you are already using Twitter, so thanks!!!

Summer Activities

Hey all- just wanted to post a quick update about what we've got planned for the rest of the summer.

Saturday, July 25th- THIS SATURDAY!!! We're going canoeing on the Little Miami River in Orgenonia through Morgan's Canoe Rental. Cost is $5 and is due this Wednesday night.

Wednesday, August 5th- Reds Game. We're going to go watch the Reds whoop the Cubs! Cost is $7 and is also due this Wednesday.

Obviously, if students want to participate in both these events, the total money due this Wednesday is $12. I can't think of a better way to spend $12, so I hope all of you guys will sign up and join us!!!

Sexting: 'Parents Don't Have a Clue,' John Walsh Says

Do parents really know the deal when it comes to their kids and sexting? John Walsh, host of "Americas Most Wanted" said they don't have a clue.

That’s why it’s incredibly important to sit down with your child and talk about the dangers of this growing problem, Walsh told FOX and Friends Thursday morning.

“I talk to my 14-year-old son — but the bad news is that 1 in 4 teens say ‘hey, hey hey… parents don’t know what the heck they’re talking about… and every teenager thinks they’re bullet proof,” Walsh said. “But when that picture shows up in cyberspace, and that college admissions director sees that looking at the Myspace page or the Facebook page — or they hear about it, or the kid gets arrested for distributing a sexy picture — you know — then it’s going to come back to haunt that kid.”

Continue reading here...

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen- a review

It must be really hard to be Michael Bay. He’s almost universally vilified for the way practically everything he touches turns into an over-the-top, all-action/no-plot mess. The online spoof site The Onion even wrote a fake news article about Bay next helming a remake of the ‘80s cartoon Thundercats—it was one of the most hilariously vulgar things I’ve ever read.

So sometimes I feel sorry for the guy. But then he offers us a pile of utter garbage likeTransformers: Revenge of the Fallen, and I remember why people dislike his films so much.

If the goal was simply to get butts in seats: mission accomplished. The film made 200 million dollars in its opening weekend, practically guaranteeing more sequels. Sigh.

Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf) is back, and heading off to Yale, but he has to leave behind both his awesome robot-car Bumblebee, and his beautiful robot-girlfriend Mikaela (Megan Fox). She’s not really a robot, but you wouldn’t know it from her acting ability. The first moment we see Fox the camera is focused on her caboose as she’s perched over a motorcycle, in shorts so short they make Daisy Duke’s look like sweatpants. But surely she’ll reveal a hidden strength and talent, just like in the first film, right? Nope. She’s here to look good while wearing few clothes and running toward the camera in very…slow…motion.

Continue reading here...

Upcoming Summer Events

Hey folks- it's been awhile!!! I'm back from back-to-back vacation and creation trips, at least until we leave for our mission trip next Thursday!

I just wanted to inform you of what's coming up for the rest of the summer regarding activities.

Sunday, July 5: Cookout and Swimming party at Bo and Becky's. We'll head over to their house in Carlisle after the evening service. Parents will need to pick up their students by 11p. We will provide dinner and we'll also have cornhole and possibly volleyball in addition to swimming. Girls, no bikinis are allowed. Tankinis are fine.

Saturday, July 25: Canoeing at Ft. Ancient in Morrow, OH. Cost is $5. We will leave at 8a and return around 6p. You need to sign up at the activities billboard downstairs by Wednesday, July 22nd. Students will need to pack a brown-bag lunch that we will pack in a cooler. We'll stop at some point on our journey to eat along the river.

Wednesday, August 5: Reds Game. Cost is $7. We will be leaving at 5:30p and returning around 11p. Again, please sign up at the activities billboard downstairs by Sunday, July 20th. The Reds are playing the Cubs that night, and the game will probably sell out, so we need to purchase tickets fairly early.