Sex, Rubber Chickens & Spongebobism

Niagara County Community College was filled with high school students today for the Annual Police and Community Relations Seminar. Many speakers on a variety of relevant topics addressed the students through out the day. Suicide, drugs, alcohol, sex and decision making were presented to the students in classroom sessions after the keynote address.

"IT'S GOOD TO SEE YA!" That was the greeting the students received as they entered the classroom where the YWAP Director from Youth With A Purpose was presenting. The name of my presentation was "Good Decision Making." The students were urged to make decisions regarding their future before they faced the actual need for the decision. An example would be: "I am making the decision now to wait to have sex until I am married. When I am faced with the decision of whether or not to have sex because I am being tempted, I am deciding now that I will wait." It's similar to what you would do if your house is on fire. You already have made the decision that you will run if there is a fire.  The same principle of "Forward Decision Making" applies towards sex.

Everything in life starts with brokenness. The weightlifter breaks down muscle to get stronger. The farmer breaks the ground before he plants a seed. A butterfly struggles. A diamond is made from stress and pressure. A pearl is made from an irritant. It takes courage to make a decision to embrace brokenness to gain understanding and wisdom about life. The rubber chicken is a metaphor for someone who lacks the courage to become a "Forward Decision Maker."

The subject of God always comes up during school presentations. Everybody has an opinion and unfortunately many people shut the subject down when students really do want to explore religion and faith issues. I talk about faith freely. I explain to the students that if I were to describe my own faith, I would say that I'm a Jesus freak, God geek and a Holy Spirit fruitcake. I explain that means I go to the highest highs and the deepest depths to explore my own personal relationship with God. I also make sure that they know that it doesn't make any difference to me what their own faith or lack of faith is. I love everybody the same and will respect their beliefs. My canned statement usually sounds something like this: "I don't care if your are a Christian, Muslim or Jew. I don't care if you're into, Buddhism, Hinduism, or spongebobism. We all are worthy of the same respect.

All children are gifted. The students are told repeatedly how special and valuable they are. I use a variety of rap songs, poetry and humor. We have a blast, spread a positive message and they leave feeling esteemed and energized . It was a great day at NCCC.

Thanks for your time. Go do something nice for somebody.

Bob

Raunchy Dope, Court, a Flying Chair and Jesus

Some days stretch into nights and and you really have to focus to find the good parts of a hard days night. I'm on auto focus right now as I review some special moments of my day. The end of the day had some episodes that could easily cast a pall on the whole day, Including smelling some real raunchy dope outside our gym. (No, I didn't inhale!) 

My morning began with a haircut. It wasn't just any old haircut. It was my last haircut by the talented lady whose been making me look better for quite a few years. She's losing me as a customer to my fiance. I will not begin to talk about my fiance here because you would hear a never ending love story! Let me know if you are looking for a great lady to cut your hair. I left my last haircut with this nice lady and headed to court. Yep, it was trial day once again. I won't comment on the trial as the Judge will give his decision on the case next week. Trials are not fun and most of them appear to be contests devoid of compassion and truth. Even after people lay their hand on a Bible and swear to tell the truth, seldom does the truth seem to appear. The trial took the whole morning. I would much rather be mentoring in the Buffalo Schools than spending time in courtrooms but a mentor is involved in every aspect of a young person's life.

In the afternoon, I visited a Buffalo Councilman's office to pick up a check that would support our youth programs. That is great news. I also visited a friend in the Buffalo School Superintendent's Office. She is a great lady who helps children become believers in their own abilities. She raises those people around her to another level of belief in themselves. We had a short visit and hopefully we can plan more collaborations on behalf of school children in the near future. After a trip to Boy Scout Headquarters and a brief stop at my mechanics garage (let me know if you need a great mechanic!) It was time for the real fun to begin and I headed for the Youth Center.

The first few hours were uneventful. A couple of young ladies who are like daughters to me borrowed the YWAP Van. They were giving a bed to somebody who had never had one before. They were helping somebody and that's cool. I was sitting in the gym when a boy walked in and smiled as he said: "Jesus loves you and so do I." Soon it seemed like the sky started falling. A phone was stolen, a basketball became stuck in the ceiling (we only have one left,) food became a weapon and the smells of the neighborhood started to change. I walked over to the gym and I could smell the raunchiest dope that I ever smelled. The guys inside were playing ball and knew nothing about the smell outside. It could have been somebody just passing by who ducked into the parking lot to catch a quick buzz.

The worst event of the night was a physical altercation between a young guy and a couple of girls. Where I come from, A GUY NEVER HITS A GIRL! I watched a young guy pick up a metal chair and throw it at the young girl. Thank God the chair missed and bounced off the wall behind her. The wall will have to be repaired as the plaster was gouged. I called the Police. That event made for a pretty sour evening.

While waiting for the Police to arrive (they never did,) I chatted with an old friend outside the Youth Center. He just happened to walk by and I haven't seen him in years. I used to take him and his friends and cousins camping. We had some good times and some hard times. Some of his friends went down the wrong path. We both know some people who have been shot and killed. He said he is doing great in school and learning a trade. He said his family members are doing great. He said they found Jesus. That's is the bright spot of my night. He told me that in front of some other young guys who were suspended from school. One of our young guys was growing up and becoming a good role model for some other young guys. Jesus was involved.

Most of the young people who come through the programs at Youth With A Purpose are really good kids who are trying hard to be good in a hard world. It's the few, out of control and usually fatherless children who cause the majority of the trouble. We know that teaching the message of how God the Father loves us unconditionally enough to let His Son die for us is the only answer. It works and we will keep teaching.

Thanks for your time. Go do somethinfg nice for somebody.

Bob