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
"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
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