Parents are the example

The tip of the day for parents is: "Live like you want your children to live!" I cringe when I hear parents fondly telling stories of the dumb things they did as teens or young people in the hearing of their children. Your children not only feel free to do what you did too ("Dad/mom did it and he/she turned out OK, so will I!") but they want to do it "better".

One couple gleefully told how the wife had had an affair with a guy before they met and had a mutli-racial child as a result. They seemed proud that it showed that they were not predjudice ...and after all, they really loved him and he turned out pretty good. Much to the horror of the parents, their daughter took off with a strange man at a very young age and tried to get pregnant.

To contrast that story, I was talking to a woman recently who is in her 60's who told me how she decided to make a significant change in her life without saying one word to her married, adult children. Much to her surprise, all of her adult children made the same change in their lives without one word being spoken.

The Bible says, in Proverbs 22:6, "Train up a child in the way he should go, And [even*] when he is old he will not depart from it." In Deuteronomy 11 it says, "18 “Therefore you shall lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 19 You shall teach them to your children, speaking of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. 20 And you shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates, 21 that your days and the days of your children may be multiplied in the land of which the LORD swore to your fathers to give them, like the days of the heavens above the earth." (NKJV)

The Word of God teaches us that if we set the right example for our children they will walk the walk all their lives!! Now you know what to do. DO IT! :)

* the word "even" is implied in the original language.

Help With Troubled Teens

People ask me, “How did my son (or daughter) get so messed up?” They usually say something like, “I gave him everything I could, I taught him right from wrong, I took him to Sunday School and church, he has never gone hungry; what went wrong? Why did he become so rebellious and angry?”

By the time parents ask me these questions, most of them are ready to hear the answer. But they still do not like the answer when they here it. The parents who do listen and follow closely the advice I give will, likely, regain their child’s heart, love and respect.

What I’m going to do in the next few blogs is discuss some of the reasons why kids rebel and get into trouble. I’m also going to give you insights that you can use to bring your family back together. So, read often and write me with your questions. I will answer all your questions (eventually) and your questions will help me know what kinds of things you want to read here. If you need personal help, please feel free to email me and ask in private. Thanks!

Family Reconciliation Retreat

Wow; Did we have a great time in our first Family Reconciliation Retreat! This was a life-changing event for several people. If you missed it, you missed a real blessing! None of us will ever be the same again. There is no need for families to struggle with marraiges or children. There is peace and joy to be had. Ask us for information for the next Family Reconciliation Retreat right away!! God will bless you.

Preparing for Paint

Ah I'm sorry once again for taking so long to update this... We've been awfully busy around here lately, trying to finish the house and preparing to launch our Family Reconciliation Retreats in just a few weeks (be praying! The first retreat is scheduled for the end of this month!).
These past few weeks have been exciting. We got the kitchen, hallway, and sewing/laundry room textured and are now applying the fireproofing base paint coat. We purchased the top coat paint for the kitchen and will be applying it soon! Here are some pictures of the boys working hard at painting the base coat:

Exciting Things to Come!

Hello Teen Harvest supporters and prayer warriors. We are planning a new venture in ministry to bring families in crisis out to Teen Harvest for a 4 day intensive Family Reconciliation Retreat. This will also be a good opportunity for families who just want to learn what the warning signs are and how to avoid family problems before they start.

We are going to have morning and evening seminar style classes with individual and family counseling sessions during the day. When families are not in one of these places, they will have the opportunity to participate in “family-togetherness” games and activities. Activities such as horseback riding, nature walks, fishing, table games playing basketball, volleyball or soccer and, as time goes on, a ropes course, a zip line, 1890’s vintage ghost town with dress-up activities and so on.

To this end, we need to build 10 cabins. These will be available other times for many other reasons, such as a prayer retreat for families or individuals, or for people who just want a place to spend a few days in the woods.

We are hoping that individuals, church groups or families will step up to the plate and either build one of these cabins, decorate and furnish one or both. Or someone might want to just send the money for us to hire one built in their name. In any case, time is of the essence! We plan to hold the first seminar in at the end of October!

Please pray for this effort, and if you want to know how you can help, send me a quick note and I will tell you how! :)

Blessings in Christ, Paul

The Building of the House

Hello there! First of all, my appologies for taking so long to get around to this. So many things to do around here, and so many blog topics to choose from! But I thought perhaps a good place to start would be with pictures from building the main house here at Teen Harvest. This project started in late 2003/early 2004 and is still going on today. It started with building an addition on to the old farm house that was orignally here at the ranch, then building a school/church building to house the office and school room, demolition of the old farm house, and now re-construction of a "second addition" where the old house used to stand. The finished house is just under 5,000 suare feet and includes 10 bedrooms (3 master bedroom suites), a large living room/family room, a spacious commerical kitchen/dining room, a basement (which will double as a game room and storm shelter), and a garage. God has blessed us immensely throughout this buildling project, providing us with finances and labor along the way when needed, as well as enabling us to use a few cutting-edge safety features and energy-saving technologies. Every step of the process was given much thought and prayer in hopes of providing a safe, fun environment for our students for now and for years to come.
Here are some pictures. I appologize that they are grossly out of order, but I could not get them in order.

Welcome

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