Parents
HELLO PARENTS AND WELCOME TO THE WEBSITE
Concerned about our Mexico Trip?
If you are hesitant about letting your student apply for our missions trip to Bucerias this summer because of safety issues, we have GOOD NEWS! Check out this recent safety update from the State Department. Please note when it talks about Puerto Vallarta and Riviera Nayarit (this is basically where we will be).
Click HERE.
February 2012 Parent Update
| “Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.” - Matthew 11:28-30
Serve Day: Saturday, February 11thfrom 10am-12pm, we will be making lunches and passing them out to the homeless in downtown Santa Ana. This is an amazing opportunity for your student to get out of their comfort zone, take their eyes of themselves for a couple hours and also enjoy time hanging out with friends in the name of serving Jesus! Hume Registration: Sunday, February 12th at 1:00pm. Bring a $200 deposit to secure your spot. And there will be no lottery this year…FIRST COME FIRST SERVE! The dates of Hume are July 15th-21st. Summer Missions: This year our EDL Missions Team will be heading to Bucerias, Mexico! We will be partnering with La Fuente Ministries to help support their current church planting effort. We will be helping with various work projects and also hosting a Vacation Bible school for the local kids. Our goal is to help support the Bucerias Missionaries in establishing and growing their church. Our prayer is that through the efforts of our VBS and various work projects, the local people will be drawn to the church so they can be introduced to Jesus! The dates of the trip are July 1-9th. If your student is going into their junior or senior year, they can get an application on Sunday or Wednesday. The deadline to turn in the application is February 19th. No applications will be accepted after that date. Edlstudents.com: Make sure you check out edlstudents.com for regular updates on what is going on in the life of our ministry and receive encouragement and updates! Do you receive text messages from us?: We have a software that we use to send group text messages to students, staff and parents in order to keep everyone in the loop as to what is going on and send last minute reminders. We usually send to parents any message we send to students so that you can help your student remember what is going on! If you are not receiving our text messages and you WANT to…Please email me at mbrosch@calvarylife.org with your telephone #, phone carrier (att&t, Verizon etc) and we will add you ASAP! Come and Pray: Every Sunday morning during LifeGroups we have a group of staff volunteers and parents that spend 30 minutes praying for our students. Join us in the gym at 9:15 am and get to experience first-hand how God is moving in the lives of students. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions about ANYTHING and EVERYTHING! It is in honor to partner with you in ministry!
Melissa Brosch, |
The Art of Marriage
I’ve been married for almost 9 years and the biggest thing I have learned is that this thing is NO JOKE!!!! It is the hardest, awesomest (I made up that word), most challenging, most rewarding, most painful, most exhilarating thing I have experienced so far. And I am a rookie! All of this to say, the challenges of marriage and parenting can feel overwhelming to say the least! As a result, our Marriage and Family Ministry is hosting a “Marriage Weekend” to help encourage and equip YOU!!! I want to encourage you to sign up and get in on this great opportunity to learn and grow! Check out the LINK.
January 2012 Parent Update!!
Happy New Year!!! I am so grateful for a new beginning to a new year. God has been so faithful in 2011 and I am confident He will continue to show Himself to us in 2012. I wanted to update you on a couple things so that you can start the New Year informed!
January Teaching Series:
We finished our Series on the Book of 1 Samuel at the end of December. Now, with a greater understanding of God’s Kingship in our lives, we are moving into a new series called “Songs of Hope”. We will be taking a deeper look at some of the hymns and worship songs that we sing on a regular basis. These songs are packed with theological issues such as God’s love, the Holy Spirit, Grace, sanctification, the Holiness of God and much more. Each Sunday and Wednesday we will focus on one specific song, the theological theme and what Scripture says about it. Our prayer is that God will deepen our understanding of Him and make our worship more intentional as we truly understand the meaning of the words we sing.
Hume Lake Registration:
Sunday, February 12th at 1:00pm is Hume Lake Registration! The dates of Hume Lake are July 15-21. Come meet in front of the gym to reserve your spot for the most amazing camp of all time. The deposit is $200 (Required to secure a spot). The entire cost of the trip is $550.
I want to encourage you to talk to your student about the cost of camp. This is an amazing opportunity for them to SAVE their own money to help pay for their experience. If students get creative, there are LOTS of ways to earn money. (Recycling, garage sales, babysitting, yard work, car washes etc.) I want to encourage you to require your student to contribute a portion of their own money to the trip. It is up to you to decide how much, but your student will value the experience so much more if they have to work for it! This trip is one of the BEST investments your family can make in the spiritual life of your student.
Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, “The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.”
Lamentations 3:22-24
December Parent Update
Hey Parents! Here is your update for December….
1. Christmas Party NEXT WEEK! On Wednesday December 14th, we will be celebrating “A Vintage Christmas”. It cost $10 for our students and is an amazing way for them to CONNECT with each other through a meal and watching home-made videos of each other. Encourage you r student to attend! If you want to come and help serve food, sign up on our google doc and meet in the Fireside Room at 6:00pm! Here is the Link!
2. We will be wrapping up our teaching series on the book of 1 Samuel: Here are the “BIG IDEAS” that we have covered over the past couple of months:
Story 1: God uses Hannah to give birth to Samuel, a man who would lead people to God. BIG IDEA: We are a part of God’s salvation story.
Story 2: The Priest Eli (who was Samuel’s teacher) had wicked priest sons and God destroyed them. BIG IDEA: God’s word should transform our lives, not simply inform our lives.
Story 3: The Philistines stole the ark and God’s presence wreaked havoc for them because they did not know Him. BIG IDEA: God’s presence is power
Story 4: Israel demanded a King. BIG IDEA: God is King!
Story 5: Saul was chosen King BIG IDEA: Seize the opportunity to share your faith.
Story 6: Saul disobeys God BIG IDEA: Disobedience doesn’t work.
Story 7: Saul didn’t have a heart after God BIG IDEA: Do you really love Him?
Story 8: God chose David to be the next King. BIG IDEA: Man looks at the outside but God looks at the heart.
Story 9: David beat Goliath. BIG IDEA: Its God’s battle
Story 10: David and Jonathan BIG IDEA: We need spiritual friends.
Story 11: David spares Saul’s life and forgives him for trying to kill Him. BIG IDEA: God forgives!
3. My prayer for you during the holiday season is that you would feel the presence of God moving in your family. I pray that God’s peace would transcend the stress of the holidays and focus you on His amazing grace manifested in Jesus Christ.
Your Partner in Minsitry,
Melissa Brosch
HS Director
Family Dinner
Family dinner much? With the craziness of after school sports, homework, church, and hanging out with friends during the week, it can be challenging to find time to sit around the table and have dinner together! However, I want to encourage you to make time for some family time over a meal. Jesus was big on meals….he was always eating with someone, passing out food (lots of food),and breaking bread with his disciples. Food brings people together. A recent study actually shows that family dinners can decrease the risk of substance abuse in teenagers! I want to encourage you to get your dinner on! Make it fun and get your high schooler involved in the cooking, or even make them in charge! Trader Joe’s has pre-made pizza dough…get a bunch and make individual pizzas or something creative!
How awesome that God can use something as simple as everyday eating to bring families closer together. I pray that your dinner table in the coming weeks is filled with laughter, communication, dumb jokes and a deeper sense of connection in the name of Jesus.
November Parent Update
Hey there HS parents!
Happy November! Here are some things for you to know about this month!
Teaching Series: As you know we are studying the book of 1 Samuel. One major theme that we keep discussing is the Kingship of God. The Israelite people begged God for Him to make a human being king over them. God warned them of how difficult it would be for them…but they wanted a king anyway. We have been reflecting a lot on the state of our hearts. Is God truly our King? Is God the one we look to for leadership in our everyday lives? What is battling to be King in our lives?…materialism, selfishness, relationships etc.? As we continually examine the state of our hearts, we pray that we would become people who are submitted to the Kingship of Christ.
Christmas Party: We are having “A Vintage Christmas Party” on December 14th 6:30-8:30pm. We will be needing lots of parent help! Contact me if you want to help!
Parent Prayer Ministry: We have started a prayer ministry on Sunday mornings! When the students break up to meet in their LifeGroups, we have a group of parents and staff members that circle up and pray for our students! If you are interested in joining us in prayer, please contact me ASAP! It is a simple yet powerful ministry opportunity.
A lil’ encouragement: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” God’s grace is enough for it all. Parenting is impossible to get right all of the time. But God’s grace is enough. I pray that you can breathe deeply the grace of God this month. It is the biggest thing we can be thankful for.
Your Partner in Ministry,
Melissa Brosch
HS Director
You’re Not Invisible
It suddenly occurred to me that you as a parent spend your day not only taking care of yourself and grown up responsibilities such as bills, grocery shopping, car maintenance, cleaning, walking the dumb dog you never wanted in the first place, etc…but you also spend endless hours taking care of your high school student. The thing that makes this interesting is that most likely your high school student is only aware of about %15 of the stuff you do for them. They have no idea the lists that you make all throughout the day to make sure they have all that they need for school, sports, dance etc. They have no idea that you stare at your monthly budget constantly trying to figure out how you are going to pay for their college. They are barely aware of the fact that if it wasn’t for you, the house would literally get swallowed up by their clothes, books, random junk and soap scum. You could have the most well behaved, grateful high school student on the planet, but they still don’t have a clue how much time and energy you put into them every day.
I imagine that it might be easy to feel invisible. Feeling invisible is horrible. Going unnoticed can feel like you just received a greeting card that said, “Oh hey…You don’t matter.” As I was thinking about this, I couldn’t help but want to send you a giant hug through edlstudents.com and tell you that…YOU. ARE. NOT. INVISIBLE.
God sees you. He sees every minute of how you love and sacrifice for your kids. He sees your actions, your fears, your exhaustion, your frustration. He sees you. So take a deep breath and sit in the presence of a God who is profoundly aware of you.
Psalm 139 (Paraphrase: The Message)
God, investigate my life; get all the facts firsthand.
I’m an open book to you;
even from a distance, you know what I’m thinking.
You know when I leave and when I get back;
I’m never out of your sight.
You know everything I’m going to say
before I start the first sentence.
I look behind me and you’re there,
then up ahead and you’re there, too—
your reassuring presence, coming and going.
This is too much, too wonderful—
I can’t take it all in!
Is there anyplace I can go to avoid your Spirit?
to be out of your sight?
If I climb to the sky, you’re there!
If I go underground, you’re there!
If I flew on morning’s wings
to the far western horizon,
You’d find me in a minute—
you’re already there waiting!
Then I said to myself, “Oh, he even sees me in the dark!
At night I’m immersed in the light!”
It’s a fact: darkness isn’t dark to you;
night and day, darkness and light, they’re all the same to you.
Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out;
you formed me in my mother’s womb.
I thank you, High God—you’re breathtaking!
Body and soul, I am marvelously made!
I worship in adoration—what a creation!
You know me inside and out,
you know every bone in my body;
You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit,
how I was sculpted from nothing into something.
Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth;
all the stages of my life were spread out before you,
The days of my life all prepared
before I’d even lived one day.
Your thoughts—how rare, how beautiful!
God, I’ll never comprehend them!
I couldn’t even begin to count them—
any more than I could count the sand of the sea.
Oh, let me rise in the morning and live always with you!
October Parent Update
Hey Parents!
I wanted to update you on what is going on this month!
EDLstudents.com – Our website is FULLY functioning! We have an updated calendar, description of what we are studying on Sundays and Wednesdays, and a special parent section designed to give you encouragement WEEKLY! Get access to pictures, videos and announcements that your student are most likely not telling you about! You got this far…so feel free to browse!
GROW classes – We are launching our first GROW class this Sunday! October 9th & 16th from 1-3pm in G101. The purpose of this class is to give students an opportunity to dig deeper and learn more about God. Sundays and Wednesdays just aren’t enough to cover everything, so we will be having a 2-week class each month discussing a specific topic. This month our topic is “The Story of Christianity: Genesis to 2011”. This class will help make sense of the complicated timelines in Scripture as well as explain the purpose of some confusing books of the Bible. It will also give them an understanding of how Christianity went from people meeting in homes in the Book of Acts to meeting in a gym at 1010 N. Tustin Ave. If your student is curious about this stuff…they are going to LOVE this class!
INFLATE YOUR FACE! – This is a new large scale outreach event coming up on Saturday, October 15th from 7-9pm. The event includes a bunch of inflatable bounce toys set up in a giant circle with a dance floor in the middle of it all! We will be inviting as many high school students from our area to come and have an insane time literally bouncing off the walls. Our hope is to invite students who have never experienced church before and introduce them to our EDL family by giving them the night of their lives! We will definitely need parents to help with security and passing out snacks and drinks. If you want to help out, contact me at mbrosch@calvarylife.org
LA Urban – We will be going on a trip to Los Angeles to minister to the homeless November 18-20th. The cost is $175. We will be working with an organization called Center for Student Missions. We will stay at their facility in LA and spend Friday night, Saturday and Sunday volunteering at local Rescue Missions, churches and elderly homes. We leave Friday at around 3pm and return home on Sunday by 2pm. This trip is an amazing opportunity for students to get out of their comfort zone and serve people. Students must fill out an application to attend. Applications are due Sunday October 30th at noon.
Thank you for being awesome parents and for loving your kids more than they will every know. Please know that Doug and I are always available to you. Never hesitate to email us or call!!
Your Fan,
Melissa Brosch, HS Director
