Don't think you can do it; know you can
If you are going to do something you should really do it right
Accepting God's love allows us to love others
Learning to get along with others is always a good thing
Possessing the character of Christ will get you far
Are You a Caring Person?
In John 13:34-35, Jesus gives a commandment for us to love others as He has loved us.
Take this self-evaluation and decide for yourself by answering
TRUE or FALSE:
- I am never mean, cruel or insensitive.
- I treat people with kindness and generosity.
- I am charitable.
- I give of myself for the benefit of others.
- I am responsive to the concerns and needs of others.
I conclude that I am / am not a caring person because: _______________________.
Remember, caring is not just a way of feeling, it’s a way of behaving!
Now that you have some idea about whether or not you are a caring person, let’s go a little further. What are your thoughts to 5 questions below? Feel free to post your responses here or on our Facebook page.
- A lot of people say that teenagers are self absorbed and don’t care about anything but themselves. Why do you agree or disagree?
- In what ways is our world a caring world? In what ways is it uncaring? What could each of us do to make this a more caring world?
- Why do you agree or disagree with the following statement: It’s not cool to be a caring person.
- To what extent would you inconvenience yourself for another person?
- Why would you give or not give money to a stranger on the sidewalk who asked for spare change? Would it make a difference if the person were a) a mother with child, b) very old, c) from a different culture? Does giving money to a stranger have anything to do with caring?
Giving: The Heart of Compassion
The Christmas season is here — with sparkling lights, glittering trees, and magical store displays. But as we look beyond the external, the research on adolescent development tells us something very important about what happens in teen’s internal worlds. It’s a season that shapes their lifelong identities about giving. What are you doing this year to help children and teens internalize the gift of giving?
Of course, many teens associate Christmas with being receivers of gifts. But according to studies in human development, it is the giving of gifts that reaps the biggest psychological rewards. Parents can help teens realize these rewards by teaching them how to give back during the Christmas season and throughout the year. There are many ways to give back, including through the excellent projects listed below.
Five Ways for Families & Teens to Internalize the Gift of Giving
PLEDGE TO VOLUNTEER
To mark the season of giving, from November 29 through December 13, each time a teen makes a pledge to volunteer through GenerationOn, its partners at Hasbro will donate a toy to a child in need. As part of their Holiday Gift Campaign, GenerationOn encourages youths, parents, teachers and nonprofit organizations to explore its many online resources, including holiday service projects that help teens turn pledges into projects. Also through pledging, children become engaged in a youth community that brings the gift of giving into young people’s lives throughout the year. What better time than Christmas to get your teens to take a volunteer pledge!
SPONSOR AN IMPOVERISHED FAMILY
The Family-to-Family project helps American families “share their bounty” with others who are impoverished. They will link your family with a family struggling to put food on the table. Once a month, they will ask you to either shop, pack and send a box of groceries to them, or make a donation that allows them to do it for you. The best way is to get teens involved in the shopping, in the process of giving! Encourage your child to reflect on what others would want and how he or she can empathize with families different from their own.
SEND A PACKAGE TO AN AMERICAN SOLDIER
The nonprofit organization AnySoldier.com invites you and your teen to help make Christmas special for American soldiers stationed in harm’s way. You can choose to support any of the Armed Services, decide what you want to send, and get your teens involved in making cards and selecting gifts. Plan ahead so a soldier in Iraq, Afghanistan, or another place of global conflict can receive your family’s heartfelt gratitude for the job they do.
SERVE A MEAL TO THE HOMELESS
The National Coalition for the Homeless is a national network of people committed to ending homelessness. They work to meet the immediate needs of people who are homeless by providing education, advocacy, and grassroots organizing. Check their directories of national and local organizations where your family can help this Christmas or throughout the year.
DONATE TO A FOOD BANK
Right now, the programs that put food on the table for America’s vulnerable children, seniors, and working families are in jeopardy. Your help is desperately needed to fill food banks and pantries throughout the country. Feeding America, a nonprofit network of member food banks, can help your family find convenient ways to give.
Turn Family Values into Action
What values does your family hold about giving? Christmas is a perfect time to talk about your values and make a plan to put them into action now and in the coming year. We are often so busy during Christmas that it is easy to go through the motions of gift-gifting without connecting to the deeper meaning of giving. Yet it is these deep connections that shapes teen’s identities and teach them the gift of giving.
John 3:16 is a power lesson on giving. It teaches compassion and empathy. It is a great lesson to incorporate in your family tradition and as your teen begins to act independently will help him or her become passionate about giving. Studies show that what youth learn about giving during childhood and adolescence lasts a lifetime. Your giving will impact future generations. Merry Christmas! Joyful Giving!
Cory (19)
W D Tyree Ministries is about nurturing, challenging and developing confidence, compassion, competence, community and character. I can truly say that I am definitely more confident in myself and God working through me. My compassion for others to make a difference with my life has become my number one desire in life. In competence, I now have the ability to perform specific tasks well, including ministering to peers and influencing them for good. I have reached out to those around me in trying to build them up and to assist them in their spiritual journey to contribute to the community of faith. My character has been strengthened as I have drawn closer to the Lord. I am less concerned about what others say and think about me and more concerned with Christ’s approval regardless of where I am. I can truly say that my experience with W D Tyree Ministries has been a lifelong investment resulting in positive contribution as an adult and a believer.
About US
W. D. Tyree Ministries is a tax-exempt Virginia nonstock corporation that has been in existence since July 23, 2002. The corporation is a recognized 501 (c)(3) charitable organization which serves the community by helping parents and churches develop, nurture, and challenge youth, ages 14-19, to faithfully follow Jesus Christ..
Through immersion in an international mission experience, American youth are stimulated along 5 critical areas of growth – confidence, competence, compassion, community, and character. These youth are transformed and empowered to share this life transforming process through the gospel with their peers. These transformed youth provide a model which creates transformation in the lives of unsaved youth. This will over time lead to a reduction in adverse behavior. As youth experience the love of Christ, they see their God given potential and become productive young men and women.
What Is Our Method?
W D Tyree Ministries recognizes its responsibility in helping to develop a new generation of world leaders. To accomplish this, the ministry seeks to develop, nurture, and challenge youth in 5 critical areas of growth:
Confidence – W D Tyree Ministries recognizes that Christian youth have the gift of the Holy Spirit and can be used by Him for God’s glory. We seek to build and nurture confidence in the lives of Christian youth.
And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. (Philippians 1:6 ESV)
Competence – W D Tyree Ministries seeks to develop, nurture, and challenge competence in a way that helps Christian youth mature in their natural and spiritual gifts.
I can do all things through him who strengthens me. (Philippians 4:13 ESV)
Compassion – W D Tyree Ministries seek to help Christian youth develop a heart for God. As they walk in the light of Jesus Christ, we want to develop, nurture and challenge them to see that light as a “flood light” where the needs of others are esteemed above their own as opposed to a “spot light” where the emphasis is on them and their world.
For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; 15 and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised. (2 Corinthians 5:14-15 ESV)
Community – W D Tyree Ministries understands Christian community and diversity and seeks to develop, nurture, and challenge the understanding of Christian youth by helping them come to an awareness that life is not about them but discovering their purpose, how and where they fit in the broader Christian community. and society .
in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. (Ephesians 2:21 ESV)
Character – W D Tyree Ministries recognizes that Christian youth face numerous challenges that make it difficult to embrace a Biblical worldview. The ministry further understands that at the point of critical everyday decisions Christian youth fall short in obedience. W D Tyree Ministries seeks to empower Christian youth to live a transformed life when no one is present to enforce godly choices.
Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. (Philippians 2:12-13 ESV)
We believe that when youth exhibit growth in these areas, whether individually or collectively, they make lasting contributions to society’s institutions.