How well fed are you? - CFN Newsletter Week 139

CHRISTIAN FAMILY NETWORK NEWSLETTER 139

> Max Lucado on food for the soul
> News:
> British on religion: apathy rules, OK?
> Government sponsors forum on fatherhood and Christianity
> God listens to us more than parents, say youth
> 'Help family disputes get resolved outside court'
> Sites:
> Lent resources
> Mobiles for kids?
> Go global and build a house
> Church safety resources on DVD
> Poems from a depression survivor
> Marriage MOT: In sickness and in health
> You've got to laugh: A true Einstein story (well, maybe ...)
> Members' Zone latest

> OUR SPONSORS FOR THIS WEEK

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> FROM THE EDITOR

Lots to keep you informed, supported, encouraged and challenged with this update plus news of some exciting forthcoming events.

And do let us know your views on topics in the news ... such as

• Should it be legal for young children to use mobiles until any potential health risks have been ruled out?
• Are your child's citizenship classes (14-16s) helpful, useful or a waste of time?
• What family policies would get your vote in the forthcoming election?

Mail us at info@cfnetwork.co.uk or use the Bulletin Board.

Have a great week!

Russ Bravo
Christian Family Network
info@cfnetwork.co.uk
http://www.cfnetwork.co.uk

PS Christian Family Network is here to direct you to the best in parenting, marriage and family resources; to link you up with other Christian families up and down the UK; and to help you make the most of life as a follower of Christ - at home, at work, at school and college, at play and online.

Your feedback, positive and negative, enables us to develop CFN in the way that is most useful for you - so please tell us if we're off the rails or on the button!

And don't forget - if we can pass on material (sample copies of Families Together, leaflets) which will help you tell your friends and your church about CFN, just mail Lyn Bedford at marketing@christianmedia.org.uk and she'll be glad to help you out.

> SPIRITUAL GROWTH

The God who feeds my soul

with MAX LUCADO

Bread is eaten daily.

Some fruits are available only in season. Some drinks are made only at holidays. Not so with bread.

And not so with Jesus. He should be brought to our table every day. We let him nourish our hearts, not just in certain months or on special events, but daily.

Bread can meet many needs. So can Jesus. He has a word for the lonely, as well as for the popular. He has help for the physically ill and the emotionally ill. If your vision is clear, he can help you. If your vision is cloudy, he can help you. Jesus can meet each need.

Can you see why Jesus called himself the Bread of Life?

I can think of one other similarity. Consider how bread is made. Think about the process. Wheat grows in the field, then it is cut down, winnowed, and ground into flour. It passes through the fire of the oven and is then distributed around the world. Only by this process does bread become bread. Each step is essential.

Jesus grew up as a "small plant before the Lord" (Isaiah 53:2). One of thousands in Israel. Indistinguishable from the person down the street or the child in the next chair. Had you seen him as a youngster, you wouldn't have thought he was the Son of God. He was just a boy. One of hundreds. Like a staff of wheat in the wheat field.

But like wheat, he was cut down. Like chaff he was pounded and beaten. "He was wounded for the wrong we did; he was crushed for the evil we did" (Isaiah 53:5). And like bread he passed through the fire. On the cross he passed though the fire of God's anger, not because of his sin, but because of ours. "The Lord has put on him the punishment for all the evil we have done" (Isaiah 53:6).

Jesus experienced each part of the process of making bread: the growing, the pounding, the firing. And just as each is necessary for bread, each was also necessary for Christ to become the bread of life. "The Christ must suffer these things before he enters his glory" (Luke 24:26).

The next part of the process, the distribution, Christ leaves with us. We are the distributors. We can't force people to eat the bread, but we can make sure they have it.

"I am the bread that gives life." John 6:35

• From A Gentle Thunder, Copyright 1995 Max Lucado

> THIS WEEK'S NEWS

> Apathy marks British approach to religion, survey finds

A dramatic fall in religious belief over a generation has emerged from a major survey in Britain, with less than half of respondents expressing belief in God compared with more than three-quarters in 1968.

Go to http://www.cfnetwork.co.uk/members/news.asp for the full story

> Forum on fatherhood and Christianity to be sponsored by Government

Theological thinktank Ekklesia has announced that it is teaming up with the leading agency on fatherhood, Fathers Direct to hold a Government-sponsored forum on fatherhood and Christianity.


Go to http://www.cfnetwork.co.uk/members/news.asp for the full story

> Welsh youngsters say God listens when they're in trouble

More than their parents, friends, teachers and other family members, young people say 'God listens to them in times of trouble', according to the results of a survey by Youth for Christ, the UK's largest Christian youth organisation.

Go to http://www.cfnetwork.co.uk/members/news.asp for the full story

> Families 'need more support outside the courts' to resolve disputes

Families need significantly more support to help them resolve conflicts outside the courts, NCH has told a Government inquiry.

Go to http://www.cfnetwork.co.uk/members/news.asp for the full story

> MARRIAGE MOT

In sickness and in health

How do you see illness? Is it just something that happens, fate, or is it something that you can avoid by healthy living?

Some friends of mine have really struggled with this one. The wife gets very anxious when the husband isn't eating well or getting enough exercise. She fears he will become ill, because her mother developed high blood pressure due to being overweight. He always felt defensive about discussing these things. His father died of cancer with no obvious cause. He see her comments as putting him down, and it was a long time before they were able to understand their different opinions and beliefs and to realise what was going on.

We all have different views and attitudes to health and illness. They may affect the way we respond to each other and how open we are to talk about health matters. Yet we are bombarded by the media about healthy living, keeping fit and having a beautiful body.

My friends were eventually able to open up these issues. The wife was able to understand why her husband became defensive and to reassure him that she loved him and still found him attractive - in fact she loved him so much she was afraid to lose him. He was able to accept her fears and chose to take some steps to take more care of his health. A previous no-go area was opened up and became a place where they could affirm their love for each other.

Are you able to talk to each other about health issues? What are the barriers that hold you back? Are you open enough to believe that you can break through those barriers for the sake of the one you love?

> Check out our archived marriage tips in the Members' Zone, plus stacks more marriage resources at http://www.2-in-2-1.co.uk

> EVENTS

> YOU'VE GOT TO LAUGH ...

When Albert Einstein was doing the rounds on the speakers circuit, he usually found himself eagerly longing to get back to his laboratory work. One night as they were driving to ye another rubber-chicken dinner, Einstein mentioned to his chauffeur (a man who somewhat resembled Einstein in looks and manner) that he was tired of speechmaking.

"I have an idea, boss," his chauffeur said. "I've heard you give this speech so many times, I'll bet I could give it for you."

Einstein laughed loudly and said: "Why not? Let's do it!"

When they arrived at the dinner, Einstein donned the chauffeur's cap and jacket and sat in the back of the room. The chauffeur gave a beautiful rendition of Eintein's speech and even answered a few questions expertly.

Then a supremely pompous professor asked an extremely esoteric question about anti-matter formation, digressing here and there to let everyone in the audience know that he was nobody's fool.

Withut missing a beat, the chauffeur fixed the professor with a steely stare and said: "Sir, the answer to that question is so simple that I will let my chauffeur, who is sitting at the back, answer it for me."

> CHRISTIAN FAMILY NETWORK THIS WEEK
(MEMBERS' ZONE) - http://www.cfnetwork.co.uk/members/default.asp

> Advice

> Kate's Marriage advice - in sickness and in health
> Eric Spellmann on the wonders of Usenet, part 2 PLUS
> Eric Spellmann extra - capturing an image
> Max Lucado on fuel for the soul

> Resources

> Moments for Mums with Elisabeth Corcoran
> Rob Parsons on his new book on debt

> Events

> Prodigals back on tour

> News

> British on religion: apathy rules, OK?
> Government sponsors forum on fatherhood and Christianity
> God listens to us more than parents, say youth
> 'Help family disputes get resolved outside court'

> Sites

> Lent resources
> Mobiles for kids?
> Go global and build a house
> Church safety resources on DVD

> Events: What's on near you

> Webwatch index: more than 700 sites categorised at your fingertips

> Site Search Engine: the easy way to trawl our 1,000-page plus archives

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