Hold tight - we're going to a theme park - CFN newsletter 78

CHRISTIAN FAMILY NETWORK NEWSLETTER 78

> Humour: W Bruce Cameron's tale of theme park torment will ring true for many a flagging parent
> News:
> Life praises Tesco stance on morning-after pill
> Tories meet marriage campaigners
> Youth group scoops video award
> Sites:
> Commonwealth Games - kids zone
> Kids Week in London's West End
> Events: Alive for God in the autumn
> Point to ponder: What's really valuable?
> Members' Zone latest

Hi there - we're still settling in after moving offices (see our new address at the end of this newsletter), so apologies to those of you still waiting for goodie bags following your 'family time' feedback. They will be with you soon - promise!

In the meantime, enjoy our latest update - and Families Together magazine which will be sent out in the next few days.

Remember the sun cream!

Take care

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

HUMOUR

Hold tight - we're going to a theme park ...

• W Bruce Cameron touches a raw nerve many parents will identify with ...

One of the most endearing traits of children is their utter trust that their parents will provide them with all of life's necessities, meaning food, shelter, and a weekend at a theme park.

A theme park is a sort of artificial vacation, a place where you can enjoy all your favourite pastimes at once, such as motion sickness and heat exhaustion.

Adult tolerance for theme parks peaks at about an hour, which is how long it takes to walk from the parking lot to the front gate. You fork out an obscene amount of money to gain entrance to a theme park, though it costs nothing to leave (which is odd, because once you've been inside the walls for a while, you'd pay anything to escape).

The two main activities in a theme park are (a) standing in line, and (b) sweating. The sun reflects off the concrete with a fiendish lack of mercy - you're about to learn the boiling point of tennis shoes. Your hair is sunburned, and when a small child in front of you gestures with her hand she smacks you in the face with her candy floss; now it feels like your cheeks are covered with carnivorous sand.

The ride your children have selected for you is a corkscrewing, stomach-compressing roller coaster built by the same folks who manufactured the baggage delivery system at the Denver International Airport. Apparently the theme of this particular park is "Nausea" ...

For the rest of this article - sure to strike a chord with parents everywhere this summer, go to our Resources section at http://www.cfnetwork.co.uk/members/resources.asp

> THIS WEEK'S NEWS

> Tesco's 'brave lead' over morning-after pill

LIFE, one of the leading pro-life charities in the UK, has congratulated Tesco on the company’s decision not to supply the morning-after pill free to under-age girls.

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

> Marriage of minds as Tories meet campaigners?

Conservative Party leader Iain Duncan Smith, and David Willetts MP – shadow cabinet minister with responsibility for the family – have held meetings with Dr Clifford Hill of the Family Matters Institute, and Richard Kane of National Marriage Week.

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

> Youth group scoops video award

Members of the youth group at All Saints' Church, High Wycombe were awarded Best Overall Video in a competition organised as part of an Oxford diocesan event, unconventional.

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

> MARRIAGE MOT

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

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> EVENTS

If you're within travelling distance of London later this month, don't miss Kids' Week in the West End (23-30 August) when loads of top shows put on special performances with cheap tickets for children, or one free when accompanied by an adult. There are also workshops, backstage tours and much more. You'll find the details here

The Commonwealth Games comes to an end this weekend, but it still worth checking out their website - particularly Kit's Zone for kids, which has plenty of fun and games to keep them busy. You'll find it at http://www.commonwealthgames.com/Kits_Zone/index.asp

> POINT TO PONDER

A well-known speaker started off his seminar by holding up a £20 note. In the room of 200, he asked: "Who would like this £20 note?"

Hands started going up.

He said: "I am going to give this £20 to one of you but first let me do this."

He proceeded to crumple the note up. He then asked: "Who still wants it?" Still the hands were up in the air.

"Well," he replied, "What if I do this?" And he dropped it on the ground and started to grind it into the floor with his shoe. He picked it up, now all crumpled and dirty.

"Now who still wants it?" Still the hands went into the air.

"My friends, you have all learned a very valuable lesson. No matter what I did to the money, you still wanted it because it did not decrease in value. It was still worth £20. Many times in our lives, we are dropped, crumpled, and ground into the dirt by the decisions we make and the circumstances that come our way. We feel as though we are worthless.

"But no matter what has happened or what will happen, you will never lose your value in God's eyes. To Him, dirty or clean, crumpled or finely creased, you are still priceless to Him. Psalm 17:8 states that God will keep us 'as the apple of His eye.'"

THOUGHT: The worth of our lives come not in what we do, what we 'own' or who we are, but by WHOSE WE ARE!

(adapted from item by Robin Wojahn, mikeysfunnies.com

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

> Advice

> In part 7 of our series J John continues his 10 principles on handling marriage conflict

> Resources

> Back your teachers - Andy Hickford argues that we have to see teachers as missionaries and support them accordingly
> Christian Connection - George Luke looks at the massive success of the UK Christian dating/relationship website
> Theme park - W Bruce Anderson on the parental day out we all dread
> The pit - an illustration you'll want to pass on

> News:
> Life praises Tesco stance on morning-after pill
> Tories meet marriage campaigners
> Youth group scoops video award

> Reviews - video and music

> Christian Life and Today’s World - Not Conformed but Transformed. LBC Video/SU.
> Is It Any Wonder? by Heat
> Phatfish Unplugged - Hope by Phatfish

> Top sites this week

> Commonwealth Games - kids zone
> Kids Week in the West End: theatre deals
> Surf on the Safe Side - internet filtering
> Climate change - call to the Church to get involved

> Events: More of what's on near you, plus the guide to 2002's festivals and Bible weeks

> Webwatch Index: more than 500 sites at your fingertips
> Site Search Engine: the easy way to trawl our 500-page plus archives

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