New Year, new priorities? - CFN newsletter Week 89

CHRISTIAN FAMILY NETWORK NEWSLETTER 89

> Is it time you re-assessed your priorities for 2003?
> News:
> Young carers out in the cold, say charities
> Abused youngsters call on Government for help
> Famine help on screen in agency's youth drive
> Sites:
> Oscar portal's new holidays guide
> Scripture Union launches small groups resource
> Marriage MOT: New Year hopes?
> You've got to laugh: Things it took 50 years to learn
> Members' Zone latest

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Dear All

Happy New Year!

Broken your resolutions yet? Converted the neighbourhood? Stopped threatening the cat?

Well, nobody's perfect! And our lead article takes a look at priorities, and encourages all of us to focus on God's will for our lives.

There's stacks more to discover, plus loads of new events for 2003. Enjoy!

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.

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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.

ADVICE

What are your priorities?

• If you feel there is never enough time in the day to do all the things you have to do, then it's time to take stock. KRISTINA PETERSEN explains why it is important to know your priorities
  

Time management has become a buzz word. Books and courses teaching time management skills abound, all promising to teach us how to squeeze more activities into those precious hours, to achieve more, to "save time". Time, however, is elusive and cannot be pinned down, managed or saved like a commodity.

Is there a Christian perspective on time management? Time is a gift from God, each new day full of opportunities. There are many ways to spend the hours ahead ... but you can spend each hour, each minute only once. For example ...

Family and friends should be a priority, of course. Relationships are vital. Work is important and not just to earn a living or to keep the house in order. "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men" (Colossians 3:23). What about church? Church serves to further the kingdom of God and must be high on our list of priorities.

You can probably think of other things to add to this list. And we all need time to relax, otherwise we will not be able to keep going. At the end of a hard day, we may just want to sink into an armchair and watch TV or we may rush out to play tennis, go to a concert or to a Bible study group. It seems there are just not enough hours in the day to do everything we want to or ought to do.

So, what is the Christian perspective? Time management is about more than how we spend the hours of each day. It is about priorities. What do you want to do with your life? Where do you want your life to go? Only you can answer these questions for yourself. Family, work, church, hobbies are all important, but not the most important thing of all. "For it is time to seek the Lord", suggested a prophet about 2,800 years ago (Hosea 10:12). His advice is still valid today.

We tend to measure how well we have used our time by how much we have achieved. May I suggest a different way of measuring? God does not look for achievements or results. He deserves to be honoured. No question is more important to answer than this: how honouring to God is the use of our time? He has to be our priority.

To find out how this works out in practice, go to the rest of this article in our Advice section at http://www.cfnetwork.co.uk/members/advice.asp

> THIS WEEK'S NEWS

> Young carers out in the cold, say charities

Teachers, doctors and other professionals are failing to recognise the needs of significant numbers of children who care for a sick family member – according to The Children's Society and The Princess Royal Trust for Carers.

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

> Abused youngsters call on Government for help

Children and young people abused through prostitution are demanding Government help to escape from a life of ruthless sexual exploitation – a recent report has revealed.

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

> Famine help on screen in agency's youth drive

A video containing images of starving children and families is to be shown to thousands of Christian youngsters across Britain.

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

New Year hopes

Dare I ask how you are feeling right now about your marriage? For many of us Christmas is a stressful time, and so New Year can see us tense and less than happy with the way things are going.

The New Year does give us the opportunity to take stock and make a fresh start. I think it’s a good time to reflect on the good things that we have and to dream of what could be even better.

If things are going well for you both, why not ask yourself what is your greatest hope for your marriage in the coming year? Why not share it together over a bottle of wine or a meal, or a walk and decide what would make it happen?

If things are not as good as you would wish, then perhaps you could ask yourself a couple of questions:

What behaviour could I change in myself, that would strengthen our commitment to each other?

What positive thing could I do or say to my loved one to show that I am committed to loving him/her?

Happy New Year!

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> EVENTS

> YOU'VE GOT TO LAUGH ...

Things It Takes Most Of Us 50 Years To Learn

1 The badness of a movie is directly proportional to the number of helicopters in it.
2 You should never say anything to a woman that even remotely suggests you think she's pregnant unless you can see an actual baby emerging from her at that moment.
3 The one thing that unites all human beings, regardless of age, gender, religion, economic status or ethnic background, is that, deep down inside, we ALL believe that we are above-average drivers.
4 There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness".
5 People who want to share their religious views with you almost never want you to share yours with them.
6 If you had to identify, in one word, the reason why the human race has not achieved, and never will achieve, its full potential, that word would be "meetings".
7 The main accomplishment of almost all organized protests is to annoy people who are not in them.
8 You should not confuse your career with your life.
9 A person who is nice to you, but rude to the waiter/cleaner, is not a nice person.
10 When trouble arises and things look bad, there is always one individual who perceives a solution and is willing to take command. Very often, that individual is crazy.
Source: http://www.cybersalt.org/cleanlaugh

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

> Advice

> Changing your priorities for 2003

> Resources

> Chat room safety - a welcome for new Government campaign
> Unashamed for 2003 - a statement of intent that will challenge your faith
> Ken Davis says Christmas is a fat issue

> News

> Young carers out in the cold, say charities
> Abused youngsters call on Government for help
> Famine help on screen in agency's youth drive

> Top sites this week

> Oscar portal's new holiday guide
> New Scripture Union resource for small groups
> Stacks of sites for Lord of the Rings fans
> Online support for women who have had miscarriages

> Reviews: Peter Dilley on the latest from Delirious?, indigoecho, kato and Furious records

> Events: More of what's on near you

> 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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