This Source, "The Silent Agony Of Cutting," is on a touchy subject that you have probably never heard addressed in the church and probably never will again. Sadly enough, statistics say that at least 4% of the general population suffers from "this new anorexia" more commonly known as "cutting."

Listen in on a family night in Oxygen where we go after this area, no holds barred, in which the Enemy has so mercilessly gone after our students.

Though not all your students may deal with what counselors call "self-injury," chances are they know or will know someone who deals with this addictive disorder. In fact this resource will be powerfully helpful for you as you address all kinds of addictions.

Still going for the jugular,

Deep hurt in life is often hard to talk about. How do we relate to someone that we have no idea how they feel, even remotely? And we also, sometimes think no one will ever understand our levels of pain and heartache in life. We all know that pain makes us stronger...and that's great...but that doesn't always make it ok. Things like rape, divorce, accidents, sickness and death can leave us wondering, "Where were You, God?" If that question hasn't ever gone through your own head, I can guarantee it's gone through some of your students'. And, if we don't give them a safe place to process and disarm those thoughts, they can prove to be spiritually lethal. In fact, they are probably the reason for some of the empty chairs in our youth ministries today.

In this Source, I talk about how Jesus was the ultimate victim when He died for our sins. He was mistreated and abused, just as many of us were in our lives. So what do we do with that? Helping students to understand our God hurts when we hurt, He cries when we cry and is painfully aware of all that we are going through...well, that can help.

Bottom line, my heart's desire is for our students not to have an "If only things had been different" mindset, but choose instead to live "Even if..." lives. Even if I don't understand, the Christ inside of me is big enough to see me through. Even if I don't get it, I will follow Him.

Serving a God who collects my tears,

Jesus couldn't have summed it up better when He said, "In this world you will have trouble..." And, we all have the scars caused by our bad decisions to undeniably prove it! But sometimes the scars are made by others, even when we've done everything "right." Privately, they can leave us crying out to God, "Where were You?"

This Source, featuring one of my former students and a faithful pastor in the inner city Detroit area, Kevin Ramsby, helps us to answer that very question. He awoke one night to an intruder who in an attempt to rob him, repeatedly stabbed Kevin 37 times, leaving him left for dead in his own pool of blood. Remarkably, Kevin lives to tell the story and remind us where God is when we experience "Uninvited Scars."

Through the sharing of his and Joseph's story, Kevin's prayer, and mine too, is that your students...and maybe you as well...will experience the touch of God in the areas that have caused the greatest hurt and pain. As the ultimate redeemer and restorer, God can and will work for good what the Devil would love to have destroy you.

Living close to Him,

This iVolunteer resource is a COACHING RESOURCE for volunteer youth leaders who want to be the BEST they can be!

This month's iVolunteer, "How Do You Counsel A Self-Cutter?" is on a touchy subject that we can often go silent on in the church. Sadly enough, statistics say that at least 4% of the general population suffers from this "new anorexia" more commonly known as "cutting." So, though not all your students may deal with it, chances are they know or will know someone who deals with this addictive disorder.

Listen in, as I walk through a few reasons why people can turn to "self-injury" and how we can effectively minister to those who deal with this heartbreaking disorder. This resource will be powerfully helpful for you in dealing with and addressing all kinds of addictions. You may also want to check out the Source, "The Silent Agony of Cutting" that goes along with this leadership resource. It's taken from a family night in my youth ministry where we go after this area, no holds barred.

Lovingly,