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Support Spiritual Parenting in the Cope Home
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God spoke the word 'house parent' to Tracey in 2007.
Looking back through old youth group photos and emails, we've been spiritual parents for about 120 teenagers from 2001 to 2010.
We started doing prayer ministry with teens in 2011 helping them
find God's freedom for them from the effects of personal & generational sin
as well as walking with them through specific issues.
It comes down to being open to the Holy Spirit leading
and creating time, space and a peaceful environment where
teens feel loved and safe enough to deal with their stuff
and give God permission to show up and help them.
It's not magical. It's not about Tracey or Drew.
It's just being safe people who create safe spaces for these teens
by making Jesus our number one priority.
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February 2012 newsletter
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This is where you can help. When our bills are covered, God has given us
the emotional capacity and stamina to devote an enormous amount of time
to this ministry to teens. However, when the bills seem to loom over the
bank account balances, we have to invest more time in income producing ventures like
Cope Home Services
and Shedding For The Wedding.us shifting time away from the ministry we've been blessed to do.
If God is truly calling us to be missionaries to these kids who come into our home,
it is our desire to devote as little time as possible to "businesses" so that we
can invest the maximum time available to us, directly into the lives of young people.
Your one time or monthly donation helps us do this.
It frees us to truly focus
on the calling on our lives to these teens!!
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Make a one time donation
of any amount now!
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Some of these students don't know what it means to have dinner with their family.
So in response, we go grocery shopping as a family. Tracey shows them how we get
online and print coupons, and then how we
price shop and compare prices by unit price or volume to make sure we're getting the best deal.
We talk about healthy food options and meal planning, and how to pick good ingredients. Then
Tracey teaches them how to prepare the food in a healthy way. Then we all sit down and have dinner
together. (So if you are more comfortable donating gift cards, we shop at Giant, Redners, Acme, Walmart, & Sunoco.)
For some of our teens, having a family discussion about 'what is healthy and appropriate to watch
on television in the evening' is a totally new experience for them. Some of them never watched a rented
movie with both their parents before. We've taught two of our kids how to drive the lawnmower and cut the
grass, so we can do yard work "as a family." We helped one parentless young woman learn to parallel
park so that she could pass her driving test and get her license. In prayer, we've seen teens set free
from chronic night terrors, inabilities to cry and express emotion in healthy ways, sexual addictions, and
so much more! Praise God. Your donations free us from entrepreneurial pursuits, to be a tangible expression
of our Heavenly Father's love in their lives. Thank You for helping us love teenagers!!
Why aren't you making $50k a year doing web pages or working in business?
Because this is what God has called us to.
This is what he wants us to do with our lives.
There are teens in this world who need guidance, love, support, mentoring
and a safe place to hang out and have fun. We could share with you
story after story about teens dealing will all kinds of hard situations: divorce,
alcoholic parents, constant fighting, drugs, peer pressure to be popular or cool,
bullying at school, etc.
So here we are, doing our best to befriend & walk with our teens through this
critical time in their lives.
What drives you?
1Thesslonians 2:6-12 (NIV)
6We were not looking for praise from men, not from you or anyone else. As apostles of Christ we could have been a burden to you, 7but we were gentle among you, like a mother caring for her little children.
8We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us. 9Surely you remember, brothers, our toil and hardship; we worked night and day in order not to be a burden to anyone while we preached the gospel of God to you.
10You are witnesses, and so is God, of how holy, righteous and blameless we were among you who believed.
11For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, 12encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory.
1 TIM 4:12
Let no-one look down on you because you are young, but be an example to the believers in word, conduct, love, spirit, faith and purity.
Ps 71:17-18
Since my youth, O God, you have taught me, and to this day I declare your marvelous deeds. Even when I am old and gray, do not forsake me, O God, till I declare your power to the next generation, your might to all who are to come.
3 John 1:4
I have no greater joy than this, to hear of [the youth] walking in the truth.
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