So I got to thinking, what better time to start off some new habits and attitudes and get rid of some bad ones than when we all (including me) start back at school. So here are five tips for starting the 2011-2012 school year off right.

1. Commit to a Daily Time Spent with Jesus

Whether or not you are the king/queen of quiet times or struggle with spending consistent time with Jesus everyday, this is a good commitment to make as you start a new school year. Figure out a time of day when you can commit to spend a set amount of time in Bible study and prayer every day. Be intentional about spending consistent time before Jesus every day. Commit to work through a book of the Bible for the fall semester and to pray for specific things each day. Be intentional, have a plan, and enjoy spending time with Jesus.

2. Eat Better

We are incredibly unhealthy individuals. By and large, we don’t practice healthy eating in our culture, especially as young people. This is a huge struggle for me, and I’ve watched how some of you eat. Bottom line, we all need to eat just a little bit more healthy. Cut back on your carbonated beverage consumption, drink more water, eat more fruits and vegetables, and eat less sugar and fried foods. Studies do show that when you eat healthier and drink more water, you feel better and more energized. McDonald’s for a meal more than once a week is probably a bad idea.

3. Start Exercising

As you commit to eating healthier, also commit to regular exercise. No one is expecting you to workout like an Olympic-caliber athlete, but 30 minutes of exercise 3-4 times a week would greatly improve all of health overall. Like spending committed time with Jesus, be intentional here. Pick three days a week at a specific time to set aside for exercise.

4. Get More Sleep

More times than not, when I ask each of you how you are, you respond “I’m tired.” Come to find out each of you are operating on maybe 6 hours of sleep a night, often less than that. You spend all day at school, doing extra-curricular activities, working jobs, doing homework, spending times with friends and family, that you end up getting very little sleep as a routine. Lack of sleep effects all areas of life, but in particular a lack of sleep will affect your mood and your performance in school. Work hard to get close to 8 hours of sleep a day, and don’t stay up late just to stay up. Sometimes you will be unable to avoid being up late and getting very little sleep, but if you can avoid it you should.

5. Stop Procrastinating

Teenagers and twenty-somethings are notorious procrastinators. Procrastination is not busyness that keeps you from getting done what you need to, it’s a choice to “put off until later what you could do right now.” My advice to you for this new school year: stop procrastinating! Don’t make a habit of working on your big paper or studying for the big test the night before it’s due. Spread out homework and studying throughout the week, and you’ll rarely have to do it last minute, which stresses you out and can hinder the quality of your work. Don’t procrastinate anymore!

These are five things I’m going to work on in my own life as we start this next school year, and I encourage you to join me in this. The school year is coming, let’s start it off right!

Back 2 School Bash is going down this Friday night, August 19!. Meet at the church at 6:30pm and have your parents pick you up at Midnight.

The cost is $15 per person, which includes Broomball and food.

Come join us for good food, live music, Broomball, fun games, and the best time you can possibly have before school gets started!

1. Sunday night Bible study is back on each Sunday night @ 6pm in the SMAC. We are studying Made to Make a Difference by Max Lucado. Don’t miss out!

2. Collide is back on this week. We are in our sixth week on the Life of Joseph. See you @ 6:28!

3. Sunday July 31 is Observation Sunday in preparation for Youth-Led Sunday on August 7. Meet in the SMAC @ 9:45 and Ryan will tell you where you are teaching. If you have a preference, talk with Ryan before Sunday.

See you Wednesday night at Collide!

Since we are not having Collide tonight due to VBS, here are some important announcements you should probably pay attention to.

1. Tomorrow (Thursday), if you are available for about 30 minutes, come up and help us tear down the subway in the education building upstairs. Meet at the church at 9:30am and we will be done by 10am.

2. Bible study is back on as normal this Sunday night at 6:00pm in the SMAC. We will continue our series Made to Make a Difference. You’re not going to want to miss out.

3. Next Sunday, July 31, will be observation Sunday in preparation for Youth-Led Sunday the next week. Signups are in the back of the SMAC for you to choose a class you would like to teach. If you don’t sign up for a particular class, I’ll assign you.

4. Also next Sunday, July 31, we will be having a training session to prepare you for teaching on Youth-Led Sunday. We will meet at 5:00pm and prepare you for the different classes you will be teaching.

5. The Back 2 School Bash is going down on Friday August 19 from 6:30pm until Midnight. Live music, broomball, good food, why would you not come?

It’s not too late to come up and help with VBS. See you tonight at 5:45 if you are going to help.

Wednesday saw another day of Kids Camp, and a lot of getting to hang out with the neighborhood kids and talking with them about Jesus. Our students had a lot of fun this day, and the neighborhood kids seemed to enjoy themselves as well. That afternoon Proclamation went to a food pantry and didn’t some work for them while the rest of the group went out canvassing for Mississippi Ave. (the church we stayed at) for an upcoming outreach event they were having. We spent that evening having a worship service at an outdoor amphitheater near the park where we did camp. Some of the Edge Church’s staff came out to worship with us, and we ended the evening hanging out with them at a local Sonic.

Thursday saw the last day of Kids Camp happen. It was all around a great morning, with a few of the neighborhood kids crying and begging our students not to go back to Texas. I think that struck a chord with our students at just how great of an impact they can have in ministry. After camp, we drove down to Colorado Springs and spent the afternoon at Garden of the Gods. It’s an outdoor nature area that provides some beautiful terrain for hiking. Proclamation got to sing in the visitor’s center and we spent some time outdoors. That evening we went back to MABC and had a good time of relaxation.

Friday and Saturday were devoted entirely to travel. We spent Friday night in the BSM at Wayland Baptist University, and arrived home in Grand Prairie early Saturday afternoon.

I’d like to thank Matthew Road for letting us do this. I like doing youth camp this way because it allows our students to be focused on God’s glory and loving other people rather than themselves, and I’m so thankful the church allows us to do this. Thank you for all your prayers and your support. I greatly appreciate it and I know the students do as well.