CONVERSATION STARTER: "My Senses"
LESSON APPLICATION- Parents + Youth/Teens- “Protecting My Senses”
Welcome to our new 7 Step Experience for Parents & their Youth/Teens. This has been designed as a chance for parents and kids to connect with a specific School of Love topic 7 times! 3 of the Steps are done individually and 4 of the steps together. This gives an opportunity to dive deeper into learning and hold natural more bite sized conversations together. It includes links to a Parent Blog + a separate Youth/Teen Blog. Created based off of field input. As parenting a teen is very different from a young child, have we updated our lesson format to be more conversational. (Whereas lessons for the Sprouts & Kids age group are more parent led.) Make this experience your own and what you need: you can do this over the course of a day, week or even a month. Here we go!
My son or daughter will be able to:
Recognize the constant overstimulation of our senses in this ever changing world and God's beautiful ideal for them. THINK
Feel appreciation & a sense of ownership for their God given senses. FEEL
Filter their sensual input, choosing the positive influences. DO
STEP #1. PARENT BLOG
PARENT PREP
**NEW: Parents- Read this BLOG first! Take time to prepare yourself before sitting down together with your child.
STEP #2. PASS THE TORCH
PARENT Invite Teen to join in on this journey
Parent Introduce: I look forward to discovering together about "Protecting My Senses". Share the new Youth/Teen blog link with your child. Ask them to read it and let them know you’re looking forward to discussing and praying about it together after, that you look fwd to learning more about your child, being there for them and also sharing your story.
STEP #3. YOUTH/TEEN BLOG
YOUTH/TEEN PREP
**NEW: Youth/Teens- Read this BLOG first before this lesson!
STEP #4. GATHER TOGETHER: Topic Intro
LESSON TOPIC: “Protecting My Senses"
PURPOSE: Thanking God for our amazing senses and finding ways to filter what comes into our body and life through them.
INSPIRATIONS:
“We have five senses that enable us to see, hear, smell, feel, and taste. These would have been used centering upon perfect love, and eyes, ears, nose, hands, and mouth, each with their senses, would have all become perfected by centering on love. To experience things with our five senses centering on love is an exquisite state. It is like a state of intoxication, only with love. You feel intoxicated by the environment, experiencing a reciprocal relationship with every other being. One never feels alone.” - Rev. Moon - “Total Indemnity” April 3, 1983
“Watch your thoughts because they become your words, watch your words because they become your actions, watch your action because they become your habits, watch your habits because they become your character, watch your character because it becomes your destiny.” - Author Unknown
OBJECT LESSON:
Materials: napkin + liquid (preferably colored)
This napkin is you. This liquid represents all of the input we receive all around us through our senses. Dip the napkin in the drink. Watch it soak up and change. Just like this napkin soaks it all up- we are constantly soaking in the world around us. So it’s up to us whether we soak in negative or positive energy into our body, heart, mind and soul.
TODAY’S TOPIC:
As you already read about in this blog…
God gave us our 5 senses so that we might be intoxicated with the beauty of life. But in today's world we can be overstimulated. So how can we filter the good from the bad?
STEP #5. SHARE & PRAY TOGETHER: Part 1
DISCUSSION Starters:
Reality: The world knows that the best way to sell to you is through stimulating your senses.
Share an example of a media campaign trying to sell us something through one of our senses? (facebook AD, a tv commercial, billboard, Vegas etc)
What’s an example of a positive AD you’ve come across? (ie. Ads about helping others, acts of kindness, self help books, counseling ADs, healthy recipes etc)
What’s an example of an AD you’ve come across that upon clicking on or involving yourself with will create a negative impact on your life? (ie. pornography, overly violent or sexual video games, youtube challenges that hurt others, songs that use cuss words and promote sexual objectification etc)
How do these kinds of Ads make you feel?
Ideal: Ideally our senses protect us and help us experience the beauty of this life and world.
What’s an example of how our senses can protect us? (ie touch: can detect a hot stove, nose can smell smoke from a fire etc)
What are some of your favorite ways to experience your sense of: touch, taste, smell, sight, hearing? (ie hugs, chocolate, lavender, nature, classical music)
Tips: The world is constantly overstimulating us from all angles, what are some ways we can choose healthy content in our lives?
2 min tip:
Download a positive or scripture quote app on your phone- read a quote when you wake up to start your day.
5 min tip:
Make daily time to pray and share with God what’s on your heart
Write a goal in a journal each day to give yourself a clear focus & drive
Listen to a song that positively uplifts your soul & spirit
10 min tip:
Daily Devotional with prayer & study
Watch a School of Love video & reflect on it
Go All out:
Join a church community or support group
Take a challenge like the High Noon Sexual Integrity Challenge
Make a lifestyle pledge like the HJ Promise
How can we work on this together and support each other?
PRAY Together:
Ask for strength when we’re tempted
Ask for courage to remember this moment today and commit to choosing positive influences in our life
Ask for joy to share our positive steps and choices with others and to feel proud of even small milestones (because many small steps lead to big victory)
Ask for consistency to keep up with our goals and dreams for our life
STEP #6. HOME FUN- Application Ownership
Note- Here are some ideas for you to continue applying and learning and growing separately & together over the next week with some "homework". (If you’d like to use any of these ideas today- go for it!) Make the lesson your own and do what you need.
MUSIC & VIDEOS:
Some Good News- with John Krazinski
Brain, Heart, World- Discover the harmful affects of Pornography, Documentary by Fight the New Drug
Protecting Your 5 Senses, School of Love Animation
The Power of Words | Taylor Bertolini | TEDxNSU - Tedx Talks
Protecting Your Senses- the Affects of Pornography - by Andrew Love with School of Love
CREATIVE WRITING PROMPTS:
Creative a “Positive Marketing Ad” that stimulates your senses in a God centered way!
Binoculars: Draw binoculars. In one of the lenses draw images of things that bring joy to your senses. In the other lense draw things that negatively impact your soul and heart. You can make a big “X” through the lens that impacts you negatively. This visual can serve as a reminder to choose good content in your life.
Song: Write a love song or other type of song- that stimulates our senses in a positive, God centered way.
ARTICLES:
Buyer Beware Blog by High Noon
EXPERIENCES:
Find different ways to surround yourself with positive stimuli. Try out variety- and see what works best for you.
Listen to a Christian Radio Station only for 1 week
STEP #7. SHARE & PRAY TOGETHER: Part 2
DISCUSSION Starters:
Realizations- Going Deeper
How did writing, reading, watching, reflecting & applying further on the topic impact you?
Any further realizations, thoughts, insights?
How’s it been going trying to apply the “tips” from the lesson?
How can we support each other continuously?
PRAY TOGETHER:
Thank God for your child. Thank God for your relationship and opportunities to go deep together and to learn and share and grow together. And for God to have entrusted you to support your child in their life journey. Thank God for what you’ve realized and learned so far and ask your Heavenly Parent to continuously guide your family.
THE END.
Congratulations on completing the 7 Steps of this School of Love Topic as a Parent + Child!
