INFO for Families

"If I Could Do it All Over Again" - Friday, October 1

The next big event offered by the Family Ministry at Johnson Ferry this fall will be a very special "Couples Night Out for Every Generation."

On Friday night, October 1, 2010 from 7:00-9:30 PM, we're inviting couples from every generation in our church to come together for a special and fun evening of marriage enrichment.

This multi-generational event will feature a panel of experienced older couples sharing lessons learned from a lifetime of marriage. Combine that with an interactive trivia game, round table discussions with couples of all ages, and hilarious entertainment from Bean and Bailey, and you’ve got the perfect date night.

Bean and Bailey have been described as “a hip, young Smothers Brothers.” Older couples might know what that means. The rest of you can enjoy the fact that Bean and Bailey are young and hip. You can find video clips of them all over the web, but here's a taste if you're interested. 

Dessert will be served and childcare for birth through 5^th grade will be available (with reservation).

You can register NOW by going directly to the Johnson Ferry registration site here. And as always, if you have questions, feel free to call Elisabeth at 678-784-5230.

CoupleWise - Small Group Mentoring this Fall at Johnson Ferry

I mentioned about a week ago that I was going to use the INFO for Families blog to give you a heads-up about some key ministries for families coming soon to Johnson Ferry.

 

If your marriage would benefit from the experience and insight of an older couple..someone who has “been there and done that,” then here's something to put on your radar:  

 

CoupleWise will provide married couples the opportunity to grow together in a Biblically-based small group environment. Starting in September, groups will meet in homes a manageable four or five times a semester and be led by an older couple who is a life-stage ahead of the group. Our hope is that couples will benefit both from the life experience of their “mentors” and the encouragement of their peers.

 

Features of CoupleWise include:

 

*Individual couples placed in a group of similar life-stage and needs.  Already established small groups can continue to meet together; we’ll provide you with a mentor couple.

 

*Casual meetings filled with food, laughter, and intentional relationships.

 

*Johnson Ferry helping to offset your childcare expenses.

 

*Teaching and discussion topics determined by each group. No outside study required.

 

*Providing another great way to get connected at Johnson Ferry.

 

 You can sign up online at this registration page or by calling Elisabeth O’Brien at 678-784-3250.  We’ll also do our best to answer your questions. Please register by August 23. 

Marriage Mentoring by Les Parrott

Dr. Les Parrott, along with his wife, Leslie, are the authors of The Complete Guide to Marriage Mentoring.

Throughout human history mentoring has been the primary means of passing on knowledge and skills. In the Greek epic The Odyssey, the hero Odysseus had an elderly friend and adviser named Mentor. Before Odysseus went to fight in the Trojan War, he made Mentor the guardian of his son, Telemachus. The Bible is also filled with examples of mentoring (Eli and Samuel, Elijah and Elisha, Moses and Joshua, Naomi and Ruth, Elizabeth and Mary, Barnabas and Paul, Paul and Timothy).

But mentoring is in short supply these days. In our modern age, the learning process has shifted. It now relies primarily on computers, classrooms, books and videos. In most cases today the relational connection between the knowledgeable and experienced giver and the receiver of that wisdom has weakened or is nonexistent—especially in the early years of marriage.

Lessons from the Game of Golf

There’s a problem with my golf game:  I love to play, but I’m not any good.  In fact, I stink.  Over the years, I’ve employed various strategies to improve.  For example, I’ve tried…

 

*Gaining more experience.  Playing more often didn’t help. While I learned to cope with my weaknesses, my game didn’t improve a single bit.

 

*Watching others.  It didn’t make a difference.  Certainly, I could pick up on some things they did right, but translating that into my own swing was near impossible.

 

*Trying really hard and hoping for the best.  I reasoned that if I wanted to hit farther, I should swing harder.   If you know anything about golf, you know how that turned out.

 

Failure on all these fronts made me realize that I needed to try something different.  I finally discovered the one thing that could make a significant impact on my game. 

 

I took a lesson. 

 

Having someone to coach me on my specific needs and issues made all the difference in the world.  I was able to identify those things that I was doing wrong and begin to take deliberate steps to move toward a better golf game.