Get Outta My Face - Chapter 1

Thursdays in the coming months I will update chapter by chapter from a book I'm reading, "Get Outta My Face! How to Reach Angry, Unmotivated Teens with Biblical Counsel" The first chapter is entitled "There is Good Reason for Hope"  This chapter introduces the premise for the book, that essentially we are weak sinful people trying to work with other weak sinful people who happen to be younger(23).  Even though this was an introduction type chapter there was a few good nuggets.

1. The importance of presentation is key.  The author says "your first words to an angry teen will strongly push that interaction toward one of two outcomes: your words being received, thus beginning a conversation, or a 'Get outta my face' response, thus shutting it all down.  Presentation, the way we approach our teen and start to talk, can make or break effective communication"(19).  It's one thing to help someone out it's another thing to present the help in a harmful or misleading way.  
2. "It's a 'truth' matter that the Spirit alone can bring to lodge in our teen's heart so that he may be 'set free' (John 8:32) from the angry, complacent, self-destructive, and hurtful patterns of his life" (22).  What a good reminder that even if we do all the "right things" it is the sovereignty of God's spirit that will move in a person's life to set them free.  
3. "Biblical principles are timeless, cross-cultural, cross-gender, and not limited by learning disabilities or ADHD diagnoses" (23).  It's good to be reminded that no behavioral issue is to big to overcome the work God and His word can do in one's life.  And these issues do NOT render the Word of God ineffective.  

Feel free to leave comments about this below!  I will respond to comments!  Chapter 2 will be up next Thursday.