​Road trips are awesome. Whether you’re heading to the mountains with your family or to the beach with your friends, the idea of packing up, grabbing your favorite snacks, planning the perfect playlist, and hitting the road just sounds like an adventure. And it is! Maybe that’s because new places are always exciting, or maybe it’s just that, more than anywhere else, the unexpected seems to happen on the road. Flat tires. Detours. Surprisingly great lunch stops. Disappointingly awful gas stations. The unexpected is just part of the trip. Life works a lot like that, too. We start with a plan in mind, but things happen along the way that change our plans, change our minds, or even change our relationships. That’s when we have to decide to stick to the plan or change course. This was especially true for the apostle Paul. Long before GPS or interstates, Paul set out on a series of road trips, and just like us, he experienced some surprising, even life-changing moments on the road. As we take a look at some key turning points on Paul’s road trips, we discover that maybe the best thing that can happen on our journey is a change of direction.

 By Kara Powell

“I just wish my parents would realize I’m not who I was in middle school. Their picture of me never changes—even though I’ve changed.”

Without knowing it, this 17 year-old’s complaint about her parents’ inability to appreciate her growth triggered an internal alarm in me. Since our kids—now ages 16, 14, and 10—have been infants, my husband and I have seen their unique personalities emerge.

One of our kids almost never complains—even when they should exert themselves more. Another one . . . well, let’s just say that no one has ever accused her of not complaining enough.

One of our kids has been an introvert since she was a toddler. She has two good friends and that’s all she needs. Our other daughter is an off-the-chart extrovert. She loses count of her friends. Literally.

It’s good that I know my kids’ tendencies. It’s bad when I become so fixated on those tendencies that I don’t see how they are changing.
In this series, your students are going to realize change is possible. More than that, change is inevitable as we encounter Jesus.

Our hero in these three lessons, the Apostle Paul, realized this firsthand. After Jesus got his attention, he changed from being one of the greatest persecutors of Christians to being one of the greatest builders of the church. Paul let Jesus change him.

As your students similarly let Jesus change them, they might start acting a little differently. All of a sudden, your son is a bit less selfish and empties the dishwasher without being asked. Or your step-daughter chooses on her own to put down her phone in the car so the two of you can talk.

We hope you know your kids and how God has uniquely molded them. But we also hope you know that God’s love and grace continues to shape them into new creations with new personalities, new victories, and new struggles.
​
Parenting. It’s never boring. 

So how can we pay attention to—and support—the ways our kids are changing?

1. Make a list of ways your son or daughter is different now than they were a year or two ago. How do you feel about those changes? Which do you applaud? Which make you anxious? 
2. Talk to your child about (some or all of) your list, making sure you talk at least three times more about the changes you applaud than those that make you anxious. And in fact, start with the good stuff. We are all more open to critique if we have first felt affirmed and understood.
3. Ask your child two questions about what you’ve shared: What do you disagree with? And, what makes sense or feels right to you? In my experience with my own two teenagers, they are far more likely to agree with certain observations I’ve made if they first have a chance to express what they disagree with. 
4. Share with your child an area of your life that you hope can change. Invite your child to do the same. 
5. Pray that God will make that change a reality, just as He did so powerfully with Paul two thousand years ago. 

​                                                          ©2016 The reThink Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

​This week, here’s one thing to remember about the middle school phase. Because of the way their brains are developing right now, middle schoolers have a tough time thinking about the future. This probably won’t come as much of a shock, but parts of their brain aren’t yet fully formed—including the part of their brain that helps them consider the consequences of their actions. As a result, the future isn’t usually a priority for them and whatever’s happening right now feels really, really important. That’s why your few need adults who will help them think more about how their choices now will affect their lives later, and who will also remember to be patient with them because, after all, they are still middle schoolers!

Share a high and a low from the past week.

If you could plan your own Happiest Day Ever, what would you plan?
When you’re having a bad day, what’s one way you sometimes try to cheer yourself up?

​What’s one thing that might make you happier now, but will make you unhappy later?
Why do you think it’s so tempting to care more about feeling happy now than being happy later?

What do you think Jesus meant when He said he wants us to have life “to the full”?
What’s one way following Jesus can help us find happiness later?
What’s one way following Jesus can help us find happiness now?
​This week, what’s one area where you need to start thinking about both now and later?

Holy God, our strength and our redeemer, by your Spirit hold us forever, that through your grace we may worship you and faithfully serve you, follow you and joyfully find you, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. AMEN.

Go in peace, living life to the fullest in Christ.
Thanks be to God!

Mark the Cross of Christ on each others foreheads as a remembrance of your baptism and say these words...

"(Name) you are a beloved Child of God."

There are a lot of reasons why leading a small group of middle schoolers is the best job ever. But here’s one big reason: in middle school, students have the potential to truly make their faith their own, in a brand new way, for the very first
time. Because middle schoolers are beginning to think more abstractly about themselves and the world around them, this is the first time in their lives that they’re capable of asking hard questions like, “Is this my parents’ faith? Or is it mine?” This week, as you talk about “making peace” with God, remember that one of your students may be wrestling with this exact question. And guess what! You get to be a voice of influence in their lives during this incredibly crucial stage. That’s a really big deal!

Share a high and a low from the past week.
What was your happiest moment last week?
What about your unhappiest?​

What do you think it means to have “peace” with other people?
When we’re not “at peace” with someone in our lives, how does it affect our happiness?
What are some examples of sin? How can those sins kill our happiness?
What does being a Sinner & Saint mean to you?
What does it mean to make peace with God?
How can being at peace with God help you experience real happiness?
What’s one thing you can do this week to make peace with God?

O God, strength of all who hope in you, because we are weak mortals we accomplish nothing good without you. Help us to see and understand the things we ought to do, and give us grace and power to do them, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.

​If we took a minute to think back on our own middle school years, there’s probably one thing we’d all have in common: the emotions. The same is true for your middle schoolers today. Thanks to their hormones and their changing brains, these years can be emotionally tumultuous. They’re feeling more emotions than ever—at a deeper level than ever before—and they’re struggling to understand and control those emotions. Often, a middle schooler can’t understand what they’re feeling, why they’re feeling it, or what to do with those feelings. But don’t worry! They’ll grow into those new emotions soon enough. Keep that in mind as you talk about “happiness.” Your few may be more aware than ever before just how elusive “happiness” can be.

Share a high and a low from the past week.
​What’s the happiest moment you’ve ever had?

These questions are just a guide to opening up discussion with your family. Feel free to skip over or add as you feel fit! More importantly, create meaningful conversation!

Why do you think our things can’t keep us happy for very long?
Why do you think Jesus tells us to love people, but not things?
Who are the people who have made your life happier?
How does fighting with, or drifting away from, the people you love affect your happiness?
What’s one example of how our things can come between us and the people we love?
What’s one thing you can do this week to love your things a little less?
What’s one thing you can do this week to love people a little more?

​Almighty God, you have filled all the earth with the light of your incarnate Word. By your grace empower us to reflect your light in all that we do, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.