We hope your day is filled with heart smiles. We hope you plant heart smile seeds in at least one heart today. The following notes were part of the message that we shared on 2-27-15 at Gate View Ministries. We shared the story of what God is doing through Youth With A Purpose

God gave me two words to start the year (I asked Him for one!) – Ask and Exult. My word became Askxult – the act of giving praise in the same breath of petition. The act of giving thanks in the midst of seeking.

The word God gave me for youth in Arizona is “Travail”. Change happens when we travail in prayer. Are you travailable? Do you have travailability? Galatians 4:19

The Book of Ezekiel continues to speak to me about youth ministry.

Ezekiel 2:10 And he spread it before me and it was written within and without and there was written therein lamentations and mourning and woe.

Ezekiel 3:10 Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, all my wrds that I shall speak unto thee receive in thine heart, and hear with thine ears.

Ezekiel 9:3-4 And the glory of the Lord of Israel was gone up from the cherub whereupon he was to the treshold of the house. And he called to the man clothed with linen, which had the writers inkhorn by his side. And the Lord said to him, go throughout the midst of the city through the midst of Jerusalem. And set mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof.

God has given us the message of salvation to instill in the hearts of children.

How can you spread the message succinctly?
Smile and give somebody a peace sign as you say: "It's good to see ya!"

Within the Alpha and Omega are the in-between's and the before's and the after's.

Begin with the end construct in mind, even the Benjamites looked good in the end. 

“Where does my help come from, my help comes from the Lord. Ps 121:1-2

My hope comes from Him. Ps 62:5

We are urban deliverers. We are salvationists. We are travailers. We teach longsuffering as the key to compassionate commitment in youth ministry 

Salvation comes from the Lord. Jonah 2:9

There were many deliverers n the tribe of Benjamin in the big picture over a long period of time. However there were also many dogs and sexually moral were outside of salvation with no understanding of revelation and the tribe was almost annihilated after the concubine was killed. That disgusting record of events is told in Judges 19 -21

Rev 22:13-17

“In the beginning” - “Amen.”

“God created the heaven and the earth” - “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.”

“And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep” - “Even so, come, Lord Jesus.”

“And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters” - “He which testifieth these things saith.

Surely I come quickly. Amen.”

There is a murder “ Even so, come, Lord Jesus.”

There is a lie - “Even so, come, Lord Jesus.”

There is destruction - “Even so, come, Lord Jesus.”

Please let us know if you have any thoughts or questions. Thanks for your time. Go do something nice for somebody.

Jesus loves you and so do we - JLYASDW

PLEASE STOP CUTTING YOURSELF.
You are more than a cutter, you are loved.

It's time to separate from your cutting ways and experience love. You are perfect exactly the way you are right now. The way you think, the way you feel and the way you look is perfect. I can prove that.

In all the world, there's only one you that's ever been created.
There's none like you in the past.
There's none like you in the present.
There's none like you in the future. 
There is a purpose for your life. 
If you don't become all that you were destined to be, then you've wasted you.

Perfection is a growth process. In the soil of your heart is a seed of love.Within that seed is the image and likeness of Love. Yeah, the seed inside you is the God who made you and loves you. The seed of love will grow when you break down the walls of self-loathing surrounding your heart. Ask God to show you his love and he will.

Jesus was cut so that you don't have to. 
His head was cut by a crown of thorns.
His hands and feet were cut by nails.
His side was cut by a spear.
His heart was cut by sin.

God loved you so much that he allowed Jesus to be cut for you. Raise the blade away from your skin the way Jesus was raised on a cross. He died for all of the self-loathing sins of all of us - me and you. He died for the cutting sin that separates us from the love of God. Raise the blade away from your skin the way Jesus was raised from the dead so that we could have a life in heaven where cutting no longer exists.

You don't deserve shame. You don't deserve the insults. You don't deserve the bullying. You don't deserve all that you've endured. God's enduring love can make all things work for good if you will only believe in his love. The butterfly has to struggle out of the cocoon. The diamond is made from stress and pressure. The pearl is made from an irritant in an oyster. A muscle doesn't grow stronger unless it is ripped. The Saguaro has to let part of it's flesh die to form a boot where a nest of new life will grow. The ground has to be broken to plant a seed. This is your season to embrace love and let the grace of God pour his mercy upon your heart. You were born for such a time as this.

Romans 8:31-39 The Message 
"So, what do you think? With God on our side like this, how can we lose? If God didn’t hesitate to put everything on the line for us, embracing our condition and exposing himself to the worst by sending his own Son, is there anything else he wouldn’t gladly and freely do for us? And who would dare tangle with God by messing with one of God’s chosen? Who would dare even to point a finger? The One who died for us—who was raised to life for us!—is in the presence of God at this very moment sticking up for us. Do you think anyone is going to be able to drive a wedge between us and Christ’s love for us? There is no way! Not trouble, not hard times, not hatred, not hunger, not homelessness, not bullying threats, not backstabbing, not even the worst sins listed in Scripture:

They kill us in cold blood because they hate you.
We’re sitting ducks; they pick us off one by one.
None of this fazes us because Jesus loves us. I’m absolutely convinced that nothing—nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable—absolutely nothing can get between us and God’s love because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us."

Romans 8:5-8 The Message 
"Those who think they can do it on their own end up obsessed with measuring their own moral muscle but never get around to exercising it in real life. Those who trust God’s action in them find that God’s Spirit is in them—living and breathing God! Obsession with self in these matters is a dead end; attention to God leads us out into the open, into a spacious, free life. Focusing on the self is the opposite of focusing on God. Anyone completely absorbed in self ignores God, ends up thinking more about self than God. That person ignores who God is and what he is doing. And God isn’t pleased at being ignored."

Thanks for your time. Go do something nice for somebody.
JLYASDW

    We hope your day is filled with heart smiles. We need your help to create more than heart smiles for inner-city kids. For the past 12 years, YWAP has tried to help children overcome poverty and violence. There have been some successes, but we have only touched the tip of a huge problem.
     Poverty is a mindset that can occur regardless of how much money you have. Poverty is a deficit of compassion in a particular area of your heart. At YWAP, we give inner-city children the social and emotional skills to overcome poverty and violence. We need your help to take the next step in helping thousands of kids learn how to become overcomers. 
     We are trying to structure all of our programs with components that will teach the discipline needed to maintain a relationship with an employer. People who understand self-confidence make better employees. Here are the keywords that are the foundation of the YWAP Program for Overcomers & Overachievers
1.   Compassion
2.   Self-discipline
3.   Servanthood
4.   Perseverance
5.   Resiliency
6.   Flexibility
7.   Availability
8.   Openness
9.   Initiative
10. Personal Evaluation 

How can you help?

• If you are an employer who needs employees or you have a program that teaches job skills, please call us.
  
• If you have a gym that we can use for athletics and teaching, please call us. We use sports in a variety of ways including character education and job readiness. We focus on giving kids the social and emotional skills to overcome poverty and violence.
• We have a giving opportunity coming up on March 19 through the United Way's SpringitOn Campaign. You can donate online under our name Youth With A Purpose. The money will be used to help inner-city children learn the social and emotional skills needed to overcome poverty and violence.

Thanks for your time. Go do something nice for somebody.
JLYASDW 

     On Thursday, (2-19-15) we made a video for the Worldwide Young Men of Character Conference in Buffalo, New York. On the video, we promised that we would make the notes from our presentation available on our website. Good character includes keeping your word - we have posted our notes as we said we would. If you have questions, comments or would like us to help you build a mentoring program please contact us. [email protected], 716-830-8240.

Saguaro Cactus Boot Camp of Character

     It's good to see ya! I'm Bob Kuebler from Youth With A Purpose and the man behind the camera who's the brains behind making this video is Alex Stroke. Thanks Alex for caring enough to help make this video, your actions reveal the character of your heart. This video is being made as part of the Worldwide Young Men of Character Conference in Buffalo, NY. We're here to share with you some life changing information about leadership and mentoring.

If you missed the Conference you can watch the video here: http://youtu.be/5p4QJc2bm3g



Responsibility is Intentional

     What You Do Is A Witness To Who You Are - The way you walk, the words you speak and how you treat people reveals the contents of your heart.

     Whether you like it or not, you are a mentor. In fact, everyone is a mentor. The same goes for leadership; everyone is a leader, although sometimes a good leader knows how to be a follower. Mentoring and leadership can both be described as voluntary and involuntary. Voluntary mentors take the lead in helping someone build solid moral character based on self-discipline that leads to good decision-making. Involuntary mentors influence people who imitate their actions without being told to do so. If a high school student throws trash on the ground or bullies another student, other students may follow their lead. The influence on the behavior of other students may be unintentional and involuntary, HOWEVER - YOU ARE STILL RESPONSIBLE! If someone follows in your footsteps and does what they saw you do, you are just as guilty as they are, for the crime they committed..

What If You Were A Cactus?
     Let's pretend that you're a Saguaro Cactus. This is a Saguaro Cactus. The Saguaro Cactus is the largest cactus in the world and lives in the desert, the Sonora Desert to be exact. The Sonora Desert covers most of Arizona along with parts of Mexico and California. Right now, I'm standing in Arizona. The Saguaro is covered with needles that help diffuse heat from the hot desert sun that reaches temperatures as high as 120 degrees Fahrenheit. Native Americans used to use the needles as sewing needles. Some folks are very hard to get close to, it's like they have needles.

     Before we plug into the Cactus as a metaphor regarding your character and mentoring, let me give you a brief overview of the characteristics of the Saguaro Cactus. This beautiful cactus only grows about one inch per year. They can grow up to sixty feet tall and live up to 200 years. There was one cactus that lived to be approximately 300 years old and was nicknamed "Grandpa." The cactus can grow many arms or remain as a "spear." They will grow flowers in the spring that may produce seeds. The flowers have to be pollinated before the seeds can reproduce more cacti. Woodpeckers will peck a hole in the Saguaro and excavate a deep cavity as it takes the flesh right out of the cactus. The Saguaro then secretes a resinous sap called lignin. The wound in the cactus becomes calloused and hardens into a smooth, waterproof boot. The process takes about a year to complete and the bird returns to raise a young family. That's enough information about the Saguaro for now; let's move into your character and leadership as it relates to the Saguaro.

    Brokenness and the Saguaro Boot     
     You need to recognize the wounds of other people and yourself. You need to recognize that struggle and brokenness is a natural part of life. Butterflies struggle out of their cocoon, diamonds are made from stress and pressure, a pearl is made from an irritant, a muscle must tear before it becomes stronger, the farmer must break the ground before he can plant and the Saguaro must have death in its flesh before a woodpecker can nest and bring forth new life.

     The cactus will swell with water when it rains - conserving it and using it slowly because the rain may not come again for a while. The Holy Spirit wants to indwell inside you. He wants to heal your wounds.

A. W. Tozer once wrote, "It is doubtful whether God can bless a man greatly until he has hurt him deeply." God has a mission for your life and mine. But before we can carry out that mission, we will often go through the boot camp of adversity. If this is where you find yourself today, ask God to give you His grace to walk through this time with you. He promised He would never leave or forsake us.

     Thank you for sharing your time with us today. The notes for the Saguaro Boot Camp can be found on our website at youthwithapurpose.org. Leave us a message or your questions and we will be happy to do some more sharing with you.  If you're at the Conference in Buffalo, NY, my good friend Kobe Lewis will take over at this point. Kobe is a rock star who has a heart as big as a Buffalo Blizzard. He has some things to share with you and will answer any questions you may have. Take it away Kobe, 

Jesus loves you and so do we!

ALL THE LONELY GANGSTERS.....

     Once upon a minute lived a little boy whose dad was a gangster. The boy never saw his dad much because he was in jail. The gangster spent his time in jail searching for his own dad who had spent most of his life in jail.

    The little boy longed to see his dad and grandad who were gangsters in jail. He sat alone on the porch and dreamed of good things to believe about the gangsters in jail. Someday my dad will get out of jail and he'll be a millionaire. He'll take me places and buy me things. Life will be so cool when my dad the gangster gets out of jail!"

     The years went by, the boy on the porch and dad in jail. Soon the boy became a gangster. He learned the way of the hood very well. His dad the gangster would be proud of his little boy. The boy was now an OG who could steal, kill and destroy better than his dad ever did. It didn't take long before the boy caught a case and the boy-turned-OG was now in jail. Do you think dad or granddad is proud?

     If you're a gangster, it's time to retire. If you have a child, it's time to be a Dad. Don't give me that crap about your baby's momma being a real "b." Step up and do what's right. You have a duty and responsibility to be a father. Leave the thug life behind, make your kid proud in real life so he doesn't have to make up fantasies about a make believe dad he doesn't even know. Retire gangster! Repeat after me: "I DON'T HAVE TO BE WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO ME!"

Thanks for your time. Go do something nice for somebody.
JLYASDW

Ephesians 6:4
Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

Proverbs 22:6
Train up a child in the way he should go, Even when he is old he will not depart from it.

Matthew 3:17
and behold, a voice out of the heavens said, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased."

BLISTERED HANDS & MISSING FEET

     "Sorry, the food's gone," I told the dude in the wheelchair. I gave him a few donut holes and he was grateful. He asked for some socks and blankets, even Arizona gets cold at night in February. His hands were blistered from pushing a wheelchair around the city streets. We were able to give him a pair of socks and a blanket.

     His leg was covered with a bandage that covered a gunshot wound. After spending 10 years in jail, his freedom seems to be shackled in a different cell. Unable to find a job, he returned to the street business that he knew so well. I think he was selling drugs in the wrong hood. Drug dealing gangs don't take kindly to trespassers, they shoot them. He did ask for prayer and cried as I told him that God had a plan for his life.

     He continued to cry after we prayed and said that I was about the 9th person that told him about God's plan for his life. Why don't folks listen when God sends so many people to give them the same message? Is the problem with the listener or the messenger?

     On the streets of Buffalo, there was a man laying on the sidewalk with his metal leg glistening in the sun. My wife and I stopped and asked if he needed help.He said that he was just waiting for a ride. We prayed and I gave him my card. Several weeks later he called and asked for a ride. We picked him up and drove him downtown. On the way, he told us several stories of how he had billions in the bank but family members were swindling him. I don't know how much truth there was in his words. That was the last I saw of him.

     We're supposed to be the hands and feet of Jesus. For years, I've struggled to understand what that means. I know I'm not supposed to lean on my own understanding when it comes to God's plan for my day. My heart wants to help, my brain directs my actions and in the aftermath, my soul still feels empty. Why? If love is the answer, why am I not content to give it? Maybe it's because my heart demands immediate evidence of a victory to help swell the pride in my selfish soul.

     Help me God, I want to understand Your wisdom. Fill me with Your love. Force my selfish expectations of immediate gratification out of my mind. Today, I yield completely to You - my whole heart, soul, mind and strength are Yours. I hurt for people with metal feet and blistered hands. How do You want me to help them? Show me the way God.
Amen.

Luke 24:38-39
"And He said to them, “Why are you troubled? And why do doubts arise in your hearts? Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself. Handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have.”

Luke 24:45-49
"And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures.
Then He said to them, “Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.
And you are witnesses of these things. 
Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; 
but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until 
you are endued with power from on high.”

John 14:26
"But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you."

Thanks for your time. Go do something nice for somebody.
JLYASDW

The Bright Spot Report
This is a place to share the bright spots in our world. If you have a bright spot to share, please do. I'm glad you're here! I hope your day is filled with extravagantly abundant blessings that exceed your imagination.

Bright Spots can grow in dark places. 

The Bright Spot Report is a place for success stories 
as well as a place for tips on how to create Bright Spots. 

If you have a Bright Spot Story, please share it with us, 
so we can create a world with more Bright Spots. 

Friday, February 13, 2015

TEACHERS CAN'T SEE

     Most of us set goals that are attainable and clearly defined with a definite outcome. Society and our government have set goals for teachers that are described in teacher evaluations. Test scores allegedly reflect the outcome of the teacher's efforts to educate children. Test scores are easy to see, growth in a child isn't always easy to see. Over the course of a teacher's lifetime, thousands of children will pass through their classroom. Over the course of a teacher's lifetime, thousands of children will pass through the heart of a teacher. The majority of those thousands of children will fade from the teacher's eyesight - the teacher can't see what these children will accomplish because of their efforts.

     We're living in the days of evaluations and reevaluations. Everything we do seems to be evaluated, rated and judged by somebody. Folks in romantic relationships judge love by our attitudes and actions. Our employment performances are always under review, sometimes the reviewer has no clue what our job is. Teachers are evaluated primarily on the results of test scores.

Evaluations don't consider the
 effect of heart-sores on test scores. 

Children who haven't learned how to deal with the social and emotional upheavals in life are less to do well on tests. Those same students will cause turmoil in the school that ccan affect the academic achievement of other students. Sometimes they are suspended and end up unsupervised at home or in the street. Gangs are waiting to make them feel special and invite them into a life of carnage that steals, kills and destroys potential. The teacher can't see the potential in a child who is removed from their classroom.

     Here are some platitudes that someone constructing Teacher Evaluations may want to consider.

• Evaluations based on test scores do not reveal the healing of heart sores.
• Encouragement creates an environment of emotional safety.
• Compassion  is a cultivator of potential - just believe in somebody.
• Children removed from the classroom should not be removed from the building.
• All children are gifted.
• Emotional and Social learning affect the very core of a child's heart which directly impacts potential.

     To all of the Teachers in the world, I say thank you for agreeing to forgo the right to see. You have accepted blindness as a part of your calling in life. I encourage you to overcome your exhaustion and lack of appreciation with faith. Your faith in each child and your belief that every child is gifted with potential will create sight for thousands of children. 
The children once were blind to potential and now they see - because of you.

Thanks for your time. Go do something nice for somebody.
JLYASDW

Bob Kuebler
Founder/Director
Youth With A Purpose Inc.
youthwithapurpose.org
716-830-8240


YWAP - Teaching Leadership to Students, Teachers and Mentors.

We had a simply spectacular night with the young folks at Without Walls Church. The word for the night was ACT which is an acronym for Action, Courage and Travail. We had a blast and laughed a ot as we explored how to get deeper and more real in our relationship God. If you believe in the love of God then it should be revealed in the love you show wherever you go.

Galatians 4:19
"My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you,"

Thanks for your time. Go do something nice for somebody.
JLYASDW

Photos by Linda Kuebler

 Greetings YWAPsters,

"God is so good!" Those were the words spoken by the Principal of a Buffalo School as we walked into her elementary school auditorium. Linda and I were there to check out the possibility of collaborating with her in a mentoring outreach called the "Bills Night Out."  Those words pretty much sum up the 2014 YWAP Year - "God is so good!"  You have been a large part of God's goodness; you took the time to bless many children and their families through your generosity. Thanks, we appreciate you.

We are writing to you for several reasons. One of them is to thank you and acknowledge you for supporting YWAP in 2014. If there are any discrepancies in what we have listed for you please let us know. We'd also like to let you know about some of the 2014 YWAP activities that happened because of you. After that we'll give you a glimpse into 2015. We hope you'll stay with us as we build a foundation that will touch many more lives. We want to hear more folks say: "God is so good!"

Thank you again for all you do.
Jesus loves you and so do we.

Bob & Linda Kuebler
YWAP Directors
Youth With A Purpose Inc.
157 Locust Street
Buffalo, New York 14204
716-830-8240                    
[email protected]
youthwithapurpose.org