One of the things that we say on Youth Frontiers Respect Retreat® is that you don’t have to like everyone, but you do have to respect everyone. I recently heard a story from a parent that illustrates this small, but important truth. READ MORE
By Joe Cavanaugh, Founder & CEO
The year was 1979. I was working as a youth minister at Our Lady of Grace Church in Edina, Minn. My job was to help lead 200 high school students on a week-long ski trip to Colorado. For the many adult volunteers who led these trips for years, the toughest part of the trip was always the 30-hour bus ride. By hour 14, we were close to going crazy. Boom box wars battled Led Zeppelin against ABBA. Hormones raged as teenage boys and girls tried to “snuggle” in their seats while we patrolled the aisles and tried our best to keep them apart. No one ever slept.READ MORE
One recent and particularly busy day, I came home late from work. I jumped out of my car – in my sport coat and dress pants – and rushed up the driveway. My daughter, Tess, was waiting in the front yard. When she saw me, she called out, “Dad, come here and lie on the grass with me.” I haven’t done that in years. I looked at my ironed pants, put down my briefcase and walked over to lie down the grass with Tess.READ MORE
When I was growing up, I wanted my parents to let me have a dog. The standard response was, “Wait until next year.” What I think they really meant was, “Over my dead body.” They meant “no” but what they said was, “Wait.” I find myself doing this with Tess sometimes. She’ll want to watch “The Chronicles of Narnia” or “Frozen” for the third time in one day and I’ll say, “We’ll watch the movie later.” But, of course, what I really mean is “no.” READ MORE