Study Questions

Click here to read Luke 2:41-52

1. Why did Jesus' parents go to Jerusalem every year? (2:41)


2. How did Jesus get left behind in Jerusalem? (2:43-44)


3. What was Jesus doing during the three days that He was on His own? (2:46)


4. What were the effects of Jesus' questions and answers on the teachers in Jerusalem? (2:46-47)


5. How did Mary respond when she and Joseph finally found Jesus? (2:48)


6. How did Jesus answer His parents' concern for Him? (2:49)


7. After replying to His parents, what did Jesus do? (2:51)


8. What happened to Jesus as He grew? (2:52)


9. Of the four ways in which Jesus grew (in wisdom, in stature, in favor with God, in favor with man), which one needs the most work in your life?

Stress the Facts

Did you know the effects of stress may lead to actual medical illnesses, including heart problems, stomach problems, high blood pressure, and headaches? Stress also affects the immune system and speeds up the aging process, memory loss, and increases in body weight and/ or building more fat.

Increasing numbers of children, teenagers and college students report feeling under stress.

Doctors recommend exercise as one way to reduce stress in people of all ages.

Twice as Much Fun

What can be better than having fun, reducing stress, staving off old age, and staying fit? How about doing it with a partner? After all, it doesn’t do a lot of good for you to be fit and healthy and then have your partner fall apart as aging takes its toll. But which sport allows you equal footing no matter what your age, gender, size or level of fitness? How about martial arts?

You don’t have to be athletic to participate in martial arts. Everyone is welcome, regardless of age, gender, size, or ability. Because you compete against yourself and at your own pace, your initial ability makes no matter. Unlike dropping the ball in practice, no one is going to make fun of you or get angry if you miss a step of your form. In fact, this is a sport the whole family can participate in together. I haven’t seen too many thirty-somethings invited onto the little league field.

Try stress-free verses stressful. In martial arts, each person proceeds at his or her own pace, learning to master each skill instead of beating the other team. Martial arts teach direction, confidence, discipline, respect, and control. There are no bench warmers, because everyone is working on a skill or helping someone with their skill, and since class members are not competing with one another, they are able to encourage each other to do their best. Everyone can be a winner, because there are no time limits or restrictions on how many students can be promoted.

Martial arts promote concentration in the workplace too. The focus and concentration skills required for martial arts are the same skills you need to learn new skills. To prove that martial arts depends more on brains than brawn, most martial arts schools require their school-age students to show passing report cards to continue training.

The next time friends or partners complain about not having anything to do, tell them about the advantages martial arts offers and have them join you in class. You’ll have twice as much fun!

School Calendar:

February 13 - Valentines Day Party!

• There will be pizza, games and fun! We will be watching Kung Fu Panda. Movie Starts at 6:00 pm. The party ends at 8:00pm. Please bring $5 to cover pizza and soda.

February 14 - Valentines Day

• Be sure to hand out as many free Valentines Day Cards as you can! If you need more just ask.

February 17 - Due Date for Testing Applications.

• Applications for Testing need to be turned in.

February 26 - Belt Testing

• Make sure you have you paper work turned in. You can download your Application for Promotion forms from our web site at http://www.life180martialarts.net/. Go to the Belt Testing Page and Click on the link "Application Form".
  

Luke 2:21-40

Study Questions

Click here to read Luke 2:21-40

1. Why did Mary and Joseph take Jesus to the temple? When? (2:22-23)


2. Who was Simeon? (2:25-27)


3. What did Simeon do with the Christ child? (2:28-32)


4. How did Simeon's prophecy point out that Christ would be the Savior for the world? (2:32)


5. What did Joseph and Mary do after they heard what Simeon had to say? (2:33)


6. What did Simeon say to Mary? (2:34-35)


7. How did Luke describe the woman named Anna? (2:36-38)


8. What was Anna's response to finding Mary, Joseph, and the Christ child in the temple? (2:38)


9. How did Luke summarize Jesus' childhood years? (2:40)

What's In It For Me?

Remember having team project s in school? Well, teamwork extends to the workforce in today’s businesses too, as shown in this excerpt from Dale Carnegie & Associates’ Teamwork in the American Workplace, (Training and Development, January, 1996).


What makes teams successful?
33% - getting along
29% - listening
21% - setting priorities
6% - feeling recognized
6% - having everyone agree
4% - deciding who’s in charge


When you look at the list, you might discover some interesting facts such as it is more important for members to get along than who is chosen to lead. Once a team approach for a project is chosen, what can be done to empower members to work together to accomplish their goal? This is when everyone needs to put away the “What’s in it for me?” attitude and join the “What’s in it for us?” club.


To have a successful team, everyone must be less concerned about individual rewards; appreciation, power, etc., and act more selfless in a cooperative way towards a specific goal. Teamwork also involves sacrifices, such as sharing rewards, blame, and discipline, along with suppressing personal opinions, which is difficult for many of us.


You can be proactive in preventing problems by making certain the team’s goal is clearly defined and each member’s responsibility is completely understood by everyone. As in all business endeavors, communication will be the most essential element of a successful team. Each member must trust the other team members and be willing to share their thoughts and ideas about the project, but then defer the final decision to the person responsible for that portion of the project.


The benefits of working on a team can be obvious, but some reasons might not be so obvious. Team players benefit and achieve more than isolated individuals by combining knowledge and skills, but the benefits also include making the best use of each individual’s strengths, common ownership, built-in mutual support, and increased creativity from more diverse ideas. The next time you have a large project; don’t be afraid to incorporate a team approach to accomplish your goal!

Teamwork

Teamwork: Several people working together, usually with each person doing a certain part, to achieve a common goal.

Dear Parents,
As tennis great Althea Gibson said, “No matter what accomplishments you make, somebody helps you.” She knew it would take teamwork to overcome the barriers she had to hurdle. Teamwork is a life skill all of us use, whether it is in school or the workforce, and martial arts classes are a great place for children to begin learning how to get along with others and share in their successes.

As your children learn teamwork, they will learn to communicate and listen to others and work well together. Like other life skills, teamwork requires practice and knowledge about why it is important and how to recognize it.

What can parents and caregivers do to help their children develop teamwork?

Demonstrate teamwork at home. Explain to your children, while you are doing chores, how difficult it would be to take care of an entire household by yourself. Show them how each part is just as important to the end result, i.e., making dinner begins with planning, shopping, preparing, cooking, setting the table, cleaning, etc.

Praise teamwork efforts. When you and your children are working together on a project, praise them for working together. Explain how nice it is to have help. When you work together, things are done quicker, and you get to spend time with your favorite people!

Teach teamwork. Unfortunately, when working together, tempers and personalities sometimes clash. When that happens, sit down and explain that everyone has an opinion, but sometimes we must compromise and meet in the middle, or, sometimes, one person has to have the final word.

Teach your children how to define a clear goal when working on a project. If, for example, you want a room cleaned, don’t say, “Clean the living room.” Try saying, “You pick up the toys, while he dusts the furniture, and I vacuum.”