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Jen Bradbury
Jul 14 · 5 min read

The life we're building

Today, I'm linking up with Kate Motaung's Five Minute Friday. The rules: Write for 5 minutes flat – no editing, no over thinking, no backtracking.

This week's prompt: Build.

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Days before leaving for our Peacemaking Trip, I was struggling with...

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#Five Minute Friday #vocation #breastfeeding #motherhood #parenting #Missions

Jen Bradbury
Jul 13 · 5 min read

How to respond to parents' questions

A week ago, I held a logistics meeting for our combined junior high and high school mission trip. This is an interesting trip because it's filled with a mix of students, some of whom are going on their first ever mission trip; Others who are...

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#parents #Missions #youth ministry

Jen Bradbury
Jul 05 · 5 min read

Presence, not protection

Today, I'm linking up with Kate Motaung's Five Minute Friday. The rules: Write for 5 minutes flat – no editing, no over thinking, no backtracking.

This week's prompt: Protect 

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My pregnancy was fraught with complications.

After nearly...

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#Five Minute Friday #pregnancy #babies #motherhood #parenting

Jen Bradbury
Jun 30 · 5 min read

Rest

Today, I'm linking up with Kate Motaung's Five Minute Friday. The rules: Write for 5 minutes flat – no editing, no over thinking, no backtracking.

This week's prompt: Rest.

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I woke up with a migraine yesterday, the worst I've had in a long...

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#burnout #youth ministry #Missions #writing #student leadership #books #Arbor Research Group #babies #parenting #enough

Jen Bradbury
Jun 29 · 5 min read

How to respond when teens claim to hate Jesus

I love Jesus.

That's probably not surprising to you. As a youth worker, I'm guessing you love Jesus, too. What's more, I'm guessing you want the teens in your congregation to love Jesus. But what happens when they don't?

Because let's face it,...

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#Jesus gap #research #Real Jesus #Jesus #youth ministry #discipleship

Jen Bradbury
Jun 17 · 5 min read

Milk and Solids

I am in countdown mode. I leave for our intergenerational Peacemaking trip on Sunday, a mere three days from now. This will be the first time I've been away from my nearly 13-month old daughter for longer than a few hours since she was born. In...

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#youth pastor #babies #breastfeeding #motherhood #Missions #faith formation

Jen Bradbury
Jun 13 · 5 min read

6 Strategies for Connecting Parents to Your Big Events

Part of the “magic” of mission trips and events like the 30 Hour Famine is that they take place outside of the normal context of students’ lives. Often, they take place in a different location, away from teens’ family and friends. In so doing,...

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#30 Hour Famine #parents #Missions #youth ministry

Jen Bradbury
Jun 06 · 5 min read

What I'm Into (May, 2016 Edition)

What I'm Reading:

Fiction:

May was even more INSANE than April. Nevertheless, I still read three fiction books. 

Best mystery: The Last Mile by David Baldacci. 

Non-fiction:

I also read two non-fiction books during April: Colors of...

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#What I'm Into #travel #youth pastor #Arbor Research Group #breastfeeding #motherhood #books

Jen Bradbury
Jun 01 · 5 min read

6 signs the lightbulb's gone on

In a recent project for Arbor Research Group, a Bible teacher at a Christian school talked about the moment “when the lightbulb goes on” for the kids in his classes. In the weeks since, this phrase has echoed around my head.

As youth workers who...

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#research #discussion #Teaching #Arbor Research Group #youth ministry #faith formation

Jen Bradbury
May 27 · 5 min read

Recent Reads: Colors of Goodbye by September Vaudrey

Filed in Recent Reads

What the book's about: Colors of Goodbye  is a beautiful memoir about the life and death of September Vaudrey's 19-year old daughter, Katie. Using flashbacks as well as Katie's art, it's a story about  grieving, choosing life after...

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#grief #Jesus #books

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Latest Posts

  • The life we're building
  • How to respond to parents' questions
  • Presence, not protection
  • Rest
  • How to respond when teens claim to hate Jesus
  • Milk and Solids
  • 6 Strategies for Connecting Parents to Your Big Events
  • What I'm Into (May, 2016 Edition)
  • 6 signs the lightbulb's gone on
  • Recent Reads: Colors of Goodbye by September Vaudrey

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