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Scott N Smith
Saint Stephen Church
I have served in family ministry working with parents and students for over 20 years...
Interests: Reading, Playing Guitar, Leading Worship, Teaching, Golf, and raising 3 young boys with my beautiful wife Laura
Recent Activity
Painted or Stained?
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"I'm convinced that God works in our lives to strip away the layers of sin and brokenness that cause us to hide our true selves from each other." Continue reading
Posted Jul 18, 2011 at Family Ministry Blog
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I'm So Bored...
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In all honesty, boredom does not come from a lack of good things to do with our hands or our minds. In our culture, there are at any given time, a dozen things to satisfy our energy and fulfill our hearts... Continue reading
Posted Jul 5, 2011 at Family Ministry Blog
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What Is Spiritual Growth?
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Liar liar pants on fire! I'm rubber, you're glue - it bounces off me and sticks on you! Can you remember being a child and going through the day to day battles for respect, friendships, and security? Certainly children approach the challenges of life in child-like ways. They are not... Continue reading
Posted Jun 6, 2011 at Family Ministry Blog
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Got Change?
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What is it about change that makes us uncomfortable? Fear of the unknown versus the safety of the known? Or is it the unpredictability of new situations verses the predictable outcomes that we have grown used to? For many people, change is difficult. As we get older, we seem to... Continue reading
Posted May 16, 2011 at Family Ministry Blog
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Righteousness: What's in it for me?
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As a pastor of families and students, the thought process of most things in life has become, "What's in it for me?" Even elementary age children understand this basic economy in life called the cost benefit ratio. What do I have to do? And what do I get out of... Continue reading
Posted May 1, 2011 at Family Ministry Blog
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Grace is the Word...
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I am a dog lover. My dog is always ready to love me. She is ready to jump in my arms without reservation or any judgment for my behavior. And in a powerful way that is a part of the message of Easter. Easter Sunday has come and gone for... Continue reading
Posted Apr 26, 2011 at Family Ministry Blog
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The Crowd or Christ?
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This Palm Sunday, I am fascinated by the scripture in Matthew 21 that tells the story of Jesus triumphant entry into Jerusalem. He rides a donkey down a long and winding trail and eventually up into the city. Crowds of people come out to cheer and lay down branches and... Continue reading
Posted Apr 17, 2011 at Family Ministry Blog
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Noise!
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Noise seems to grow louder and louder in everyday life. We get comfortable with more noise as our society moves forward. Noise comes in many forms: there is the obvious auditory noise and the not so obvious visual noise. And for the sake of conversation, I would include emotional noise... Continue reading
Posted Apr 14, 2011 at Family Ministry Blog
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It Takes A Village...
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Recently, I have been reflecting on the issue of family ministry and what that means. Certainly in small town America 50 years ago, family meant different things than it does today. Family units were interconnected with other families on the block, through daily activities, at the park, through school, and... Continue reading
Posted Apr 10, 2011 at Family Ministry Blog
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If I Had A Hammer...
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If I had a hammer... what would I do with it? Would I use it? Would I teach my children to use it? What message am I sending to my children about the issue of serving others? The irony of the culture we live in is that we are living... Continue reading
Posted Mar 20, 2011 at Family Ministry Blog
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Real Debt Relief!
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Fail or epic fail? Eventually we find ourselves failing at relationships. Family relationships, a marriage relationship, friendships, and work relationships are fragile. Sometimes we say things or do things that hurt those relationships. We may not even mean to hurt others. But through miscommunication or unclear expectations, our relationships break... Continue reading
Posted Feb 27, 2011 at Family Ministry Blog
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Sticks and Stones... and Words...
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As I walked down the local supermarket aisle, I began to hear an angry voice speaking. Upon getting to the end of the aisle, I was met with a difficult sight. A father had a tight hold on his daughter's arm. He was bent over and he was speaking in... Continue reading
Posted Feb 24, 2011 at Family Ministry Blog
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Variable Reinforcement: A Parents Worst Nightmare...
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Las Vegas is built on the concept of variable reinforcement. And people who gamble know that sometimes they will win. The slot machine will pay out eventually. Once in awhile, lottery tickets are winners. So people gamble over and over again because at one point they won money. One of... Continue reading
Posted Feb 21, 2011 at Family Ministry Blog
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The Teenage Brain: "What a Trip!"
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It's true... The teenage brain isn't like an adult brain. Reasoning, decision-making skills, planning and organization are still developing well into the early twenties according to research. I found this article to be very interesting in helping me to understand what teenagers can do well and what they can't yet... Continue reading
Posted Feb 17, 2011 at Family Ministry Blog
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Thanks Anna Leta! I appreciate the encouragement. Hope you and your family are doing well.
Toggle Commented Feb 16, 2011 on Crazy Little Thing called "Love"! at Family Ministry Blog
Crazy Little Thing called "Love"!
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Love is such a powerful emotion. It can be all consuming. Sometimes we use it casually to describe how we feel about something. I love this music or I love my car. And we often fail to understand what love is all about. I recently attended my kids valentine parties... Continue reading
Posted Feb 15, 2011 at Family Ministry Blog
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Shawna! I miss hanging out with you guys and hope you are doing well! Please tell Mike hello for me... This blog writing is new for me so we'll see where it leads. The reality is that after a whole lot of years of family and student ministry, I find that I have a lot of perspective on these issues as I am involved in ministry with hundreds of families... Someday we need to get down your way and catch up... Hope life is grand for you and your family! Blessings!
Toggle Commented Feb 12, 2011 on Toddlers and Reasonable Insanity at Family Ministry Blog
Toddlers and Reasonable Insanity
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I recently spent the morning at the doctors office with my oldest son who had a sore throat. As doctor's offices go, there was a sick waiting area and a well waiting area. The sick waiting area was very full during these mid Winter months and you can imagine how... Continue reading
Posted Feb 11, 2011 at Family Ministry Blog
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Family: 3 snow shovels, a sore back, and a full heart
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Like most of the country, we've had our fair share of snow this Winter! So as you can imagine, snow removal is the first step back to a normal routine. Our home has a circle drive and therefore a lot of concrete area to clear when it snows. So what... Continue reading
Posted Feb 10, 2011 at Family Ministry Blog
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Bravehearts Indeed!
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Life is about perspective. What we think about situations often determines how we act. The real test comes for all of us when we face adversity in life. How do we handle it? What do we say? Do we react or do we let the hard things we face just... Continue reading
Posted Feb 8, 2011 at Family Ministry Blog
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All For One!
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"Son why did you knock that boy down?" "Dad, he was hurting my brother..." And suddenly my frustration turned into fatherly pride. I don't condone knocking people down as a way to handle confrontation but who can resist the urge to smile when your child steps in to defend his... Continue reading
Posted Feb 7, 2011 at Family Ministry Blog
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Relational Investing...
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As a pastor of students, I am regularly involved with the tumultuous years of teenagers as they develop emotionally throughout middle school and high school. These are difficult years for all of us as we deal with social pressures that are strange to us and we go through hormonal changes... Continue reading
Posted Feb 6, 2011 at Family Ministry Blog
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Delayed Gratification and the Lost Discipline of Patience
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Patience is a virtue or so its been said. For most people these days it seems that having to wait on anything is annoying and even causes small tantrums. We enjoy the blessings of instant news, instant food, and instant entertainment. And we rarely have to wait long for much... Continue reading
Posted Feb 5, 2011 at Family Ministry Blog
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Facebook? for my kids...?
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It seems like life is moving faster and faster each year. Technology has pressed the gas pedal to the floor and we are connected in real time in ways that we never imagined 20 years ago. The real challenge in that is deciding what is newsworthy and what isn't... And... Continue reading
Posted Feb 4, 2011 at Family Ministry Blog
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Parenting Style - Leadership vs Friendship
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Parenting is a difficult job. The culture we live in makes it even more difficult. With children and teens our parenting roles change as they get older. We must learn how to navigate the various stages of emotional development along with our children and help them mature as gracefully as... Continue reading
Posted Feb 4, 2011 at Family Ministry Blog
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