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Anglican YouthworksPO Box A287Sydney South NSW 1235Australia

Ph (02) 8268 3333Fax (02) 8268 3357Email: sales@youthworks.netWebsite: www.youthworks.net

Published March 2009

Copyright Anglican Youthworks 2009 © Kristen Young

This book is copyright. Apart from fair dealing for the purposes of private study, research, criticism and review as permitted under the Copyright Act, no part of this book may be reproduced by any process without the express permission of the publisher.

Scripture taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version (NIV). Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. ‘New International Version’ and ‘NIV’ are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademarks Office by International Bible Society. The Lord’s prayer on page 58 is taken from the New International Reader’s Version (NIrV). New International Reader’s Version and NIrV® (collectively, “NIrV”) are registered trademarks of IBS-STL Global in the United States and other countries.

National Library of Australia ISBN 978-1-921460-21-0

Artwork by Matt Henry Deutscher Room 3Edited by Loren Becroft and Julie Firmstone

Dietary information and recipes provided by Susan Nelan, Accredited Practicing Dietitian/Accredited Nutritionist.

Author’s acknowledgment: Thanks to all the Lithgow AXIS girls, without whom this book would not have been written (and to Emily, for her extra feedback!).

ContentsHow to Use This Book 4Week 1: Who Am I? 5Stress Head! 9Week 2: Who’s Really in Charge Here? 11Answers to Ignore 15Week 3: Dead or Alive 17Do Not Try This! 21My Dreams 22Week 4: The ‘In’ Group 23Keeping Your Body (and Brain) Healthy 27Week 5: Power and Strength 29Time-Out Crossword 33Week 6: Ooh! Presents! 35My Frustrations and Challenges 39When It All Gets Too Much 40Week 7: Running Around in Circles 41The Top 10 Signs You’ve Been Procrastinating Too Much 45Herbal Tea Break 46Week 8: Living It 47Acts of Service 51Praise Page 52Week 9: No, Really - You First 53More Procrastination Ideas for the Truly Bored (Sudoku Puzzle) 57Prayer Page 58Week 10: Preparing for Battle 59A Busy Bloke’s Survival Guide 63Solutions 64

Welcome! Exams can be a massive stress, so we’ve put together a little booklet to help you stay focused on the things that matter. It’s not a heavy load: there are no extra assessments or exams, just a breath of fresh air from God’s word to help you get through.- Kris Young

Week by week Each week, there are a series of daily studies to help you through the stresses of studying. We’ve spread the series out over 10 weeks, so you can plan to start as close to or as far away from your exams as you like.

Passage of the week There’s a lot of good stuff in the book of Ephesians, and we’ve made it easy to digest by avoiding huge chunks of reading. Each week has a special theme, to get you thinking about who you are as a follower of Jesus.

Daily questions There are only a couple of questions to think about each day, so you can focus on a little bit at a time - no pressure! Remember though that the daily sections are only a guide. You can study at your own pace: devour the whole passage at once, or bite off one or two verses each day. It’s up to you!

Hold in ya head A verse to remember for the week. (When you were a kid, it was called a ‘memory verse’, but you’re too old for lollies now, aren’t you? Aren’t you?)

Prayer These prayers are to help you talk to God when the stress builds up.

For the heavy lifters If you want to get into more than just one or two verses a day, the Heavy Lifting section gives you some more meaty chunks to chew on.

Using this book with your small group This book can be used for individual devotions or for Bible study time during your weekly youth group meetings. Just look for the questions with the coloured circles: These questions are ideally suited for group discussion in your small group. Of course, group members can answer the rest of the questions (and enjoy the tips, jokes, and activities) at home each day as a part of their personal devotions. There is also a version of this book for the guys in your mixed study group; tell them to look out for A Busy Bloke’s Survival Guide.

What happened to ‘Day 7’ - Sunday? We hope that you’ll use Sundays to look back over the whole section for the week, and to spend time at church. Even though exams and assessments are stressful, it’s still really important to keep meeting with your church family.

Light relief Hidden in these pages are:

• A few jokes, to keep you laughing when it’s all getting a bit much

• Spaces for writing down your thoughts, scribbles or random ideas

• Study ideas for when you’re over it

• Serious advice on keeping healthy and eating well

• Oh, and the occasional puzzle!

How To Use This Book Getting into it

1

5

HEAVYLIFTING

1

2

3

THINK ABOUT IT

Who is Paul addressing this letter to? 1.

What does it mean to be ‘faithful in 2. Christ Jesus’ (verse 1)?

In your own life, how do you show your 3. faithfulness to Jesus?

Think: Is there anything in your life 4. that makes it hard to remain faithful to Jesus? Pray about it now, and ask God to give you the strength to stay faithful.

Who Am I?

Daily questions

Verses 1-2 Psalm31

Passage: Ephesians 1:1-14

What makes you feel special?•

1

2

HEAVY LIFTING 1

2

3

In verse 3, Paul praises God. What 1. does he praise God for?

Verses 4-14 expand on what it means 2. to have ‘every spiritual blessing’. The first blessing is that we are chosen. What are we chosen to be?

How long ago did God decide to 3. choose us?

If we are chosen, can we brag? 4. Why/why not?

How does it feel knowing that God 5. chose you before the creation of the world? Humbled? Scared? Special?

What does ‘predestined’ mean 1. (see also verse 11)?

If we were ‘adopted as sons’ (verse 5), 2. what does that say about how close we are to God now? (Note: when the Bible was written, only boys could inherit an estate, so it was extra special that girls could also be ‘adopted as sons’!)

How do we join God’s family?3.

In verse 6, Paul writes that God has 4. freely given us grace through Jesus. Why is this ‘glorious’?

Think: Spend some time praising God 5. for his gift to you.

Verses 3-4 Verses 5-6

2Thessalonians2:13-17;

1Peter1:13-21

Psalm145;

Galatians3:26-4:7

1

2

3

1

2

3

2

3

7

HEAVY LIFTING 1

2

3

Think: Do you usually consider 1. yourself a pretty good person, or are you often hit with piles of guilt?

What does ‘your sins are forgiven’ 2. mean to you? Do you believe it?

What was the price of forgiveness 3. (verse 7)?

Why was Jesus’ blood needed to pay 4. for our forgiveness? What did it do for you? (Hint: See Hebrews 9:22, 27-28.)

Think: If you have repented and believed 5. in Jesus then this statement is true: ‘Your sins are forgiven’.

Verses 7-8

How did God make known ‘the mystery 1. of his will’? (Hint: see Hebrews 1:1-3.)

The end of a period of study, whether 2. high school or university, is often a time when you’re trying to work out the purpose of your life. What is God’s purpose for ‘all things’ (verse 10)?

For us, being chosen followers of 3. Jesus means we are part of something big: God’s plan of salvation. What ‘little’ things distract us from this?

How can you have a ‘big plan’ 4. perspective today?

Verses 9-12

Romans5 Hebrews12

1

3

4

1

3

HEAVYLIFTING

1

2

3

How are we ‘included in Christ’ 1. (verse 13)?

What does the Holy Spirit do for us?2.

Does knowing that God lives with you, 3. affect how you live?

How can this knowledge help you 4. during your exams?

Verses 13-14

Heavenly Father, Thank you that you have chosen me to be your child through Jesus’ death on the cross. Help me to live for your glory and not for my own. Amen.

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. (Ephesians 1:3)

Romans8:1-17

1

2

HOLD INYA HEAD

PRAYER

9

Stress Head!How do you cope with stress? Here are a few unhelpful ways you might recognise (and hopefully get a laugh out of):

- (burius headius)

‘If I bury my head in the sand, there’s nothing to worry about!’The Ostrich deals with stress by pretending it doesn’t exist — until, of course, the morning of an exam. While the Ostrich can appear quite calm before an assignment is due, it’s only because they’ve ‘forgotten’ it’s happening.

THE OSTRICH

- (biggus explodus)

‘I just build up the pressure until I explode.’The Boiler is someone to watch out for. You know the one — quietly muttering to themself as they grind their teeth behind you. You don’t want to be near a Boiler when the tension gets too high though. No one can escape the fallout when this one explodes!

THE BOILER

- (roadus ki l lus)

‘Oh no! That thing is going to hit me! Quick! Do ... nothing!’Unlike the Ostrich, the Deer-in-Headlights is perfectly aware that something stressful is coming. They just don’t do anything about it. A Deer-in-Headlights will whimper quietly while they wait for that big truck of an exam to bear down on them, unable to move or cram in those study notes.

THE DEER-IN-THE HEADLIGHTS

- (k laxonus horribi l is)

‘AAAAAAARRRRGHHH!!! EXAMS!!!’ When the Siren gets stressed, everyone hears about it - not just every one of their friends, everyone within a three kilometre radius. A Siren deals with stress by letting it all out at the maximum volume possible. They’re fine to hang out with if you have ear plugs.

9

THE SIREN

THE BAND-ON-THE-TITANIC

THE PYRAMID BUILDERS

QUICKSAND

- (partyus doomedus)

- (dangerus terr i t ius)

- (chippus awayus)

‘If we’re going down, we might as well make a party of it.’The Band-on-the-Titanic has given up running for the lifeboats, and instead decide to have as much fun as they can while they sink. In their mind, the situation is hopeless, so they try to make the descent as lively as possible. It doesn’t help the outcome though, because they still get wet.

‘If I’m going down, I’m taking everyone with me.’The Quicksand is a dangerous character to deal with. If they feel like they’re not coping, then they want everyone to be on the same slippery slope. The best outcome for the Quicksand is to take at least one other with them. They’re most likely to be the ones throwing in little fake exam questions on exam morning just to freak you out.

‘One brick at a time, and we’ll get there.’The Pyramid Builders know they’ve got a big job ahead, but they don’t panic. They just chip away at their job, one brick at a time. Sure it’s tedious stuff, but the result is a pretty impressive building.

Let’s give God the final word on Stress Heads, eh? In another of his letters Paul writes:

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable — if anything is excellent or praiseworthy — think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me — put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. (Philippians 4:6-9)

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