Support for Garrett Probers

Tom and Sherry Probers are a precious Christian family with two sons and one daughter. They are currently facing the worse fight of their lives, and we at TST are crying out for your help.

Garrett is the oldest son. He is 11 years old and suddenly, with no warning signs of sickness, he started to experience seizures one month ago. After two consecutive weeks stay in Akron Children’s  Hospital, and extensive testing,  a MRI  showed that an aggressive cancerous brain tumor was found.

This tumor is life threatening

The whole family’s  life has come to a complete stop. They are asking God for a miracle and they are trying to research for the best treatment to slow down the growth of the cancer.

I am asking for your prayers that God’s healing hand would touch and heal Garrett completely, as well as for the astronomical medical bills.

This is our great opportunity to unify and help a worthy family in a serious crisis.

You can send your love gift to

Any Huntington Bank location under the  Team Garrett Corp. Benefit Fund. For more information, please call Teen Straight Talk.

God bless you,

Mary Duke

Exposing The Lie

The condom industry  is  a 17 billion dollar market that targets our children on the streets, sometimes given out in schools,  private industry such as grocery stores and health agencies.  Now, Condom-Based Sex Educators are asking Congress for more of your tax dollars in this article. This society denounces the total abstinence education– education that encourages self discipline and waiting until marriage.

Condoms give a false sense of safety

Teaching total truth is our responsibility as Christians, we demand that we teach what is not being said about the destruction to children as a total person. We must tell the other side of truth, the negative side.

Teen Straight Talk educates in total truth for the sake of our children and our personal development.

Teen Straight Talk strongly educates that condom use can not protect one’s heart  that is going to be broken and disappointed. Condom use does not teach one patience and obedience to God’s law.

The condom use does not protect a person’s  reputation nor their integrity.

Condom use will not stabilize a child’s emotions or  mental state.

Condom use will rob a child of their self worth and value thus thrusting them into other high risk behaviors.

This is the hidden truth and it must be exposed. Why would you not want your child to hear the other side of the story?  Call Teen Straight Talk today.

Mary Duke

It’s All in the Name

Those who have not actually attended a Teen Straight Talk presentation may wonder what it’s all about, sure you many have heard about the program, but can you really know what it is all about without a firsthand experience. So how do we begin to explain such a profound program?

In Biblical times a person’s name revealed a defining attribute of that individual. For example: Nathan in Hebrew means “giver” and Ruth in Hebrew means “friend”. If we can use that analogy, Teen Straight Talk’s name reveals the nature of its work – presenting “the truth” with “straight talk.”

Our youngsters desperately need concrete answers in order to make responsible decisions. If we give them answers using today’s circumstances, trends, situations, conditions, and popular opinion – where is the clarity they so desperately need?  How can our youngsters find straight answers and clarity? The answer lies in the truth, which is presented by Teen Straight Talk.

Next we may ask; is there such a thing as absolute truth? According to Barna, a Christian research and polling group, 84% of Americans claim to be Christians yet 40% say there is no such thing as absolute truth. This is quite amazing from a Christian point of view. Absolute truth is just what it says, truth that is absolute; and there is no room for compromise, which is so prevalent in our culture today. It often may be difficult to square off with absolute truth because it takes us places we don’t want to be, basically out of our comfort zone. When truth hits us head-on we can either embrace its reality or follow a course of compromise which leads one to conformity to a lesser standard, and in turn, face the consequences that go along with it. Are we willing to stand back and let our youngsters be driven by popular opinion or are we going to encourage them to seek and embrace truth?

So than, how do we deal with the issue of absolute truth? Keeping things simple and to the point – you have one of two choices:

1. Follow the Bible, in which you are guided by absolute truth  revealed by the

                                 Creator – GOD

1. Follow the culture, in which you are guided by relativism and popular opinion of the

                                 People – MAN

I believe we often under estimate the ability of our young people to handle and deal with truth. Even though standards of culture may change; truth never changes.

If we are to see clearly and help others see clearly, we must follow the footsteps and example of our leader, Jesus Christ, who associated with all kinds of people in the culture, teaching and conveying His message without ever compromising the truth.

What makes Teen Straight Talk different form most other programs? Teen Straight Talk does not deal with the swaying surface of the matter; it deals with the core truth of the matter.

If you want to know who we are – “It’s All in the Name”.

Ted Smith, TST Curriculum Director

My Life As A Teen Mom

When I was pregnant in high-school, it wasn’t as common as it is now. I didn’t talk about it or even really act like I was; and to be totally honest, I really didn’t care. I was one of those tough girls who didn’t really care much about anything or anyone. My so called boy-friend was one of those hard core white boys that was cool with everyone, partied anywhere, came to school if he felt like it, and slept with a lot of girls in the process. Everyone thought I was a popular and pretty girl. I can’t help but ask, “What in the world was I doing with this guy?”. I guess some of us are just attracted to those bad boys, and that was definitely the case with me. I learned, though, that since I gave life and the strength to achieve it to my child, I had a responsibility to do what was best for her.

I was raised in church my whole life and had a hard working mother and father who have now been married for 35 years. They were pretty strict, so talking about having a boyfriend wasn’t really a conversation I ever wanted to bring up in my house, (especially a boy from the other side of town). So, when my dad found out about this guy, he wasn’t exactly pleased. Then, they found out that he had been in and out of jail and had been caught several times doing and selling drugs. Of course, any parent would keep their child (because that’s what we still are) from having anything to do with this boy. Like all hardcore girls would, I did everything I could to see him and lied about everywhere I was going. (My parents worked long hours so I took full advantage of that). The environment was so intriguing to me and just sucked me in. I loved being in the so called ‘hood’ with all these hardcore guys and girls, hanging out with and pretending to be just like them. The thrill of doing something that could get you in a lot of trouble and getting away with it was too hard to pass up, let alone hanging with girls whose parents would smoke-up with you and let your boy-friend spend the night. As you might have guessed, I ended up pregnant.

I had my daughter in the summer 13 years ago. I remember it like it was yesterday. After she was born, the room filled with people that I called my friends—only, I looked at them so differently now. Instantly, I loved this little baby so much that I knew I never wanted her to be surrounded by these people or this life-style I was living.

“Girls we are worth so much more than just sex!  Our bodies and minds are not to be abused ever.“

So the battle began!  I wanted to live a totally different life now and I didn’t want to be in a relationship with her dad anymore. His threats of taking her from me or slashing my face so no-one ever wanted to be with me began pretty quickly. These lasted for years. Don’t get me wrong, that was her dad and I would never keep her from him. But it was definitely the hardest thing to see your baby cry and say, “I don’t want to go”, or as a little baby, come home in a dirty diaper and a t-shirt that’s 5 times to big for her. She’d smelled like smoke and was being driven around in a car that’s bass was so loud that you could hear them coming a block away. That’s when it really hurt. Knowing that because of my actions, my baby is now going to be in a situation that will alter her little life without her being able to do a thing about it was torture. So it is now up to me to do everything in my power (with the help of Jesus!) to be the best mother that I can be.
I took my little girl everywhere: to the park, swimming pools, zoos and even road trips with my friends. I didn’t have my parents around, being that they worked very long hours. I was left to learn everything on my own, not like these girls now who pawn their babies off on there family so they can live the same way they did before. Babies need their mothers (unless you need help, in which case you can’t be of much help to them). You are the best and most important person they will ever know. They are now here because of you and need as much love and affection as you can possibly give them to ensure that they will grow up and accomplish their dreams. You gave them life and the strength to achieve it. Now looking back, I am so thankful to know that I had no choice but to be there for her in every aspect of her life.
When I was 19, I went to an art class in Cincinnati. Art is a talent that I’ve enjoyed my whole life. When I came home, just like that, I was in the art-business. It wasn’t the easiest thing to raise a baby and start a business at the same time, especially being only 19. But God gave me strength to push on and never give up. When I look back, I think, “how in the world was I able to tackle this?”, I know that God has guided me every step of the way. To this day, he blesses me tremendously. I am now married with three children. I have a happy home, a wonderful business, and I’m working on another, which is somewhat of an invention and is already off to a great start.

 

If you are in a similar situation or just reading this to keep yourself from ending up as a statistic, know that only you are in control of your life. You alone are the author of your book and only you can write the pages of your story. What will YOU yours read?
I want to share this with you all in hopes to you and tell you that the ‘as seen on TV’ life of a teen-mom is not a lavish or fun experience. If you will really put things into perspective,everyone who puts themselves here as different as our stories may be, all end up with a very similar story, and it’s this: Guys (as teen-dads) will never be there for you, will not even come close to taking on half of the responsibility, will still get to stay out late with their friends, will never have to wake up early with a screaming baby, and will never appreciate or comprehend how much a single teen mom works on a daily basis.

Girls, we are worth so much more than just sex!  Our bodies and minds are not to be abused EVER, whether by sex or by drugs. Fight your emotions and take power over them! We are not here to be passed around and damaged so that by the time we are out of high school we feel we are worth nothing physically or emotionally. Trust me, God does have a plan for you but, as always, he gives us all free will. If you will just be strong in these hard times of your life, keeping yourselves from premarital sex, drugs, and running with the wrong crowds, God will protect you and at the end of the road you will be blessed!

 

Blessings,

Beth