Doing what we do, translating culture for parents, can bring with it a certain weight on the hearts of the good people of Axis. I've seen it and probably everyone in the office has. That's why it's a joint effort by everyone at the office to gather material - but our editors and writers tend to bear the brunt of that "prophetic weight" when collating that news and doing the translation.

That said, it's not all heavy material this week! There is hope. And ultimately, there is always hope in the darkness for the redemption of what is twisted in the world.

1) If you're a die-hard or even fair-weather fan, you may be familiar with the politics and money shifting between parties in the professional sports worlds.

Long story short: Colleges, high school athletes, and sportswear companies (aka sponsors) created a vicious circle of money changing hands for mutual benefit that always left the athlete under someone else's control and without many options. Fraud was committed, the FBI got involved, and people were arrested. Big deal.

This is your opportunity to learn about this (https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/26/sports/ncaa-adidas-bribery.html ) and ask your sporty teens to explain it to you because they very well will know the story if they're into this world. Then, bring the conversation to cheating, pressure, and if they've ever seen that placed on themselves or their friends.

2)Hugh Hefner died last week and with his passing came a flurry of social media sympathy and gratitude for his work to liberate women of their sexual and societal bonds with his Playboy publication.

Is that REALLY this man's legacy? Really? I'm not going to cite statistics on porn addiction and the detriment it has been to countless marriages and psyches -- this is off brand -- Consider the opportunities to talk about these ideas with your teens and if you have not had a conversation about pornography it may very well be past time to do so - but never too late to bring restoration and hope to a part of humanity that is easily twisted particularly in young men and women.

3)The similarities in mindset and priorities for Gen-Z and Baby Boomers are stunning. Here are two articles to help you understand. Also, you can listen to this podcast.

- http://www.generationaledge.com/blog/posts/genz-like-grandparents

- https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/307976/common-threads-bind-gen-z-and-boomers.html

Basically, get the secret weapon out. (Our Axis teams have referred to grandparents like this for years! It's fun to see your messages confirmed.) It's good for everyone involved.

**Race: Quite simply, this is a dicey topic and the article in the newsletter is far more well worded than I can create here. I trust our editors, you probably can too -- but feel free to disagree with them.

Looking for more resources as a parent?? Our newest project at Axis is Parent Guides https://axis.org/guides on topics like Teen Slang, Sexting, Eating Disorders, Video Games, etc. They're on sale for $1.99 right now too!!