From the Editor's Desk: It's A Theme Party!

Hey there Life-Teeners,

Welcome to the new site! Okay, I know it’s a few weeks old, but this is the first chance I’ve had to officially welcome all of you to the re-launched LifeTeen.com! As you’ve probably noticed, you can now share all our content on your Facebook or Twitter, we have an improved search, and our look has been totally revamped. There’s even a brand new Life Teen store that’s easier than ever to use.

We’ve been racking our brains about new and creative ways to bring you the quality Catholic content you’ve come to expect here on LifeTeen.com. If you’ve been to one of our events (especially summer camps) you know that Life Teen has a yearly theme we like to spiritually focus on. This year our theme’s been Behold the Mystery; last year’s theme was Heroic Virtue.

For the next few months, we’ll be trying out something new: monthly themes that focus our content on what’s happening in your life. We’ll still be holding a Catholic lens to pop culture and responding to the big stories in the media, but now we’re adding an in-depth, month long focus on one big topic.

The internet is a place made for A.D.D. As soon as we read a great blog or hear some words of wisdom, we’re on to the next website or browser window. It can be easy to let the grace of God speaking to us slip through the cracks of our busy lives… that’s one of the reasons we want to journey with you for a whole month. We’ll have different types of content from different authors throughout the month, and you’ll be able to keep coming back to grow deeper into your relationship with Christ.

You may have noticed that dark grey box up there (at the top of the page). That’s something I like to call the ‘Content Trinity’ – and each section in it is about a different part of your life. Learn About Your Faith is all about the “big C” Church; from saints to sacraments, this is where you can dive into the history of what it means to be Catholic. Relationship With God deals with just two people: you and God. This is where you can find prayers, reflections, and challenges that will help give you a spiritual ‘boost’ when you’re feeling stuck. Live Your Catholic Life tackles a pretty big topic: the world. From television to your high school hallways, this is the place to deal with what happens when Christ meets culture – and you’re right in the middle.

This month (August) our theme is Back to School: A Survival Guide. We’ve got advice for each year of high school – from the jitters of freshman year to the seemingly endless questions of being a senior, there’s content coming just for you – in each part of the Content Trinity. To kick it all off, we’ve got a blog from Mark Hart about getting your school year started off right.

All of us here at LifeTeen.com are praying for you. Feel free to email me to let me know what you think about the new theme, our new features, or anything else related to the site.

Peace in Christ,

Greg Iwinski

Editor-In-Chief, Lifeteen.com