Posts filed under 'Parenting'
How?
One of my favorite things about my job is that I get to help you as parents and your teens by providing resources and encouragement as you pursue your daily walk with God and as you provide leadership and discipleship for your teens as they pursue their daily walk with God. (I think that’s the longest sentence I’ve ever typed)
Last night I blogged about our teaching on this season of Lent. We discussed the “why” that drives our desire for intentional and focussed spiritual growth…especially during this season. A huge part of my job is to communicate the “why” and encourage you and your students to internalize the why in your own lives. But another huge part of my job is to help with the “how.”
How do you grow spiritually? How do you spend intentional and intensely focussed time deepening your relationship with God?
The “how” can’t and won’t happen exclusively during an hour of Sunday School, an hour of worship, and an hour of Wednesday Bible study. Hopefully 3 hours will be a catalyst for the other 165 hours of your week. That’s why we have provided some free resources to help you and your teens in your daily walk. We are continually working to create and/or purchase more resources, but I wanted to let you know about some that are available right now. The following are available in the E3 youth room:
- Prayer journals
- Daily quiet time books
- Bible study guides through individual books of the Bible
- “Essentials” Bible study guide for juniors and senior
- “Walk with Jesus” daily Bible reading guides
- Small group student books that cover the small group lessons
- Bibles for anybody who needs one
- A prayer room that provides a quiet place for personal prayer and meditation
Besides these resources there are magazines available in the church office and shelves of resources available in the church library. (Later this month I will be posting a recommended reading list for parents and teens from the books available in our library). There are also unlimited resources available online. Obviously I can’t control everything published on the internet so I don’t (nor does FBC) endorse all resources that you might come across while surfing the web. However, I will let you know via this blog about many that I do recommend.
Ultimately the “how” of deepening our personal walk with Jesus happens only as we intentionally work on it (we don’t accidently grow closer to God). That’s why I try to teach and encourage our students to practice spiritual disciplines…things like personal Bible study, journaling, prayer, fasting, meditation, silence and solitude, personal worship, corporate worship, serving, and giving sacrificially.
I hope you will commit to spend some very intentional and focussed time working on your relationship with God…always, but especially during this season of Lent. And I hope you will encourage and challenge your teens to do the same thing.
Add comment February 18, 2010
I’m Surrounded
A couple of hours ago as I was getting Isabel ready for bed I started looking around the bathroom. Isabel was wearing a pink bathrobe. I was drying her hair with a pink blow dryer. We were surrounded by pink towels, pink candles, pink soap dispensers, and pink curtains. We walked into her bedroom. The walls are pink. The bedding is pink. Many of the toys are pink. I was totally surrounded by pink. This has been my life for the past 4 1/2 years…and I love it!
I thought about the lunch date we had earlier today. I took her for her first hibachi experience. She wasn’t a big fan of the flames shooting off the surface of the grill. But it was fun…and we got to experience it together. And we got to talk about stuff. What happened at preschool today, what her favorite candy is, how sometimes she likes cabbage and sometimes she doesn’t. We covered lots things that are so very important in the life of a 4 year old girl. I thought about all the daddy/daughter days and dates we’ve had since she was just a few months old.
There are studies out that shows that the relationship between a child and a parent when the child is an infant, toddler, and preschooler will basically shape the relationship when the child is a teenager. We have tried hard to make sure that Isabel knows she can always come to us for anything and talk to us about anything. Our prayer is that 10 years from now when the things that are the most important to her include boys and friends and fears and doubts instead of dolls and candy…that then we will be able to talk just as openly about those things as we do now. And that I will still be able to go out on daddy/daughter dates!
Dads…What are you doing to strengthen your relationship with your daughters?
Add comment January 25, 2010
What’s The Deal With Guys?
I read a lot of articles every day. This one caught and captured my attention as this is an issue I deal with every day. It’s worth sharing because I know it’s an issue many of you deal with every day as well. Take a look at the article here and let me know your thoughts.
Add comment December 15, 2009
what are you breathing into your kids?
A question I have to stop to ask myself often: “What am I breathing into the life of my daughter?”
I think a lot of parents (myself included) don’t really think that we are constantly breathing into the lives of our children…CONSTANTLY! If this is the case (and it is…I don’t care if you are with your kids 24/7 or only see them every other weekend) we need to know what we are breathing into their lives.
This one hurts sometimes…because we’re breathing either life or death. There’s no inbetween.
Ways to breathe life into our children: Scripture…memorize it with your kids, read it together, use it for correction and discipline, stay in it, live it (Psalm 119:105). Prayer…for your children (everyday), with your children (everyday) (1 Thessalonians 5:17). Encouragement…use words to encourage your children every day, encourage your spouse (Ephesians 4:29). Time…eat meals together, play together, make sure your kids know they are more important to you than work, chores, other people, television, sports…(Psalm 127:3). These are just a few that I try to focus on (and I know it’s not easy all the time). What other ways do you breathe life into your children? (please share in the comments)
Conversely there are ways to breathe death into our children (remember, there is no inbetween…if its not life, its death). Ways we do this include living our lives daily apart from scripture and apart from a daily walk with Jesus, using harsh words, communicating that other things (like television, work, etc.) are more important than our children (and we DO communicate this with our actions), not disciplining and correcting our children, thinking the best thing we can do for our kids is buy them more stuff, and not being active and involved with the ministry of a church. I’m sure there are others as well.
So, are you breathing life or death into your kids today?
Add comment September 10, 2009
A Parent Privilege Small Group
I’m so excited to let you know about the new A Parent Privilege small group starting this Wednesday at 6:45. This group will be lead by Rocky Lawless and will be for 45 minutes in the Adult 2 class.
You might remember I posted about this book when it was first released here and here. I hope you have had a chance to read the book already. Whether you have read it yet or not this will be an awesome group for discussing the ideas and principles the book presents. You will have an opportunity to get your own copy of the book in the class.
Please plan on being here this Wednesday for the first group meeting!
2 comments September 8, 2009
Influence
This morning I woke up asking myself “what is God doing?”…in my life?…in the lives of our students?…in the life of our youth ministry?…in the life of our church? After a game of “I spy” with Isabel and a couple of cups of coffee I still haven’t been able to shake the question. It’s stuck in my mind…and on my heart. I want to know what God is up to.
I’ll be talking about this Wednesday in both TM 412 and Escape. I’ll share what God has been doing in my life and I’ll ask what God has been doing in other lives. As the church (by the way, Dr. Brisco’s sermon on the church yesterday was spot on incredible! I hope you caught it…if not, you can hear it here) we need to share this with each other…not just as a nice gesture or another activity, but as part of the lifeblood of what God has called us to be (again, thanks to Dr. Brisco for speaking so clearly about God’s “calling” yesterday).
So about influence…I see stats often that remind me that the most important influence in the life and faith of a teenager is Mom and Dad. This is true across the board: for believers as well as for non-believers, for all races, for all socioeconomic groups, for all religions, no exceptions. I came across this table yesterday…yet another reminder.
My question then is this: What is God doing in your life, Mom and Dad? When was the last time you shared this with your daughter and with your son?
You are the strongest influence in the faith of your sons and daughters. I am the strongest influence in the faith of my daughter. This is the way God designed it (and it’s working by the way…you see a dad who prioritizes his relationship with God above everything else and you will see a son or daughter who learn to grow closer to God and make Him number one also). As parents we have got to leverage this influence. And a great way to start is through regular, intentional conversation.
So how about it Mom and Dad…What is God doing in your life?
Add comment April 27, 2009
ApParent Privilege Now In Our Library
Just wanted to let you know the book ApParent Privilege by Steve Wright is now in our church library. I encourage you to stop by tonight and be the first to check it out. We will be offering a small group for parents to really dissect and discuss this book soon. Be watching for details. (By the way, the book and the class are for all parents…not just parents of teens.)
Add comment February 4, 2009
Sports and Faith
Walt Mueller of the Center for Parent/Youth Understanding wrote this article titled “Turf Worship” last fall. The article is a great reminder and encouragement for those of us who have kids that play sports as well as for those of us who have kids that may someday play sports.
Add comment February 3, 2009
Sexting…You Need to Know About This
I have become increasingly more aware of the term sexting and the practice of sexting among teenagers. This blog addresses it well and includes a video from MSNBC. Please take the time to check it out and talk to your kids about it.
Add comment January 22, 2009
Journaling For My Daughter
I was first introduced to the idea of journaling for my daughter after reading Steve Wright’s ReThink several months ago. This is a common practice in Steve’s youth ministry and can be an incredible way to leave a spiritual legacy for our children. I left the book fully intending to begin this discipline for my daughter. I even have two brand new journals sitting at my desk. But it’s become one of those things that sounds like a great idea, but I haven’t practiced the discipline it takes to make it work (kind of like jogging everyday).
Today I was reading and came across a brief essay on the subject of Solomon and Proverbs. I never realized, but the book of Proverbs is actually a journal Solomon wrote to his son. Take a look…he calls the recipient of this book “son” 39 times, and 23 of those times actually reads “my son.” It was a not so subtle reminder for me of the intentions I had of journaling for my daughter not so long ago.
The beautiful thing about keeping a journal for our kids is that there are no rules. We can be as creative as we would like. I’ve heard of a dad that kept a journal for his daughter that he presented to her when she got married, of parents that gave a journal to their children when they graduated high school, and of parents who kept a journal and gave it to their kids annually (first of year, birthday, Christmas, start of school year, etc.) It can be done for specific purposes over a short period of time, such as band camp or a mission trip. Or it can be done over a long period of time. I personally like the idea of journalling knowing that my daughter will read these words when she is older, more mature, and will appreciate the significance more than she might as a child. I also like the idea of sharing my thoughts and prayers for her on a regular basis as she grows and matures.
Have any of you practiced the discipline of journalling for your kids? How is it going?
Add comment January 19, 2009
