Proverbs 13:5 The righteous hate what is false, but the desires of the diligent are fully satisfied. Our kids are growing up in a society that loves making evil good and good evil. It’s a confusing and frustrating generation for Christian kids to be immersed in. The Bible draws clear lines between what is false and what is true, but our society no longer finds its morality within scriptures. Instead we live in a world of shifting mores. Whatever feels right right now, must be right. In this dangerous way of thinking, “truth” shifts as often as the seasons. Movies,…
12:26 A righteous man is cautious in friendship, but the way of the wicked leads them astray. One of my oldest son’s best friends is the son of one of my college friends. It is not by accident. When our boys were in third grade, my friend and I became proactive in their friendship, orchestrating times for the boys to hang out together. Theirs is a friendship that probably wouldn’t have blossomed without a little push because the boys didn’t naturally cross paths. In all of their years of elementary school, they were only placed in the same classroom…
I can’t even tell you how much I love the article I am linking to in this post. Having observed my husband pour his heart, goofiness, and musical talent into youth for more than a decade and having watched our dear friend and longtime youth pastor (turned lead pastor) pour his life into so very many kids during his tenure at our church, I have seen firsthand what it means to teens when adults take them seriously. And it means a lot. Teens need us to see their intrinsic value. When we welcome their input, they are valued. When we do…
Proverbs 11:2 When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom. My Owen loves to play football. Before he was old enough for school ball he played on a youth team, and man did he enjoy it. One of those years his team won one game. One game. They practiced hard and played hard, but they just couldn’t pull off a win. I credit his coaches for instilling in the boys the love of the game, even in loss. They encouraged those boys continually. And each week the kids went out and gave it their best. And they never…
I love watching my kids play sports. I’m a quiet person by nature, but when a game gets intense sometimes I yell a little. And sometimes I grind my fingernails into Corey’s leg. And sometimes I think he’d prefer to sit with someone else. As much as I enjoy watching my kids play, extra-curriculars on Sunday are hard for me. When I was growing up, Sundays were untouched by youth sports. In fact, they were untouched by pretty much anything but church and family. (I can’t think of a business that was open in my small hometown on Sundays.) Our culture has changed,…