Tag: parenting

Christian

Parenting Teens Isn’t For Wimps

Cindy Dawson

Do your kids have secrets they don’t share with you? Well, I don’t know about you, but I certainly didn’t tell my parents everything I did! And I was a “good” kid (well, at least until I went away to college).

In the day we live it is more important than ever to talk to your kids and build up trust so they will tell you about school and their friends. Your kids need to be unafraid of how you will respond. They need to be able to voice their concerns to someone they know loves them.

If they say something shocking, don’t overreact! Take a deep breath and try to continue the conversation calmly so that you can discuss what they said. (Kids have been known to try to shock you.)

Consider this snippet of a real conversation a mother had with her young married daughter, Jane. (Names have been changed.)

Mom: “Are you going to church?” (not the first time Jane got this question!)

Jane: “Not really.”

Mom: “You need to go to church! It’s really important. Blah, blah, blah”

Jane: “I don’t know if I even believe in God!”

Mom freaks out and starts yelling! “You’re not my daughter! I don’t have a daughter!”

Jane storms out of the house and they don’t speak to each other for over a year.

Now here’s the back story: Jane was a Christian, but she was seriously questioning her belief in God. She accepted Jesus as a child, but she never had the support she needed to grow and mature in Christ. She needed someone to voice her concerns to.

Jesus didn’t abandon Jane. He watched over her for many years until she found her way back to Him. (He is the most faithful friend you could ever have.) Not many years later, Jane did go back to church and eventually even became involved in ministry.

So, if your child says something shocking to you that makes you want to scream, consider it an opportunity for them to think through what they said with someone who loves them.

“Be merciful to those who doubt” Jude 1:22 NIV

 “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.  Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.” 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 NIV

The demands on parents today can be overwhelming, especially on moms. I know what it’s like to lose my cool. We’ve all done it!

My advice is to prepare yourself ahead of time for how you will respond to some outrageous remark from your teen because it will probably happen eventually. When something comes at us out of the blue and we are caught off guard, that’s when our response may be less than stellar.

“Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,” 1 Peter 3:15 NIV

In His Love, Cindy

Do you want to know more about Jesus? See my page Who Is Jesus?

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Christian

How Can We Protect Our Children?

Cindy Dawson

The world (and our children) are being brainwashed like never before. In an attempt to normalize homosexuality, TV and even commercials show men kissing men and other sinful behaviors. And it isn’t subtle! It’s right in your face!

Libraries are bringing in drag queens to entertain little children.

I’m amazed at how easily our culture has been completely changed, virtually overnight. And for our youth, this is all they’ve ever seen on TV, in commercials, and even in cartoons.

In some schools, transgenderism is being promoted and even encouraged. This is outrageous!

Militant transgender advocates are imposing their agenda with uncompromising zeal on schoolchildren.

That’s fine with President Joe Biden. His administration announced this month that by April, it will enhance the legal entitlements of transgender public-school students, with new guarantees regarding access to bathrooms, locker rooms and sports competitions.

These issues grab the headlines, but they’re less harmful to most students than the damage being done by the distortion of the school curriculum. From the youngest age, students are being brainwashed with gender ideology.

Children — as young as 5 — are being encouraged to disregard their anatomy and choose their gender based on their feelings.”

New York Times, April 17, 2023

At least for people my age, we know it hasn’t always been this way. That’s why training our children according to God’s Word is so vitally important.

Christian parents must teach their children that God loves the sinner. He died to wash away our sins because He loved us so much. But that does not mean we should allow them to be brainwashed into thinking that what God calls sin is to be accepted as normal behavior.

Some parents are sending their children to a Christian school. Some are homeschooled. Some parents have removed television access. Individual parents must decide what course of action to take.

“These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.” Deuteronomy 6:6-7

“Oh, that their hearts would be inclined to fear me and keep all my commands always, so that it might go well with them and their children forever!” Deuteronomy 5:29

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” John 3:16-17

As Christian parents, we must teach our children according to God’s Word. In this day and age, it will not be easy. It will require us to honestly evaluate the situation we find ourselves in and take action to protect our children.

In His Love, Cindy

Do you want to know more about Jesus? See my page Who Is Jesus?

All Scripture references are from the NIV unless otherwise noted.

Photo by Thomas Park on Unsplash

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