Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Parenting Is A Life Sentence!

Parenting Is A Life Sentence! It is just determining how you want to serve your sentence! If you have been around my for very long, you will have heard me make this statement. You see even when your children are older, hopefully wiser, and in much more debt, you are still the parent. You see my father passed away at age 66 and his mother was still living when he passed away. She told me that he was born on a Saturday morning and he went home to Jesus on a Saturday. You see she was, and is, still a parent.

Lately my heart has been breaking over things I am seeing in our culture about students, disrespect, dishonor, lack of character, bold face lying, and thinking that their parents can't tell them what to do. I know this has probably been around since I was a rebellious teen many years ago, last century actually. But there is something different about what I am seeing now. You see I am seeing NO MEASURABLE DIFFERENCE IN THE STUDENTS AT THE LOCAL SCHOOL AND THE STUDENTS THAT CLAIM CHRIST AS SAVIOR!
I am heartbroken for many of our parents that seem so frustrated and want to throw up their hands in despair and quit.

So what can one Youth Minister do? Well I can support, equip, and write so our parents might have someone to help them, to walk with them, to hold them up in prayer and be there for the parent as well as the student.

That being said I am going to spend the next several blogs working on somethings in the area of parenting of teens. The direct audience will be the parents but there will be times that the teens might want to take a look at what I am telling their parents about them.

I am not an expert! I am a parent, I am a grand-parent, and I too have had my share, maybe more than my fair share of failures, but I know one thing for sure; we have to help each other as much as we can. I have listened to crushed parents and I want to help glue them back together. Parents that are cruising down the river called denial and clueless. Parents that think there is nothing they can do now because it is too late. I can tell you this, BUNK! You are the parent and you can make a difference. God put you in charge and you can do it.

So over the next few days, weeks, etc. I will try to post things to help you out and give you practical things you can do to move your teen into adulthood responsibly.

Remember I'm pulling for you because we're all in this together and "Parenting Is A Life Sentence!"

4 comments:

Sylvia Powell said...

Steve,
you are right. Parenting is for life and all parents and kids (particularly teenagers) need reassurance, guidance, hope, directioon and an uncompromised faith in God.


Keep up the good work. You do make a difference.
Sylvia Powell

Christa said...

Right on, Daddy! I had a parent of one of my 5th graders tell me, "my kids know that if they push me I just give in. Now, what can you do about their behavior?" Nothing if you won't back me up!!! Put on the "parent pants!" Like the comment: it's your role, your assignment, you CAN do this... you have to! It's tentative ground you tread on though: you know some will get their feelings hurt and toes stepped on: perhaps that is because they see themselves reflected in the mirror of the audience? :) <3 u!!!

Ben said...

Steve, I'm really looking forward to this series of articles. How many do you have in mind? Would it be alright if I do a meta-blog at my site about your articles?

Ben said...

By the way, I think you've hit a very big point that you're not seeing much difference in attitudes between our Christian teens and our nonChristian teens. Of course, these teens grow up and often become lukewarm adults as well. I'm sure you're going to explore why that is in your series. If so, I'll wait. If not, why do you think that is?