Contents
1.Tools for Parenting Teens
2.Learn Their Lingo
3.Links to Learn From
4.A Little Encouragement...And Humor
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
1. Tools for Parenting Teens
From http://www.realworldparents.com/starters/
When God Changes the Plan
Does your family live and die by a schedule or is constant, spontaneous change of direction the norm in your household? Both approaches to life offer advantages and disadvantages and reflect our own personalities as parents.
And depending on the personality of our kids, they may feel frustrated and insecure by even slight changes in the expected routine—or bored nearly to death by a rigid commitment not to violate the communicated schedule.
Whatever we personally feel more comfortable with, part of maturing as a Christian involves growing in our ability to trust God when He steps in and changes our plans. We hope to equip our kids with the tools to begin to do so, as well.
We’re pulling our talking points this week from Mark 6:30-44. Jesus and the disciples had a very reasonable plan to go off by themselves and get some rest. Instead, they ended up in another marathon ministry session that led to a food crisis and what felt like unreasonable expectations from Jesus to fix it.
You know the story of the feeding of the 5,000. We hope a few of these questions will help you to talk with your kids about that story—and how to expect God to always give us the resources we need to do what He asks even when it is unexpected.
Talking Points
•Which do you feel most comfortable with—having a set schedule where you know what to expect or being spontaneous and changing plans as you go along? Why do you prefer one or the other?
•How do you think our family tends to operate—mostly according to plan or mostly changing the plan as we go along? Do you like the way we tend to operate or does it sometimes frustrate you?
•Do you think one approach is necessarily better than the other or is it mostly about personality and what each of us prefers?
•Sometimes we have plans to do things—good things—and then they get changed by circumstances beyond our control. How frustrating is that for you? Can you think of a time recently when that happened?
•Do you ever wonder if God is involved in changing those plans for us? Can you think of reasons He would step in and redirect us from what we set out to do?
•Mark 6 tells a story about Jesus and the disciples when they had a plan to go off to a quiet place by themselves and get some rest. Instead, the crowds of people found them and Jesus decided to change the plan and keep teaching. How would you have felt about this, do you think, if you were one of the tired disciples?
•Can you think of times when we changed our plans as a family to help someone in need? How did you feel about that at the time?
•The spontaneous change of plans created a problem. People were hungry and there wasn’t much food nearby. Can you think of a time when an unexpected change of plan caused a problem for our family that needed fixing?
•How do we usually think about those kinds of problems—as a hassle or as an opportunity to see how God will help us fix it?
•The disciples came up with a good plan to fix the problem: Send the people away to go get themselves some food. Instead, Jesus asked the disciples to feed the people with almost no food. Does that command sound unreasonable to you?
•It would have been understandable for the disciples to have a bad attitude about Jesus asking them to do an impossible thing—especially at the end of day when all of their plans had been changed. Do you think that would have made it okay to have a bad attitude about it?
•What would the disciples have missed out on if they had refused to participate because of their disappointment, tiredness, and sense of unfair treatment? [Parent: Emphasize that the disciples would have missed out on seeing God do something truly miraculous right in front of their eyes.]
•God is always working, even in our ordinary everyday lives. Will we miss noticing what He’s up to if we can’t “handle” an unexpected change of plans and the new problems it might create?
•What can we do as a family to avoid getting negative and to help each other look for what God is up to when our plans get changed?
Daily Prayer
Ask God to help your child to respond with compassion and servanthood to the needs of others. (See Mark 6:34.)
Featured Resource: Boundaries with Teens
In this exciting new book, Dr. Townsend gives important keys for establishing healthy boundaries—the bedrock of good relationships, maturity, safety, and growth for teens and the adults in their lives. The book offers help in raising your teens to take responsibility for their actions, attitudes, and emotions.
http://www.realworldparents.com/store/item/boundaries_with_teens/
2. Learn Their Lingo
Automagically = something that happens automatically, but that also has some mysterious, "magical" element to it. "Smart" appliances, features, etc. that do intelligent things with less help than you might expect
Mantrum = when a grown man throws a tantrum when he can't have his way
3. Links to Learn From
Fort Hood Shooting: Five tips to help parents talk to their kids about violence in the news
http://www.examiner.com/x-14708-Toddlers-to-Teens-Examiner~y2009m11d6-Fort-Hood-Shooting-Five-tips-to-help-parents-talk-to-their-kids-about-violence-in-the-news
Teenage pregnancy does not discriminate
http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=861929&category=OPINION
Hunger in America: Half of Our Kids on Food Stamps
http://chattahbox.com/us/2009/11/03/hunger-in-america-half-of-our-kids-on-food-stamps/
4. A Little Encouragement...And Humor
As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.
- John Fitzgerald Kennedy
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Talk About Praise
Contents
1.Tools for Parenting Teens
2.Learn Their Lingo
3.Links to Learn From
4.A Little Encouragement...And Humor
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
1. Tools for Parenting Teens
From http://www.realworldparents.com/starters/
Talk About Praise
You likely experience praising God together with your family regularly at church. But how often do you talk about that experience? Why do we do it? Why does God care? What does it do for us and for Him?
I was reminded at church this week that so much of our education about who God is and what matters to Him comes during times of singing praise and worship songs in church. The mom sitting in the row behind me was telling her curious pre-schooler the name of each song and a line about what it meant: “God’s love is big!”
I grew up singing hymns and praise songs in church from before I could talk. I eventually realized as a young teen that some of the songs I’d been singing my whole life didn’t make sense to me. But the more I learned about the Bible, the more I understood how those words I’d been singing fit into everything I believed. The songs started to matter more.
We’re pulling our talking points about praising God from Psalm 66 this week. We hope a few of questions below might help you to have a productive conversation with your child about how we praise God and why it matters.
Talking Points
•Do you enjoy our time of singing praise and worship songs together as a church? Why or why not?
•What do you like most about it?
•What do you like least about it, if anything?
•What are a few of your favorite songs that we sing?
•What do you think singing those praise and worship songs does for us as Christians? How does it help us in our relationship with God? How does it help us to live better for Him or closer to Him? [Parent: Emphasize that we are commanded to praise God and that doing so helps us to draw closer to Him. It also reminds us of what is “real,” that He is God and every good thing comes from Him.]
•Do you think our singing of worship and praise songs does anything for God? Does He benefit from our sincere worship and praise? [Parent: Emphasize that yes, God cares about and responds to our worship. Some Bible verses you could look at together include James 4:8; Psalm 22:3; Psalm 103:2; Hebrews 11:6.]
•When David praises God in the Psalms, he often talks about shouting and being loud. Do you think we’re loud enough when we praise God together at church? Why or why not? What’s the point of being loud? [Parent: See Psalm 66:1-2.]
•In the Psalms, David often praises God for specific things about God that are great, like His power or mercy. What are some other great things about God we can praise Him for?
•Another thing David does in the Psalms is that he notices and describes great things God has done for him or Israel—and then David brings those things up again and again to talk about how good God is. What are some great things God has done for our family that we can remember and talk about when we praise Him?
•In the middle of praising God for the good things He has done for Israel in Psalm 66, David mentions that God tested them, “brought us into prison and laid burdens on our backs” and then “brought us into a place of abundance.” Why do you think David would praise God for taking his people into and out of a terrible time? [Parent: God’s grace to us includes using the hard times in our lives to bring us closer to Him—and He deserves our praise for that, too.]
•Of course we can praise God silently in our hearts and minds as an act of personal worship. But Psalms 66 encourages us to praise God out loud to each other. Why do you think that matters? [Parent: Emphasize that praising God to each other encourages us all to praise Him more.]
Daily Prayer
Ask God to help your child to keep remembering the works He has done on their behalf and to keep rejoicing in Him. (See Psalm 66:5-6.)
Featured Resource: Boundaries with Teens
In this exciting new book, Dr. Townsend gives important keys for establishing healthy boundaries—the bedrock of good relationships, maturity, safety, and growth for teens and the adults in their lives. The book offers help in raising your teens to take responsibility for their actions, attitudes, and emotions.
http://www.realworldparents.com/store/item/boundaries_with_teens/
2. Learn Their Lingo
Automagically = something that happens automatically, but that also has some mysterious, "magical" element to it. "Smart" appliances, features, etc. that do intelligent things with less help than you might expect.
Mantrum = when a grown man throws a tantrum when he can't have his way.
3. Links to Learn From
Fort Hood Shooting: Five tips to help parents talk to their kids about violence in the news
http://www.examiner.com/x-14708-Toddlers-to-Teens-Examiner~y2009m11d6-Fort-Hood-Shooting-Five-tips-to-help-parents-talk-to-their-kids-about-violence-in-the-news
Teenage pregnancy does not discriminate
http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=861929&category=OPINION
Hunger in America: Half of Our Kids on Food Stamps
http://chattahbox.com/us/2009/11/03/hunger-in-america-half-of-our-kids-on-food-stamps/
4. A Little Encouragement...And Humor
As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.
- John Fitzgerald Kennedy
1.Tools for Parenting Teens
2.Learn Their Lingo
3.Links to Learn From
4.A Little Encouragement...And Humor
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
1. Tools for Parenting Teens
From http://www.realworldparents.com/starters/
Talk About Praise
You likely experience praising God together with your family regularly at church. But how often do you talk about that experience? Why do we do it? Why does God care? What does it do for us and for Him?
I was reminded at church this week that so much of our education about who God is and what matters to Him comes during times of singing praise and worship songs in church. The mom sitting in the row behind me was telling her curious pre-schooler the name of each song and a line about what it meant: “God’s love is big!”
I grew up singing hymns and praise songs in church from before I could talk. I eventually realized as a young teen that some of the songs I’d been singing my whole life didn’t make sense to me. But the more I learned about the Bible, the more I understood how those words I’d been singing fit into everything I believed. The songs started to matter more.
We’re pulling our talking points about praising God from Psalm 66 this week. We hope a few of questions below might help you to have a productive conversation with your child about how we praise God and why it matters.
Talking Points
•Do you enjoy our time of singing praise and worship songs together as a church? Why or why not?
•What do you like most about it?
•What do you like least about it, if anything?
•What are a few of your favorite songs that we sing?
•What do you think singing those praise and worship songs does for us as Christians? How does it help us in our relationship with God? How does it help us to live better for Him or closer to Him? [Parent: Emphasize that we are commanded to praise God and that doing so helps us to draw closer to Him. It also reminds us of what is “real,” that He is God and every good thing comes from Him.]
•Do you think our singing of worship and praise songs does anything for God? Does He benefit from our sincere worship and praise? [Parent: Emphasize that yes, God cares about and responds to our worship. Some Bible verses you could look at together include James 4:8; Psalm 22:3; Psalm 103:2; Hebrews 11:6.]
•When David praises God in the Psalms, he often talks about shouting and being loud. Do you think we’re loud enough when we praise God together at church? Why or why not? What’s the point of being loud? [Parent: See Psalm 66:1-2.]
•In the Psalms, David often praises God for specific things about God that are great, like His power or mercy. What are some other great things about God we can praise Him for?
•Another thing David does in the Psalms is that he notices and describes great things God has done for him or Israel—and then David brings those things up again and again to talk about how good God is. What are some great things God has done for our family that we can remember and talk about when we praise Him?
•In the middle of praising God for the good things He has done for Israel in Psalm 66, David mentions that God tested them, “brought us into prison and laid burdens on our backs” and then “brought us into a place of abundance.” Why do you think David would praise God for taking his people into and out of a terrible time? [Parent: God’s grace to us includes using the hard times in our lives to bring us closer to Him—and He deserves our praise for that, too.]
•Of course we can praise God silently in our hearts and minds as an act of personal worship. But Psalms 66 encourages us to praise God out loud to each other. Why do you think that matters? [Parent: Emphasize that praising God to each other encourages us all to praise Him more.]
Daily Prayer
Ask God to help your child to keep remembering the works He has done on their behalf and to keep rejoicing in Him. (See Psalm 66:5-6.)
Featured Resource: Boundaries with Teens
In this exciting new book, Dr. Townsend gives important keys for establishing healthy boundaries—the bedrock of good relationships, maturity, safety, and growth for teens and the adults in their lives. The book offers help in raising your teens to take responsibility for their actions, attitudes, and emotions.
http://www.realworldparents.com/store/item/boundaries_with_teens/
2. Learn Their Lingo
Automagically = something that happens automatically, but that also has some mysterious, "magical" element to it. "Smart" appliances, features, etc. that do intelligent things with less help than you might expect.
Mantrum = when a grown man throws a tantrum when he can't have his way.
3. Links to Learn From
Fort Hood Shooting: Five tips to help parents talk to their kids about violence in the news
http://www.examiner.com/x-14708-Toddlers-to-Teens-Examiner~y2009m11d6-Fort-Hood-Shooting-Five-tips-to-help-parents-talk-to-their-kids-about-violence-in-the-news
Teenage pregnancy does not discriminate
http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=861929&category=OPINION
Hunger in America: Half of Our Kids on Food Stamps
http://chattahbox.com/us/2009/11/03/hunger-in-america-half-of-our-kids-on-food-stamps/
4. A Little Encouragement...And Humor
As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.
- John Fitzgerald Kennedy
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