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Joining in the Faith Journey

Posted by Mario Arindaeng on

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One privilege of serving in youth ministry is seeing the daily impact that parents have on their teenagers’ faith journeys. In fact, you’re their most important spiritual mentor. That’s why your faith, no matter where you are on that journey, matters so much. I spend much more time with my three kids than their youth minister does. They’re always watching to see how I live out my faith. They’re trying to discern if what I say I believe is really true. I’ll be the first to admit I’ve blown it at times; my faith hasn’t always been the great example I wanted. So this is a quick encouragement to assess a few areas that could pay huge dividends. Ask yourself: How does my faith journey impact our home? Do my kids see Jesus in our conversations? Do we pray together? Read the Bible? When difficulties arise, how do my kids know I’m looking to Jesus for help? Answer these questions with actions. Consider one tangible way you can sharpen, deepen, or examine your faith journey. How will you model that? Remember that every faith journey has successes and failures, and be authentic about them all. Your teenagers will benefit from seeing your real faith worked out in your real life. You can do this. Follow Jesus, and that faith will be passed on to your kids.

—Lars Rood

Tips

Easter is just around the corner. And though your family may have abandoned traditional egg hunts years ago, you might want to reinvent this time-tested tradition. Easter treats are a great way to communicate love to your teenagers. Get creative with these “eggs-citing” ideas:

  • Geo-cache—Geo-caching is like a high-tech treasure hunt using GPS coordinates. Hand your teenagers plastic eggs containing nothing but longitude and latitude coordinates. Then let them use a GPS or smartphone to sleuth it out. For pointers, use the first nine tips at this site: www.wikihow.com/Create-and-Hide-a-Geocach
  • All edible—Make the entire event edible. Do a quick Pinterest search for “edible Easter baskets” to find an idea. It can be something simple like using candy boxes to create a basket or something familiar like using a Rice Krispies treats recipe. Or consider more elaborate cakes with weave-patterned icing or melted chocolate bowls.
  • All-day delights—Make multiple mini-baskets using muffin cups or single plastic eggs filled with one or two small treats. Leave them in all the places you know your teenagers will hang out: the bathroom, the refrigerator, their car dashboard, their backpack, atop their phone, and so on.

The View

If you plan to communicate with your kids via social media, know what they’re using! Facebook has become archaic for many teenagers. But instead of migrating to one platform, they’re scattering to a variety of hangout spots:

  • instagram.com (photo-inspired posts)
  • vine.com (video-inspired posts)
  • tumblr.com (a blog-like site with images and short posts)
  • reddit.com (a melting pot with various areas of interest)
  • snapchat.com  (visual messaging)
  • kik.com (smartphone messenger and browser in one app)
  • pinterest.com (categorized information)
  • pheed.com (a variety of digital content and 420-character posts)

 Youth Lingo

Hashtags are all the rage—but what are they, and how do they work? A hashtag (or pound sign) marks the words that follow it as “searchable” on social-media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr. For example: #teenagersrock

 When you click on the hashtagged word(s), you can see all posts that have used it. But sometimes hashtags are used merely as comic relief in a post. Let your kids develop a family hashtag—funny or serious—and use it as a way to communicate! 

Put Prom in its Place

Expert Insights for Parents of Teenagers

2014_01_04 Parent Link

Prom season is fast approaching, and excitement is undoubtedly building for the big night. As you and your teenagers begin navigating what prom will look like, consider these tips:

1. Set a budget…a cheap one!
This isn’t a wedding. The more “significance” you lend to prom with your pocketbook, the more significant it becomes to teenagers. Help them keep prom in perspective by setting a realistic and frugal budget.

2. Meet the date.
Regardless of who your son or daughter is attending prom with (a date or a group of friends), don’t let prom night be the first time you meet the other kids. Instead, invite them over before the big event.

3. Set a curfew.
Yes, your teenagers will try to convince you that curfews are outdated and no one uses them anymore. The truth is, most parents are “peer-pressured” into that belief. It simply isn’t true! Set a curfew that allows your kids a little bit of freedom but also gives you some piece of mind.

4. Don’t allow “intimate” overnights.
By that, I mean no overnighters that aren’t sponsored by an entity such as a church, school, or business. Overnighters should be supervised by multiple adults and require a release form. Otherwise, let them pass right on by.

5. Set the expectations.
Let your teenagers know exactly what you expect of them. This includes during the date, during the dance, and everything before, after, and in between. Prom is a memory-maker for most teenagers. Help them make the best memories by protecting their hearts, bodies, and minds.

Celebrate Teens

Did you know Time magazine publishes a list of the world’s most influential teenagers? Check it out at http://time100.time.com/2013/11/12/the-16-most-influential-teens-of-2013/.) Your teenagers may not make it onto Time’s impressive list, but they should be at the top of your list. Find something they’re doing well and make a big deal out of it. Make sure your kids know they’re on your own list of impressive and important teenagers!

The Lighter Side

I want my children to have all the things I couldn’t afford. Then I want to move in with them. —Phyllis Diller

The truth is that parents are not really interested in justice. They just want quiet. —Bill Cosby

 

 

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