My kids told me they’re divorcing.
I went to the gym this week. A gym acquaintance was there. But, this day was a little different. He was on his stomach looking at his phone and tears filled his eyes. “I know God doesn’t give us more than we can handle, but…” In one week he lost his father-in-law, two sons are in the hospital (one critical), and his other son announced that he and his wife were divorcing. I prayed with him and then asked, “What are you going to do?” He said, “Trust God and continue to speak the truth and love. That’s all I can do.” As we stand beside our adult kids, they need to see that, despite the trials, we STILL trust God. No matter their walk, all involved will see God giving strength in the storm.
I don’t even WANT to be around that kid.
I heard that comment recently from a Sunday school teacher. This was somebody who taught for YEARS. She was so frustrated by the lack of respect shown to her by some of her fifth-grade students. Lack of engagement. Blurting out. Utter rudeness. I get requests all the time from parents asking me to address this issue. So, here it is. Mom and Dad, if our kids are rude, it’s because of sin, no doubt. But WE need to help resolve the problem. TEACH respect. Boys open doors for girls. Look adults in the eye when you talk to them. “Yes, sir” and “Yes, ma’am” should be standard responses. PRACTICE it. If our kids can’t respect adults, how are they going to respect God and His Word?
Racism is serious, and roots are deep.
Today’s politics seem to be throwing the racism accusation around often. Frankly, a lot of us may not be racists, but we just act foolish trying NOT to be. We try to avoid the trappings of racism by encouraging our kids to go to the inner city, or invite the inner city to us. Kenda, a friend of Keys for Kids, says these are great intentions, but when she hears this, she feels as if we’re discovering a new alien life form—and not speaking of a person. While our skin may be a different color, the idea that we’re “different” has to change. So, parents, what do we do to help our kids change the perspective? Pray. Ask God to give us guidance. And then just love people. That example speaks volumes.
Tattoos are in—I want one.
I don’t know how you feel about tattoos, but I don’t like them. Other people can have them, that’s fine. But for me, I just couldn’t mark up my skin with something I’ll probably get sick of in just a couple of weeks. Teens are getting them left and right these days—some of them will prevent them from getting good jobs or cast that bad-boy or bad-girl image. While they’re in NOW, they may not be 10 or 15 years from now. Our rules? No tattoos and (other than pierced earlobes) no piercings while living under our roof. No, they’re not sinful by themselves (although they can be), but for our family, it gave our kids time to mature—needed when creating something they’ll have to live with for the rest of their lives.
My wife and daughter fight all the time.
An 18-year-old daughter was acting entitled. On top of it, she was treating everyone in the family as peons. While Dad was away on a business trip, it all hit the fan. So, when he got home, he turned her world upside down. With a broken heart, he told her she now was required to pay for her phone, insurance—everything. And when she graduated from high school, she had to find her own apartment. Rather than getting angry, she realized her sin and emotionally confessed. But Dad did something unthinkable. He said, “Words are great, but go about your life prepared to do all we talked about. It’s good training.” With a twinkle in his eye, he looked at me and said, “I can’t wait to show her grace and mercy.”