I am Michelle, married to my husband Jim for 25 years. We have 2 daughters, Bailey (age 16) and Sydney (age 12). Both girls have enjoyed ballet dancing for years, and Sydney has recently added track and cross country.
Now that my kids have become teenagers, my husband and I have thought and prayed through what this spiritual discipleship process should look like as they move closer and closer to adulthood. On the one hand, our teens are often exposed to more worldly influences than when they were younger, making it more essential to guide them through uncharted waters that could affect their faith. On the other hand, they are growing up and becoming more independent, making it harder to know how to spiritually mentor them without making them feel “too young” or worrying that they won’t want our spiritual influence in their lives any longer. For this reason, I felt led to interview young adults who are strong in their faith and were positively impacted by their parent’s spiritual mentorship during their teen years to learn what impacted them the most. These insights will help those of us seeking to spiritually disciple our own teenagers to gain insights on what seems to work well and how to best encourage our kids spiritually during this more complex stage of life.
Guest Post: By Belinda Letchford
I would like to welcome Belinda Letchford, an amazing parenting blogger, podcaster, and mom of four adult children, as she gives us some helpful tips on building relationships with our teens. For more information on Belinda and her wonderful resources, check out her bio at the bottom of this post.
“A farmer went out to sow his seed….Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root.” Matthew 13:3, 5-6 (NIV) This month we are looking at the seed that fell on the rocky places and how that seed sprang up quickly because it had little soil. When the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they hadn’t developed roots… So how do we provide good soil for our kids?