Hey Parents!
Let me just start by saying, GOSH DANG IT I miss your kids! Even the ones I haven’t seen in a while! (And you… but ya know… just not as much as I miss them). I have been thinking about you and praying for you. It’s HARD right now! How are you holding up?

I was listening to a podcast the other day and it reminded me of the loneliness and pressure a lot of parents are feeling. Especially when it comes to the development of your kid’s faith and beliefs. Normally you have a TEAM. You’ve got church service, youth group, grandparents, maybe your student meets with a mentor or youth leader, all of those things/people are resources you can tap into… But right now, a lot of those things are inaccessible.

All the weight of your child’s faith development sits on your shoulders. (Maybe you haven’t thought about this yet and I’m making you panic… hold off the panic for one moment longer and read on!)Brandon, the other youth leaders and I are doing our best to get content out there and involve students in weekly zoom meetings but its not the same as what we are able to do face to face when life was more “normal”. 

Here’s the reality (This is meant to be an encouragement… so read it in that tone)… The responsibility of your child’s faith development has ALWAYS rested on your shoulders…God made you their parent! God gifted you with this role, of being the one to shepherd your student along in their journey! You can do this… really, you can. That’s not to say it isn’t difficult, and frustrating at times, and absolutely terrifying!
So I thought it might be helpful if I sent you some resources over the coming weeks. If its not helpful… let me know? If you can think of something that would be more helpful, let me know!

Here’s this week’s parenting tip:
Check out Parent Cue: https://theparentcue.org
This is an AMAZING resource for parents. I DARE you to just spend 5 minutes on their website. They’ve got articles and info on EVERYTHING. They have an app too! Search ParentCue in your App store and you can get things like weekly bible studies, reminders, ideas of how to talk to your kid about God. So many good things!

This week I encourage you to check out this article https://theparentcue.org/7-tips-to-help-your-teenager-develop-faith-skills/. To make it SUPER easy for you, I actually made a video of me READING the article to you! So you don’t even have to read it! Just watch the video or listen to it while you’re driving, cooking dinner, getting ready for bed etc. Here’s the link to that:
https://youtu.be/F3X5HWjfnjE
Please be advised, this is not my content. I’m literally just reading the article! So don’t give me the credit, give it to Ben Crawshaw, who wrote it. If this is helpful to you at all please let me know? (If its not and you hate it you can tell me that as well… all feedback is welcome!) 

I love you guys. Hang in there. Press into the Lord. Reach out to me if you need help or just to talk. I may not be able to take you out to coffee but I’d be happy to meet with you over zoom or on the phone. 

Grace and Peace to you friends

-B