Family Friday Links 7.22.16
Recently I read an article from the Gospel Coalition by 18 year-old Jaquelle Crowe. Her article is entitled 5 Reasons Why Teenagers Need Theology. As a young woman, she gives good insight to parents and youth workers on how to help their students to love theology. Jaquelle writes:
"I’m 18. I’ve studied and been taught theology all my life. It’s given me many things: a richer relationship with God; a stronger and more submissive relationship with my parents; a more discerning relationship with my friends; a more edifying approach to social media; a zealous desire to do my best in school; a biblical worldview; a bigger vision for my future; and a greater passion to follow God no matter what."
Anna Sargeant at the Verge network wrote "Who is Your Child?" This helpful article calls us to consider how God created our children and how we encourage them in their giftings. Sargeant writes:
"Giftedness defies the lie the world tells us that our kids need to be great (or at least good) at everything (or at least all the important things). Your kids will not be great at everything. But they can be good at the things God has built them to do! This perspective changes how we parent."
Jill Nelson at Children's Desiring God wrote Encouraging Our Children with Great Hymns. I love hymns and I hope my kids love them too. Hymns are encouraging and challenging to my faith. Jill writes:
"Great hymns are those that communicate the excellencies of the triune God and sound doctrine, encourage a right heart response, and do so in an appealing and enduring musical form. From childhood, these hymns were graven in my mind and, after Christ brought me to saving faith, these hymns became graven in my heart. Will this be true for our children, too?"
On 9 Marks for pastors there is a new post entitled, Leading the Church While Leading your Family. For church leaders this is an important reminder to love and serve your family well! Bob Johnson of Cornerstone Baptist Church writes:
"Serving the church is not merely a job; it is an all-consuming responsibility that can threaten a family. The emergency hospital trips and the frantic calls from a heartbroken spouse never come when you are sitting at home, caught up on your to-do list, bored stiff, and hoping for a crisis to break the monotony. For most of us, our bodies may be home, but our full attention is slow to arrive."
Sam Luce wrote a helpful piece on how to lead our children to repentance and not just to encourage saying I'm sorry. In his post entitled, Why Teaching Your Kids to Say Sorry Isn’t Good, Sam says,
"Sin is not a mistake for which we say oops, it is cosmic treason that should lead us to admit our sin and turn from our sin. The sooner we teach our kids to repent rather than say "I'm sorry" the closer they will grow to God's heart"
Do you have any thoughts on these articles? What are you reading this week? Please comment below.