Girlfriends, Curfews and Grades…Oh My! Parenting Today’s Teenager!

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 Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion.  Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere. Ephesians 6:18 NLT

Moms of teenagers, buckle up, all the bumps and bruises you went through in the baby, child, and adolescent stage start to prepare you for the adventure of parenting today’s teenager. I’m not trying to scare you at all, just speaking the truth in love from one mom to another. So, let’s put on our safety harness and walk through some of this together, shall we?

As the mom of two teenage boys it seems these are the top three topics in our world right now.

  1. Girlfriends,

  2. Curfews,

  3. and Grades…Oh My!

How on earth is a mom to maneuver this obstacle course called life with these things going on?

The only and best way she can…through lots and lots of prayer and in partnership with God, your spouse, your kids, your family and yes, even other moms.

I love this section in Ephesians 6, it’s actually 6:10-20 and in this section it talks about putting on the whole armor of God, which is incredibly rich with detail, purpose and passion, but for the topic of parenting today’s teenager I wanted to focus on verse 18. As mom’s there is a sweet little nugget we can grab hold of to help us as we wade through the sometimes turbulent waters of the teenage years.

It’s these eight little words, “stay alert and be persistent in your prayers” that can make a difference. Let’s dig into this a little and see how we can apply this to our parenting.

Stay Alert

  • Be aware of what’s going on in your child’s life.

  • Ask questions, then listen (really listen) when they share things with you.

  • Stay involved in their education, connect with their school and their teachers.

  • Get to know their girlfriends (or boyfriends if you have daughters) and their families.

Be Persistent

  • Never, ever stop praying for your child — they need your prayers now more than ever.

  • Let them know that even though they might resist at first that you will patiently wait for them to let you into their world.

  • Set up a family dinner night so everyone can talk openly about their issues/struggles/concerns.

  • Have the girlfriends (or boyfriends if you have daughters) and their family over or go out and grab dinner together.

Your Prayers

  • Pray for their girlfriends (or boyfriends if you have daughters) and their relationship with your child.

  • Pray for wisdom in your parenting, yes, even for setting a curfew.

  • Pray for their teachers, administrators, and grades.

  • Pray for your family as you go through these uncharted territories called the teenage years.

I’ll be the first to admit, it is not always easy. I want to try to “fix” it all for them, but part of our job as their moms is to prepare them to be adults. So, there is always this tug of letting them figure some of it out on their own, while also gently guiding, instructing and being there to jump in if needed. It’s a constant battle, but just as the butterfly has to wrestle and wiggle it’s way out of the cocoon, so does our teenager as they get ready for becoming an adult.

You can do this mom, I know you can. Stay alert, be persistent, and keep those prayers coming…you are doing a good work in the life of your teen.

Seeking JOY on the Journey,

Melissa Mashburn

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Stephanie Shott
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