teens Archives - Page 2 of 3 - The Sparrow's Home

Where to draw the boundaries on media content? That’s up to you. How to do it? We’re here to help.

October 1, 2018 by Susan Leave a Comment

Resources to help parents control what kids watch, play, and do online. Every family has different boundaries on media content and screen time for kids. Regardless of where you set your boundaries, we’ve got resources to help you do it.

As parents, it’s hard to draw the lines regarding what tv shows, movies, video games, or apps we allow. I’m not here to tell you where to draw those lines today. (Let’s have that discussion another time, I’d love to know how you make those decisions).

For today, let’s agree that being intentional in setting boundaries matters. Because honestly, if you’re not…well, you’re choosing open your child up to anything. And that’s not cool. Or responsible. Or loving.

This boundary setting is an ongoing process. Clearly as our kids get older the boundaries change. And by the time they are older teenagers, our job is more in apprenticing them in how they can set God-pleasing boundaries for themselves as adults.

At every stage, however, we need tools that can help us to know which media is a yes, let’s watch, which is when you’re older, and which is our worldview prohibits this.

Let your geek flag fly. Dragon Con for families.

September 10, 2018 by Susan 4 Comments

How many places can you see Thanos, the Dread Pirate Roberts, Tinker Bell and zombies all at once? Not many, I’ll tell you that.

Something called Dragon Con is not something that would garner my attention normally. Even though I live with three guys who are into games with lots of orcs, wizards and superheroes, and we watch movies with…well, lots of orcs, wizards and superheroes….I can handle only so much of the nerd-dom.

I’ve known about Dragon Con for a long time. Some of the organizers are friends of ours and Greg went a couple of times when we lived in Atlanta. Still, not something I ever thought I’d be interested in attending myself. I mean, a sci-fi convention is a bit much for me. Little did I know…

So you made a decision to change your life at summer church camp…what next?

August 13, 2018 by Susan 9 Comments

photo credit: Kathryn Fletcher

You went to the classes. Listened to the messages. Sang the songs. And somewhere in the midst of it all, God reached in and tweaked something inside you. You heard Him.

Maybe it was like a lightning bolt to your heart. Maybe it was a tiny seed that He planted and is barely beginning to sprout. It could be a cloudy something that has been in your mind for months, only now it is crystal clear.

Conviction of sin. A call to ministry. Light for the next step. Purpose.

Whatever it is, He spoke and you listened.

Saving black lives where they’re most at risk…in the womb

January 15, 2018 by Susan 4 Comments

The ties between Planned Parenthood and the eugenics movement are undeniable. This documentary shines a light on the targeting of black families and babies within the abortion industry.

The men at our church have a monthly men’s breakfast and my husband is in charge of finding videos to watch and discuss with the group. Often, I get to preview them with him, and sometimes come across a gem like this that I end up using myself to teach with.

It’s called Black Genocide in 21st Century America. And this video was so thought-provoking and moving that I used it to teach a women’s class, showed it at the Family Camp we attend and it was the basis of the class I taught at the teen youth camp this summer.

It’s that good.

Summer is for Serving

July 24, 2017 by Susan Leave a Comment

Summers are the greatest, aren’t they?

It’s all relaxing and eating bon-bons and sipping iced tea. …Yeah, not around here either. But that doesn’t mean that summer’s not fantastic.

Our summers are filled with fun, but they’re also filled with lots of service opportunities. If we’re not heading to a camp, we are hosting a team of people.

From Toddlers to Teens: Raising Kids Who Pray

August 29, 2016 by Susan 7 Comments

Teaching kids to pray doesn’t have to be formal instruction. Tangible ways to integrate prayer into our lives and raise kids who pray.

When I was in college, I was part of a youth ministry team. We taught classes, led activities, and were tasked with mentoring the young people in our community. Part of the training we received in mentoring encouraged us to spend time with the teens outside of class. Real discipling happens in the day to day. The “Hey, I’m going to the mall, would you like to join me?” and, “Let’s cook dinner together” moments.

That’s when real parenting happens too, you know.

After all, parenting is–at its heart– discipleship. God tells us what parenting our kids should look like in Deuteronomy 6 when He says,

Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts.Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.
-Deuteronomy 6:4-9

Family meetings, lectures, classes, going to church… all of those are good and beneficial things. But that’s not where our kids learn how to really follow God’s commandments…how to serve… how to pray.