12 Tips to Prevent Resentment and Rebellion

Dr. Bobby Roberson says, “Rules without relationship breed resentment and rebellion.”

Using the word relationship, here is an acrostic of ideas to help prevent resentment and rebellion in your child’s heart.

R—Read God’s Word together.

E—Events, make big of special events, birthdays, and spiritual birthdays. Don’t always feel like you have to have a big party. Sometimes just the family celebrating is best.

L—Laugh, have fun together, and instigate this!

A—Always, be the same always. Consistency and stability are key ingredients to every successful relationship. Hypocrisy will cripple your children.

T—Treasure each day. Remember, they are a gift from the Lord.

I—Initiate time together. You may not think so, but your child craves it and needs it. So schedule it and make it a priority. Plan date times where you spend one-on-one time with your children alone. You will never regret a minute invested in these precious relationships!

O—Openness, be approachable, talk things through, be willing to talk about anything, ask questions, and remember honesty is a must!

N—No! Sometimes you just need to say “no.” You need to be the bad guy every now and then. Sorry, that is part of parenting.

S—Support the authorities in your child’s life: their pastor, school teacher, etc.

H—Honor your spouse (or their other parent) and refuse to argue. This is so important!

I—Improve yourself. Keep growing and improving in your parenting skills.

P—Pray together every night!

Thank you Gabriel Ruhl via ministry127.com!

Why Young People Stay Faithful

Do you want your children to “turn out” for God?  Read this helpful article by Cary Schmidt.

Have you ever wondered what contributes to young people staying faithful to the things of God, while others wander away? What contributes to two kids in the same local church, hearing the same preaching, ultimately going dramatically different directions? Ultimately, it’s free will—everybody makes their own decisions. But what influences those decisions?

1. Parents—faithful parents who lived the Christian life, not perfectly, but genuinely.

2. Pastor—a great relationship with a faithful pastor. These first two trump all the rest!

3. Youth Pastor—someone to come along, teach the Bible, and encourage the first two relationships.

4. Godly Relationships (friends, peers, dating, mentors, friends’ parents)—choosing right influences and good crowds.

5. Involvement in church functions, events and work around the church—making church life a priority, and letting fun, social life, and friends revolve around spiritual things.

6. Seeing and experiencing the joy that comes from serving in ministry—acting out your faith by getting involved in ministering to others.

7. Seeing miracles and seeing God do amazing things—being a part of a dynamic local church where God is at work.

8. Seeing and realizing the need—taking eyes off of self and looking around long enough to see that God wants you to make a difference in someone else’s life.

9. God’s grace—the supernatural working of God developing desires and direction in life—probably a result of the prayers flowing from points one and two!

10. Relationship with God (devotions, prayer, prayer meetings, etc.)—the outflow of a real personal walk with Christ. At some point, Josh made his walk with God real and personal.

The first two on the list are the foundation. Everything else can be built on those two. If you’re wondering what factors help a teen choose to stay faithful to God, I believe this list states it well! May God bless you in the work of establishing young hearts in the faith of Christ!

Thank you www.caryschmidt.com!