“I’m a cool dad. That’s my thang! I’m hip, I surf the web, I text.”
“Trust me, I had plenty of fun in my time. Then I met your mom.”
“A realtor’s just a ninja in a blazer. The average burglar breaks in and leaves clues everywhere. But not me. I’m completely clueless!”
As a family life pastor, I often get emails asking for advice when it comes to teenagers and social media. Many parents feel lost in this ever-growing world of online content. The truth is, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram (to name the top 3 among pre-teens and teens) are not going away anytime soon, if ever. The dilemma is for parents is 2-fold: you not only have to learn the ins and outs of social media, but you also have to figure out how to guide your teenager through an ever-changing and evolving world of social media.
Lets be honest. This parenting gig is much bigger and broader than we thought it would be back in the good ‘ole days of college when we hadn’t a care in the world! They never told us about explosive diapers, up the back, to the bottom of the neck (how does that even happen?), or the carnage of cleaning a bicycle wipe-out down a concrete driveway wound! But, that’s what we get with parenting.
My wife said it best the other day- “I haven’t slept in 100 years.” She actually meant 11, but who am I to correct her? She’s right. If my last calculations are correct I would have to say we are somewhere between 7 and 10 years behind on sleep. I think we stopped counting when our first born was screaming for the second month in a row at 3 am. That was nearly 12 years ago!
Dear precious, entitled daughter of mine:
I’ve had a reoccurring thought lately: I want to spend my days really knowing my children. Even when they’re grown and do not live in my house anymore, I want to stay connected to them.
There is a tricky balance between fully investing in your work and fully investing in your family. If you’re like me, both need your full attention and both need your full investment. But the truth is- you really can’t pour yourself fully into both. Either your family will receive all of you and your work will receive a little less, or your work will receive all of you and your family will receive a little less. So…which is it?
As a kid growing up, did you ever wonder who would show up to mourn at your funeral if you died? I did this as a junior high and high school kid a lot. It wasn’t that I wished I were dead or thought of ending my life. It was just sort of the natural thing to do as an insecure, unstable teenager, I guess. However, as I’ve grow up, gotten married, and begun raising a family, my thoughts on death and life have changed quite a bit.
