Essential Life Skills for Teens

Got teens? 

One thing I know: They need life skills!  I've had eight teenagers grow up in my house. Four of them have moved out on their own, and two of these are married with children.  Even after all that experience, I still have a long way to go with instilling life skills in my remaining kids! I've got some serious work to do here. I am thankful that it's not all up to me. My husband has taught them a lot, and so have mentors and other teachers.

Just a few thoughts...

~*~*~

Education is not just about stuffing information into the brain. We need to know what to do with it, how to apply it in daily life. No matter what careers our children choose and no matter how technology changes, they will need some basic life skills. Occupations may come and go, but in my opinion there are certain work skills that will never become totally obsolete. They are applicable for both men and women in almost any life pursuit. We must teach them to our children, largely by our own example, but also by specific instruction. Let’s train them well!

General Life Management: how to manage time, set goals, evaluate options, make decisions, plan details, use discernment, organize resources and space, control impulses

Communication and Leadership: how to converse pleasantly and effectively, use proper body language, write clear correspondence and reports, give oral presentations with visual aids, debate logically and persuasively, offer direction to colleagues and subordinates, and appeal to those in authority.

Finances: how to earn money, budget, manage a checking or savings account, make wise purchases, avoid scams, stay out of debt, stretch and conserve resources, interpret financial and economic data, make wise investments, do personal and/or business bookkeeping, and most importantly, maintain contentment in a materialistic society.

Study Habits & Computer Skills: how to master comprehension skills, find a quiet study environment, organize study time, take tests effectively, use highlighters and flash cards, do word processing and spreadsheets, send e-mail, locate reliable information on the Internet, study in a group, participate in a group presentation, submit on-line assignments, back up information to a flash drive, design a blog or web site

Job Skills: how to fill out an application, write a resume, go for an interview, make an appeal to a supervisor, know what kind of behavior and conversations are appropriate in various kinds of work settings, assess strengths and weaknesses, explore long-term career options

Home Care: how to perform basic household chores that they will need now to contribute to the family and in the future to care for themselves: cooking, laundry, dishes, cleaning, organizing, lawn mowing, gardening, household repair

Transportation: how to take a public bus, drive safely, understand traffic rules, read a map, plan a route, fill a car with gas, add air or change a tire, check and add fluids, call for roadside assistance, perform basic auto repairs

Health Care: nutrition, exercise, sleep habits, personal hygiene, body change, avoiding substance abuse, mental health awareness, taking medications, monitoring health symptoms, basic first aid and nursing skills, caring for young children

Recommended Resources:

• Life Skills for Kids book by Christine Field
• Ten Life Skills for Teens article
• Life Skills Your Teen Needs to Be Independent

I'd love to hear what you are doing to help your teens develop life skills!

Virginia

Art Show Pieces and Another Graduate!

"Still Life 1"

"James"
from the book
James and the Giant Peach
by Roald Dahl
(Yes, those are the sea gulls carrying
the peach across the ocean.)

Lydia
Photo by Joanna Knowles

My daughter Lydia was home schooled up through 9th grade, then transferred to a public school where she took primarily honors and AP courses for 10th and 11th. She was also president of the art club and a member of the drama set crew.  (See Making the Transition into Public High School or College.) She wanted to dual enroll at Seminole State for her senior year to take advanced math, science, and more art.  She couldn't dual enroll full-time while enrolled in the public school, so she decided to re-enroll in the private home school program she had been in before.  Next week, she will be our fifth graduate from The Regent Academy.   

One of the great perks about dual enrolling is the opportunity to take art classes from professional college level instructors.  Lydia really liked her teachers there, and I guess they liked her too since two of her pieces were selected to be included in SSC Annual Juried Student Art Exhibition and the pencil sketch won a prize.  She is trying to decide whether to go to art school after she gets her AA, or whether to major in science.  Either way, I'm so proud of Lydia and her artistic accomplishments!  She has three more large ceramic pieces sitting in our dining room now, and I'll try to photograph them soon.

Virginia Knowles
www.FinishWellHomeSchool.blogspot.com

A Word About Our Children's Future Families

Hello friends!


This is an excerpt from my book The Real Life Home School Mom: It's a Life in ReVision -- which I just revised again last month.  This particular section reflects some of those changes.  You can read the whole book on-line or download if for free from the sidebar of my blog www.virginiaknowles.blogspot.com.  I also have a few print copies available for sale for $20 plus shipping.  You can e-mail me if you are interested in ordering one!


Our kids really do grow up!  One of my daughters is married and has a a sweet baby boy who will be visiting us this afternoon.  Another daughter is planning to get married later this year.  I remember that when our fourth daughter was born, our pediatrician quipped, "Buy a good ladder and hope they elope!"  When the fifth one in a row was born, I told Thad we just ought to start a wedding business.  One could be the coordinator, one the photographer, one the florist, one the caterer, etc.   Now we have seven daughters and three sons!  Yikes!


Blessings,
Virginia

A Word About Our Children’s Future Families

            In this chapter so far, we’ve been talking about our own families.  I want us to look ahead now to the families our children will have in their adult years.  The preparation starts now!  I shudder when I think about the future of our society, and how family life is sinking further into the pit.  The attack on the traditional nuclear family has been relentless.  Children are expected to express their independence through hideous rebellion.  Only a remnant of teenagers guards their physical purity, and many more compromise their thought lives.  The concept of a faithful lifetime marriage is seen as all but obsolete.  The distinction between the roles of men and women has been blurred and mutilated.  The unborn, handicapped, and elderly are targets for destruction or neglect.  It makes me all the more determined for our family to be a stark example of God's grace and hope, both now and in the future.

            What will the future bring for each of our children?  Will they marry and bear children?  Marriage is not God's plan for every young adult.  Consecrated single men and women can give undivided attention to ministry (see 1 Corinthians 7).  Do our children even know that this is an option?  Are they acquainted with godly single role models?   Are they determined to live their lives for God’s glory rather than moping around waiting for a spouse?  If our children are destined for marriage, how will they find God-fearing spouses? 

            We may be a bit old-fashioned, but like many home school parents, my husband and I are somewhat attracted by the model of courtship, but not necessarily how it is presented by many in the home schooling movement, and not as a hard and fast rule.  To us, this means that romantic relationships are reserved for adults who are logistically and emotionally prepared to make permanent commitments, rather than play around with a series of tender young hearts.  The goal is serious preparation for marriage, so courtship is marked by maturity, purity, and a reasonable amount of guidance from parents.   

            For many years, our family attended a church where most of the families shared these convictions. Most of the young people there hang out in groups, especially after basketball games, or for lunch after church.  That was the example set for our children as they were growing up.  However, that's not how it worked for my oldest daughter, whose husband was several years older and hadn't been exposed to that mindset.  Nonetheless, after a few bumps (mainly as  my husband and I adjusted to this change in plans), they are happily married and have a precious little boy.  I constantly marvel at how my son-in-law cares for his little family.  Our second daughter is more enthusiastic about the courtship model, and so is the young man who is courting her.  They have known each other for several years.  It is different with each couple.  With seven daughters and three sons, I certainly need to bear that in mind!

            In recent years I have become aware of severe abuses of the courtship model within the home schooling movement.  In some families, a young woman has very little say in her own future, being denied opportunities for academic education or job experience with the view that she is only going to ever be a wife and mommy.   In this way, she is virtually trapped into either marrying young or living at home well into her adult years because she doesn't have the resources to choose another way.  Her parents (and often those in her church or social circle) closely monitor her interactions with all young men, and in some instances, choose (or attempt to choose) her future husband for her. In these families, the courtship process is quite rigid and tightly controlled by the girl's father, leaving little room for spontaneity, authenticity, and romance between the young couple.  Even if she is told that she has the final say on whether or not to marry a certain young man, she might have so little confidence in herself that she takes the first guy who comes along, reasoning that she might not get another chance.  Quite often, the results of tightly controlled courtships are tragic, with couples discovering that despite this "guaranteed success formula" for choosing a mate, they really don't like each other at all once they actually have a chance to really get to know one another without constant chaperones.  In one tragic case of a young couple married after a tightly-controlled courtship, the young man shot his pregnant wife to death. Yes, that's an extreme case, but there are also plenty of cases of divorce and infidelity among couples who followed the courting model.  Other young women have been completely alienated from their families because they objected to unreasonable control over the courtship process by their parents.  Many have even been thrown out of their homes because their parents think they are "in rebellion" and don't deserve to be part of the family anymore.  Hello?  Is this what we really want after a lifetime of investing in their lives through home schooling?

 

            We need to learn to finish well, with love and grace, not an obsessive need to control the lives and destinies of our adult children.   I believe the process of our children finding their mates should be a joyous time of following the leading of the Holy Spirit and getting to know one another in natural ways.  Yes, parents can be involved, but we don't need to depend on legalistic regulations and intrusions.  We pray for our children, walk by faith, and wait to see what God will accomplish.

 

            May I share a little of my own story?  I first moved to Florida, far away from my parents, when I was 17 and in my second semester of college.  Why?  I was “in love” with a boy I had met on an overseas summer missionary team.  It was a very volatile match, and two years later we canceled our wedding plans.  Over the next year, I went on a few dates and learned the folly of chasing guys who weren’t interested in me.  I also devoured Elisabeth Elliot's book Passion and Purity.  I often wondered when I would meet Mr. Right.  Then, when I was almost 21 and a college senior, I met “him” at church.  Thad, who is four years older than I, had not dated for about three years because he was convicted by the Lord to keep his heart pure.  As we got to know each other, he told me he would not pursue any relationship without the goal of marriage.  What a relief that was for me, since I wanted no further part of the dating scene!  Over the next year, the Lord's direction to marry was confirmed by our families and the pastors who did our pre-marital counseling.  Our wedding was a joyous occasion, and I have reaped the abundant benefits of marriage to a faithful Christian man. 

    

            I want our children to be blessed with Christ-filled marriages, unless God calls them to sanctified singleness.  I often pray for their future spouses, that God would raise them up in love, wisdom and purity.  And I see that I must prepare my own children to fulfill Biblical roles in marriage.  I want my daughters to know that there is no shame in pouring their lives into being wives and mothers, while at the same time not making this into some sort of legalistic expectation on them.  I want my sons to revel in their responsibility to lead, protect, and provide for their families.  I want them all to know that children are a precious gift and heritage to be raised in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.  And I hope that when we are old and decrepit, they will still remember to honor Mom and Dad with tender care!

            How can a mom prepare her daughter to be a wife and mother?  We can set an example, in big and small ways, as we live our daily lives.  They will learn the essence of it as they see us relate to our husbands, nurture and discipline our children (including them!), plan and teach academics, organize, economize, cook, clean, sew, garden, decorate, fix things, tend to sick ones, show mercy to the needy, and so forth.  It will be entirely natural for them to work alongside us and even to take over various tasks as the years go by.  When they leave the apprenticeship of our homes, they will be equipped!

            Likewise, our sons can be prepared for adulthood by watching their fathers cherish and serve Mom, discipline the children, make leadership decisions, provide and steward the family finances, maintain the house/yard/car/equipment, and all the other things that husbands do.  Wise parents also make sure that their sons will be capable, in character and skills, to provide for their families without depending on income from their wives.  We are looking out for our grandchildren!


~*~*~


P.S. You can read about Mary's 2008 messianic Jewish wedding and see some pictures right here: Mary's and Ryan's Beautiful Wedding.  And a grandson in the mix: 

Jacob Eliav Tindall, My Grandson, Savta & Bris for Baby Jacob, and Jacob's First Chanukkah.  

Making the Transition into Public High School or College

Dear friends,


While many families choose to home school all the way through high school without sending their students to any outside classes at public institutions, these options are increasingly common and even prevalent. In Florida, where we live, the public high schools are required to let home school students take classes and join sports programs, and many families have their kids take one or two classes there. Most of the young people we know, however, choose to take classes at the local community college starting in their junior or senior year of high school. This is called dual enrollment, because the kids can finish up their high school credits while getting a jump start on their college credits at the same time. (I myself did this for my last semester of high school in 1981.) The tuition is free, but books and fees are not. Some families use this to supplement courses completed at home or through a home school co-op, while others use this as the sole source of credits during a given semester or year.


My oldest four daughters started dual enrollment during either their junior or senior years. This has been mostly a good thing for our family. Our oldest transferred to a nearby state university (while living at home) where she graduated in Journalism with honors. The next one decided to work full-time to fund her mission trips rather than continuing with college. Our third daughter is finishing up her AA degree and planning to transfer to the state university for nursing school. Our fourth daughter is currently dual enrolling, and planning to get an art degree from the state university.


Unfortunately, the community college where my older daughters have gone is no longer accepting dual enrollment students for our county, and our own county's community college is more restrictive with dual enrollment. We had already decided not to continue with our home school co-op this year, so my fifth daughter, a high school sophomore, was intending to do classes at home. She was going to continue getting some of her credits on-line through Florida Virtual School, which is free for Florida residents. However, a few weeks into the school year, we realized this wasn't going to work out very effectively. She wanted more structure and accountability than I could give her, since I am also home schooling her five younger siblings. She also wanted someone knowledgeable to actually teach her every day instead of just me supervising her in courses I never even took. We decided to take the plunge and do something new, which was to enroll her full-time in a public high school. She has been there for a few weeks, and so far so good! It has been quite a transition for her, though, but fortunately not too rough of one, and she's glad she is doing it. She's planning to graduate a year early since she started her sophomore year with 10 credits. She may just dual enroll at the college full-time next year instead of going back to the public high school. We'll see when the time comes. Our options are open.


What I have learned from this experience as well as dual enrollment made me think of several things to share with you. This is just a collection of random thoughts, not a comprehensive treatise.


First, if you are thinking about any of these options, you have to weigh the costs and benefits. Some of the potential drawbacks include excessive peer pressure, academic content which may not reflect your family's values and religious beliefs, less flexible schedule, increased homework, etc. These might be "deal breakers" for your family. For us, they were challenges to consider and overcome. Our daughters are pretty solid in what they think already and are not as easily swayed by peers. The contrast in behavior they saw among some of the students from what they have been raised with only served to make them more grateful for our family's way of life rather than making them want to plunge in with their fellow students. If you are only thinking of enrolling your child in one or two classes and then picking them up from campus, the social environment is less of a threat.


When other moms ask me for practical advice on dual enrollment and I shrug and tell them that I don't have a clue. My husband is the main one who handled the logistics for this, and I'm so thankful for his careful attention to detail! I am, however, the one who enrolled our other daughter in the public high school. In this endeavor, it really helped that she had been enrolled in a private school covering through our former church. This spared her from having to take final exams on courses she had already finished. They even accepted two high school credits she had completed during 8th grade. The official transcript paved the way. However, it is not impossible to transfer in credits if you have home schooled "under the county" rather than through a private school. Just check with the school to see what is necessary. My daughter's guidance counselor recommended that she take as many AP and honors courses as possible so she could get the most academic benefit with the least amount of riffraff among fellow students.


A potential student needs to be prepared to adjust to the requirements of a classroom education. For example, they have to get to class on time and be ready with everything they need. They can't just walk down the hall to their bedroom to get an assignment to turn in. If homework is late, they might have points deducted. There is generally a decent amount of assignments to complete each evening for each class. They have to keep up with the pace of the class and have the confidence to ask the teacher for help when necessary. In our case, all of this is exactly what our daughter wanted! We still do help her some with her studies. I heard my husband going over French pronunciation with her the other night, my oldest daughter gave her some pointers on a formal English essay last night, and I helped explain some world history concepts this past weekend. But for the most part, this is her job, and she takes it seriously. This is the same mindset every student needs to take, no matter where they are completing their education. These are the habits we have tried to instill through their years at home. We haven't always been very structured, but they've gotten enough of it that they have survived and even thrived during the transition into the classroom setting.


My older daughters all appreciated having friends from church going to the same college campus. They make a point to either enroll in the same classes or at least meet up for lunch. Right now, two of my daughters drive to campus together, too. There is safety in numbers. If a guy on campus gives one of them any trouble, the young men from church would be happy to settle the problem for them! It also helps reduce negative peer pressure because they already have good friends to hang out with on campus. For them, also, college is not so much a place to socialize as it is to learn. They want to do well and to focus on their classes. They also come home each evening and interact with us. We ask them about their classes and their conversations with others -- not prying, just caring. We can deal with anything that comes up, knowing that they are getting valuable opportunities to learn to deal with the big world beyond our home while still living at our home. In my mind, this is better than sending them off to live on a college campus after years and years of extremely rigid control. We know some young people who have truly gone off the deep end because all of the independence was dumped on them at once with no trial runs along the way. One young man likened it to holding someone tautly with a rope, then letting go all of the sudden. We need to be loosening the apron strings as we go, working ourselves out of a job. We launch them bit by bit into adulthood and work through the issues as they come up while we still have the opportunity to influence them.


I am aware that some families in the home school movement have vehement opinions against public education, whether for high school or college. They believe that God has been banned from campus, and that inevitably all of the students will turn out to be heathens or socialists because of either the secular teaching or the peer pressure. I understand their concern. However, I do not want to make my decisions based solely on fear. I wouldn't send my daughters to campus if I wasn't confident they could handle it, even if there are a few bumps along the way. Some students can't handle it, and they shouldn't go. You have to make that decision as a parent.


Since my daughter started public high school earlier this month, I have often reminded her that she is an ambassador for Jesus Christ, that she represents the King of Kings. I don't say this to make her feel awkward, or with the expectation that she is going to preach at her teachers or classmates every day. I do say it to remind her of her precious identity in Christ, that she is "more than a conqueror" through the love of God. Public schools may leave God out of the curriculum, but they can't ban him from campus! Why? Because there are Christian students and teachers there who are indwelt by the presence of God. The Unseen King walks every step of the way with his beloved royal ambassadors. The radiant life of Christ within them can shine. Yes, the devil can try to quench that, which is why I pray for my kids and try to encourage them and ask how they are doing spiritually. It's not a perfect situation, but neither is home schooling.


I think that we need to actually prepare our students to be ambassadors, too. Last year, when I was teaching middle school English in our home school co-op, I had assigned them to read missionary biographies and write reports about them. Then, to further equip my students for life, I decided to teach them the vocabulary and concepts behind several major religions and worldviews including Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism, tribal religions, secularism, and communism/socialism.  (Click these links to read the lessons for Judaism and Islam.)  I know that most of these kids will eventually be in college classes covering these topics or become friends with students within these belief systems. I wanted them to know what the Bible says about each issue and how they can graciously relate to others without being completely ignorant or obnoxious. (What a turn off that can be! I still remember the YouTube clip I showed my students of a high school girl shoving "the gospel" down the throat of a Hindu classmate. She had no idea of what she was talking about, and no sense at all of respect for the dignity of others, no matter what they believe. Why do we then call it "persecution" if someone rejects our message? We bring it on ourselves… But I digress.)


What I most want to encourage you to do is to seek out what God himself is leading you to do each year with each of your children. Listen closely to his voice. Then have the confidence that he has promised to grant wisdom and guidance to those who seek his will. He is not snickering up in Heaven with the angels whenever you mess up. He is eager to show you the way. Teach them the truth. Teach them grace. Teach them to follow Jesus with all their hearts. Do that and you will finish well.

P.S. Just two weeks after entering Lake Howell High School, Lydia made her solo stage debut singing "Not for the Life of Me" at their  Broadway Night. You can watch her amazing performance here: This Girl's Got Gusto! Way to go!

A Sense of Calling for Life

A Sense of Calling for Life
by Virginia Knowles

One big goal of home schooling is to prepare our children for their role in the adult community as they move into the working world. This is not just an academic exercise in career planning, but a matter of the heart. You see, God has designed each one of us for a special spot in the scheme of history. At each season of life, he places us where our unique gifts and abilities can be developed and put to productive use. At times, it seems like our talents are hidden away, but he brings out each one of his treasures as he has need of them.

The saga of Joseph in Genesis 37-50, illustrates this concept beautifully. From Joseph's teen years, God gave him grand dreams for his life -- dreams which made his older brothers so intensely jealous that they sold him into slavery. From there he bounced back and forth between servitude and power. He was ultimately appointed second-in-command of Egypt, in charge of stewarding the nation through seven years of famine. Later, when Joseph had both excuse and opportunity for retribution against his brothers, he realized that though they had intended to harm him, it was all part of God's perfect plan. The Lord fulfilled the calling over a period of twenty years, even when Joseph was oppressed and “forgotten.” His purpose was not just to turn Joseph from a shepherd boy into a powerful ruler, or even to spare Egypt and the surrounding nations from starvation. These events ultimately played crucial part in Jehovah's redemptive plan for all nations in history through the earthly lineage of the Messiah. He also has a destiny for each of us which interlocks with his eternal agenda! He doesn't reveal the details all at once, but neither does he leave us clueless about where we fit in. He expects us to faithfully use the gifts he has given:

“We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.” Romans 12:6-8

Do your children have any idea of what God is calling them to do in life? Are they aware of how he has endowed them with gifts and talents to be used for his service? Do they have any inkling of how to use their spiritual influence to impact the nations for Christ? Not only do we have spiritual gifts, we also have “secular” talents which can be used for God's glory. He has equipped artists, engineers, nurses, car mechanics, chefs, linguists, inventors, receptionists, computer whizzes, bricklayers, research scientists, plumbers, authors, politicians, farmers, bookkeepers, and everyone else. What would we do without them? Where does your child fit in? What will he or she do for a living? Of course, not all of these talents will be used in a paying career. Some will be used in the family, among friends, in the church, and in the community. Perhaps we can't put a price tag on these efforts, but we can still appreciate their worth.

God's gifts and callings are not always apparent in young children, but are illuminated slowly over the years as they explore their interests and aptitudes. Often, God's direction for a person is affirmed by those who know him well. Other times, profile tests can be useful. It is important for us to be more aware of these things so we can plan a logical course of study leading to proficiency and enjoyment in the targeted occupation or ministry. In all our plans, let's seek the will of the Sovereign Lord, who can instantly change the course of our lives in very unexpected ways.

“Now listen, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.' Why, you do not know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, 'If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that.'” James 4:13-15

“Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails.” Proverbs 19:21

As we think about preparing our children for their calling in life, we can learn some lessons from the life of Hudson Taylor. I once read a biography of Hudson Taylor to my children which gave me some insight into home schooling. Hudson’s parents, James and Amelia, home schooled the children through reading aloud, dictation, grammar, French, Latin, arithmetic and plenty of heart-enriching nature study. More importantly, however, they were carefully trained in the Scriptures, having family devotions after breakfast and at afternoon tea. Next came a time of fervent prayer. James also gathered the children at bedtime for prayer with his arms around them. Then he would dismiss them to their own rooms for a time of private Bible reading, saying, “Learn to love your Bible, for God cannot lie. He cannot mislead you. He cannot fail.” Visiting preachers would delight the children with conversations about theology and missions around the family table.

This sounds like the ideal home school setting for spiritual growth, and indeed it was. However, there were some significant bumps along the way! At age 15, Hudson went to work for a bank, but unfortunately his materialistic and skeptical co-workers had a big influence on the boy. He wrestled with doubt about his childhood faith, and eventually turned away from it. Providentially, after several months, an eye disease forced him to quit his job. He sulked gloomily around the house, which irritated his father, who wasn’t aware of his son’s spiritual struggles. One day, shortly before he turned 17, he picked up a Gospel booklet in the parlor and decided he would read the story at the beginning but close it when it got to the “preachy” part. However, he read it all the way through, and was so taken by the concept of “the finished work of Christ,” that he was gripped with conviction and prayed to receive Jesus as his Savior. Unbeknownst to him, at that very moment, his mother, visiting a relative 50 miles away, was called by God to pray for the conversion of her son. She stayed on her knees in fervent intercession until she received assurance that her pleas had been answered. Hudson’s younger sister Amelia had also been praying every day for a month for her brother.

After a period of spiritual growth and local service, Hudson felt called by God to go as a missionary to China, where the Gospel was virtually unknown. He did not know until many years later that his parents had prayed, shortly before his birth, to bear a son who would bring God’s word to that very country. He did indeed! After going through medical school (while living austerely and trusting in God alone for his finances) he set sail for China. Adopting native dress and hairstyle, he was a faithful evangelist, Bible translator, doctor, and mission organizer. By the time of Hudson Taylor’s death at age 73, the China Inland Mission had recruited 800 missionaries, raised 7.5 million dollars and converted 30,000 Chinese people to Christianity.

I think this story can give hope to parents who are doing the best they can, but they have children who may or may not always “get” the message of the Christian life. Get a vision, lay the foundation, build on it wisely, and as you go, pray, pray, pray! Don’t get resentful if your child seems to reject your faith and values because that will only drive him further away. Wait and see what God can do. It could be that he doesn’t want you to depend on your efforts, but fully on his grace to save and transform your child’s life. He must get the glory!

~~~

This article is excerpted from the chapter "Aim for the Heart" in my book The Real Life Home School Mom.  You can read the PDF of the book for free by accessing it from the sidebar of http://www.virginiaknowles.blogspot.com/.