The other night, Andy had taken Hawk to his baseball closing ceremonies while I was cooking and waiting for Kylie to get done with youth band practice.  After I got the call to pick her up, Jett and I pulled up to the church, and as we were sitting there waiting, he kept looking out the window pointing to the church saying “Get frenz, get frenz”.

He was telling me he wanted to go in and get his friends.  It was adorable, because he’s finally getting to the age where he’s remembering and vocalizing what and who he sees at certain places.

I loved that he knows his friends are at church.

Learning to Lean

As adults, most of the time, our core group of friends in Christ are at church. We still look to social media, various mom’s groups, baseball teams, and even the workplace to find friendships, and I firmly believe that as Christians, we have the discernment to be able to find that handful of gems.  My very best friend and I met in a rather unlikely happenstance, and at the time, about five years ago, I don’t think that either of us would have imagined that we’d be as close as we are today.  It wasn’t until about two years later that we actually met for the first time, and we’ve been like sisters since.  It’s amazing, because it’s hard to fathom that it’s only been three years.  When God has a purpose in our lives, he puts the right people in our paths to fulfill his duties.  We’re still praying about exactly what it is that he has in store for us, but we know that it’s something huge.

photo eIMG_1716fb-3228994437-O_zps4c9bd2c9.jpg

However, as children (namely teenagers),  “discernment” is actually better described as “judgement”, and there is a big difference..  Trial and error, knowledge, wisdom, life experiences, and lots of prayer play a part in it.

I teach The Teenager that being involved in Baptist Church Ministry services and surrounding herself with other Christians will help her grow relationships that will be around through the good times and the tough times as well as those times when she needs accountability.  I’m not saying that all kids are church are on the up and up,  are even Christians, or actually act like Christians (as we’ve seen lately with a few friends), but she has a better chance of finding the truly special ones in her church home than she does in social media, extra curricular groups, sports teams, or school in general.

When the day comes for all of my kids to be out on their own, it will be bittersweet, however, the hubby and I feel that the way we are raising them is leading them down the right path to one day be awesome adults.  There was a time in my life, that even though I was a Christian, I didn’t always make the best choices, but I am thankful that my parents raise us in the Word and in church every time the doors opened, so that now, I’m equipped with the knowledge to teach my kids the same. If you want to learn more about bible with your friends and family, you may find american prophecy courses online.

Who knows… had my parents not raised me the way they did, I may have never been able to discern that my best friend is a true blessing in my life.