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Trusting Your Preteen

While you trust God for their social media life

by Patty Garcia

Who said raising a preteen would be easy? No one! That’s right, no one. It may not be easy, but sister, it sure can be a lot easier for us. Can I get an, Amen? Let me share with you a few directions the Lord has shown me through this season.

One of the first things you absolutely have to do is trust the Lord. Trust that He will take care of what concerns you. Trust that when He says to train our children up in the ways of the Lord, it’s for their own good. So, don’t give room to the enemy’s lies and allow fear, anxiety, or any doubt come in and remove your trust in the Lord. Be unwavering in Jesus.

As a mom of three girls, it is sometimes a challenge for me to let go and let them learn. For a long time, I always felt like I had to have the control of their every move. Now, with the young ones, I do. With our oldest, I have learned (and still learning) that she won’t necessarily learn through her mistakes, rather, through the love and grace extended to her every time and any time she will need it.

This will remain in these days and when she is grown. What a precious lesson! Open communication allows our preteens to feel confident in telling us anything. And when they do communicate, we must listen to them with an open heart, while not judging or thinking of the perfect response.

Now, what about trusting our preteens on social media? Our daughter has an account for one social app. She is only allowed to have a handful of friends that we approve of and her family members. She understands that she will be responsible for anything and everything she posts on her app, including anything a friend at school may post under her name.

She has also been taught that what she does post on social media, today and in the future stays with her. Along with social media, her daddy and I have full access to her phone or tablet at any time, no questions asked. This brings accountability. If for any reason she resists, then guess what? She can say “bye-bye” to her social life! We may not always be able to protect them from making wrong decisions, but we sure can lead them to the right ones.

While this world can make someone feel like they’re in the middle of a roaring sea with a canoe and one paddle, you can work on making your home feel like the lighthouse standing in the ocean that’s tall, bright, and welcoming, so that your children always know where home, sweet home will be. As for me and my house, I have no fear about the directions my daughter will go, the decisions she will make, or the life she will live. You can, too.

If you're struggling to let go and trust God, stop. Give your care over to the Lord like 1 Peter 5:7 says, and allow Him to lead you, so that you can lead your young ones. God is good! He will always have our good in mind. #knowthat

Patty Garcia

www.knowthatgirlfriend.com

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Patty Garcia is a contributing writer for Inside Out with Courtnaye. She is a born again, spirit filled, Bible-believing child of God who gave her heart to Jesus at the age of 10. Immediately after high school she attended Texas Bible Institute in Columbus, TX. Since then, she has served God's people in the church while being a stay at home mom raising her children. She is a licensed minister under the leadership of her Pastor, Roxanne Alexander of Victory Church of Highland Lakes in Marble Falls, TX. Patty is also the women's ministry leader, youth leader as well as a team member in multiple ministry of helps areas for their church. Patty has been married to her creative husband, Hector for 13 years and together they have 3 beautiful gentle-hearted girls ages 12 years, 8 years, and 2 years old. Patty's heart is to reach and teach women from all walks of life about the power God has given to them to live this abundant life He promised us.

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Moms Need Rest Too

Resisting Enough Serene Time

By Sabrina Buckingham

Recently, I read a blog post from Inside Out with Courtnaye entitled, Need Rest? I kept thinking, “Yeah, I wishAnd how am I supposed to do that with two kids and a full-time job?” There might have been an eye-roll smashed in between those thoughts. Yet, I found myself daydreaming about how nice it would be to get that massage or just soak in a tub. As a mom, I began really thinking about how much I needed the rest that she wrote on.

Honestly, I have to mention that while I am blessed enough to have my husband, I actually have managed to find time to soak in the tub. But can I say, when I got in there, I couldn’t seem to shut my mind off! Have you ever been there before? Meaning, I may be in the bathtub or laying on that massage table, but my mind would still find itself in mommy-mode, which seems to not allow much room for this mom to rest.

Yet, if I really think about it, I do have opportunities to rest. But like most moms, I don’t take enough of them. Rest is one of the things that I fight with God on, like most of us do. The Bible tells us that He rested on the Sabbath and wants us to rest as well. And if you are like me, unfortunately, I feel like rest comes with mom-guilt. In so many words, I feel guilty that my attention isn’t on the kids.

For instance, my daughter could be napping and my son could be in his room playing, and I could actually use that time to do what is relaxing to me, but I feel guilty that there are dishes in the sink or that I could be using this time to be teaching my son something. But over the last few days, I have been actively thinking about God’s desire for me to rest. And let me tell you, it has helped with that guilty feeling. I still get done what needs to get done, but I am taking more time for myself in the process. I have to say, it’s been really nice. Jesus reminds us in Matthew 11:28, “Come to Me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (HCSB)

I called this Moms Need Rest Too: Resisting Enough Serene Time, because for me having that tranquility is my rest. Turning my mind off from those anxious thoughts helps me. For you, maybe you’ve been resisting enough sleep time, as well. I am fortunate enough that most days I do get my sleep, but I will tell you the other night I had a difficult time falling asleep. Although, when that happened, I prayed and asked God to turn my mind off and allow me to get the rest that He wanted me to have, so that way I would wake up the next day feeling energized and ready to do His will.

Let me tell you, that is the last thing I remember. Actively thinking about getting that rest helped! So, come to God throughout the day and take time to rest, because as moms, we need it too!

~Sabrina

Sabrina Buckingham  a contributing writer for Inside Out with Courtnaye. She is also a devoted wife and mother of son Liam and daughter Scarlett. Sabrina grew up growing to church then fell away from faith and God for a handful of years. For many years God on Sabrina and she did everything to ignore it until she couldn’t any longer. Sabrina is now a proud daughter of Christ. She has a Masters in English and loves both reading and writing. She can be contacted at sbuckingham5@hotmail.com.

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