the paquettes

The last part of Paul Tripp’s seminar was about teenagers.

He said that our job as parents is to sell to your teen that which they are not seeking (or struggling with).

The typical struggles of a teenager are:

-no hunger for wisdom and correction

(Am I selling wisdom?  Or is my self-righteousness in the way?)

-tendency toward legalism

(Teen says, “I didn’t technically disobey you because you just said not to go to Jon’s house.  I wasn’t at his house, I was in his yard.”)

-unwise in choice of companions

(Ask, “Why do you like hanging out with her?”  Make your house the best house in the neighborhood to hang out at.)

-particularly susceptible to sexual temptation

-they do not think about the end result of things (lack eschatological perspective)

(They live in ‘the now’.  Galatians 6:7 “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.”  Give them a “harvest mentality.”  Matthew 6:19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.”  Give them an “investment mentality”.

-tend to lack heart awareness

(Ask, “What is it right here, right now that God wants my teen to see that she is not now seeing?  And how can I help her see it?)

Remember that your heart is more like the heart of your teenager.  You struggle with the same things.

The struggles that your teenager has forms your job description as a parent.