This weekend I attended a "ParentTeen" conference here in Denver. http://www.parenteen.com/ It was put on by Chap Clark, a current professor at Fuller who used to teach at Denver Seminary. I went for a few reasons: I love teenagers and want to learn how to love them better; I want to help parents of teenagers; and one day I think that I would like for Natalie and I to give similar seminars to parents.
The best part of the weekend was hearing Chap talk about his own kids, now between 19-26 years old. Even though we are not even parents yet, I sometimes fear that we'll have "wild" kids that stray away from Christ in their teenage years. But then I falsely convince myself that we will be such good parents that would never happen. Hearing Chap talk about his kids' rebellion reminded me that even GREAT parents will most likely go through the heartache of raising teenagers. It also made me so thankful for my own parents and the way they raised Blake, Abby, and I.
Chap noted from his research that teenagers have 6 basic longings:
To belong
To be taken seriously
To matter
To have a safe place
To be seen as unique
To be wanted
Natalie and I are both so blessed to have been raised in homes where these longings were met. Here's a shoutout for a job well done to "Dounda" (Doug and Linda) and "Bary" (Bill and Mary)
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