May | 2018 | living the life of christ

Over the years as friends have expressed sadness when children either graduated from high school or left for college, my reaction has been, “Suck it up buttercup.” There have been only a few people I have been brutally honest with and reminded them – Trey did not graduate, nor did he leave for college, so you can do this!

Now Collin has graduated high school. God has shown himself in a big way over the last month. Collin is in welding school and is living at home for the next year, so I am not experiencing separation. However, Collin has been ready (he thinks) to be on his own for a long time and we have wanted that for him. He has one year to finish welding school and during this year, I am praying the scripture that God has given me before he will be leaving.

Our children are on the edge of adulthood. They are desperate to be adults but have one foot in the door of immaturity. Why is this such a hard transition, especially for our precious boys? I have researched the internet, read many articles and studies, and they have astonished me.

There is a study commissioned by Nickelodeon UK (yes, the child’s network) that said men do not mature until age 43 and women mature 11 years earlier! This explains it! (I jest. But really? 43!)

Many articles refer to this study. WHAT! Check out the reasons (from www.medicaldaily.com): (You’ll get a laugh and just think about it.)

Finding their own passing of gas and burps amusing
Eating fast food at 2:00 AM
Playing videogames
Driving too fast
Finding rude words amusing
Driving with loud music
Playing practical jokes
Trying to beat children at games and sports
Staying silent during an argument
Not being able to cook simple meals

I would like to share the little nuggets God has shown me to pray for Collin. I’ll be honest; they just popped out at me on Pinterest and BAM – God said, Lisa, listen to me. I have Collin. This is for the mothers (and fathers) who are experiencing many waves of different emotions. I know many that have already left for sport camps, academic camps, and then will continue on to college. Many are staying home! YAY! I know we cannot push our children into maturity (my frustration).

I firmly believe we can pray them through this time of their lives. We may spend a lot of time on our knees. God pleads for us to come to Him with the desires of our heart. Some of our broken hearts go to God daily with our children.

I have a sweet example of praying for our children. At Baccalaureate, Marti Ponton asked me to pray for Evan for an exam for the next morning. I sent her a text that morning and said I had prayed for Evan. Marti texted me back and said he had passed the exam. There is nothing more precious than a mom praying for another mom and their child and telling them! #Foreverbonded

BE INTENTIONAL IN YOUR PRAYING!

#Momprayers

May my child know Christ and the power of the resurrection! Philippians 3:10

Father, I pray my child know you love him even more than I do.

Father, may my child be content with what he has been given. 1 Timothy 6:6-9

Father, please place within my child a desire to know you.

Father, thank you that nothing can separate my child from Your love! Romans 8:38-39

Father, I pray my child will love righteousness and justice. Psalms 3:3-5

Father, I pray my child sees those who are lonely and seek to include and encourage them.

Father, I pray my child’s mind is guarded by Your peace. Philippians 4:7

Father, may your Holy Spirit teach my child. John 14:26

Father, I pray you will lead my child with Your light and Your truth. Psalms 43:3

Father, I pray my child will know joy even in the tough times. James 1:2-4

God, may my child make wise use of his or her time. Ephesians 5:15-16

Lord, Help me to catch my child when they sin. Ephesians 5:13-14

God, may my child hide Your word in his or her heart. Psalms 119:11

Father, I pray my child will be generous and ready to share. 1 Timothy 6:18

Father, I pray my child develops a forgiving heart.

Father, I pray you help my child focus on the important things in life! 2 Corinthians 4:18

There are SO many more. You can find them on Pinterest under MomPrayers. This certainly does not exclude men!

We, as parents, need to pray our children know Christ fully as they enter adulthood.

I remember, just in four short months, I watched Trey mature both in life and in Christ. Your child may reject your words. If so, love him by deed, example, and prayer. Trust me, your children are watching you – at every age.

God’s word will not come back void nor will our faithfulness! Here is to raising the next generation!

Let me hear you! #momprayers #prayermatters #raiseupachild #classof2018

Okay, calm down. I’m not attacking the generation. This is just my opinion and observation. Agree or disagree, it’s just an observation.

I work in a profession where communication is the utmost key. You cannot walk into a courtroom and not be expected to be able to effectively communicate with a judge, jury, or opposing counsel – much less your clients and co-workers.

It has come to my attention that even the younger generation of lawyers have need for communication and writing skills. What has happened in the last 20 years?

I can tell you! THE CELL PHONE! THE IPAD! ANY FORM OF ELECTRONIC DEVICE! Even email is a culprit!

Prime example –

I was in the car with my son and we had the radio station on the 80’s. He wasn’t impressed. A song by Culture Club came on and I said, “I bet you don’t know who the lead singer is of this band!” As Collin continued to stare at his phone, he grunted, “No, why should I.” I laughed and said, “I was YOUR age! And it’s Boy George!” No response.

It took me back to a time that we did not have cell phones to stare into. When we started college, we took tape recorders to class IF we wanted notes to take home. And, most of all, when we wanted to talk to people, we called them from our LANDLINE! Wait, who has a landline anymore?

What my main concern is are we teaching our young people to communicate with our older generation? Here is what my husband was taught and passed on to our sons.

ALWAYS take your hat off when you come inside a building (including restaurants, classrooms, and churches).
When you meet/greet someone, look them in the eye and shake their hand. This ALSO goes for women.
When speaking, speak loud enough for the other person to hear you so that they do not have to ask what you said multiple times.
Last, but NOT least, by all means, stand when someone greets to introduce themselves.

Somehow, I think these simple rules have been lost in the technological world of communication. I feel like I am back peddling in teaching these rules at this point, but it does not hurt to remind our youth good communication manners.

I’d also like to ask another poignant question. Have your own personal friendships suffered due to technology? I know mine has. Should Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, texting, all the “stories” be our main form of communication? I’ll leave it there.

So graduates, go into the world BOLDLY! You do not know WHOSE hand you may shake that has had an impact in history of this great country and might impact your life as well.

Oh, and I’m not telling you when I graduated.

Ready to hug and shake hands!