Welcome to this month’s Rooted Parent Top 10- a list of parenting articles from across the web for the Rooted community. This list represents ten articles we believe will encourage and equip you as you parent your kids. At the end of the list we have included all of the parenting articles that ran on Rooted last month. If you have an article you’d like to contribute to the next edition of the Top Ten, please email Anna at anna@rootedministry.com.
Gospel-Centered Parenting
Trust Your Teenagers to God (Russell Moore, TGC)
This short video is a great reminder of what the sovereignty of God means for the parents of teens.
For the Mom Who Keeps Blowing It (Caroline Cobb, risenmotherhood.com)
“These three responses to our struggles with sin—trying harder, living in shame, giving up completely—are simply not in alignment with the good news of Jesus. I believed the gospel but functionally, I lived as if it were not true.”
The FAQs: What Parents Should Know About Peer Contagion (Joe Carter, TGC)
“The term peer contagion describes a process of mutual influence between a child or adolescent and their peers that includes behaviors and emotions that potentially undermine one’s own development or cause harm to others. Examples of peer contagion include aggression, bullying, depression, disordered eating, drug use, bisexuality, suicide, tobacco use, and transgenderism.”
Friday Fodder: Kids, Work, and Some Grocery Store Theology (Walt Mueller, CPYU)
Sometimes, sadly, we devalue certain types of work as “less than.” Shame on us. All work matters. And that’s a lesson we need to be speaking and living into the lives of our kids.
What Does It Mean for a Mom to Have Freedom in Christ? (Nana Dolce, risenmotherhood.com)
“You’re free from God’s just punishment against your sins for Christ has taken your transgressions upon himself and has suffered in your place. You’re free from God’s condemnation for Christ’s righteousness is credited to your account. And although sin daily crouches at your door, you’re now free to fight against it through the enabling power of the indwelling Spirit. The Holy Spirit convicts and guides your conscience according to scripture. You are set free to enjoy and delight in God.”
Youth Culture
Three Battles Your Teen Faces Every Day (Jaquelle Crowe, crossway.org)
“In this moment of our lives, there are great gifts and joys, but there are also a lot of difficulties. Being aware of these difficulties gives us the path to be able to experience true joy as a young person.”
Teen are Protesting In-Class Presentations (Taylor Lorenz, The Atlantic)
“To the thousands of teens who support the effort to do away with in-class presentations (at least enough to like a tweet about it), anxiety is no small issue.”
Seven Series All Parents Should Watch With Their Teens (Mark Redmond, The Washington Post)
“Recently I wrote a column for this newspaper on the seven movies all parents should watch with their teens. I enjoyed perusing the reader comments, with many people offering their own picks. And one person asked, ‘How about television series recommendations?’ Great idea. Here are my top seven.”
FDA Declares Youth Vaping an Epidemic (Jayne O’Donnell, USA Today)
“Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb on Wednesday declared youth vaping an ‘epidemic,’ and said the agency will halt sales of flavored electronic cigarettes if the major manufacturers can’t prove they are doing enough to keep them out of the hands of children and teens.”
One to Share With Your Kids
How to Ruin Your Life in Your Twenties (Jonathan Pokluda, desiringgod.org)
Many of our most influential choices take place when we are relatively young — old enough to be making important decisions, but young enough for those decisions to have disastrous consequences. In other words, these are choices of young adults. How can we avoid making such mistakes? We can start by listening to God’s wisdom through King Solomon.
On Rooted
When God Says No: Shepherding Your Children Through “Unanswered” Prayers (Jennifer Phillips)
“It’s imperative that we teach our kids to look for God in the good and the hard; in the prayers answered “yes” and the ones answered “no.” They need to know that the goodness of God is not defined as Him giving us what we want. He is good because He is good, and His character never changes. Because of this truth, we can trust Him, even when He doesn’t answer our prayers the way we want Him to.”
HTH: “How to Engage Culture With Your Kids.” (podcast with Seth Stewart at Bridgeway Church)
“How do Christian parents need to think about culture? Relativists tell us to affirm our culture without question. Religious folk tells us to reject the culture without distinction. But when Jesus saw our earthly culture he neither rubber stamped nor kept his distance. He entered our culture to challenge it. His disciples must do the same.”
Get Them In the Ark (Emily Heide)
“This list is about 1/100th of the daily checklist that goes through my mind regarding my children. But it is the ONE list I should be focused on and remind myself about daily. For at the end of the day, seeking and being obedient to HIM in raising our children is the only thing that matters.”
Working Under Heaven (Katie Polski)
“When all things are one day restored, and our eyes are no longer tarnished because of sin, we will see with clarity the beauty in the way God intended work to be. We will see to the fullest extent how we are made to be creative stewards of His creation, how we are meant to serve others through the work of our hands. But until that day, it is still possible to feel joy in our labor.”
Student Series: What the Gospel Says About the Pressure I Feel (Lauren Center)
When we don’t rest in the Lord’s strength and grace, pressure poisons our hearts and our ministry.
What the Gospel Means to Me as a Mom (Anna Meade Harris)
“Clarifying my role as a mother according to the Gospel, not the world, moved me from fear about my own abilities into confidence in God’s infinite ability on my family’s behalf.”
