You Can Do This

When church is closed, it not only means no weekend services, it also means no classes for kids. For many parents, this is virgin territory—many of us have never had to play the leading role in talking to our kids about God. Where do I start? Should I read them stories? What if they ask me questions I don't have the answers to? If you've felt any of this, you are not alone. YOU CAN DO THIS, and we're here to help. Today we're going to talk about talking about Jesus with your kids. 

Graduation. Prom. The state championship. Fourth of July weekend. Senior trip. Study abroad. The spring play. Your summer job. Summer camp. The list of stuff they've lost goes on and on, and in many cases, we haven't stopped to acknowledge it—to grieve the things they've lost. We believe that God has equipped you as a parent for moments like this, that YOU CAN DO THIS, and we're here to help. Today, we're talking about how to help your kids recognize and process grief well.

That's it. I can't take it anymore. If I have to spend one more moment inside these four walls, I might just burn the whole place down. If you've ever felt like that, you're not alone. Most of us understand the value of staying at home, staying social distanced, and so on—but there comes a point when these four walls stop being home and starting being purgatory. If you've ever felt this way, you're not alone. We believe that YOU CAN DO THIS, and we're here to help. Today we're going to talk about where to go when you just can't stay here anymore.

We want our kids to be generous, kind, caring, and empathetic human beings. But we all know that those character traits don't happen by accident, especially when we're living in times of unprecedented uncertainty and fear. How do we teach our kids to be generous, even when they (or even we) might not have anything to give? If you've felt this, you're not alone. We believe that God has made you for moments just like this one, that YOU CAN DO THIS, and we're here to help. Today, we're talking about how to develop generosity in your kids. 

Parenting is a lonely business. One minute you're cool, you have friends, you're going out on weekends to hip bars, and the next minute you're covered in Cheerios, singing along to Paw Patrol and wondering how you ended up here. To make matters worse, for many of us right now we actually can't go out and visit other people. (Thanks a lot, Covid.) In spite of this, we believe that God made you to be a great parent, and that YOU CAN DO THIS. So today, we're going to talk about how to navigate parenting isolation in the midst of a pandemic.

So this is just life now, I guess. These four walls, these screaming people, this same routine every day until I go mad. We all know that it is important to take care of ourselves, but how exactly are we supposed to do that in a world where half of everything is closed and the other half is risky? If you're feeling any of this, you're not alone. We believe that YOU CAN DO THIS (even if you don't feel like it), and we're here to help. 

The holidays bring with them all kinds of traditions—joyous, entertaining, tiring, or frustrating. Yet what we often miss about traditions (and this is true all year, not just at the holidays) is that they are an anchor. They keep us latched to a specific time and place, latched to the relationships that matter most, and latched to the stories of who we are and where we came from. No matter where you're coming from, we believe that God has made you to be an incredible parent. YOU CAN DO THIS, and we're here to help. 

We're living through a time of unprecedented racial tension and discussion in our country right now. It's tough enough to navigate this as adults, but what about our kids—many of whom are hearing the hard truths about our history (and our present) for the first time? How do we help them navigate this volatile landscape? If you're feeling some of this struggle, you are not alone. We believe that God has equipped you for this journey—that YOU CAN DO THIS, and we're here to help. 

This virus is scary, even for adults like us that have our stuff together. (Riiiiight.) But when it comes to our kids, this virus has decimated every aspect of the world as they know it—routines, relationships, vacations, and the list goes on. What's worse, for many of them this is the first exposure they've had to illness, hardship, and the threat of death. So how do we go about helping them make sense of it? Today we're going to talk about leading your kids through Covid with empathy, grace, and wisdom. 

Zoom calls are bad enough with adults….and now we expect 17 nine-year-olds to do this? Also, I don't remember how to do algebra, what a semicolon is for, or what the capital of Kansas is. I'm a grown-up, that's what I have an iPhone for. Seriously, I'm drowning here. If you've felt like this in the last couple of months, you're not alone. Covid-19 has thrown all our normal school plans and rhythms out the window, and we're scrambling to piece things together. Today we're going to talk about the practical ins and outs of helping your kids navigate the craziness of a school year that nobody was ready for. 

You want your kids to be kind, caring, resilient adults someday. It's hard to remember that end goal when you're dealing with a screaming toddler in the middle of Target. You might feel like playing the long game is impossible, but it isn't. We believe that YOU CAN DO THIS—and we're here to help. Today, we're telling stories of our failures and talking about how to parent for the long haul. 

Your seventeen year old is sulking in the back seat. You're angry behind the wheel. This whole vacation is starting two hours later than planned, and nobody really wants to go anymore. Now we're doomed to a week of misery, right? Not necessarily. We believe that YOU CAN DO THIS, and we're here to help. Today we're going to talk about how to plan for trips with older kids. 

Feeling like a failure as a parent? Yeah, us too. Turns out that one of the best ways to deal with that feeling is through friends—people to help encourage and empower you as you wade your way through diapers and dinner. But how do you find them? It's not impossible—we believe that YOU CAN DO THIS, and we're here to help. Join us today as we talk about how to make new friends as an adult. 

There are a million voices that want to tell our kids who they are and how they should behave. As a parent, your voice should be louder than all of the others—but how? What do I say? It's confusing and overwhelming, but you are not alone. We believe that YOU CAN DO THIS—whether you have a baby, a second grader, a high schooler, or beyond—and we're here to help. Today, we're talking about talking to your kids about their actions and identity.

"I love roadtrips." —said no parent ever, right? Not so fast. What if it was possible to actually have roadtrips that EVERYBODY enjoyed? Turns out it IS possible. We believe that YOU CAN DO THIS, and we're here to help. Join us today as we talk about roadtrips that don't suck.  

You're a good parent. You're calm, cool, and patient. You're also gonna put your fist through the wall if they don't stop playing drums on the kitchen table, right? Step away from the sheetrock, you're not alone on this one. We believe that YOU CAN DO THIS, and we're here to help. Today we're talking about practical tips to changing child behavior. 

There's something special, something unique that happens on a road trip. We set off from home in pursuit of fun, and end up wanting to leave those we love at a truck stop. Road trips are always challenging, but they don't have to suck. We believe that YOU CAN DO THIS, and we're here to help. 

Maybe you should, but you just don't. Annnnd...now you feel guilty, and then angry because you're guilty. Now what? If we're honest, we've all been there—so let's talk about it. You're not alone; we're here to help. We believe that You Can Do This, even on days like today. 

Can we just talk about summer for a minute? They're here, they're bored, and we're overwhelmed. But, there's hope. We believe that you were made and equipped by God to be an amazing parent. We believe that YOU CAN DO THIS, and we're here to help. Today, we're talking about what to do with summer break.

Your kid will make mistakes. (Just like you, but that's another episode). But even know we know it's inevitable, it's really hard not to feel like we failed when they fail. But there's a way out of this despair—you are not alone. We believe that you were made and equipped by God to be an amazing parent. We believe that YOU CAN DO THIS, and we're here to help.

Summer has a different rhythm, and all too often, that rhythm is chaos. But it is possible to put some structure to summertime that makes it good for everybody. We believe that you were made and equipped by God to be an amazing parent. We believe that YOU CAN DO THIS, and we're here to help. Join us as we talk about how to structure summer break.

So....today sucked. You screwed up, said things you regret, and now you're already dreading tomorrow. It's a rough place to be, but there is hope. God has equipped you for this, and we're here to help. Today, let's talk about how to come back from a bad day as a parent. 

It looks like a Toys-R-Us threw up inside an Ikea in here. There's literally stuff everywhere. Turns out when everybody is in the house all the time, it gets messy real fast. But, there is a way out of the mess. We believe that you were made and equipped by God to be an amazing parent, and we're here to help.

This parenting thing is hard. If you listen to all the voices yelling at you, you'll walk away convinced you're doing it wrong, your kids are behind, and because of you, they're probably going to end up in therapy or jail. Here's the thing: you're not failing. We believe that God has made you for this, and we're here to help.