Rebel and Repeat

Today I want to talk to you about being a rebel.

You might not think of yourself as a rebel but you might be more of one than you think!

To be a great parent today, you need to be courageous enough to visit your past. How did your parents raise you during the teenage years? What was your experience like? What did your parents teach you? What values did they pass down to you?

It is so important to think back on that time even if it is painful for you.

Because the pain can have a purpose. It can show you where you need to rebel.

Your parents were not perfect, just like you are not a perfect parent. So there has to be some areas where you could give your teenager a better experience than you got. That is something you would Rebel against from your past.

A great exercise for you to after you read this is to grab a piece of paper and make a list of the different ways you want to rebel from the way you were raised.

In this case, rebellion is a very good thing. It can be one of the greatest gifts your teenager ever receives.

The second part of this exercise is to do the REPEAT
I am not at all trying to beat up on your parents. Your parents hopefully did a lot of things right.

Think through the different areas where your parents did a great job raising you as a teenager. These are the things you want to make sure to Repeat with your teenager.

It is so powerful when you and I repeat the great truths and experiences we received from our parents. It is what builds a heritage.

So on that piece of paper where you made your REBEL list, make a list called REPEAT and fill it up with the different ways you are going to give your teenager what was given to you.

1 Corinthians 11:1 says, “Follow My Example as I Follow the Example of Christ.”

I love that passage because it boldly proclaims that, “I am not afraid to take responsibility and set a path for you, as my teenager, to follow.”

As a parent you are marking a path for your teenager to follow. One of the best ways to insure that the path you are carving out leads to Christ is to look back at the path your parents marked out for you.

This will allow you to determine what you should Rebel against and what you should Repeat.

I am proud of you today for taking time to consider how important it is to lead your teenager on a path towards Christ and setting them up to do the same thing one day for their children.