Taking a stand!!

We are a Christian family. We love Jesus. Doug and I are unashamed of the gospel. The outworking of this for us as a family means we are raising kids who do not fit in. They are not being conformed to the pattern of this world. It means that they are what kids call :nerds".  They are different to other kids. They think differently. 

We are conservative parents. We parent with God in mind. He hems us in . We are surrounded by him. The end result of this is that our children are not the same as others.  They are not allowed to do the same things as other children their age are. Yes, learning to be independent with responsibility is the aim but always age appropriately. 

We stand alone! 

Yes, of course there are few who journey our way and we are grateful for fellow travelers.  The result  of the decisions we make for our kids, will be in the future. It is the unknown and all we really have to go on is to look at those who have gone before and raised children to healthy, whole young adult, who love Jesus.  I guess it is the same for all parents. We reap what we sow, but only in the future!

While I really do hold to the idea that each family needs to work this out for themselves, I do somehow think that there are Christians who are afraid. We are afraid our children will be left out; seen as uncool and ostracized. We want them to have one foot in the world and one in God,s kingdom. We want them to experience comfort and be happy. I have to fight against this. The truth is being a christian is counter cultural. We do not fit in. we do not belong. This is not our home. So we raise our kids with their eyes fixed on heaven and Jesus.

The reality is that they are often  left out. They do not really belong in the crowd. They are not coo to the most l.  At times, this is hard to experience with them.  BUT the truth is this pain is ok. Standing firm for Jesus is worth more than anything this world can offer even if it means standing alone!!
In the South African context we will always find one other who stands with us. 

So, we pray for godly Christian friends who count Jesus as all and being seen as coo by the majorityl as, well, nothing.