I’ve been a homeschooling mom for twenty-five years with two college graduates and one child in the process. (I also have a kindergartner and two preschoolers, but that’s a different blog!)
How do you prepare your teen’s heart for college?
My kids did (mostly) awesome in college. They got good grades, made good friends, and blossomed into godly adults. All my kids went to secular local and state colleges, yet their relationship with God grew. Looking back at their teen years, here are some things that prepared their hearts most.
Involved parents. John and I loved having teens. We had dinner nightly with them, we served in church together, and we enjoyed long talks. To do this we had to be open and available. We cut back on our personal recreation, work, and goals to have time with them. This prepared our children’s hearts by proving they were worthy. They had the attention of their parents and didn’t seek it from unhealthy relationships in college.
Cheering parents. Two of our teens were involved in homeschool basketball. In Montana this meant driving hours and hours for one or two games. During this season, our whole family piled into our SUV. We drove them, and we cheered them on. For our son who didn’t play basketball, we also took interest in his pursuits. Our teens had our praise, approval, and cheers. They didn’t enter college with gaping holes in their hearts that needed to be filled up with substances or risky behavior.
Steps You Can Take
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Make time in your schedule for your teen.
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Create a teen-friendly home and atmosphere.
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Encourage your teens to have a relationship with another godly adults.
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Spend time in Bible reading with your teen or provide your teen with the tools for effective study.
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Daily Prayer
Dear Heavenly Father,
I thank you for our teens. I thank you in all the ways they’ve grown in you. Please guide me today in having the desire and the time to prepare their hearts for college and all the challenges that come with that. Amen.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Resources You Might Like:
Just One More Thing: Before You Leave Home by David and Bernice Gudgel
My Life Unscripted: Who’s Writing Your Life? by Tricia Goyer
I have a few books on sale right now! Generation NeXt Marriage is $2.99. You can also get my four World War II novels in the Liberators Series for $13.99.
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