6000 Days – Part 3

On Saturday night, Annika, Chris and I found ourselves staring down an airport corridor, anxiously waiting to see Mark after two weeks away from home. For the second year in a row, Mark traveled to a student leadership camp. Our house had been so much quieter than usual that we were all ready for the big guy to be back.As I finish this series on how to prepare for the last 1000 days in the parenting journey, let me recap where we’ve been:

The value of the last principle I want to share with you has even greater conviction behind it after listening to my son share about his experience this past Saturday night:

Get your teen out of their normal environment and into an environment with godly perspective

I mentioned in my last post that I recommend starting a teenage fund. I can’t overstate that. If your child is five years old, it’s not too early to start. I wish I’d known earlier so we could’ve been better prepared for this last 1000 days! Not only is it helpful to create opportunities to spend time with your children, but we’ve also found incredible value in giving our children opportunities to get out of their normal routine to experience God on their own terms. Whether it’s through Highpoint’s student camps, a mission trip, or another Christian out-of-town experience, you will never regret the investment you make.As Mark reflected on his time away, he mentioned that his leaders were phenomenal. He walked away from his two weeks saying he would consider working at the camp during a summer in college. He met young men who are college students at large universities and who are living for Christ. He was able to see that there’s a way to follow Christ and not compromise. Fortunately, those types of men are also among us here in the local body. They’ll continue to be those voices of truth as he returns. Yet there’s something powerful about that time away that gives students the ability to receive truth that often doesn’t penetrate in the normal flow of day-to-day events.Away from the clutter of social media and practices and Sonic runs, Mark was able to have a blast and be still before the Lord. He was able to decide for himself where he is with the Lord. He was able to hear things from someone besides his parents that would point him to Christ. God can work anywhere, but camps and trips provide God a megaphone to our hearts.As a parent of teenagers, I can’t put a price tag on the experiences my children have had. Figuratively, this is true… but literally, the price tag does matter! And as you inch closer to cars and college, you have to be especially wise stewards to navigate this season of parenting… if for no other reason, your teenager is going to watch how you handle money. I’m not recommending going into debt or spending their college fund. In our own journey, we’ve seen God be faithful to provide. Almost all camps have ways to work or raise funds to help cover the costs. We’ve done both and are so grateful we did. We’ve also asked grandparents to invest, and our children have helped earn portions themselves.Be prayerful. Be intentional. Watch God be God. 

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