BCNE News
The latest news from our network of New England churches. Looking for our New England Perspectives Articles? Click here.
5 popular social media platforms your kids might be using
Maneuvering this digital age is challenging for today’s youth and their families. The attempt to identify what is right and what is wrong is often blurred. Kids today need help in the management and use of their social media applications and social networking sites. They need guidance on what social media applications are safe, which ones are not, and what they should do if they find themselves in a dangerous situation online. Let’s take a look at a few of the most popular social media and networking applications, focusing on warnings for each and safeguards that can be put in place to help protect our most vulnerable citizens.
Modeling a life our children can imitate
Growing up, the familiar mantra “do as I say, not as I do” was most commonly used to discourage us from cussing and smoking cigarettes. Yet, as I parent my girls, I find myself living through this same lens in all sorts of ways. I tell my daughter to speak with a kind tone towards her sister as I bark orders at them both. I encourage her to wait patiently but I grumble at slow traffic and halted grocery lines. While we’re certainly called to teach our kids how to live out the Christian faith (Prov. 22:6 and Deut. 6:4-9), we must also resolve to live out our Christian faith in word and in deed.
A woman’s place is in the home
My dear neighbor posted a sign in her yard that says: “A Woman’s Place is in the Resistance.” The sign faces my house so I’m drawn to it every time I go outside or pull into our driveway, and it has sparked so much thought. Is our place in the resistance? What does that even mean? Where is the place of a woman? What about a Christian woman who is a wife and mom? I’m convinced by God’s Word that our place is actually in the home.
Becoming an inefficiency expert in relationships
COVID-19 totally changed my pastoral rhythms. It seemed like the weekly tasks quadrupled! I felt like what was once 45-50 hours per week in a pre-COVID world became 60 or 70 hours per week in spring and summer. I learned to cut corners and do in 10 minutes what once took 15. Because traffic was less dense, I could get to a spot in 30 minutes that once took 50. Every trip and every task became an area where I was looking to save time and energy — get things done with excellency but increased attention to efficiency. I felt like one of those bike riders in the Tour de France, speeding downhill through the Alps, trying to lean into the bends and turns just right at terrifyingly blistering speeds, saving inches to beat an opponent by seconds or less.
Raising tiny theologians: A matter of life and death
Christianese can really trip people up. Sometimes terminology intimidates well-intentioned Christians when these words are actually filled to the brim with rich, treasurable truths. Take the word “theology” for example. We assume theology is for the scholar, the pastor, the apologist – but never for us. Yet theology is simply the study of God, His existence and attributes and His relationship to His creation. We all have views about these things. That makes us all theologians. And if you’re a parent, then you’re raising tiny theologians.
Don’t waste this time: Helping your teen live intentionally
As we look ahead to additional time at home and the absence of some extracurricular activities in the months ahead, it’s important to make plans so that we don’t waste these days. We need intentionality to help navigate this season well and not waste these days.
Parenting lessons from the garden
Like many people, we started our first garden this year. I honestly don’t remember what inspired me to do so, but before I knew it, we were filling raised beds with soil. Once the last frost passed, we planted various seeds, which was quite the event with a three-year-old and a two-year-old in tow. I envisioned laughter, photographic moments and a perfectly prepped garden. What I got were muddy kids, unmarked plots and a disaster in the carrot section.
Parenting during a pandemic
When I was pregnant with our first child, I read various parenting books, like many other first-time parents. However, there was no parenting book for “How to Parent Your Children During a Pandemic.” These are uncharted waters. As schools across America shut down due to the COVID-19 virus, many parents found themselves unexpectedly left to homeschool their children while simultaneously working from home. I am a stay-at-home mom, so I’m used to being home with my kids on a regular basis, but being quarantined at home with nowhere to go is hard for me! Here are some ideas that will hopefully help as you are at home with your kids.