Seeing Them Thru His Eyes!

The classic characters of
Winnie the Pooh by A.A. Milne (1882-1956)

Do you remember reading Winnie-the Pooh to your children when they were younger?

Or maybe, like mine, once they got to 4th grade, they insisted on reading the complete novels by themselves.

Gone are the evenings of sitting on their beds, reading aloud a chapter per night and hearing them beg for "just one more, Mommy/Daddy"!

Well, in the 2nd chapter of  GOT TEENS? the book my small group is studying/discussing, there was a section about finding your child's personality based on the characters by A.A. Milne.

My teenager has several characteristics of all the characters....my youngest has a few from all of them, too.  Yes, they show themselves a little more in one or two but.....I don't take much stock in these kinds of things....

It's a nice concept and a great way to start thinking of the more sophisticated questionnaires like the Meyers-Briggs test, etc. (thanks to Monica and Hope for their input regarding that test and the online Love Languages one!) 

To me, and I think most moms would agree with me, we know our children best.  As for our teens.....it is still a learning process for me!  I am still learning about Courtney and all the various ways her personality comes through. As for my tween (Claire), she is changing almost daily!  At age 11, they are just starting to examine who they are, let alone who they are in God!

And now this study book has us thinking about their spiritual giftings.

As I told the moms last evening: it doesn't really matter if we don't know their exact spiritual gifting yet.  What matters is if we are expecting them to seek it out....and cultivating the opportunities for them to serve in the areas they are most interested in at church, youth group, school clubs, community.  

I like the verses from Isaiah that the chapter pointed us to, but that I neglected to bring up in our meeting time.  (we were so busy discussing, I only had time for a couple of Scriptures!):

"Therefore the Lord will wait, that He may be gracious to you, and therefore He will be exalted, that He may have mercy on you.  For the Lord is a God of justice;  blessed are all those who wait for Him."  Isaiah 30:18

This is a promise straight from God!  He will make a way, a path, for our teens!  We need to place our teens in His Hands....and wait.  He will show them, on our prompting, guiding, training, and teaching (and role-modeling our own giftings!), in His time, in His way, and with His purposes for them.  Isn't God a good God??

On Courtney's Facebook page, where one can write about themselves in the little box under the profile picture, she has the following Scripture verse from  Isaiah 40:30 & 31

"Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall, but those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength;  they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint."  

  Waiting on God.

We will be renewed!  Our teens, when they fully understand this promise, will be renewed.....they will be running for Him, working in their gifting that He has designed just for them.  Maybe it is in the area of leadership/teaching.  Perhaps it is in the area of administration, helps, hospitality, encouragment, intercession, evangelizing.  There are many more.  One body.  Many parts.

All of this was discussed....and...love languages!

Yes....knowing and fulfilling their love language daily...keeping that emotional tank full, will allow them to move out into the giftings that God has blessed them with.  It might take time.  It will certainly take mom and dad to cultivate it.....we can begin to role model it right in our homes.....

for example:  my Claire's primary love language is Acts of Service.  I allow her to do small things for me around the house...it is how she knows she is loved...and in turn, I surprise her by doing small things for her! (making her bed when she least expects it, etc).  By doing this, she might possibly be heading for a life of helps, hospitality or even leadership in the spiritual giftings area.  Typically, the way a child shows his/her love for others, is often what their love language is, and by following that, you can perhaps discover which spiritual gifting is best suited for her/him.  (And thank you to Jeanie, Lynn, Melissa, Amy.....for sharing your stories!)

And....if you are concerned about the direction a teen is heading in, give this over to God, through prayer and meditation.  Tell a friend a specific prayer request and ask her to keep the teen in prayer.  We exchanged index cards with our names/teen's name and one request relating to a "crucial issue" which the book describes as a character issue...our church would call this something within the "core beliefs" circle.  How mighty is the power of prayer when we lift up our requests before Him and expect Him to answer!  And He will.....either, Yes, No, or Wait.  He DOES answer us!  Glory to God!


And.....something to meditate on during the next 2 weeks.  I reached for the Jesus Calling devo book and turned to the daily reading for Thursday late last nite....I want to share a part of it with you since I read this after our small group meeting! :)


Jesus speaking:  "release all your worries into My care.  Entrust to Me everything that concerns you (our teens).  This clears the way for you to seek My Face unhindered.....sit quietly in My Presence.....instead of regretting or resenting the way things are, thank Me in all circumstances.  Trust me, and don't be fearful."  (pg 294, c.2004 Sarah Young)

"therefore, humble yourselves under the Mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you."

I Peter 5:6 & 7

Let's lift up our tweens/teens to Jesus this week.....ask Him specifically to show you, and them, their spiritual gifting(s).....fill their emotional tank this week with their primary love language.....reflect on which Winnie-the-Pooh character they are most like (but don't obsess about it!), and pray for any negative characteristics, or weaknesses, that they exhibit.  


Let's see our teens the way God sees them:  His Perfect design.  He has a plan and purpose for them.  He loves them unconditionally.  Let's strive for that!


And just maybe......they will be open to having you sit on the bed at bedtime....!!