maybe i’ll see ya there…how did they get this old???

what a trip that our daughters ended up at the same middle school, mikey! of course, it’s your baby, so you might have to coach me through this!

yep! doesn’t matter how many years you’ve been in youth ministry…it just doesn’t prepare you for having them in your own home! welcome to the hormone club! and just wait! driver’s ed will be just around the corner! mac is now legal and drove himself to school yesterday on the first day! in my car !
how time flies!
and i do think frost and hirsch is one of the best books out there!
great stuff!
tell the o gang hi from the lewins!
and btw i am having greenbelt withdrawal! i’ll have to email a photo of you and jeannie at the tiny tea tent!

This is beautiful. I wish I would have had a father that cared as much as you do for your daughter when I was in middle school.

**blinks rapidly so as not to appear to be weepy**

Welcome to the exciting world of parenting adolescents. I’d say this was the time Nicole and I really didn’t like each other. And you know what kind of kids she was — you were her JH pastor! It was all me, being an overreactive mom. But But what love and grace she has for her parents — that is what brings me to tears.

Awesome Post Marko. Hard to believe but your passion for youth ministry will grow in unexpected ways for the next several years because of your own kids adolescent experiences. You think you are a crying man now, just wait, you ain’t seen nothing yet… my prayer for you is that they will all be tears of deep passion and tears of joy.

That’s pretty funny, because I was just thinking the other day that you didn’t know anything about jr. highers. Here’s a question for you…When do you tell parents that their kids behaved inappropriately? For example, if a kid at camp surf sneaks out at night to meet a friend of the opposite sex, then gets caught sneaking out, do their parents get told? If it were my daughter, I would want to know. But 15 years ago when I didn’t have teenagers, I wouldn’t have thought too long about not telling the parents (nothing “happened”, she was caught, and disciplined). What do you think?

yeah, that’s a fine line, isn’t it, cath? i think in that case, i wouldn’t tell the parents. if something had been going on, i would probably expect the kid to tell his/her parents, and i would follow up. and if it were a pattern (not a one-time thing), then the same would apply. so much of my response would depend on the students’ response.

First, yes, I do read your blog. Second, you’re old. Junior high. Wow! Third, I take Ariel to high school on Monday and Selena to kindergarten on Thursday. Not sure how I feel about either.

It’s really cool that Liesl let you walk her in. I hope she wasn’t too nervous.

Maybe Ariel will let me walk her in. Would that be too weird? :)

that must mean you’re older than me, roni!