Man #1: I thought I used to worry when my kids were little, and then I had teenagers? Oh, my.
Woman: I never realized how annoying I was until I gave birth to a mini me, and started arguing with her as a preteen.
Man #2: The scariest part of raising teens is remembering all the dumb things I did at that age.
John Fuller: Well, every parent of a teenager can probably relate to those comments, and if you’ve got a preteen growing up in your family, get ready. Welcome to Focus on the Family with Jim Daly, I’m John Fuller, and we’re so glad you’ve joined us today.
Jim Daly: You know, John, we have so much great content for parents of littles, parents of preteens, parents of teens, and uh, man, there is some good stuff. But it takes a little bit of, uh, getting used to in that parenting role to know where to go…
John: Oh…
Jim: What do I do? I mean, it’s…Yeah, preteens are a tough moment too.
John: There are challenges around every corner, it seems.
Jim: Yeah. I remember first day of school. What was your first day of school like? Were you gung-ho as a kindergartner? I wouldn’t go. I…
John: Really?
Jim: Didn’t want to go.
John: What was the reluctance?
Jim: Well, I just… I liked home.
John: Okay. Well, I was a firstborn who wanted to go out into the world…
Jim: Did you?
John: And conquer the little mat and the chocolate milk we had.
Jim: You liked the chocolate milk.
John: I did, yeah.
Jim: Well, we haven’t talked a lot about those in-between kids, but we’re gonna do that today, the nine to 12-year-old space. They’re not little kids anymore, they’re kind of beginning to get their independence, and find their way. And, you know, a lot of parents, it’s time to buckle up, because the teens are around the corner, and they’re really gonna stretch the independence at that point. But it’s a good thing, it’s a God-given thing, and they’re trying to figure out, “Who am I?” And, “What’s my identity?” So this is a time for the parents to really put the pedal down and help them to find their identity.
John: Mm-hmm. And we have two great guests to help us do that today, Tricia Goyer and Leslie Nunnery have, uh, a lot of experience between the two. Um, Tricia has been on this program a number of times. She’s a speaker, and author, and podcast host, and has 10 kids. So, Tricia has raised several pre-teens along the way. She speaks with experience and authority. And uh, uh, Leslie is also an author, and a speaker, and is the co-founder of Teach Them Diligently, which provides gospel-centered homeschooling events and resources, and has four children. And together, uh, these ladies have written a book that is so, uh, good. It’s got lots of great insights. It’s called Faith That Sticks: 5 Real-Life Ways to Disciple Your Pre-teen. And we’ve got copies of that book, of course, here at the ministry. Call 800, the letter A, and the word FAMILY, or stop by focusonthefamily.com/broadcast.
Jim: Tricia, welcome back. And, Leslie, welcome for the first time.
Leslie Nunnery: Well, thank you so much.
Tricia Goyer: Thank you for having us.
Jim: Good to have you here. Okay, let’s get right into it. Pre-teen, it’s kind of the eye-rolling, uh, moment of parenting where the kids are going, “Puh! Whatever.” I remember Troy, he wasn’t doing this disrespectfully ’cause he was being kind of playful when he did it. I said, “Hey, can you get the garbage and take it out?” He goes… For those on YouTube, you can see. It’s like the W with your fingers, and then E, “Whatever.” And I was like, “Yeah, that’s not gonna fly.”
Leslie: Exactly.
(Laughs).
John: Little bit of attitude.
Jim: But it is… I mean, it was done and fun, and I loved it. But, this is the point where you get the snorts, and the grunts, and the, “Puh! Huh! Shh! Whuh!” Right?
Tricia: Absolutely. And they go from like, sometimes these sweet little kids that love being around you, and just want you to read stories to them, and suddenly they’re rolling their eyes, and you don’t know what you’re talking about, and you’re not cool anymore. And, “Drop me off and I will walk to the front door.” ‘Cause I, they don’t want you to get too close to the building so people will see you.
Jim: “Drop me off a block from school.”
Tricia: Yeah, a block from school, or block from wherever, youth group, wherever they’re at.
Jim: Now, I would be the parent to go, “Oh, okay.” Boom. Right up to the curb, beeping the horn…
Leslie: Walking in with you.
Jim: With windshield wipers on.
Tricia: It depends on the day. Sometimes I’m like rolling down the window, “Bye, honey. I love you!”
Jim: Yeah, I mean, that’s part of it. And a lot of growth happens during those preteen years. I mean, those, it is a transition phase. I remember, you know, this maybe a little off balance, that’s where you notice your first chest hair maybe, or (laughs), you know, something weird is happening to your body.
John: Mm-hmm.
Jim: It’s the start of becoming a young adult. Right? Uh, describe what’s going on for these nine to 12 year olds.
Leslie: Uh, there is, you know, there’s so much development that’s going on at this time and, um, a lot of it is not really what us as parents would expect. We talk a lot about the hormones, and the body changes, and stuff like that, but the most impactful part of their development during this time is actually what’s going on in their brain.
Jim: Hmm.
Leslie: They have two really important things happening. Number one, their limbic system, which, you know, everyone knows about the limbic system, right?
Jim: Yes, exactly.
Leslie: Absolutely!
Jim: I’m not even gonna guess. Go ahead.
Leslie: The limbic system is responsible for the emotional charges that they get, the reactions, and like all of this stuff ramping up.
Jim: That thing’s in overdrive.
Leslie: It is in overdrive during this time, so you’ve got that happening, but then their prefrontal cortex part of their brain that really helps them, um…
Jim: Judgment.
Leslie: Yeah, judgment, manage those emotions, manage those reactions, that’s just getting started, and it won’t be developed until they’re in their twenties. So you’ve got the limbic ramping up, so you’ve got high emotions, anger, you know, you… You’ve seen it. We see what’s going on with the limbic system, but we don’t see anything happening with the…
Jim: The frontal cortex.
John: The judgement part, yeah.
Leslie: Rationale, the judgment, that’s not coming along yet. So we see this in our kids and it, it really, I think, makes a lot of parents very fearful.
John: Yeah.
Leslie: Because you don’t know what has eaten this sweet little child and turned them into this, this really reactionary preteen.
Jim: That’s, yeah, that’s a good observation. But knowing it going in as a parent is really important to know that…
Leslie: I… Absolutely.
Jim: These are the things that are gonna be happening, and be ready for it so you’re not…So you’re not working outta your limbic system.
Leslie: Well, exactly. I… I… This was the one thing that I really wish that I had known when my kids were younger, because I feel like, uh, you know, in 1 Peter 3 where it tells husbands to live with wives, uh, with understanding. Think as parents, we need to do that with our kids as well.
Jim: That’s a good point.
Leslie: And so getting to know what’s really going on with them during this stage of their development will help you parent them so much better.
Jim: That’s good. Now, on top of that, let’s throw in social media.
Leslie: Yeah.
Jim: Just for fun.
Tricia: Absolutely.
Jim: Tricia, this is such a… You know, it’s probably the number one parenting issue that we get contacted here at Focus on the Family to get input on. Um, how… How do you manage that as a parent? What are your observations?
Tricia: It’s so difficult, because my oldest is 36, my youngest is 14, so I feel like I’ve raised two different generations…
Jim: Oh, totally.
Tricia: Of children, yeah. So the first set, they were finally kind of getting into MySpace, but it was very, you’re kind of on it, but it wasn’t controlling your life, you weren’t aware of everyone all the time. And these younger kids, even if we hold off, so we… They can’t even get cell phones until they’re 14, and they can only communicate with us. Social media comes at 15, but we’re monitoring everything. Um, and that’s just choices for our family. Every family has different choices.
Jim: Yeah.
Tricia: But everywhere they…
Jim: It’s good to delay it as long as possible. That’s good.
Tricia: Everywhere they go. Whether it’s at church, at camp, at homeschool co-ops, people are just so connected on social media, or with cell phones, or with texting that they never get a time to escape and just really figure out who they are.
Jim: Yeah.
Tricia: Because they… They’re just comparing themselves to other people, and then there’s predators, and all those types of things. And so it… It is really hard. And this generation truly is harder than even the previous generation. I know ’cause I’ve had kids in both.
Jim: Yeah.
Tricia: And I really am, um, sympathetic for today’s parents that are trying to juggle all this.
Jim: Yeah. This idea of identity, um, is so critical. I mean, as Christians, that’s one of the core things. And pre-teen, and certainly teen, they’re developing a sense of identity, who they are, what they believe, etc. The goal for us as Christian parents obviously is to pass that faith onto the next generation. But these core things are being developed. Your daughter, I think, as a pre-teen, had a, uh, volleyball experience.
Leslie: Yeah.
Jim: What happened with that?
Leslie: Yeah. I… My, my youngest daughter actually has taught me a lot…
Jim: Mm-hmm.
Leslie: Um, through the years. Uh, but she had a lot of benefits of being the youngest of four. So she, she got to learn all the things much earlier. And so by the time she was playing volleyball in sixth, seventh, eighth grade, in that middle school era, she was way ahead of where everyone else was, and got all the accolades and all the, you know, cheers, and that sort of thing. And that really, I didn’t realize it at the time, until we talked when she was a little older, but that had become just very much her identity. That’s how she saw herself. And she will tell you now, that had become an idol to her, that was all she cared about. And one day towards the middle of the season, they were doing warmups, it was just a freak accident, she broke her finger and was out for the rest of that season. And I mean, she was devastated. Just absolutely devastated. Um, and it was largely because, as she told me later on, she didn’t know who she was gonna be if she couldn’t be out there on the volleyball court.
Jim: Mm-hmm.
Leslie: And, um, she’s… In… In hindsight, she was very grateful for that because that broke that. That wasn’t her identity anymore. She had to figure out who she really was. Um, and she realized through all of that, again, to her own… This is her own testimony that I’m sharing, she realized who she was in Christ instead of just looking at who she was on the court. And God used that to teach her a pretty amazing lesson as a seventh grader. Um, but, that’s really indicative of how easy it is to get wrapped up in what others see of you, and what others think of you during that time, because that’s really all you’ve got.
Jim: You know, you’ve written a book now, Faith That Sticks, so parents are going, “Okay, how do you make it stick?”
Leslie: Yeah.
Jim: In that regard, Trisha, I mean in those areas of identity, what are some things you can do to say, “Okay, this will help my child better understand why they were created”?
Tricia: Yeah.
Jim: And you begin planting those seeds at about that age, ’cause they’re cognitively capable of understanding these things now.
Tricia: And that’s the important part, we need to take time for these things and things we talk about are Bible reading, and prayer, and relationships and conversations, and then community service. And, some of our kids we adopted as preteens. So one was 11 and then we had, um, thirteen-year-old twins and a fifteen-year-old. So we were getting them from their identity of first being in foster care…
Jim: Right.
Tricia: Then…
Jim: Unworthy, not good enough.
Tricia: Unworthy, and they had had a failed adoption right before us.
Jim: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Tricia: And, you know, then all of a sudden, homeschooling mom, “We’re gonna sit around and read the Bible.” And they’re like, “What are you doing?” But they had come kind of with their identity formed, that they aren’t worth anything, that people have passed them over again and again. And as we sat there and read God’s Word… And at first they would, I’m like, just put your heads down. You just have to listen, you don’t have to interact. Pretty soon they started getting engaged with God’s Word, and realizing that God had a purpose for them, a plan for them. And it was so amazing to see that God’s Word was that seed that really made them see who they are and how important they are. They were in the bigger plan of things. Um, and I think so many times we think during the age, they don’t want to, they don’t wanna sit there and do family devotions. They don’t wanna sit there and do a Bible study or pray with their family. “This is so dumb, why would I have to do this?” But if we’re diligent, those seeds will take root as they get older.
Jim: Yeah.
Tricia: And we’ve seen that in our girls’ lives.
Jim: Wow. That’s a… I mean, that’s a great concept. Read the Word over your kids.
Leslie: Yeah.
Jim: You know, it doesn’t have to be in a tough way. Troy, my youngest was, is still into it. I mean, we could say, “Hey, you want to just read the Word tonight?” And we’re right now going through, uh, Galatians.
Leslie: Mm-hmm.
Jim: But he’s really into it. Trent a little more active. You know? “Yeah. Maybe later dad.” I mean, you know, so just kind of the two different perspectives. But, as a parent, just do it.
Tricia: Just do it.
Jim: I mean, ’cause it is so good for them to hear that identity, especially those areas of the New Testament where God is speaking love over them, and His unconditional love for them. I mean, what pre-teen, teen doesn’t want to hear that?
Tricia: Absolutely.
Jim: God… God really unconditionally loves me?
Tricia: And relating to people in the Bible. So we were reading through the Psalms and you know, David is so emotional. Um, “I am but a worm not a man.” And “I am in the pit.”
Jim: He’s quite emotional.
Tricia: And I’m like, “See? He’s emo, too.”
Jim: Yeah.
Tricia: Like, “Look, it’s just like you guys when you’re rolling your eyes, and ‘this is the worst day ever.’ David wrote it down, but then at the end he’s like, ‘but I will praise God.'” And they would just laugh. And so kind of seeing that people in the Bible were real, their emotions were real. That they don’t have to hide their emotions. They’re gonna be emotional.
Jim: Yeah.
Tricia: But, they can also see that God is there and they can turn to Him. Even though I feel like I’m in the darkest pit right now, which some of them battled depression. I mean, there’s so many things in their past, they can still turn to God.
Jim: Leslie, in fact, you shared a story about your son having kind of an emotional moment, uh, as a preteen where he felt a lot of pressure. I… I think Troy had that moment as well where he, he thought he could only make A’s, and I remember just saying to him, “You know, it’s okay if you don’t make an A.” And he just… He exhaled and said, “really?” I went, “Oh, of course. I mean, we want to aim for doing great work, but if you get a B, uh, or C. I mean, I get it and we’ll work together to strengthen that. But you know, let’s just… don’t feel you have to do that.” And it really, you know, changed his perspective.
Leslie: Oh yeah.
Jim: In the area of stress.
Leslie: Yeah. Well, you know, our kids, like we were talking about earlier, there’s so much changing. They are becoming aware of people outside of themselves. Which, you know, they really didn’t have that kind of awareness when they were much younger. And so, um… So yeah, when…I, I saw a lot with my, my boys. I think I just wasn’t expecting the emotions that pour out of preteen boys, ’cause I never was one, didn’t have a brother.
John: Yeah.
Leslie: Um, so that kind of shocked me more. But, uh, yeah, there was one time when my son, I caught him red-handed with something in a lie. He just broke down on, “I don’t know why I’m so wicked and evil!” And just, you know, so… Just the guilt. And so many parents talk about how their, their preteens struggle with such guilt. Um, and, and it really just broke my heart. And I was able to sit down and talk to him at the time about just different things that were going on inside of him, and how Jesus loves him anyway. And I thought as I walked away from there, how grateful I am that I was the one who was able in his, in his emotional state, when he was so unsettled and so vulnerable, I was able to get in closer to him to wrap my arms around him, reassure him of my love, his place in our family, and most importantly, that he’s fearfully and wonderfully made, and that God knows and loves him. Um, so when parents withdraw during this stage of, of their kid’s life, because of all the things we talked about earlier, you know, the kids don’t want us around and blah, blah, blah. When we withdraw, we’re really opening the door for someone else to speak into their life instead of taking that opportunity that God has given us and using that platform, which is so powerful in this stage.
John: Yeah, that’s a really great reminder. Uh, we’ve gotta lean in. Uh, this is Focus on the Family with Jim Daly. And, uh, we’re talking today with Tricia Goyer and Leslie Nunnery about this, uh, fragile time in life we all made it through. If you’ve got a preteen, you need to get a copy of their book, Faith That Sticks: 5 Real-Life Ways to Disciple Your Preteen. It’s terrific. And we’ve got it here at the ministry, and you’ll find it at focusonthefamily.com/broadcast.
Jim: Tricia, let me ask you this. Uh, I saw a survey a while back. It said that 80% of children said that they’re most influenced by their parents.
Tricia: Mm-hmm.
Jim: Not their friend network. You would think it’d be the opposite. 20% of parents would have that position, but 80% of teens said, and preteens said parents had the most influence in their life. That’s a great thing. But like you said a moment ago, it’s intimidating. And, Tricia, you mentioned in the book how critical it is to ask questions, not lecture. Um, for some reason when they’re 4, 5, 6, we do get into the lecture mode, and we delay getting out of that mode too long sometimes. And it’s the old Charlie Brown, what kids hear is, “wah, wah, wah, wah” and what is effective is questions. So elaborate on the art and the skill of developing good questions for your kids.
Tricia: And I think when we see stuff, we will freak out. We will think we need to give them the lecture, the information. And first of all, they’re feeling unsure. If they hear something, their emotional brain is piqued, and then their thinking brain is off, so asking questions will get them in their thinking brain. But we had an experience with one of our daughters came up, we were just in the kitchen, I was cooking and she goes, “I think I’m bisexual.” And I said, “No, you’re not.” And she goes…
Jim: Wow. You gotta be on your toes for that.
Tricia: Yeah, exactly. Well, with all of them, they’re just gonna come up with stuff and you just have to be prepared.
Jim: Well, especially today.
Tricia: Especially today. And I said, “No, you’re not.” She goes, “Well, why do you say that?” I said, “You talk about cute boys all the time…” But this is where it turns around. Instead of me just going, “let’s sit down with the Bible, let’s talk about what God’s Word says, let’s talk about identity.” I said, “Why do you think that?” And she goes, “Well, I think girls are pretty.” I’m like, “All girls think girls are pretty. You go to some church, and you see someone’s hair and dress. You’re like, ‘she looks pretty today.’ It doesn’t mean you have to be sexually attracted to them.”
Jim: Right.
Tricia: But then, you know… “So is anything going on? Is people… Are people talking to you?” We started digging into it.
Jim: Mm-hmm.
Tricia: And this was a time in her life. She only had her cell phone number. She didn’t have social media. Her only her cell phone number was available to family members. Well they had a older sister that had aged outta foster care that we did not adopt. So she was already adult when we adopted her four siblings, and that sister had her number. Well that sister had given her number to an older girl who was making advances on our pre-teen.
Jim: Kind of grooming her.
Tricia: Grooming her.
Jim: Mm.
Tricia: And because I was not sitting down lecturing her, “don’t do this,” I started asking questions, um, we started also being curious about why is she saying this now?
Jim: Yeah. It just came outta nowhere.
Tricia: This is very uncharacteristic.
Jim: Mm.
Tricia: Um, and so then when we found a… Thank you for this, you know, all the software that shows you what’s on your kids’ phones. We found these conversations, we were able to let her know, “We’re gonna call the police. I mean, we’re gonna, you know, get, this is an adult, nineteen-year-old grooming a… She was 15 at the time.”
Jim: Yeah.
Tricia: Um, and you know, we were able to talk to her daughter about what was appropriate. And years later she thanked us for that. I mean, at the time she’s upset, “You’re looking at my phone!” But I think she was also relieved there. And also, years later, when one of her younger sisters said, “I think I’m bisexual,” she turned around, she was in the front seat, turned around, and said, “No, you’re not! You think boys…” And she was repeating what I had said.
Jim: Right.
Tricia: And so I think so many times we immediately… I mean our chest tightens up, we freeze, we’re worried, we’re thinking worst-case scenarios 20 years from now, all the things. And instead, just in the moment what is going on and asking questions can help us dig deeper into what’s really going on with our kids. Maybe they’re seeing something on TV, or social media, or friends from school. Um, one of our other daughters had a distant family member said, “You should be, um, a lesbian ’cause it’s really fun.” And you know, so… And she’s just another, another middle schooler and… But my daughter came and told us. So they’re getting stuff even from people we think are safe family members…
Jim: Or that would be looking out for them.
Tricia: Or that would be looking out for them.
Jim: Protecting them. But what you’re describing in the bigger context is how to have a relationship…
Tricia: Absolutely.
Jim: With your preteen that becomes the critical part of that. You know, in, in some Christian, particularly Christian parents are gonna say, “I’m laying the law down. It’s black and white. As long as you’re under my roof.” You know all the cliches. But I’m telling you, the core thing in all of that is relationship.
Leslie: Mm-hmm.
Jim: I mean, that’s what the Lord does with us.
Leslie: Yes.
Jim: And for us, His relationship is what He wants. We’re not gonna live perfectly. He’s still gonna love us, and guide us, and correct us, and we have to have that similar attitude in our parenting, I believe. And so the key to that is maintaining that relationship, and I love your response, so quick. “No, you’re not.” I mean, that’s just such a right parenting thing to say, and then help them better understand what they’re going through. And I think that the bigger question here is just being a sponge.
Leslie: Mm-hmm.
Jim: They’re so influenced by everything…
Leslie: Yes.
Jim: And everybody, that they need that reassurance of, “What am I and who am I again?” And it… We could be too flippant as parents not to realize this is formulation time. They’re trying to figure that out. Tricia, you mentioned in the book that parents need to be humble and authentic about their mistakes. Now this can be really hard. I mean this… And you’ve gotta be wise as to what you’re saying at what time. You don’t want to say to a four-year-old, you know, “This is how I stumbled as a teenager.” But give us some examples of how you can do that effectively as a parent. In some ways, you’re earning their trust because you’re being real. I think so many contacts we get here at Focus, you know, the Christian home, again, we’re trying to be perfect. And kids struggle with that. I… They know in their heart they’re not perfect, right? And yet…
Tricia: And they know we are not perfect.
Leslie: I was about to say, “And they know for sure we not perfect!”
Jim: There’s nothing… There’s nothing like the walls of the family.
Leslie: Yeah.
Jim: Everybody knows everybody. And uh, they know your weaknesses as well. But speak to that idea of authenticity as a parent so that the children can see that and say, “Okay, I need to be like that.”
Tricia: And it’s so hard sharing our mistakes. I was, you know, sexually active as a teen. I had an abortion when I was 15, which is something I really regret.
Jim: That’s powerful.
Tricia: And then my son, I had him when I was 17, my oldest son. So they knew pretty much when they’re younger, “Like, wait, why is Corey in your wedding photo?” You know? ’cause…
Jim: Yeah.
Tricia: He was, um, a baby when I ended up marrying the pastor’s son after I rededicated my life to God. Which, I love that God brought me John after my boyfriend was gone. So they know… They knew kind of that I had Corey as a teenager.
Jim: Did you share this with them as pre-teens?
Tricia: I, I had to because, you know…
Jim: Yeah. They were asking questions.
Tricia: They were asking questions. We had a wedding photo. Corey was in it. “Why is our older brother in your wedding photo?”
Jim: So how did you turn what I, you know, I’ll gently call your mistakes…
Tricia: Mm-hmm.
Jim: … Into teachable moments that they then begin to share with others?
Tricia: Absolutely.
Jim: Describe that.
Tricia: Absolutely. Yeah. So then, but the abortion part was harder.
Jim: Yeah.
Tricia: But I helped start a crisis pregnancy center in Kalispell, Montana when we lived up there. And I was gonna be speaking in front of our church, and my kids were all pre… Like right around the pre-teen age. And I knew everyone at church was gonna be hearing this. I don’t want them to hear from someone else that I had an abortion. They, they knew about the teen pregnancy. So on the way to church, this is like me waiting till the last minute. Like, “I don’t wanna have to tell ’em this. This is what I’m maybe talking about today.” Um, I probably even had to describe what abortion was, and that I really regretted my mistakes, that I know God has forgiven me. And they were so like, “Mommy, I’m so sorry. We love you.” And they were so tender with me because I was humble. And I’m like, “You know, when we don’t have God in our lives, we kind of make these mistakes. And I’m so thankful that God has forgiven me.” And then later, because they were with me at the crisis pregnancy centers, they were with me as I was mentoring teen moms, that they understood the value of serving those. Um, so they will not make the choice of abortion. And later, I remember coming back at from, um, one event, our youth pastor said, your daughter tonight was at a youth gathering. And, um, all these teens were like, “I’m pro-choice and everyone has a choice.” And my daughter started, just with a small group, said, “Let me tell you about my mom’s story.” And pretty soon the whole room of 30 people are sitting there listening to her tell about my pain, and regret, and shame of all these years. And then they’re like, “I never thought about that before.” So because she heard my story, even though it was easy to share, she was able to share with other people kind of my experiences. And I think…
Jim: That’s powerful.
Tricia: Yeah. What, what kids need is our humility and, and hearing our mistakes. Um, and they will know when I’m telling you something, it’s because I’ve been there, I understand the pain, not that you’re gonna always make the right decisions, but if I can help you make better decisions then, um, that’s what I want to do.
John: Hmm. Well, that’s how we concluded our conversation with Tricia Goyer and Leslie Nunnery on today’s episode of Focus on the Family with Jim Daly. I’m John Fuller, and, Jim, I think we got some great ideas about parenting pre-teens from our guests today.
Jim: Absolutely, we did. And here’s the message for moms and dads: buckle up, this is an exciting time for you and your family, and we want to equip you to parent those kids well. And, uh, we’ve got this great book from Tricia and Leslie, Faith That Sticks: 5 Real Ways to Disciple Your Preteen, and if you can send a gift of any amount to Focus on the Family today, uh, we’ll get the book out to you right away as our way of saying thank you for partnering with us in ministry. We’ve also got our Age and Stage resources, which is a wonderful way for you to connect with Focus, you simply enter in your contact details, the ages of your children, and we’re going to send you weekly updates and emails that are relevant to parenting that age of your child, and that’ll take you from zero to 18. And it’s probably one of the best things that we’re doing here at Focus on the Family to help you as a parent. And it’s completely free.
John: That’s right. And you can sign up for the Age and Stage E-Newsletter at focusonthefamily.com/broadcast, or if you’d like, give us a call, we’ll help set that up for you, 800-232-6459. 800, the letter A, and the word FAMILY.
Jim: And let me add, we’ve mentioned this a few times here in August, as we close our fiscal year, uh, the summer months tend to be a bit lean financially, and we could really use your support right now as we end that budget year. Our research shows that only 1% of the listeners and viewers of the program have donated to the ministry. And thanks to your generosity for that 1%, we’ve been able to impact more than 660,000 parents with resources and practical help for their kids. But, there’s so much more we could do together, and I want to invite you to help move that needle up to 2, or 3%, or even more. Please consider a generous gift, a one-time gift is great, or you can sign up monthly, but help us help others. Let’s do this for the Kingdom of Christ.
John: Yeah, your donation today can be made over the phone. 800, the letter A, and the word FAMILY, that’s 800-232-6459, or it’s pretty easy to donate online at focusonthefamily.com/broadcast. Well, coming up tomorrow, uh, a really powerful testimony from Sheila Walsh.
Sheila Walsh: He said, “Sheila, the Shepherd knows where to find you.” And that one moment began the most amazing adventure of my life, of discovering the love of God is never based on our performance, it is based on the finished work of Christ.
John: Thanks for listening to Focus on the Family with Jim Daly. I’m John Fuller, inviting you back next time as we once again help you and your family thrive in Christ.
