Dear Sunnyview Family,
Parenting is hard.
I don’t know this first hand, but I communicate with many on a regular basis and it is a common thread in each conversation. There is a new challenge every day and sometimes it can feel like trying to move an un-movable wall. Or at least a wall that pushes back.
An important part of my ministry is coming along side parents with what they need to be best parents for their students. One way in which I do this is my giving an insight into how their students brain is working. Giving an understanding of where they are developmentally and how that will affect behavior and decision making.
But I do not know everything. So I am constantly on the lookout for resources that will be useful and helpful to parents. Between conferences, blogs, and conversations with other youth ministers, I have acquired a variety of incredible resources that are available to any Sunnyview parent! These resources include books, articles, websites, devices for managing internet usage, alternative media sources, and many, many more.
One of my favorites is Circle with Disney. This is a device that pairs with any WiFi router and give control over any device that is connected to it. You can control which devices can have internet, when those devices have internet, and which apps those devices can have access too. And it works with every device that connects to that WiFi router! It is designed to be easy to use without needing to have a technical degree in anything. If you are interested in this device, you can check out more about it at www.meetcircle.com.
This is just one of over 50 different resources that I have collected that are designed specifically for parents. And I am always finding more. What is great is that anyone can browse these resources right now on the Sunnyview website. Just go to www.sunnyview.church/parentresources, or you can find it under the “Resources” menu on the top of the website. Here you can search for resources, filter them by category, or view the most recent additions.
Parents are essential to the spiritual growth of their students. Parents are important to the health of the Sunnyview Youth and this church. This month, lift all the parents here at Sunnyview up in prayer. Ask for God to bless them and to continue to give them His strength.
Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.
-Deuteronomy 6:4-9
In Christ,
Jeremy Coggin