This week on Homeschool Highschool Podcast: Helping Teens to Be Wise in Troubled Times.

Helping Teens to Be Wise in Troubled Times

Vicki works with teens and adults in her counseling practice. She has learned that in our world of current events, times can get people stressed out, anxious, and worried. Then, it’s sometimes hard to be wise and maintain a Christ-like character.

However, we want to be wise. We want to maintain a Christlike character and give our teens the tools to do that.

Let’s talk about some spiritual and practical tools for being wise and Christlike during troubled times.

Here are a few ideas:

Proverbs 1:6 tells us that the fear (reverence or awe) of God is the beginning of knowledge. (Wisdom belongs to people who fear God, those who despise it are fools.)

So, during troubled times, our teens (and we adults) will be wiser if we are spending more energy on finding the ways to show reverence to God or experience His awe. (One beautiful way to experience awe is to go outside for a walk, or take a nature field trip. Look for beautiful things God created, such as the sky, clouds, birds, trees. Express some gratitude. You will find awe.)

What would Jesus do?

Probably not act out angrily, argue with difficult people at holiday dinners. Not only that, we probably would not be doing what Jesus would do if we allow ourselves to become swallowed with fear about the situations in politics or the world. Remember, God did not give us a spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7). Model for your teens how to pray, then let go and let God when they feel afraid.

Grow in the fruit of the spirit

Galatians 5:22-23 says that the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness, and self control.

So, if fruit of the spirit is growing from our spirit, and flowing out of our mouths, we can model that fruit for our teens. When we are our teens about the fruit of the spirit, then we can go through troubling times in a way that keeps us in line with God. AND maybe even might lead people to Christ who watch us.

Pray

One of the best gifts a parent can give a teen during these troubled times is the gift of prayer and listening to God (rather than constantly listening to the news).

I have found it useful to help my teens pray for the nation. One way to pray for our country is asking God to bring 2 Chronicles 7: 14 alive in Christians’ lives:

If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

This is a promise that God gave to the Israelites back in the day. We can still see tbis “healing of the land” happen occasionally. People of faith have occasionally humbled themselves. and prayed together and sought God’s face and turned from their own wicked ways (you know, own meanness, selfishness, crankiness…).

Then God in those times has heard from heaven and forgiven their sins. And for a period of time has healed their land. There were great revivals. (Look up the story of the 1904 revival that swept the globe.)

There’s also 2 Timothy 2:1-2

 I exhort therefore, first of all, That supplications, prayers, intercession, giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings, and for all that are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceful life in all godliness and honesty.

So your teens (and you) can start with praying for the world. Then pray for everybody you know, pray for everybody in leadership, anybody in authority- in fact, mention “all men”. It will help your teens learn to lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. Doesn’t that sound good?

Practical tips for being wise during troubled times

There are so many simple ways to stay in a healthy place even in crazy times.

Ask, “Who is making a profit on my anger, attention or fear?”

When teens are feeling anger or fear while watching news or social media influencers, help them to ask themselves:

Who is profiting from the news that they see?

For instance, who is making money off of your viewer time? News outlets make money off of advertising. Social media influencers make money off of advertising. .

Teens need to learn that when news is making them very angry or very scared to be aware of somebody’s making money off of that. When we are angry or scared, we tend to keep clicking and watching and watching and watching And getting more and more. And so that’s more ads.

Sometimes politicians or influencers are working on the kind of profiting that might not be directly money, but it is a currency of power.  There’s somebody behind it who is making money or getting power off of it and to be wise with that.

What can you do?

You can go right back to those scriptures. If my people are called by my name, humble themselves and pray, seek my face and turn from their wicked ways or praying for all men, especially those in authority that we can live a quiet and peaceable life. The prayer matters.

God is more powerful and real than the nonsense in the world.

The first thing to do after praying is to do some deep breathing

When we feel angry or sad or scared, our bodies are being flooded with cortisol, which is a stress hormone. And when that happens, we are getting ready to fight, flight or freeze. If our body is getting ready to fight, flight or freeze, it does not need the logic system.

It does not need to think clearly. It does not need to make rational decisions. It needs to fight, flight, or freeze.

Instead, we handle it in the only way to get rid of cortisol. That way is to increase oxygen. You can do that by deep breathing or by going for a walk or working out at the gym.

Just breathe in through your nose. Nice and deep. Count to five, then purse your lips and breathe out. Slow count to seven. If you do that about three times, you will probably notice the difference.

Here is a progressive relaxation exercise that I do every day before I go to sleep.

Learn some digital discernment skills

And so one of the things that I found useful is the News Literacy Project and their Rumor Guard emails. Teens learn to recognize AI and other fake photos and articles.

Also, it is good to subscribe to Ground News. It takes several trending news items of the day and shows what different news sources have said about that same thing. It helps teens develop perspective-taking skills.

Take an apologetics course

7SistersHomeschool has a free apologetics course. It’s from Dr. Gerald Coley, who is our 7Sisters Sabrina and Allison’s dad. He is a professor emeritus at the University of Delaware and a popular local apologetics teacher.

Write elected officials

Not kidding, one of the best life skills a teen can learn is to write their elected officials. So some issues are kind of local, and so they can write like their state representative or senator. Then when things  are of national or international interest to write their U. S. representative, their U. S. senators, the president, and/or the vice president.

We overcome evil with good

And if teens have that tool, they can do so much in life and live so wisely and so Christ like. So let’s think about some ways to overcome evil with good. So let’s say that they’re all anxious or angry or nervous about a current event and they did all the other things and they are still feeling “some kind of way”.

Teach teens that any good deed is overcoming that evil in some kind of way. If you think in God’s economy, God runs his spiritual economy in a different way than we do. So any good deed counts. Service is a good way to build a transcript while something better in the world.

And then what happens? Then they can become the people who are making a culture changers and creators in the world.

Thanks to Seth Tillman for editing this episode. And please join the 7SistersHomeschool Facebook group because you can ask questions and get wisdom from your seventh sisters.

PLEASE SUBSCRIBE TO HSHSP VIA COMPUTER

1. 
   
2. Follow this link to our iTunes page.
   
3. IMPORTANT STEP: Under our Homeschool Highschool Podcast logo, click on View in iTunes
   
4. This will take you to iTunes and our own podcast page.
   
5. Click SUBSCRIBE.
   
6. Click RATINGS AND REVIEW. (Please take a minute and do this. It helps others find us. Thanks!)
   
7. Thanks!
   

PLEASE SUBSCRIBE VIA iPHONE

1. 
   
2. Tap the purple Podcast icon on your phone
   
3. Tap the search icon on the bottom-right of your screen
   
4. In the search bar type: Homeschool Highschool Podcast
   
5. Tap the Homeschool Highschool Podcast icon
   
6. Tap *Subscribe*
   
7. Please tap *Ratings and Review* and give us some stars and a comment to help others find us more easily.
   
8. Thanks!