Do you ever look at your tween and feel like you're watching them try to become someone the world wants them to be instead of the person God created them to be? Welcome to the Faith Mom. Mentor the podcast for moms who want more than surface level faith for themselves and their kids. I'm Anne, and if you're a mom who feels unsure where to start spiritually.
Worries. You're not teaching your kids enough. And once a calmer, more confident faith at home, you are in the right place here. We cut through the noise and get grounded in truth. Each episode helps you know God deeply, teach your tween faithfully and build a home that feels strong. Steady and Christ-centered even in the middle school years.
If you are ready to stop guessing, start leading with confidence and grow a faith, your family can actually live out. You are in the right place. Welcome to the Faith Mom Mentor. If you are worried and feeling a little helpless, you are not alone, and there is a powerful hope for them and for you. Let's be honest about parenting tweens.
These years are a confusing, transformative time. Our kids are grappling with one of life's. Biggest questions, who am I? And everywhere they turn, the world is shouting different answers. Their social media feeds present a nonstop highlight reel of how they should look, what they should believe, and how they ought to feel.
Suddenly, the opinions of their friends seem to matter more than anything else. Not always in dramatic rebellions, but in the subtle daily pressure to simply. Fit in. The peer pressure our kids face today is on a completely different level than what we experienced. I mean, we thought it was tough. Remember the sheer panic of a bad hair day in the early nineties when the big hair wasn't quite big enough for the day, and we wanted more teasing?
I can still remember when we cried because our bangs didn't curl the right way, or the wings in our hair weren't perfect shape. That felt like the end of the world for. A day. But for our kids, they are in a sense performing on a 24 7 digital stage for an ever present audience where every post, every comment is subject to review this relentless pursuit of likes and of keeping up with the trends of crafting a perfect online persona.
Is exhausting. As parents, we see the consequences, anxiety, constant comparison, and creeping self-doubt. It can seem like they are wearing a costume of who they think they should be. And in the process, losing touch with a wonderful person God made them to be. It's easy to feel helpless watching them navigate this flood of cultural expectations, just hoping they find something solid to stand on.
I understand how heavy that is, but the hope we're here to discuss today is tangible and real. It can feel like we are. Fighting a losing battle for our kids' hearts and minds. But what if the solution isn't fighting harder but resting in a truth that has already been secured for them? What if the anchor they need isn't one we have to build, but one that is already embedded in the solid rock waiting for them to grab onto?
God's word gives us a profound and steady an answer and anchor. Far more reliable than any fleeting trend or friendship. The lasting solution isn't found in tighter restrictions or more monitoring apps. Those do have their place. The real answer lies in helping them uncover the unshakeable identity that was theirs long before the world began telling them who to be.
It's about pointing them back to what God has already done. And this is for you too, mom. As a parent, it's a call to secure our identity, not in our performance or our efforts to be the perfect mom. But to rest in the finished work of Christ. If this idea of finding a real and lasting hope for your child and for yourself is encouraging to you and you'd like more support on this journey, I want to invite you to visit life and peace ministries.com.
There you'll find resources designed to help. I'll be sure to put the link in the show notes for you. The core of this truth that we're talking about is laid out beautifully in the first chapter of Ephesians. This isn't just poetry. It's a divine declaration of who your child truly is. When we help our tweens internalize these truths, the world labels begin to lose their power.
Let's look at three foundational truths from this chapter. First. Is intention, God's intention for them. Ephesians one, verses four and five, state according as He have chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love. Having predestined us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will, let that sink in.
Before the world was formed, your child was part of God's plan. That word predestined simply means that God had already decided this. Their belonging in his family is not an accident or just. An option or possibility, it was his deliberate loving choice from eternity. When your tween wrestles with rejection, you can point them to the truth that the creator of the universe specifically chose them for his own second.
Payment, God's payment for them. Verse six and seven, continue to the praise of the glory of His grace wherein he have made us accepted in the beloved in whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of his grace. The world operates on a system of merit on popularity.
God's system is one of grace. Your child's value isn't determined by their performance, but by what Christ has already done. Redemption here means to be purchased. The prize for their place in God's family was paid in full by Jesus as Ephesians 2 8 9 reminds us for, by grace, are you saved through faith and that not of yourself, it is the gift of God, not of works.
Any man should boast their acceptance, and yours is a free gift. And number three, God's third is identification of them. Verse one of this chapter is addressed to the saints and the faithful in Christ Jesus. That is their primary identity to be in Christ becomes their status. It is the defining thing about them, while labels like artists or honor student are just temporary descriptions, their identity isn't something they must build from scratch.
It is a reality that they get to live from. As Ephesians two 10 says, for we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God has before ordained, that we should walk in them. God's plan wasn't just to save them, but to give them a purposeful life that is far more fulfilling than chasing cultural approval.
So we have this profound truth, but how? Do we translate it to our 12-year-old who is consumed with our social calendar? How do we make it practical? First, use the captive moments you have on the way to the soccer practice. You can ask, how does knowing God's choice of you before the world began change how you feel about tryouts?
This weaves truth into the fabric of their daily life, connecting their spiritual identity to their real world activities. Second, engage their hands and heart. Get them some bottling clay, and have your tween sculpt something that represents who they are. Then instead of worldly labels, have them carve the words from Ephesians into the base of the sculpture.
Chosen, adopted, redeemed. It's a tactile way for them to feel the weight and permanence of these truths physically shaping their identity around what God says is true. Third, you could start a different kind of gratitude journal. Instead of focusing on what they are thankful for achieving, prompt them to identify what God has achieved for them.
An entry might be today, I'm thankful that I am forgiven because of Jesus, so I don't have to be perfect or. I am grateful God adopted me, so my belonging doesn't depend on who likes me. This shifts their measure of worth from their performance to God's. And one final suggestion, establish a safe space for curiosity.
Like regular Ask Mom anything session, let them know. No question about faith, friends or fear is off limits. This creates trust and opens the door to discuss how knowing their true identity in Christ helps them navigate the tough questions they're already facing. Most importantly, our message. Will resonate most when they see us modeling the security, finding our worth, not in our achievements, but in the unshakeable rest that Christ offers.
Before you go, remember this, you are doing sacred work as you nurture faith in your home and it matters more than you realize. Thank you for choosing to spend this time growing stronger and steadier in truth. If today helped you take one more step forward. Head to life and peace ministries.com for simple faith.
Field resources designed to support you as you know God deeply, and teach your tween faithfully, including faith, mom, t-shirts, and ways to connect for speaking and faith mentoring. You can also help another mom by following the show, leaving a quick review or sharing this episode with somebody who needs encouragement right now.
Until next time, keep leading with faith. Your faithfulness is shaping a legacy.
