Tribe Talk

The Creep of addiction

How does addiction or any type of strong hold tries to come back to our life and what do we need to do to stand against that.

Rather than micro-managing grown kids, give God room to work

We’ve been talking about how to “father” and “mother” grown children— especially when they’ve chosen a different spiritual path than you. (Sometimes, we refer to them as prodigals.) Remember, you can’t control the kid, but you CAN— and should— control your castle. 🏰 Here are the 3 principles we discussed in the previous episode: ✅ Live guilt free. Don’t blame yourself for what they’re choosing. ✅ Be willing to ask for forgiveness. At the same time as you live without guilt over the past, ALSO be willing to admit that you haven’t been perfect. ✅ Learn to love unconditionally. In this episode of Tribe Talk, we outline 3 more: ✅ Allow sin to run its natural consequence in their lives. Life has a great way of teaching the best lessons. Whereas we often want to CONTROL what our grown kids do, it’s best to allow life— and God— to show them the truth of His word. This often requires letting "life" do the teaching.  Note: if you choose to micro-manage the situation, you’re actually interposing yourself into a space where God can’t fully work. So, give Him room to move. Continue loving your “child” unconditionally, but let God’s grace— even in its redemptive forms— do its work. As you do this… ✅ Guard your words. It’s easy to talk about “what they’re doing” and discuss “how they’re wrong.” But, we don’t want to do that. We don’t want to complain and give the enemy of foothold. Moreover, we certainly want to guard words spoken TO the child as well as those words ABOUT the child. Rather than murmuring… ✅ Pray specially for them. Rock says, “The Bible says to bless your enemies.” Then— “How much more, then, should we bless our children? Even when they’ve chosen a different path?!” He clarifies— “To bless someone means to release the force of Heaven to change their character… and, thereby, to alter their destiny.” 💥💥💥 Is that not what we want? Note: we also discuss how to navigate this with step-parents… (Hint: the marital relationship that’s intact, in the house, is still foremost. So walk as a unified front.)   +++++++++++++ Listen to the previous episodes in this series at: 🎧 intro to the series: https://www.trministries.org/podcasts/tribe-talk/episodes/2147822468 [https://www.trministries.org/podcasts/tribe-talk/episodes/2147822468]  🎧 previous talk, principles 1-3: https://www.trministries.org/podcasts/tribe-talk/episodes/2147822469 [https://www.trministries.org/podcasts/tribe-talk/episodes/2147822469]  Rock mentioned Phil Waldrep’s book, Parenting Prodigals: https://amzn.to/3EIWMvv [https://amzn.to/3EIWMvv]  Watch the 2022 year-end review at https://www.trministries.org/2022 [https://www.trministries.org/2022]

Sometimes, you must allow grown children to pursue their own path

In the previous episode of Tribe Talk we discussed the (sometimes awkward) transition from parenting “children” to mothering and fathering “adults” who still live in your home— and come back. Particularly when they diverge from you in terms of spiritual beliefs and practices. Rock said it well— “Sometimes, you must allow them to pursue their own path.” But, he also reminded us that “even though you can’t control them, you do control the castle. And that means you CAN set the guidelines as to what’s allowed— and not allowed— in your home.” 🏰🏰🏰 He left us with an interesting observation— Pain often plants the flag of reality into the heart of rebellion. Or, to say it another way— sometimes you MUST allow them to experience the ramifications of their decisions. Even if it hurts. Easier said than done, for sure. 💔 In this episode we outline the first 3 of 6 principles you can use to help you navigate the terrain. They are— ✅ Live guilt free. Don’t blame yourself for what they’re choosing. ✅ Be willing to ask for forgiveness. At the same time as you live without guilt over the past, ALSO be willing to admit that you haven’t been perfect. ✅ Learn to love unconditionally— as God does, without strings attached. Note: this doesn’t infer that “anything goes” or that you must embrace their decisions. However, you must accept them… Listen in… Especially if you— or someone you know— is wrestling with what to do with adult “children” who’ve chosen a different path. +++++++++++++ Listen to the previous episode at: Rock mentioned Phil Waldrep’s book, Parenting Prodigals: https://amzn.to/3EIWMvv [https://amzn.to/3EIWMvv]  Watch the 2022 year-end review at https://www.trministries.org/2022 [https://www.trministries.org/2022]

You can’t control your adult kids, but you can control your castle

Handling your grown kids is difficult anyway. That is, making the transition from “parenting” them when they're young to “mothering” and “fathering” them when they’re officially adults— and living in home— brings unique challenges. The normal challenges amplify when those kids make different lifestyle choices, pursuing a path that doesn’t align with your faith— often the faith with which they were raised. So what do you do?   First, you realize that you whereas you CANNOT control the kids, you CAN control your castle. Or, to say it another way, your home is your domain. As we set up the first of a 3-part series, Rock encourages you to remember— ⭐️ It’s not your fault when they make decisions that deny the faith. ⭐️ You don’t have to kick them out in order to bring peace (he’ll tell you how to navigate this in such a way that you don’t have to permit them to stay, either). ⭐️ You do need to prioritize the marriage covenant you have— and not the child-relationship. In other words, keep things in order, then implement the principles we discuss in the next episode. +++++++++++ To receive help in this area, reach out to us. Our contact info— including email, phone, and a web form— is available at https://www.trministries.org/contact [https://www.trministries.org/contact]  To learn more about our 2022, go to https://www.trministries.org/2022 [https://www.trministries.org/2022]

Giving Tuesday

In this special bonus episode of the Tribe Talk podcast, we discuss Giving Tuesday. What is it? Well… 🦃 Thanksgiving Thursday is the day we gather with friends & family to celebrate. 🤑 Black Friday is the day we go shopping, loading up for Christmas. 🛍 Small Business Saturday is the day we support local business— “ma and pa” shoppes, as well as the enterprises of our friends and co-workers ⛪️ Sunday we go to church. 🤖 Cyber Monday is the day everyone buys stuff online… And… 🎁 Giving Tuesday is when we remember non-profit ministries and charitable organizations, supporting causes we believe in. That’s a lot of 💰💰💰 going out in just a few days… But, since it’s what we do, we decided to get in on the action 😂. When we sat to record a few episodes of the podcast, we decided to create a short intro, and then roll into the footage from Rock’s video year-end review. Listen in. Or watch at https://www.trministries.org/2022 [https://www.trministries.org/2022]  And, yes, we’re grateful for any 💸 you want to send our way.