March 18, 2025 • 21 mins
In this thought-provoking episode, we dive into the concerning trends of anxiety and mental health issues facing today’s youth. Statistics reveal a staggering rise in anxiety among Generation Z, and the discussion centers around the role parents play in this increasing crisis. Be sure to tune in and uncover the hidden truth about anxiety in our kids and how we can empower them to rise with Christ-like confidence and calm. Don’t forget to subscribe, share the episode, and leave a review to keep the conversation going!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
We are creating a generation that is fragile,
anxious and emotionallyunprepared for life.
As Christian moms, the dangeris even more subtle because we
often justify the safetyism orfear-driven decisions by calling
it biblical wisdom.
Hi Rising Stars, welcome totoday's live training and
(00:25):
member-only Q&A.
If you are tuning in later onthe Rise Renewed podcast,
welcome.
We're so glad that you're here.
Recently I was on a walk with agood friend of mine, sister in
Christ.
We were on a prayer walk,updating each other on life, how
we can be praying for eachother, and at one point she
talked about how she wasespecially struggling with one
of her children, and what sheinsightfully recognized is that
(00:52):
she said I'm recognizing thatI'm struggling because her
struggle with anxiety is areflection of my own.
Her child's struggle withanxiety not only provoked her
own anxiety, but also was anuncomfortable reflection of her
(01:14):
own.
For many of us as moms, we havehad to confront our own anxiety
as we face our children's, andit's often relatively
uncomfortable and makes it evenharder for us when we see our
own struggles reflected in ourchildren.
Anxiety is natural, it'sself-protective, but when it is
(01:37):
chronic it becomes incrediblydangerous to every single
dimension of our healthemotional, mental, physical,
social and spiritual.
But per the research, there isno one in more danger right now
of anxiety than the nextgenerations.
(02:00):
We have a mental health crisisacross all ages, but no one is
in more danger than our kids.
42% of Gen Z have a mentalhealth diagnosis.
Teen suicide rates have surged60% since 2007.
Adolescent depression andanxiety have doubled in the last
(02:21):
decade and, to be clear, thesenumbers are not drastically
different between whether or notsomeone identifies as a
Christian or not.
Therapy, medication, schoolinterventions don't seem to be
enough.
We parents, we're seekingsolutions, but what if we are
looking in the wrong place?
As a dual certified nursepractitioner, I worked in
(02:43):
emergency medicine for 10 years.
I have treated children incrisis.
I've consoled parents who feelpowerless.
I have stood by the bedside andwept with parents who have to
look at their child who tooktheir own life.
I have watched as the systemstruggles to keep up with the
growing demand.
(03:04):
And this is not just foradolescents, this is not just
for children, this is certainlyfor adults as well, but for us
today, here is the hard truthOur kids' anxiety is not just
theirs, it's ours.
We're trying to protect ourkids, but what if we're
(03:25):
protecting them from the wrongthings.
What if the very efforts thatwe are making to help them
thrive are actually making themmore anxious?
Today, we're going to unpacksome uncomfortable but necessary
questions.
Why are kids, per the data,more anxious than ever, despite
having an increase in securityfeatures, more awareness and
(03:47):
here in the United States, morecomfort?
How is modern parenting,including in Christian homes,
unknowingly fueling this crisis?
And, most importantly, what canwe do about it?
What needs to change?
If your child is strugglingwith anxiety, the first step to
helping them might not be whatyou think.
(04:08):
Keep listening.
This might change everything.
As Christian moms, we are notimmune to this crisis.
I've mentioned before that thedata is consistent across the
board and the reality is, asChristian moms, we may
unknowingly be contributing tothis mental health crisis.
We want what's best for ourchildren.
(04:30):
I own that, you own that.
We all want what's best.
Our intentions are good, butwhat is too often happening and
I've seen it in my own life andwe're parenting from a place of
worry rather than wisdom.
We are unintentionally passingour own fears onto our children.
(04:54):
We're projecting our own,oftentimes undealt with,
insecurities onto our kids, andit's often happening without us
even realizing it.
I've mentioned before thegroundbreaking underrated,
frankly book, the AnxiousGeneration, written by Jonathan
(05:16):
Haidt.
Jonathan describes somethingcalled safetyism.
His book is talking about howwe overprotect our kids in the
real world and underprotect themonline.
But a very essential conceptthat he talks about is this idea
of safety ism, how modernparenting has fallen into this
trap where we shield ourchildren from possible harm.
(05:40):
Now again, he's specificallytalking about harm in the real
world while exposing them in thevirtual one.
But the point that he's makingand he talks about even like
playgrounds, how we have likeoverprotected kids on
playgrounds, and this idea ofnot just emotionally and
mentally, but also physicallyand socially and, I'm going to
argue, spiritually we arecreating a generation that is
(06:04):
fragile, anxious and emotionallyunprepared for life.
As Christian moms, the danger iseven more subtle because we
often justify the safetyism orfear-driven decisions by calling
it biblical wisdom.
By calling it biblical wisdom,I'm going to give a
(06:26):
controversial example how wechoose to educate our kids.
Some moms are like oh, here wego, we all have our opinions,
but here's the reality.
We fear what they'll be exposedto in a public school, so we
send them to a Christian school.
We fear losing involvement inthe curriculum or the
convenience of our schedules.
So we homeschool.
We fear sheltering them toomuch, so we insist on public
(06:51):
school.
None of these choices are wrong.
None of them are inherentlyright.
None of them are inherentlywrong.
No-transcript.
And too often again, if we arewilling to be honest, we protect
(07:14):
our kids from the struggle.
I'm going to go so far as to say, as Christian moms, we protect
them from the struggle of sinbecause it's more convenient for
us.
It is easier to shield our kidsfrom the battle than to walk
(07:36):
through it with them.
But just as comfort does notbuild emotional resilience, it
does not reveal God's graceeither.
For them and for us to trulyexperience grace, we have to
feel the weight of our sin.
In order for our kids to trulyexperience the saving grace of
(07:57):
Jesus Christ, they have to beable to feel the weight of their
sin.
And that hurts.
It hurts, it hurts us, it hurtsour kids.
Our kids' pain is our pain.
It hurts us, it hurts our kids.
Our kids' pain is our pain, andso we avoid it.
(08:19):
But true spiritual strength isnot found in safety.
It's forged in struggle.
Tim Keller, in Walking with GodThrough Pain and Suffering,
says this suffering is a way toknow God, not just to know about
him.
If we want our children, if weourselves want to form a deep
personal connection with god,our children, where they don't
(08:40):
just know of him but feel knownby him, then we must allow them
to spiritually struggle.
There's another example injonathan height's book, and I'm
going to butcher it, but hetalks about these trees and I
forget where this forest is.
If I was better prepared forthis analogy I just remembered
it right now, I would have hadwritten it out better.
But he talks about this type oftree that, ultimately, is
(09:05):
forged by the elements.
So what they did is thisexperiment they tried to grow
these trees in a greenhouse.
They failed to thrive becausethey did not have the resistance
of the wind, the rain and allof the elements.
That, in nature, was actuallystrengthening the tree in order
(09:27):
for it to grow and survive growand survive.
The idea is this that when weshelter our kids from the
elements, from the storm, evenin our desire and our intention
(09:55):
for as parents, are we trulyseeking God's best or are we
trying to control what we fearin order to spare ourselves from
pain?
When we let our unprocessedfears shape our parenting.
We teach our children to fearthe world instead of trust the
(10:16):
God, who has already overcome it.
If we hover over them toprevent failure, then they learn
they're incapable.
If we micromanage theirfriendships, they never learn to
navigate conflict.
If we constantly shield themfrom worldly influence, they'll
learn to measure decisions byobedience to parental rules
rather than by spirit-leddiscernment, and the exact same
(10:36):
thing is true of ourselves.
The best treatment for anxiety,the best childhood anxiety
treatment, is not just moretherapy.
It is not just the perfectschool environment, it is not
(10:58):
just removing them from thestruggle.
The single best treatment forour children's anxiety is moms
who are willing to look inward,is moms who are willing to look
inward, to face our own fear andenter into the fears of our
(11:20):
children with them.
We cannot help our childrenfind peace if we are filled with
worry.
We can't leave them inconfidence if we are controlled
by fear, and we cannot expectthem to trust a living God if we
cling to our own control.
(11:41):
I was recently challenged withthis truth.
I was reading Romans 5, andverses 3 through 4 say this we
also glory in our sufferingbecause we know that suffering
produces perseverance, becausewe know that suffering produces
perseverance, perseverance,character and character, hope.
(12:02):
If we want our kids to risewith Christ-like perseverance,
character and hope, then we mustlead by example.
We have got to learn how toembrace our own struggle, not
avoid it.
Not avoid it out of the fear ofexposing our own weakness,
imperfection and sin.
I don't know about you, butwhen I'm entirely honest with
(12:23):
myself, that's what it comesdown to.
I want to avoid the struggle,including my kids.
This is why self-reflection forus as moms, humility before the
throne of God, is not a luxury,it's a necessity.
(12:43):
This idea of being still that wetalk about an early morning
habit, it's not a luxury.
Self-care is often promoted asa luxury, like, oh, wouldn't it
be so nice to have the time togo to the spa, uh-uh, that's not
self-care.
That self-indulgence is alsoimportant, but that is not what
we're talking about at EarlyMorning Habit.
We are talking about self-carethat promotes life across all
(13:05):
areas of it, including spiritual, including life in Christ.
For those of us here today,those of us in the Early Morning
Habit community, what we aredoing, for those of us that need
this reminder of why you signedup, why you're here, why you're
still in the program.
Why you're in the community, isbecause we are inviting you, we
(13:29):
are partnering with each otherto start every day paused,
reflecting, resetting and gazingupon God, grounding ourselves
in the truth that he is enoughfor the day, before we're
(13:50):
distracted by what the daybrings, including our own fears.
It is about rewiring our mindsfor a faith that doesn't avoid
fear.
For those of you that have notheard me say this before, I am
not about the doctrine of faithover fear.
It's not biblical.
It is about faith through fear,because he is with us.
(14:14):
Isaiah 41, 10.
So do not fear, for I am withyou.
Do not be dismayed, for I amyour God.
I will strengthen you, help you, I will uphold you with my
righteous right hand.
The neighboring verses talkabout how he will walk through
the fire.
Not necessarily get you out ofit, not necessarily walk you
(14:39):
around it.
No, he'll walk us through it.
It's not going to feel great,but he is with us and that's
where our confidence is.
In these quiet moments in themorning, we are grounding
ourselves in the truth that Godis enough.
We are asking him to makehimself known to us, to help us
(15:02):
feel known by him, so that wecan be fueled with
Christ-centered resilience thatempowers us to face life's
challenges and to guide our kidsthrough theirs, not to pull
them out of it or to help themavoid it, but to help them walk
(15:23):
through it, just as Jesus hasdone for us and with us, to
build that unwaveringChrist-like confidence that is
not the absence of fear, ratherfaith that walks right through
it.
This is the kind of resiliencethat endures.
(15:43):
I'll mention again the AnxiousGeneration.
It is a pivotal read forparents today.
If you need to buy yourself abook, this one is it.
Jonathan Haidt is aself-proclaimed atheist, by the
way.
I love how the Lord giveswisdom to people, even if they
don't even proclaim that thatwisdom is his.
There's a lot of truth in thisbook.
Praise the Lord.
I pray that he also knows theLord one day.
But he talks about safety as amaneuver, protection or
(16:05):
hindering kids' development, thedamaging impact of smartphones
and social media on mentalhealth and why resilience is the
missing link, and I'm going tosuggest it is the missing link
in spiritual development as well.
But simply knowing about theproblem isn't enough.
We must actively transformourselves to model this peace,
strength and unwavering trust.
(16:27):
I'll end with this moms.
If we want our kids to be lessanxious, then we have to feel
more at peace.
If we want them to be confident, we must model what it is to
trust God.
If we want them to beemotionally resilient, then we
must we must strengthen our ownsense of identity in Christ.
(16:57):
It's time to stop parenting froma place of fear.
I speak to myself as much asanyone.
We need to stop protecting ourkids from people or ideas that
might challenge what we wantthem to believe.
Let's not limit God.
We are not God.
God is, and we need to stopseeking quick fix solutions to
(17:18):
childhood anxiety that areactually masking our issues.
What I'm not saying, and what Iwant to make sure no one takes
away from this, is that thetreatments for anxiety are not
beneficial, that they're notrelevant.
I have talked about anxietybefore.
What I am calling us to, though, is to make sure that we
(17:44):
understand that the bestsolution for our kids is to
actually focus on us, which iswhat we are doing here at Early
Morning Habit, allowing God torenew our minds so we can raise
and rise together, resilient andfaith-filled, one morning at a
time.
Feel free to drop comments inthe app If you have thoughts on
(18:05):
this, we'd love to hear them.
Those of you listening on thepodcast, we'd love to hear your
thoughts as well.
Feel free to comment in thecomments on the blog post or the
show notes.
Let me pray over us.
I don't know about you, butthis is something I always need
prayer for Lord.
I pray right now for us, as moms, in the heart of fear.
(18:26):
The fact is, fear is at theroot of all sin.
It really is.
It is the root emotion ofbehavior that is not honoring to
you and it's human.
It's inherent to thisexperience on this side of
eternity, because we don't knowthe future.
(18:47):
We don't.
Only you do, and it's why wecan rest in the fact that you
are enough, because youliterally cannot fear, because
you are.
All things are in and throughyou.
You hold everything together,and so, when it comes even to my
children, they're not reallymine, they are of you, they're
(19:08):
through you, and so I ask that,when it comes to the decisions
that we make and we are all justtrying to do our best, but I
invite us and I pray that youwould give us the strength and
the energy to do the hard workand to ask ourselves the
question of where is my behavior, my decision as a mom?
(19:32):
Where is it rooted in?
What emotion is it rooted in?
What thought is it rooted in?
Are we behaving out of thetruth that you are enough and
that we are enough because ofyou?
Or are we rooted in fear Fearthat we're not enough, that
there'll be shame if our kidsmake poor choices and then our
(19:53):
own sin is exposed, our ownweakness is exposed and we're
judged?
Or is it out of fear that we'redoubting your sovereignty and
that, if we move forward with adecision and something doesn't
go right, that maybe we made thewrong one and we didn't bring
you glory?
Lord, help us to have faiththat overcomes our doubts, that
overcomes the fear.
(20:14):
Help us to walk through thefire because you're with us.
Lord, we love you.
We pray over this week that youwould uh, you are walking with
us, but help us to feel yourpresence.
Help us to feel it and tobelieve it.
Lord, we love you.
Amen.
We are creating a generation that is fragile,
anxious and emotionallyunprepared for life.
As Christian moms, the dangeris even more subtle because we
often justify the safetyism orfear-driven decisions by calling
it biblical wisdom.
Hi Rising Stars, welcome totoday's live training and
(00:25):
member-only Q&A.
If you are tuning in later onthe Rise Renewed podcast,
welcome.
We're so glad that you're here.
Recently I was on a walk with agood friend of mine, sister in
Christ.
We were on a prayer walk,updating each other on life, how
we can be praying for eachother, and at one point she
talked about how she wasespecially struggling with one
of her children, and what sheinsightfully recognized is that
(00:52):
she said I'm recognizing thatI'm struggling because her
struggle with anxiety is areflection of my own.
Her child's struggle withanxiety not only provoked her
own anxiety, but also was anuncomfortable reflection of her
(01:14):
own.
For many of us as moms, we havehad to confront our own anxiety
as we face our children's, andit's often relatively
uncomfortable and makes it evenharder for us when we see our
own struggles reflected in ourchildren.
Anxiety is natural, it'sself-protective, but when it is
(01:37):
chronic it becomes incrediblydangerous to every single
dimension of our healthemotional, mental, physical,
social and spiritual.
But per the research, there isno one in more danger right now
of anxiety than the nextgenerations.
(02:00):
We have a mental health crisisacross all ages, but no one is
in more danger than our kids.
42% of Gen Z have a mentalhealth diagnosis.
Teen suicide rates have surged60% since 2007.
Adolescent depression andanxiety have doubled in the last
(02:21):
decade and, to be clear, thesenumbers are not drastically
different between whether or notsomeone identifies as a
Christian or not.
Therapy, medication, schoolinterventions don't seem to be
enough.
We parents, we're seekingsolutions, but what if we are
looking in the wrong place?
As a dual certified nursepractitioner, I worked in
(02:43):
emergency medicine for 10 years.
I have treated children incrisis.
I've consoled parents who feelpowerless.
I have stood by the bedside andwept with parents who have to
look at their child who tooktheir own life.
I have watched as the systemstruggles to keep up with the
growing demand.
(03:04):
And this is not just foradolescents, this is not just
for children, this is certainlyfor adults as well, but for us
today, here is the hard truthOur kids' anxiety is not just
theirs, it's ours.
We're trying to protect ourkids, but what if we're
(03:25):
protecting them from the wrongthings.
What if the very efforts thatwe are making to help them
thrive are actually making themmore anxious?
Today, we're going to unpacksome uncomfortable but necessary
questions.
Why are kids, per the data,more anxious than ever, despite
having an increase in securityfeatures, more awareness and
(03:47):
here in the United States, morecomfort?
How is modern parenting,including in Christian homes,
unknowingly fueling this crisis?
And, most importantly, what canwe do about it?
What needs to change?
If your child is strugglingwith anxiety, the first step to
helping them might not be whatyou think.
(04:08):
Keep listening.
This might change everything.
As Christian moms, we are notimmune to this crisis.
I've mentioned before that thedata is consistent across the
board and the reality is, asChristian moms, we may
unknowingly be contributing tothis mental health crisis.
We want what's best for ourchildren.
(04:30):
I own that, you own that.
We all want what's best.
Our intentions are good, butwhat is too often happening and
I've seen it in my own life andwe're parenting from a place of
worry rather than wisdom.
We are unintentionally passingour own fears onto our children.
(04:54):
We're projecting our own,oftentimes undealt with,
insecurities onto our kids, andit's often happening without us
even realizing it.
I've mentioned before thegroundbreaking underrated,
frankly book, the AnxiousGeneration, written by Jonathan
(05:16):
Haidt.
Jonathan describes somethingcalled safetyism.
His book is talking about howwe overprotect our kids in the
real world and underprotect themonline.
But a very essential conceptthat he talks about is this idea
of safety ism, how modernparenting has fallen into this
trap where we shield ourchildren from possible harm.
(05:40):
Now again, he's specificallytalking about harm in the real
world while exposing them in thevirtual one.
But the point that he's makingand he talks about even like
playgrounds, how we have likeoverprotected kids on
playgrounds, and this idea ofnot just emotionally and
mentally, but also physicallyand socially and, I'm going to
argue, spiritually we arecreating a generation that is
(06:04):
fragile, anxious and emotionallyunprepared for life.
As Christian moms, the danger iseven more subtle because we
often justify the safetyism orfear-driven decisions by calling
it biblical wisdom.
By calling it biblical wisdom,I'm going to give a
(06:26):
controversial example how wechoose to educate our kids.
Some moms are like oh, here wego, we all have our opinions,
but here's the reality.
We fear what they'll be exposedto in a public school, so we
send them to a Christian school.
We fear losing involvement inthe curriculum or the
convenience of our schedules.
So we homeschool.
We fear sheltering them toomuch, so we insist on public
(06:51):
school.
None of these choices are wrong.
None of them are inherentlyright.
None of them are inherentlywrong.
No-transcript.
And too often again, if we arewilling to be honest, we protect
(07:14):
our kids from the struggle.
I'm going to go so far as to say, as Christian moms, we protect
them from the struggle of sinbecause it's more convenient for
us.
It is easier to shield our kidsfrom the battle than to walk
(07:36):
through it with them.
But just as comfort does notbuild emotional resilience, it
does not reveal God's graceeither.
For them and for us to trulyexperience grace, we have to
feel the weight of our sin.
In order for our kids to trulyexperience the saving grace of
(07:57):
Jesus Christ, they have to beable to feel the weight of their
sin.
And that hurts.
It hurts, it hurts us, it hurtsour kids.
Our kids' pain is our pain.
It hurts us, it hurts our kids.
Our kids' pain is our pain, andso we avoid it.
(08:19):
But true spiritual strength isnot found in safety.
It's forged in struggle.
Tim Keller, in Walking with GodThrough Pain and Suffering,
says this suffering is a way toknow God, not just to know about
him.
If we want our children, if weourselves want to form a deep
personal connection with god,our children, where they don't
(08:40):
just know of him but feel knownby him, then we must allow them
to spiritually struggle.
There's another example injonathan height's book, and I'm
going to butcher it, but hetalks about these trees and I
forget where this forest is.
If I was better prepared forthis analogy I just remembered
it right now, I would have hadwritten it out better.
But he talks about this type oftree that, ultimately, is
(09:05):
forged by the elements.
So what they did is thisexperiment they tried to grow
these trees in a greenhouse.
They failed to thrive becausethey did not have the resistance
of the wind, the rain and allof the elements.
That, in nature, was actuallystrengthening the tree in order
(09:27):
for it to grow and survive growand survive.
The idea is this that when weshelter our kids from the
elements, from the storm, evenin our desire and our intention
(09:55):
for as parents, are we trulyseeking God's best or are we
trying to control what we fearin order to spare ourselves from
pain?
When we let our unprocessedfears shape our parenting.
We teach our children to fearthe world instead of trust the
(10:16):
God, who has already overcome it.
If we hover over them toprevent failure, then they learn
they're incapable.
If we micromanage theirfriendships, they never learn to
navigate conflict.
If we constantly shield themfrom worldly influence, they'll
learn to measure decisions byobedience to parental rules
rather than by spirit-leddiscernment, and the exact same
(10:36):
thing is true of ourselves.
The best treatment for anxiety,the best childhood anxiety
treatment, is not just moretherapy.
It is not just the perfectschool environment, it is not
(10:58):
just removing them from thestruggle.
The single best treatment forour children's anxiety is moms
who are willing to look inward,is moms who are willing to look
inward, to face our own fear andenter into the fears of our
(11:20):
children with them.
We cannot help our childrenfind peace if we are filled with
worry.
We can't leave them inconfidence if we are controlled
by fear, and we cannot expectthem to trust a living God if we
cling to our own control.
(11:41):
I was recently challenged withthis truth.
I was reading Romans 5, andverses 3 through 4 say this we
also glory in our sufferingbecause we know that suffering
produces perseverance, becausewe know that suffering produces
perseverance, perseverance,character and character, hope.
(12:02):
If we want our kids to risewith Christ-like perseverance,
character and hope, then we mustlead by example.
We have got to learn how toembrace our own struggle, not
avoid it.
Not avoid it out of the fear ofexposing our own weakness,
imperfection and sin.
I don't know about you, butwhen I'm entirely honest with
(12:23):
myself, that's what it comesdown to.
I want to avoid the struggle,including my kids.
This is why self-reflection forus as moms, humility before the
throne of God, is not a luxury,it's a necessity.
(12:43):
This idea of being still that wetalk about an early morning
habit, it's not a luxury.
Self-care is often promoted asa luxury, like, oh, wouldn't it
be so nice to have the time togo to the spa, uh-uh, that's not
self-care.
That self-indulgence is alsoimportant, but that is not what
we're talking about at EarlyMorning Habit.
We are talking about self-carethat promotes life across all
(13:05):
areas of it, including spiritual, including life in Christ.
For those of us here today,those of us in the Early Morning
Habit community, what we aredoing, for those of us that need
this reminder of why you signedup, why you're here, why you're
still in the program.
Why you're in the community, isbecause we are inviting you, we
(13:29):
are partnering with each otherto start every day paused,
reflecting, resetting and gazingupon God, grounding ourselves
in the truth that he is enoughfor the day, before we're
(13:50):
distracted by what the daybrings, including our own fears.
It is about rewiring our mindsfor a faith that doesn't avoid
fear.
For those of you that have notheard me say this before, I am
not about the doctrine of faithover fear.
It's not biblical.
It is about faith through fear,because he is with us.
(14:14):
Isaiah 41, 10.
So do not fear, for I am withyou.
Do not be dismayed, for I amyour God.
I will strengthen you, help you, I will uphold you with my
righteous right hand.
The neighboring verses talkabout how he will walk through
the fire.
Not necessarily get you out ofit, not necessarily walk you
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around it.
No, he'll walk us through it.
It's not going to feel great,but he is with us and that's
where our confidence is.
In these quiet moments in themorning, we are grounding
ourselves in the truth that Godis enough.
We are asking him to makehimself known to us, to help us
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feel known by him, so that wecan be fueled with
Christ-centered resilience thatempowers us to face life's
challenges and to guide our kidsthrough theirs, not to pull
them out of it or to help themavoid it, but to help them walk
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through it, just as Jesus hasdone for us and with us, to
build that unwaveringChrist-like confidence that is
not the absence of fear, ratherfaith that walks right through
it.
This is the kind of resiliencethat endures.
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I'll mention again the AnxiousGeneration.
It is a pivotal read forparents today.
If you need to buy yourself abook, this one is it.
Jonathan Haidt is aself-proclaimed atheist, by the
way.
I love how the Lord giveswisdom to people, even if they
don't even proclaim that thatwisdom is his.
There's a lot of truth in thisbook.
Praise the Lord.
I pray that he also knows theLord one day.
But he talks about safety as amaneuver, protection or
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hindering kids' development, thedamaging impact of smartphones
and social media on mentalhealth and why resilience is the
missing link, and I'm going tosuggest it is the missing link
in spiritual development as well.
But simply knowing about theproblem isn't enough.
We must actively transformourselves to model this peace,
strength and unwavering trust.
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I'll end with this moms.
If we want our kids to be lessanxious, then we have to feel
more at peace.
If we want them to be confident, we must model what it is to
trust God.
If we want them to beemotionally resilient, then we
must we must strengthen our ownsense of identity in Christ.
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It's time to stop parenting froma place of fear.
I speak to myself as much asanyone.
We need to stop protecting ourkids from people or ideas that
might challenge what we wantthem to believe.
Let's not limit God.
We are not God.
God is, and we need to stopseeking quick fix solutions to
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childhood anxiety that areactually masking our issues.
What I'm not saying, and what Iwant to make sure no one takes
away from this, is that thetreatments for anxiety are not
beneficial, that they're notrelevant.
I have talked about anxietybefore.
What I am calling us to, though, is to make sure that we
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understand that the bestsolution for our kids is to
actually focus on us, which iswhat we are doing here at Early
Morning Habit, allowing God torenew our minds so we can raise
and rise together, resilient andfaith-filled, one morning at a
time.
Feel free to drop comments inthe app If you have thoughts on
(18:05):
this, we'd love to hear them.
Those of you listening on thepodcast, we'd love to hear your
thoughts as well.
Feel free to comment in thecomments on the blog post or the
show notes.
Let me pray over us.
I don't know about you, butthis is something I always need
prayer for Lord.
I pray right now for us, as moms, in the heart of fear.
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The fact is, fear is at theroot of all sin.
It really is.
It is the root emotion ofbehavior that is not honoring to
you and it's human.
It's inherent to thisexperience on this side of
eternity, because we don't knowthe future.
(18:47):
We don't.
Only you do, and it's why wecan rest in the fact that you
are enough, because youliterally cannot fear, because
you are.
All things are in and throughyou.
You hold everything together,and so, when it comes even to my
children, they're not reallymine, they are of you, they're
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through you, and so I ask that,when it comes to the decisions
that we make and we are all justtrying to do our best, but I
invite us and I pray that youwould give us the strength and
the energy to do the hard workand to ask ourselves the
question of where is my behavior, my decision as a mom?
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Where is it rooted in?
What emotion is it rooted in?
What thought is it rooted in?
Are we behaving out of thetruth that you are enough and
that we are enough because ofyou?
Or are we rooted in fear Fearthat we're not enough, that
there'll be shame if our kidsmake poor choices and then our
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own sin is exposed, our ownweakness is exposed and we're
judged?
Or is it out of fear that we'redoubting your sovereignty and
that, if we move forward with adecision and something doesn't
go right, that maybe we made thewrong one and we didn't bring
you glory?
Lord, help us to have faiththat overcomes our doubts, that
overcomes the fear.
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Help us to walk through thefire because you're with us.
Lord, we love you.
We pray over this week that youwould uh, you are walking with
us, but help us to feel yourpresence.
Help us to feel it and tobelieve it.
Lord, we love you.
Amen.
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