This topic contains 38 replies, has 23 voices, and was last updated by 
David Hayward 1 year, 9 months ago.
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I have three kids: Joshua (25); Jesse (23); Casile (20). They are wonderful. They’ve seen and experienced all we went through. They are not interested in church right now, but they talk about it once in a while. They even entertain the thought of attending one once in a while. But not yet. However, I have a deep respect for their spiritualities. They are unique, independent, and have generous and kind hearts. They survived and thrive.
I am married for 41 yrs. to my long-suffering (lol) husband Alec and we have two kids Brenda (36) and David (34). Brenda is married with 4 children…her eldest goes on to high school next week and he’s a tad nervous! In order of age the 4 grandchildren who call us nana and grandad… Joshua (almost 12), Matty (almost 11, Iona-Mae (8 yrs.) and Nathaniel (5 yrs.)
We have a much-treasured kitty called Lucy, re-homed by us from the Cats Protection League last year.
Our kids hav been through a lot in our church life: the good, the bad and the ugly. But those are their stories; maybe they will want to join in one day and share something of their faith. I have also been very actively advocating equality and acceptance; breaking down prejudice towards GLBTQ folk. Our son came out to us a few short years ago and thankfully God had prepared my heart to accept and love him for which I remain thankful. Both my hubby and I love the very bones of each of our kids and grandchildren.
Three: All girls… 12 yrs, 7 yrs, and 3 yrs. They’re all beautiful and crazy in their own right. They have amazing hearts and remind me of the depth of our spirits on a regular basis.
My 12 year old wants to be a singer-songwriter and is naturally gifted on Guitar, Piano, Viola and started writing songs when she was 8. This year, she made a commitment with one of her other friends to not have any boyfriends for all of 7th grade. That is perfectly fine with me!
My 7 year old is pretty convinced she’s going to be in the Olympics as a gymnast. She says things like “when I go to the Olympics in 2024, are you coming to watch?” She already has it planned. We’ll see how that goes, though, because she is still a bit scared of things like me throwing her up in the air and such.
My 3 year old is very independent. She’s a handful, but in a good, challenging way. I have no idea what she is going to become. That’s part of the fun.
they sound cool.
Two girls….
Kristin is 19 and a freshman at Wellesley. She really struggles with God, feeling like he let her down so much. We’ve had many financial struggles so that’s been her big issue with God because we served him and why can’t we ever get a break. She did bring a bible to her dorm room with her and I was quite shocked so I asked her and she said “well, I’m taking “Science and the Bible so I kind of needed it’.
Cami, age 17, has more than her share of challenges with asperger’s and mental health issues. She’s a sweet kid and really wants to serve and wants to go to church right now. Really emotionally she is about 8 years old, which makes it tough in so many ways. She goes to christian school and probably will attend a christian college too. It’s a bit easier for her to maneuver social situations if the environment is more rigid. Ironic that she has a mom that can’t stand structure and she needs it so desperately to be able to function.
AnonymousOne boy, one girl.
Jack just turned 9. He’s my artistic, creative kid. He loves to sing and dance, and has been taking dance classes since age 3. He was just diagnosed with ADHD, which came as a surprise to exactly no one. He is the only extrovert in our immediate family. Must be hard on him, living with 3 introverts! He’s generally my easygoing, compliant kid, but he’s also highly sensitive. He’s a deep thinker and already shows an interest in spirituality. We homeschooled him until he was 7, and now he’s in public school. Being so extroverted, this was better for him. He loves it.
Sarah just turned 7 (their birthdays are 5 days apart). She is me, only shorter. She is stubborn, opinionated, competitive, and spirited. She likes to question everything. She is also a born storyteller and has a great sense of humor (which I think she gets from her dad). My favorite Sarah-ism is from last summer. Same-sex marriage had just become legal in my state. She was playing with a friend and she wanted to “marry” their stuffed animals. Her friend insisted they couldn’t do that, since both animals were “girls.” Sarah said, “Yes, we can. It’s the LAW!” Sarah is still homeschooled and insists that as long as her best friend is homeschooled, she will be too. Hey, whatever works, right?
whatever works! right!
We have three kids who are each so different. Who knew? I have a 15 year old, who some of you know cut her foot nearly severing it on a youth rafting trip 3 weeks ago. We will know the prognosis after Sept 5. She is brilliant and dyslexic. She wonders about deep philosophical things and wonders about faith for when bad stuff happens. She is wading through the bad stuff now. Our conversations are rich and thought provoking. She loves math and engineering. She is an introvert and I am and extrovert. I have learned so many things being her parent. Our son is 13 and speaks mandarin and is headed to China this fall for a school trip. He hacked into my computer 3 times last spring (um, to play computer games) and when we finally figured out how to keep him from doing this he hacked into the neighbors! Last year he was home schooled. This year he is not.
I am very happy he is busy and engaged in his schoolwork. He is incredibly empathetic. Our youngest is 8 and she is gregarious and interested in many things. We call her the chicken wrangler. She is great with the birds… and they are not so great with her! We are in the process of leaving our church but our kids (all three) still want to go. They love their friends there. (we love our friends there too but we are way done.) I wonder things like, how to I help my kids be generous, loving members of humanity?sounds like you’re doing just fine starfielder
Thanks Dave. We feel like outcasts in our community. It totally sucks. Your kind words are welcome.
sorry you feel like outcasts. apparently jesus was too.
“sorry you feel like outcasts. apparently jesus was too.” hmmmm good reminder.
AnonymousI have two children. They are my world right now. My 10 year old daughter has ADHD and high functioning autism. She loves computers, video games and science. She wants to be a medical researcher or a geologist depending on what day you ask her. My younger daughter is almost 9. She is bold and outspoken. She loves art. She wants to be a zoologist and discover a brand new speices some day. They attend Sunday school occasionally, but don’t really like adult church. I am letting them decide if they want to go.
AnonymousI have two biological children, and 50+ kids in my youth group. I find it much, MUCH easier to relate to and communicate with the kids in my youth group than my own. In fact, there is a very thick wall between my 17-year old daughter and me. It feels like a huge open wound that will not heal. Not asking for answers, but would welcome them. Just wondering if anyone reading has experienced anything similar? This didn’t just start, but has been this way since she was born, literally.
That’s so so interesting dmcwhort! i’m looking forward to the discussion on this one. I have 3 kids. We all get along ok. But I have a FAR harder time being gracious with them than others.
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