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This is appearing in the May issue of the Romeo Peach, our church’s monthly newsletter.

May is here. A month of new flowers, school winding down,
and your house is full of abnormal chaos. The grass is now green and the
cobwebs are getting cleared as cabin fever turns into “end of school countdowns,”
prom, and yearbooks.

May is also a month where your mom may seem more tense than
usual. Why is that? I’d like to offer
a little glimpse into your mom’s thoughts right now. While she may be patient
and while she may not tell you why she is tense, chances are mom is tense
because of her children. You may be the
reason mom is tense. Having kids in middle and high school is tough on mom… let
me offer three reasons she may be tense and ways you can help.

Mom
   is tired too. Next time you look at your mom, try to see her for
   who God made her. She may be able to act like Supermom, but she is human
   too. Just like you are tired after a long year in school and a mountain of
   projects and extra-curricular activities, your mom is tired from helping
   you through school, driving you where you need to go, and watching your
   extra-curricular activities. Suggestion
   #1: Find a way to recognize your mom in a special way. Maybe you give
   her the day off by doing all of her chores? Maybe you offer to find a
   carpool for a week? Maybe you volunteer to watch your younger siblings
   some mom and dad can go on a date? Maybe you sit down and write her a
   nice, long thank you note remembering all the things she’s done for you
   this school year? Just find a special way to recognize all that mom has
   done for you and let her know how much you love and appreciate her.
Mom
   is nervous about the summer. Long ago your mom naively assumed
   that when you got to middle and high school that you’d be a big help
   around the house. I’ve been around the church long enough and been in
   enough of your houses to know that your mom is nervous that you’ll be a
   bum all summer. Mom is nervous that she’ll have to constantly clean up
   after you, entertain you, and that having you home will actually make her
   life harder than it already is. Suggestion
   #2: Shock your mom this May and ask her for a list of 10 regular
   chores you can do all summer long. Look at it like this… what are 2 things
   you can do every day that will make your house something everyone can be
   proud of? Every single one of you can handle laundry, lawn care, garbage,
   dishes. But what else can you do to take a load off of your mom?
Mom
   has some expectations. I am becoming increasingly aware of how
   much I expect my own children to develop a certain way. Our dreams for our
   kids began even before Kristen and I knew we were going to be parents and
   your mom and dad have similar dreams. As a parent it’s hard to see you
   develop into your own person when you want to do different things than mom
   expected. Trust me, this is
   perfectly normal! Perhaps your mom had hoped her daughter would be an
   athlete and you can’t stand sports? Perhaps your mom hoped you would want
   to be a doctor but you see yourself going into music? Suggestion #3: Have a simple conversation with your mom and
   ask her, “What do you want to see me doing 10 years from now?” You’d be
   surprised a fun conversation like that will ease tension as you discover what
   her dreams for you are in comparison to what you are dreaming about.

While May is a tense month with all that is going on.
Putting these 3 suggestions into practice will certainly help ease that tension
in your house and you will start becoming a source of tension relief instead of
tension creation.

Something else that got published this week, my review of Power Play, Volume 3 produced by Simply Youth Ministry.

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