Focus stuff...

And now... the focus. The purpose for being on the beach and looking at things from a biblical worldview: teenagers.

At least that's my focus. Although I want to see all of life from the beach, looking at things in a transformed way, in line with God's Word, the snippit of life that this blog will hone in on is life with teenagers.

At one point I was a teenager. I have worked with teenagers for most of my adult life. I interned in my church youth group while I was in college. I worked with Fellowship of Christian Athletes, leading small groups for area FCA Days. I taught high school for years, coaching cheerleaders and serving as advisor to the Student Council. And my husband and I were huddle coaches for our high school's chapter of FCA. I've taught middle schoolers in Sunday School. I've spoken to large groups of mothers and daughters about issues of modesty and purity. I've even served as producer and moderator for modesty videos. Recently, I've been teaching high school journalism. I have worked with teenagers A LOT.

And nothing I have ever done or am doing now prepared me for the experience of parenting a teenager of my own. That, my friends, is a whole 'nother ball game!

So I NEED this view from the beach. I need it personally to maintain perspective.

I have two teenagers in my house now, one boy and one girl. So we're seeing how the different genders approach the teen years in different ways. We also have another child who is headed towards the teen years more quickly than we'd like to admit.

So here goes... as we walk through parenting teens, I'm going to share things. I pray they will be for the glory of my Lord Jesus Christ. I pray that they will be encouraging and informative to you.

Many blessings,

BeachMom

Perspective...

Do not be conformed
to this world,
but be transformed
by the renewal
of your mind,
that by testing
you may discern
what is the will of God,
what is good
and acceptable and perfect.

~Romans 12:2

What a great verse! OK... like there are any bad verses. This verse speaks volumes to the view from the beach. We are Earth creatures, certainly. Born and raised on this planet and indoctrinated with an Earth perspective from the moment we begin to breathe its air.

It's hard to think of life from any other perspective. None comes more natural than the one we're born with... the one that looks to the world around us to define ourselves, our purpose, our relationship, and even our God. It's kind of sad when you think about it... to see things as thought it's up to humanity to determine its own destiny. Looking at the world from the point of view that humans are "it" is like looking at the beauty of the ocean by staring at the shore. Have you ever done that? Stared at the shore?

Don't get me wrong, I love the sand beneath my feet in a major way. But when you head to the beach, which direction do you want to face? Do you turn your chair or towel facing inland or do you seat yourself so you can look across the ocean?

The picture at the beginning of this post looks back at the shore. It's full of debris. (And that was a relatively untouched-by-humans segment of the beach.) There's tons of trash. Burned wood. Washed-up seaweed. Eroding dunes. Even cigarette butts and old bottles and cans. And yicky bandaids. Ewww...

That's the view the world has to offer. You can go to the beach and opt to face inland and focus your heart on all the world has going for it. The trash left by others (or even yourself). The burned relationships. The washed-up dreams. The eroding values. The relics of self-abuse through addictions. The hurts and diseases or the body, mind, spirit, and soul. You really can choose to revel in those things.

Or you can turn your chair around and look at the ocean. See its power and might. Realize that, though the shoreline is ever-changing, the ocean is constant and mighty and sure. It wipes clean the debris from the shore. It clears off the mess made by man.


Looking out over the ocean, you can fix your heart on the One Who resides beyond the glassy sea. The One Who created the world. The One Who rescued its people from the trash heap of what we create when we try to live according to our own (super-flawed) perceptions of the world, instead of relying on Him.

Tell you what, let's try an experiment. Let's agree that as we wake up each morning and head out onto the beach of our lives, we'll face our chairs toward the ocean. Let's keep our minds off the debris and on the sparkling sea... well, on the One Whose throne sits beyond the crystal waves.

Let's jump into the Love Letter that He's written to give us His perspective on His Creation. It tells us how things work. Goodness, if there were an instruction manual for life that would help you through every single situation you ever face, wouldn't you snag it in a heartbeat and pour over its pages???!!!

Good news! There is! It's called the Bible. Our Creator wrote it so that we'd know Him and make good choices in our time here on Earth.

So let's do it! Let's be transformed!

The View from the Beach

1 After this I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven! And the first voice, which I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet, said, Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this. 2 At once I was in the Spirit, and behold, a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne. 3 And he who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian, and around the throne was a rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald. 4 Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and seated on the thrones were twenty-four elders, clothed in white garments, with golden crowns on their heads. 5 From the throne came flashes of lightning, and rumblings and peals of thunder, and before the throne were burning seven torches of fire, which are the seven spirits of God, 6 and before the throne there was as it were a sea of glass, like crystal. And around the throne, on each side of the throne, are four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind: 7 the first living creature like a lion, the second living creature like an ox, the third living creature with the face of a man, and the fourth living creature like an eagle in flight.
8 And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty,who was and is and is to come! 9 And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever, 10 the twenty-four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne, saying, 11 Worthy are you, our Lord and God,to receive glory and honor and power,for you created all things,and by your will they existed and were created. ~Revelation 4

I have loved C.S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia for as long as I can remember. In the stories, different characters talk about the Emperor-from-beyond-the-sea or the Emperor-from-over-the sea. Only recently did I get what that meant. As much as I thought it might be the ocean over which the Dawn Treader traveled, ultimately depositing Reepicheep among the lilies, I FINALLY caught on. C.S. Lewis was talking about Revelation 4:6. He-Who-Sit-on-the-Throne in heaven dwells across the crystal sea. Cool.

I've always loved the beach, only I never really knew why. I love the sand. I love the sun. I love the surf. I love the laughter. I love the sky. I love the breeze. The sun and the ocean mostly, though. Those are the two things that made me the Beach Girl I was back then and the Beach Mom I am today.

I love the feel of the sun. It penetrates to the center of my being, warming me physically-sure, but there's spiritual warming that happens in my heart when I sit in the sun.

And the ocean. I can think of no greater evidence of God's power. Gentle and rolling. Blue and deep. Crashing and crushing. Fierce and untamed.

All these things... everything in life... point to Something...Someone... greater. Some Meaning beyond the physical. A Creator. A Sustainer. A Father.

A few years ago I was in a Bible study that went over the book of Revelation. I fell in love with Chapters 4 & 5. They are a picture of the throne room in heaven. Wow! Chapter 4 describes the King. Chapter 5 portrays the Lamb. Beautiful. I could dwell there all day. I can't wait to see them in their glory. To understand who the elders really are. To see the living creatures. It's almost enough to make this world fade away even now.

But back to the story... at the end of Revelation, I got a little upset. I've been through stages of understanding, knowing I was supposed to be good with it. After all, God doesn't make mistakes. But I totally didn't get the part at the end, when the New Heaven and Earth came into the picture. But there it was:

1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. ~Revelation 21:1

The sea was no more? How could the sea be no more?! The beach is the one thing in this world that I've loved more than any other place. How could my Father get rid of the sea?!

I went into a state of spiritual dissonance. I wanted the sea. The beach. Forever. Humph! I felt certain for years that my spot in heaven would be on a beach.

After a while I came to the point where I realized that I wanted Him more than I wanted His creation. And I was good with not having a sea anymore.

Then one day, I got to thinking. Pondering. Meditating on God's Word. And I realized that this world really IS the shadow of what is real. And as shadows are shadows of the real things, there's a spiritual significance to everything physical.

And it hit me... I love the beach because it's the closest you can get to the sea. And Jesus and the Father are across the sea. God is the Emperor-from-beyond-the-sea! No wonder I've always felt closest to Him when I'm sitting on the beach. When He's here, there won't be a beach because there won't be a sea. There won't be anything to separate us from Him. WOW!!!

So I am TRULY good with no beach in the New Heaven and Earth. That's just fine with me. Everything that I've ever loved about the beach... the sun and the surf... will be fulfilled as I live for all eternity physically in His presence. In the light of His glory. Without separation. Together. Forever. Yes!!!

In the meantime... in this world... I will continue to love the sun and the surf for what they represent. And I will look at life from the beach, in the light of my Savior and Lord.