Ashes of Bad Teenagers

I see this little bottle everywhere in schools and homes, this Ashes of Bad Teenagers. It is obviously a difficult thing to deal with young people sometimes and I should know - I was a BAD teenager. I was the one that rolled her eyes at everything my parents said and even if I wasn't showing it on the outside all the time, I was thinking what idiots they were. I was having shouting matches with them in my head and sometimes in real life. I said things I'm not proud of and made mistakes I wish I could go back and fix like a bad spelling error in a manuscript. I'm writing this particular blog for the parents/teachers of difficult teenagers. What am I saying? I should have said ALL TEENAGERS!

My parents spent an inordinate amount of time trying to get me to understand several things:

1. I was smarter than I thought. I could have been a straight A student.

A little time and effort and READING THE DIRECTIONS ALL THE WAY THROUGH makes a huge difference in grades.

2. Boys would always be there. I had way to many boyfriends.

Relationships when you are a teenager are largely just for entertainment and should be taken in stride. Don't get all bent out of shape over stuff.

3. Being open minded didn't mean agreeing with ME (the teenager).

Cussing is not an acceptable substitute for a well rounded vocabulary. Get it together and learn something and then express your frustration or anger or love in a clear manner. Not everyone HAS to like your taste in music, movies, or books to be an open minded person. You don't like their stuff either so don't judge the older folks.

4. A relationship with God is the only way to make it through this life.

God seriously wants you to have a great life. He didn't put you here to suffer. Let him lead you and it will go much smoother. If you want to know what He wants, you need to be His true friend and be honest with yourself. This means taking a good hard look at yourself, and no one else, every day when you STUDY YOUR BIBLE or SPEND TIME ALONE WITH GOD! If you can find 2 or 3 hours to spend reading Twilight, you can find 30 minutes to set aside for the Lord your Savior. If you can find 3 hours a day to watch youtube, you can find time to spend with God. If you can spend 3 hours on the phone with your significant other, you can find time to spend with God. It's all a matter of priorities.

The hope for parents and teachers is this - I find myself saying those exact things to my students all the time which means I either learned them or I'm great at channeling my mother. Maybe both.