Day 10, So grown up...

Tonight marked a milestone in my daughters life.  She know has her green bracelet for the YMCA.  This is a big deal because we have been pushing her to get it since we started our membership at the Y.  The bracelet signifies that she allowed to do whatever she wants.  In order to get the green bracelet, you must swim the entire length of an Olympic size pool.  Abigail struggled with this for many reasons.  She has never been a big swimmer, not sure why but she never got into it like her brother.  Timothy on the other hand, got his when he was 7 years old.

I pushed her tonight to get her green bracelet.  I know she was worried about not completing the lap, but she had done it before so I knew she could.  She got up the courage, talked to the lifeguard and completed her lap.  I was so proud of her.  I was at the end of the lap ready to give her a hug and let her know how happy I was.  Up until this point, whenever she wanted to swim, either Beth or I needed to be in the pool with her, but now she is free to swim as she wants.  This is a big step for her.

I began to think about how fast Abigail is growing up.  She is 10 years old and growing.  I find it hard to think that come June, she will be a part of my youth group, as a member and not just the youth pastors daughter.  I can't believe she is already at this age.  I still remember when she was born and bringing her home to our house in Murfreesboro, TN.  How the time flies...

Last March I got the opportunity to talk with Kurt Johnston about how to handle having a daughter in his youth group.  His oldest daughter was just getting ready to graduate out of his ministry, so he knew what to do.  I had fun talking to Kurt and asking him questions about dealing with a child in the group.  Let me see if i can recap for you what Kurt told me.

1. Talk to your child before they come into the group - Kurt told me he and his wife sat their daughter down and talked about her being a part of the youth group and the boundaries for both of them.  One example he gave was in disciplining her because of something she did during youth group, he never brought it home because no other parent would have that opportunity either.
   
2. Let them know they are responsible, no special treatment - Kurt said he made it clear that his daughter would receive no special treatment in regards to event planning, small group setup or anything.  If she missed a deadline for an event, he didn't try to work around the situation.
   
3. Don't use them as sermon illustrations - I am not sure if this is something that Kurt said specifically or if I heard it from somewhere else but it stands to reason.  Always get permission to use your own students in a story.  I know it is easy to bring funny stories up, but to your children it could be embarrassing and hurtful.
   

I still feel crushed by the thought that my daughter is old enough to be in my youth group, but I am getting over it.  I love her energy and her kindness towards other people and hopefully I can help shape her to be a Godly woman.