My son Mark

[newleaf 0]

Hello,
I have a 14 year old son Mark. He does not live with me and he has just been enrolled in Catholic confirmation classes for the next 2 years.
I am not really happy about this and would rather see him in church with me.
He needs salvation and a true understanding of his purpose in God.He also wants to play football and sports are not an area of gifting he has. I want to be supportive but I dont want him to get hurt physically or emotionally. He is good at so many things- art theatre/ music and gifted academically inschool. He is starting high school in a week.Would you please pray for him? I guess to sum it up -he needs a Christian world view! Thank you!

[Cholette 0]

Hello Justblueskies...

My son attended an "all boy" Catholic school. I enrolled him there because of the education value. Our children learn their Christian Values from us...not school. I understand people like to enroll their children in Christian schools and that's fine, but to say that they get the "Christian World View" from a christian school is slightly incorrect. He also went to a christian school in Jr. High and it was worse than a public school. Yes, they learn about the Bible as opposed to the Catholic Bible, but in all honesty, we as parents train them up in the way they should go...not the schools.

I would have a conversation with your son and talk to him. This would be a great opportunity to add another dynamic to your list of things to discuss daily when he calls you. I used to go over and discuss the things my son learned in his religion class and give him the truth. To this day, my son has no desire to be a catholic because I trained him in the Word of God.

I will pray for your son that the foundation of Christ that has been laid in his life would remain and that God would put laborers across his path to build the truth of God's word on it.

Blessings to you my friend...

[Virtuous 0]

That was beautifully put, Cholette!

I wanted to touch basis on the athletic area. My son and my oldest daughter are very athletic. I played a sport in school and so did their dad. Anywho, I don't think you should stop him from playing any sport whether you think he's gifted in it or not. That's what practice is for. Trust me, if it gets to hard for him (especially football) he won't pursue it.

I would also talk to him about what he is gifted in and ask him why he doesn't want to pursue that. Because of the areas you mentioned he is talented in, he may be getting remarks from his peers. Kids can be really cruel and he may just be trying to fit in and prove his man(boy)hood.

[Cholette 0]

Oh...I missed the football/sport part completely. Let me tell you about ME and sports. I would not let my son play football when he was younger. He asked me every single football season (little league) to play because his friends were playing, but I said no because I didn't want him to get hurt. I let him play YEARS of soccer until he got tired of it...how sad!

I must admit that I robbed my son of some of the basics of playing football. He played in High School and was dedicated and pretty good, but he could have been better had I let him play in little league. I realized when he got to high school that I was in fear and I didn't trust God with my son. When he asked to play in high school I said yes, but I ran to the Lord and said "take care of my baby, I'm counting on you". My son NEVER had an injury...NEVER!

Give your son to the Lord and let him gooooo! Believe me, when they get 18/19 years old like my son and they go off to college and live on their own, you are going to wish you practiced leaving them in the Lord's hands because getting hurt playing football is the LEAST of your worries.

Okay, I'm done now...

[newleaf 0]

Thank you guys! I am going on facebook to leave him a message right now :cute:

[Virtuous 0]

Great!

My son plays it ALL! He's an all-star in football, basketball, and baseball! He has been playing since he was 5 and he'll be 13 in October. And just like Cholette's son, He has NEVER had an injury! Of course there were times when I thought he was hit too hard in football. One time he was running down the field and was hit. That big ol' boy hit my baby and he flew out of bounds. He hit my baby hard. I said, " " I got up and and his coach looked at me and said, "Don't you jump cross that fence. He alright!" Honey, I was headed toward the fence to go check on my baby! :snicker: : I think I would've embarrassed him if I had, though. He loves it and I love watching him.

Ohh, Cholette...you missed out on the best years. Little league is the FUNNIEST to watch. Those kids are a mess! But it is a treasure to see how they grow each year.

[Cholette 0]

I'm so happy Justblueskies that you are happy.

V...I know I did. I was too young to really get it. I wasn't thinking about purpose, I was thinking about broken bones and ooozing bloody gashes...hehehe...but it didn't happen...so grateful

[newleaf 0]

Markie made the football team he said in a not too dangerous position and has committed to it. I told him I will be at the games!
He is wanting to go to the Catholic youth group as it is all he has known and he has gone to CCD for years. It is encouraging that your son having experienced it Chorette is not interested in it!
I am going to talk with our youth pastor and am asking God for opportunities to share Christianity with him.

[Cholette 0]

That is FANTASTIC!!!!!!!!

[newleaf 0]

He has had a minor injury and is out for at least a month.
I am asking God to release him from the committment to the team which is sitting on the bench if it is not His Will.

[lola21st 2]

Yes, pray that God's will be done in the situation. How does your son feel about the injury? Sometimes these injuries build confidence (in a weird way) because they see what they're capable of as well as grow accustomed to the fact that injury is a part of the 'program'.

I have to agree with both Cholette and Virtuous on this as well. I have two boys who are in Catholic school and are both into sports (especially the older one). God has gifted them in this area along with others but this gifting is what is being emphasized right now. My older son has developed an interest in the piano suddenly (praise God!) so I'm encouraging that...I think the best thing that we can do is to continually expose them to things and then give them to God.

As for the Catholic/non-Catholic issue, I think it's something that we as parents have to manage. I began my walk with the Lord in the Catholic church and was baptized in the Catholic church but started attending a non-denominational church a few years later because I didn't feel that I was being spiritually fed. HOWEVER, educationally I love the affiliated school - the curriculum, the teachings about community and each person's responsibility to the well being of that community, the sense of community within both the school and the parish, being a light in the world, the fact that Jesus is freely discussed in all classes, settings, etc. Each student is taught the fact that they are wonderfully and fearfully made and are here for a purpose, that God loves them and that they matter in that setting, they (and their thoughts) are valued. I see a huge difference between my son and his cousins who don't attend a christian school in terms of their attitude, the respect displayed to others, etc. As for the religious studies, one thing I especially like about Catholic schools is the emphasis on religious history from biblical times to the present. That history has served me well even after leaving the church because it's a universal history and it is important when looking at how religious history intertwines with economic/political/cultural history, especially the arts. The doctrinal differences are things that I handle especially with my younger son so that he doesn't get confused as to why we don't do certain things or follow certain practices that they do at school. I don't offer it as a whose right whose wrong model but rather as a we all love Jesus, and we show that love and worship differently. I may start a controversy here (I hope not) but having worshipped in both churches, while there are definite gaps, they aren't as wide/insurmountable as some would have you believe at least as it relates to having your child get a good education.

If he wants to go through confirmation, I wouldn't worry too much about it but I would definitely use opportunities to speak to him about your Christian beliefs. I would also suggest that you use this situation as an opportunity to learn more about the Catholic church and its tenets so that you understand what it is that you're going to be drawing distinctions about for a couple of reasons. One, your son having grown up in the church isn't going to receive any wisdom/teachings from you if you approach it as a they're wrong, we're right perspective, you just want to draw out the distinctions and let the Holy Spirit do the rest. Second, you made a statement that actually isn't correct. Catholicism IS Christianity - Catholics DEFINITELY believe in the essential tenets of Christianity. It's the structure of the church, the adoration of the saints, and additional books that comprise the Catholic Bible that are the main distinctions between Catholicism and Protestantism. If you attempt to dialogue on that premise, your points will fall on deaf ears because the basis of them is incorrect. (sorry, that's a sore point of mine...while I don't believe all the tenets of Catholicism which is why I no longer worship in that church, I also know that there's a LOT of misinformation about the church out there as well, i.e., Catholicism is a cult, they're not Christians, they are idolators who only worship Mary and the Saints, etc.)

Above all, keep him lifted up in prayer that he grow with a passion for the Lord and a desire to serve Him in all that he does. Release him to God so that God can have His way with him. Also pray for wisdom in how to speak to your son about these things.

If you would like to discuss this more, please feel free to PM me, ok?