Question: We raised our kids in church and sent them to a Christian school. Nowthat they're older they want nothing to do with Christianity. Whatshould we do?
Answer From Tim Kimmel:
http://iquestions.lightcastmedia.com/embed/dT0zMDc2JnZpZD0zMjc3JmVrZXk9NDdmZjMzMTY
In this post we continue to look at True Confidence and what having true confidence means. As we said before, many times we put our confidence in worldly items or in our own works however Paul had a different opinion.
"I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." - Philippians 3:14
Most of the time when we hear the word Confidence it is usually preceded by the word "self". Self Confidence. The secular world tries to tell us that if we dig down deep, if we just discipline ourselves enough, if we just read another self-help book we'll figure it out on our own and conquer all of our problems.
This type of thinking was the same thinking that led me to the most destructive and painful time in my life. The truth is we don't need more self confidence, we need confidence in God.
"I can do all things..."
When I was a child I was told, you can do anything you want, you can be the President of the United States if you just work hard and believe in yourself.
Self-help books tell us to search deep inside, find our inner strength and we can succeed.
But the Bible tells us a different story, in Philippians Chapters 3-4.
Paul was trying to tell the church not to put there faith in false measures or in themselves. He even illustrates this in Philippians 3:3-6 by saying that by all their measures, he was an impressive man. He was from the best tribe, he was a Pharisee and he was following God's laws better than most men.
Then Paul goes on further to say that all these worldly measures that impressed man so much he considered them rubbish next to knowing God.
When you lose your job, when a loved one dies, when you lose thousands of dollars in one day because of the current financial crisis, you can't dig down deep inside and find strength in yourself?
All of the worlds measuring sticks and self-help lingo cannot help you when you put them up against eternity.
Instead, Paul tells them to put their confidence in a relationship with Jesus.
So the real question is where do our confidences lay?
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Or go to YouTube and see "An Idea Whose Time Has Come" with tons of compression and bad pixelation.
"I'm too young"
"I'm too old"
"I don't have enough education"
"Is this really what God wants for me?'
We all have an mp3 track that plays over and over in our heads sometimes telling us that we are not good enough to accomplish our goals and passions in life.
When you are at the starting line and the gun goes off, that is not a time to hesitate.
When you are at the free throw line and your team is down with a few seconds left, that is not a time for uncertainty.
When you 're on the high dive with the judges below and the Chinese divers are leading, that is not the time to be asking yourself "Can I really do this?"
George Barna did a study on confidence and discovered that people with confidence were more likely to be successful, more satisfied with their life, more willing to help others, more satisfied in relationships, less affected by stress and more likely to see God as loving, caring and forgiving.
Everyone wants to be confident but many times we hear that same old mp3 playing telling you that someone is better than you, someone is smarter than you, someone is handling life better than you.
Usually this voice we hear is not our own, but the voice of a critical coach, a perfectionist parent or a negative spouse.
And they all want to tell us why we are inadequate and why we do not measure up.
A friend of mine once counseled a teenage girl who had a problem of cutting herself on the arms. She showed him scar after scar on her arm.
My friend asked her what went through her mind when she did this and she said:
"I hear my father telling me I am worthless."
"I hear myself telling me I'm too fat."
"And I hear everyone laughing at me."
I think we all hear these same voices from time to time or maybe I am the only one who is schizophrenic :) 
In Philippians 4:13, Paul makes a profound statement about true confidence.
"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."
During the next few days, we are going to look at biblical confidence, how to instill this in our children and how we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us.
I'm not sure if I would act any different? Hopefully God would grant me grace in this situation? DELTONA,Fla. — An angry Deltona father whacked his teenage daughter'sboyfriend with a metal pipe after finding the boy naked in hisdaughter's room. Authorities say the father, 45, didn't even know his daughter had a boyfriend or that theyoungster had been sneaking into the home for more than a year. When he heard noises coming from his daughter's bedroom Thursday morning andsaw a stranger standing naked on the girl's bed, he swung a metal pipe.He then chased the teen out the front door and called police. The boy was taken to the hospital where doctors closed a head wound with staples. The father was charged with aggravated battery on a child and bonded out on $10,000.
We have heard study after study say that it is not what we say that our children follow, but what we do in our day to day actions.
We have also heard the term "Life Is A Game" before but what is truly important is learning ourselves and teaching our children that the game is not scored by the amount of chips, money or houses we acquire. The game is not won by beating all the other opponents or slyly maneuvering our piece around the board. The most important lesson of all is that in the end, when the game is finally over, all the pieces go back in the box.
Everyone keeps score in life. We don't always want to admit it, but we do. What is most important is How we keep score.
The 3 primary ways the world keeps score is:
1. By Comparison
2. By Competition
3. By Climbing Ladders
God however has a different way of keeping score. God tells us not to compare ourselves to others but to Jesus. He tells us not to get caught up in competition but to work together and love one another. And Jesus was never a ladder climber, Jesus was not a CEO. In fact, most times, Jesus was climbing down the ladder to reach the people who needed him most.
So the question is, What are some ways we can live on purpose with Jesus' teachings while also modeling the traits necessary to pass on to our children?
I am going to cover this more in depth over the course of my next few posts but to start off with.
1. Loving More Deeply.
Unfortunately, we can't TiVo life and rewind or fast forward through certain parts. We only get 24 hours in each day. How we spend those hours is up to us. Listen to songs like "Cats in the Cradle" and you will hear over and over again, take time to love those around you and cherish your relationships. Jesus' greatest commandment was love one another.
2. Laugh More Often.
I believe that life is really made up of special moments and memories that we have. The more of these special moments and memories we can create, the greater joy and happiness we and our children will have.
3. Give More Generously.
Let me ask you a question. When your dead, does it matter how much money is still in your checking account? Is your prized baseball card collection really worth not passing it on to a younger generation? On the day that I die, will I have any regrets about the time and energy I spent accumulating worthless items and material possessions? 
4. Playing With Integrity.
The saying is true, "It's not if you win or lose, but how you play the game." Time and time again we see in studies, politics and life that honesty and integrity can shatter your life no matter how high or low you sit. It's better to always take the moral high ground and live with a clear conscience.
5. Grace and Repentance.
God has granted us the greatest grace ever imaginable, so why should we not extend that same grace to our children, spouses, friends and family? Grace Based Parenting is by far the best system of parenting that I have found today. We need to be quick to forgive and slow to pass judgment.
6. The Danger of More.
Everyone is against materialism but many people always want more. We need to model and teach the difference between wants and needs, how to live with contentment, and how more is not always better. Always striving for more can lead to violating the first five principles and also grounds us in the belief that the score is kept by the amount of toys we have.
We need to model and teach our children that the game of life is won by knowing and pursuing a relationship with Jesus Christ. And by following the guidelines and teachings of Jesus, we can lead a happier, more content life with richness beyond our dreams.
The wisest people build their lives around what is eternal and then squeeze in what is temporary. Not the other way around.
Because in the end, it all goes back in the box.