Enjoying The Teenage Years: Raising Godly Kids and Passing the Spiritual Baton

By Ron Goble

The teenage years can be exciting and enjoyable times for parents and their teenagers with proper encouragement, preparation, and training. Have you ever made this statement, or had this thought go through your mind, “I really don’t look forward to facing the teenage years with my children!” Are you concerned that it is possible that you have not given sufficient time in providing the necessary training for your children leading up to the teenage years and that you are afraid of the conflicts you could be facing? You don’t have to enter your child’s teenage years and experience conflict after conflict although many families do! This book will provide wonderful guidance and encouragement that will enable parents to be on the same page when preparing their children to face and enjoy their teenage years.

How important is discipline in raising children, and how important is it that both parents be in agreement when discipline becomes necessary? What happens if the parents are on separate pages? These are very important questions that Enjoying the Teenage Years addresses.

Teenagers often struggle substantially with their self-esteem, and parents are taught, in the book, the importance and what can be done to bolster their children’s self-esteem. This helps make the teenage years more enjoyable for both parents and their children. The challenge of choosing the right friends is addressed as well.

The importance of passing the spiritual baton from parents to their children and the eternal results is a topic that is addressed throughout the book.

This book will provide successful guidance and encouragement that will assist husbands and their wives to be on the same page, and this will eliminate conflicts and arguments between the parents.

The teenage years, when the teaching in Enjoying the Teenage Years is practiced, will provide wonderful memories in the future years for both parents and their children.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Covenant Books, Inc.
• Release date: Jan 14, 2022
• ISBN: 9781638855774

Book preview

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Enjoying The Teenage Years

Raising Godly Kids and Passing the Spiritual Baton

Ron Goble

ISBN 978-1-63885-576-7 (Paperback)

ISBN 978-1-63885-577-4 (Digital)

Copyright © 2021 Ron Goble

All rights reserved

First Edition

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Covenant Books, Inc.

11661 Hwy 707

Murrells Inlet, SC 29576

www.covenantbooks.com

Table of Contents

Passing the Spiritual Baton from Generation to Generation

Molding and Shaping the Lives of Our Kids

Dad’s Heart of Wisdom and Discernment

Dad’s Walk in the Streams of Living Waters

The Dearth of Spiritual Values

The Real Joy of Whining

Foolishness in the Heart of a Child

Lay Hold of Dad’s Teaching

Dad’s Unconditional Love

Father’s Relationship with Daughter

Out of Control Elephants and Teenage Sons

Headship, Humility, and Protection

Releasing Responsibility

Successfully Passing the Spiritual Baton

Foreword

Numerous books have been written about family dynamics. There are studies, theories, methods, and suggestions about how to enjoy a family. Some are very good, but many appear to merely raise expectations and eventually end up in painful disappointment.

The Greeks spoke of a kind of knowledge that was gained by reading and listening. This was a gnosis kind of knowledge. When knowledge was discovered through experience, however, it was an epignosis kind of wisdom. This type of wisdom could be shared with greater confidence because it had already proven to be true.

As you can imagine, many books on family- and child-rearing are based on gnosis. This book is filled with epignosis—the kind of wisdom that has been accumulated by a father, a grandfather, and a great grandfather, who has successfully passed down an inheritance of faith from one generation to the next.

I have known and have been the pastor of Ron Goble for over forty years, and I have watched the impact of his life and wisdom. Ron would be the first to tell you that is has been God who has worked so faithfully in the life of his family. And yet I will tell you it has been Ron, the father, who has been the vessel God has used to bless his family.

Read slowly and digest with understanding this insightful and well-documented life account of a godly man loving his family as his heavenly Father has loved him.

—Dr. Darryl DelHousaye

Chancellor of Phoenix Seminary

Phoenix, Arizona

A Publishing Strategy

This book has a very unique, challenging theme that will forever impact the reader’s life. Author John Trent, the first person to sit in the Gary D. Chapman Chair at Moody, commented, This manuscript has a brilliant theme with brilliant marketing possibilities. As I began to write this book, noted author Tim Kimmel asked, Why don’t you let me borrow this theme?

A mother, after reading the manuscript, made this statement, I have laughed and cried throughout this manuscript, and I only wish that it was available when we were raising our daughter.

The men’s ministry pastor at Scottsdale Bible Church, after reading this manuscript, said, There are at least twenty additional excellent topics for other books within this manuscript.

Introduction

While preparing the eulogy for my father’s memorial service some years ago, I was reminded of the great historical legacy of believers in Jesus Christ in my family and the tremendous responsibility I personally face to continue passing the gospel message to my future generations. I realized that the passing of the gospel is much like the passing of the baton from runner to runner in a relay race. My research into the beginning and history of relay races revealed that the concept of passing information from one person to another person started in ancient Greek and Roman times. The batons were hollow tubes about twelve inches long, and the messages were rolled and placed inside of the hollow message sticks as they were then called, and couriers then purposefully and carefully carried them from person to person, much like the batons used in the relay races of today. This unique theme of passing the spiritual baton or message stick is woven throughout the book, and because of this, the readers will remember the theme long after reading the book and the extreme eternal consequences of what happens when the spiritual baton is fumbled or dropped completely.

Many parents are rightfully concerned when they utter these words, I don’t look forward to facing the teenage years with my kids. They realize the deficiency in their time of preparation and time training their children has been insufficient. This book challenges fathers to teach their kids the many specific scriptures that provide wisdom and discernment so that they can enjoy the teenage years rather than face continuing battles. The children will have the knowledge, and prayerfully, this book will provide the wisdom and encouragement to challenge them in making intelligent, wisdom-filled, godly decisions.

Throughout the manuscript, there are numerous stories that illustrate and clarify the points being discussed. Some will elicit laughter, and some will bring tears. The stories were chosen to provide interest and add handles that enable the reader to grasp and remember the themes long after they have finished reading the manuscript. The story about the bull elephants being removed from the herd in Africa is one of the stories that graphically illustrate what happens in a home when Dad leaves and is not involved in the life of his children as we see in many homes today. Many young men are unfortunately growing into adulthood at this time with minimal or no influence from any male figure in their lives and face significant troubles because of this missing, forever life-changing ingredient of self-control.

Throughout this manuscript, very strong challenges are issued to all fathers to step up to the plate and follow through with their God-given responsibilities to be the strong, consistent spiritual leaders of their families. This will make their lives and the lives of their teenagers so much more enjoyable. They can then rejoice along with the Lord and celebrate the successful passing of the spiritual baton from one generation to the next generation.

In order to be old and discerning, you don’t have to go through many years of struggling unnecessarily. Millennials are walking away from the Lord at a very alarming, unprecedented rate, and this book will encourage their fathers to teach them to stand strong in their faith as they face the difficult challenges ahead from some teachers and college professors that attempt to draw them away from their faith into a more progressive way of life that is contrary to the truth of the scriptures and storms of life that are constantly trying to defeat them.

Chapter 1

Passing the Spiritual Baton from Generation to Generation

The winning or losing of an Olympic relay race is not always determined by the team that has the fastest runners because the successful passing of the baton from one runner to another runner without fumbling is a vital factor in determining who wins and who loses the race. The history of relay races dates back many centuries when messages were rolled up and inserted into hollow tubes and carried by a series of couriers over long distances and delivered safely to a specific person or destination. The message sticks the runners carried today are called batons which are hollow tubes twelve inches long and are passed from runner to runner during the relay race. The race is only successful if each runner carries the baton for their preassigned distance and successfully passes it to the next runner within the fastest time frame. The runners have a set distance in which the baton must be passed, and if the baton is fumbled and not carried successfully, the whole team is disqualified, and the race is lost.

The United States women’s 2004 Olympic relay team dominated the preliminary qualification races in their quest for an Olympic gold medal, only to see their dreams quashed in the finals due to the baton being fumbled during a baton exchange between two team members. Speed is important during the relay race, but the most challenging point is the exchange: when the baton is passed from one runner to the next runner through all four team members. The loss of the gold medal and the fame that comes with it will haunt them for the rest of their lives because of their carelessly fumbled baton and all of the team members being disqualified from the race as they would certainly have established a great new Olympic record. The baton pass is practiced and practiced because of the precision that is necessary to complete a winning race. The Olympic gold medal they had so eagerly anticipated and trained many hours for was suddenly out of their grasp permanently!

While preparing the eulogy I gave at my father’s memorial service, I was reflecting back over the great historical legacy of several generations of Christians in my father’s family, and I was reminded of the similarities involved in a winning relay team. Successfully raising children in my generation is only one segment in the relaying of spiritual wisdom from generation to generation. With the assistance of the Holy Spirit, we must train our children to understand the importance of their spiritual walk as they go through the race of life, carry the spiritual baton, and ensure a successful handoff to the next generation. The chain of passing the spiritual message stick must not be broken. It takes a very strong consistent commitment for this transfer to take place from generation to generation. The critical point in their life of accepting Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior is the most important decision that our children must make in their entire life. Failure to come to that very important point and make this extremely critical godly choice of accepting Jesus as their Lord and Savior is an eternal decision that will keep them from entering the kingdom of heaven.

Begin when your children are at a very young age to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with them personally. You will be completely amazed, in most cases, at how young they are when they begin to understand and have a desire to learn the truth of the scriptures. The following passage in Psalms defines very clearly the process we must follow:

We will not hide them from their children; we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, his power, and the wonders he has done. He decreed statutes for Jacob and established the law in Israel, which he commanded our forefathers to teach their children, so the next generation would know them, even the children yet to be born, and they in turn would tell their children. Then they would put their trust in God and would not forget his deeds but would keep his commandments. They would not be like their forefathers…a stubborn and rebellious generation, whose hearts were not loyal to God, whose spirits were not faithful to him. (Psalm 78:4–8 NIV)

We cannot receive the spiritual baton for our children, but we do have the challenging responsibility to train each child regarding the importance of personally receiving Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior and then passing this great spiritual legacy on to the next generation—a crucial race with enormous spiritual consequences if the spiritual baton is fumbled. The winner is rewarded with the greatest eternal gift: the gift of knowing Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior and being indwelt by the power of the Holy Spirit. That gift provides God’s grace, peace, forgiveness, eternal life in Jesus Christ, the incredible blessing of spending eternity in heaven with our Lord, and the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

I was blessed with a wonderful Christian heritage that goes back several generations. My father directed a church choir for thirty-five years. Dad had a beautiful baritone voice and sang at several hundred funerals and weddings. Prior to Dad’s memorial service, a lady commented to me, Your dad sang for our wedding, and he also sang for my husband’s memorial service. We have always said, You were not married or buried properly in Hamilton County, Indiana, if Chet Goble did not sing for your wedding or memorial service. I praise the Lord that my great grandfather and grandfather faithfully and successfully carried and passed the spiritual baton to my father, and Dad continued that legacy and then passed it on to me. I was then faced with the awesome responsibility of preparing my children to receive this incredible blessing from God.

I am now able to thank the Lord that each of my children and grandchildren has made a decision to accept Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior. The spiritual baton is now in their hands to pass on to future generations. Future generations of our family will depend upon my children and grandchildren to successfully carry and pass on the life-saving spiritual baton to the next generation. I pray continually that the spiritual baton will be faithfully carried and never fumbled for generations to come.

In Psalm 145:4 (NASB), David makes this proclamation:

Great is the Lord and highly to be praised. One generation shall praise Your works to another, and shall declare Your mighty acts.

We are to make known to the sons of men the glory of the majesty of Thy kingdom. Teach your kids about what heaven will be like—the majesty, the glory, and impressive beauty of the throne of God, spending eternity with Jesus, where