One of the things that I like to do in my homeschooling is give my kids “growth” books that challenge them to grow spiritually or in character.  The most recent book that I have given my 14 year old to read is the book “Do Hard Things” by Alex and Brett Harris.  These brothers wrote a book that challenges teens to live according to God’s way of thinking instead of the world’s way of thinking.  They call it the “rebelution” which consists of teenagers having a rebellion against low expectations.  To realize that even as a teen you don’t have to live with low expectations but can rise to change the world in amazing ways.

They give many examples within their book of teens that are currently changing the world by following in the adventure that God has for each of them.  For example, there is teenage boy named Zach Hunter who has a heart to stop human trafficking.  At the age of 12 he started with the simple idea of using loose change that you might find in between your couch cushions to loosen chains of the people who are victims of human trafficking.  He presented the idea to different peers and schools and ended up founding an organization that he still runs today as an adult which is called LC2LC (Loose Change to Loosen Chains).  He was a 12 year old that wanted to make a difference and stepped out in the adventure that God was giving him.  This is just one of the stories that can inspire young people to realize their potential now as a young person pursuing the things of God.

“Do Hard Things” is a book that I would encourage to be on your homeschool list of “must read”.   They have also wrote other books to follow up the “Do Hard Things”.  The next book that they wrote is called “Start Here” which gives the next step for teenagers in their journey of discovering the adventure God has for them.  It gives more direction on how you might start walking out your individual adventure that God has designed specifically for you.  They are also in the process of releasing a parent book that talks about parenting world changers.  Their website is therebelution.com.  You will find current inspiring stories of teenagers changing the world and other helpful resources for your teen.

I believe that God has amazing and unique plans for each of our children.  We have the awesome privilege of helping them discover the gifts and talents that God has given them and leading them to discover their own intimate relationship with Jesus.  One of the things I try to do as often as I can with these books I give my kids, is to read them myself and cultivate an atmosphere of discussion with them to help them start thinking.  I am excited to see how each of my children walk out their own adventures with God.