An Evening with Mark Gregston

I had the opportunity to attend a parenting seminar with speaker Mark Gregston. Mark is the founder of Parening Today's Teens through Heartlight Ministries.

I'm not sure when I first stumbled across Parenting Today's Teens. Somewhere in the past few years when we were in the midst of high school with our son. Mark focuses on teens and families in crisis. Now, that wasn't us but the parenting advice was great. So I kept following.

For our members of The Joyful Stepmom who do go through some really challenging situations with their teenagers - Parenting Today's Teens is my go-to resource.

Image from Parenting Today's Teens with Mark Gregston Facebook Page

This seminar was more conversational. Mark gave stories and background of the ministry. He touched on some great points and I wish he had time to go deeper. Namely - when your child walks away from God.

Mark is a Texan, likes to joke and very relational. The couple sitting in front of us faithfully listen to his podcast, and I know many of you would enjoy that as well.

From my notes on the evening, I particularly honed in on his Love Languages message. Some will be familiar with the 5 Love Languages book by Gary Chapman. Mark felt that maybe there are more than 5 options. For teens, additional possible love languages are wanting to be defended by those you love and they want to feel wanted and included.

That resonates particularly in a blended family. Our children experience displacement, rejection and not knowing where they stand in their own homes and families. It should be a light bulb moment that of course they want the adults in their life to be their defenders. They want to truly be WANTED.

If you are going through the teen years, I urge you to follow Parenting Today's Teen and look through the resources provided.