09/17/2026
This month with our NextGen, we’re talking about RELATIONSHIPS and this week we tackled DRAMA, CONFLICT & FORGIVENESS.
There is soooooo much I wish I would have understood at a much earlier age. By God’s grace, I’m incredibly grateful that I now get the opportunity to share some biblical wisdom with these kids about navigating conflict, extending forgiveness, setting healthy boundaries and loving people well, even when it’s hard.
But honestly, one of my favorite parts of our time together lately has nothing to do with the lesson.
Last year, I started noticing that some of them wanted to pray, but they were nervous. They were afraid someone might make fun of them, and several would tell me, “I don’t know how to pray.”
So we started there.
We talked about how prayer isn’t about having the perfect words, it’s simply talking to God. We made it clear that this would be a safe place to learn. No making fun of each other. No embarrassment. (Insert 👉🏼momma bear for every one of these kids) If they wanted to try, I would help them.
And now? 🥹
When I ask if anyone wants to pray us in or pray us out, especially with the boys, I’ll hear:
“I’ll do it, Ms. Carrie… if you’ll help me.”
And you better believe I will. Every.Single.Time. 🧡🩵
Watching them go from being afraid to pray out loud to actually volunteering to pray has been one of the sweetest things to witness. They’re learning that they don’t have to have all the right words, they just have to be willing to talk to Jesus.
THAT’S the kind of growth that matters.
Ohhhh… and because apparently biblical wisdom is best absorbed with a full belly 😂, I made them Chicken Alfredo completely from scratch today.
The kicker?
Most of them had NO CLUE it was gluten-free to boot! 🤌🏼😂
Feed them. Love them. Teach them. Point them to Jesus.
Then watch what God does.
Thank you to those who support the NextGen program - You guys help us feed these kiddos more than just Chicken Alfredo🥰🫶🏼