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I received the following story from a church member and mom who thought that this would be worth sharing.
After tossing her books on the sofa, she decided to grab a snack and get on-line. She logged on
under her screen nameByAngel213. She checked her Buddy List and saw GoTo123 was on. She sent him an instant message:ByAngel213: Hi. I’m glad you are on! I thought someone was following me home today. It was really weird!
GoTo123: LOL You watch too much TV. Why would someone be following you? Don’t you live in a safe
neighborhood?
ByAngel213: Of course I do. LOL I guess it was my imagination cuz’ I didn’t see anybody when I looked out.
GoTo123: Unless you gave your name out on- line. You haven’t done that have you?
ByAngel213: Of course not I’m not stupid you know.
GoTo123: Did you have a softball game after school today?
ByAngel213: Yes and we won!!
GoTo123:That’s great! Who did you play?
ByAngel213: We played the Hornets. LOL. Their uniforms are so gross! They look like bees. LOL
GoTo123:What is your team called?
ByAngel213: We are the Canton Cats. We have tiger paws on our uniforms. They are really cool.
GoTo123:Did you pitch?
ByAngel213: No I play second base. I got to go. My homework has to be done before my parents get home. I don’t want them mad at me. Bye!
GoTo123: Catch you later. Bye
Meanwhile…….GoTo123 went to the member menu and began to search for her profile. When it came up, he highlighted it and printed it out. He took out a pen and began to write down what he knew about Angel so far.Her name: Shannon
Birthday: Jan . 3, 1985
Age: 13
State where she lived: North Carolina
Hobbies: softball, chorus, skating and going to the mall. Besides this information, he knew she lived
in Canton because she had just told him. He knew she stayed by herself until 6:30 p.m. Every afternoon until her parents came home from work.. He knew she played softball on Thursday afternoons on the school team, and the team was named the Canton Cats. Her favorite number 7 was printed on her jersey. He knew she was in the eighth grade at the Canton Junior High School . She had told him
all this in the conversations they had on- line. He had enough information to find her now.
Shannon didn’t tell her parents about the incident on the way home from the ballpark that day. She
didn’t want them to make a scene and stop her fr om walking home from the softball games. Parents were always over re-acting and hers were the worst. It made her wish she was not an only child.
Maybe if she had brothers and sisters, her parents wouldn’t be so overprotective.
By Thursday, Shannon had forgotten about the footsteps following her.
Her game was in full swing when suddenly she felt someone staring at her It was then that the
memory came back. She glanced up from her second base position to see a man watching her closely.
He was leaning against the fence behind first base and he smiled when she looked at him. He didn’t
look scary and she quickly dismissed the sudden fear she had felt. After the game, he sat on a
bleacher while she talked to the coach. She noticed his smile once again as she walked past him. He nodded and she smiled back. He noticed her name on the back of her shirt. He knew he had found her.
Quietly, he walked a safe distance behind her It was only a few blocks to Shannon ’s home, and once he
saw where she lived he quickly returned to the park to get his car.
Now he had to wait. He decided to get a bite to eat until the time came to go to Shannon ’s house. He
drove to a fast food restaurant and sat there until time to make his move. Shannon was in her room later that evening when she heard voices in the living room.
‘Shannon, come here,’ her father called. He sounded upset and she couldn’t imagine why. She went
into the room to see the man from the ballpark sitting on the sofa. ‘Sit down,’ her father began, ‘this man has just told us a most interesting story about you.’ Shannon sat back. How could he tell her parents anything? She had never seen him before today! ‘Do you know who I am, Shannon ?’ the man asked.
‘ No,’ Shannon answered.
‘I am a police officer and your online friend, GoTo123.’
Shannon was stunned. ‘That’s impossible! GoTo is a kid my age! He’s 14. And he lives in Michigan!’
The man smiled. ‘I know I told you all that, but it wasn’t true. You see, Shannon , there are people on-line who pretend to be kids; I was one of them. But while others do it to injure kids and hurt them, I belong to a group of parents who do it to protect kids from predators. I came here to find you to teach you how dangerous it is to talk to people on-line. You told me enough about yo urself to make it easy for me to find you. You named the school you went to, the name of your ball team and the position you played. The number and name on your jersey just made finding you a breeze.’
Shannon was stunned. ‘You mean you don’t live in Michigan ?’
He laughed. ‘No, I live in Raleigh. It made you feel safe to think I was so far away, didn’t it?’
She nodded.
‘I had a friend whose daughter was like you. Only she wasn’t as lucky. The guy found her and murdered
her while she was home alone. Kids are taught not to tell anyone when they are alone, yet they do it all the time on-line. The wrong people trick you into giving out information a little here and there on-line. Before you know it, you have told them enough for them to find you without even realizing you have done it. I hope you’ve learned a lesson from this and won’t do it again. Tell others about this so they will be safe too?’
‘It’s a promise!’
That night Shannon and her Dad and Mom all knelt down together and thanked God for protecting Shannon from what could have been a tragic situation.
Just like wild animals our children can smell fear. OK so that is a bit dramatic, however especially for us first time parents each new adventure challenges our ability to draw on the scant resources at our disposal and offer a solution that will affirm prior parenting choices, protect our kids, keep us sane, and form our progeny into healthy, godly, and emotionally well adjusted children. OK so that might be seen as a bit dramatic as well. The good news is we are not in this alone. Not only do we have a marvelous Creator God to rely upon (I am in prayer over parenting choices with my 7 month old regularly), but we have the wisdom of His servants to draw from.
Jim Burns draws upon his years in ministry with youth and parents, as well as his own experience as a father, to provide for us a great tool that we can use gain confidence as parents. Mom and dad, give yourself a gift this Christmas and pick up Confident Parenting to read together. You kids just might thank you for it.
Every parent wants to be a good parent. Every parent wants to provide for their child(ren) in the best way possible. The trouble is that becoming a parent does not mean that we are given all the answers in advance on how to accomplish these noble goals. This past Wednesday we began a class called Parenting Your Teenager. The go to experts on parenting that put the materials together are Les and Leslie Parrott (yes a Les married a Leslie). The Parrott’s are a great resource to the family on relationships, both within the family and the marriage. So for today’s parenting resource I am recommending the Parrott’s book The Parent You Want To Be. Here is how they describe their book.
When it comes to parenting, who you are is more important than what you do. After all, your child internalizes your traits more than anyone else’s on the planet. And that’s why Les and Leslie Parrott—in a parenting book like no other—give you a proven plan for cultivating the traits you most want your child to have.
Discover …
• the most important question you’ll ever ask as a parent
• the three-step method to avoid being the parent you don’t want to be
• the secret to making your “intentional traits” stick on even your worst days
… and much more.
A husband and wife team made up of two of today’s leading relationship experts, Les and Leslie Parrott reveal their personal experiences as parents to help you fulfill the most important calling you will ever have. The Parent You Want to Be is inspiring, warm, and filled with a transformational power for your entire family.
This is a great book for parents who want to come alongside their children and help them make wise and godly decisions about choosing a college. This book walks you through the entire process from choosing a type of college to choosing a specific college, and then on to the admissions and financing process. Also looks at how to make a smooth transition from high school to college. Recommended by CPYU’s College Transition Initiative.
The Lutheran Church Missouri Synod offers a monthly E-journal called HomeBase via e-mail to parents across the country as well as 24/7 a newsletter for “Nurturing tthe Christian Home” written by my friend, colleague, and former professor Dr. Steve Christopher. Check them out below or go to: http://www.lcms.org/pages/internal.asp?NavID=1732.
There are few things that a parent dreads more than “The Talk.” You know that it is inevitable and yet you put it off as much as you can. I can recall the uncomfortable look on my dad’s face as he asked me if I had any questions about sex, and he is a Lutheran school teacher used to treating the subject in class with Jr. High students. Jim Burns understands from his years in youth and family ministry and as a dad himself. That is why he wrote “Teaching Your Children Healthy Sexuality.” His own ministry web-site (www.homeword.com) describes the purpose of the book like this:
“Talking with your kids at a young age will help them make more godly decisions along the way, but they’ll need conversation with you at every age. This is your opportunity to establish in them a lasting sexual integrity that will extend throughout their lives.”
About the Author JIM BURNS, PhD, founded the ministry of HomeWord in 1985 to bring help and hope to struggling families. Jim hosts the radio broadcast HomeWord with Jim Burns, which is heard daily in over eight hundred communities nationwide and speaks to thousands around the world each year. He is an award-winning author, whose books include Confident Parenting. Jim and his wife, Cathy, and their three daughters live in California.
