This blog is dedicated to all my partners in crime.  All my co-stalkers.  All my fellow parents who are banding together to tackle the awesome responsibility of raising our teens.  You know who you are.  The ones who read their teen's texts and then give me intel.  And I return the favor.  Because we are all in this together.  This is our village.  These are our children.  And if they have chosen each other as friends, then I have chosen their parents as co-conspirators.  We depend on each other to keep an eye out, to cover our children in community and in prayer, to love and nurture each other's children. 

And yes--to stalk them like the mad woman I am.  Because they are our young.  And we won't sit idly by while these teen years involve their hyperactive hormones and an over information age as they learn to spread their wings.  Nope.  We live in a day and age where the pitfalls have multiplied.  Where access to pornography and other such dangers lurk within easy reach.  Where our culture tells our girls to dress beyond their years.  If you doubt me, just try to take your daughter shopping for a dress or swim suit.  Something modest and not too short.  We live in a permissive society that tells our children to follow their instincts.  Their impulsive and immature instincts.  These are the times that are trying to raise our children for us--more quickly than need be.   Where entertainment and role models spin tall tales of glamor and fame and sex and money.  

And it's a flash in the pan.  It promises fulfillment and success.  Success defined by the world's standards.  Not mine.  And promises that are rather empty.  Look at any celebrity melt down to demonstrate my point.

This kind of battle ground requires much of those on the opposing side of all these influences.  And trust me on this--my community of co-stalkers is a force to be reckoned with.  Because we are banding together.  We are joining hands and opening communication and praying together to fight against that which comes against our precious babies who have somehow become teenagers before our eyes.  

So don't mess with us.  We are on to you.  And we don't mind being weird.  We are finding solidarity in our strangeness.  In our rules that go against the flow.  In being considered dumb and old fashioned and too strict.  It's all good.  Go ahead, teenagers.  Roll your eyes.  Whatever.  You can hate us now if you want to.  That won't deter us from our task at hand.  From our higher calling to teach you to be in the world but not of it.  

And while you are tempted to succumb to peer pressure, rest assured that your parents are plotting to use peer pressure for OUR good and not evil.  Because we are joining together as peers--parents of teens.  And together, we will keep an eye on you.  We will use our group think to stand firm on rules and household policies that honor God.  And bring Him glory.  And protect you from the evil one. 

See, look at it this way.  If we parents unite, then you kids aren't the only weird ones.  Because your "peers" will have similiar rules and values.  And you can all sit together and commiserate about how your parents are so unfair in not letting you date or be alone with your "intentional friendship."  Yep.  That's okay.  You can all sit together--at my house or the home of one of my co-conspirators--with supervised fun while you gripe about how you can't do all the things other kids your age are doing.

Listen here.  We are saving you from a world of heartache those other kids might face.  Because our rules are not designed to be cruel.  But to be protective.  We take our God given mission seriously.  And we aren't willing to sacrifice our children to the temptations around us.  

So, here we are.  Our little band of parents.  Raising teens in community.  Forcing our teens to sign phone contracts.  That clearly state how we will be reading your texts and KIK's and Instagrams.  We follow each other's children on these social medias.  And we are sharing intel with each other.  We are calling and texting the other parents to be a protective barrier for ALL of you teenagers.  We are inviting you to our homes and being the taxi driver and the supervisor for activities we deem appropriate.  And we are calling one another to be sure we have a united front as parents for all of you together.  You are forming a community in your friendships.  And so are your parents.   We got each other's backs in this season of parenting.

But the real truth of it is that this ensures we got your backs, too.  

You forget that we were teenagers once.  But we haven't.  So we won't let up.  Not one bit.  Even if you hate that.

Rest assured, teenagers.  We love you more than you could ever comprehend.  And it's fierce love that drives us to do crazy things.  Like form coalitions to govern you.  Quietly.  Constantly.  But never alone.  

This is your family.  Welcome to it.  This is where you are loved and protected and watched like a hawk.  And we will never give up.  Ever.  This is the place where you can make memories and have fun and be safe.  As your parents unite together to guide you through these teen years.

We're going to make it.  All of us together.  And we'll cry and cheer and laugh all together for each other's teens.  Because they are all ours.  Together.  One nation of parents.  Under God.  Navigating the teen years as one co-stalking, seriously monitoring, completely annoying band of parents.  United we stand!