On Sunday, May 15 at 8:45 am at Prairie High School we will be hosting a North Creek U class on Internet Safety taught by Cheryl Bledsoe.  Cheryl has a broad and diverse background in everything from social media, to abuse, to emergency preparedness…and MUCH MORE…and is a sought after speaker on a number of those topics.

I wanted to take a moment and share with you how important this class is for all of us parents.  To be quite honest, sometimes when Cheryl talks to me about the reality of the human situation that she encounters in her particular line of work and past jobs, I want her to stop talking.  I have a visceral reaction in my brain because I desperately want to believe that the world is a safe place for my kids.  Any broad base of knowledge that is contrary to that mentality is scary for me. I don’t want to live in fear, so my next line of defense is just not to know.

But here is what’s true: I can’t run away because my kids need me to be on the forefront for them.  That’s my job.  I need to be smart, educated, fearless, and fierce when it comes to the access they have to this world. I don’t get to shrug my shoulders and hope it’s OK.

And neither do you.

We need to fight for a generation that has way to much access to pornography, because porn will destroy their view of God’s plan for sex.  We need to fight for a generation of young people who are sex trafficked right out of their innocence, because they can’t possibly understand the ramifications of evil.  We need to fight for a generation who can be cyber-bullied, sexually used, and mentally manipulated, because if we are diligent we can change the future for a multitude of young people.

We are not helpless, hopeless, or unable to parent a technological generation that is running behind us.  We can do this!  God wants us to be wise, equipped, and ready to charge into our kid’s lives and help them understand how to be Godly young people on the internet.

So, join me in taking a step towards educating ourselves.  While Cheryl can’t possibly solve the world’s problems in 45 minutes, it will be a starting point for so many of us who are staring down the barrel of raising kids who are attached to cords.  You can sign up today at www.coffeechurch.com under the North Creek U link.  If you are planning on attending, signing up sooner than later is much appreciated so we can plan accordingly.

By the way, if you don’t have kids, come anyway.  We ALL need to understand internet safety!  See you there!