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If your family's making you crazy, you're not alone. Everyone on the planet goes through times when it's not easy to get along with parents and sibs. And that certainly includes the students who wrote these three devotions.

Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord. (Colossians 3:20)

One night I was dying to go to a youth group meeting with a friend, but my family had some stuff we needed to do. My mom said I couldn't go, but I snuck out of the house and went anyway. Halfway through the youth pastor's talk, my mom showed up. Boy, was she steamed!

I thought going to that meeting was definitely something God wanted me to do. But the fact is, I went against God's will that night by disobeying my mom. As a result, I lost my mom's trust.

God knew what he was doing when he put my family together. He gave me my parents so there would be someone to help me grow into an adult. Obviously, God wants our parents to follow and obey him. He also wants them to instruct us and guide us in the way we should live our lives. That's their responsibility. As long as the things our parents ask us to do don't go against God's commands, we need to lovingly obey them. That's our responsibility.

—Meredith

1. What are some things that really bug you about your parents? What things do you appreciate about them?
2. Think of four ways to show respect to your parents. For the next month, do one of those things each week.
3. Ask God to help you learn to respect and obey your parents.

Don't have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels. And the Lord's servant must not quarrel; instead, he must be kind to everyone. (2 Timothy 2:23-24)

I don't know what gets into me sometimes, but I start the stupidest arguments with my parents and my brother. These spats aren't even about anything important—I want to watch a different TV show or have toast instead of cereal, and all of a sudden we're fighting.

These verses make it clear that arguing is foolish and wrong. God doesn't want us tearing each other down with our words. He wants us to have pure hearts and to live in peace with each other. Especially in our families, because those are the people we have to live with every day.

It's good for me to think about how God wants me to live. Arguing doesn't do anybody any good, and it puts up a wall between me and God. But if I want to be close to God, I need to start by speaking kind words instead of mean ones.

—Kate

1. Which family member do you argue with the most? How can you make your conversations more positive?
2. Over the next few days, write a nice note to each person in your family. Place the notes someplace they'll be sure to find them.
3. Ask God to help you use your words to build people up.

Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? (Luke 6:41)

I'm pretty good at spotting "specks" in my brother's eye. Just the other day, I told my brother not to do something. Then, later that day, I was doing the same thing—only worse! That wasn't a very smooth move on my part.

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