Ask Jessie / Recently my dad has been punishing me for no good reason. My mom says it’s out of frustration, because he has a lot of pressure on him right now. I’m trying to be Christ-like but I’m just so mad! Advice would be appreciated!

I can definitely relate to your dilemma. It’s hard for us girls to understand—especially as daughters—why men are so affected by stress at work. I won’t pretend to have it figured out, but I’m starting to see now that I’m married that even the most wonderful, godly men can get totally stressed out by what’s going on at the office. Of course, just knowing that doesn’t make it any easier when you’re getting yelled at or punished for seemingly no good reason. But if we’re sensitive to that, we can sense when daddy is on the edge of loosing it, and we can be more careful not to push any buttons that might set him off for no reason.

I’m proud of you for even “trying to be Christ-like.” It’s not easy when you feel like a parent is being totally unfair! But I think that’s the point. It’s actually pretty easy to fake being Christ-like when everything is going our way, when we can see the reason why people act the way they do, or when there aren’t any waves on the horizon. But to love someone even when they aren’t lovable, to honor a parent even when they’re being unfair—now THAT’S being like Jesus! So as hard as it is, see this time that your dad seems to be totally unfair as an opportunity to grow in your faith, to show God how much you love HIM by doing what He asks of you even when it’s really stinkin’ hard! ;-)

Love,

Jessie

Other questions in this category

	Why do everyone else’s parents seem way cooler than mine? People like my parents better than their own as well. Do all kids feel that way?
	How will my relationship be with my siblings when we get older?
	What did I do wrong to make my dad leave for a new family?
	Why are my parents so against MySpace?
	Why does my mom get drunk and high and then do things to hurt me? Dose she care about me, or am I just another thing she has to deal with?
	I'm 16 and my younger brother is 11 (going on 12). How do I learn to get along with him even though he sometimes clearly tries to annoy me?
	My whole life, my dad has just sort of “been there.” I honestly don’t really want anything to do with him because I’m tired of getting hurt by him, but I know that I can’t just completely ignore him. And when he says “I love you,” I don’t feel like it’s real. I hate having to say it back because I know that deep down inside, I really don’t mean it. What should I do?
	My dad is Jewish and mom is Catholic. None of us go to church (or temple).My dad is against me being a Christian and going to church. I haven’t even told him that my life is dedicated to God. I have to hide my Bible and all my crosses from him. It makes me so angry knowing he won’t accept me for who I am. And on top of that, my few close friends here are not Christian. Mostly atheists. I just feel alone. Like in the book of Daniel—he was so true to God and had so much strength. But it's just so hard when no one around is encouraging or accepting my life for Jesus. Any suggestions to help me deal with this?
	My mom is always working, so she doesn’t really know me that well. So every time she comments on things like my weight or my grades it really hurts. When I get a B in math, all she says is that I could have done better; she doesn’t notice that all my other grades were As. It really hurts that she never seems to notice anything good I do, because to me her opinion is worth a lot more than any of my friends’ or other family’s. I want to tell her that it hurts when she does that; I’ve tried, but it doesn’t seem to work. And I want to spend as much time with her as I can before I graduate and move away. What should I do?
	My mom is the main reason I started going to church (other than God, of course), and she bought me my first Bible and purity ring. I know she supports my choice to follow the Lord. But the problem is, now she is abandoning her faith and I don’t know what to do. I am praying for her, but do you have any other ideas of what I can do? She told me once that she doesn’t worry too much about the way she lives her life because none of her friends are believers, so she feels she can get away with it. I love my mom and don’t want her choices now to affect the rest of eternity.
	My dad isn’t a Christian, as far as I know. He constantly makes fun of me for it and puts me down for hanging out at church and stuff. He’s told me more than once that he doesn’t care about me, and stuff like that. He’s friends with a few people that are Christians and amazing people, but they all think my dad is a Christian. He fakes it. When I was working at a camp over the summer he got baptized, but he has told me that he doesn’t even believe in God. All my friends tell me to love him anyway, and I just…can’t. I don’t know what to do, really. I don’t know how to feel or what to do when it comes to him.
	There is this guy that likes me, and I kind of like him back, but my mom doesn’t want me to date until I am in high school. My mom already made me tell him that I don’t like him, so he doesn’t go any further. What do I do?
	My mom and dad just split up about a week and a half before their 12th anniversary, and my house is crazy! What should I do? My mom cries a lot now, but I’m young, so I have no experience with what she’s going through. Have any ideas?
	I don’t know what to do anymore, sis. My family is a mess. It seems like we all hate each other. My parents fight about EVERYTHING, my brother has problems, and my mom puts me down in every way possible. I can’t even say hi to them anymore—it’s that bad. I’m sick of just locking myself in my room and crying, but I feel like that’s all I have to choose from. It doesn’t help that neither of them go to church or anything. Sis, I’m going crazy—I need your help!
	My dad and mum have being arguing a lot, and my dad moved out the house for a while. My mum said she doesn’t want him to move back in because she doesn’t like the way he treated me and my sister. Is it okay to blame my dad? Could they ever get back together? How do I get though this?
	My mum and dad split up 3 days ago and I have cried nonstop ever since. My dad has moved out. I know my mum is having an affair. I confronted her and she’s still denying it. What should I do?