How many friends did you invite over?

Have you ever had that moment when you look around your house and can't find your kid because there are so many other kids at your house? What is your first thought when that happens? - why did you invite ALL your friends, who are all these people, hide the good china - or is it - wow this means I'm the cool mom, awesome - I know where my teenager is - I don't know what your first thought is, but I know what it should be. You see, if you are at home and your teenager invited over so many friends that you can't count, it means one (or more) of the following things - in no particular order.

1. The friends of your teenagers like you
2. All the other parents have kicked them out
3. You are a super strict parent that won't let your kid have a life out of your line of sight
4. Your teenagers like you (which is probably more important than #1)
5. You have a cool house
6. Your home is a "safe" place
7. The homes these teens come from must be horrible if they like yours
8. You are truly making an impact on the teens in your life

Now I know there may be other reasons, but those are what I came up with off the top of my head. But the real reason I put the list together is to let you know that it is not a bad thing when your house is the place to be - well, unless it is because of #3. When teens are at your house - or really any age - you know where they are and what they are doing and can control/influence what happens. When they go elsewhere, you have no control and less influence. 

There is something you have to do when you have your kids and their friends at your house. YOU HAVE TO PAY ATTENTION. I knew of parents once that had all their kids' friends over for a bonfire/birthday party. After the fire got going, the parents went to bed - yes you read that right - they went to bed. I said "what were they thinking?", but then I remembered something - they were NOT thinking. Even though our kids are at our house we still have to be proactively involved in what is going on. That doesn't mean we have to sit in the middle of their hangout, but you need to at least check what is happening every once in a while. 

Once your home has been established as "the place," it becomes easier and easier for you to have an influence on what happens in your kids', and their friends', lives. And whether we want to believe it or not, we are the biggest influencers of our kids. So let's use that position of influence that God has given us to point our children and their friends in the right direction.