Get on your marks—— Set——- Let’s Go and get our grandkids hearts and minds!
We just returned from the Grandparenting Legacy Conference this past weekend, and our hearts are overflowing. We were inspired, convicted, overwhelmed, and completely revisioned. If you ever want to get a holy fire burning in your bones, look up Arlene Pellicane—listen to her podcast Happy Home, pick up one her books like Parents Rising or Screen Kids, or visit ArlenePellican.com.
For Jeff and me, our deepest heartbeat at CrossGen Life is simple: we want to see generations connect and create an eternal legacy. Not just a collection of nice memories or financial inheritances, but a rich heritage where our children and grandchildren pass down the faith. We want our family tree to sink its roots deep into the soil of God’s marvelous love so it can grow and weather the storms of life for a thousand generations.
Moving Beyond the "Nice Christian Family" Trap
At the conference, Arlene challenged us to step out of "survival mode"—the comfortable zone of just being a "nice Christian family" with good kids. She flipped the question back on each of us:
How can we be eternally significant?
Can we be the Gatekeeper of our Family Connections? Staying connected purposefully with each other and encouraging one another to stay connected to God?
What purposes and designs does God have for each of us to impact this world for eternity?
There is a Growing Digital Threat Looming-
Jonathan Haidt, a social psychologist, has written a book called “The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness”. He claims we are drowning in dopamine and our kids are the most anxious generations because they’re surrounded by a culture of endless scrolling and hyper fixated on screens. But if that isn’t alarming enough, a brand-new battlefront has opened up: the AI race for human attachment. (Side note- Today I opened Facebook and was introduced to “Muse”- a new innocent looking “companion” offering to make my life easier! 😮 I rolled my eyes and yelled in my head- I’m being invaded on every front- where do I draw the line with AI and social media?
Companion AI: What started as a tech trend has exploded into a multibillion-dollar industry valued at roughly $48 billion, with projections scaling upward at a staggering annual growth rate of over 30%. Grand View Research
It honestly sent chills down my spine. I felt sick to my stomach. Years ago, if I needed to vent or sort through my thoughts, I used to talk to my parents, brother, grandparents, a pastor or confide in a trusted best friend, or lock away my secrets in a paper diary. If I was afraid, my parents taught me to pray to our loving Heavenly Father. But today’s children and teens are facing something entirely unprecedented: unlimited access to customized, 24/7 AI companions.
These virtual “friends” are designed to listen and respond with artificial compassion, storing information about a child's preferences, fears, and habits until they feel deeply heard, seen, and validated. But it’s a dangerous trap: an AI companion never argues, never corrects, and never gets tired. It simply becomes an amoral echo chamber and affirms what feels good in the moment, leading young people down whatever path keeps them engaged. It looks beautiful on the surface it is the way of destruction. (Proverbs 14:12)
Relationships take time. Real relationships are messy! We can't be with our loved ones 24/7—but AI companions can if we allow them to take our place and fill their space. The truth is an algorithm can never love them, tell them the truth, hold their hand, or know them the way a loving family and a Creator God can. It takes faith, wrestling through doubt, and walking through questions and fears to live this side of the veil. Yet we can remember that the Lord is with us, holding fast to His enduring promise: if we seek Him, we will find Him.
AI vs. God: Where Will We Place Our Trust?
Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen. I Tim. 1:17
Arlene put up a striking comparison during her session that highlights why we need to introduce our kids to a real relationship with God—and with real people—now:
Below are the notes I took from a slide Arlene presented at the conference. *
AI- affirms us
God- loves and corrects us
AI- audibly talks to us
God speaks to us through the Bible, silence, nature, others, but rarely audibly
AI- gives immediate feedback
God works in His time through our waiting…
I stared at the slide she presented. (I summarized the information from the slide above.) I thought of this up and coming digital generation who might not have a relationship with God. How will they know the great love, wisdom and compassion of our God??
What if we had experienced AI first? What if our earliest formation came from a “digital companion” or social media feed that praised every choice, organized our life, and offered instant affirmation?
When I look back, most of my true growth and transformation as a person came through the exact opposite: the beautiful messy, struggle of trying to understand life’s big questions and learning how to relate to real people who didn’t always think or look like me. Seeking to know God and growing in my relationship with Jesus wasn’t about getting instant audible answers (although I wish that would happen sometimes) It has come from reading His Word, praying and learning to wait, learning right from wrong, and seeking to walk in His ways to the best of my understanding.
My faith has deepened in the waiting: in the contemplating, the searching the scriptures, and seeking wisdom within a real, breathing Christian family and faith community.
Mission Main Connector- You’re the Real Deal
We are to be the main connector- person to person- heart to heart.
It’s time to RISE UP and become a main connector to their hearts. Remember- You’re the real deal; the one made in the Image of God. Let the love of God flow from your heart to their heart. Cultivate time with them. Put down our own distractions, listen first instead of preaching, enter into their world with genuine curiosity, and show them that true, beautiful human community—rooted in Christ—is worth fighting for.
Besides the podcast, website, and books mentioned at the beginning of the article, here are a few other simple places to start! But please- let’s just start!
1-Explain the AI lacks feelings: Teach children that AI chatbots and companions are programmed computer code. It mimics empathy and conversation to keep users engaged, but it does not actually care, feel, or think. Florida Vision AI TaskForce
2. Emphasize that real-world friends, family members, and counselors offer genuine care, emotional growth, and real support that bots cannot replace. msudenver
3. Establish screen-free zones: Keep devices out of bedrooms—especially Iate night—and enforce tech-free family meals or designated analog hours. pennstate
4. Model Healthy Habits. Show value to them by putting down your phone during conversations and choosing interactive conversations and play.
I’d love to hear how you are racing to connect with the hearts and minds of your family and give them something eternal! How are we going to stop AI from stepping in and mimicking the deep, personal connections that only real families and a living God were designed to provide??? Share with us one thing you’re going to do differently!