Earlier, we had thought about driving over to Tennessee to attend a special event for Moms and Daughters. It would have been wonderful, but the timing was not compatible with our family schedule and too far to drive for a half day event. Meanwhile, Rob and I have been praying for several months about a time for Christine and I to get away for some special "Mom and Me," time.
At first, I thought I would wait until our weekend was completed before sharing this idea with you. Instead, I want to be transparent and share this journey with each of you. You know how it is when the Lord answers your heart cries, you want to share it with others. In sharing this, neither Rob or myself believe there IS NOT not an "one size fits all," plan. This is what we are planning to do and perhaps God will use it as a spring board for your family. If that is the case, we rejoice in the Lord.
Back in June, we attended the HEAV Convention. During our jaunt through the Curriculum Hall, we stopped at the "Daughter 4 God," booth. I had a delightful conversation with Joy Moore who wrote the book, "Lady Day, Letters to a Daughter About Becoming a Woman." As you can imagine, I felt like clicking my heels and doing the happy dance right there. One thing for sure, you either have already had these conversations with your "gents" or "ladies" or will in the not so near future. The key is to become equipped with accurately and biblically based information. Please keep in mind that each child is unique and how they assimilate information will vary.
The key is to know your child and to determine what works best for them and your family. Ask other parents who share the same "biblical worldview," what they did. We learn from one another, don't we? I am thankful for the godly ladies that God has brought my way my fifty years of living.
As we are planning for this weekend, is there a temptation to load up all the books we have on this subject and bring them? Yes. Would that overwhelm her? Indeed! My wise husband, Rob is giving leadership to this endeavor and is overseeing my planning time. Last night, he advised me to use the book, "Lady Day," because it is short enough and has just the right amount of information to use for our "M & M Advance." Ladies, are we not thankful for godly and wise husbands? I know Rob and I balance one another.
Perhaps you are like me, you know what happened to you during your transformation but you are in a quandary insofar as how to explain it to your daughter or daughters. I do not pretend to have all the answers or to know what is best because a lot of this is uncharted waters for me. Yet I am confident the Lord will provide because He gave us a daughter and promises to give us wisdom when we ask.
that are in the world.
If anyone loves the world,
love for the Father is not in him.
For all that is in the world--the lust of the flesh
[craving for sensual gratification]
and the lust of the eyes
[greedy longings of the mind]
and the pride of life [assurance
in one's own resources
or in the stability of earthly things]
--these do not come from the Father
but are from the world [itself].
And the world passes away and disappears,
and with it the forbidden cravings
(the passionate desires, the lust) of it;
but he who does the will of God
and carries out His purposes
in his life abides (remains) forever.
1 John 2:15-17 (Amplified Bible)
We desire for our daughters to be modest and have a style of their own. I do not want Christine to dress is the Gothic type colors neither do I want her to have the "Little House on the Prairie" look. I desire balance and we are asking the Lord each step of the way to help us. Besides, He is interested in every area of our lives so why not ask Him to give specific directions. He will.
So back to the plans for our upcoming, "M & M Advance." Here are some ideas that we will be using.
* Reserve a hotel room for 1 to 2 days
* Send an invitation to Christine in the mail
* A definitive schedule but flexible enough to be enjoyable
* 11 letters from 11 godly ladies; placed in a decorative box for her to read
* Bible
* Book ~ "Lady Day," by Joy Moore
* Bags of M & Ms ~ theme prompt for the weekend
* Hair and skin care time; pampering time
* Bring healthy snacks; exercise time
* Schedule shopping time
* Devotional time and prayer time
* Conclude - worship service at one of our favorite churches
* Follow up - once home; make a special scrapbook to mark this event in her life and add to eat periodically; plus read some of the books I have listed under my sidebar "For Daughters & Moms."
So please pray along side Rob and myself as we put the final preparation for this special time for Christine and myself. Knowing that God has called us as a family to accurately, biblically train our daughter for Christ. We realize the days are passing too quickly and must redeem the time. We are confident that God will use this to bless our sweet Christine as well as myself. Likewise, we know that God will be able to use this to bless the lives of many Moms, Grandmothers and Aunts to help their daughters transition into "Christian Adolescence."
[because it is not lasting];
but a woman who reverently and
worshipfully fears the Lord,
she shall be praised!
Give her of the fruit of her hands,
and let her own works praise her
in the gates [of the city]! [Phil. 4:8].
Proverbs 31:30-31 (Amplified Bible)
No comments:
Post a Comment