Sex Education For Girls From a Christian Perspective

I'm making out my daughters scholastic plan for the next 6 years.  Crazy...maybe!  Anyway, this coming year she will be entering 7th grade - 7th grade!  I was trying to remember what I took in school during 7th grade.  One of those classes was health/sex ed.  I remember what sex-ed class was like While my parents taught me abstinence, the school was teaching something else as well as exposing us to many contraceptives as well as a lifestyle contradictive to what my parents were trying to teach at home.  I heard this from the class and students much more because that's the environment I was in.

My goal here is to still be vigilant on teaching my children health education/sex education from a biblical perspective.  Coming into puberty is something that we are going to celebrate in this family.  It means that our son/daughter is making the shift into adulthood.  We want our children to be prepared for what's coming.  For instance, after reading through From Girl....To Woman, I put together a little kit for my daughter.  I had called several different companies and asked them to donate a sample of their feminine hygiene products.  I made up a pretty basket of all these items among a few other things.  This way, when this time comes for her, she'll not only have what she needs, but she'll also be able to choose which product she likes best.  We'll also do "women's day" like suggested in a Cosby movie we saw not too long ago - a celebration!  I'm also going to put together an herbal formula for my daughters and sons.  Many countries do this the first day of puberty for the boys and the girls and they take this remedy throughout their entire life.  Coincidentally, they do not have the hormonal/sexual issues that so many of the women and men in the U.S. today have.

Each one of the below books need to be used when your child is ready.  Some of these are not appropriate till later or even possibly when they get engaged.  I'll blog next about sex ed. for boys after I talk with my hubby about appropriate books for boys.  After all, he was a boy once. :)

From Girl.....to Woman - we've already read this and it's fabulous!  

Beautiful Girlhood with the companion guide.

Every Young Woman's Battle

The Art Natural Family Planning - this is for an older high school girl.

If you have any suggestions of books that would be great to add into this, please feel free to let me know in the comments section.

Fantastic Fajitas!

I've been on the search for years for an easy yet fabulous fajita seasoning.  I have not found a recipe that I like but I did find Lysander's Fajita Seasoning at Meijer tonight.  It has no msg and is gluten free!  These were by far the best fajitas we've had in a long time.  Here's how I made them. 

Ingredients:

1 - 2 1/2 pound bag frozen chicken breasts

** 2 packets of Lysander's Fajita Seasoning (2 packets comes together)

1/2 orange bell pepper, sliced - use color of choice

1 package refrigerated corn tortillas (the kind you have to warm up to use)

oil of choice

fajita toppings of choice

Directions:

1. Place chicken in crockpot in frozen state.  Sprinkle the top with 2 seasoning pouches, cover with lid and cook on high till chicken is cooked through.  This could take 4-7 hours depending on the crockpot.

2. When chicken is cooked through, take out and slice.  If there's a lot of broth, drain off some but not all of it.  I drained a bit too much and it was dry.  Next time I'll keep 1/2 - 3/4 cup of juice in there.

3. Place chicen back in crockpot and place peppers on top.  Cook on low with lid on till you finish up the rest of your preparations or till the peppers are soft.   It took mine about 1/2 hour on warm so I would think on low it'd be faster.

4. Shred your cheese, shred lettuce, chop cilantro, chop onions, etc... Get all your toppings in bowls ready to go.  The last part goes fast so you want everything ready in the meantime.

5. Next, put a bit of oil in the pan just to cover the surface and turn on medium heat.  Add in your tortilla shells one at a time.  I cooked for about a minute on each side.  Gauge whether you want them cripsy or not.  Ours were in-between.  I put a napkin on a plate, a warmed tortilla, then another napkin and repeated. I will say the ones that were cooked and immediately filled were the best.  

6. Last but not least, fill your tortillas.  They are especially good with some fresh lime squeezed on the top.  

Enjoy!

**This is the best quality and taste I have found yet.  Don't use the McCormick or other like brands.  It's not nearly as good.

Do You Know A Prodigal?

Every time I hear the words "prodigal son", I think back over my own life and what God has done for me.  

Picture this...

Young girl longing for acceptance.

Young girl not finding it.

Young girl is now graduated and not knowing what to do with life but finds acceptance with the ungodly company.

Young adult/girl finds every way to run from God. She tries all this world has to offer.

Young adult/girl is now pregnant and realizing her need for her Savior. 

Young adult/girl returns home - to her physical home and to her Father in heaven.

Familiar?

Does this story seem familiar to anyone?  I know many of us have been in similar situations.  As a Christian, how do you treat these prodigals?  

Poor Treatment of God's Children

1. "You made your bed, now you must lay in it."

2. "It was your choice, deal with the consequences yourself."

etc...

3. Treating them poorly because they did something you didn't approve of.

I could go on but there's no need.  A prodigal knows very well just what they left and how gracious God really is.  They feel enough shame for 10 people and want fully to live for Christ.  Thankfully, unlike man, we have a God who is gentle and loving to us.  Who takes us in His arms and covers us with His love.  

Help Those Prodigals

1. Love them!  Simply love these people who are now trying to live for God.

2. Realize that it may take time.  Everything doesn't come at once.  Love them in the midst. 

I have been amazed at God's love for me.   I can't begin to imagine living life without Him.  When men fail me, He is always there!  I still make mistakes and am praying that He will continually show me my errors so that I may better represent Him.  I'm going out on a limb here to say that is what all prodigal's want.  

Best Books for Boys: A Booklist Compiled by a BOY

I read the neatest post awhile back and wanted to share it with you.  You can read the article in it's entirety at A Holy Experience.

"He said these are the books that shaped him.

“You have to make sure they read these, Mom.” He’s the oldest of four brothers.

He’s spontaneously come to me with them all in his arms, a stack of worn spines. I watch how he runs his fingers across their titles, how he turns to certain pages, passages, and his eyes remember.

“I’ve sorted, and deliberated, and yes, these are the best.” He’s taken it upon himself. He wants his brothers to travel the same word roads.

He’s a good guide.

He read all 1488 pages of Les Misérablesin less than three days this summer, proving to Farmer Dad that he could still do his barn chores (3 hours a day), and still finish the book in less than 72 hours. And too this summer, Pride and Prejudice , Frankenstein , Gulliver’s Travels, The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin,Foxe’s Book of Martyrs, Autobiography of Charles G. Finney : The Life Story of America’s Greatest Evangelist. Currently he’s reading, for the umpteenth time, The Pilgrim’s Progress. He’s fourteen.

He didn’t pick all the ones I thought he would. How many times has he read My Side of the Mountain ? With all it’s sticky notes hanging out of it, the notepad he filled after reading it… again? Or God’s Smuggler, pages we absolutely couldn’t stop turning?

“I thought about those. So many. It’s hard to choose. But these are the ones a boy might not pick up himself. And these are ones he really shouldn’t miss.”

Last time I turned he was five and we were sounding out Dr. Suess in the summer kitchen of the old house. I’ve been gathering books for him off others’ lists for a decade. Hundreds and hundreds of books I’ve served and he’s eaten, and body’s grown tens of inches, and words have formed a soul, a mind. And now, near man, he’s come with books of his own, books he owns and books that own him.

This is not a mama’s list. Perhaps there are other books I perhaps would have chosen, books I would have selected as formative boy reads, and I mention a few titles. But this is his list. After ten years, I get to listen to which ones meant the most to him. A boy’s list for boys. Doesn’t that carry weight? I’ve never been a boy. I listen. He’s keen to tell.

We spend a morning of it, he and I in the study, around the table inherited from his great-grandparents, paint-chipped and crackled. And tables have turned and it’s me paying attention to him, expert, him telling me why these pages, why this story, what he loved most about this book.

It’s me tracing the shape of who he’s become by the words he unpacks, treasures carried. He stands in light I haven’t seen and I see sides that live in shadow. Words unmask.

He doesn’t see me watching his eyes, that face. He’s introducing me to his friends.

He has become one of mine.

22 Best Books one Boy thinks Every Boy Should Read"

Make sure to visit A Holy Experience for the rest of the list.  I LOVE her style of writing!  It's heart warming to say the least!  

Just the other day I decided to take all the "boys" books and put them together on shelves.  Jon cannot read them yet but when he's ready, they will be there.  We've also added in books like....

The Complete Gentleman by Miner

Wild at Heart by Eldredge

Every Young Man's Battle by Stoeker

The Count of Monte Cristo

Stories of King Arthur

Around the World in 80 Days

Book by Chuck Black 

and more...

I've heard it said over and over that boys don't like to read.  Part of me wonders if these boys just haven't had exposure to good books.  Exposure to good literature can make all the difference.  

So...for now I'll wait.  Wait till my son is older to read these fabulous books.  Until then, we'll read together The Rumpoles and the Barleys, The Jingle In My Pocket, A Boy To Help, Paddington, The Boy with the Sling and other lovely books.  

What a treasure little boys are!