Theology is for Girls Too!

I was not a particularly charming child. Yet, the minister at our church, Clay Woods, and his wife Karen took a very grandparently interest in me.  I was as awkward and gawky as could be.  But they saw this love for studying about God in me and thought it well worth cultivating. 

Summer Kid's Devotional Series

This summer began for us with the advent of two young guests.  They’ll stay a couple of weeks and then head off to their grandma’s.  I warned their dad before they arrived that they should be ready for morning devos!  

Morning devotionals are a summertime tradition at my house.  For my homeschooler, during the school year, Bible is an academic subject.  My public school teen and I talk about how to apply God’s principles to her school life all the time.  But when the rigors of school are over, when summer slows everything down, we take a few minutes everyday after breakfast and read the Bible together.  We memorize God’s Word and think His thoughts after Him.  

The Diligent Woman: An Interview

Angela Legg blogs at The Diligent Woman and has a new edition of her book To Be A Handmaid of the Lord coming out very soon!  I had the privilege of interviewing her for you today.  (Interested in just buying the book?  Check out the review.)

Angela, I know your family has been an inspiration in your writing; can you introduce them and tell us about yourself as a mom?

Bryan and I have been married 22 years this June. We have five daughters, all at home. They are currently ages 19, 18, 13, 8, and 6.  Hmm, I never thought about describing myself as a mom—authoritative but hands-off? I’m a no-nonsense kind of mom. I teach them the things they need to know and then stand back and give them room to act on the knowledge.

The God Who Sees-A Book Review

As a Christian I believe in supporting the good rather than complaining about the bad (Philippians 4:8).  That's why I am not going to waste your time telling you how I HATE fluffy condescending Bible class material for women and teens. 

Instead let's talk about a new book I love.

Recently I got a copy (for free in exchange for my honest review) of the 
The God Who Sees: Lessons from Another Perspective by J.A. Busick.  This is the second of her books I have reviewed.  

Strong Plants and Sculptured Pillars: A book review

A friend called recently to complain about the state of youth in America.  He works in a bank, and he walked past a pair of female tellers barely out of their teens casually saying something so profoundly rude that they blushed when he raised an eyebrow.  He would have liked me to whine with him but this is a side of young people I rarely see.  

Why?

Because my teens are amazing. Although we are a small congregation, on any given Sunday as many as half of those in attendance are under 20.  So our teens are often pressed into service.  Not only as mothers’ helpers in overcrowded pews, but as teachers and evangelists.

They are NOT the future of the church.  They are crucial to our congregation today. 

Equal Partners

I have two girls, an elementary-aged homeschooler and a teen in public school.  I tell them both (ad nauseum) “Don’t even DATE anyone who doesn’t love Jesus more than you.”  You may believe I am an old stick in the mud, but it is actually the adventure of living with God that has convinced me more than anything else of the wisdom of this idea.

Soldiers

Two young Christian men in my life in are joining the armed forces.  There’s all this talk about PT (Physical Training), boot camp, and the rewards of having someone else pay for your education.  And tears.  There are a lot of tears.

Why?  Their proud parents and grandparents have a bone deep understanding that their boys are signing up for something tough. Soldiers serve their country to the best of their ability and stand strong in the face of danger.  They learn how to push themselves, how to be a member of a team and how to submit to authority.  They can come home with mental scars, missing limbs, or in a box. 

Freezer Wraps: For Long-Term Need and Small Appetities

I want to tell you a sad story.  Once there were loving parents (us) who let their child and teen go spend three weeks of the summer with their adoring grandparents.  The grandchildren were happy.  The grandparents were thrilled.  The mother and the best friend of the teenager were despondent.  So they decided to do a service project to cheer up. 

The Magic Teenager Pill

As the mom of a teenager I've earned some unexpected privileges.  Starting with the privilege of changing the radio station.  A lot.

See at our house we have something called, "The Moral Objection".  When the radio is on in the car, any family member who objects to the song on the radio due to its moral content (not its tune, style, etc) is allowed to call moral objection and the station will be immediately changed.  

My teenager is the reason for this family policy.  When we got back to the States and her listening repertoire grew larger than the music that her family members or adult Christians friends listened to (IE old rock, Sinatra, old country, classical), she quickly became uncomfortable.  One day in the car she quietly said, "Mom can I change the station?"  At my raised eyebrows she elaborated.  "I don't like the words to this song."  

Purer in Heart

Heather Pryor, from Pryor Convictions publishing, has just published a book that stands out in two aspects.  Purer in Heart is designed to be as useful for a girl of 13 as it is a woman of 63.  And although it does lean towards application in a woman's life, it covers a wide variety of Biblical topics.

Generation Gap

If you've ever looked closely at the New Testament you might notice the conspicuous absence of youth ministers, youth groups, and youth rallies.  Not to say that these things are somehow against the teaching of the New Testament, just that they aren't there.  Like many other things, including song books and church buildings, they are simply a convenient way to fulfill the commands of the Lord. 

Sunday School Upgrade

I remember as a teen that I was often very frustrated with the material in my Sunday School class.  It was moralistic (no sex, no drugs, no rock and roll!), psychological (believe in yourself!) and simplistic (good friends are important!).  That was enough to do it for me as a teen.  I loved my teachers but I hated those dumb lessons.   Looking back as an adult, I have an even bigger complaint.  The material did nothing to build faith, encourage independent study, or establish the foundational habits that young people need to follow Jesus.  

However I was recently sent a book, by Mrs. Angela Legg (from The Diligent Woman), to review that I found heartening.  To be a Handmaid of the Lord is a  book aimed at girls 11-16.  It's set up to be equally useful as a Bible homeschool curriculum or as a full term of a middle/high school Bible class. The set includes 28 lessons with a student workbook, teacher's manual, quizzes and a final exam. If that makes it sound like the book could be stimulating, we're on the same page!

Sunday School Upgrade

I remember as a teen that I was often very frustrated with the material in my Sunday School class.  It was moralistic (no sex, no drugs, no rock and roll!), psychological (believe in yourself!) and simplistic (good friends are important!).  That was enough to do it for me as a teen.  I loved my teachers but I hated those dumb lessons.   Looking back as an adult, I have an even bigger complaint.  The material did nothing to build faith, encourage independent study, or establish the foundational habits that young people need to follow Jesus. 

The Care and Feeding of Tweens

Of the three of us girls who write for Maidservants of Christ, I have the oldest child.  At 12 my brown-eyed girl is all of our vanguard into the world of tweens.   I've been exploring the ways that I can bring our Whatsoever Wednesday model to life for her.  

As homeschoolers, we've always studied "Bible" a bit like we did math.  Get a curriculum, read the material, do the exercises.  I've long thought of Bible as the most interesting academic topic I've ever studied.  That's not a terrible way for an introverted nerd to relate to the Word of God, but it is limited.  As I've grown, I wanted her to grow too-in service, in study and in heart.

Let Me Point Out

Recently as I was scrolling down my Facebook home page, I found one of those articles that pops up again and again in your feed.  By Daniel Howell, the article was "Four ways to encourage your kids to leave the church."  I read it and snickered in agreement.

Before I was a blogger, I didn't read comments or leave them.  I know that this is a bad lurker habit. I just didn't realize how much that interaction could mean to the writer.  These days I'm a serial scroller.  Down I went.  

Blogging and Faith: An Interview with Casandra Martin

Yesterday, we had a book review for a Bible study book by Casandra Martin called Living Stones.  Ms. Martin was kind enough to do an interview for Helene via email which we are sharing with you today.  We hope you will check our her blog as well.  She has a lot of good information and devotionals to share with us.  ~Melissa