My Wednesday Night Bible Study has been filled with girls for some time now and I’ve had a desire to do something totally girlish. I finally decided to go forward with a Book Study on “The Princess and the Kiss” which is a very gentle approach to purity for young girls. I strongly feel that the time to talk about these things is while they will still listen. That means preteen maybe even 8 or 10 years old. Anyway, this is a great book for your daughter ….. or your son …

The Princess and the Kiss/ The Squire and the Scroll By Jennie Bishop / Warner Press  Whimsically illustrated, the Jennie Bishop Set of storybooks offers “his and hers” lessons on the timeless virtues of purity and courage. In The Princess and the Kiss, a king and queen present their daughter with a gift from God—to keep or give away. And in The Squire and the Scroll, a brave young lad fearlessly defends “the lantern of purest light” against all enemies—including a fire-breathing dragon! Approx. 32 pages each, hardcovers, Warner.

If you ready to talk more about the birds and the bees, here’s a great series of books to check out. They are set up by suggested age beginning at 4 years old and up to 14. It’s good to have these books around to help you out when your child starts asking questions.

God’s Design for Sex Series, 4 Books: Revised By Stan & Brenna Jones, Carolyn Nystrom / NAV Press  Prepare your kids now for the pressures and relationships they’ll experience as teens and adults. These award-winning illustrated books give you age-appropriate biblically based information to help you talk openly with your children about sex and answer their questions about God’s design for families; breastfeeding; puberty; intercourse; and tough issues like homosexuality. Four softcovers, from NavPress.

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When your child enters high school, try as soon as possible to assess her/his goals for college/tech school/vocational school. This will help you know what type of courses will be needed. Re-assess this EVERY year.

If possible even get down to two or three schools of preference. Contact them and find out exactly what they will be looking for when you get ready to apply.

A few things I have learned now that my son is entering his senior year ….

Liberal arts colleges and universities (in general, maybe not always) do NOT want to see a GED score. This is a flag for “high school drop out”. These schools will be looking largely at SAT scores, written essays, community service, and probably a personal interview. So work on these things.

Technical and Vocational Schools want you to have taken the GED. They may also want to see ITBS or equivalent type scores during the high school years. Again check with your particular school. Another note to consider if there is any chance you will want to transfer to a university following tech school. BE SURE that the credits WILL transfer to the university system.

My personal note about attending Christian college..

1) It is worth every penny.

2) There are usually rules which keep our kids from going totally wild and protect them.

3) Most courses are taught from a Biblical Worldview or at least it is presented. This is where my christian beliefs became mine rather than just what my parents told me.

4) Student/teacher ratio is much smaller. Professors and administration actually care about the students and want them to succeed. They actually will know your child by name!

5) I also have found that Christian schools seem to be the most flexible. They want your student. And they will do what it takes to get them there.

6) By the way, do not assume that you cannot afford Christian schooling. These schools usually have a lot of private scholarships to award.. academic, musical, sports, etc. They try very hard to make it work for you. And (at least for now) Pell Grants and other government financial aid are also available. Go through the application process before totally ruling out this option.

7) Chances of them finding a wonderful Christain spouse increase greatly!

At least consider sending your child for one year, preferably the first year. I would be a kind of transitional time for them… being on their own with limits. (I know it is hard to think of sending them away to school, but it will not kill you or your child.)

Blessings!

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Just a quick note to let you know that we are starting another 21 Days to Spiritual Renewal starting on May 1, 2009. This is our 1 year anniversary of Wordkeeping, and the Lord has blessed abundantly! I know I’m ready for another revival experience, where I can set aside 21 days to focus on spiritual matters, and put aside all the secular media that can get us off track. I’m actually looking forward to staying away from the news for 3 weeks, because it has really been depressing lately. To just have a time to saturate our minds with the words of Scripture will be a tremendous blessing. And how much we need that emphasis right now, because of all that is going on in our messed up world.

I invite you to join with me in this spiritual retreat. Make sure that you sign up for the 21 Days to Spiritual Renewal, starting May 1 at http://www.Wordkeeping.com. If you have done this before, you know the routine. If it is new to you, take a look at the various pages on the website so you will know how to prepare. And be prepared for a real spiritual treat!

Just remember, the more out of control things get in this world, the more confidence we need in the One who has everything under control. And the way we get that confidence is by spending time in Bible study and prayer. We really need to be putting God’s Word in our hearts, now more than ever!

Hope to have you join with us.

May God bless you abundantly,

Linda Kirk

http://www.Wordkeeping.com

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