Friday, November 05, 2010

Alyssa's Special Time~


 Alyssa is our 4th child, 2nd daughter.  Dh and I took her out last night ....  she turned 13 in August and we have promised to take her out. She loves asian food so we took her to place called the Peking House. She loved it.  We suprised her with her purity jewelry.  I was very excited because I found a wonderful piece that had a special to meaning to her.  Ever since Alyssa was young we have read the book "The Princess and the Kiss." This year we have been going through the study guide of that book. In the back of the book I found the website Revive our Hearts. 
 We presented her with a Royal Princess Certificate and a necklace. The necklace is beautiful. It is sterling silver and has a small little box that says "kiss."   She loves it. The Certificate is awesome too. She loved it and I could see it fill her with praise, love and confidence.

 We encourage our children to make a commitment to God and to us.  We explain that we believe it is God's best...   and we want them to commit to purity.   Purity spiritually, emotionally and physically.  We do not want our children to "date."
 Her dad helped her put her new necklace on.  He told her he loved her and she glowed.
Isn't it beautiful....  she is too!  I am so proud of her. We talked lots and explained how she needs to guard her heart, her eyes and her emotions. We talked about how sometimes it may feel that you are all alone but God promises to never leave you or forsake you. She shared how she knows this is what God wants and realizes that it will not be too hard right now but may become much harder as she is 14, 15, 16, 17.....

Revive Our Hearts also has keychains with a shield on it for young men.  I think this would be really great for our two youngest when the time comes.  We didn't do much with our boys. Michael made the commitment when he was 13. He met Amber in college. Dakota is 17.  I will admit we were not as consistent with him and he would be our child that would "date" if we allowed it. He isn't angry or upset... he knows its best. He has agreed with us. He does have a young girl that is his age that is a good friend. Dakota will be 18 in March. We will see what God has for him.  

Each family, child and courtship is different.  No two are the same.  This works for our family. We do get some pressure at times even from well meaning family.  We have always been a little strange.... 

I know Alyssa will cherish her special night with us.  May God give her strength and courage as she takes this next step to being the godly woman God calls her to be.

Thanks for letting me share. Please know that we make plenty of mistakes, there is none righteous no not one.... plenty of things I wish we would of done. Michael & Mandi were our "trial and error" children. Really though....  I still make plenty of mistakes at this parenting thing.

It's His grace that carries me....

~just a mom like you~

9 comments:

  1. amber1:50 PM

    Aww how special! Lyssa is awesome. You are a great mom and if I can be half the mom you are when we have kids then we will be good to go. You are so special to me and I love you lots!

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  2. I think you are a "strangely" wonderful family Teena. She is just beautiful and glows with a very special inner beauty. I think the love and security she has in you and your husband will make courtship something very good for her.
    I commend you!

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  3. I am choked with emotion as I write this comment Teena. What a wonderful, wonderful thing to do with your children! You are such an amazing mom! You always encourage me and I'm so thankful that you are my friend and mentor!

    It is great always being able to "sound things off" on one another and help each other make the right choices. You know that we have chosen the "no dating" route as well, but have done nothing to make it official like you did with Lys. I may try to do something similar with Kate!

    So proud of you and the commitment you have made to raise Godly children for His glory... don't worry about the "strange" part. We are called to be different!

    Love you,
    Melissa

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  4. Teena, I love your words!!

    We have made that same rule in our house too, and it is getting to be strange walking through the first one. Boys ask her to date, and then we she explains, they think they can have her promise to wait for them while they date aroound.

    When you haven't heard of this before, I guess it does seem strange. I am so excited about seeing Michael Farris talk tommorrow about courtship...

    Stephanie

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  5. Meant to say, she is beautiful, and what a special time for you all!

    Stephanie

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  6. So wonderful. What a pretty girl. I will have to look into that book. Sounds interesting. This year our twins turned 12 and we took them to dinner and daddy gave them each a heart necklace while at the same time they promised their heart to their daddy. Such a fun and important age. Happy birthday to your dear girl.

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  7. We have made the same decision for our family, although our oldest is only 11 so we haven't had to really 'walk that path' just yet.

    I have both of the books (princess and the squire ones) and the study guides to go with them. We are planning on using them with the kids as they approach their 13th Birthdays.

    My brother is a jeweler and he designed a ring years ago for himself and my younger brothers. It is a dove whose tail makes the band of the ring and there is a cross inside the dove.

    I have already asked him about making them for my kids when the time comes - they are equally beautiful and they are doubly special as they are made by their Uncle and are the same as the ones all their Uncles wore (and some still wear!)

    Alyssa is a special, beautiful young lady! I'm so glad you had this special time with her and that she had such a lovely night.

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  8. Thank you all for your comments. The do encourage. Especially as we all walk this journey called faith.

    I especially thank my Amber. You are wonderful. We love you dearly. You are an awesome daughter in law and I am so thankful you are in our family.

    Yes, so many do not understand this path of courtship. I remember Mandi trying to explain and people would just sort of stare. Or sometimes challenge her.

    again, thank you all for sharing. It means more than you will ever know.

    Blessings,
    Teena

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  9. So precious!! This can be a lonely road to travel while we wait for the Lord to reveal His will for our children's lives. But I know that my daughters have felt so special and cared for that we want to protect their mind, hearts and bodies that it makes it worth the challenge. :-) I'm sure your girls feel the same. I pray that we can continue be an encouragement to each other. Love, Kris

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