AL Homeschool Expo – Rebecca Powell

Isn’t that awesome??

A mom in the audience plugged this website and I implemented it today and already my kids are IN love with it!!

Other tips were:

Have a family game night.
Keep Your Focus:
Your Time – set aside time for you.
Your space – have a space for your teacher stuff, even if it’s just a drawer in the kitchen.
Your Friends.

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Now on to the boy stuff. The next seminar of hers I attended was titled 13 Going on Dirty: 5 Things Every Mom Needs to Know About Her Son – it was great. She has two teenage boys and was so helpful!

1. He needs your understanding.
– establish a dialogue, make sure he is comfy talking to you.
– understand the pull of pornography. As women I don’t think we really get it, because we are wired differently. And know that pornography is “normal” in our culture so our boys WILL be exposed to it. Heck, they’re exposed to it in the grocery store, for crying out loud!

For those of you with older boys she has written what looks like an amazing bible study – Dig Deep. (She has one for girls, too, so check out her site!)

2. Boys and Girls Are Different.
– when your son sees a woman that is scantily clad, in his mind, “the rest is already off.” This statement was SO powerful for me. I have done reading and have really learned a lot about how males are wired differently but her saying this really hit me.

She also said, “Boys don’t see pornography as an addiction that could wreck their lives. They have to be convicted that it is wrong.”

And if YOU don’t see it this way, you need to do some praying because it WILL ruin their lives.

What Can You Do?

^ Keep lingerie catalogs and magazines OUT OF SIGHT.
^ Filter what YOU watch on TV as well as what they watch.
^ Avoid temptation by keeping TV’s and computers out of their bedrooms. There’s really no reason for them to have either in their rooms. AND make sure you are checking the history on your internet.
^ Help them see this as an issue of them being in control of themselves. Males, more than females, are about being in control.

“A godly son has a godly mom who understands how he is made and his sinful nature. She supports him prayerfully and practically in his every effort to stand strong.”

“A godly son has a godly mom who makes it her job to invest her time praying for the leading men in her son’s life. She supports them with her cooperation, rather than undermining the with her criticism, even if one is a person who hurt her.”

He Needs Your Godly Counsel
You must be able and willing to help him with the hard questions.
Don’t let your past influence what you tell him. You don’t have to confess your sins to your kids. But telling them not to do something when you did it does not make you a hypocrite – you are a FORGIVEN child of God, your child does not get to condemn you.

One thing I LOVE and will SO USE is that she had her kids read I Kissed Dating Goodbye as part of their schooling. Her dd, the oldest, chose not to date after reading it and Rebecca and her husband told her that if she stuck to it they would give her $1000 when she graduated HS. The way Rebecca put it was that her daughter looked at each boy that wanted to date her and asked herself if he was worth $1000! LOVE IT!!!

“A godly son has a godly mom who – no matter what mistakes she may have made – offers godly counsel to her son, praying for his purity and trusting God to see it through.”

He Needs to Be Fed
Physically
Corporately – with responsibilities and jobs
Emotionally – positive, affirming words. Find reasons to praise him.

Prov 18:21 – The tongue has the power of life and death,
and those who love it will eat its fruit.

“A godly son has a godly mom who sets a table of life-giving food, words and challenges.”

He Needs Your Prayers
Healing
Revealing – ask God to reveal things to him and/or you when there are problems.
Appealing – appeal to God to guard him against the things you don’t want in his life/character.

The last seminar by Rebecca that I attended was How To Date Your Kids. I was excited about this one because we already do this a bit, but I want to make it better!

Where?
work with dad
grocery store with mom
kitchen table – she told a story of a father and son who had a bowl of cereal together EVERY NIGHT at 9pm.
bathroom spa with your girls – candles, bubble bath, mani/pedi’s
special events (recitals, etc) – you can make them even more special with your attitude
put all the kids to bed, then go and wake one up and take them out for a milkshake!

Planned – Spontaneous – Planned Spontaneity

What you put into them has ETERNAL significance.

Prov. 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
6 in all your ways submit to him,
and he will make your paths straight.[a]

Affirm their likeability. They know we love them, make sure they know we LIKE them!!

Three Things Kids Need to See
The authenticity of your love for your spouse.
The authenticity of your walk with Christ.
You having fun with them!!

Toolbox: Be A Great Date
^ Be attentive.
^ Be considerate.
^ Be there.
^ Be creative.
^ Be on time. In fact, be early, show them how excited you are to spend time with them.
^ Be real.
^ Be thankful.

A few books that were recommended:

Raising A Modern Day Knight by Robert Lewis
Power of a Positive Mom by Karol Ladd