About young ladies

Ich möchte heute einen Post von Sheri sprechen lassen. Sie ist eine gottesfürchtige, junge Mutter, von der ich schon viele gute Gedankenanstösse mitgenommen habe.
Sie war Miss Iowa und spricht heute an vielen Konferenzen und Versammlungen zu jungen Mädchen, wie sie nicht eine äusserliche, sondern die wahre innere Schönheit erlangen können.

I recently spoke with a woman who I know to be a wonderful mother and a very godly woman. I respect her and appreciate her in many ways. However, during our conversation we completely disagreed about the promoting of pop-culture in our homes; even seemingly innocent Christian artists and movie-stars in pop-culture... there are several young people currently in the Hollywood limelight who profess to be Christians and whom I'm certainly not judging in any way. Their choices are between them, the Lord, and right now their parents.

However, the more I minister to young ladies, the more I see this cross over to the Disney tween/teen, Hollywood and/or pop-culture not only impure, but very, very dangerous! No, it is far from innocent. In fact, just two weeks ago I spoke at a purity event for 7th-12th grade girls in North Kansas City and was once again shocked to find that the majority of the Christian girls talked like, dressed like, and acted like the majority of girls immersed in pop-culture. It broke my heart once again to hear their stories, watch their tears, and see their pain.

It troubles me deeply because I have many mothers ask me what they should do to encourage their daughters in purity. I don't understand why we can't see that a simple starting point would be to stop promoting this pop-culture attitude in our homes, through our televisions, through the music we allow on our daughter's IPods, and by clothing we pay for them to purchase. I'm certainly no expert in this area since my girls are only 4 and 2, but I know for sure who I don't want them to become like!

Looking back, my parents NEVER encouraged me to have role models who were "secular pop-stars." They didn’t ban everything secular from our home, but they highly encouraged my brother and me to choose godly role-models, lyrics, etc. Even attending a Christian school, I saw a stark contrast between the teens who were “trying to fit into the pop-culture mode” and those who were more concerned with following Jesus. It was obvious by the music they listened to, the clothes they wore, and the ways in which they spent their time.I guess the question is, "Who do we want our daughter's to become like?" Do we want them to be the typical teenager in American pop-culture, focused on herself, her body, boys, etc. or do we want to mold her into a young woman eager to serve, eager to honor her parents, eager to share with the lost, eager to make a difference in this dark world, eager to open God's Word each day, and eager to live a life worthy of the calling she has received...