Wednesday...sweethearts and purity rings

My daughter has herself a sweetheart. Wow, those words seem so strange. She has been so patient and tried so hard never to be pressured into having a "boyfriend". Trusting us, trusting God. We have always told her to just wait on the Lord. That one day someone would be right in front of her.

She has had a friend for about five months. Since Christmas, they have realized just how much they have in common and so the other night over video cam he asked her if she felt the same way. They had both been praying about it separately. I woke up the next morning and she was all smiles. She couldn't wait to tell me. Then she told her dad and we gave her our blessing to see where this special friendship takes her. Of course her dad gave her his best fatherly advice. To guard her heart (aren't dad's wonderful how they protect us?). She agreed.

The neatest thing about all of this is...he was homeschooled too. He is proving to be a boy after God's heart. Interested in the ministry. I have no idea where this will ever go but in this nice boy she has found a nice friendship. I guess you can say this is one of those mommy moments, it really doesn't mean a hill of beans to many but to me...it is so sweet to be a witness to it. I think this is one of those moments that have made our journey of homeschooling beautiful. Watching my child go through each and every faze of childhood and gently guide her toward adulthood. How we mold our children along the way knowing that one day they will have to make decisions. Hoping that all that we have taught them will be taken into consideration and practiced.

This has gotten us to talking about dating vs courtship. Purity and purity rings. She has been asking me lately about all of this. A while back I bought her the book, I kissed Dating Goodbye by Joshua Harris. She was too young for it back then so I simply shelved the book. I have gone on a search this week because Elijah has read the book and Brittany would like to too. Do you know I can't find it anywhere. Instead I found a book by Dannah Gresh named And the Bride Wore White. We sat down for our lessons this morning and had a talk. I told her about the book and she is very excited to begin...so I promised her a copy along with a new diary book to track her progress. I told her that after she finished it she could mark her commitment with a purity ring. She is so excited. She said..."see! This is why I love our family so much. Because we make everything so special." Such sweet words from such a sweet girl. How awesome is that.

Just another day in the life of one of my amazing mommy moments with my girl.
Blessings,
Joyce