I do happen to know a little bit about the topic they’re covering here. I just want to say, if you have pre-teen or teen girls and you live in driving distance, you won’t want to let this opportunity slip by without taking full advantage. In a world where the devil is trying so hard to get our kids, his deception is not always glaring for our girls. And, oh sister, it’s a bazillion times easier to get to heaven if we spend our time purposefully preparing for holiness at every encounter, than if we spend our lives trying to undo decisions we jumped into before fully counting the cost. Regret is full of pain.
The devil, who sometimes comes to our girls, is tall, dark and handsome, creative and clever, and he drives up in a cool sports car. He catches eyes and makes them tingle on the inside. He makes them believe his lies before they have time to examine consequences. I mean, who is thinking about future children’s souls when the man, the movie, and the moment are making a girl feel like she is loved and wanted by a guy, maybe for the first time?
As Christian parents, we have to do a lot of preparatory work for the mate-choosing time. People who merely fall in love, sometimes hit the ground hard. People who build love on precepts from God have a built-in safety net. Oh, it can still be rough, at times. But God reserves his very best for those who are intentionally seeking holiness. His word discerns the intents of our hearts even in these most important decisions. This day will be that word for your children in a fun and safe environment. It will help you, too, Mama!
Take a road trip that may end up around the throne of God. I really mean it. The subject matter this Saturday may help, in practical ways, to put your teen daughter in heaven one day. See, it’s not always the big amazing spiritual accomplishments and sacrifices that make the difference. It’s not always the red-letter days noticed by others. It’s about the days that solidify the commitment of the heart–commitment to sanctification and holiness. This weekend, the young ladies at West Huntsville have put together such a day. It’s themed “Matters of the Heart” and it promises to be one of those days that strengthens purpose and forges resolve) to be and do what the Father wills for happiness. I am pretty sure, in my heart, that souls will enabled for eternity with Him as a result of this Saturday.I hope you can find it in your heart to help some sweet teen girl to be here! It’s a great practical application of Titus 2:3-5 if you can be such an enabler! Free food, free lodging, and the best of fellowship.
I spoke at another church in Mississippi this spring in which a couple of young and faithful moms (one is in the photo) reminded me that they, along with a big group of friends, had rolled into Serenity at about 11 p.m. four years ago (or was it eight?), to check into our cabin and house for purity day the next morning. These women have now completed college, have Christian husbands and sweet babies, and were the planners of and participants in this ladies day. They, too, said “Oh you’re about to have another one? Let us know when. We can probably bring some girls!”
If you live an average lifetime, you will have about 3500 Saturdays–the days we usually consider off-days. If you are raising a child, about 900 of those Saturdays will fall during the years that your child is growing up in your home. About 350 of those Saturdays will fall during what we call the “teen years.” Three hundred-fifty may seem like a lot of off-days, but when you think about science fairs, sick Saturdays, athletic or arts commitments, and homework, the bank of days that you might be using for something that pertains to the soul–the immortal person you are raising– may diminish significantly and without much consideration of the loss. While you might argue that all these activities are good and pertain to character development, and thus to the soul (and you would be largely correct), there are some Saturday activities that are so practically connected to the choices that determine destiny that their significance just takes my breath away.