Passport2Purity - A FlyBy Promotions Review

Honestly, I just don't want to think about this right now.  We're literally just three years off from having yet ANOTHER teenage girl in our charge.  Just in case you haven't already heard the hubby and I have already ushered FIVE girls into adulthood, and it didn't resemble the Brady Bunch.  It was a bit more like Roseanne.  In fact, we almost threw a celebratory party when we learned Avery was a boy.  Seriously!

Neither of us have ever been known for doing things the easy way, so I'm sure none of our parenting hurdles have come to any type of surprise to anyone.  I mean who blends together two families consisting of four girls nearly all the same age just at the onset of puberty?  Well, us.  That's who!  Apparently we like a challenge.

Today marks Harmony's 10th birthday.  It was a monumental year in our family.  After nine years of uh-hem "courtship" (aka playing house) we officially joined together in holy matrimony.  My father passed away in April, Harmony (our first grandchild) was born in July, and we married in September.  There was a lot going on in our lives.  Things really haven't changed since then.  It's always something, or rather a lot of somethings.

With all the unique challenges we face in our life I am more than grateful for the products that are created that help us with the tough things we face.  Passport2Purity by Dennis & Barbara Rainey is a tool that gives me a little more confidence knowing I have it tucked in my back pocket.  I'm not sure there are too many parents that get excited about the tough topics of conversation that we need to face as our children begin traveling the turbulent waters of adolescents.

Fortunately, we've had some experience in this regard.  At least we know a little of what to expect.  I mean, we're not so lucky as to have the assurance of predictability, but at least we have learned that open dialogue is essential, and relationship is key.  Passport2Purity is a foundational tool that opens the doors to the tough topics of the challenges our children face in the years ahead.  It doesn't take too much effort to see that at least some of the hurdles are different for them than they were for us.  We live in an age of sexting, bullying, online stalking, and moral defiance.  Sometimes we may wonder if there is even such a thing as innocence in today's culture.

Passport2Purity is designed as a combined listening experience that facilitates the tough, heart to heart conversations that need to take place between parents and their budding adolescents.  There are object lessons and guided conversations all packaged up nicely in a Passport2Purity weekend getaway.

About the Getaway Kit:

1 - tour guide for the parent

1 - travel journal for the pretten including 25 follow-up devotions

8 - CDs containing 5 sessions, scripture memory songs and downloadable MP3s

Session 1 - BEGINNING THE JOURNEY - Challenges, Traps, and Choices

Session 2 - RUNNING WITH THE HERD - Friendships and Peer Pressure

Session 3 -  READY FOR AN UPGRADE? - Changes in Him, Changes in Her

Session 4 - DESTINATION: LE PURE - Setting Boundaries

Session 5 -  CROSSING THE DATE LINE - Seeing Dating Differently

Your child begins the journey into adolescence in a world of sexting, bullying, online stalking and moral defiance.  Innocence is under attack, and you cannot win the battle with a single awkward talk or a strict set of rules.  The primary defense for your child is a strong relationship with you and with God.  FamilyLife developed Passport2Purity (P2P) to assist you in building heart-to-heart communication with your preteen while laying a foundation of purity that will prepare him or her for the turbulent years ahead.  Through the shared listening experience, object lessons and guided conversations of a P2P weekend getaway, you can set your son or daughter on a journey of moral integrity - and strengthen the bond between you.  It is designed to be used by a mother and daughter or a father and son when the child is a preteen.  It is suggested that the materials be completed over a weekend away from home, as the child may be more open to discussing the topics away from his or her normal environment.  If this isn't possible, the material can be completed over a period of four or five weeks.

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Especially for my readers:  Receive 25% off your purchase using the code PASSPORT on their website.  Discount is good through August 31, 2015.

Old Fashioned - A FlyBy Promotions DVD Review

Until this review popped in my inbox I had honestly never heard of the movie, Old Fashioned.  However, reading the synopsis I quickly realized that this Pure Flix DVD brings to light a subject that's been heavy on my heart since we became responsible for ushering two more youngsters of the female persuasion into adulthood.  Yes, we have a youngster of the male persuasion as well, but somehow the girls posed the greatest challenges for us along the way.  They require a different kind of guidance than boys.  For some reason we're a little more female challenged so to speak when donning our parenting hat.  Our experience has formed the opinion within us that boys are less complicated, more simple, easier to relate to, and just generally more laid back.  Don't get me wrong.  They had their phases too.  Maybe it was that the boys were out numbered two-and-a-half to one.  That's a lot of estrogen in 1600 square feet.  Never mind that you have to include me, the dog, and a cat in that mix.  The boys didn't stand a chance.

After combining two families, raising five girls, and two boys the three that are traveling this journey with us at the moment are doing so with different parents than the seven that went before them.  We have the benefit in some regard to hind sight.  We've been there, done that on a lot of issues.  It is our hope that we've learned to relax on some issues that just aren't that big of a deal and to be more mindful in other areas that require a little more effort and finesse.  For me at least one of those issues encompasses the ideas of self-respect, determination, commitment, purity, physical and mental health, respect for others, commitment to God, developing an internal, moral compass, and making conscious, educated decisions as opposed to being led by emotions like a boat tossed on the ocean.

Old Fashioned takes us there.  It touches on the heavy subjects; digs into the tough emotions.  It models commitment, standing firm, and living with intention.  We are reminded that it's never too late to change our ways, stand for what is true and pure, and that we can stand alone when we need to.  Doing the right thing is always the right thing to do.  On the flip side there is a cautionary tale about taking ourselves too seriously and missing out on the gifts of living.  Chivalry is not dead, and courtship is beautiful, even in these contemporary times.  A wonderful reminder for us all.

A romantic-drama, OLD FASHIONED centers on Clay Walsh, a former frat boy who gives up his reckless carousing and now runs an antique shop in a small Midwestern college town. There, he has become notorious for his lofty and outdated theories on love and romance as well as for his devout belief in God. When Amber Hewson, a free-spirited young woman with a restless soul, drifts into the area and rents the apartment above his shop, she finds herself surprisingly drawn to his strong faith and noble ideas, which are new and intriguing to her. And Clay, though he tries to fight and deny it, simply cannot resist being attracted to her spontaneous and passionate embrace of life. Ultimately, Clay must step out from behind his relational theories and Amber must overcome her own fears and deep wounds as the two of them, together, attempt the impossible: an "old-fashioned" and God-honoring courtship in contemporary America. 

Watch for my followup review on the noveliztion and the devotional both based on this feature film.

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