Purity is a great topic that families might sometimes miss or skim around a little. There are lots of great resources out there for Christian families--and I'm going to tell you about one of them! I had the opportunity to review a purity program called "Sex by Design" by Abby Ludvigson.
Each video is a workshop delivered by Abby to a live audience of (presumably) teenagers. There is an intro to each video, most of which are personal statements by teenagers or adults. The topics covered by each lesson are:
Plan Ahead: Living Pure in a Sex-Saturated Culture
Counting the Cost: Every Decision Has a Price Tag
Dating: Dating Relationships God's Way
Sex: God's Purpose and Plan
Modesty: God Cares What I Wear
Pornography: Its Deception & Steps to Get Out or Stay Out
Secondary Virginity: Running Back to God
Abby covers these topics from the viewpoint of Scripture. She uses God's plan from the Bible to guide youth into making Godly choices and decisions--centered in standards set by Him. She is very matter-of-fact, not overly silly or childish, and doesn't skirt the issues. She is upbeat and encouraging, and explains her own testimony of how she is an example of purity for other youth to follow.
There is just too much content for me to really give you a good taste of it, but some snippets -- she talks about what the costs of sex are--they physical, the emotional, and the spiritual. She encourages youth to go to God for answers, not to the culture. She helps teens to know how they can apply what they have learned in these videos to their lives today. She helps them make a plan, before it is needed. She speaks to guys as well as to girls about modesty. She also teaches those who have not taken God's way previously that God can free them from their past --"He will make something beautiful from your mess."
The workbook for teens has a message from Abby for each chapter, followed by a guided note-taking format to be used to take notes on the message more easily. There are Scripture references and more helpful notes at the end, with the final segment a follow-up -- discuss, personalize, and apply!
The parent book is similar, more lengthy, more ideas for parents to infiltrate these themes into their family members' lives. She gives a 3 levels of learning explanation "The first level provides you with discussion questions to get the two of you talking about what you just learned. The second level included questions and/or activities to help your teen take the topic from head knowledge to heart conviction (Bible studies, Scripture memory, etc.) The third level includes activities to help your teen take what they've internalized and apply it to their everyday life."
I have two children (a girl and a boy) in high school and one (a girl) in junior high. They are watching these together (so far). I had wondered what other folks were doing in this area--separately or together. I think there are lots of different ways to use this resource, but at this time they are viewing together with a bit of discussion. Further discussion seems to follow further thought :) I honestly even think that these would be good for a youth group (though my kids didn't think that was a good idea! oh well.)
This is a very valuable resource. Sometimes I think that if our teens hear a message from us often, it kind of turns into a thought of maybe that's just our family's way of doing things. Hearing it reinforced from another adult (and presumably lots of others, since it is a video talking to people from all over) really pushes the point that this is God's standards and values, as shown in Scripture, not just something that mom and dad have come up with.
My kids (especially my youngest) didn't like the title (Sex By Design), haha. It is an eye-catching title, I guess! It really is a purity curriculum, teaching youth about their own personal purity. It's not a sex-education course by any means. It is a PURITY education course. It doesn't gloss over sex or sexual things, (my daughter said, "Whoa, she really just talks about EVERYTHING!") Some of the topics were ones they were familiar with, some were unfamiliar. All in all, I think it is a very beneficial resource for parents to utilize. I would definitely recommend it.
To hear what other families have to say about this product, please click here:
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