Mentoring moments - sometimes just talking

Saturday we awoke to week three of our set time together, just my 9 year old daughter and me.


We read through the second chapter of Beautiful Girlhood together.


Quick side note . . . I just searched for my Beautiful Girlhood link to put in there, and came across a free copy of it online! I'm sure this is slightly different than the one that was recently revised and published by Karen Andreola, but from what I understand her revisions were minimal (as they rightly should be to such a dynamic work), so this online text should be wonderful. Looking at it briefly, it looks very similar to the one I have and use. (Sorry, Jen, I didn't know . . .) So, if you are looking to get started, or want to read it through, now you can see it online.


The companion guide is obviously not available in this format and I highly recommend it, but you could always make up your own questions and tasks to correspond to the chapters.


Anyway, after we read the chapter we just talked. Paige is still very much a child. I think when I start this time with Faith at nine years of age it will look very different. She just has a greater interest in her adult life already. For Paige I kind of wonder if we will walk through this now as an introduction and again in a couple years. Right now we focus more on the "you are still a child" parts of the book and enjoying her carefree days than the maturing parts. I love that this book encourages them to be kids still, to enjoy their youth, while protecting their character from bad habits.


Our conversation over our steaming cups of tea traversed many rabbit trails this week. School plans, marriage, kids, siblings, homeschooling (this was an interesting time as she shrinks a bit from the thought of homeschooling her own kids some day -- so we talked about why we chose that path and the other options available, and how even more dismal the scene may appear in 20 years . . .), church involvement, women's roles in society, etc.


A rich time of friendship building. The more I know her the more I love her.


This has also motivated me to spend more intentional individual time with my other kids. Right now my time with Faith is meal prep time. She loves to cook and is getting good at helping out. Not every night, but at least a couple nights a week she spends that half hour with me in the kitchen talking about everything under the sun while we prepare the evening meal together.


It is absolutely incredible the different persons and personalities that God has melded into our family.

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