As many of you know, courtship is a topic very dear to my heart. In fact, the 12th of this month marks the 20th anniversary in which I made a commitment formally with my father before God to wait for his blessing on a relationship and be under his wise, protective care. I purposed to trusting him to help me in my choice of a godly spouse. My dear Dad in turn committed to prayerfully seeking the Lord’s best for my life and tenderly guarding my heart from unsuitable young men. The Lord enabled me to keep that commitment to purity and My father was very faithful with this trust. You can read my whole story here. And you can read my perspective on courtship 17 years later.
I have seen abuses of courtship over the years and it grieves my heart to take such a precious, biblical truth and turn in into an unbiblical extreme that puts a bad light on the true blessing of God’s way.
My husband and I have a desire to be faithful with the trust of our three daughters hearts as well (my husband thinks that our new baby in the womb is a fourth daughter, by the way). As we share our courtship story with them we want them to see the beauty in trusting the Lord as they wait for His timing in bringing a godly man for them.
That is why I was especially interesting in Sarah Mally’s book “Before You Meet Prince Charming.”
Sarah has taken the biblical principles of purity and courtship and lined them out in a tactful, pure way for our young daughters tender minds.
Her desire was to reach an audience of young ladies without exposing them to unnecessary information.
Take a look at her Table of Contents:
[box]Desire the Very Best Marriage
Dangers with the Dating System
Guard Your Heart
Could He Be the One?
Romantic Dreams
When God Says Wait
How Parents Can Help
Have a Life Purpose Bigger than Marriage
Dreams Must Die
Reserved for One
Delighting in the Lord
Know that God Arranges Marriages[/box]
What I love about Sarah’s book is how she weaves a story of a fair maiden princess and her relationships in her kingdom as a captivating way to illustrate to our daughters the importance of guarding their hearts. What young girl doesn’t love a good princess story???
I look forward to having my daughters read this encouraging book as they get older and begin to grasp the concepts of dating vs. courtship. I want them to commit to saving their hearts for the one man God has for them, rather than entering into multiple relationships which is a practice for divorce.
Sarah has her book on sale right now, so I would encourage you to pick up your copy of Before You Meet Prince Charming today!