Hello again! Over the last two weeks, we have just begun our journey through beautiful girlhood and we have examined the different facets of transition your daughter is facing. She is experiencing so many changes in her body, in her thinking, and even in her feelings. This week the focus remains on the theme of transition. You can find out so many more ideas for activities and Bible study in The Companion Guide to Beautiful Girlhood.  In this chapter, we will be examining the difficulties and the benefits of your daughter staying acquainted with both mom and dad. I know ladies; I can almost hear some of you thinking that acquainted sounds like an archaic term! But I can assure you of this, there is so much value in this concept for our daughters.

Often, it is counter-intuitive for young women to remain aware and in-tune with people they are closest to. When they are undergoing this powerful transition some girls draw into themselves, hole up in their rooms, become less talkative because they are trying to process what is happening to them. As a mom, you might feel like you can’t say or do anything that makes your girl happy. They become acutely aware of situations that occur in the normal everyday life of a family and take it personally or feel slighted. I like to call this malady ingrown eyeballs. The symptoms are oversensitivity, egocentric thinking, and dare I say, downright selfishness. This can be hard to deal with even if she has just a touch of it!

One of the weapons in your mom-arsenal is training your daughter to look outside of herself and her needs. By training her to be selfless you will be doing her a great favor in both present and future relationships.

Mom, do you realize this is a perfect time to take the first step in developing a two way relationship with your daughter?

By remaining acquainted with your daughter, and she with you, you are molding her into a woman who can identify and experience healthy friendships with other women. Unfortunately, we’ve all had a friend or two where it was all about her. Friendship is a two-way street.

Another weapon in your mom-arsenal is to find ways to include dad in this process of being acquainted. Let me suggest The Three Weavers Plus Companion Guide written by my husband and me entitled The Three Weavers Plus Companion Guide. When I approached Bob about writing this with me he said he would under two conditions.

1. It must be short.

2. It must be to the point.

Dads are so busy trying today! We divided this study into 7 chapters and includes a Bible study for Dad, a Father-Daughter Bible Study, a Discussion Guide,  and Activities.

Blessings,

Activity

• Plan a special outing with your daughter and see how well you know each other! {see our FREEBIE download below} Plan it either with your husband or separately. The goal is to help you become better acquainted.

Memory Verse

Philippians 2:3-4

“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests but also to the interest of others.”

Ponder and Post

Mable Hale, author of Beautiful Girlhood wrote, “The great foe of these years is selfishness, and the girl who comes to the most perfect womanhood learns to fight selfishness with all her might.”

• Do you agree or disagree? What are ways you have found to successfully train your daughter in this trait? Tell me and the others in the comments

• Do you think “remaining acquainted” can be a tough undertaking for both dad and daughter? Why or why not?  What are some ways you encourage this relationship?

Recommended Resources

FREEBIE OF THE WEEK! Enjoy this free download of our Intimacy Questionnaire, an excerpt from the presentation Mentoring Your Daughter. Mom, you fill out the answers to your questions on a piece of paper and then fill out the questions as if your daughter were answering them. Have your daughter do the same and see how much you know about each other. This is a fun way to remain familiar with each other!

The Three Weavers Plus Companion Guide  Fathers understandably feel awkward discussing purity with their daughters. However, The Three Weavers Plus Companion Guide invites fathers to bravely assume their God-given responsibility to protect their daughter’s purity for marriage while cultivating a close, loving relationship that will influence future generations. The Three Weavers Plus Companion Guide is intended to be a tool for fathers to mentor their daughters between the ages of 12-18 years. Sold on Amazon. $13.95