Generation NeXt Parenting

Oops Britney did it again...

Well, actually Britney has nothing to do with this post... but I just saw that she's in the news again. Poor girl.

Anywho...My friend, Randy Alcorn was quoted last week in the LA Times. You can read it here:http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-stein21dec21,0,7680698.column?track=rss

Anyway, I thought Mr. Stein might want to know my thoughts on how Christians should respond to the news of Jamie Lynn's pregnancy.

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Mr. Stein,

Today, I wrote an editorial and submitted it to my local newspaper, The Daily Interlake (30,000 circulation in Kalispell, Montana). I also submitted it to the tiny paper from the town I graduated from--The Weed Press. (Seriously that's its name. It's in Weed, California, population 3,500. Salute!) Who knows if it will be printed, but this is what I had to say about what I feel the Christian's response should be to the news about Jamie Lynn Spear's pregnancy. (It had to be under 300 words. This is 275.) I decided to send it to you because you wrote a recent column that mentions one of my acquaintances Randy Alcorn who wrote the book Heaven. Your column was a good read, and I appreciate you taking the time you took to talk to Randy.

So what should a Christian's response to Jamie Lynn Spears pregnancy be? As a former teen mom, a 36-year-old mother of three teens, and author of fourteen Christian books, this is what I had to say. Also, my book for teens (mentioned below) happens to be from the same Christian publishing house that has "delayed indefinitely" the parenting book by Lynne Spears.

What I had to say:

What would you do if Jamie Lynn Spears lived next door? What would you do if you found out your neighbor, a teen girl, was having a baby? How should Christians, and the church, respond to a pregnant teen?

1. Show her your love. Teen pregnancy is the perfect time to reach out to young women. They are often scared. They know people are talking about them. Showing love to a young woman during this time displays the love of Jesus.

2. Spend time with her. If Jamie Lynn lived next door, I’d invite her to coffee and I’d tell her my story of how I had a baby, yet how I've gone on to have a successful life. Step in and be a support where others have stepped out.

3. Give her hope. Teen pregnancy shows that girls are looking for love … and we can show them where true love is found—through God.

4. Give her a baby shower and celebrate life. Even though we should not celebrate teens having sex before marriage, we SHOULD celebrate life. We should do what we can to support her decision with material items, with educational support, and with physical help--such as rides to the doctor and to school.

5. Advise her on how to make better decisions in her future. A book I wrote, My Life, Unscripted (Thomas Nelson) is a book for all teen girls (pregnant or not), encouraging them to script their lives instead of being caught up in the drama and emotions of the moment.

If we don’t support young mothers what hope do they have for a good future?

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Pray that either he'll take notice or that the Daily Interlake or Weed Press will!

posted by Tricia Goyer @ 1:25 PM