#Back2School Burdens or Blessings: Which Will Define Your Daughter’s Year?

July 27, 2017 by 1 Comment


back to school after summer vacations, two teen real girls in classroom with blackboard painted together close up

Wow! It’s hard to believe that next week, July 31st to be exact, is the first day of school in the two counties where I spend most of my days speaking.

My how times have changed! Never in a million years could I have ever imagined starting school in July.

The teachers like to spend several weeks with the students before I come in to speak, which means I still have a few more weeks to get my voice ready for the four to six hours of speaking each day.

As the new school year begins, I’m looking forward to seeing the light bulb go off on teens faces when they hear a truth for the first time, causing them to connect the dots between their current choices and their future realities.

Most importantly, I’m looking forward to seeing how God will continue to answer all our prayers over the next school year. You know the prayers that I’ve been requesting from you over the years?

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It’s Not Responsible. It’s Not Fashionable. Anal Sex is Risky Teen Behavior!

July 19, 2017 by 4 Comments

About 9 or 10 years ago, I’ll never forget how shocked I was when I received multiple questions from 8th grade girls at a private middle school about the safety of anal sex.

They wanted to know whether they would still be a virgin and whether they could get pregnant by having anal sex.

Fast forward to today and it’s difficult for teens to shock me with any question they ask.

They’re teens. Their brains aren’t fully developed.  Which means they don’t always associate the potential consequences with their behaviors.

I do however continue to be shocked when I hear or read about adults encouraging risky sexual behavior, as was the case recently.

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Teen Vogue magazine published a disturbing article in its July 7th issue titled, "Anal Sex: What You Need to Know (How to do it the RIGHT way)."

Yes, you read that correctly. An article normalizing anal sex in a magazine specifically written and marketed to teen girls.

In case you don’t have time to read the entire article, the following gives you an idea of what it says:

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The Self-Fulfilling Prophecy That Could Hurt Your Daughter!

July 14, 2017 by Leave a Comment

Girls who take my class often complain that guys who won’t pressure them to have sex don’t exist.

I find that’s one of the biggest lies girls believe. And one that I gladly disprove every chance I get (like in Chapter 7 of my book, 7 Secrets Guys Will Never Tell You).

When these same girls do come across a young man who is more than happy to wait, they often believe one of the following:

1.  The guy is gay.

I used to have trouble explaining to the girl I love why I wouldn't have sex with her. It dumbfounds her. Sometimes she calls me gay…, but I just shrug it off.

2.  He’s cheating on her.

After school on Friday, my girlfriend and I were about to have sex and I said to her, ‘We don’t have to do this if you don’t want to. I don’t want you to think that I’m using you because I’m not. I can go on till marriage without this.’ She was furious. She got up and began to question if I was cheating on her. She started asking me if I was getting it from some other girl and if I didn’t want her anymore. I sat her down and told her where I was coming from, but…she still either wants to have sex with me or thinks I must be cheating. Time well wasted…

3.  He doesn’t find her attractive.

I am sexually active and this girl is the perfect example of what you spoke about. I have noticed that she has low self-esteem because of how jealous she is…She keeps me around so she can hear that she’s beautiful. She’s broken inside and out. Typically, a guy takes advantage of a girl like this, but I don't want to fit the stereotype of the typical guy. But, us without sex rips her apart inside. She thinks the worst and feels that if we're not having sex then she’s either unattractive or I'm cheating on her. What is the best way to go about this?

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Consider the Cost: How to Teach Your Teen Freedom is Never Free. Especially When It Comes to Sex

July 3, 2017 by Leave a Comment

Happy 4th of July!

Any American like myself, celebrating  “Independence Day,” should know our “independence” has and always will come with a price.

Soldiers sacrifice their lives for us to have our freedom. So, freedom is never truly FREE!

The Lingering Costs of Sexual “Freedom”

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During the 1960’s there was another  “freedom movement” called the Sexual Revolution. At the time there were only two sexually transmitted infections that we knew about, gonorrhea and syphilis. Today, there are 25+ known STIs/STDs.  This generation is paying the price for all of the sexual freedom that was ushered in during the 1960’s.

I share the above in the classroom before I begin to speak with the students about the cost they may have to pay for the sexual decisions they make during their teen years.

A few months ago, I received the following email through my website:

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From Boys to Men: How a Slew of Guys Confirmed 7 Secrets was Worth Writing

June 30, 2017 by Leave a Comment

If I had to sum up the whirlwind that was last week, I’d have to say it was “Man-tastic!” ?

Last week I had the privilege of participating in four separate events. Each one presented the opportunity to share 7 Secrets with guys of ALL ages, and boy did they get it!

It all started last Tuesday when I was joined by my friend and former teaching partner, Michael Calloway, in hosting a FREE post-Father’s Day webinar, The Daddy-Daughter Dynamic: How Engaged Fathers Lead to Empowered Daughters.

Let me tell you, if you didn’t sign-up for this free online training, you missed a treat!

Michael and I shared life-affirming information, including material from Chapter 6 of 7 Secrets, with almost 100 caring fathers and mothers of teen girls. In just over an hour, we provided them with 8 actionable tips to empower their daughters to avoid or ditch “daddy issues” and become healthy, confident, and successful young ladies who know their worth in and outside of a relationship.

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What a Difference a Dad Makes: How Engaged Fathers Empower Their Daughters

June 15, 2017 by 1 Comment

Happy father applying chocolate spread on croissant for daughter in domestic room

There’s a lot of attention paid to the negative impact of fatherlessness on daughters, and I am the first to tell you that it is a real issue with many of the girls I teach.

However, in honor of Father’s Day, I’d like to flip that around and focus on the positive impact of fathers who are actively engaged in their daughters’ lives.

Especially when it comes to their decisions regarding love, sex, and relationships.

The following are three ways daughters are empowered in their dating decisions by actively engaged dads.

  1. They lean in to positive parent pressure. In the same way that positive “peer” pressure influences girls like your daughter to make healthy choices (like abstaining), having an engaged father influences them to make healthy choices too.  In this case, her goal isn’t to fit in with peers she likes and wants to impress, but to keep from disappointing her dad, whom she loves and wants to make proud.

If I had sex, not only would I regret doing something I can’t take back, but my dad knowing I didn’t respect myself would hurt him emotionally too.

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#GraduationGoals2017: When Girls Plan to Lose Their Virginity Just in Time for College & How to Help Them Change Their Expiration Date

May 21, 2017 by Leave a Comment

It’s hard to believe another school year is over, and high school graduations are right around the corner.

Perhaps your daughter or a young lady you know is a member of the Class of 2017. No doubt she’s spent months, if not years, dreaming about life after high school—going to college, embarking upon a journey to a new career, moving away from home for the first time, and gaining her freedom from adult supervision.

If your high school grad is anything like some of the girls I encounter in class, those college dreams come with #GraduationGoals, like:

  • finalizing their college pick,
  • designing the perfect dorm room,
  • deciding on a major,
  • and losing their virginity.

You read that last one right. I’ve even had girls as young as thirteen admit this is their goal.

Before hearing you speak, if you had asked me when I thought I’d have sex, I probably would have said, ‘Hopefully by the time I enter college.'

Why Girls Set a Virginity Expiration Date

As I shared in an earlier post, the pressure girls feel to set high school graduation as their virginity expiration date is largely self-inflicted.

Why? Two reasons.

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When Teen Romance Turns Tragic: How Teen Girls Form Unhealthy Emotional Attachments & What You Can Do to Intervene

April 27, 2017 by Leave a Comment

Depressed Teenage Girl Sitting In Bedroom With Pills

I’ve heard teen girls say that they love hard or when they fall in love, they fall hard. They say it as if that’s a badge of honor.

What does that mean anyway? Loving hard!

Does it mean that they’ll blindly give their hearts, souls and bodies to their boyfriends, no questions asked?

I have a big heart and I love fast and hard and guys take advantage of that.

That they fully intend to marry their boyfriends one day, and as a result, believe it their sole responsibility or “wifely duty,” to make sure their “husbands” are happy?

Before you came to speak to us, I always had my mind focused on the fact that making a guy happy is all there is to life.

Or maybe “loving hard” means these girls get so emotionally wrapped up in their relationships, that they are unable to cope when something goes wrong or it eventually ends.

In a few of my past relationships I have had sex, and when they ended I felt devastated and empty.

Loving Hard + Sex = A Powder Keg! 

I’m concerned when I meet girls whose entire world revolves around their relationships.

Is that healthy at their age, considering there’s only a slim chance that teen relationships will last past their teen years? 

Earlier this week I read about the tragic story of an 18-year-old girl in Cincinnati, OH, who committed suicide in her dorm room. 

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It Takes Two to Tango: Why Educating Your Daughter is Only Half the Battle

April 20, 2017 by Leave a Comment

When schools request that I come do an assembly, I’m often invited to only speak to the girls.

I then counter by strongly suggesting that I speak to both the girls and guys.

Why?

Because educating girls about love, sex, and relationships is only half the battle!

And guys are often just as receptive to my message as girls are, and sometimes more so.

My Equal Opportunity Message

As much as I enjoy seeing the light-bulb go off for a girl or guy in my class, I really love it when I get to talk to couples.

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The Issue of Faith: Why it Matters and How NOT to Apply It When Having “The Talk”

April 14, 2017 by Leave a Comment


A latin mature father sitting and reading the Bible to his family outdoors in a medium shot.

In honor of this Easter weekend, I thought it fitting to tackle the role faith plays in teen girls’ decision-making when it comes to sex.

From the time we were born, we were taught to chase the momentary satisfaction. We were taught to find the largest high to fulfill our greatest lows and for me, that was sex. I gained my ultimate satisfaction from the opinion of man. It wasn’t until I discovered that a righteous, pure, just man died for me, that I found my true value and worth, Jesus Christ. Now I no longer have to chase the momentary satisfaction because I’ve found a permanent one. ~High School Junior

The truth is, religious beliefs are a very strong reason why some teen girls (and guys) abstain.

According to the National Survey of Family Growth, more than half of teen girls—57 percent—said that they had never had sex, and nearly one-half of these young women said that the main reason they had abstained from sex was that it was against their religion or morals. 1

And I have received numerous letters from girls that confirm this survey’s results.

If I wasn’t already sold on being sexually abstinent because of religious and emotional reasons, I surely am now. ~High School Sophomore

I am a Christian girl and my biggest fear isn’t STD’s or the emotional distress, etc. It’s the fact that my God would be disappointed in me. I am not trying to say that I would have sex if I didn’t know my God but I’m saying why don’t you explain to people that you can find love through something else that’s not a person or material things. ~High School Freshman

As a Christian myself, I understand why Christian parents would approach their “Talk” from a biblical perspective. And I think that’s great!

But time and again I see teens reject their parents’ teachings.

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