Life After Birth: Bible Studies and Encouragement for the Teen Mom

Life After Birth: Bible Studies and Encouragement for the Teen Mom

Finally, a resource that will help you connect with a teen mom at a time when she is likely to drop out of church. Life After Birth is great for one-on-one mentoring as well as outreach programs for non-churched teen mothers of all backgrounds.

Chapters Include:
Intro: I never owned a diaper bag
1. But I chose life!
2. The baby steps of forgiveness
3. The lowdown on loneliness
4. From wild child to raising one
5. Like mother, like daughter
6. The wages of sin are stretchmarks
7. Your choices, your child’s future

Order at TastyFaith.com PO BOX 578507 Chicago, IL 60657
Call us. We don’t bite! 773. 929.8217

Born to Be Wild

Maybe you’re the one pegged “wild” in your family. Relatives have a hard time viewing you as a mom, thinking that you’re not responsible enough to raise your own child or that you have your own growing up to do. Maybe your mother, father, or guardian kept too tight control over you, which made you want to really cut loose. Remember, God knows about your wild streak. He also knows that you have what it takes to be an awesome mom. And He knows that a child will make you grow up, despite whether you’re ready to or not.

 

Ask Yourself..
Do family members see you as a mother, a wild child or both?
Explain.___________________________________________
How did having a baby get you back on track?
Check all that apply:
____ I think more about the future
____ I don’t stay out all night
____ I realize the need to work andhave money
____ I appreciate my mother, father, or guardian more
____ I don’t hook up with just anyone
List 3 ways having a baby threw you off course:
1._____________________________________________
2._____________________________________________
3._____________________________________________

Dinah, Wild Child of the Bible
Did you know that there are a few Girls Gone Wild in the Bible? Take for instance, Dinah. Check out the real deal in Genesis 34. Her Dad was Jacob, the guy with 12 sons who became the 12 Tribes of Israel. There were a lot of eyes on Dinah to do right, and her dad was a bit over protective. Jacob was strict and confined Dinah to their home. No late curfew or hanging out at the mall. Still, Dinah didn’t listen to her dad. One night, Dinah decided to sneak out and go to town. Dinah was charmed by an older hottie named Shechem. He was a prince, so he was probably used to getting what he wanted. And what Shechem wanted was Dinah. He had sex with Dinah, and told her the age-old line that he wanted to marry her.

 

When Dinah’s brothers found out about this, they got very angry and decided to take revenge. Simeon and Levi had an idea. If Shechem wanted to marry their sister, he would have to go through a special initiation. And it wasn’t a secret ceremony that involved eating something weird like pig brains, but instead to be circumcised. And Shechem wouldn’t go through the initiation alone. He would have to get all of the men of his country to go through it as well. Weird enough, Shechem and his men agreed. Since this was during the days before Tylenol, Shechem and his men were pretty sore after the initiation. On the third day of the recovery, Simeon and Levi had a surpris  for these guys. They took their swords and killed them all. Simeon and Levi retrieved their sister and brought her home. The Bible never states if Dinah had a child or how she felt about Shechem. But it is clear that she disobeyed her Dad. And, there aren’t any more stories about Dinah’s behavior. The bottom line is that Dinah’s relationship with Shechem affected everyone in her household.

Ask Yourself
How did having a baby affect everyone in your household?
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
What could have your parent or guardian done differently to keep you from getting pregnant?
_____ Locked you up
_____ Set a better example of followingChrist
_____ Listened more
_____ Talked more about their teen years and struggles with sex
_____ Nothing
_____ Other

 

UNDER 21?
Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity. I Timothy 4:12

 

lowdown on LONELINESS

"No one understands what you are going through." Lonnie, mother at 19

Worse than the morning sickness, the backaches or the inability to fit into anything, was the loneliness that came with Lonnie’s pregnancy. The horrible times when she shut her eyes at night waiting to fall asleep. Just Lonnie alone with her thoughts. The dog’s yawn. The TV blaring down the hall. Even her Dad yelling at her brother, “Get to BED!” could not drown her feelings out. While her family was supportive, no one understood what Lonnie was going through. She wanted to wear a big “L” on her forehead. Not for loser, but for lonely. To this day, years after her teen pregnancy, Lonnie still gets teary eyed thinking about those lonely nights. But Lonnie didn’t grow
up in a lonely household. It was what many consider the happy norm, a healthy slice of the American Dream. Two parents. A neighborhood where you didn’t have to lock your door. Sunny D in the fridge. Lonnie, a teen mother at the age of 19, grew up in the church and never strayed from it. Lonnie got pregnant at a time in her life when she was questioning God, and wanted to step outside the picket fence of her Christian beliefs. She thought a boy who wasn’t from her church was the answer. He was Buddhist, he was charming, he was exciting. He was all of the above. Before long, Lonnie found herself in Aisle 3 of her local drug store, looking for a pregnancy test. When the results came back positive, Lonnie didn’t know what to do. She wished she could rewind time. Not knowing who to talk to, Lonnie called Vicki, her former youth leader.

To be continued...

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