Where have the years gone?

When you were a child you would never want to take a nap; as an adult you would do anything to take a nap. As a child you needed incentive to "eat everything on your plate." As an adult the challenge is to leave something on your plate. As children, boys were gross, (if you were a girl) and girls were gross (if you were a boy). As married adults, the challenge is to keep your marriage monogamous and not to become another divorce statistic that affects one in every two marriages. Let's be honest, the culture that has been developed makes it a huge challenge to keep your eyes, ears, and mind always where they should be. The point is, time flies and these changes occur at the twinkling of an eye and can impact your precious child at a very young age. So it goes with sexual purity.

Our media really makes you feel that "safe sex" is now the relevant issue. That is a lie from the pit of Hell and Lucifer himself is the author of said lie. Many of our government schools have turned "health education" into sex education at a young age when they should still be playing children's games, learning the 3 Rs, and learning God's laws. According to their views, your child must learn about "safe sex" without any regard for the Word of God or His Laws. We have made our own laws and in doing so turned God into just another sound bite. We have created a travesty which we pass on to our children, which of course will then be passed on to their children and so on.

Hooking up sounds innocent, doesn't it? It is a term used to indicate that a boy will not pick the girl up at her home as a gentleman should. Instead, kids will meet casually with the intent of having sex. In doing so there is no commitment, no discipline, no regard for the precious creation of God that a girl is. It minimizes her to a hunk of flesh usable for a good time. This is the deepest degradation of a woman.

If your daughter is using that term or actually "hooking up," talk with her. Love her, hug her, tell her she is so precious that any young man who wants her company must show he is willing to work at it, showing he has at least an idea of how precious she is. Tell her that there is nothing easy about "winning her" and that she is absolutely worth working for. If he doesn't get it he is either not ready or he is not cut out of the material worthy of your daughter. Do we sound old-fashioned? Good, I hope we do. I hope we sound like we're from a time gone by, when most women walked down the aisle as virgins, when teen pregnancies were almost unheard of, when safe sex meant abstinence and marriage was a lifetime commitment.

Covenant

I think the average American when asked the meaning of the word covenant, would answer, "Isn't that where a nun lives?" The fact is that through covenantal relationships the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob operated to form and cultivate His creation. Covenant is the deepest form of commitment from one entity to another.

In the Old Testament two people making a covenant would mingle their blood, showing the deepest level of faith and commitment to the relationship.

This is why we urge you to make a covenant with your child for sexual purity. Yes, even if that child has already made a mistake. God forgives them and if they have repented to Him they are pure in His eyes. If they are pure in His eyes, who are we as parents to think otherwise? When you buy the Heart to Heart program we give some suggestions on how that covenant can be made. Although there are many good "Abstinence" programs through churches, NOTHING can take the place of a covenantal promise between the parent and the child, NOTHING. This is where the Heart to Heart program focuses, making the parent-child covenant with God the honored entity and then using the jewelry as a symbol and constant reminder of that covenant. That is why we went to such great lengths to make a unique design out of precious metal. That is also why it is not the cheapest abstinence jewelry available.

The Heart to Heart program, created by jeweler Joe Costello, differs from other abstinence programs in some important, unique ways. The focal point of the program is the covenant, which is symbolized by the Heart to Heart locket for girls and the Heart to Heart cross for boys. Joe describes his process:

"When I created this concept and the jewelry designs, I did so after a tremendous amount of prayer. I know these designs are answers to those prayers because they came to me with such lucid detail."

First, the "Key to Her Heart." This beautiful heart has a smaller heart in the front, and behind that heart is a keyhole. When making the covenant with your daughter you explain that it is between her, you and God. Since God has placed her in your care as a parent, you and only you can hold the "Key to Her Heart." You then explain to the child that you will hold the key to her precious heart until the day of her wedding. On that day, you will give her away like at all weddings, BUT in doing so you will also "give away" the key to her heart to her now husband. The key and lock are actually functional and your son-in-law will place the key in the heart to open it. Inside will be a small note that had been placed in the heart on the day you made the covenant. That note can say something like, "I do not know your name or what you even look like, but this is my promise to save myself for you this day. Love, Melanie."

The boys' "Key to His Heart" is a beautiful masculine cross. Available in 14K white gold, the vines are hand engraved in great detail to depict that "He is the vine" and you choose to bear "Godly fruit." In the center of the cross you see a heart. This heart also has a keyhole in the center. The young man is told the key to his heart will be held by his parents until his wedding day. His new bride will then open the key to his heart and know that the promise he kept will be the spiritual and trustful foundation for a marriage blessed by God.

We hope and pray that you, too share our enthusiasm and belief that the covenant your children make with you and the Lord will be the foundation for a marriage that is happy, lifelong, and blessed by God. The locket and cross are beautiful symbols of this important covenant and will be a "statement" to all, of your child's promise of sexual purity and the love you share.