I have daughters, so my blog will have a lot of  "girl stuff" on it :) What can I say??? Its all I know :)  Sometimes it will be sappy when you visit here. No boys allowed! Nah, anyone is welcome :) We have been the kind of parents who believe that its ok to have guy friends within limits. I know of families who do not approve of this, but its been a good experience for us. It started years ago.... If you conduct yourself well & guard yourself, I think friendships between the opposite sex can be an encouragment. Guys have a lot of good to say, but its a good thing  to keep your girl friends closer, I think. Decent girl friends, without the drama.

Years ago we were involved in a home church made up of families.  Our girls were young, but we knew the time was coming some day that they would grow up & we would be facing many situations ourselves. Decisions, decisions.....

I specifically remember one Sunday after we had fellowship time observing a family who had a daughter who was around 17 yrs old.   Each time a young man or even a dad  would speak to her, she would sort of crouch & not look at him. This bothered me greatly. She seemed somewhat frightened, couldn't look at any boy/man in the eyes & just smile or have a short conversation. Somehow, she was taught that it is wrong to speak to the "other" gender. She was a lovely young lady & very sweet & had a beautiful countenance. We also knew she came from a very good family, good morals & love the Lord ect..... Dave agreed with me that we would make sure this would never be with our daughters. They will  & should be able to talk to a male & do so confidently. So, I guess you could say that day was an eye opener for us, I'm so very glad the Lord showed us that early on.

Years later we listened to a teaching that had to do with guy & girl relationships & friendships & the only thing that seems to have stuck in my mind was, "make sure you allow your daughters to be around the opposite sex, if you don't they will fall for the first guy that comes their way." hmmmmm...... we didn't like this so much :) REALLY? It was a scary thought! He also said, "they have to be able to distinguish between bad character & good character, if they don't have these opportunities, how will they ever be able to discern good from bad?" sheesh, talk about pressure! Here we are with 5 daughters, now what? Well, how do they have male friends without coming across as if they have romance in mind? Is it possible to just be friends? All these questions & so much to face.

Well, the years went by & they grew up, little by little they were exposed to social settings where young men frequented. We made sure they did attend certain gatherings so they could become great communicators & have a level of comfort in this sort of setting.  A great experience for sure! Fortunately this worked &  they are able to communicate without giving the appearance that they are scared to death just because a guy spoke with them. We see this so much where a girl is not able to get passed that. Communicate by looking at them in the eyes & relating, but being the lady God wants them to be. Not every friendship has a romantic ending btw. Our girls are able to be friends with guys; they have many. Always guarding their hearts, but enjoying these friendships, taking care of their male friends heart as well. Their male counterparts have so much to offer & at times much more sensible than a drama queen girl friend. It works for our family :) Actually, they enjoy being around their male friends better being that their is less drama & they seem to be true blue & treat our daughters with respect. Still, keeping male friends at a distance & girl friends closer.

Perhaps if a young lady would not think of every man who speaks to her as a potential it may relieve some of the tension. Within home school circles, girls are taught to be scared to death of men. Some are not & go over board & like my last post explained pursue the young man very strongly in hopes of more. Not every guy who talks to you has hearts in his eyes, not even fire works appear, don't flatter yourself. I believe when a young lady has the romantic mind set that they cant even talk to a guy because he has gone out of his way to say, "hi" could be foolishness on the girls part. If everyone would just relax......

 Jane Austen:

“A lady's imagination is very rapid; it jumps from admiration to love, from love to matrimony in a moment.”     P& P. 

I hope that is not your state. I hope you are not that foolish, guard yourself.  

K, let me have it! Id love to hear from some of the ladies on how you deal with boy friend relationships.

Anyway, thought this article would put things into better perspective than my writings.

Boyfriends vs. Boy Friends  check this great post by Rebekah Snyder. I grew up sandwiched between three brothers. Because of this, I spent many of my childhood years playing with boys. And while I noticed the differences between boys and girls, I also noticed the similarities. Over the years, I learned to appreciate boy friends in the same manner I appreciate my girlfriends. In fact, sometimes I need to escape the drama that can often exist in a group of girls and simply hang out with some guys. But the older I get, the more people inform me that I can't "just" be friends with a guy. They keep telling me that every guy/girl relationship has an underlying current of romance. While I'll agree that a relationship can easily turn that way, I don't think that all relationships are destined to do so. And if that's the case, then I guess I'm just a really big flirt because I interact with a lot of guys (most of whom I've known since elementary school). Just a glance at our culture proves that there is a huge emphasis placed on romance. Perhaps it is that mentality that keeps us from seeing that it is possible for a guy and a girl to "just" be friends. Because we were created differently, it probably isn't the greatest idea to make a guy your best friend, but you can build a healthy relationship that isn't based on romance. Remember, God created Eve to be Adam's helpmate. He fashioned her for one man, not the entire human race. God also created you to marry one man, so don't live your life as if every guy you meet is that one special person. You do have to exercise caution when interacting with guys because men are also familiar with the "no such thing as friends" lie, and what you never want to do is lead a guy on. There are certain friends to whom you bare your heart and soul, and then there are others who you simply enjoy being with on a more casual level. Drop the romantic notions and get to know a few guys on that casual level. You'll probably be blessed as greatly as I've been.