Juli and her guests explore the infiltration of erotica and LGBTQ themes into young adult fiction. From board books to bestselling novels, today’s literature isn’t what it used to be—and parents are the last to know.
You’ll hear stories from the frontlines and get practical tools to help you navigate today’s fiction. Whether you’re raising toddlers or talking with teens, this is a conversation every parent, teacher, and youth leader needs to hear.
Prefer to listen? Listen to the full episode here.
Greta (00:00.11)
There was this teenage girl in the back of the room and she came up to me afterwards and she said, thank you so much for what you’ve said because so many of my friends are reading these kinds of books and it’s pulling them into pornography and their parents have no idea because they think it’s a book so it’s fine. And she said, I just wish more people would talk about this because it’s a real problem.
Juli
Hey friend, welcome to Java with Juli. I am your host Juli Slattery and this podcast is a production of Authentic Intimacy, which is a ministry helping you make sense of God and sexuality. Well, today we’re going to talk about a new trend that parents need to know about. The infiltration of erotica into young adult fiction. Now the publishing industry has figured out that they have a whole new audience for erotic fiction, teenage girls.
And they’re packaging it with kid-friendly illustrations and sticking it right in the middle of the young adult section of libraries and bookstores. And you might not even know that. So what I find so dangerous about this trend is that reading involves the power of our imaginations. You know, sometimes books can actually even be more powerful than movies or pictures because we create our own scenes in our mind and that never goes away. So how do you protect the kids in your life?
Well, I’ve invited two guests that will help us walk through this. Korrie Johnson is the founder of GoodBookMom.com and Greta Eskridge, the author of a new book called It’s Time to Talk to Your Kids About Porn. And she’s a host of the Greta Eskridge podcast. We’ll link to all that in our show notes. Now, this is a great episode to share with anyone who works with teens or has daughters or granddaughters at home. So let’s head to the coffee shop for my conversation with Korrie and Greta.
Juli
Well, Greta and Korrie, I’m so thankful that you all are here. The topic we’re gonna dive into today is one that I’ve had on my heart for a while. And honestly, like as I’ve done some speaking and traveling, I’ve had people come up to me and say, would you please address the issue of literature and fiction and how it’s really creeping into pornography, particularly with kids and teenagers. So we were looking for the perfect people to address this topic and you two are it. So thanks for saying yes.
Korrie and Greta
Thanks for having us.
Juli
Yeah. Yeah, there you go. You see, you’re on the same page already. Well, Greta, you have such a heart to equip parents in helping them address the issue of pornography in their kids’ lives. So tell me first, how did that passion become yours? And then I’d love for you to share a little bit about the new book that you’ve just released.
Greta
Well, the passion really was birthed from pain. was our personal story. My husband, early into marriage, told me that he had a pornography addiction, which had resulted in an affair. And he was ready and willing to do anything he could to find healing and bring repair and restoration to our marriage, which he did. In the last 15 years, we have pursued that path together.
Greta (03:25.004)
And part of that has been recognizing we wanted to give our kids better tools to navigate this world of pornography than we were ever given. And then from that has grown my book, is called, It’s Time to Talk to Your Kids About Porn, because I recognize there are lots of other parents that need those same tools to give to their kids, just like we needed to give to our kids.
Juli
Yeah, boy, that’s beautiful. So I’d love to dive in by just talking about the fact that this is an issue and kind of the scope and the history of how we’ve gotten to a place where so much teen literature, young adult literature is really representing pornography and other things that should be of concern for parents. So let me start with you, Korrie. You run a website called, is it, and now I’m going to forget it, Good Moms or Good Books?
Korrie
Good Book Mom.
Juli
Good Book Mom. I had the words there. So tell me a little bit about how you got into that and then just what you’re seeing in terms of this trend.
Korrie
Yeah, so Good Book Mom, the heart behind Good Book Mom is to find books that children and parents will love, filtering everything through a biblical worldview. And so we review books and offer lists as well. But kind of a backstory on how we have gotten to the point we have in fiction, if we look back to 2020, seeing inappropriate content creeping into YA is not a new thing. We’ve seen this for decades.
But in 2020, there was sort of a shift as far as extending ideologies down even into board books. And so many publishers jumping on this idea that we need to be pushing certain anti-biblical ideologies all the way down to toddlers. So when that happened, there was sort of this ripple effect upward.
Korrie (05:24.502)
Because if we are offering books to toddlers and picture books to young children that are openly discussing things that would make some parents blush in the years past, it was sort of like all things go then in YA. And we’re seeing it creep into middle grade. Middle grade is ages eight through 12. And then YA is usually defined as like teens, 13 plus. And so when that happened, yes, we saw things infiltrate for the littles, but then we saw YA sort of say, well, the doors have been thrown wide open. So the content then in YA took a huge leap toward adult content with a very anti-biblical twist to it.
Juli
As you’re describing that, what are some of the things that you might see starting with those board books that would be inappropriate? And then what are the themes that are anti-biblical that you’re going to see in young adult literature?
Korrie
Oh, yeah, there’s board books that are talking about pronouns and lots of like LGBTQ ideologies for littles. And it’s unabashed now where, I mean, some, still have some where you would pick it up and then you’d read and go, well, I wasn’t expecting, you know, two moms in this story. But now we also see it just sort of, unabashedly plastered on the front. This is the goal of this book and parents in our culture are unfortunately gravitating towards some of those things.
Juli (07:10.004)
Yeah. So what are some of the unbiblical and anti-biblical themes that you’re seeing in teen, young adult literature?
Korrie
Oh, well, those same ideologies have really exploded in the YA just as far as LGBTQ relationships, but also pushing the boundaries. I wouldn’t say pushing the boundaries. would say going into the area of pornography where now things that would be like would have been sold in a brown bag, you know, 20, 30 years ago, because of what is written, not necessarily pictures, which is new, but what’s written, we are seeing highly pornographic storylines for teens, you know? And it’s even sort of dripping down into middle grade a little bit, ages eight to 12, because those doors have just been flung wide open.
Juli
Yeah. And Greta, that’s really where your heart and passion lie is helping parents address pornography with their kids in all forms, including written form. So share a little bit about your heart for this trend and what you’re seeing.
Greta
Yeah, that is my passion, Juli. And I think that every time I bring this up, parents are so surprised because I give them like sort of this list of things they need to be aware of, of where their kid could be exposed to pornography. you know, that could be video games, that could be through soft porn. And then, you know, it could be anime. And then I say books and parents, I see them, they kind of like wince because they’re like, what, we can’t even, you know, give our kids books safely?
Greta (08:53.366)
And the reality is we can’t, we have to look through the books that our kids are reading because there is this, I would say, predatory nature of the pornography industry that is trying to attract customers any way they can. And one way they’re doing that is through the books that are being pushed into the hands of teens and middle schoolers. And I already had researched that and knew that was true, but I had an experience, this was a couple of years ago, I was speaking at an event and it was mostly for parents, but there were some teams there. And when I mentioned parents needed to be aware of erotic literature that is not labeled as such, right? It’s not labeled. This is erotic literature in the young adult section of the library or the bookstore. But it definitely is because that is the way so many girls in particular are introduced to pornography is through these types of books. And when I shared that, there was this teenage girl in the back of the room, and she came up to me afterwards and she said, thank you so much for what you’ve said, because so many of my friends are reading these kinds of books, and it’s pulling them into pornography, and their parents have no idea because they think it’s a book, so it’s fine. They’re just so glad we’re reading. And she said, I just wish more people would talk about this because it’s a real problem for girls my age, teen girls, and I would say even for boys, but girls are definitely, that’s more the target audience. And so it is a problem. It’s a problem so much that the kids themselves are recognizing this is an issue. And so it’s something parents need to be aware of, and we need to know it’s out there so that we can respond in the correct way.
Juli
Yeah, Greta, I had a very, very similar situation a couple of months ago. I was doing a parenting seminar and talking about sexuality in kids and talking about the dangers of pornography, talking to your kids about pornography. And then in between, like when we had a break, there was a high school senior there who was helping out and she came up to me, she said, would you please talk about erotic literature? Like all my friends are into it. Their parents don’t know they’re getting hooked on pornography. So I’m thankful for some of these young men and women who are saying, hey, this is a problem, help us. But I also know as a parent what that felt like to feel like everywhere you turn pornography was hitting our kids. And particularly, I think when you’re talking about literature that’s more fantasy based, you you’re kind of suspecting it when you see romance, but from what I understand, it’s in all different genres of literature. There’s nothing really safe. help parents know, like, how do we even get our arms around this?
I guess this is a good question for you, Korrie, because I felt like as a parent, like, I certainly didn’t have time to check everything. And when you talk about reading a book, like, there’s no way I had time to sit down and read every book that my kids were going to be reading, particularly when they got into that, those young adult years.
Korrie
Yeah, and piggybacking off of what Greta said, I mean, in such a screen filled world, usually parents are just relieved if their children are reading anything. Yeah. They chose a book over a screen. Fantastic. And they feel relief simply for that reason. And so we don’t want to instill panic. That’s not what we want, but we do want to be prepared. And the truth is, just like Greta said that, it comes to girls more that girls are more drawn to this type of erotic literature, whereas typically boys are drawn to the visuals. They cross over, of course. We really should be training our kids from a young age to be discerning readers.
I do have like five questions that I as a reviewer, I ask, but I share with parents too, just to help them train themselves. And then their kids like, okay, when I get a book, these are the things that I should be asking. And they’re really simple. The first is just what’s the goal of the book. And if we’re talking about fiction, a lot of time it’s gonna be entertainment, but we can use that for nonfiction as well. You know, what’s the goal of this book? And then is that a goal that I want? know, if we’re just talking entertainment, okay. And then the second would be, does it achieve that goal and if applicable, biblically? And those sort of lean more toward nonfiction as well. But thirdly, does it glorify or normalize sin? And so we need to be holding everything, nonfiction fiction, up to scripture. What does scripture say about how things are portrayed? Okay, maybe it’s not blasting the trumpet saying this sin is okay, but is it making that sin seem normal?
Korrie
How is it portrayed? Of course, in fiction, we are going to have problems. Like there has to be an issue, right? Or fiction would be pretty boring. And so, yes, we’re going to have sin that is written about in our fiction books, but how is that portrayed and then ultimately resolved? Those are the things that we need to be asking. And then as a reviewer, I asked like, is it appropriate for the target age range?
So, as a young adult, sometimes the stuff that’s written isn’t appropriate for any age, right? I mean, nobody should be reading erotic literature. But we can ask that of our books for younger kids too. Okay, this tackles some good things, but my kiddo’s not ready for that subject matter yet.
Juli
Would you add anything to that Greta?
Greta
First, I want to say that’s a great list. And I love that you mentioned discernment because I think that that’s one of the most powerful gifts we can give to our kids and help them cultivate as they grow up in a period of time where there are so many messages being sent to them where, like you said, sin is normalized, it’s minimized, where things are over sexualized and where objectifying a person is seen as no big deal, it’s absolutely normal and to begin to teach them to recognize those things, to recognize those messages. call it teaching them to be consuming or to be wise consumers of media. So, you know, like that doesn’t just apply to a commercial that they see or a movie or a TV show. It applies to the books that they’re reading and helping them say, you know what? This actually isn’t good for me and I’m going to make the choice to stop reading it.
That is a big decision to make. We all have experienced times where we’re reading or watching something, listening to something, and we know it’s not best for us. And to give kids the ability to know, like, that is a powerfully important decision and that they can do that. That comes with discernment and wisdom, knowing how to recognize the good. That is one of the best tools we can give our kids. So I love that. And I think that should be something we teach our kids starting from a really young age.
Juli
Yeah, I’m guessing that you teach this discernment in some ways when they’re younger by reading with them, like reading books out loud and stopping and getting them to question and process it, that it’s not just you give them a book and that list of questions, like you have to show them, and not just sexual sin, but is it glorifying gossip and backstabbing and some of the other themes that we might not call out that are common, kind of themes particularly I think for teenage girls or middle school girls.
Greta
I think too, teaching them to be able to just like look at the front cover of a book and look at the back cover of a book and be able to read it and be like, you know what, I can tell based on the summary of this book that this is probably going to go into territory that could be problematic. Because like as parents, you’re right, we don’t have time to read everything that they want to read, but they should be able to look at the back of a book and be able to make a pretty good guess.
Greta (17:09.454)
Hmm, this is probably going to be problematic. And maybe if they’re like, oh, I want to read it so bad, all my friends are, then they could say to you, mom, dad, based on the back of this book, I think it might not be the best choice, but all my friends have read it. I would really like to give it a try. Could you look at it for me? Having that kind of relationship and conversation with our kids, letting them feel comfortable to say to you.
I want to read this, but I don’t know if I should.” And then you can say, instead of just absolutely shutting them down, say, sure, let me check it out. I think those kinds of conversations with our kids are so much more helpful than just automatically saying, you can’t read this. Like, let’s have a conversation about why it would be good or wouldn’t. And that is a way to help them grow as well in their discernment, but also in knowing they can come to you and you were willing to engage with them in these important conversations.
Korrie
Yeah, I think that’s so important and it’s those conversations when they’re older are possible because we’ve laid that foundation for them. You you don’t want to go through the list that I gave with every book or even any, you know, sometimes you don’t want to do that at all. You don’t want to kill a love of reading. But when the opportunity arises, calmly, that’s so important, calmly, just asking questions like, what do you think about how this book portrayed gossip or whatever it is, and having just really calm conversations when they’re younger and walking alongside them in that training like, yeah, okay, this is a fun book, or hey, maybe we should think a little bit more critically about what this book is teaching us, even though it’s a fiction book that begins when they are little, and we continue to walk alongside them and give them more freedom as they get older.
Korrie
I remember having a conversation with my oldest like, okay, I just can’t read everything before you. And you have shown that you understand these things and can hold them up to scripture. And so, mom and dad are okay with you reading some books and then you you got to make sure that you come to us if there are things that concern you or things that you have questions about and she was very excited about that to sort of feel that like I can do this on my own.
Juli
But let’s talk to the parent who maybe is like, wow, I wish I would have heard this seven years ago. But now we’re in the thick of the teen years and my kid just, I don’t even know what they read. We skipped all these conversations because I didn’t know it was an issue. What do I do now?
Greta
I always like to remind parents it’s never too late to talk to our kids. And so I think that this is a great opportunity for honesty and to just like go to your child and say, hey, you know what? I just learned about this whole genre of books and some of them might be books that you’ve read. And I don’t think that they’re the best for your heart, for your faith, for your brain. And in fact, they could lead you down some really dark paths.
And again, that’s honesty. If you’re talking to a teenager, that is the time for honesty. Honesty about your own failure to come to them sooner, but then honesty about the outcome of reading these kinds of books and where it leads. And so I want to talk to you about it I want to know what you’re reading and I want to know if these are books, you know, your friends are reading and you guys are talking about, and if that’s the case to help you find some books that would be better for you. So I think honesty is always the best policy.
Greta (20:58.23)
Our teens, especially respond to that and just start with that initial conversation is a great place to begin.
Juli
And Korrie, do you have at your website, do you have a list of books? Like, I’m sure you can’t read everything out there, but, you know, I’m even thinking, I know, like Focus on the Family used to have, I don’t know, they still do like plugged in media where they do movie reviews. Sometimes you can find video game reviews. Are there places like your website where parents can say, oh, my kid is really into this series or this author and get some like a quick overview of this is sort of a green light series or if it’s, wow, you got to have some real concerns here.
Korrie
Yeah, no, great question. So Good Book Mom right now does zero to, we review books zero to 12. Next year we are hoping to expand to teens. Man, there’s a lot of books out there. So we’re trying to get a few more reviewed in the zero to 12. But hopefully next year we’ll be into teens. But our reviews are free. So you can always hop on goodbookmom.com and just type in a title in the search bar to see if we have. You can check out Redeemed Reader as well. They do nice work.
Juli
Mm-hmm.
Greta (22:09.73)
I have another website that I would love to recommend that I think is really helpful for the teen books. Read Aloud Revival. She has a great book list for teens and I trust her. She reads the books, vets them before she recommends them. And this is high on her priority list of things to help kids avoid. So I use her book list all the time for my own teens. It’s a great website, Read Aloud Revival for those kinds of book lists.
Juli
Thank you. Yeah, we will put those links in our show notes so that people can check those out. I’d love to talk for a minute about our reading. And I think that this is key whenever we’re talking about parenting. Like so often we have concerns for our kids, but we’re careful about what we’re doing ourselves. I’m guessing that you two love to read because of what you do. I love to read. I’m always looking for a good fiction book and boy, it’s hard for me to find good fiction. Can you just talk in general about the power of the written word and why we have to be so careful about what we read? I don’t know, maybe, Corey, you want to start out on that one.
Korrie
Yeah, I mean, we’re, I believe we’re hardwired to be drawn to story because the greatest story that was ever told is in scripture. You know, we have the gospel and it is, it is a story and it’s an incredible story and the story that we all long for. And so I think, you know, when somebody says, I got to tell you this story, we perk up because we are drawn to story as image bearers. So I do think that fiction, I mean, it resonates sort of deep within our soul for that reason and can really affect us as humans because God has wired us that way. And so because of that, we do need to be diligent about the things that we take in, no matter how far along we think we are in our walk, we still need to have discernment for ourselves.
Korrie (24:17.358)
Philippians 4.8 speaks to that exactly, you know, to think on things that are true and lovely. And I mean, really that’s pointing to scripture, you know, to be meditating on scripture. Fiction can have beautiful elements of truth, even though they are not in fact true. They didn’t actually happen. They can be pointing us to truth. And so when we as adults are saying, well, this isn’t going to affect me, I would hold those thoughts up to scripture to, we become what we behold. I know that’s not in scripture, but it’s beautifully put. If we continue to put those things in front of us, they do shape our mind, no matter how far along we are in our walk with Christ.
Greta
I think we also have to be really careful about the messages culture is sending us and therefore that trickling down to our kids because I really believe culture is trying to minimize and normalize pornography, for instance, through erotic literature by calling it something like spicy, right? How many times have you heard or seen memes or TV shows or heard about women who are, know, I’m, I love this spicy book. I’m reading this, you know, it has, it’s level two spicy. What does that really mean? And what does it mean when we’re drawn to read it? Why are we drawn to read it? And what could be the implications of it? I think about like, you know, if you, you consider like a group of women and they’re all reading this spicy book and they’re talking about it and it’s really pornography on a page, it’s just written. What if we flip that around and we had a group of people who were looking at pornography together, some movie that they were all watching and it was pornographic? We would probably be much more shocked, maybe even horrified, as well we should be. But somehow it seems less problematic, less offensive, less bothersome if it’s in a book.
Greta (26:15.21)
And I think that that is a way that pornography is being watered down and like I said, minimized and normalized and accepted. And so we have to be really careful about what we’re consuming. And then like I said, why, why are we drawn to it? Is there something in our life that we’re dissatisfied, we’re unhappy, we wish we’re craving something and is that the best fulfillment for that thing? No, it’s not. I’m not, I was gonna say probably not. I’m gonna say absolutely not.
It’s not the best fulfillment for that longing that we have. And so what could we fill it with that is better? Who can we go to? Of course we can go to Christ. And so we as adults, as women, as men, we need to remember that message for ourselves. And then we need to bring that back to our kids. So if you have that conversation with your teen and they’re like, yeah, I have read these books and I like them, they’re fun or whatever. Like, let’s ask why.
Greta
Why do you like reading them? What are they filling in your heart and your soul? Is there a longing there? Is there something better that you could fill that with? Yes, it’s Christ. And so I think, obviously, we want to choose what’s best to fill our minds and our hearts with, our souls. And part of that is addressing, one, how culture is tempting us to look at things that we shouldn’t by making light of them and acting like it’s normal and no big deal, but then also going even further and addressing why am I drawn to this and is there something better that I could choose? And of course, the answer to that is yes.
Juli
Well, that is really well said. When you think about erotic literature, I think that there’s a piece of it that feels in some ways more redemptive than pornography because it’s tying a story and a relationship. know, pornography, by and large, will separate the body and the act from context or relationship. So I think it’s more subtle when you’re like, yeah, but they’re in love and I’m kind of on this journey with them.
Juli (28:18.008)
But one of the things that I’ve realized over time, back in the day when 50 Shades of Grey came out, I wrote a book with Dannah Gresh called Pulling Back the Shades, and we really talked a lot about this. But if you think about what pornography does, it presents something unreal to meet our longings in the same way erotic fiction and fantasy takes a woman’s longing to be treasured, to be loved, to be nurtured, to be excited to experience good sex, like every woman wants that, but it takes it outside of the context of what’s real and what’s true. It makes us dissatisfied with the current situation that we’re in. And boy, that can be a real hook for us.
Greta
Yeah, and I think that the predatory nature of the pornography industry, you know, it’s all about making money and they want to make money. And how can they capitalize on this whole segment of the population that maybe in the past was not consuming pornography as much? Women were not consuming pornography as much as men in the past. But now that rate is growing massively, more than ever before. And I would say it’s in part due to them recognizing, oh, we can lure these customers in, we can lure women in with these stories that are romantic and make them feel like you said, all of those things that they want, none of which are wrong. Those to be cherished, to be loved, to be in a romantic relationship, to have great sex, those are things that are not wrong, but they can be twisted, which is what pornography does, whether it’s through erotic literature or through movies, whatever. It twists it into something that it should not be, but that’s the way they can pull them in and then get you, get a person hooked, get a woman hooked. Whether that woman is 12 or 52, it doesn’t matter and pull them in and they go down that dark trail.
Greta (30:20.888)
And we don’t want that. But I don’t think people are talking about it that much because like you said, like it seems somehow more redemptive, less harmful if it’s in a book, if it’s a story rather than a film or a video.
Juli
Korrie, you hit on this very early in our conversation. You mentioned the LGBT themes even in children’s literature. I’d love for either one of you to speak to the LGBT themes that are in middle school and young adult literature and how that’s impacting particularly girls. There’s so much confusion around gender and identity today. I don’t know which one of you wants to take a stab at that first.
Korrie
Yeah, I mean, we, take a trip to your public library and it will probably be quite easy even in the middle grade section to find fiction that is both glorifying and normalizing LGBTQ and transgender behaviors. And, you know, we talked about before how story like reaches us. We resonate with stories and I remember reading and I cannot quote for you where, but that the LGBTQ community saw great value in shows that portrayed LGBTQ couples because it culturally normalizes this thing. Even if somebody doesn’t know a couple who is that way. Well, I saw that on TV and it looked really normal on TV. And it’s the same thing, whether we’re seeing the story or reading the story. When we read about teenage girl who’s confused about the way she feels. well, this character came to the conclusion that it’s because she’s really a boy. I mean, that’s going to grab the heart of some girl who is in a vulnerable place. I mean, that age is, that’s a tough age, know, just like biologically, it’s a hard time of life for many reasons.
Juli (32:23.074)
Yeah.
Korrie (32:27.33)
But feeling like they’re seen and understood by fictional characters. As parents, we really need to be aware of that. But yeah, it’s unfortunately permeating most of the fiction section.
Juli
Hmm, yeah.
Greta
I want to, if it’s okay, go in just a tiny detour, but similar context of really this idea of, like you said, Korrie taking kids when they’re in a vulnerable state. And I think about the number of women and girls who are consuming pornography. And I think about how Satan really ultimately is preying on them and their weakness. And one of the things that I see happening is with the rise of violent pornography, girls especially who are looking to pornography to find out what is expected of them sexually, right? What am I supposed to do? What can I expect? Then they’re completely and justifiably appalled by what they see, terrified. And so they’re like, well, I want no part of that. And they’re veering off in this other direction, whether to just be like, I will just consume this erotic literature where the guy is treating me nice and he’s kind and romantic and not victimizing me in this violent way. Sorry, it makes me emotional because I just think about what these, you know, these girls are being exposed to. Well, of course they’re terrified. Of course they would choose this other thing.
Greta
And Satan is able to capitalize on that and trick them. Or they could say, well, I want nothing to do with men at all because that’s terrifying to me. And to have that understanding, of this time of life where they’re so confused already because it’s a confusing, overwhelming time with hormones and being a teen. But then you add these other things that they should not have to deal with. You add those into their story of their life in that moment. And it’s overwhelming for them. And we should have compassion and a willingness to step into those hard conversations because there are a lot of kids that are struggling and girls, think we have not addressed just the conference I was just at this weekend speaking. I had many women saying to me, well, I don’t need to talk. I don’t need to worry about this. I don’t need to talk to my kids about porn because I have girls like, yes, you do. Yes, you do.
And so we do need to talk about erotic literature. We do need to talk about the way it’s impacting girls and what they’re seeing because it matters to their story and the decisions they’re making that could potentially impact them greatly for the rest of their lives.
Juli
Yeah, boy, that is such an insight there, Greta. Just the reaction of seeing violent porn and thinking, well, maybe another girl will care for my heart more than a boy will. That’s a very frightening connection to make. And we know based on the statistics that gender confusion and sexual confusion is just so rampant in these younger generations and it just breaks your heart.
I’d love to end with just some hope for the parent or grandparent even who’s like, man, the kid I love is in the thick of this. I know that they’re engaged with the wrong literature. They’re struggling with gender identity or sexual identity. They’re probably looking at porn. Where’s the hope?
Korrie (36:00.094)
Yeah, I mean, the hope is always Christ, right? I mean, we, as much as we want to be the Holy Spirit, you know, I’m reminded daily, that’s not me, praise the Lord, but I can bring everything to the Lord on behalf of myself and on behalf of my children. And praying with them, letting them know that you are on their side, that you are fighting with them, you are not fighting them, you are fighting for them. We have just stepped into, um, teendom. Uh, so Greta is going to have far more wisdom on that, but being able to be, you know, appropriately vulnerable with our teens to let them know our hearts for them and how much we love them and that we love them because they are our children, not because of the things that they do or don’t do.
Greta
I always love the verse from Romans 12 that says, not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. And I think that that is like my battle cry in this, in my own family. And then as I share with other families, because Satan wants us to feel defeated, right? He wants us to feel like we are overcome by evil. There’s nothing that we can do. That brings me to another one of my battle cries in this fight, it’s a quote from Betsy Ten Boom, who’s the sister of Korrie Ten Boom, which is a great book You should read with your kids written by Korrie is called The Hiding Place and it’s the story of her family surviving, some of them surviving a Nazi concentration camp that they were put in during World War two But in that concentration camp Betsy said to her sister, She said there’s no pit so deep that God’s love is not deeper still.
And I think we need to hold on to that. We are not overcome by evil because there’s no pit so deep that God’s love isn’t deeper still. He is with us in this fight. If we slip, if our kids slip, if we fall, the pit is not so deep that God can’t pull us out or them out. And we need to fill their hearts and their minds with good things. Start by offering them the book, Hiding Place, and say, here’s the story of a person that overcame such great obstacles and hardships and you’re not going to be able to put it down because it’s incredible. Pursue the good that is in the world that Jesus has brought into the world. Share that with our kids so that we can give them the belief, the hope that they can overcome evil with good. That’s the message that our kids need to hear. That’s what we need to share with them.
Juli (38:42.488)
Well, I love what Greta shared about overcoming evil with good, like even the power of good books. And she’s right. It’s not just about abstaining from bad things, but it’s about what we’re pursuing both in our own lives and for our children. So be intentional to find that good literature that creates pictures in our minds of the right kind of values that are redemptive and nowadays countercultural.
Greta and Korrie listed off a few resources that can help you find those books and we’ll link to those in our show notes. You can also find more resources to help you sexually disciple your kids at Authenticintimacy.com. Well, thanks so much for listening and I look forward to having coffee with you next time on Java with Juli.