8 Great Dates for Moms and Daughters: How to Talk About Cool Fashion, True Beauty, and Dignity

By Dannah Gresh

Make Time for Fun, Teaching, and Connection

With all the pressures and influences of today’s world, Christian moms worry about their little girls and how they will grow up. Quality time between a mom and a daughter can be the greatest protection against the world’s pressures to make a girl mature too quickly. Knowing this, Dannah Gresh, popular speaker and founder of the True Girl conferences, has developed a host of dating ideas to help moms invest the time needed to deeply connect with their daughters.

8 Great Dates includes fun mother-daughter get-togethers, perfect for one-on-one or for a small group of moms and their energetic 8- to 12-year-old daughters. Each date focuses on one topic surrounding beauty and dignity, provides lots of fun, and imparts a message that enhances life and faith. The book provides a mom with everything she needs to plan and carry out the activities and includes topics such as:

• The power of true beauty—what makes a girl beautiful?
• Truth or bare fashions—how to balance fashion and dignity
• Hair, makeup, and clothes—who should be your model?

Here’s the secret to bringing up healthy, grounded, and spiritually rich girls!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Harvest House Publishers
• Release date: Aug 17, 2021
• ISBN: 9780736981880

Dannah Gresh

Dannah Gresh lives in the mountains of Pennsylvania with her husband, Bob, their children, Robby and Lexi, and their Labradoodle, Stormie. The Greshes founded Pure Freedom, a ministry that has provided biblical retreats and teaching resources for more than 500,000 people all over the world. Dannah has appeared as a guest on programs such asFamilyLife Today, The 700 Club, and Focus on the Family.

Book preview

PRAISE FOR 8 GREAT DATES FOR MOMS AND DAUGHTERS

8 Great Dates has given me the tools I need to verbalize some very valuable lessons. I am grateful for this guide to help me along this journey with my daughter. I feel better equipped as a mother!

Tracy

The…dates have provided a beautiful springboard through fun memories for me and my girls to communicate about growing up, finding identity in Christ, and how to biblically navigate through the tricky pre-teen years.

Melanie

My daughter and I…went on a date a month. We looked forward to each date and what we would do together. When my youngest daughter turned ten, she asked me when we were going to start going on our dates together!

Tina

My girls and I love the dates. Love it!

Wanda

After two years my daughters still remember and talk about what they learned…We are taking a ‘refresher’ course with the dates again this summer. A memory that will last a lifetime!

Lynda

"I just started using 8 Great Dates. We have done the tea party and the art museum date. I thought it was a perfect way to make the comparison of my daughter’s beauty with fine art."

Sacheen

"We have a lot of different interests and have just had some hard times ‘bonding,’ but when we discovered the 8 Great Dates book last year, that all changed. God began to work in our lives in such a way that all I can seem to do when I think about it is cry. Hands down, going on our dates has been the highlight of both of our lives over the past year!"

Jennifer

"We are having so much fun doing our own True Girls group using 8 Great Dates. We have had two group dates so far, including our tea and facial parties, and the girls can’t wait for our next one. Thank you for preserving our daughters!"

Deb

We did the dates as a small group study of moms with their daughters!

Shari

We are in the second year of doing True Girl as an outreach with a local home for children. We have another local church interested in doing the same.

Pat

I have one daughter, who is nine years old—almost ten. There are so many wonderful memories with her, and we are going through your True Girl Bible study book and enjoying our dates immensely.

Joan

My daughter, Megan, and I enjoyed all of our dates as she learned what it meant to be a True Girl. My absolute favorite moment, though, was when my husband was able to join in on date night. Megan was beaming as she heard the praise from her papa about the amazing, godly young woman that she is becoming and the hope that lies ahead.

Wynne

"I have so many wonderful memories with my daughter from this last year…thanks to you and 8 Great Dates for Moms and Daughters. But by far, my best memory was the least ‘jazzy’ date. It was the one where we got away and spent some quiet time with God. When we got home, my eight-year-old daughter wrote this:

God has been very good in my life but this time was

the best ever because I had a date with my very own mom

some pepole may think it’s werd but i don’t think that

mom and I had the best time ever and at the same time

we got more time with God wich was a blessing

nothing coud compair to that good date

i know that was short but i gotta run see ya.

Jennifer

HARVEST HOUSE PUBLISHERS

EUGENE, OREGON

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.

Verses marked MSG are taken from THE MESSAGE. Copyright © by Eugene H. Peterson 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.

Verses marked KJV are taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

Verses marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, IL 60189 USA. All rights reserved.

Verses marked ESV are taken from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Cover design by Kara Klontz

Cover photo (c) Kerkez / iStock

Interior design by KUHN Design Group

True Girl is a registered trademark of Dannah Gresh.

is a federally registered trademark of the Hawkins Children’s LLC. Harvest House Publishers, Inc., is the exclusive licensee of the trademark.

8 GREAT DATES FOR MOMS AND DAUGHTERS

Copyright © 2010 by Dannah Gresh

Published by Harvest House Publishers

Eugene, Oregon 97408

www.harvesthousepublishers.com

ISBN 978-0-7369-8187-3 (pbk.)

ISBN 978-0-7369-8188-0 (eBook)

The Library of Congress has cataloged the edition as follows:

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Gresh, Dannah.

[Mother’s planning guide for secret keeper girl]

8 great dates for moms and daughters / Dannah Gresh.

        p. cm.

Originally published: Mother’s planning guide for secret keeper girl. Chicago : Moody Publishers, c2003.

ISBN 978-0-7369-6114-1 (pbk.)

ISBN 978-0-7369-6115-8 (eBook)

1. Mothers and daughters—Religious aspects—Christianity. 2. Girls—Religious life. 3. Beauty, Personal. I. Title. II. Title: Eight great dates for moms and daughters.

BV4529.18.G74 2010

248.8’431—dc22

2010009069

All rights reserved. No part of this electronic publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, digital, photocopy, recording, or any other—without the prior written permission of the publisher. The authorized purchaser has been granted a nontransferable, nonexclusive, and noncommercial right to access and view this electronic publication, and purchaser agrees to do so only in accordance with the terms of use under which it was purchased or transmitted. Participation in or encouragement of piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of author’s and publisher’s rights is strictly prohibited.

Dedication

To my mother, Kay Barker,

who told me the teacup story and taught me to live it.

Thank you for praying this verse over my life.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

A big True Girl squeeze to…

Hundreds of thousands of moms and daughters who have been through these dates and others created by myself and the True Girl team. I’ve enjoyed getting to know my True Girls and their connecting moms through Facebook, Instagram, and mytruegirl.com. I love you, girls! Thanks for getting True Girl rolling. We had no idea how big it would become!

Harvest House Publishers for partnering with us for the exciting growth of True Girl. I am so grateful that you see my heart to protect little girls in a culture that’s pressing them to grow up way too fast. I’m especially grateful to Barb Sherrill for steering the partnership. And to Gene Skinner who helped us modify and edit this revised version. I’m humbled to work with such veterans in the publishing industry!

Eileen King, my right hand girl! She put hours and hours into revising this so we could bring you the most-up-to-date resource to get closer to your daughter as you both grow closer to Christ.

While I’m at the task of squeezing, I’m so grateful for my main squeeze, Bob. True Girl was his idea, and he has been faithful. From our great beginning with Moody Publishers through Greg Thornton’s leadership to our expanding partnerships, Bob has married administrative genius with patience.

Mostly, thanks to Jesus, who I long to be with every day. I am forever in His great love.

—Dannah

Contents

Dedication

Acknowledgments

Preface

PART 1: GETTING TO KNOW EACH OTHER

Chapter 1: A Mother’s Seasons of Emotion

Chapter 2: Your Daughter’s Endless Season of Emotions: The Tween and Teen Years

Chapter 3: How to Use This Book

PART 2: 8 GREAT DATES

Date #1: Your Beauty in God’s Eyes

Date #2: Real Physical Beauty

Date #3: The Source of Beauty

Date #4: The Power of Beauty

Date #5: Truth or Bare Fashion

Date #6: The Bod Squad

Date #7: Internal Fashion

Date #8: Affirmation of Beauty

PART 3: DEVOTIONS AND OTHER GOOD STUFF

True Girl Mom-and-Daughter Devotions

True Girl FAQs for Moms

Notes

Other Resources from Dannah Gresh

About the Publisher

Girl Gab

Preface

Hi, Friend—

In your hand is one of the easiest-to-use resources you’ll ever find. Let me give you a few key pointers about how to find things in this book. (In just a few pages, I’ll explain how to use it and how to plan your mom–daughter dates.) But here’s a quick look at what you’ll see inside.

Part 1: Getting to Know Each Other. This is a hearty hello and welcome to True Girl. The first two chapters contain some self-reflection on our own quest for true beauty and dignity as moms, and then a dose of truth about the culture your daughter is growing up in. Skim them if you want, but don’t skip the third chapter. It tells you how to use the book!

Part 2: 8 Great Dates. Here they are in all their glory—the True Girl 8 Great Dates, which teach your daughter about true beauty and modesty! Glance through them and you’ll see that each one is easy to use…and very fun. (What mom wouldn’t want to share a facial with her daughter?)

Part 3: Devotions and Other Good Stuff. This section is full of things you’ll reference as needed. Don’t worry—I’ll let you know when you need to dive in. The first part is the True Girl Mom-and-Daughter Devotions. You’ll use these fantastic daily devotions after Date #3, and I’ll explain how to use them. The next section contains some frequently asked questions. I added this