Great Waters Press - A TOS Homeschool Crew Review

This summer I have been listening to an audiobook by Great Waters Press.

I was pleased to be selected to review Love, Honor, and Virtue: Gaining or Regaining a Biblical Attitude Toward Sexuality. 
I requested the audiobook because my son is not much of a reader (and I am hoping he will listen to the audiobook). For this review, we the parents were asked to read (listen to) the book. We were not required to have our son(s) read (listen to) the book.

I really appreciate that Great Water Press asked us to do the reviews this way. This book contains very sensitive material. While I hope my son listens to this audiobook, I would never be able to discuss any of this material in a way that references my son personally. That would not be appropriate and it would violate his privacy.

Love, Honor, and Virtue is written to the young man in your life, but I certainly advise mom or dad (or both) read/listen first. Some sons may be ready for some (or all) of the content at age 9 or 10. Other young men will not. There is also the possibility of introducing certain sections at certain times.

There are so many ideas going through my head right now. With a younger son, a dad can take a year where one Saturday each month he and his son have a special get-away to read and discuss one section of the book. This would not need to be a whole chapter each time -- some of the chapters are quite long. 

Another family might have dad and son take a weekend (or two) where they have a special retreat to enjoy time together with a prime assignment of reading and discussing the book, but with other special time built in as well. This could be a camping trip, a hotel, a beach weekend, or whatever the two agree upon.

In my own family dad and son took a special weekend of this type when our young man was 13 and discussed similar material. Now our young man is leaving for college (next month). I am happy I have the audiobook I can give him and ask him to consider listening to it sometime soon.

The full title of the book (Love, Honor, and Virtue: Gaining or Regaining a Biblical Attitude Toward Sexuality) gives a fairly complete hint of the content. The young man reading the book is walked through the biblical design for marriage and God's plan for the man and woman in relationship leading up to and continuing after marriage.

Sensitive topics are discussed, that I hesitate even to write the words in this post, but I will give hints. Topics are discussed of temptations young men face with the new power of raging hormones and changing body parts. The topic is also discussed of temptation young men encounter in print, media and Internet exposure (that my generation would only be exposed to by stealing an uncle's magazine). 

I really liked the way the authors explained the term "lust". I had always thought of the definition slightly differently (like "I am lusting after a hot fudge sundae"), but the authors reserve the term "lust" to refer to desiring something that is clearly a sin (as in a man doesn't "lust" after his wife, because being together with her is not sin). I also like the way the authors explained to the young man what is the appropriate response to desires, when he is tempted, and recommended ways for the young man to flee from situations where he is being tempted.

Love, Honor and Virtue is a God-glorifying book that I highly recommend to parents and their sons. It will be particularly welcome to young men who have committed in their hearts to pursue purity. This book is also one that can be offered to young men who can honestly admit that they are not sure what they think about purity and abstinence before marriage. And in my situation, it is a great book to give to my son as he is starting college, to give him the opportunity (and respect) to work his way through the material on his own as he heads off into this new adventure in his life.

While I am glad I received the audiobook for review, I see many reasons why I would have preferred the printed book personally. (Remember, I asked for the audiobook because it is the one I believe my son is most likely to get through.) I wanted to mention that although the book is supposed to be written to the young man, when I was listening to the Introduction I kept thinking that the Introduction sounded more like it was written to an adult. If I had received the printed book, I would have reviewed several sections. Frankly, if the copy were for me (and not my son) I would have read the book and highlighted certain sections, while also taking notes down on my own notebook. (And some young men might want to do the same thing.) For this review I would have said more about how many chapters are in the book, titles of chapters, and number of pages in the book.

So when considering whether you want the printed book or the audio book, consider the young man you are buying it for and get what will serve him best. And for families with more than one young man, I recommend one book per lad. This book is written for a target audience of ages 12-20, with wiggle room on each end.
 
Other members of the Homeschool Review Crew also reviewed Love, Honor, and Virtue: Gaining or Regaining a Biblical Attitude Toward Sexuality or No Longer Little: Parenting Tweens with Grace and Hope. To read other reviews of these books by Great Waters Press, please click on the button below.