Tag: pornography

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A Millennial Talks About Internet Filters, Pornography, and Addiction

“I was first introduced to online sexting with strangers when I was 12 years old through an online video game on my computer.” Austin Couture, now 29, eventually developed an addiction. “I could not stop seeking out pornography and women to chat with online or the obsessive and compulsive masturbation that always went along with it. At one of my lowest points, I felt isolated, alone, confused, faulty and irreparably broken. I believed that I was an emotionless, guilt-ridden zombie that was forever cursed to live in despair with these sexual secrets.”[1] Austin and I met at a Sexual Integrity Leadership Summit and connected further when I was a guest on his podcast. I asked Austin to give us some insight from his perspective on addiction, talking, and using an internet filter. He had the following advice:

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Judy Blume Answered Our Questions, Google Answers Theirs

Judy Blume blog post title

“We must—we must—we must increase our bust!” I grew up reading Judy Blume books. This line from Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret is part of my permanent memory. In the book, Margaret learned a lot about herself and hit puberty in the span of 192 pages. She and her friends were determined to look like the girls they saw in Playboy. They vow to do exercises to increase their bust size while chanting this memorable mantra. Throughout the book they each acquire bras and come of age by finally getting their period.

I learned a lot from Judy Blume while coming of age myself.

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Sound of Freedom

Sound of Freedom movie image

Sound of Freedom, the movie that packed theaters and reached number one at the box office quickly, is getting a lot of publicity. But the message of the movie is debated. Is it good or bad? Is it positive or negative? Does it help or harm the anti-human trafficking industry? Great questions, but not easily answered, in my opinion.

As with most topics, we can’t peg Sound of Freedom as all good or all bad. I believe those of us in the anti-human trafficking space critiqued the details of the movie more than the average American because of our knowledge on the subject.

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Sexpectations Book Launch Day and Hopeful Mom’s Birthday

Sexpectations Hopeful Mom celebration

Cue the confetti. Sound the trumpets. Let’s celebrate!

Hopeful Mom is 5 years old.

This is the 100th blog post.

AND . . . Sexpectations: Helping the Next Generation Navigate Healthy Relationships releases today.

That’s enough to get up and dance.

When I started Hopeful Mom (originally called Difficult Conversations) five years ago, I didn’t know the impact it would have. All I knew was that I had a burden for other parents struggling with pornography in their home and couldn’t stay silent any longer. I wrote under a pen name for two years.

In August 2020, my family gave me permission to use my given name and Hopeful Mom gained traction. In October of that year, I attended a writers conference and, through the conference, landed an agent. In November 2021, I signed a book contract with Leafwood Publisher and . . .

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Three Truths About Relationships, Kids, Porn, and You

I met Dr. Carol a few months ago when she asked me to be a guest on her podcast. I was immediately drawn to her likeable personality. Carol helps others find transformation through Jesus from thorny issues such as broken relationships, issues around sex/sexuality, mental/emotional problems, and toxic religion. I know you will benefit from her post.

You don’t want your kid hooked on porn. You don’t even want them seeing it.

In today’s world that’s kind of like kids and germs. Well, sort of. Every kid gets exposed to germs, but germs don’t destroy a person’s soul the way porn does. But God put you on this earth in this generation to raise your children in the world we have today. It’s messy. It’s hard.

And you’ve got what it takes.

Let me suggest three truths about relationships, porn, you, and your kid that will help you understand your role as a parent today.

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Mom, I See You

Mom with camera I see you

As a young mom, I wrestled with thoughts that I wasn’t enough. I didn’t purchase the right clothes or decipher my children’s needs correctly. I wasn’t contributing to the household income or spending enough time raising my children. The meals were inadequate and the house wasn’t clean. If I sat with the children to play a game, supper was late. If I spent too much time reading to them, they may not learn necessary life skills. The never-ending tug and pull in my mind. Can you relate? Mom, I see you.

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Tips to Keep Your Teens Safe From Online Sexual Exploitation and Harassment

teen VR online gaming

Jenna Greenspoon of Kidas is here this month to talk with us about keeping our kids safe while they are gaming online. Since January is Human Trafficking Awareness month, it’s the perfect time to explore the dangers of sexual exploitation and harassment while gaming.

Children spend hours and hours online daily for both educational and non-educational purposes. You have likely seen this in your own home or read about it. Many parents worry about what their children are exposed to during their time online engaging in a hobby, such as gaming, and how they can prevent sexual exploitation and harassment from happening. They want to protect their children.

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Sexting: Helping Our Children Heal From This Epidemic

Kristen Miele of Sex Ed Reclaimed is with us to talk about sexting. I met Kristen when she and I were each presenting at the SHE Recovery Summit. Her topic was sexting, and I quickly asked her to share her expertise at Hopeful Mom. I’m so grateful she agreed.

Sending nudes. Sharing pics. Snapu puas (sending nudes, the words upside down and backwards!). Texxxting. ‘You up?.’

Slang and teenagers go together like pumpkins and pie. There are many terms for sexting: sending explicit photos over the phone, in messages, and online. As adults, we’ll never understand all of the current slang. We actually don’t need to. However, what we do need to know is how to help our children prevent and heal from the epidemic of sexting.

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