Mom Seriously: Mom Seriously Interview: Clay Crosse with Advice for Mothers Raising Sons

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Porn and Purity, Christian Education by Rebecca Ingram Powell

Click HERE to view all my Porn and Purity articles!

Clay and Renee share their
story in I Surrender All

For Contemporary Christian Music recording artist and Dove Award winner Clay Crosse, his first introduction to pornography was in the fourth grade. (Today, the national average for first-time exposure to porn is eight years old.) Clay and his wife Renee’s ministry, Holy Homes, seeks to help parents set a standard of holiness for their families. In a personal interview with Clay, who records his experience with porn addiction in the book, I Surrender All: Rebuilding a Marriage Broken by Pornography, we talked about how moms can make themselves aware of the extreme temptation pornography presents for their sons, and also, its damaging results.

MomSeriously (MS): Besides the Internet, how else does pornography make its way into our homes?

Clay Crosse (CC): Pornography slips in--through clothing catalogs, commercials, television, even comic books.

MS: What can moms do to help safeguard their boys?

CC: It’s really about a mom being aware, caring that this is potentially coming into a young boy’s life. There are some simple steps: Don’t let TV be the babysitter. No online access in the bedroom or other private, closed off room in the house. And no computer should be without a filter or reporting service to see where your kids are going.

MS: Sometimes moms can feel pretty awkward discussing issues like pornography with their sons. How can moms communicate successfully with their boys when it comes to talking about porn?

CC: Well, it’s important for moms to realize that boys need a dad, or a strong male figure in their life who says, Hey, I get it. I know how you feel and I know how those images make you feel and I know what they do for you. It’s not a foreign thought to me. I understand that. But let me encourage moms to challenge their sons to look at themselves as young Christian men, which means they look at themselves in a different way.

Moms can say, You will feel those lures, but know that God created you this way and offers you this amazing gift that you will enjoy one day with your wife. Until then, you’ve got to focus on Christ and be in His Word and try as best you can to grow in Him. You’ve got to walk this life. There will be times when you will fall, but God loves you so much and He has a great plan for you. And when it comes to sex in your life, it’s an amazing thing He has for you and your wife one day. So you need to be praying for your wife. And moms can help their sons respect the girls who are around them, even if everything about those girls doesn’t seem to be asking for their respect.

MS: What do you mean?

CC: Guys out there are going to have girls all around them, all the time, that are not respectful of themselves. They don’t seem to care about themselves or their bodies. I believe that’s missing out there for guys: a respect factor for girls. Moms need to impart that to their young men, and they can. My mom was the most influential in raising me.

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Clay's latest CD release!

Hey readers, do you doubt your influence on your son? Read Clay's words again. The impact of your example along with the power of your prayers for your son must never be discounted.

I was tickled pink when Clay agreed to write the forward for my Bible study for boys, Dig Deep: Unearthing the Treasures of Solomon's Proverbs. If you have a boy 6th - 9th grade, you will want to check it out HERE.

Clay recently released a CD entitled, Everytime I Feel the Spirit: An Americana Collection of Hymns and Such available HERE. Take some time to check out his conference and resource ministry with his beautiful wife Renee at HolyHomes.org!