Every square inch... The only part of my too cool room that was not covered with posters was my ceiling. New Kids on the Block, or NKOTB as they were known, was my band. My "fav guy"- Jonathan Knight. It seems crazy to me now the obsession I had with a band during my teen years. They were just a few clean guys who could harmonize with a great marketing machine.
As a mom (and as someone in Christian radio) I now find myself in the position of following news stories about celebrities who claim faith in Jesus Christ. I get excited when I hear about role models my daughter can look up to... to a point.
A few months prior to the Miley Cyrus photo scandals I remember having a conversation with a couple of friends about my daughter going to Miley's movie with a friend, a too-short skirt Miley wore on a TV, and Miley's claim of faith in Jesus Christ. As the conversation turned a corner I said I felt compelled to warn my daughter, Lindsey, that even though Miley says she is a Christian she may make some bad choices in her life.. "so don't get all wrapped up in her!" My friends told me I shouldn't bring it up until "something" actually happened in Miley's life to indicate a concern. Well let's just say- it didn't take long.
A few weeks ago the hot-Christian-of-the-moment was Carrie Prejean the now former Miss California. Her story has been a see-saw I'm glad I decided not to even bring up with my daughter. She's a pro-marriage advocate, but her modeling choices have indicated otherwise. Talk about a walking a tightrope. If teen girls are/were excited about Carrie's bold choice of standing up for traditional marriage they had to walk across an internet minefield of photos to read her story. That's just messy.
American Idol has been an exciting place to look for Christians in the spotlight with Kris Allen and Danny Gokey both shining as great singers and followers of Jesus. Kris's win gave me hope again that sometimes "the good guys" still win in America.
A little good... A little bad... A little disappointment... A little hope... Each of these stars are role models, but we as parents do have some power as to whether they become "idols" in our kids lives. (I'm still trying to figure out when a few posters turn into a shrine?!) We know that Jesus should be our kids' ultimate role model, but it sure is nice to have someone to look up to "with skin on."
Finally, as much as I hate to say it, female stars have a particulary lousy track record. How many stars are there who started out with squeaky clean Disney movies only to shed that image the moment they turned (barely) legal age? Britney Spears, Jessica Simpson and Miley Cyrus have all claimed faith in Jesus but have each disappointed as role models for pre-teen/teen girls. What the world needs now is more females in the spotlight who make a claim of faith and live in purity. Until then buy a Kris Allen poster- he's the "Christian Flavor of the Week."
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