Easy sex is not true love! True love waits!

This from a French paper:

LETTER TO MY KIDS
Easy sex is not true love !

Most teenagers believe their parents are over protective and, in doing so, prevent them from enjoying life to the full. They hate being warned against premature sex while the media in general convey a different idea.

“Papa don’t preach”, sang Madonna in the 80s and the tune is still much the same. Yet, if parents choose to guide their offspring, it’s because there is cause for concern.

What the unscrupulous people making huge amounts of money out of promoting an unbridled life fail to state is the adverse consequences it brings. They make believe that one should follow one’s bent and refuse freedom constraining discipline – “we don’t need no education”, they would say.

Sex is in fact a very delicate issue. It is linked to the most important aspect of life: ensuring its very continuity. It is surely not meant to be a solely pleasurable activity!

Some people rightly brandish the risks of catching deadly Aids to warn people about what they call ‘unsafe sex’. Yet, this deadly sexually transmitted disease is not the only consequence of easy sex; there are lots of other backlashes. These include emotional disturbance at a time a teenager is building up his/her personality; psychological effects such as depression and dilution of values.

Moreover, Aids is not the only STD (sexually transmitted disease) on the sex market. It’s not because they are not incurable that people should not be warned about the risk of catching them. 116 million individuals are estimated to contract such diseases every year in the world and it’s not written on their faces. They hit without discrimination. Though there are remedies, some of them may leave lifetime effects such as increased risks of cancers.

A teenager is simply not mature enough to be sexually active. This may be frowned upon by many but it is but the plain truth.

It’s very easy to get trapped but it’s much more difficult to avoid from giving away the most intimate part of oneself. True love waits!


Alain JEANNOT

Purity Rings Go Mainstream

I'm not a big advocate of patting people on their backs for doing something that should be the "norm." I've shared in front of large crowds my passion for purity in romance and my own story of why I'm saving sex until I get married. These days, the announcement that you're an adult virgin can win you thunderous applause. Too bad applause means nothing. Anyone who's made it to their 20's with this testimony can vouch for the fact that human approval and accolades aren't enough to carry you through a perverse and sex-saturated society. Remaining abstinent isn't about running around announcing our piety to the world. Purity requires a commitment to principle and personal conviction beyond just a whim or a notion.

Enter the "purity ring."

Purity rings have been around for awhile, but have gained popularity over the last couple of years. The idea behind the ring is for those who wear one, it symbolizes a commitment to remain abstinent until marriage. No harm there. I had a few friends in high school with purity rings, but at the time, I was too timid to wear something so bold. I mean, did I really have to announce to everyone that I was a virgin? Today it's a brave new world. It seems there's an overwhelming need for the virgins to speak up. In a recent New York Times article, Stephanie Rosenbloom discusses the trend towards public displays of abstinence. She writes:

"THE thin silver band that 17-year-old Katie McMunn wears on her finger is a placeholder. Someday, she hopes, it will be replaced by a wedding ring. In the meantime it serves as a daily reminder of a vow she made three years ago to remain chaste until marriage.

"I want to give all of my body to my husband," Ms. McMunn said.

She was 14 when she first slipped on the silver band during a program promoting abstinence for teenagers, held in Pittsburgh. The three-hour event, called the Silver Ring Thing, featured music videos, comedians and speakers who introduced an idea Ms. McMunn had not considered: that somewhere out there, her as-yet-undiscovered husband was waiting for her. She was so moved she took her vow and borrowed $10 from a stranger to buy her ring.

Ms. McMunn is among tens of thousands of young people who in the past decade have taken a chastity vow until marriage and slipped on a ring to symbolize it. Chastity rings, part of the controversial abstinence-only movement in sex education, are becoming more mainstream. Also known as purity rings, they are being purchased by college students, members of church youth groups and abstinence organizations, and couples who are dating but abstaining. Some are acquired as part of programs like the Silver Ring Thing, others are bought independently."

According to the article, purity rings are now being offered by major retailers like Zales and Amazon.com. I think it's great that major corporations are beginning to cater to the counter-culture. By "counter-culture" I mean young women of principle who've decidedly placed a permanent moratorium on belly shirts and ultra low-rise jeans. Despite the continued rise in ring sales, purity has yet to become "all the rage."

Purity rings are a great tool for talking to other people about abstinence and great personal reminders to all who wear them. I think it's great that major movements are being organized to motivate young people to make a pledge to abstain from sex. It is my hope however, that we move beyond "motivation" and even the ring itself. It's not a magic ring. It doesn't hold any special preventative powers. It won't stop you from kissing in a dark parked car with your boyfriend. In fact, one day, the ring might even turn your finger green (that is, unless it's from Zales) and you have to take it off. The commitment still remains. Abstaining from sex until marriage takes much sacrifice and is ultimately about the decisions we make every day.

Someday I look forward to having a daughter of my own. When she's of proper age and understanding, together with my husband, I will give her a purity ring. Even more importantly, I will give her my experiences and practical principles to help her remain true to the promise the ring symbolizes and to remain humble in light the responsibility.

From : http://blogs.modestlyyours.net

Sanctification is what The Purity Ring is all About

It has been said that Sanctification is what The Purity Ring is all about. For those who have a right relationship with Christ, we are now being sanctified, or purified. You have heard the expression, "You can take the boy out of the country, but you can't take the country out of the boy." Well, consecration is God taking the boy out of the country. Sanctification is God taking the country out of the boy. Upon becoming a Christian, we often find ourselves starting to avoid particular habits and practices that were once very commonplace in our lives. Can you think of some? Other habits, practices, ways of thinking, etc., take longer to eliminate. Some will take a lifetime! However, we have God's word that He will complete the good work He has started in us. What habits and practices might you need to eliminate? Remember...abstinence doesn't produce purity, but purification will produce abstinence! Ask God to purify your heart in all areas so that your life will glorify Him.

The Purity Ring serves as a constant reminder of the sanctification God is doing in our lives. It also reminds us that we are not yet perfect, Until then, however, remember that Christ Jesus not only paid for our sins at the cross, but also our sinful nature -- that is, all those things deep within us that we are capable of committing! Isn't that good news? We cannot be separated from God if we remember to stand in faith on 1 John 1:9, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." (NIV)

True love waits, works in Africa

What follows is an article from August 29, 2006. It was "back page" stuff even though it clearly has had a tremendous result in Uganda.

When True Love Waits held its first national event in 1994 on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., a second, smaller, but perhaps even more powerful, True Love Waits observance was taking place half a world away in Africa, a continent that is being decimated by AIDS.

Twelve years later, government leaders in Uganda have credited True Love Waits for a remarkable decrease in the HIV/AIDS infection rate from 30 percent of the population to about 6 percent.

PurityGuys

This is great site, here is what they have to say on the home page: PurityGuys.com was started June 2005 with the message that purity is about more than just not having sex. In the Bible, it's a lifestyle. Not all will marry. Whether we do or not, God requires our hearts, minds, and bodies to be pure.

Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity. 1 Timothy 4:12

Purity Jewelry

I got a call from a youth pastor the other day. He was looking for a silver ring for 300 of his youth group. He said that they were at camp this summer and heard a speaker talking about "true love waits". As they were talking about what the speaker had to say, they were convinced that the issue was bigger than just "waiting". They were after more than a way to stay celebate, they were looking for Godly purity. So when they got back from camp, they did not ask for a true love waits ring, rather a purity ring. A symbol of a commitment to be pure.

Living a Life Worth Watching

The whole idea of wearing jewelry as a statement, implies that others will be watching. I don't know about you, but I have spent my whole life trying to go unnoticed. The idea of wearing things that will draw attention to myself makes me uncomfortable. I was talking with a coworker about putting a christian bumper sticker on his car, his reply was " I don't drive that good".

I guess what I am getting at is this: If lifestyle evangelism is a part of your game plan, make sure you are living a life worth watching. Does your jewelry's statement coinside with the way you live or treat people?