In response to Sex: The Purity of It and It Happened to Me: I Waited Until My Wedding Night to Lose My Virginity and I Wish I Hadn't I made a decision several years ago. It was a choice I always knew I was going to make, but I know that as I go to college, I am going to keep making it and renew my commitment to this ideal every chance I get. What is this ideal? This thing I am so sure is attainable? My virginity! Yeah! I'm not having sex until I'm married. My commitment is not the same as some of the ones shown on MTV's "Virgin Territory," because those commitments aren't so much about reserving yourself for a potential future spouse as they are budgeting yourself out so that actual intercourse only happens with your future spouse. My commitment is more about following God in relationships, especially romantic ones, and setting boundaries that won't lead me into sin. Sex outside of God-ordained, Biblical marriage is a sin. That is my belief. That doesn't mean I elevate it over other sins, or focus on it every minute of the day. The church has never taught me that if I save myself, one day when I get married, my wedding night will be magical and rainbows will sprout out of windows while flower petals drift around me. The internet is a vast source of education, and I am a proponent of education about the body and how it works, because I think God made our bodies pretty awesome. I've heard God made sex pretty awesome too. But there are other awesome things, like pledging to choose to love someone every day for the rest of your life, or being kind to a neighbor, or steak, or puppies and goats. All those things are great. God gave us love and the ability to be kind and connect with other people. I think it's wonderful. I also think it's very important that we guard our hearts and our bodies, because we're supposed to be a temple for the Holy Spirit. God tells us to flee from temptation so we don't fall into sin. As humans, though, we tend to revert to our nature instead of our spirit and we mess up. God's grace is big enough to cover all of our mistakes. He offers us forgiveness if we repent and turn away from our wrongdoings. Purity except in marriage is more than holding out for sex or dressing modestly, no matter what your gender is. Purity starts with the heart and then radiates outward, just like God's love for us. Kindness and mercy do the same things. Sex should not be an idol. It's a gift from God, and should be treated with respect, but the most important gift God has ever given us is His love, and we should first find our fulfillment in that before we search for it in relationships of any kind.
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As this post is coming from the point of view of an eighteen year old unemployed college student, I am not only talking about finance. In our daily lives, God asks us to give of ourselves to others. Leadership through service was Christ's mission, and we're supposed to mirror it. One time I felt particularly inspired was at a Rebecca St. James concert and conference at a local church. At one point in the program, they paused and discussed a charity. I don't remember if it was World Vision or Compassion International, but it was one of those two. They handed out cards with children's names on them and talked about how we are so blessed in America (or Australia, in Rebecca St. James's case). We tithe to our local churches, we give of our time, we give love to others. There is, in fact, a lot we can do in our communities. We can volunteer and reach out to others with an organization, or we can help someone with their groceries in the Walmart parking lot. Donating to charities like Compassion and World Vision is just another way for us to spread the love of Jesus all over the world. This mother discusses how her son's medical issues inspired her to give to other children who couldn't afford the same types of medical care she could. What inspires you to give of yourself to others? If we all approach every day as an opportunity to share our many blessings with people we encounter, just imagine how radically different our world could be.
The title is a joke. Hahaha. I didn't laugh. Did you? Anyway, I graduated high school, scheduled for prom, went to a graduation party and project graduation (almost fell asleep driving home at 6am, which one of my friends did and then ran into a pole, but he's okay). Yesterday I just thought about how many opportunities I have. I have a nice house to live in, plenty of food to eat, a place to attend college with almost no out-of-pocket cost, new friends to meet and old friends to keep, so many material goods, and I'm alive. I know I take a lot of those things for granted. My church got me a bible for graduation, which is really nice. It is also useful, considering my study bible is falling apart. It made me think of how many bibles I have, though, and that made me feel a little guilty. I have so many copies of God's word but have so much trouble finding time to give to him. There shouldn't be anything keeping me from it. I clearly have had the opportunity to do so every day for the past four years, but more often than not, that didn't happen. I need to start a routine to take better care of myself physically, mentally, and spiritually. Although routines and plans are great for the first two categories all the time, I don't want my time with God to just be a routine. I don't want to read or pray out of obligation, but out of dedication. Speaking of dedication, I am planning on trying to blog at least once every week this summer. Hopefully I end up writing more often than that. I have been throwing a couple of ideas around, and we will see where those end up. I just know that I have things I need to share with people, and this is a great platform for doing so. This is a place where I can be real with people. I had a discussion with a friend about how society is becoming translational instead of transformational (a pastor's words, not mine). It made me think about my interactions with others and my work for God. I want to encourage people to change for themselves and share things that inspire people instead of communicating in a selfish way. Those are some of my goals. I hope you, reader, find summer and free time as encouraging as I do. Let's move on together as we continue through the seasons of our lives.
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AuthorTwenty-something kind-of-adult woman trying to navigate her future, her calling, and her God. Archives
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