PURITY…Really?! (Guest Post by Jennifer Maggio)

GUEST BLOG POST BY Jennifer Maggio.  Each month, we will be posting a Guest Blog entry from ladies around the country with a passion for purity and teens.  Watch for it the last Friday of the month.  You are in for such a treat with the lineup we have.  You can sign up to receive these posts by email above.  Enjoy!

I am rarely a fan of television talk shows, but was flipping through the channels the other day and happened upon a talk show doing a piece of the now-popular “Purity Ball”.  If you are not familiar, Purity Balls are held in hotels around the country, whereby a daughter in her early teens is escorted by her father to an evening event with music, dancing, a nice dinner, etc.  The ball ends when the daughter takes a pledge to live her life purely and presents this pledge to her father, who also commits to help her in that journey.

As is the case with most media today, this talk-show host and much of the audience was tearing to shreds the guests who had signed the agreement and attended the events. I was infuriated.  Comments such as “Purity isn’t a reality in 2012.” “Sex outside marriage is not wrong.” “Abstinence doesn’t work.” were followed with an eruption of applause from the audience.

The truth is, that is the feeling of most of today’s anything-goes society.  Although 80% of the country identifies themselves as Christians, sex outside marriage has become a common occurrence and is glossed over as an event of little consequence.  And, if I’m being totally transparent, I would tell you that I, at an earlier point in my own life, felt the same as most of the studio audience that day.

At 13 years old, I was the only virgin I knew!  Everyone around me was having sex.  I held out as long as I could, and mostly due to peer pressure, I became sexually active.  For me, it was a horrific, embarrassing, and shameful experience.  I resolved I would never do it again, but peer pressure persisted, and my relationship with the Lord dwindled.  Before I even knew what was happening…..I was pregnant 4 times by 19 years old!

So the question becomes, does purity really matter?

• I would say that to the 51% of babies who are born to unwed mothers today who live in poverty, it matters.
• I would say that to the 13% of teens who will contract a sexual transmitted disease this year, purity matters.
• To the 22% of babies who were aborted last year (and to their moms), it matters.
• To the 15+ million single moms in the country, many of which are unwed single moms, purity matters.
• To the 500,000 teens who attempt suicide every year (many due to failed sexual relationships & the emotional distress that accompanies them), it matters!

The reality of sexual purity is simply this:  Our Heavenly Father loves us more than we could ever know.  His desire isn’t to deprive us of a life full of joy, fun, excitement, and happiness. Just as a parent’s desire isn’t to deprive their 4-year-old child of fun when disciplining them for running into the street after a ball, God knows what is best for us.  When we wait and do things in his timing, his way, the long-term blessings far exceed any temporal joy.

Our January Guest Post comes from author and friend, Jennifer Maggio.  She is passionate about helping single moms and is considered one of the nation’s leading authorities on single parent and women’s issues. She is a critically acclaimed author and sought-after speaker who has appeared on more than 100  radio and television programs. You can find more information about Jennifer’s ministry (The Life of a Single Mom Ministries), as well as her books, by visiting her website at http://www.jennifermaggio.com.

Thanks Jennifer for sharing your heart for purity.  You’re right, purity really does matter.

2011 Wrap Up

2011 was definitely a year of adventure.  From the multiple trips I was blessed to take to the release of my first published book, Sparkle, adventure has met me at every turn.  With far too many to stops to document, I’ve picked 3 of my favorite moments:

The Grandgirls

The Grandgirls – by far, Miley and Kam have to be some of my favorite experiences from 2011.  I have really enjoyed spending time with them though-out the year enjoying the world from their perspectives…seeing life through their eyes.  Their wide-eyed curiosity and desire to discover everything around them is inspiring to me…not to mention entertaining.  Miley comes out with these hysterical one-liners unlike anything I’ve heard before.  Well…actually, now that I think about it, she reminds me of our youngest daughter when she was little.  And Kam looks like she could easily belong to Micki instead of Renee.

Fall in Atlanta

More fall in Atlanta

Washington DC

The Washington Monument

Somewhere on the RTJ Golf Trail

Road Trips – It’s no secret I love traveling, adventure and people watching.  Escaping to another scenery is one of my favorite things to do.  Especially things that involve nature.  It’s the little things, you know.  This year I had the pleasure of taking in Atlanta, Washington DC, Prattville, and South Carolina.  What a combo.  Atlanta with Micki in the fall was beautiful and break-taking.  Wow! I didn’t know the leaves could hold so many incredible colors.  It was my first trip out of Louisiana to see leaves during the fall.  I’ve been missing out.  Washington DC was quite an experience…Osama Bin Laden was found while we were there and the city erupted into celebration until the wee hours of the morning when the authorities shut things down.  DC holds so much history, and our hotel was in the perfect location.  So much to do and see.  Prattville…well, the golf course was nice.  We were able to team up with an accomplished violinist for one of the days on the course.  Forgot his name … Kim something maybe?, but Doug & I enjoyed the company.  Beautiful golf course!  South Carolina…I think I’d love to live there.  I never want to leave.  I love the hills and spending time with family there.  One of these days, we are not going to return from vacation and just stay.

Sparkle Christmas Project Books wrapped & ready to go!

Sparkle – 2011 has been one mile-marker year for Sparkle.  I became a published author and Sparkle was officially released in August.  Wow! What a privilege to have a front row seat at what God is doing in the lives of young people all over.  When I released the book, I though it was specifically for teen girls.  Boy, was I wrong.  I’ve received feedback from young adult women, moms of all ages, and many single moms all saying how much God used Sparkle to speak into their lives.  The most common response I hear is “I wish I’d had this when I was growing up.”  I have to say, I feel the same way.  It would have saved me lots of heart-ache.  From Book Signings to the Chat.Live to our Sparkle Tribe, it’s been an eventful and amazing year.  The Sparkle Pledge with the tribe in July was outstanding! In the month of December, we held the “Sparkle Christmas Project”.  My objective was to collect as many books a possible to donate to teens and young adult women unable to purchase their own copy.  What a success!  129 books were given away.  We wrapped them up and sent them off to locations around the US.  I wish I could have seen each girl receive their copy.  So exciting!  God knows the story of each and every one, and I cannot wait to hear all of them one day.  What a journey this has been, and it’s only the beginning!

This is only a blip of 2011.  No possible way to share all that has occurred.  In 2012, we have great things planned.  We’ll have guest-blog posts, more Sparkle Tribes kicking off, and much more.  Thanks for an amazing 2011.  2012, I’m watching wide-eyed and with great anticipation of what you will bring.