Welcome! – Start here.

The moment we’ve all been waiting for – the unveiling of the all-new Priceless Purity database!

So, what took us so long?  Between going from more than 3 “permanent” site designs, experiencing some very uninspired moments, having to edit and revise over a dozen pages and articles, having to brush up on technical knowledge, and overcome heartache after losing 3 of our best articles accidentally, we were also pretty busy.  But through it all, God has kept our heads above water, and we’re finally opening this site.  (All we ask is that you please like it so that all our hard work on here pays off!) ;-P

In the entire 3 1/2 year history of  our site, we’ve never had anything this big happen before.  God has taken us a long way with Priceless Purity, it’s incredible, really.  From the simple MSN group site it used to be, God managed to expand it to what it is now.  It’s just…WOW.  We started out as just a small Christian website, and then began reeling in hundreds of subscribers to our newsletter (now appropriately titled “e-zine” – haha) and message boards.

The site you see here has been totally designed by Rachel and Jillian.  We first had a site designer help us, but after not seeing eye to eye (hehe) we decided to take over the helm and just do things ourselves.  It turned out nicely…right?  We hope you’ll check out some of the new articles and revised pages!  Those are the things that took the most, and thanks to some of the contributions, (which we probably could not have done without to step forward) we finally made it.

And now for some random ramblings and words of encouragement…

We hope this website will bring you some very encouraging and blessed moments, as the sole purpose of our site is to show you how truly loved you are in God’s eyes – how the precious gifts He’s given to you, should be treasured.  Treasure the meaning of purity in your life.  Other things can come and go in you life, but the purity in your life is a symbol of an enduring promise of God!

If you’ve spent all your days worrying, feeling hopeless and needing love and enrichment in your life – it’s been there all the time!   During your darkest moments, He’s been there.  He’s waiting for you to come to Him and totally dedicate yourself to Him.

Even those that lose heart now and then – Having renewed confidence in God is something we all have to experience – as long as we live in this material world, it will always be hard to keep ourselves from doubt, and fear – this is what the devil wants to see, us to be constantly afraid, messed up, lonely, and seeking for something but never finding, and unstable.

Never give into those feelings of “not being good enough” to come before God.  He wants you to be apart of His Kingdom – whether you think you’re good enough or not!  He has great plans for everyone that gives their heart to Him.

Ephesians 2:10 says

“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”

We can’t control everything that happens in our life, but we should be happy to know that when we set our focus on a goal – on standards – for how we should live, how we want to live – we can attain it!  God gives us choices to make, freely.  Salvation is a choice, and we can either take it or leave it.  But why give up everlasting life?

We hope this website can speak to your hearts, and encourage you to cast off the works of darkness and sin that is holding you back, and embrace the true meaning of living our lives – a life of purpose completely dedicated to the Lord!  Because, in the end, it’s really all that matters!

“Priceless Purity” is just something that has really been on our hearts since the Lord first planted the idea in our minds – and we really hope that our same vision and idea is taking root in your hearts as well!

We’re going to show you how purity and impurity is relevant to everything in the world.  This seems like a new spark, a new idea.  As if it’s never been taken seriously or thought of before.   When creating this site, that was what got us.  We wanted to reveal to you – and other girls and women – about this prized possession that so many throw away.

—

Anyway, this site is just something that has been really on our hearts since the Lord first planted the idea in our minds – and we really hope that our same vision and idea is taking root in your hearts as well!

Never heard of a purity database? Neither have we!  That’s why we designed this site…to be an internet purity resource for you.

In the meantime, you can get more acquainted with us, and find out about how we began the site, and check out some basic FAQ.  Also, find out more about our e-zine, and participate on the new forums!  And of course, you all should know how to just browse around and read most of our articles without us having to give you a link here, so – get started!  =)

Feel free to visit the “Contact Us” page for more information on leaving any questions, comments, suggestions, and even complaints.

Priceless Purity founders, managers, editors, and writers,

-Rachel and Jillian

Broken Promises

- Part I: The statistics

This article is meant to be read before you read the purity pledge we put together in  January 2008.  We encourage you to read it afterwards.

In today’s world, you’re shamed if you do, and shamed if you don’t.  If you do remain sexually pure before marriage, “you’re probably one of those judgmental goody-goods, and a freak of nature with no hormones”.  And if you don’t, let’s just say you’re going to have more than the “B word” label on your back.  But most of the time, it’s harder on those that do.  Sad isn’t it?

Consider this though – You’re not only pledging this merely for your sake, or your future husband’s sake only – but for God.   He watches your every move 24/7 non-stop.  Don’t think He’s going to just not pay any attention to your actions.  This is painful to Him because He paid the price for your sins, yet,  you’re not putting forth an effort to stop sinning and purify your lifestyle.

After researching this topic, we found some interesting statistics from different sources -

Some information found on Guttmacher.org gave some insight on statistics:

The statistics found that nearly 46% (half of all 15-19 year olds in the U.S.) have engaged in sexual activity at least once.

“Each year, almost 750,000 women aged 15-19 become pregnant. Overall, 75 pregnancies occur every year per 1,000 women aged 15-19; this rate has declined 36% since its peak in 1990.”

…And nearly a 3rd of all teen pregnancies end in abortion.

It went on to say that “Teen pregnancy rates are much higher in the United States than in many other developed countries-twice as high as in England and Wales or Canada, and eight times as high as in the Netherlands or Japan.”

In 1994, more than half of teenagers in the United States were virgins until at least 17 years old.

“-Nationally, nearly one million young women under age 20 become pregnant each year.  That means close to 2800 teens get pregnant each day. (Facts in Brief: Teen Sex and Pregnancy, The Alan Guttmacher Institute, New York, 1996).

-Approximately 4 in 10 young women in the U.S. become pregnant at least once before turning 20 years old.( Facts in Brief: Teen Sex and Pregnancy, The Alan Guttmacher Institute, New York, 1996).

-Teen childbearing alone costs U.S. taxpayers nearly $7 billion annually for social services and lost tax revenues. (Kids Having Kids: Economic Costs and Social Consequences of Teen Pregnancy, Prebecca Maynard (ed.), The Urban Institute, Washington, DC, 1997).”

A more recent Guttmacher report said, “Teens are waiting longer to have sex than they did in the past. Some 13% of females and 15% of males aged 15-19 in 2002 had had sex before age 15, compared with 19% and 21%, respectively, in 1995.”

Could this decline be because of the purity pledge movement?  We did more research to find out the effectiveness of purity pledges…

In one article we read, the Washington Post reported a study found that “premarital abstinence pledges were ineffective“.  In 2001, Janet E. Rosenbaum concluded that 82% of people that pledged abstinence before marriage, broke those promises.

Theresa Tamkins of CNN Health reported,

“As many as one in eight teens in the United States may take a virginity pledge at some point, vowing to wait until they’re married before having sex. But do such pledges work? Are pledge takers more likely than other teens to delay sexual activity? A new study suggests that the answer is no. While teens who take virginity pledges do delay sexual activity until an average age of 21 (compared to about age 17 for the average American teen), the reason for the delay is more likely due to pledge takers’ religious background and conservative views — not the pledge itself.”

On the other hand, another article (from abpnews.com) reported that a study found that ” Christians who pledge abstinence outlast non-pledgers”.

The article also said -

Byron Weathersbee, interim chaplain at Baylor University in Waco, Texas, analyzed such sexual-purity pledges and sex education in a Christian context as the focus of his doctoral dissertation. He surveyed young married couples in Texas Baptist churches to examine how — and how much — churches made an impact on their sexual behavior. Of the young Christians surveyed, six out of 10 who made sexual purity pledges abstained from sexual intercourse until marriage. But only three of 10 who didn’t take a formal pledge remained chaste. All of the surveyed individuals — who had been married less than five years — professed faith in Christ. Of that figure, 99 percent attended church, 84 percent said they grew up in church and 87 percent grew up in a two-parent home. Even so, 62 percent of the males and 65 percent of the females engaged in sexual intercourse before marriage, Weathersbee discovered. Nine out of 10 who acknowledged sexual activity prior to marriage never took a True Love Waits purity pledge. “To a large degree, we’re missing it,” Weathersbee said. “The young people are receiving the data, but they’re not translating it into values that result in a lifestyle of purity and holiness.” The strength of the True Love Waits emphasis lies in the way it involves parents, a supportive network of peers, the church as a whole and the community at-large in emphasizing the importance of a pure lifestyle, Weathersbee said. The overall sexual abstinence movement — both faith-based and secular — clearly has reaped positive benefits, said Richard Ross, who pioneered the True Love Waits program in 1993. “The fact is rates of teenage sexual activity rose for 20 unbroken years. Then came True Love Waits and, from that, the broader abstinence movement. From that moment on, rates of teenage sex have dropped every year for 12 unbroken years,” he said.

While that is a more positive view of this issue, don’t forget about that 82%.  Wake up call, anyone?  I think so. Another article,  “A Right Perspective: Purity pledges useless without support” (written by Marilyn Loeffel), from commercialappeal.com states:

Columnist Ellen Goodman recently wrote about the futility of abstinence-only education: “It turns out,” she said, that counting “‘virginity pledges’ … as proof that teens will abstain … is like counting New Year’s resolutions as proof that you lost 10 pounds.”

In a way, I agree. Signing a piece of paper at a religious teen rally is positive peer pressure. Such a promise isn’t worth the paper it is written on unless it is reinforced with support. I’ve attended emotional, hyped-up functions where teens are pressured to do what their friends are doing, sign a purity pledge, without seriously contemplating what they are promising. Often that flimsy pledge goes out the fogged-up window of the back seat of a car.

She later writes (in the same article)

When my oldest daughter was 16, she asked for a purity charm for her necklace. It was a key with an engraved heart. We gave it with our commitment to be there for her in every area of her life, not just to preach about chastity. We warned her of the influences that would try to chip away at her innocence. At her wedding, she presented her husband with her necklace and told him it was the key to her heart. Her younger sisters looked forward to getting their purity rings on their 16th birthdays. The ring is a constant reminder that they can give away their purity only once. They can be like other girls any time they choose to, but those other girls can never be virgins again. The purity rings and loving parenting worked for us. Tween recording stars the Jonas Brothers have taken a ribbing for wearing purity rings. Hollywood is licking its lips, anticipating that these young people will break the pledge. I hope the Jonas Brothers don’t turn out like the Spears sisters, but keep their pledge and remember how to blush.

I have to say I agree with Marilyn Loeffel, and her perspective of the purity pledge issue – you have to mean it, you have to care about whether you truly want to make a pledge about this. Like all vows, you have to solemnly stand by what you commit to.  Or, you’re a liar who doesn’t keep your word.  It’s true, and there’s no going around that one.  But what if you messed things up, and regret it?  You’ve always got forgiveness from God, but you can’t just break promises, and have the mindset “Oh, I’ll ask forgiveness later, God loves me anyway”. Your faith without good works, is dead. (James 2:17.) Denise Jonas, the mom of the Jonas Brothers, had some interesting things to say about character in a July 2009 Good Housekeeping article.

“We wanted everyone to feel joy in the presence of our children,” Denise says.  “To me, there’s nothing more frustrating than being around a child who’s annoying.  We taught our kids proper manners.”  Denise’s methods:  consistency, boundaries, and constantly “reinforcing good conduct until it was behavior.  Because they’re going to be adults a lot longer than they’re children.” “…Nor is Denise naïve about the temptations young rock stars face—even if the young rock stars in her family wear purity rings, symbols of a commitment to remain virgins until marriage.  Denise says the boys never meant to be standard-bearers for the premarital-chastity cause; this was a private decision each made that has become very public.  ‘They’ve been criticized for proclaiming things they never proclaimed,’ she says. ‘And what’s the criticism?  They don’t want to go out there giving everyone an STD?  What’s so terrible about that?’…..She’s realistic about the challenges…..’They are men.  They have desires…But it’s just about growing up and learning what it means to be in a relationship.’” “The boys acknowledge that their mother can be painfully straightforward about the young women they bring home.  ‘People always ask, ‘What’s a girls have to do to get your attention?’ says Joe.  ‘She has to be good to Mom.’ And for her part, Denise tries to stick to just one non-negotiable quality for any future Jonas daughter-in-law:  ‘She must sincerely and totally love my son!’” Denise and Kevin Jr. and the family go to church, they live a life of service, and spending time together.  “Denise and Kevin Sr. also try to prepare their boys for deeper success—a loving marriage—by modeling good behavior…..What she does is constantly show her boys that ‘marriage isn’t 50/50.’  The rule she lives be:  ‘Marriage is really giving 100 percent of yourself, and not expecting anything back.’  It is also about loving someone for the attributes that he has.  ‘(My husband) is not the best about bringing home presents, but he’s selfless.’” Good Housekeeping, July 2009

Bristol Palin, 18, former Alaska governor Sarah Palin’s daughter, launched an abstinence campaign a few months after her baby Tripp was born in Decemeber 2008.  People have reportedly bashed her for these efforts, including her ex-fiance’ Levi Johnston, as he is quoted as saying in an interview,

“I don’t just think telling young kids, you can’t have sex, it’s not going to work.  It’s not realistic…”

Ben Horowitz from the New Jersey Star-Ledger wrote a title column, “Bristol Palin Should Stop Promoting Abstinence“.  Some people think that her supporting abstinence means she resents having a little baby to take care of.  To me, it’s obvious that she does not want other unprepared and irresponsible teens to get pregnant and want an abortion, or face the trouble taking care of a baby with all the ridicule and hurt you can get from other people, even loved ones.  (In her case she was blessed, as her parents supported her decision in keeping her baby.)  She is being told by writers around the country to “stop trying to be a role model because you messed up” basically.  Abstinence and saving yourself for marriage, the obviously “safer” way to go, is viewed as some sort of fairy tale to people, and somehow it’s “unrealistic”.  Saving yourself from possible STDs, heartache, pain and shame is just “too impossible” for real teens to avoid… My question is, why is it that today, people think teens are incapable of keeping a promise?  Will power goes a long way, but so many teens today throw it out the window.  But why?

Part II: The root of the problem

I truly believe the answer can be found in spiritual weakness…accompanied by the feeling of a malnourishment of love and purpose, perhaps.  If your spiritual side is strong, it will cater to your physical side.  People forget how our spirituality is like life-support.  When you cut yourself off from it, you lose an extra sense of morality and the ultimate power and love of God.  When you lack the assurance of the love of God, you are more inclined to seek out other things in life to make you feel better.  Sort of like a drug.  You go to this drug, because your spiritual “life-support” isn’t taking the pain away because you’re not allowing it to be a real part of your life, the way it is intended to be.  Let’s be honest.  Teens today are depicted as unstable, insecure and “awkward” most of the time.  Parents and even mentors of teens treat the entire adolescent stage as this sort of “disease” that will heal itself up if left alone.  Either that or it’s like they have this alien living in their house and among them that will one day wake up as “one of them”. (An adult, that is.) Seriously, you might come across a few very mature teenagers,…

WORKS CITED

1. Teenage sex and pregnancy statistics http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/fb_ATSRH.html, http://www.soundvision.com/Info/teens/stat.asp

2.  Rob Stein, The Washington Post Staff Writer (December 29th, 2008; Page A02 ) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/28/AR2008122801588.html

3. Marilyn Loeffel , Memphis Commercial Appeal – (Wednesday, January 14, 2009) http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2009/jan/14/right-perspective-purity-pledges-useless-without-s/

4. Ben Horrowitz, The New Jersey Star-Ledger (Thursday, May 7th, 2009) http://www.nj.com/parenting/ben_horowitz/index.ssf/2009/05/bristol_palin_should_drop_role.html

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Twilight Zone

Rachel and Jillian review Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight Saga – Coming Soon…!

Feminism VS. Femininity

FEMINISM VS. FEMININITY

The difference…And why it matters.

While looking around on the internet, we came across a site titled “feminist.com”.  On their site, it is quite evident (as the title aptly words it) they are a support group for feminists.  A page on their site had letters from guests and visitors, and among those hundreds, we found some rather interesting messages written by women all over the world – Including one from a 14 year old girl.  Her message reads as follows:

“Hey! I’m only 14 but I totally support what ya’ll are doing here. And I thank you for having the guts to stand up for women’s rights. I was just wondering if there is anything I could do to help, I know I’m young but I would really like to help somehow! And I wanted to show my gratitude for all your efforts to help women all over the world! Well, I have to go but please send me any information that you can about helping!

Sincerely, Jennie Hawthorne “

Another letter from a young woman was this:

“My name is Rachael Anderson and I am currently a senior at Boston College. I just wanted to e-mail you and let you know how much I learned and will continue to learn now that I have found your site. I am currently taking an Intro. to Feminisms course, and was told about www.feminist.com. This week we had the opportunity to write a few different activist letters to government officials to benefit women, and our regular journal would be a shorter length. Along with doing that and using your source for the information I just wanted to let you know how quick, easy, understandable, and informative I found your website to be. Keep up the good work.

Sincerely, Rachael Anderson “

These are the women of tomorrow. Those are their opinions. What do they believe?  Rather, do they know what they believe?
Where is the woman of yesterday?  The one that stood strong in her place and duties, and had strong convictions and a firm belief in God.  Where is that woman?  Is she still around today?  If she is, and if you know her…You are blessed.

Feminism is growing and becoming popular from when it first “premiered” – formally, that is, with the women’s suffrage movements.  (Though, let’s be fair and mention that the idea of feminism has been around for ages.) It seems to be a new idea though, and historically, you didn’t hear of women in control of power until just in the last 150 years.  So, in course of history, the feminists and their ideas today are new – but like feminism’s (dare we call it) big brother, the theory of evolution, these movements somehow continue to thrive.  It’s supported all over the place.  Even colleges include it as course studies, and respect it as an important,  ground-breaking movement.  Young women are now constantly being filled with this idea that women are not being treated equally as men are.  Through that, abortion has been legalized throughout different countries, and women have been constantly trying to prove that they are not weaker vessel in comparison to men.
The truth is, women and men are the same equal worth, but we differ in purposes – we are designed differently, any normal human eye can see that much.   We’re complete opposites in many respects, but men and women are compatible with each other.

God knew what He was doing from the beginning – why can’t even Christian women and girls trust His plans for their futures?  Women are feeding their minds with the doubt and pressure that the feminism movement has scarred them with.  The desire of (not to mention the fear of not) representing their “kind” in the world as meaningful and important.

There are many ways in which God can work through us, but it doesn’t mean we must prove to the world we are capable of doing things men can, and deserve to get the same titles as them.  Of COURSE women can do these things, but it is not God’s plan or purpose in our lives, to embark on new things.  Satan has found yet another way to mess things up – and this time, he’s selected this perfect way of configuring it.

We all know that God had something in mind when he designed Eve.  He specifically had Eve in mind for Adam.  He also had other women in mind as well.  Today, being feminine and the way all of us girls naturally are, is frowned upon by several people – including, well…Other women.  (Feminists, obviously.)    It is pretty evident that women are the weaker vessel, physically, but what was God seriously thinking, when He created us?  Do we really have a special purpose set apart from men?

Today, you probably have plans.  Especially you younger girls and teens.  (And perhaps, even those adult women who have high expectations for their futures as well.)  We each have different personalities, and sometimes it’s a challenge to reflect our natural femininity that we’ve been given.  It doesn’t always mean you should give up some of your high hopes for the future – God has set apart special missions for us all – but we need to use our minds, and follow what God has for us.  It takes time, and extreme patience, to find out what God has instore for us.  We women have so many great ideas, don’t we?  We have plans to prove people, (especially men) that we are capable of doing things on the same level, and that we shouldn’t be thought of as a  poor, weaker race of humans.
It all goes back through time…The idea of the modern feminist, is well, modern.  The whole idea is recent and new! (Just like…evolution, for example.) It’s new, and it’s also a new spiritual battle.  But, unfortunately, this battle is for women. And only women can fight this battle.  Why?  Because, simply put, it’s an ATTACK on women, femininity, and God’s original plan for them.  But, it should be mentioned that men have a lot on the line in this matter as well, and they can affect and fight against this new movement of feminism.  Feminism is trying to take over the leadership of the man, which God set before the woman.  It’s easy to not like that idea.

As I once heard Jennie Chancey (ladiesagainstfeminism.com) put it, “feminism began right in the garden of eden, when Eve ate the forbidden fruit”.  God had a lot of original plans for His creation.  But we’re just too good for them, right?  God had a plan from the beginning, and Adam and Eve changed things a bit…Or, a lot, you should say.  Oh yes, and marriage, and we simply go “pfft, to that!”.  God had a lot of good ideas, but He kept having to alter them for man, His own creation.  Hey, He even had to send a flood to destroy the world because of His OWN creation.  And remember the tower of babel?  He had to split everyone up and give them new languages.
Then He sent Jesus, to cleanse us from our sins.  Don’t you see at what all God has done for us?  He, through time, has done everything possible for His creation.  He honestly does care for us.  But do we care at all for Him, and His ideas and plans?  Or should we just select our own ways, styles, and just say, “You know, God, we don’t need you anymore.  We have our lives that you’ve give us, but hey, we just don’t need you to have these rules and regulations!”.
We’re like little children, not accepting God’s schedule for us.  Always begging for exceptions, and pleading for no punishment for what we have reaped and sowed.

It takes a weak-minded woman to become a feminist…it takes a strong-minded woman to embrace femininity.

Why?  Because feminism is as tempting to us as the knowledge of good and evil was to Eve.  But, any true woman knows deep inside of her, where she should stand.  That is why we can resist falling into the trap feminism has made.  The family – an important, and God-designed thing – is in jeopardy because of…you guessed it, feminism.

Oh yes, and you know…if you kill your own dragons, you don’t need a knight.  Therefore, chivalry is pretty much dead along with the dragon.  (Just in case you were wondering where all the real men went.)

Alright, now, where in the Bible does God express His ideas for women?  Well, in several passages.
Let’s go to probably the most popular chapter women use as reference to the “ideal Christian woman”:

Proverbs 31:10-31

“10Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies.

11The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil.

12She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life.

13She seeketh wool, and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands.

14She is like the merchants’ ships; she bringeth her food from afar.

15She riseth also while it is yet night, and giveth meat to her household, and a portion to her maidens.

16She considereth a field, and buyeth it: with the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard.

17She girdeth her loins with strength, and strengtheneth her arms.

18She perceiveth that her merchandise is good: her candle goeth not out by night.

19She layeth her hands to the spindle, and her hands hold the distaff.

20She stretcheth out her hand to the poor; yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy.

21She is not afraid of the snow for her household: for all her household are clothed with scarlet.

22She maketh herself coverings of tapestry; her clothing is silk and purple.

23Her husband is known in the gates, when he sitteth among the elders of the land.

24She maketh fine linen, and selleth it; and delivereth girdles unto the merchant.

25Strength and honour are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come.

26She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness.

27She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness.

28Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her.

29Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all.

30Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised.

31Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates.”

_ ( Who can look at that verse and say that the woman depicted there was an “enslaved wimp”?)

“‘Unto the woman’, He said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.” – Genesis 3:16

From the “Women” themselves:

(Actual quotes by…actual feminists.)

“The most merciful thing a large family can do to one of its infant members is to kill it.” - Margaret Sanger, founder of Planned Parenthood, in Women and the New Race.

“Marriage has existed for the benefit of men; and has been a legally sanctioned method of control over women…We must work to destroy it.  The end of the institution of marriage is a necessary condition for the liberation of women.  Therefor it is important for us to encourage women to leave their husbands and not to live individually with men.” – The Declaration of Feminism, November 1971.

“…No woman should have to deny herself any opportunities because of her special responsibilities to her children. … Families will be finally destroyed only when a revolutionary social and economic organization permits people’s needs for love and security to be met the ways that do not impose divisions of labor, or any external roles, at all.” – Functions of the Family, Linda Gordon, WOMEN: A Journal of Liberation, Fall 1969

- Obviously, something isn’t right with those views.  Perhaps you think those are just ideas from the ’60s and ’70s…But actually, those quotes are smiled upon by the modern 21st century feminist as well.

Christianity and femininity can still shine through.  One quote, once said by Gloria Steinhem was:

“By the year 2000 we will, I hope, raise our children to believe in human potential, not God.” – Gloria Steinhem, editor of Ms. Magazine.

Thankfully, that hasn’t come to pass – but who says it isn’t still a threat in the looming future?

Priceless Purity would love to hear your thoughts!  What do you think of this discussion?  How important is femininity?  Is it a true gift that God has crowned us with?

Works Cited:

1. Feminist.com http://www.feminist.com/about/wpas_letters.html

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Integrity

Integrity: the quality or condition of being whole or undivided; completeness.

I often see that word and sigh, thinking of a soldier dying for his country or a missionary leaving his family to go reach out to a civilization desperate for the truth of God’s Word. I think of big acts, and famous people who make a difference.  Nobility, bravery and strength – I look on those things and thank the Lord for people who live it out. I look on my own life and think that one day I will have those traits. I look on it as if it’s some distant thing that I cannot obtain until I’m “older” or “more experienced”. We’ve all been preached to about making a difference in the lives of others, but what about ourselves? Are we making changes in our own character? Are we living a life of integrity?

The other day I was in the kitchen eating, watching my amazing mother try to do three things at once: talk on the phone, clean the kitchen and answer questions. As I sat there eating I thought about how I wanted to be like that one day and how one day I’ll be admired for my hard work ethic, etc, etc. I said a quick prayer for an opportunity to come up so I could work on it, and thought nothing more of it. Now, by this point my mom was starting to get overwhelmed so she eventually left the room to continue her phone conversation and I was left to myself in the kitchen. After lunch hours the Clark kitchen isn’t usually spotless and this was no rare occasion. I started to go back and forth in my head about whether I should clean it up or not and I started to make excuses like: I can’t clean up cause what if everyone isn’t done eating? It would be a total waste. Obviously, things needed to be cleaned up, but can you guess what I did? I got up, went straight upstairs and left the kitchen for “someone else” to clean up, thinking: what’s the big deal? I do it all the time. How’s that for integrity?

Now I know you’re thinking you’ve done way worse, and truth is, so have I.  No matter what the situation is though, you have to decide in your heart to do the right thing, and do it.  Sometimes integrity isn’t necessarily choosing right over wrong, it’s choosing right over nothing. It’s making the choice to do the right thing instead of doing nothing at all. It isn’t easy, and in most cases, integrity doesn’t involve being in a big crowd or peer pressure (for me, anyways). It’s in the small things we do…it’s the “quality of being whole or undivided” no matter what situation we’re in. Being moral and choosing the right things in every situation. As Jim Stovall puts it: “Integrity is doing the right thing, even if nobody is watching”. It’s hard.

I was watching a woman run a marathon on tv a few months back and I remember being so struck and inspired by her motivation. She was only halfway through but there was such confidence in her face that she was going to complete it. I’m sure everything in her body was screaming to stop but she didn’t slow down. This woman’s strength and motivation kept her going – not her dreams of having it. I get so caught up in dreaming and hoping for the future that I miss the opportunities I have now. Those are the most important in my life; those are the ones that will build character; and I still ignore them. I keep waiting for a big chance to prove my integrity but to be honest, as I examine how I live, I notice how very little I have. I know that I need to be more faithful to what I know is right…to my gut, to put it bluntly.

“The integrity of the upright will guide them, but the perversity of the unfaithful will destroy them.” Proverbs 11:3 (NKJV)

Like every other Christian on earth, I’ve always wanted to be someone people can trust and look up to…someone who is noble. It’s taken me so long to realize that the choices I make every day are the ones that build my character and it’s not how much time I spend praying before I get up in the morning. It’s purity in mind and in actions…it’s in the little, mundane things we do every day that make us who we are. Once you are confident in this, there will be no need to preach it, because you’re living it out.
Blessings,
-Jillian, Priceless Purity-