Have you struggled in this area? Are you thriving in this area?

I would love to start conversation about how other girls/women have and are dealing with this subject. Anyone wanting to either share thier story or to maybe even be interviewed by me please email me...

iamlabocagrande@gmail.com

What are people hearing?

Have you ever over heard a conversation that might be very innocent but sounds dirty or inappropriate? Have you ever had a conversation that has implied things that you really weren't meaning? Or have you in fact let your words take you into conversations where inappropriate thoughts, images or feelings are brought to the surface?

This has happened to me, with me, around me and because of me and it is very easy to just brush off any wrongness with a statement like "ohh, we just let things get out of hand" or "I just took that too far...". Either response is wrong! The Bible is clear on this subject: Matthew 12:34b, "for out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks."

If you're not doing anything inappropriate then don't let people think you are. A reputation is easily formed and difficult to reconstruct if you have made a bad impression on somebody. Be above reproach so that no one has reason to think negatively of you.

I challenge you, myself even, to live by 1 Timothy 4:12 "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."

two quarters

I remember my youth pastor having a sandwich bag with 2 quarters and a his own busines card sitting in a prominent place on his desk. I asked him what it was...

They had been returned to him by the bride at a wedding he had attended because they were no longer needed. He told me that he had passed out these sandwich bags to all the girls in his youth group. They were to be used if you were found in a situation where you needed to get away because your date wanting to go to far. The quarters were for the payphone and the card had his number on it with a promise that he would come and bring you home.

This bride had kept her quarters and was able to return them unused on her wedding day, she had kept her promise of purity.

Who are you?

I'm just wondering who all is reading? Send me a comment, let me know what you think. What would you like to see a future post about?

shopping...coffee...words...and how they all fit together

I did something new this year! I went Black Friday shopping! Don't get me wrong, I've spent many a Friday after Thanksgiving out shopping like the crazy shopper I am but I had never been there when the stores opened. This story begins on our second round of shopping...

Armed with Starbucks (Venti Peppermint Mocha Hot) and our sale fliers we head out. When pulling into the parking lot we notice that the lines have stretched halfway across the parking lot already! It was about that time when my shopping friend and I realized that we had left our heavy winter coats at home! So we sat in the car and stayed warm while waiting knowing that the lines were getting deeper and deeper. Just before 5am my friend breathed a prayer that the particular item she was after would be ours and at exactly 5am I jumped out and headed towards the police guarded doors. Using my well honed skills of getting through large crowds I beat a huge portion of the shoppers in the door. Once inside I make my way, along with a large number of other electronics minded shoppers to the back of the store. I quickly locate the item we were after but notice that there are easily between 25-35 people in the same isle and there appear to be 4 of our desired items key secured to the display rack. I can only give the credit to God for making me number 3 wanting that item!

Now that our door-buster items have been obtained we work our way through the store. We have been through toys, shoes, house wares and are in the juniors department when our story takes a turn:

Three teen girls join us in the juniors department and are oo'ing and ah'ing over clothes they hope their parent's will get them for Christmas. I smile as I think about the young lady my friend is shopping for and hope she has the same feelings towards what her mom is picking out for her. It is then that I hear one of the girls talking and realize that she's using cuss words to describe the clothes. My heart breaks for now instead of a beautiful young woman before me I can only see ugliness.

The Bible says in 1 Samuel 16:7b "...People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." and then in Luke 6:45 it says: "The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks." James 3 talks about how controlling the tongue is. Loosely quoted it says "The one who is able to control their tongue is perfect!" I know that it is impossible to be perfect but we are certainly to make that our aim.

In a previous post I talked about the "garbage in, garbage out" concept and this situation brings this back to mind. I close with this last verse from Psalms. I encourage us all (me included) to meditate on the Word so that our words are pleasing to Him.

May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart  
be pleasing in your sight,  
LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.
Psalm 19:14

Who am I?

     Are you wondering yet who I am and why I care so much about this thing I reefer to as "my precious gift"? Let me tell you a little about me...

     I am Andrea, known by most everybody as Anje, and I am a 33 year old single woman. I have dated one man and that relationship only lasted about a month. I am a nurse by profession and have worked for countless years in youth ministry.

     I am learning every day to be more and more dependent on Jesus Christ's saving grace and knowing that without His hand and direction in my life I would be utterly lost and be bumbling along in life.

     I am passionate about physical purity and that comes from so many different sources:

~1) I was raised in a family where it was expected that we would keep ourselves pure.

~2) The bible is clear in it's teaching about sexual purity and that sex is reserved for a marriage relationship (I'll go into more of that in future posts).

~3) I have watched friends of mine who have given up their purity and the consequences they have paid.

~4) I long for the day when I can stand in my wedding dress and give my heart to the man that God is preparing for me and know that I will only and forever be his; that I will be able to physically give myself completely to him.

     The more I study about physical and sexual purity I realize that it's so much more than not having sex. It involves the things I fill my heart and mind with. It involves how I present myself to others. It involves both a level of respect for myself and of my future husband.

     I want to use this blog to encourage young women to keep themselves pure. I am a living testimony of the reality that it can be done! I am praying daily and with every posting made that someone is encouraged and challenged by the words shared. I want this to be a forum where girls can share their thoughts, concerns and victories.

Gotta love the shirt!

Super Proud of these girls!