Controversial.

This fall, our church has started a Sunday night series for parents on how to raise their children to love the Lord. It is fantastic. They have discussed so many things- from statistics on the churched/unchurched from today's twenty somethings, to ideas for teaching the Bible to your kids, to prayer, to purity. It is such an encouragement to not only know that I am responsible for leading EA and #2 in their walks with Jesus, but to have the support of our church. I think people have placed the responsibility on the church for far too long and that in so many cases, the church is beginning to believe that it is their responsibility alone to raise Godly children. That's not true.

Last night's message was on purity. When I hear that word, I think about high school, when I committed to God (and to my parents) that I wouldn't have sex before marriage. Boom. Pure.

Cue annoying buzzer- wrong.

Not only did it hit raising our children to be pure, it hit pornography. It hit modesty. It hit the sins that men and women alike struggle with. 

Y'all. This is something I am passionate about. This is something that scares the pants off me (though not literally... because that would be another set of purity problems.) Technology today is stinking ridiculous and the opportunities kids and adults have to view inappropriate things without "anyone ever knowing" are growing in multitudes daily. The things that were inappropriate when I was in high school barely touch the scales of what's happening in high schools today. I am desperate to know how to raise my little girl to have a faith and love for Jesus that she KNOWS she is better than that, because God made her that way, because she can talk to me and Brian about what she is struggling with, because she is more than just a butt and some boobs. She is a child of The King.

Pornography weighs incredibly heavy on my heart. In the past 5 years Brian and I have seen marriages end on this issue. We have seen God use struggles and temptations from porn, turn them around, and work for His glory. We have seen marriages, including our own, that have grown from open and honest conversations about this topic. We have built lifelong relationships with other men and women to create accountability to protect our marriages from this terrible thing. It's a problem. People are struggling with it. It is there and is not going away. The question is- how can we, as married couples, as moms and dads, turn this problem into knowledge? How can we take what we know is truth and allow it to help us grow as believers in Christ? How can we use it to strengthen our marriages and build walls against Satan? Those are the questions we should focus on.

Thank you Shades Mountain for being open about the fact that this is a problem and it's hurting our churches, our homes, and our lives.

Okay so this is my soapbox. And y'all didn't even do anything to get me started. *Sorry.*

If you have a little time, if this topic intrigues you, or if you are like me and are scared sick over what your children will be facing, here's the link to the sermon from last night. Our pastor opened with Biblical facts on purity, then another couple from our church took over with detailed and statistical information, including take home strategies on helping your kids. Most of it doesn't touch pornography and marriage... that was just a freebie from me. 

Purity/ Technology- D6 Shades Mountain Baptist Church