Strategies for Purity

This is our second session on purity this month. Wow, we really added to our strategies for purity! We received a purity checklist which we encouraged the youth to post somewhere where they could see it everyday. The checklist came from a program by Christine St. George. You can find it online. To paraphrase a few strategies:

• We will stay pure today & pray for our future husbands/wives. We learned to focus on inward qualities when praying for our future mates, not just physical characteristics :-)
• We will avoid putting ourselves in situations where we can be tempted. We learned to be in groups and/or have a chaperon.
  
• If we date, we will only date those who share a commitment to purity. The students decided that you should be friends first and discuss your commitment to purity. They decided if your friend couldn't honor your commitment that you show them the door to the relationship :-) These are some feisty students!
• We will be an example. We will be a light to other youth regarding purity. We will show the world what we stand for by our stand on purity. This may give other young people the courage to be pure!
• We will dress appropriately so that others won't lust. We decided that we didn't want to wear shirts that were too low cut, pants/skirts that showed our backside or bellies, or clothes that were too tight or short. We talked about how young men are sexually excited by what they see and young women are excited by feeling close to others.
  
• We will take impure thought and temptations to God in prayer. We talked about the images, lyrics that we may see/hear/read about on television, movies, songs, magazines, books and the internet.

It was a great session! Our youth are great leaders who are learning God's plan for their lives. Encourage them! We'd love to hear more from you!

Purity

Youth discussed purity this week. What a relevant issue for the pressures that our youth are faced with, including pressures to have sex before marriage, pornography and sexting to name a few. We talked about three Bible truths:

• God wants us to attain purity as a mark of his presence in us. 1 Thessalonians 4: 3, 7, 8
• Gaining purity is not a one-time event, but a process. 1 Thessalonians 4: 1, 2
• Purity keeps us from abusing one another. 1 Thessalonians 4: 4-6

We talked about strategies that help us in this process including:

• Avoiding being alone with members of the opposite sex.
  
• Surround yourself with other young people who value purity.
  
• Wait until you are old enough to date.
  
• Listen to your parents advice regarding your relationships.
  

Any other advice for our youth? Post so we can share with them!