The New Daughter Philosophy: "Your Daughter and What She Deserves"

It should be no surprise to us as parents that in just a few short years (if not already) our kids will begin to wish all things were just given to them. It's the "I want it now" culture that deserves only the best. Left in the wake of such thinking is the Biblical school of thought that says "love others as yourself," "serve others," "in order to be first, you must be last," and "true love (romantic, platonic, etc.) is patient, kind, gentle, selfless." The following article (originally titled "Bringing Up Princess: Turning Girls Into Narcissists") does a fantastic job of illustrating just that, through the eyes of our daughters and the "princess industry". It is written by Megan Basham and appeared in the Wall Street Journal. It's a fantastic article (even going after Christian girls and retail culture)!

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The princess industry has been booming in the past few years -- not just the Disney dolls and scratchy toy-store ball gowns that are a rite of passage in most American girlhoods, but a brazen new breed of princess products that target a far wider age range and tap into less seemly attitudes. The hot-pink, leopard-print princess backpacks, T-shirts, purses and bedspreads that girls are now buying (or, rather, their parents are buying for them) have little to do with indulging sweet princess fantasies and everything to do with catering to over-indulged princess egos.

Take the popular tween retailer Justice. At malls nationwide, it carries multiple "Princess" tops and accessories that look a lot more like Paris Hilton's attire than Snow White's. No surprise that part of its marketing slogan is "Love yourself."

For only $44 at Nordstrom, you can dress your toddler in a tank top that declares her to be a "Juicy Couture Princess" -- that is, someone whose parents can afford to buy designer shirts that will end up stained with ketchup or jelly. And until recently, numerous Saks stores maintained Club Libby Lu, a spa for 5- to 13-year-old girls offering princess makeovers with tube tops and miniskirts that left girls looking more like Real Housewives than Cinderella. The ailing retailer closed the tween operation in May, but it grossed $60 million in 2008.

Call it trickle-down narcissism. Today, even as the economic crisis continues, many middle-class parents aspire to give their daughters the best of everything, "the best" meaning the most expensive. A quick tour around suburbia will show princess-themed bedrooms (the rhinestoned-and-feathered kind, not the cartoon-character kind) and ostentatious birthday parties, as well as pedigreed dogs being toted in designer bags by 10-year-olds. Maintaining a diva daughter has become one more way to one-up the Joneses.

Sadly, even believing Christians are participating in the princess push. Christian retail outlets like A Different Direction carry "God's Girlz," glamour dolls dressed in princess shirts and spandex with sparkling tiaras on their heads. St. Paul may have exhorted women to be modest in their dress, but many church-going girls proudly wear Christian-marketed clothing imprinted with messages like "Yes, I am a Princess." The small print underneath -- "I'm a daughter of the King" -- is supposed to differentiate the sentiment from secular princess gear (never mind that the King's firstborn declared himself not a prince but a servant of all.)

Of course, it's natural for kids to try to assert their status over others, but it used to be the role of parents to rein in these impulses and teach their daughters that while playing princess is fun, no one enjoys being around someone who acts like a princess in real life. Now researchers are finding that parents are promoting attitudes of superiority in their daughters. Jean Twenge, associate professor of psychology at San Diego State University, tracks the rising egotism on college campuses in her new book, "The Narcissism Epidemic: Living in the Age of Entitlement." She has found that college-age women are developing narcissistic traits at four times the rate of college-age men. She attributes the startling discrepancy in part to parents who put their girls on a pedestal.

Ms. Twenge describes moms and dads who lavish their daughters with unrealistic praise. Parents not only tell girls they are the prettiest and smartest but also train them to see themselves as the center of their worlds through clothes and accessories. "You could label that kind of parenting 'princess parenting,' " she told the Associated Press recently. Ms. Twenge notes wryly that when shopping for her own 2-year-old daughter, about "a fourth of clothing available to her says 'Little Princess' on it."

While there's unlikely to be much harm in indulging in one or two princess products, Ms. Twenge and other experts find that girls immersed in princess culture are embracing the notion of privilege that goes along with it. While parents may hope that princess-pushing will give their daughters confidence in the future, research shows that such girls later have trouble adjusting to professors, bosses and potential mates who don't automatically treat them as royalty.

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FYI: I am leaving tomorrow for a Mission Trip and will be gone a week. I most likely won't get the chance to post anything new next week, but will return June 30. Checkout some of the older posts and comment if you'd like! Until then... C2

Image: Sara Schwartz (appeared in original article)

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Reimagining Consistency

Like Kelly McGillis from the 80's movie Top Gun, we apparently "can't fight that lovin' feeling" either. We are creatures of habit and Hollywood is banking on that with the slate of movies they have lined up over the next couple of years. The key words in Hollywood right now: remake, sequel, and reimagining.

The following movies are but a few reincarnations of classic films, toys or TV Shows from generations past that have recently or will soon make their way into movie theaters:

GI JOE
Star Trek
Fame (reimagined)
The A-Team
Transformers
Alvin and the Chipmunks (The Squeekwel)
Robin Hood (with Russell Crowe)
Scream (possibly another Trilogy)
Terminator
Three Stooges
Land of the Lost
Indiana Jones (4 and now a rumored #5)
Red Dawn
Mission Impossible (a fourth movie)
Comic Book Movies (Green Lantern, Captain America, Iron Man 2, Thor, Spider-Man 4)
Clash of the Titans (reimagined)
Bride of Frankenstein
Ghostbusters (old GB's will train a new class)
The Karate Kid (with Will Smith's son as the Kid)
Friday the 13th (reimagined)
Halloween (reimagined)
Wall Street (sequel)
Predator (reimagined)
Conan the Barbarian (reimagined)
He-Man (if it can make it past pre-production) (reimagined)
Buffy the Vampire Slayer (reimagined)
The Hobbit (Prequel to Lord of the Rings)
Heathcliffe

New stories, new characters, younger/newer/"hipper" new actors, new effects, CGI, better stories... pick your "new" spin; however, it's not the "new" that studios bank on, but the old - the familiar. There is comfort for fans in stepping into familiar characters and story arcs. It's not that people fear change (though that could be the case for some), it is that we are people who want something consistent. That's why when Star Wars released its prequel trilogy and the famous John Williams' theme song started fans lept to their feet in uproarious applause or why they got goosebumps and smiled ear-to-ear when the silhouette of Indiana Jones donned his famous Fedora.

People cling to consistency because it is how we were created. God created us in His image... as a reflection of His divine attributes and character. No matter how life changes or adjusts, hurts or hinders, crumbles or collapses there is great comfort in the God who (1) never changes, (2) never abandons, (3) never sells us out for newer or better, and (4) always loves.

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The Circus That is Jon and Kate Gosselin

Kate yells at Jon. Kate yells at her children. Jon cheats on Kate with a school teacher. Kate cheats on Jon with her bodyguard. Kate wears a bikini to the beach. Kate had a tummy tuck.

These are a small snippet of the headlines from the world of Jon and Kate Gosselin (of TLC's Jon and Kate Plus Eight) over the last couple weeks. I do not watch their show and absolutely LOATHE gossip magazine babble so I have kept mum on this subject/topic (despite several requests for me to chime in on the matter) so as not to add to this already out of control circus. Then I saw these headlines today and couldn't keep silent any more:

"First Look: Kate Caught Spanking Kids" (popeater.com)

"EXCLUSIVE PHOTOS: Caught Hitting Her Daughter" (InTouch Weekly)

Not only are these headlines absurd (one being an absolute distortion of the truth and slanderous), but some paparazzi photographer actually had the nerve to snap pictures of the incident AND PUBLISH THEM! The subtitle to the incident (this caption actually accompanies the pictures on the popeater.com website): "Kate Lays the Smack Down". ARE YOU SERIOUS??

Granted, Jon and Kate semi-agreed to a public life by airing their lives before the world on national television in exchange for money, but at what point does such "coverage" (sorry, tabloid babble is not coverage - it's spreading trash) become inhumane? At what point do people who follow their lives (Jon and Kate) religiously actually become bottom-feeders and lifeless sycophants that feed their own joy on the life (and misery) of others? At what point does someone stop the madness and say "I think what is good and decent is beyond gone in this situation and we've actually contributed to the degradation of our society by continuing to follow it with such intensity." How in the world did it ever become OK to capture a parent disciplining their child on camera and publish those pictures (with captions that detail the apparent horror and helplessness of the other children watching) for the world to see?

Are Jon and Kate perfect? No. Their marriage is not going through anything different that many marriages in America have not gone through (to include the affairs, should those accusations be true). Yes, Jon and Kate bought this life to an extent, but the endless scrutiny, pictures, video (non-TLC video) and "coverage" is not right. Few, if any, American families would ever dare to live out their private moments (such as spanking or disciplining their kids) with a national audience; yet, many Americans will continue to buy in to this debauchery until they are a part of the reason Jon's and Kate's marriage fractures beyond repair. When that happens, its on to another celebrity or couple.
What have we become as a nation? As humans?

PARENTS: Celebrity life and idols is a DANGEROUS world. Our kids often grow up thinking that in order to be someone they need to be one of the glamorized stars in movies, TV or music. As parents, we often times feed that worldview by talking about it, watching it and buying in to it ourselves. We tell our kids with our words that idol worship is bad, but they watch how we live and see lives devoted to movies, music, gossip and entertainment. They hear us talk about how wonderful so-and-so actor/actress is and all about who they are and what they do. They see us read those magazines. Are you, as a parent, part of this very fractured system and culture? If so, maybe it's time to do some serious evaluating and removing of idols in our own lives.

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Image borrowed from TV Week Online.
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"College: It's All About Gettin' Your Drink On!"

Considering today's social norms it really should not be much of a surprise that incidents of binge drinking is on the rise; however, when you see that of the college students polled almost HALF (45%) have engaged in the activity in the past month it is cause for some serious alarm.

Binge drinking is the consumption of alcohol with no thought of the consequences or responsibilities involved in drinking. It is drinking to the point of passing out, blacking out, losing most cognitive faculties (namely the ability to think rationally) or, worse yet, poisoning or death. It is one of the leading causes for vehicle deaths among college students and assaults (to include sexual assaults).

The article I linked above posed some very good reasons why this increase is happening, but of those listed I believe the most significant reason (that even they point out) is: culture. It is socially condoned, accepted, approved of and encouraged (especially in the media) to “be young,” party, “throw your inhibitions to the wind” and forget the world a while. Rap artist Asher Roth even wrote a tribute song to the socially accepted party scene called "I Love College" (see the lyrics here - explicit lyrics!). Drinking, getting hammered, trashed or wasted is an accepted, social norm - a part of life. Even those who have committed crimes while drunk are more easily forgiven than those doing it sober (as if the drinking excuses the actions or make said actions understandable).

Most teens and college students have no clue how to actually have fun without “liquid courage” (hence the reason Girls Gone Wild has copious amounts of alcohol on hand when filming… very few girls would do what they do on camera without the alcohol). For those that do try to have fun sans alcohol see the fun they have as a lesser fun because the rest of their peers are out drinking or often feel like outcasts when the rest of their peers would rather be at the bar or club (or hosting drunken parties).

Just recently I spoke with a 20 year old female college student who has living arrangements with family but plans to move out in the fall to “have a real college experience.” I asked her what’s a “real college experience” and she said having parties and such all the time (she wanted to live in a house that was a center for partying among her circle of friends and acquaintances). I asked her why she thought that was so important and she said “because it’s what you do when you’re young. This is the only time in your life to do that sort of thing.” She has bought into a social lie and despite my warnings and pleadings with her that the lifestyle she is choosing will have consequences (if nothing else later when she, as a mother, begs and pleads with her own children to avoid this lifestyle) she shrugged me off saying “I won’t let that happen – I’ll be smart about it.”

Of course she will be different. They’ll all be different. That’s this culture’s responsible mantra: “just don’t let it be you.”

To Those Who Are Part of This Lifestyle Now (or want to be): I know consequences won’t happen to you – you will party through college (and/or high school) and graduate with honors, get an illustrious career and have the All-American family. Let’s just say for a moment that “it” does happen to you though (consequences). Let’s say any of the following happen:

• You drunkenly decide to drive (you never would have done that sober) and you are caught. Or worse yet, kill or hurt someone. Was it worth it?

• You pass out drunk at a party and are assaulted. Was it worth it?

• You host a party at which someone is assaulted or leaves drunk and kills or injures someone. Was it worth it?

• You’re caught drinking and driving and lose your license and people won’t hire you because of your record. Was it worth it?

• Your kid one day asks you “Dad/Mom – did you party and get drunk in high school? Can I?” or as they are strolling the internet (you have no control over who puts what on the internet) or old pics and stumble across pictures of you drunk in compromising acts. Was it worth it?
  

Many times our picture of the end justify our means; namely, "I won’t get hurt and no one else will either, therefore, it is worth it." Or "something might happen, but it won’t be that bad and I’ll learn my lesson then." Problem is, you have NO control over anything; no control over what happens or what the consequences are. Once the fire is lit, the damage is done. You cannot undo it.

PARENTS: Forget the ridiculous conversation about whether drinking is Biblical or not. It doesn’t matter. Teach your teens and children to love God with all their hearts (Phil. 4:8). Teach them to ask about everything they do: “is what I’m about to do the best possible way for me to love and worship God?” Be living examples of what that question looks like.

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Lakers Win, LA Loses

Shaq tweets. The Magic crumble. Kobe proved all the skeptics wrong.

These were a few of the highlights of the series known as the NBA Finals. I am not an NBA fan (though if I were to choose a team to root for it would either be the Suns or the Celtics) and could really care less who actually won the series. To be honest, I'm just happy the NBA and NHL seasons are over! Now ESPN and other sports entities can focus on the two best sports on the planet: baseball and the quickly coming football season!

Regardless of my feelings on NBA Basketball I think the fans' reaction/celebration was deplorable! See the pics: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1193086/Fans-riot-streets-LA-Lakers-win-NBA-title.html?ITO=1490

A riot?!?! I know it is not the first time (and unfortunately won't be the last), but I truly do not understand how any conscious-minded human could find it celebratory or joyous to wreck an innocent city, an innocent party's property, waste tax payer money or participate in any activity to "celebrate" that ends up injuring police officers. Even sadder, yet, is the fact that California is crumbling financially and they now have to clean up the carnage of a supposed celebration. Over a game? An eternally meaningless game? Sure it's great that your favorite team won, but in the grand scheme of things it is just a game. So who really won? No one... not the Lakers, not the fans, not California and certainly not LA.

This sort of reaction only demonstrates further the absolute joke that is "Sports." People in Europe and around the world are trampled to death during soccer games? An American sports team wins a championship and the city erupts into a riot? How do we as humans (or Believers, for that matter) make sense of that, stand for it or, worse yet, participate in it?

This is not a Lakers problem, NBA problem, MLB or any other sports league problem. It is a human being problem. A common sense (or lack there of) problem.

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Image credit: Associated Press
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Heidi Montag, Spencer Pratt and "Christianity"

Last week I posted a video and commented on Spencer Pratt's "baptism" by Stephen Baldwin. In the clip and in prior interviews Spencer credits his wife Heidi Montag (Pratt) for leading him toward his new found faith/conversion. Since I don't know much about the couple because I don't watch The Hills or follow celebrity gossip (at least intentionally - it's impossible to avoid it all together) I have no idea if her faith in Christ is genuine or his conversion is legit. What I do know is that their behavior (how they treat other people, crave the spotlight, will do almost anything for the right price tag, etc.) and decisions do not reflect those of people whose desire to love God more than anything else. Instead it seems as though their desire is to love themselves and grab as much attention (good or bad) as possible.

The Latest case-in-point: now it appears that the faithful Mrs. Montag-Pratt has posed in a "tasteful" spread in Playboy magazine. *Cue the corporate eye roll and sigh*

I speak up because I am tired of so-called celeb-Christians dragging the name of Christ through the mud. Those who are "lost" and genuinely looking for answers look at Christians who are self-centered and selfishly motivated and think "if that's what the Christian religion is all about, they can keep it." It seems phony to them, as if it is a ploy to get heaven and live like hell (as if Christianity is fire insurance or a "get out of hell free" card). Granted, no one is perfect, but when so-called Christians trivialize heaven, grace, hell, sin and the love of God it degrades the very faith in which they claim to hold dear.

This would not be a major conversation if Heidi and Spencer both were not using the name of Christ so loosely. Since they are, however, now it essential that Christians speak up so as to clarify what being a follower of Christ looks like. Showing off, pimping yourself out, praying to meet Miley Cyrus as a test to prove if God exists, and many of their other antics are not the behaviors of genuine lovers of God.

I pray, however, that in their youth and ignorance God opens their eyes and that one day (hopefully soon) they will see Truth and desire to truly love God with all that they are.

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Image borrowed from People.

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Ministry, Feminism, Carrie Prejean Fired, U.S. Politics, and more!

Greetings C2 readers... as you have seen I have not been able to post anything in a couple days. With summer beginning and school letting out and an impending mission trip with my church my time has been quite limited. This blog is a passion of mine, but right now I've got to take a couple days or so to get things in order ministerially. Please pray for me and my church and our upcoming mission trip to New Mexico, for our youth ministry (summer is out and things are picking up speed; pray that we God do some amazing things in the lives of our youth and their families) and my family (we've had much go on in the last couple weeks).

There is much going on in the world and culture that I'd love to write about, but the time is not there for me to write full posts. So here are some snippets of things happening that have my attention:

• The U.S. government looking to pass hate crime laws that will most likely be a stepping stone to hindering the speech of religion (all religions).
• Carrie Prejean is fired for "dereliction of duties". Obviously I don't have a clue as to whether or not Carrie is doing her Ms. USA job or not, but it seems rather convenient. I'm curious if her firing now is what Donald Trump and the organization wanted to do before, but because of the intense media attention (and heated conversation about her marriage stance) they opted to retain her until later. Again, I have no idea, but this seems rather convenient.
  
• lemondrop.com has released a list of TV's "Least Feminist" characters with Friends' Rachel Green (played by Jennifer Aniston) taking the top position, followed by Married with Children's Kelly Bundy (played by Christina Applegate). My brief take: Feminism is a sad movement, especially in our present day. It exists because of the failure of men to see and value women as God created them: valuable, honorable, cherishable, respectable and equal in worth. Unfortunately, many men do not hold them in such a high regard and the result is feminist groups attacking any sort of tradition. This list is somewhat comical, but the values and ideas behind the feminist opinion of what defines a woman ought to be examined seriously in light of the Creator's idea as to who women really are (men too, for that matter, because many of them aren't living up to their God-given role).
  
• President Obama insulted Israel in a picture of him talking with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with his feet on the desk (revealing the soles of his shoes). I completely understand the perception of the photo and the apparent insult, though I highly doubt President Obama intentionally set out to insult their nation or its leadership. What's funny to me is aol.com took a poll asking mostly American voters if the pic offended them. In the famous words of Gomer Pyle, "Surprise, Surprise, Surprise": 75% were not personally offended (of 321,000 or so votes). Of course they aren't offended, America is not offended by much (except Christianity - but that's another conversation). Silly poll question.
  
• My wife and I watched the movie "He's Just NOT That Into You" last night. I plan to write a blog entry on this movie in the next couple days (I hope) and its worldview.
  
• There are a slew of movie and television show franchises either being resurrected or rebooted in the next couple of years. I have some input as to why Hollywood is smart for going this way (after all, all they want to do is make money) and why movie goers are most likely gonna buy in... more on this when I post this.
  

That's all for now... I've got to get back to work. :-) More in the next couple days. Hopefully I will then get back to my regular daily posts. Until then...

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Spencer Pratt Baptized By Stephen Baldwin: A Christian Squared Response

I've seen one episode of The Hills. I've never watched one episode of "I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here" (nor will I). I know very little about Spencer Pratt or Heidi Montag. The few times I've seen them on TV, in the news or in an interview they seem completely removed from reality. I had no interest in reading anything about "Speidi," but then I hear about Mr. Montag getting batpized by Stephen Baldwin (actor, speaker, Baldwin Brother who has starred in almost every celebrity reality show made and is a Born Again Believer) and I had to find out more. Here is the video of his baptism.



I never thought I'd actually agree with Janice Dickenson (self proclaimed Original Supermodel), but I don't condone this either. I believe it is a mockery. I do not fault Stephen Baldwin for this (it seems like he was caught off guard and tried to do the best with the situation that he could on live television) and to be honest I can't fault Spencer because he obviously doesn't know better. However, if he was truly serious about his new found "faith" you would think he would actually try to respect it and learn more about it. Instead he just spontaneously decides to be baptized and "washed clean of his filth" and sin (for the record - not what baptism is about) and declares on national television (in an earlier interview) that in testing God to see if He was real he challenged God to arrange a meeting with (no, I'm not joking) Miley Cyrus... "and [Jesus] did it!"

I pray Spencer is serious about his faith, but there is very little that seems sincere or genuine about his conversion (or his personality, if I'm being honest). He seems like a confused and lost individual and his "faith" appears to be more of a publicity stunt (as if the pop world doesn't hear enough about him as it is). If this is the case, as a believer, I pray Spencer would find another vehicle to get attention instead of trying to defile the name and sanctity of Christ's name. If it is a quasi-semi sincere pursuit, then I pray he start reading the Bible and seeking the counsel of a trusted pastor (with his wife, Heidi).

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Seeing is Deceiving

Though I do not get a chance to play very often (hardly ever, now) I do still love video games (especially Madden and other sports games). Recently I was thumbing through the video game magazine “Game Informer” and saw an ad that caught my attention (sorry - I tried to find the ad online, but was not successful).

It is for the game “The Conduit” (coming this month on Wii). The ad shows a scene from Washington D.C. and has the phrase: “Seeing is Deceiving.” While their catch phrase is simply a selling tag line to hook gamers into wanting their game, there is much truth to this statement that extends far beyond the gaming world.

The popular world philosophy right now is “seeing is believing” (has been for a long time). In other words, we’ll believe in something when we can see it:

- When someone lets us down, we require proof of their loyalty before they are trusted again (“I’ll believe it when I see it…”)

- When something is too good to be true we refuse to demonstrate excitement until it comes to fruition (“I won’t be excited until I have those tickets in my hand.”)

This same philosophy is the foundation of spirituality for most. Either they say “I’ll believe it when I see it” (or “I can’t believe what I can’t see”) or “No one can know anything for certain, therefore I choose to only believe what can be seen.” To truly live according to this way of thinking (without exception) is to disown faith altogether. Abandoning faith is impossible! ALL people have faith in something:

- We put our faith in God (or nature) that when we suck air into our lungs it will be there to breath

- We put our faith in the roller coaster car and its operator that we will finish the ride the same way we began – in one piece and alive.

- Archeologists and paleontologists (and those who hold their studies as absolute truth) put their faith in their findings as fact (even when those findings are often limited).

- Evolutionary theorists (or scientists, if you will) put their faith in an event and random occurrences that can never be duplicated or recreated or seen with the naked eye (just like Creationists cannot recreate or duplicate God creating everything by His voice). Truth is, Evolutionists and Creationists conclusions are deductive hopes based on limited information (information that can be studied, but not proven beyond a shadow of a doubt).

Ultimately, seeing is not believing, at least not for much of our lives (no matter how much science wants to state that it is). At some point in matters of life our eyesight and understanding can only carry us so far. The rest becomes a matter of Faith. As I tell my children every day: there is only one Truth. Either there is a God or there is not. If there is, then we all answer to Him.

Regarding our faith, the question for the Believer is: “Is my faith in the invisible God (who became visible through His Son Jesus Christ and now through His Church) reasonable?” For me, based on much studying, reading and the order I see around me in the world I believe it is.

The question for the non-believer/non-religious is: “Is my faith in myself, the limited information I can see/understand and the faith I put in ‘experts’ and their view of the world, existence, life and death reasonable? Do I truly believe the people or my beliefs are sufficient for answering life’s major questions (birth, death, afterlife, the existence of evil/suffering, etc.)?”

PARENTS: Use the two phrases (“Seeing is Deceiving” and “Seeing is Believing”) to discuss with your kids/teens about Faith and Truth. Ask them what they think about each of the phrases and why they feel that way.

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Image borrowed from http://www.yolochildcareplanning.org/news.htm

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Move Over Susan Boyle - This 21 Year Old Girl Really Never Has Been Kissed

As soon as Susan Boyle broke on to the scene as a web sensation (thanks to her "I Dreamed a Dream" performance on Britain's Got Talent), the immediate subtitle to her amazing performance was something to the effect of "And She's Never Been Kissed." This, of course, was later found to be untrue; however, there is a 21 year old girl in Washington who anxiously awaits her July wedding day to experience her first ever kiss.



Rachel Welch decided at 14 years old that she wanted to wait to kiss anyone until her wedding day. While I know Rachel isn't the only girl or guy to make this commitment, it is awesome to see some news outlets pay attention to a girl and guy with hearts bent toward experiencing real love, passion and intimacy the way God designed it be enjoyed.

My favorite line in her interview (with fiance Todd Ritter) was the one where she answered the objections of Todd's friends who asked "what if she's a terrible kisser? Or what if there are no sparks?" She replied "then we get our whole lives to work on it." AWESOME! Marriage is the place we are supposed to develop sparks and learn how to enjoy all the joys and benefits of sexual intimacy. To think we learn by practicing on others, then marrying someone else is a ridiculous lie that our culture has bought in to without question.

Props to Rachel (and Todd for honoring her and her promise)... this is the foundation of real love!

Share this video with your teens! Also, I encourage you to check out my post "Abstinence is Wrong" for more about this sort of commitment. Singles, take heart - it is never too late!

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EDITORIAL NOTE: Again, I apologize for the long delay in writing. My parents have been in town and so I've taken some time off to be with them. They left earlier today (bummer), so I am back writing and dialoguing!