Thought provoking article

I'm a facebook fan of Dannah Gresh and this morning she shared a link to an excellent article on her blog (someone else wrote the post). Now before I share some quotes and the link let me tell you a bit about Dannah and her work.

Dannah is a speaker, writer, mom, and wife. She is a passionate Christian who is in awe of Christ's forgiveness and love. She also is quite funny.

Dannah's passion is purity. She uses her "healing to equip teens to live lives of purity and heal from moments of past impurity. The Lord has expanded my ministry to coaching moms to raise pure, whole daughters!" (Meet Dannah Gresh) To that end she started Secret Keeper Girl and Pure Freedom.

The mission of Pure Freedom is: It is the mission of Pure Freedom to equip men and women of all ages to live a vibrant life of purity, to experience healing from past impurity if it exists in their lives and to experience a vibrant, passionate marriage which portrays the love Christ has for his Bride the church.

But without further ado here are some quotes from the article: What's Your Porn? by Jacqueline Gardner

...the brain’s deep limbic system is the primary sex organ. Believe it or not, viewing romantic media content affects your brain. Dannah’s research for one of her books led her to discover a biological component in exposure to romantic film content. (Ever watched a romantic movie with sexual nuances and then found yourself craving your/a husband?) Both men and women viewers experienced changes in progesterone and testosterone levels, indicating that media content alters the endocrine environment and hormones, at least temporarily.

Maybe it’s a stretch to compare chick flicks and romance novels to porn. Or maybe not. Beth Spraul believes that whereas porn targets men visually, the lies told to women are introduced emotionally. She says that things like chick flicks and ‘chick-lit’ “take a good gift from God [romance, relational intimacy] that women are created to desire, and distort it…And just like men buy into the lies of pornography, women who believe their husbands and marriages should always be like what they see on the screen will be sinfully dissatisfied with God’s good gift to them of a ‘normal’ husband and marriage.”

Problem is that girl porn leaves my body aroused but my heart unsatisfied. It has nothing to do with real love or real sex. (For those of you who’ve read What Are You Waiting For, it’s shakab but no yada.) No knowing, seeking, or respecting. Just the physical. Just me and my gratification. Just a counterfeit. Lust takes. Love gives.

Do you struggle with girl porn? Are you exposing yourself to romantic content (movies, TV, books, music, conversation) that leaves you dissatisfied? Pulling you further away from your husband instead of closer to him? Causing you to fantasize or masturbate? Doesn’t matter if you’re single, married, or a mom. The Enemy uses the same tricks.

Makes you think, doesn't it.

Dannah's best selling books include:

What Are You Waiting For? The One Thing No One Ever Tells You About Sex If you're a young woman (age 16 +) longing for true love, you can find the answers to your unspoken questions about intimacy and sex. In what are you waiting for?, author Dannah Gresh directly confronts wrong ideas prevalent in our culture today and explains why a casual attitude toward sex results in pain and disappointment. Paperback.

I highly, highly recommend this book. Not just for young women. I think guys would profit from reading it as well. And this is the book that Jacqueline referenced in her article.

And The Bride Wore White: Seven Secrets to Sexual Purity (Celebration Edition) Best-selling author Dannah Gresh shares the seven most important secrets to sexual purity. She challenges young women to set and maintain high standards, to value their virginity and to make a commitment to Christ for a sexually pure lifestyle.

Six Ways to Keep the Good in Your Boy How can you teach your tween son to be honest, confident, and respectful when the world encourages him to make bad decisions and grow up too fast? The Greshes offer six proactive ways to help your boy honor his body, play unplugged, and live out his faith. Includes a Connection IQ inventory test, activity ideas, and Scripture prayers. 208 pages, softcover from Harvest.

Six Ways to Keep the Little in Your Girl When the world wants girls to grow up too fast, how do you help your daughter navigate boy craziness, modesty, body image, media, and Internet safety? The foundation for an emotionally healthy teen girl is built between the ages of 8 and 12. Mothers of tween girls can direct and guide their daughters by developing a close relationship with them. In Six Ways to Keep the Little in Your Girl, Dannah Gresh shares six ways to help you grow confident, godly young women. Also included is a quiz to test your relationship, fun activities to do together, and Scriptures to use in prayer. Paperback.