In the mid-80s Madonna’s song “Like a Virgin” shot up the Billboard Top 10 list like a speeding bullet. In the song, she crooned about finding true love and how she felt every time a certain man touched her. While it was a catchy tune, it wasn’t anywhere near the truth. The presence or absence of virginity is not measured by how you feel, but it is determined by how you think and what you do with those thoughts.”

Is it possible to stay pure in an unpure world? According to recent statistics even the church has been losing the battle with today’s youth to remain sexually pure. Why is this happening and can it be changed?

“Many women today are completely unaware of their true value,” says author Carla Stephens in her new book, A Passion for Purity. “Most have a poor self-image and struggle daily with negative thoughts about themselves. Airbrushed images of the “ideal woman” are everywhere, giving false impressions of how we ought to dress, think, feel, and act. In our attempt to become what we see, we sacrifice something that God treasures dearly--our virginity—…”

“Over the years, I have counseled many young women who have lost their virginity prematurely. Most of these young ladies did not just see guys with the intention of giving up their virginity. The fact is that their virginity was long gone before they actually had sex with these young men. In other words, they acted out what was already in their minds. Virginity is a mindset.  It begins and ends in your mind, not your body. The same is true for any decision you make for God and against sin.”

Stephens’s clear-cut approach takes a sensitive subject and outlines with easy readability the treasure and protection of purity and virginity. Such topics include:

-Tokens of virginity: our power and protection
-Telltale signs of virginity
-Common pitfalls: purity robbers
-It’s Never too late: restoring virginity

A Passion for Purity is a book that serves to help those who have fallen in their quest for purity and hope to those who continue to live pure and free from sexual sin.

About the Author:

Carla A. Stephens is the supervisor of Handmaidens of the Lord, an organization which trains and nurtures young women in their walk with God.  Through this organization, she helps young women realize who they are in Christ and teaches them how to walk in the wisdom of God in every area of their lives.  Carla works with World Changers Ministries, pastored by Creflo Dollar, located in College Park, Georgia.