Virtue in Mind, Heart, and Body

Most of us want to be virtuous, but many of us struggle with that to some extent. Maybe we don’t know exactly how to be virtuous, or if it’s even worth the effort. Every Young Woman’s Battle by Shannon Ethridge and Stephen Arterburn addresses that in a very straightforward manner. These authors tell us what it really means to be pure, how to reclaim purity if we’ve lost it, how to stay pure, and how to fully love and rely on the One who will never disappoint us, Jesus Christ.

Every Young Woman’s Battle is broken down into seven sections, with each section having three or four chapters, making a grand total of 222 pages full of information about all areas of sexual purity. The sections include:

Part 1: Understanding Our Battle
Part 2: Avoiding Self-Destruction
Part 3: Avoiding the Destruction of Others
Part 4: Guarding Your Mind
Part 5: Guarding Your Heart
Part 6: Guarding Your Body
Part 7: Looking for Love in the Right Places

The chapters in these sections discuss modesty, flirting, the media, breaking cycles of abuse, common excuses for premarital sex, how far is too far, and more. The final section tells us how to know when the time is right for Mr. Right, how to become Mrs. Right, and how to fall in love with Jesus.

Who is this book for?

This book is for anyone who has become sexually active and wants to learn how to stop, girls who haven’t yet had their first kiss and want to know where to draw the line before they make mistakes, and people who don’t think having sex or fooling around outside of marriage is wrong (you’ll probably think otherwise after reading this book).

Boy Book

To learn how a guy’s mind works, read Every Young Man’s Battle. Learning about purity from a guy’s perspective is very eye-opening as to the large role we play in helping them to be pure. A note of caution: some of the issues discussed in this book are very personal and not for the young teen reader.

Your Mind, Heart, and Body

We’ve previously discussed the disease and heartache that premarital sex can bring, and it’s important to keep in mind that just because we’re not having sex outside of marriage, it doesn’t mean we’re okay. God wants us to be completely pure for our own good. First Thessalonians 4:3-4, 7: “For this is the will of God, your sanctification; that is, that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each of you know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, For God has not called us for the purpose of impurity, but in sanctification.”

Sexual impurity happens long before technical virginity is lost. Nobody is going to guard our purity but ourselves, and if we are going to win this battle, we must enter it prepared. Every Young Woman’s Battle gives us the information we need to prepare ourselves as much as possible for the road that lies ahead, so one day we will be able to show our love to our husbands fully, without reserve, and without regret.

Davonne Parks