Last night we did a presentation at a large Baptist church here locally. It was a great turnout, about 60 people. It's amazing how the Planned Purity message just catches like fire in a dry field. The people who came left so energized and excited that it was hard to get them to calm down and retrieve their kids from the nursery!

The staff volunteers at the book table really worked themselves silly as the book flew everywhere. The combination of The Princess and the Kiss or The Squire and the Scroll with their accompanying Life Lessons books is a lifeline to so many parents who see their kids approaching subjects related to purity and relationships in the kindergarten and first grade years. And I still can't believe the wide appeal that these books seem to hold - others told me the books were purchased for a person in college to encourage them to keep the faith and hold onto their purity.

Folks get really excited when we start sharing strategies for purity training in the young years, and they're so affirmed by seeing that other parents are feeling the same way. A kind of electricity fills the room as they begin to nod heads and agree and share questions and listen to each other. As they left, we just heard "Thank you … thank you … thank you for coming." And already we have those who are ready to attend a Saturday three-session seminar.

One lady last night really touched my heart (well, more than one, but I'll tell you about this one). She was a single mom whose husband had passed away a year and a half ago. She was concerned about her two little boys and finding mentors for them. She wondered how they would see models of healthy affection between spouses when there was no father in the home.

We hear a lot of these kinds of comments from single parents. I'm always so glad to encourage them. I can't imagine what it's like to raise a child by yourself - it'a hard enough with the two of us constantly working at it! But, in some ways, a single parent learns better the need to depend on God. They don't have a choice. God will HAVE to be the father or mother in that situation for awhile. And He is so faithful, and there is no doubt that He has that single parent in position because they are the RIGHT parent for the job, no matter how difficult it may seem.

Friday I have another of these presentations for a homeschool group, moms and kids all together. Should be an interesting morning. Pray for us, that we'll have the right words at the right time to encourage these parents and inspire the children.

Also, please pray about our coming trip to Nigeria. We have a load of planning and fundraising to do before that time. In fact, we have an entire PurityWorks budget to get in order, and there are a lot of needs that only God can provide. We are setting our minds to be faithful day by day, but often have no idea how things will be accomplished. It is a real walk of faith. We need the same strength and wisdom that we try to share, a constant cycle of being renewed and prepared to pour out.

But the cause of purity in this world is worth it - to stem the tide of AIDS, to see more happy families, to see children growing up understanding healthy sexuality and knowing how to guard their hearts and bodies, to see adults finally embracing the freedom in which a lifestyle of purity results … that's the rush. That's why we do what we do. Thanks for reading today.