Arkansas! I love it there. Not only because of the beautiful countryside, but because there are some folks in Fayetteville that I dearly love. They are passionate about parenting and purity, and we're watching the incredible effects of their efforts to bring Planned Purity to life in their congregation.

Steve Alberts, the youth pastor I work with, loves to do drama. Last year they did The Princess and the Kiss in a dinner theater format, and had such a great turnout that this year they did a version of The Garden Wall. 

I really don't have words to say how much the play meant to me. If you've read the book, you know about Seth and Petra and the garden they're building for Petra's future husband. But Steve wrote in a modern element of Grandmother Petra telling her granddaughter (who is in a risky Facebook relationship) about her relationship with Seth. There were strokes of genius in the way Steve related the story and built on the few words I could cram into a 32-page children's format. But the most wonderful part was how the play affected me personally.

I have an almost 15-year-old in a relationship right now, and it's rocky going. Daily we are struggling to set boundaries, to talk, talk, talk (without driving any of us crazy) and to navigate the bizarre waters of young relationship. But the play reminded me of the important things—why a young woman must tend her garden and why a young man must decide that he will protect that garden at all costs. And all that was accomplished in the context of FRIENDSHIP.

As my daughter gets older, I get more and more flack about "why she doesn't date," "what's the big deal about holding hands," etc. I'm amazed at how casual we are about relationships in which our teens participate. It's so easy to just do things a certain way because "everyone is doing it." It's so hard to set a new standard. And it's hard to explain boundaries to a teenager when they've never felt "these feelings" before—even when they're a committed to purity as my daughter is. But I'm not giving up—and you shouldn't, either.

In the drama in Arkansas, the couple who played Petra and Seth were 17 and 18, and they were in a relationship, also with very clear boundaries. I was delighted to see the chemistry between them in the roles, which was portrayed with honor and innocence. Absolutely beautiful. I also told Steven (Seth) that I had fallen in love with him and didn't know what to do! (-= We had a good laugh about that.

Everyone served Robin and I as though we were queens. This congregation knew how to serve and how to work hard. They love their families, and I saw some beautiful marriages. I also met some new and old friends like Shannon, Brook, Holly, Susan, Sherri, Lolly (who gave us a tour of the amazing city library where they donated some of my books) and Mary Lynn, our intrepid chauffeur who ran us all over kingdom come with her ridiculously well-behaved, Irish-dancing daughters.

You know, not everyone can call themselves "Razorbacks" and be proud of it. (Mary Lynn actually has a red boar-shaped sink in her guest bath - no kidding!) When I saw the Italian Russian boar sculpture on campus, we all hooted, but I thought, "Now here are some folks who really are comfortable with themselves. And now I am, too. I have a genuine red "WOO PIG—SOOOO-EEEEE" pin to prove it!

I could go on, but suffice it to say that as I talked to the parents, the teens and the church as a whole, I was blessed, privileged, and felt very much at home. I'm trying to find an excuse to get our family there for a vacation (don't tell my metropolitan area-loving husband—ha!) just so they can be friends with the wonderful friends I already know so well.

Purity is alive in Arkansas, and with the help of all of us, will keep spreading to the far corners of the world. SOOOOO-EEEEE! GO PIG!

Please be praying for the upcoming conference here in Winter Garden, March 7, as well as people to accompany us to Namibia and Ukraine this year. I'll try t keep my end and write on this ol' blog whenever I can —

Love, Jennie