I am delighted to share my blog today with an incredible and super fantastic young lady, Kayla Woodhouse. Kayla is the daughter of author Kim Woodhouse.
Kayla is 16 years old and has lived her life with a chronic medical condition (you can read more about that in her bio below) that often limits her activities. This is Samson – her devoted service dog.
Despite of all the complications to her life, Kayla has a compelling testimony and desire to promote purity and has created a wonderful blog to share Biblical encouragements from God’s Word.
Website address: http://kimandkaylawoodhouse.com/kaylas-blog/#!/blog/
I asked Kayla some very important questions about her purity focus, so rather than go on about how wonderful she is – read her responses and see for yourself.
Kayla – your blog focuses on purity – why did you choose this topic and exactly what do you hope to achieve?
Purity is something that I’ve felt very, very strongly about. When I first started writing, a friend gave me the book Pure by Rebecca St. James. That same week, I learned that my name means pure. I decided that purity was something that I would study, stand up for and protect. On my thirteenth birthday (about a year and a half after I “started the journey”) my parents got my brother and me purity rings and we had a covenant “ceremony.” It was a huge step for me, and helped me understand purity and that covenant/commitment more than just my passion for it. As I got older, I got more books on purity, and listened to a lot of music with purity as a theme. I made “contracts” with my parents to keep myself pure, with commitments, boundaries and lots of Scriptures laid out. Unfortunately, the enemy has been attacking me on the subject since the very first day God laid all of this on my heart. Purity is not only my biggest passion, it’s my biggest battle. I’ve come to realize that we really are in a spiritual war, and my goal is to fight with the best of my ability using the Armor God’s given us. It’s been the biggest and longest battle of my life, but one that I’m more than zealous about fighting. For the most part, my generation has seemed to lose its will to fight on this subject. I pray that I can encourage others through what God’s taking me through to protect their purity as well so that we can be pure, shining lights reflecting the heart of Jesus and directing lost souls toward Him.
How do you think parents and older friends can best help younger people to desire purity in their lives?
It’s hard to find good, godly examples. Especially in our day and age. A lot of the time, I think I can find the “perfect” person to go to. But no such person exists except for Jesus. I’ve been encouraged beyond measure by my mentors and parents, but I also have come to realize that they are not perfect—just like me! And that’s how I best relate to them. JI think the best way for parents/older friends to help the younger ones is to just be honest and true. The four people I consider my mentors are my mentors because through the years they’ve encouraged me by their honest experiences, and brought me back to the truth of Scripture. God’s Word is our guidebook, and I know that no matter what I’m going through or how bogged down I get, they will bring my attention back to God’s solid truth.
How do you think purity is most compromised in the lives of people your age?
In our minds.
Books, movies and music are all focused on romantic ideas that—sadly—are underlined with “The Disposable Ideal.” Everything in our society is disposable: jobs, houses, careers, children, dating relationships, marriage. And even life in and of itself. With divorce papers, an abortion, or a gun people can dispose of just about anything. And I believe part of that is because of what we put into our minds. It’s precisely like the old saying: “sow a thought, reap an action; sow an action, reap a habit; sow a habit, reap a character; sow a character, reap a destiny.”
We sow R rated movies, books with inappropriate covers or language, magazine stories of gossip and deception, movies with ideas of “the perfect one and an easy life” only to find out that life is harder than we pictured; and thus we reap virtues tainted in impurity. Even from childhood we are surrounded by movies—whether it’s The Little Mermaid or Harry Potter—that enforce character traits like disobeying our parents, chasing after a man/woman, and ignoring the advice of those older than us.
Garbage in, garbage out. Everything starts in our minds. What we put into our minds is what will determine our character—and future. “Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life.” (Proverbs 4:23)
Kayla, how can encouragement be offered to the young person who has already made poor choices regarding their purity?
Christ cleansed us by shedding His blood for us on the cross. Therefore, purity is within reach of everyone. If we believe that we can never be clean, then we are believing that Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross was not enough. We’re believing a lie of the enemy who doesn’t want us to be pure. Whether you are a virgin or not, married or not, young or… not so young, purity is yours if you have accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior.
Our job is to protect purity. To give ourselves fully to the Lord, and trust Him to unlock this precious gift in His timing. Yes, we are cleansed—we are pure. But, like many other things in our Christian walk, purity requires a constant surrendering. (Trust me; I know!) C. S. Lewis said, “Relying on God has to begin all over again every day as if nothing had yet been done.” And keeping ourselves pure requires relying on God with every ounce of our beings! Many times deciding to surrender our purity wholly to the Lord means waiting for years and years to find a future spouse; many times it means putting up with an aggravating co-worker and holding your tongue; many times it means saying “no” to imagining futuristic things when you know that is not “the now.” It’s our choice. We can believe the truth, or we can believe the lie. In other words: we can trust God, or we can trust the devil.
What are some Bible verses that encourage purity?
There are many, many stories and verses in the Bible that talk about purity. J Some of my all-time favorites are:
Philippians 4:6-8: Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.
Romans 12:1-2: Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual act of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.
1 Corinthians 10:13: No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.
James 4:17: Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin.
1 Corinthians 6:18-20: Flee immorality. Every other sin that a man commits is outside the body, but the immoral man sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore, glorify God in your body.
(ALL SCRIPTURE IS FROM THE NASB)
Some other great passages are: Psalm 119:9-10; Romans 6:1-11; Jonah 2:8; Galatians 5:1, 13; 1 Corinthians 7:1; Job 31:1; 1 Corinthians 7:32-35; Luke 11:34; Romans 8:6-7; 2 Corinthians 6:14-18; Galatians 5:16-17; 1 Thessalonians 4:3-8; 1 Peter 1:13-16; 1 Peter 2:9-11, 15-16, 21-25; 1 John 1:9-2:1; and 2 Corinthians 11:2-3.
Blessings!
Kayla R. Woodhouse
