And the Bride Wore White: Seven Secrets to Sexual Purity

I found this book at the Christian bookstore and was intrigued by the title. I didn't realize until after I bought it that it was intended for teenagers (I'm in my late 20s and single) But I'm not at all sorry I bought this book. The Lord has really been convincing me lately of the importance of being sexually pure. I was looking for a book that not only discussed purity but how to live it out. This book gives some great tips. I can't wait to try them out for myself. I wish I had had this information when I was a young teenager. It would have saved me a lot of grief, regret and heartache. But while no one can change the past, with God's help and the tips in this book. You can change the future. I appreciate the author's honest. Yes, she is married, but she is very much aware of the struggles that young single women face. I think this book should be required reading for every teenager and for every parent with teenage girls. I would definitely recommend this book to others.

I bought this book to "skim" for information that I could use for my junior high youth group girls. I couldn't stop reading! I stayed up late to read to the very last page. The nonfiction text is full of true accounts from all kinds of girls and women and that kept the pace of the book very readable. While some nonfiction can get bogged down in details and over-explaining, Dannah Gresh is a gifted storyteller and uses beautiful language with a gentle, encouraging style.I found this book extremely helpful for use in our church's junior high youth group. Since that time, the author has put together a leader's guide, but I made my own lesson plans based on the book and it was a wonderful experience! I did find, though, that the junior high girls didn't read it as voraciously as I had. Their older, high school sisters loved it, so I'd say the reading level is 9th or 10th grade.I highly recommend this book!

I bought this to read and discuss with my 12-year old daughter. After starting it myself, I've decided to wait a year; but the book has truly spoken to me personally, and I can hardly wait to impart the values Dannah presents in such a readable, delightful manner with my daughter at that time. I have tried other "mother-daughter" books and none of them compared with this. This is written in such a personal way with true-life examples from Dannah's own life and lives of her friends that any girl can relate to it (It's not at all "preachy."). It also has the power to conjure up the dating memories from a mother's life, so moms can personally share the good and not-so-good things that happened to them in the dating years. I found it encouraging teenagers to live a godly life that any parent as well as God Himself would be delighted with. I only wish I had had such a helpful resource when I was 13 or 14. It would have changed the way I related to boys and young men.

Every woman should read this book. Especially if you have daughters. No matter where you are in your life, as a young unmarried woman, a wife/mom, or even a grandmother Dannah's words will speak to your heart. I bought this book for my 16 yr old sister and found that even as a happily married wife and mom, I couldn't put it down. All my life I'd heard the "don't" message and although there are plenty of compelling reasons often mentioned (STD's unwanted pregnancy ect) the most compelling of all was missed. I found it in these pages. The most compelling reason to strive for purity is the reward. Purity is holding your hunger at bay, anticipating the incredible feast God has created in marital love. Purity is getting and staying focused on the goal- and like Dannah says it is a process. Why on earth would you choose cheetos when you have a banquet prepared and waiting! If you didn't know what the banquet was all about your hunger might get the best of you- For many of us it did. I cried when I finished this book thinking of how my life might have been different if only someone had given me this book when I was 16. But after the mourning came healing. Read this book. Give it to your daughters, your sisters, your granddaughters... God will bless you all.

Before meeting Dannah I had already heard the abstinence message. The message that I had heard told my generation not to have sex because we just shouldn't. Reasons for waiting was so we didn't have to experience STD's, unwanted pregenacies, and mulitple heartaches. Often the message would be given by someone who had long since experienced the temptation of premarital sex. It was almost if the married speakers would be bragging because they could do something that we were not yet allowed to. When I went to one of Dannah's retreats I knew that there was something different about her and her message. Her message was one of love, making you able to connect with her. She said that purity is a process, you do not wake up one morning and are pure, and you don't just loose it through an act. Purity is much greater and has to be culitvated through your relationship with Christ. By saying that purity is a process, she was also saying that just because you are married does not mean you are done with working on purity. When she admitted that she put herself on our level and was no longer someone who had it all figured out,but someone who understood what we were going through. She also used her personal stories to help us understand that she is not to condem us but to identify with us. It is how she identifies with us that makes us want to hear what she has to say. Dannah also makes it extremely clear that the reason why God wants us to wait is not to spoil our fun, but to give you the best sexual experience later. God loves His children to have sex, but only in the proper setting. He wants you to wait not so you can be deprived of sex but so that you will not be deprived of what sex is supposed to be. How can that holy act that is meant to bring two people and make them as one, be as holy if it has occurred with others and out of the context of marriage? Dannah also makes us realize that God does not set up these standards and then leaves us but is with us every step of the way. She reminds us that God is always there for us even if we had premarital sex. His forgivness out weighs our failures and he can always make us pure again. I would highly recommend this book because it encompasses everything that is in her retreats. My generation has to understand that they are precious in God's eyes and that He wants us to save sex so we can be the happiest later in our lives. Dannah Gresh does a beautiful job in drawing her readers closer to God so that He can tell them what He needs them to hear.