Gift-Wrapped by God. Secret Answers to the Question Why Wait?

246 Pages·2009·1.02 MB·English

by  Linda Dillow

Praise for
Gift-Wrapped by God
“In Gift-Wrapped by God Linda Dillow and Lorraine Pintus creatively weave together
Scripture and the personal experiences of single women to offer a radical alternative to
contemporary notions of sexual fulfillment.”
—PEGGY WEHMEYER, journalist
“Gift-Wrapped by God offers pearls of wisdom for those beginning the journey to
womanhood as well as those struggling between the balance of purity and dealing with
their desires. It also provides rivers of restoration for those who live with regret over
past mistakes.”
—MICHELLE MCKINNEY HAMMOND, author of Get Over It and On With It
“Gifted encouragers, Linda and Lorraine not only build a powerful case for the reasons
God asks singles to wait for sex, they also provide lots of specific, practical advice for
how. The accompanying Bible study will enable readers to integrate and apply the
liberating message of this book.”
—DENNIS RAINEY, executive director of FamilyLife
“Whatever has been your sexual experience and wherever you are on your spiritual
journey, this powerful book will give you God’s perspective and set you free from guilt
and shame.”
—NEY BAILEY, speaker and author of Faith Is Not a Feeling
“This real love story strikes a chord that will resound in the hearts of all women. It is
more than an admonition to live pure lives. It reveals the beauty of being created
feminine and the precious gift that has been entrusted to all women, single and
married.”
—PASTOR TED and GAYLE HAGGARD, New Life Church, Colorado Springs
“Linda and Lorraine give us hope as they describe and illustrate the wonderful and
perfect plan of God in saving the gift of sexuality.”
—PHYLLIS and PAUL STANLEY, international vice president of The Navigators
“Gift-Wrapped by God does an excellent job of reminding us that there is always a fresh
start for those who feel that they have given away the ‘gift’ prematurely. That the
mercies of Jesus Christ are new every morning—this may be the ultimate gift!”
—KELLY MINTER, songwriter and recording artist
“Linda Dillow and Lorraine Pintus write with conviction, warmth, and great pragmatism
in Gift-Wrapped by God. Rarely does an author balance great admonition to live a godly
life with great forgiveness for those who have gone astray, but these authors accomplish
that.”
—FRANK MINIRTH, PH.D., author of Happiness Is a Choice and Worry-Free Living
“Millions of young women and men have been defrauded of their sexual purity by a
culture that has exalted rights over responsibility, pleasure over purity, sensuality over
self-control, and today over tomorrow. Gift-Wrapped by God is a gift to this defrauded
generation. It speaks healing, forgiveness, wholeness, encouragement, and wisdom.
Linda and Lorraine impart a biblical outlook on sexuality that will change the way you
think about yourself, your sexuality, your past, your future, and your partner—and most
important your God.”
—DR. DAVID E. SCHROEDER, president of Nyack College/Alliance Theological Seminary
“Gift-Wrapped by God is a must-read book for single women everywhere. This
straightforward book gets to the heart of the issue of sexual purity.”
—PASTOR MIKE MACINTOSH, Horizon Christian Fellowship, San Diego, California

GIFT-WRAPPED BY GOD
PUBLISHED BY WATERBROOK PRESS
12265 Oracle Boulevard, Suite 200
Colorado Springs, Colorado 80921
All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise noted, are taken from the New American Standard
Bible® (NASB). © Copyright The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972,
1973, 1975, 1977, 1995. Used by permission. (www.Lockman.org). Scripture quotations marked
(MSG) are taken from The Message.
Copyright © by Eugene H. Peterson 1993, 1994, 1995. Used by permission of NavPress
Publishing Group. Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are taken from the Holy Bible, New
International Version®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used
by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked
(NKJV) are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from The
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House
Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked (NRSV)
are taken from The New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1989 by the Division of
Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA. Used by
permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked (KJV) are taken from the King James
Version.
Details in some anecdotes and stories have been changed to protect the identities of the persons
involved.
Copyright © 2002 by Linda Dillow and Lorraine Pintus All rights reserved. No part of this book
may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical,
including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system,
without permission in writing from the publisher.
Published in the United States by WaterBrook Multnomah, an imprint of the Crown Publishing
Group, a division of Random House Inc., New York.
The Library of Congress has cataloged the hardcover edition as follows: Dillow, Linda.
Gift-wrapped by God: secret answers to the question “why wait?” / Linda Dillow and Lorraine
Pintus. — 1st ed.
p. cm.
eISBN: 978-0-30755169-6
1. Chastity. 2. Youth—Religious life. 3. Marriage—Religious aspects—Christianity. 4. Sexual
abstinence —Religious aspects—Christianity. I. Pintus, Lorraine. II. Title.
BV4647.C5 D55 2002
241’.66—dc21
2002006904
v3.1
To my precious granddaughters,
Annika and Sofia,
and the ones yet to come
LINDA
To my darling daughters,
Amanda and Megan
LORRAINE
We wrote this for you because it is the book
we wish we’d had as young women.
Contents
Cover
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Acknowledgments
A Personal Letter from Linda and Lorraine
S O T G
ECTION NE: HE IFT
1. Confusing Voices
2. God’s Masterpiece
3. Tira: One Woman’s Reflections
4. The Gift Exchange
5. God’s Voice on Sex
S T R G
ECTION WO: ECAPTURING THE IFT
6. “For This He Died”
7. Kendall: One Woman’s Journal
8. The Ties of Sexual Sin
9. Cutting the Ties of Sexual Sin
10. Can I Become a Virgin Again?
11. Natalie: One Woman’s Healing
S T S G
ECTION HREE: AVING THE IFT
12. Capturing the Vision
13. A Step in the Right Direction
14. Set Your Heart
15. Renew Your Mind
16. Control Your Body
17. Strengthen Your Will
S F G G
ECTION OUR: UARDING THE IFT
18. Monique: One Woman’s Testimony
19. Satan’s Lies
20. The Lure of the Tempter
21. Battling Your Enemy
S F W G
ECTION IVE: AITING FOR THE IFT
22. The Long, Lonely Wait
23. Nancy: One Woman’s Insight
S S T H G
ECTION IX: HE IGHER IFT
24. A Life-Changing Secret
25. Jesus, Your Bridegroom
26. Patti: One Woman’s Love
27. Adorn Your Wedding Clothes
Eight-Week Bible Study
Notes
Acknowledgments
This book sings because of the many voices who have joined its chorus.
First, a heartfelt thank-you to Liz Heaney, our super editor whose
prayers and giftedness helped form this book. We love you, Liz! We are
grateful to you and to the wonderful staff at WaterBrook for their vision
and commitment to the message of sexual purity.
We’d also like to thank the women who graciously gave us permission
to tell their stories—Kendall, Natalie, Darcy, Nancy, Patti Ann, Jill, Patti,
and many others who openly and honestly shared their hurts and joys
with us.
Thanks to the young women across America who field-tested the book
and Bible study: Mauri Brindle and her New Life interns, Becca
Wesselink and her Campus Crusaders, Beth Lubbe and her Navigators,
Linda Kitchen at Great Commission Ministry and her high school group,
and Bethany Harling and her friends at Houghton College. Your
collective wisdom provided rich insight and practical help.
Our deep appreciation also goes to Don and Cathy Couchman and Don
and Peggy Hanley, who provided writing retreats for us.
We praise God for each of you and especially for our long-suffering
husbands, Jody and Peter, who once again supported and encouraged us
throughout this intensive time of prayer and writing.
Finally, and most important, we want to express supreme gratitude to
Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior and the lover of our souls. May all who
dwell in these pages fall more deeply in love with You, our eternal
bridegroom.