Sex, Jesus, and the Conversations the Church Forgot by Mo Isom

This is not the typical book I review, simply because I try to avoid having to write reviews on these subjects, but I think this is a very pertinent book with some thoughts we would do well to listen to. There are some practical things here both relating to sexuality as well as relating to life in general.

Mo is a former All-American goalkeeper for the Louisiana State University soccer team. She was also very sexually promiscuous while boldly proclaiming her commitment to virginity. Exposed to pornography at 8 years old by finding pictures in her dad's truck, she became addicted. This led over into her relationships with boys where she would go as far as she could while still being able to hold on to her virgin title. This would be one conversation the church could do better at. She was told it was good to remain a virgin until she got married, but neither the church nor her parents gave the deeper reason: purity. She saw it as a thing to accomplish, not a heart matter or a commitment to God. She missed the why of remaining a virgin.

I was blown away by the stats she gave on pornography. Yeah, I knew it was a big money making industry, but I had no idea how big. In one single calendar year, "people watched 4.6 billion hours of pornography at just one website. That is 524,000 years of porn - 17,000 complete lifetimes. Just in 2016."  The other thing that staggered me a bit was how many women are exposed to porn and view porn regularly. Moving into adulthood, about 18% of women will admit to viewing porn once a week and 49% of those who view porn see it as a healthy way of expressing their sexuality.  Clearly, we have a big problem on our hands.

This was good for me to realize that we need to have these difficult conversations. Our children need to know the why behind the "don't do this" rules. We need to be looking out for the next generation both male and female. Mo will say she was just another statistic, she fit right into these categories. Then God got a hold of her. She goes into that more in her first book called "Wreck my Life" She was able to stay single and free until she met her future husband, then the cycle of going as far as she could began again. And I don't want to tell her whole story.

Another thing she touches on is sexpectations in marriage, both for those who are virgins and those who are not.  She has some good things to say there as well.

A lot of the things she says can be applied to other areas of life as well. In two of the final paragraphs in the book, she says this and I think this is so applicable to all of life and the temptations we face and sins we commit. "I don't blame the conversations that the church forgot as the catalysts of the roller-coaster ride that was my sexual testimony. I don't blame the men involved....I don't blame family....

"My sexual struggles were a result, from the very beginning, of my sin-nature. My wants. My thoughts. My actions. My pride. My choices. My rebellion. My desperation for affirmation. My desires. My decision to make myself the god of my own story."

I appreciated how she took the full responsibility and that is what all of us must do. God is willing to redeem our stories just as He was willing and ready to redeem Mo's story.

I received this book from Baker Books and was not required to write a positive review.